Factions: Merchant's Guild & Circle of Fortune
Upon reaching the End of Time, a pivotal moment in your Last Epoch journey, you will be presented with a choice between two distinct factions: the Merchant's Guild and the Circle of Fortune. This decision is not merely cosmetic; it fundamentally alters your approach to acquiring gear, particularly in the endgame, and shapes your overall gameplay experience.
Choosing Your Path: Merchant's Guild vs. Circle of Fortune
The faction you align with dictates how you'll primarily obtain and upgrade your equipment. Understanding their core philosophies and mechanics is crucial before making your selection.
Merchant's Guild: The Art of Commerce
The Merchant's Guild is for players who thrive on player-to-player interaction and economic strategy. By joining this faction, you gain access to the Bazaar, Last Epoch's dedicated trading hub.
- Core Mechanic: Enables player trading. You can buy and sell items directly with other players.
- How it Impacts Endgame Gearing:
- Targeted Acquisition: Ideal for players seeking specific Unique items, Legendary Potential (LP) items, or Exalted items with perfect affixes. Instead of relying purely on drops, you can actively search for and purchase the exact pieces you need to complete your build.
- Monetization of Unwanted Drops: Any valuable item you find that doesn't fit your current build can be sold for gold, which can then be used to purchase upgrades for your character. This turns every good drop into a potential currency gain.
- Legendary Crafting: While you still need to find your own Unique items with LP, the Merchant's Guild allows you to purchase Exalted items with the desired affixes to fuse with your Uniques, significantly streamlining the Legendary crafting process.
- Build Diversity: Facilitates experimenting with multiple builds on different characters, as you can easily trade gear between them or acquire new sets without extensive farming.
- Pros:
- Direct access to specific gear pieces.
- Ability to monetize unwanted valuable drops.
- Faster gearing for specific build goals.
- Excellent for players who enjoy economic gameplay and trading.
- Cons:
- Requires active engagement with You market.
- Can be gold-intensive for top-tier items.
- Less emphasis on personal loot luck.
Circle of Fortune: The Self-Found Journey
The Circle of Fortune caters to players who prefer a "self-found" playstyle, where all gear is acquired directly through drops and crafting. This faction significantly enhances your personal loot acquisition.
- Core Mechanic: Boosts the quantity and rarity of items you find.
- How it Impacts Endgame Gearing:
- Enhanced Drop Rates: Provides various bonuses that increase the chance of finding Rare, Exalted, Unique, and Set items, as well as items with Legendary Potential. This means more opportunities for direct upgrades from monster kills and chest openings.
- Prophecies: A unique system where you can activate specific prophecies that guarantee certain item drops (e.g., "Next 5 Monolith Bosses will drop a Unique Helmet"). This allows for targeted farming without relying on other players.
- Crafting Focus: Since you won't be trading for perfect bases, you'll rely heavily on the game's robust crafting system to refine the items you find. The increased drop rates mean more crafting materials and more potential bases to work with.
- True Self-Sufficiency: Every powerful item you equip feels earned through your own efforts, offering a highly rewarding experience for those who enjoy the grind.
- Pros:
- Significant boost to personal loot drops.
- Prophecies allow for targeted farming.
- Highly rewarding for a "self-found" playstyle.
- No reliance on player economy or gold for gear.
- Cons:
- Gearing can be more RNG-dependent for specific items.
- Less direct control over acquiring perfect items compared to trading.
- Unwanted valuable drops cannot be monetized.
Which Faction is Right for You?
Consider the following scenarios when making your choice:
- New Players: The Circle of Fortune is often recommended for new players. It simplifies the gearing process by focusing on direct drops and crafting, allowing you to learn the game's mechanics without the added complexity of a player-driven economy. You'll naturally acquire gear as you play.
- Experienced Traders/Economic Players: If you enjoy market speculation, finding good deals, and have a good understanding of item values, the Merchant's Guild will likely appeal more. It offers a direct path to acquiring specific gear pieces and monetizing your efforts.
- Build Chasers/Optimizers: For players who want to min-max their builds as quickly as possible and are willing to invest time in trading, the Merchant's Guild can provide a faster route to acquiring perfect items.
- Self-Found Enthusiasts: If the idea of finding all your own gear and crafting it to perfection is appealing, the Circle of Fortune is the clear choice.
Switching Factions
your initial choice is not permanent. You can switch factions later in the game, but there is a penalty involved. To switch factions, you must visit the respective faction representatives in the End of Time. The penalty for switching is a cooldown period during which you cannot gain favor or rank up with the new faction. This cooldown typically lasts for a few hours of in-game playtime, encouraging players to commit to a faction for a reasonable duration before changing their minds. This mechanism prevents players from constantly swapping to exploit temporary market conditions or drop bonuses.
Faction Rank and Favor
Both factions feature a ranking system that unlocks additional benefits and mechanics as you progress. You earn Favor by completing various activities in the game, such as killing monsters, completing Monoliths of Fate, and fulfilling Prophecies (for Circle of Fortune). As you accumulate Favor, you will gain ranks within your chosen faction, unlocking new abilities, vendor options, and passive bonuses that further enhance your chosen gearing strategy.
