Last Epoch: How to Increase Corruption

In the action RPG Last Epoch, the endgame Monolith of Fate system allows players to ramp up the challenge and rewards through a mechanic called Corruption. By increasing your Corruption level, you’ll face tougher enemies, but also gain increased experience, better item drops, and higher-rarity Echo rewards. Mastering the Corruption system is crucial for reaching the pinnacle of power in Last Epoch’s endgame.

Understanding Corruption

Corruption is a scalable difficulty setting that applies to all encounters within a specific Monolith of Fate timeline. Standard Monolith runs start with zero Corruption, while Empowered Monoliths begin at 100 Corruption stacks. As your Corruption increases, enemies gain more health and deal more damage, but you’ll also receive bonuses to experience gain, item rarity, and the rarity of Echo rewards.

Increasing Corruption Stacks

The primary way to increase your Corruption is by defeating the Shade of Orobyss boss, which spawns at the edge of your Echo web on the “Echo of a World” tile. Each kill will grant a small Corruption increase, up to a cap of 50 stacks for standard Monoliths (Empowered Monoliths have no cap). you can also obtain the Omnis Amulet by defeating the boss.

To accelerate the Corruption gain, you’ll want to focus on killing the final boss of your timeline. Each time you do, you’ll receive a stack of the “Gaze of Orobyss” buff. When you eventually slay the Shade of Orobyss, all of your Gaze of Orobyss stacks will be consumed, granting a significant Corruption bonus – roughly 10 Corruption per stack.

Additionally, the further the Shade of Orobyss spawns from the center of your Echo web, the higher their base Corruption reward will be when slain. A nearby node may only award 2 Corruption, while a distant node could yield up to 10 Corruption. Combine this with your Gaze of Orobyss stacks, and you can potentially earn over 20 Corruption from a single kill.

Reducing Corruption Stacks

While increasing Corruption is often desirable, it’s possible to accidentally add too much, making your timeline objectives nearly impossible to complete. In these situations, you have two options:

1. Shade of Orobyss: If your Corruption is above 200, killing the Shade of Orobyss when they spawn near the center of your Echo web can actually reduce your Corruption slightly. Repeat this process until you reach a manageable difficulty.

2. Sanctuary of Eterra: After your first Shade of Orobyss kill, you’ll unlock the Sanctuary of Eterra Echo tile in the center of your web. Completing this Echo allows you to choose how much Corruption to remove, making it an ideal way to fine-tune your difficulty.

Efficient Corruption Farming

For Empowered Monoliths (which have no Corruption cap), the fastest way to build Corruption is to prioritize clearing your Echo web diagonally while ignoring Stability. Complete each Echo’s objective as quickly as possible, then immediately portal out to claim the rewards and start a new Echo. Avoid time-consuming arena Echoes during this process.

Continue pushing diagonally until you either hit your desired Corruption level or find an Orobyss fight with a high base Corruption reward (aim for +10 or higher). Once you reach max Stability, kill the timeline boss to earn a Gaze of Orobyss stack, then slay Orobyss when their Corruption payout is 25 or higher. The web will reset, allowing you to repeat the process until you’ve reached your target Corruption value.

By mastering the Corruption system in Last Epoch, you’ll unlock the true potential of your build, earning incredible rewards and pushing your character to new heights of power in the endgame.