Last Epoch: Cycle vs Legacy explained

Last Epoch features two character environments for you to play on: Cycle and Legacy. Comparing both and choosing one is actually quite simple when you understand what they mean. Here’s how you can make your choice.

Differences between Cycle and Legacy in Last Epoch

The Cycle realm in Last Epoch offers a fresh experience for all players, with characters that are only created during its three to four-month duration. This creates a level playing field, where both new and veteran players start from scratch, ensuring no one has an unfair advantage due to months or years of accumulated power and resources. Unique to the Cycle realm are Leaderboards, which allow players to measure their progress in the game and Arena against others.

After a Cycle ends and a new one begins, characters from the finished Cycle move to the Legacy realm, where they can remain forever. However, Leaderboards are not available in Legacy, keeping it fair as it’s a permanent environment that doesn’t reset. This means new players aren’t pitted against longstanding characters in rankings. The developers have stated in a blog post that, despite these differences, the content in both Cycle and Legacy realms will be the same.

Creating a character in the Cycle realm allows you to play with other players on the same field, lasting three to four months. Once a new Cycle begins, your character from the previous Cycle is automatically transferred to the Legacy realm, but you will still be able to access new updates and content there. This character just won’t be in the Leaderboards anymore.

To continuously experience the leaderboards in Last Epoch, you’ll need to start a new character with each Cycle. This means you’ll be restarting the campaign, gearing up from the beginning, and once again collecting valuable loot every few months.

Should you choose Cycle or Legacy realm?

Always choose the Cycle realm for new characters. Even if you grow fond of them and the gear you’ve dropped, you can continue their journey in the Legacy realm after the Cycle ends. Doing so guarantees you enjoy a balanced game experience as much as possible, which is where most other players will be. Once the Cycle ends and your character transitions to Legacy, you then decide whether to keep playing with them or to start a new one. Creating a character directly in the Legacy realm simply means you’ll find players and a market potentially much more advanced than you can follow, so you’ll probably always lag behind everyone else in terms of game progression.

Something that might also affect your choice is that Cycle and Legacy characters can’t interact with each other. If you make a Legacy character and want to play with friends who only have Cycle characters, you’ll need to make a new character in the Cycle to play with them, or they will have to make Legacy characters to play with you. Since the realms are on different timelines, characters can’t play together.