Damage in Last Epoch is calculated through Last Epoch gold multiple "buckets," making some stats far more valuable than others depending on your build.

Flat Damage vs Increased Damage

Flat (added) damage is generally more powerful early and mid-game because it gets multiplied by all your increased damage modifiers. Increased damage is still important, but its value depends on how much flat damage you already have.

As a rule of thumb:

Prioritize flat damage early

Balance in increased damage as your multipliers grow

Skill-Specific Affixes

Many builds rely on specific skill interactions, such as penetration or bonus damage tied to a particular ability. These affixes can often roll only on certain slots like helmets, chest pieces, or idols, making them high-priority targets for your build.

Penetration, Shred, and Critical Stats

Armor shred and penetration significantly boost real-world damage, especially against tougher enemies. Critical strike multiplier is another top-tier stat because it exists in its own multiplicative bucket, scaling extremely well into endgame.

If your build guarantees crits through skills, you can ignore crit chance entirely and focus on multiplier instead.

Defensive Stats: Where Survivability Is Won or Lost

Defense is where most new players fall short, especially in Hardcore.

Resistances

You should aim for 75% resistance across all damage types as soon as possible. Resistances can come from gear, idols, blessings, and even attributes like Vitality.

Overcapping resistances is also valuable due to enemy penetration, particularly in endgame content.

Health and Hybrid Health

Health is king. Hybrid health (flat + percentage) is the strongest defensive stat in the game, followed by percentage health, then flat health. Most builds benefit from stacking health wherever possible, especially on idols.

Armor, Dodge, Block, and Ward

Armor is universally valuable. Other defenses depend heavily on your class and build. Rogues often lean into dodge, while other classes may favor block or ward. These systems have diminishing returns, so balance matters more than stacking a single stat.

Critical Strike Avoidance

Reaching 100% crit avoidance makes you immune to enemy critical strikes. This stat has no penetration and is extremely powerful. If you don't cap avoidance, you'll need reduced bonus damage taken from crits as an alternative.

Endurance and Glancing Blow

Endurance reduces damage taken when you're low on health, including against one-shot mechanics. Increasing your endurance threshold can dramatically improve survivability, especially for Hardcore players.

A glancing blow provides flat damage reduction and is typically accessed through passives or skills rather than gear.

Utility and Quality-of-Life Stats

Some stats don't fit neatly into offense or defense but are still essential.

Leech: One of the strongest sustain mechanics in the game, especially early. Damage-based leech is far superior to health-on-kill.

Movement Speed: Often underrated, movement speed prevents deaths by letting you dodge mechanics more easily.

Main Attribute: Your primary stat (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, etc.) often scales both damage and defense.

Mana and Cooldown Recovery: Some builds rely heavily on these stats, while others barely need them at all.

The Core Lesson: Adapt and Understand

There is no single "correct" way to gear in Last Epoch. Every upgrade requires trade-offs, and every decision should be evaluated based on your current stats, resistances, and content goals.

If you understand why certain stats matter, you'll be able to adjust your gear intelligently-even when it isn't perfect. That knowledge alone will make your character stronger, tankier, and far more consistent throughout the entire game.

In Last Epoch, learning the system is the real endgame-and once it clicks, everything else becomes easier. A large amount of cheap Last Epoch gold can also be very helpful.