Season 2 Masteries: Last Epoch Tier List Unveiled

If you're diving into *Last Epoch*, you've probably already encountered its 15 diverse Mastery classes. Think of Masteries as subclasses that let you specialize in one playstyle while still offering flexibility to mix and match. From the classic roles like Sorcerer to more unconventional options like Falconer (who rides a bird for aerial assaults), choosing the right Mastery can feel overwhelming. Luckily, this **Last Epoch Mastery tier list** will guide you.

Keep in mind that you're not stuck with just one Mastery. It's common to dabble in multiple Masteries within a finely tuned build. You can allocate points into the first half of any Mastery's passive tree and switch your Mastery at the Respec NPC in the End of Time.

How We Ranked the Best and Worst Masteries in Last Epoch

What makes a Mastery shine depends on how well it checks off the boxes for various build types. Every build aims to optimize clearing maps, defeating bosses, and surviving as smoothly as possible, but some do this better than others. For instance, "more" damage multipliers are stronger than "increased" damage multipliers, so a Mastery offering the former is more likely to rank higher.

When evaluating Masteries, pay close attention to their passive descriptions to understand how they scale damage. Stats like critical hit chance, critical hit multiplier, flat damage, armor shred chance, armor shred effect, and recovery (like leech and regeneration) all carry significant weight.

Defensively, features like critical hit damage reduction or complete avoidance are crucial since unexpected damage spikes can be fatal. Resistances are also vital; while you can stack them on gear and idols, having them naturally tied to your Mastery passive tree offers flexibility. Damage reduction is arguably the best survival stat in the game, so it’s relatively rare to find. Recovery and effective health (eHP) are equally important, and there are countless other factors to consider. Any Mastery offering these stats in a point-efficient manner is more likely to land near the top of this list.

Skill evaluation focuses mainly on their numerical output for bossing and clearing, with slight consideration given to how they feel to play. A skill might be S-Tier, but if it feels clunky, it could drag its Mastery down slightly. That said, if you don’t mind mechanics like snapshotting, feel free to rank a Mastery higher.

Last Epoch Tier List: Best Season 2 Masteries

Last Epoch Tier List: Best Season 2 Masteries

Contribute to the community Tier List by voting on the best Last Epoch Masteries!

Last Epoch Season 2 Masteries Tier List

S-Tier: Paladin, Void Knight
Best overall clear, bossing, and defense, with no significant weaknesses.

A-Tier: Falconer, Bladedancer, Shaman, Druid
Strong clear, bossing, and/or defense. Lacking significantly in one area.

B-Tier: Marksman, Lich, Beastmaster
Good clear, bossing, and/or defense. Lacking significantly in one or more areas.

C-Tier: Necromancer, Forge Guard, Runemaster
Decent to good clear, bossing, and/or defense. Lacking significantly in one or more areas.

D-Tier: Spellblade, Warlock, Sorcerer
Poor to good clear, bossing, and/or defense. Lacking significantly in multiple areas.

Our explanations below feature example builds from our friends at Maxroll.gg.

S-Tier Last Epoch Masteries

S-Tier: Void Knight

If you're looking to annihilate enemies with massive damage while staying nearly untouchable, Void Knight (with its signature skill Erasing Strike) is your go-to choice. It scales exceptionally well as you transition into the World Splitter version, and a Warpath build is just as viable—simple yet effective for newcomers and veterans alike.

Void Knight boasts superior mobility and eHP compared to its past iterations. It excels in both clearing and bossing, with absurd damage numbers and the ability to move and deal damage simultaneously—a huge asset for DPS. Playing it feels smooth and fluid.

Numbers-wise, Void Knight offers 200% added damage effectiveness on all skills (and a whopping 600% on Erasing Strike), placing it right where you'd want it to be. Its passive tree includes resistances to and penetration for Physical and Void damage, leech, leech rate, damage reduction, increased health, slow and chill resist, mana solutions, attack speed, and more. Key nodes include Sorrow & Steel (damage, armor, and AoE in one package), Void Corruption (huge critical hit chance and multiplier), and Mortal Cleave (culling, damage, and critical hit chance all wrapped up). There’s plenty more to explore, but you get the idea: Void Knight has it all.

For more Void Knight builds, check out Smite Void Knight (fast, tanky, and long-range) or Time Rot Void Knight (complex but offers immense sustain and burst).

S-Tier: Paladin

Developers at Eleventh Hour Games (EHG) admitted they went overboard with the Sentinel rework, and Judgement Paladin clearly benefited from it. Taking four of the top five spots in the Terminate Uber Abberoth race, Paladin deserves its S-Tier status without question.

Like Void Knight, Paladin delivers devastatingly powerful skills while remaining virtually indestructible and dealing massive damage. Judgement alone is incredible, offering 350% damage effectiveness and 200% critical multiplier at a 15-mana cost and 4-second cooldown, paired with one-two punches of healing and damage. Every single one of its other skills is similarly potent, a rarity among Masteries.

Paladin’s passive tree provides the most resistances in the game, along with plenty of recovery and damage reduction, mana, attack and cast speed, block, armor, penetration, and more. Standout nodes include Covenant of Light (boosting Healing Hands and Holy Aura simultaneously), Covenant of Protection, and Reverence of Duality and Covenant of Dominion, which collectively offer absurd amounts of damage, sustain, damage-over-time mitigation, and defense (often all at once).

Though Judgement steals the spotlight, Bleed Hammerdin and Smite are solid alternatives if you prefer to stray from the meta.

A-Tier Last Epoch Masteries

A-Tier: Falconer

EHG’s approach to nerfing overpowered builds is to bring them “just under OP,” and Falconer exemplifies this. When it launched, it was outrageously strong; now, it remains absurdly good (the horror!).

With unmatched movement speed and top-tier damage, Falconer benefits from easy access to critical hit multipliers and Dexterity-scaling options. Best of all, it can leverage both simultaneously via Aerial Assault: just hop on your bird and let the bombs fly.

Its main weakness lies in defense. You’ll need to rely on Dodge alongside Silver/Dusk Shrouds and/or Glancing Blows to avoid damage, keeping you on your toes. A near-complete absence of resistance options on the tree adds pressure to secure resistances on your Blessings, idols, and gear when you might prefer other stats.

That said, you can compensate for Falconer’s lack of defense with a Zero HP Ballista build that hits incredibly hard but demands cheese tactics like Silver Shrouds and Dodge to avoid damage. We wouldn’t recommend this in hardcore mode.

Other popular builds include Umbral Blades, which pairs well with Shadow Daggers before transitioning to a Dexterity-stacking version with Talons of Valor bow and Razorfall boots. If you enjoy slicing enemies while zipping around on your feathered companion, you’ll find Falconer a joy to play. However, it’s button-intensive, especially if you aim for maximum DPS.

A-Tier: Bladedancer

While Falconer is more popular, Bladedancer is just as strong and well-rounded. Clearing, single-target damage, and defense are all top-notch, thanks to high-DPS skills, powerful passive support, and useful iframes from Lethal Mirage. If you're seeking a strong but fast melee class, this is your pick.

Key nodes on the passive tree include Pursuit (efficient damage and movement speed), Argent Veil (making dodge more reliable), and Death’s Door (damage reduction for low-life builds). Overall, Glancing Blows, Dusk Shrouds, and Dodge form a robust defensive layer, with Dexterity stacking, crit, leech, Frailty, armor shred, and armor shred effect all available. In short, you have everything you need to excel. The only thing holding Bladedancer back is its lack of numerical dominance compared to builds like Judgment Paladin.

Popular builds include Shadow Daggers, Shadow Cascade, Chakrams