In Last Epoch, you can find a hidden item right at the beginning of your adventure – the “Cursed Veteran Boots.” While they do give you an advantage, they also turn your playthrough into a sort of “Hard Mode.”
Last Epoch was fully released on February 21, after being in Early Access on Steam for almost five years. In this classic hack & slash game, you have five classes and various subclasses to choose from, which you unlock as you progress. Additionally, two fresh classes were added at release.
In Last Epoch, there are different timelines, plenty of monsters, and of course, loot. A special item, the “Cursed Veteran Boots,” makes your playthrough a sort of “Hard Mode.”
You can only find them by examining the first area very closely and destroying parts of the environment to reach hidden areas. We’ll reveal what the boots are all about and where you can find them.
What kind of boots are these? They are the “Cursed Veteran Boots,” which give you a bonus to your movement speed but also come with two significant downsides. According to the description, they grant the player character and their minions between 50% and 75% less damage.
Additionally, they increase the damage taken by 100% to 200% for the player character and their minions. This means specifically: while you move quite fast, you take more damage and deal less at the same time. The movement speed increases with your character level.
Here you see the description of the boots and their effect on the stats of a character at level 3:
How to find the “Cursed Veteran Boots”
While there is a hardcore mode in Last Epoch where you lose your character upon death and return to the main menu, there is no way to make the playthrough itself harder. With the boots, you have a challenge regardless.
Where can I find the “Cursed Veteran Boots”? You can find the boots right at the beginning of your playthrough in Last Epoch in the first area. When you spawn in the game for the first time, you receive the quest “Follow the Old Road.” Along the way, you will encounter a “Messenger of the Fallen” holding a letter in their hands. Next, you need to find the Guardian who sent the letter.
For this, stay in the left area of the map and follow the path. You will end up in a cave where you will encounter a hostile bear on the left side. After that, you will see stalagmites on the left that you can break with an attack to proceed.
Next, another bear will attack you. Once you have killed it, turn towards the wall above and destroy it with an attack. Behind it, you will find another hostile bear in a hidden area. The bear drops the “Cursed Veteran Boots” upon its demise.
Here you can see the location of the “Cursed Veteran Boots” step by step:
Whether you try the boots right at the beginning or save them for the endgame for a special challenge in your stash is up to you.
If you’re just getting into Last Epoch and are looking for a suitable class, you can find an overview with us. We show you three classes that even beginners in Last Epoch can’t go wrong with – they are strong and beginner-friendly: Last Epoch: 3 of the best classes for all beginners and newcomers
