Cover-Credits:
After spending years in Steam Early Access, Last Epoch celebrated its highly anticipated full release on 21st February. Alongside the launch, Eleventh Hour Games implemented the update 1.0, bringing in numerous features such as new models, animations, new masteries, cycles, and more. Besides fresh gameplay elements, the devs also decided to add a full offline mode for those wanting a solely single-player ARPG experience.
While the offline mode addresses the server issues stemming from the influx of players, it does come with its own set of limitations that you need to be informed about. Here are all the disparities between Last Epoch’s online and offline modes.
What Are the Key Differences Between Last Epoch’s Online and Offline Modes?
While the Online Mode demands you to stay connected to the game servers at all times, the Offline Mode lets you jump into the game without having an active internet connection. However, you need to know that Last Epoch has a “Play Offline” and a “Full Offline” mode that can also have some trivial disparities. While play offline mode is accessed from the game menu, enabling full offline mode requires you to follow these steps:
Open your Steam Library and right-click on Last Epoch
Click on the Gear icon on the game page and head into Properties
Once you are in the General tab, select the drop-down menu under Launch Options
Select the “Play Full Offline” option and then launch the game.
“Play Offline”, ironically requires an active internet connection, and in exchange, it gives you access to the game’s chat logs and the ability to view your online character, all of which are absent in the “Play Full Offline” mode. Apart from this, both these options function similarly.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Mode
Last Epoch’s Online Mode gives you access to numerous features such as:
In-game Leaderboards
Access to Trading through the Merchant’s Guild
Access to Gear and Items brought in the Online Store
Ability to play Co-op with other players
Option to send Bug Reports and Support Tickets
What you need to know is that the quality and performance of your game are dependent on your internet connection and the game servers, meaning that high ping or latency translates into a poor gameplay experience. Although most of the server issues seemed to have been resolved with Hotfix 1.0d, some players are still reporting inconsistencies that are present in the Online Mode.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Offline Mode
Last Epoch’s Online Mode provides several advantages such as:
Internet connection is not required
Ability to pause the game whenever you want
Access to character modifications
All data and character info is saved locally
Gameplay is not affected by High ping, latency, or other server issues.
While the Offline Mode works best for single-player gamers, it clearly does not suit players looking for a Co-op ARPG experience. You also lose access to trading and game chat which makes it difficult to gain elusive items. One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot use your Offline character in the game’s Online Mode and vice versa.
