Yes, the economy is inflated. Yes, prices are wild. But that doesn't mean cheap Last Epoch gold is out of reach-far from it. By focusing on Last Epoch gold Rune generation, understanding demand, and playing efficiently, you can still afford everything you need and push toward true endgame goals.

The ceiling is higher now, not lower. Instead of chasing basic upgrades, the new endgame is about multiple exalted mods, LP legendaries, and infinite corruption scaling.

Adapt to the market, and it will work for you-not against you.

Last Epoch Leveling Guide: Fast Progression for Every Class
Leveling in Last Epoch can feel overwhelming, especially if you're planning to play multiple characters or push toward level 100. After taking several characters deep into endgame-including multiple level 100s and a few heartbreaking Hardcore deaths-it's clear that leveling efficiently comes down to understanding your options and knowing when to skip content.

This guide breaks down the best leveling paths, explains when you should skip parts of the campaign, and shares powerful tricks that dramatically speed up both early progression and endgame leveling. A large amount of Last Epoch gold can be very helpful to you.

Understanding Campaign Progression Options

There are four main ways to progress through the Last Epoch campaign. Each has its place depending on whether you're playing Softcore, Hardcore, or leveling alternate characters.

Full Campaign (Acts 1–9)

This is the most straightforward but also the slowest option. By completing the campaign normally, you'll naturally unlock all passive points and idol slots, which are mandatory for any build.

You can track missing rewards directly on the map screen, making cleanup easy if you miss something. While this path is great for new players learning the game, it's inefficient once you know what you're doing.

Acts 1–7: Kill the Tree Boss (Hardcore-Friendly)

A highly recommended option for Hardcore players and anyone who wants a no-thinking approach.

Play through Acts 1–7 and stop once you defeat the giant tree boss in the cold zone. By this point, you'll have completed enough key quests to fully unlock your passive points and idol slots-meaning you can head straight into the Monolith endgame.

This route has a huge advantage: you never have to fight Lagon, one of the most dangerous campaign bosses. If you want the +1 to all stats from the final boss later, you can return via the Temporal Sanctum, skip most of Act 9, and kill the boss quickly while overleveled.

Acts 1–5: Oracle's Abode Skip (Softcore Speedrun)

This is the fastest commonly recommended strategy for Softcore players.

Complete Acts 1–5, reach Oracle's Abode, and finish the Sapphire Tablet quest. This provides the bare minimum quest completion needed to eventually unlock all passives and idol slots.

You'll enter the Monolith around level 34–40, which can be rough early on, but your experience gain skyrockets. Later, when you obtain a Temporal Sanctum key, you'll return to Act 9 to finish required side quests and defeat the final boss.

This method skips nearly two full acts but is less forgiving, making it better suited for Softcore.

Dungeon Skipping (Fastest, Not Recommended)

By chaining Lightless Arbor → Soulfire Bastion → Temporal Sanctum, you can skip a massive portion of the campaign. While this is technically the fastest route, it's extremely easy to miss critical quests for passives and idols.

Unless you fully understand campaign quest requirements, this strategy often causes confusion and inefficiency later on.

Leveling Tips for Your First Character

On your first playthrough, there's no magic trick to instant speed. Instead:

Avoid fighting everything-only engage enemies once you're about five levels below the zone level.

Craft early and often. Even small upgrades dramatically increase clear speed.

Don't hoard crafting materials; you'll accumulate hundreds later.

Efficiency early on comes from momentum, not perfection.

The Most Important Trick: Twink Items

For alternate characters, twink items completely change the leveling experience.

When a unique item has Legendary Potential, its required level overrides the exalted item you merge into it. This allows you to create absurdly powerful low-level gear by slamming high-end stats onto cheap Last Epoch gold low-level uniques.