Last Epoch: Temporal Cleaver
Let’s take a deep dive into this imagined unique item, exploring its lore, mechanics, build synergies, and its potential role in the grand tapestry of Eterra.
Lore: A Weapon Out of Time
“Forged in the Shattered Realm where past and future blur, the Temporal Cleaver is a paradox made manifest — a blade unstuck from time.”
— Inscription on the blade’s hilt
According to the legends whispered among Chronomancers and Void Knights, the Temporal Cleaver was created during a convergence of timelines at the height of the Void invasion. A desperate Blacksmith from the future — a survivor of Eterra's final collapse — returned through a rift to craft a weapon that could disrupt fate itself. The Cleaver was imbued with Chronostone, a rare material that reacts to temporal energy, and cooled in the tears of a god who had foreseen his own end.
The result was a weapon that not only deals devastating physical blows but also manipulates the flow of time, allowing its wielder to repeat moments of overwhelming power. Wielding the Temporal Cleaver is said to be disorienting, as each swing echoes across multiple potential futures.
Item Overview
Item Name: Temporal Cleaver
Item Type: Unique Two-Handed Axe
Level Requirement: 70
Base Type: Iron Maul (or new base: Chrono Greataxe)
Unique Affixes:
+120 Melee Physical Damage
10% chance to Repeat Last Melee Attack (Triggers instantly, without animation or cost)
+25% Increased Cooldown Recovery Speed
20% Chance on Kill to Gain “Temporal Momentum” (buff: +15% attack speed for 4 seconds)
Enemies Slowed by 30% for 2 seconds on Hit
Flavor Text:
"The second strike is always the first."
Gameplay Mechanics
The Temporal Cleaver revolves around a singular concept: repetition of devastating melee attacks. Its primary unique effect, the 10% chance to repeat your last melee attack, allows players to automatically perform the same attack again — with full damage, on-hit effects, and procs — without paying mana or triggering a cooldown.
This mechanic offers insane potential when paired with:
High-damage melee skills, like Smite, Erasing Strike, or Earthquake
On-hit effects, such as Bleed, Ignite, or Void-infused strikes
Critical strike builds, allowing a repeat of a max-damage crit for double the punishment
In addition, the Temporal Momentum buff serves as a unique reward for aggressive play. It encourages sustained combat, rewarding kill streaks with a potent attack speed boost — enabling even more rapid applications of powerful melee abilities.
The slow effect on hit offers crowd control utility, allowing builds that lack stuns or immobilization to gain a foothold in both solo and arena content.
Build Synergy
The Temporal Cleaver fits beautifully into several melee-focused classes in Last Epoch, each of which benefits from its unique properties in different ways.
Void Knight (Sentinel Subclass)
Synergy: Void Knights thrive on repeated use of heavy-hitting abilities like Erasing Strike. The Cleaver's ability to repeat attacks pairs well with the temporal and void themes of the subclass.
Build Idea: Stack Void Penetration and Increased Void Damage on Melee Hit, then watch as Erasing Strike triggers twice in quick succession, obliterating packs or bosses.
Forge Guard (Sentinel Subclass)
Synergy: Slow, tanky builds can use the repeated attack mechanic to increase damage output while maintaining strong defense.
Build Idea: Combine the Cleaver with Smelter’s Wrath or Forge Strike for big, repeated bursts of AoE damage. Add ignite chance to scale status damage as well.
Beastmaster (Primalist Subclass)
Synergy: Summon builds benefit from crowd control and procced attacks, but hybrid Beastmasters using Swipe or Fury Leap can make the most of attack repetitions.
Build Idea: Mix high physical damage nodes with Aspect of the Boar to become a time-warping juggernaut that slows, bleeds, and destroys enemies before they can react.
Endgame Impact
In Last Epoch's Monolith of Fate and Arena modes, Temporal Cleaver offers a tool for burst-heavy melee builds to shine. The repeat mechanic becomes especially dangerous against bosses and rare enemies, where one extra hit can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
It also opens up tempo-based gameplay, encouraging players to time their attacks and buffs to maximize the chance of a doubled strike during windows of vulnerability. This makes the Cleaver more than just a stat stick — it becomes an engine for combat flow and timing mastery.
In Arena, Temporal Cleaver enables thrilling high-risk, high-reward moments where the enemy wave is vaporized by a chain of repeated crits. In the Monolith, its synergy with AoE-heavy skills allows players to speed-farm echo nodes with brutal efficiency.
Balancing Considerations
While the Cleaver’s mechanics offer exciting new gameplay, balance is crucial. The 10% repeat chance sounds modest but can become overwhelming with increased chance to repeat on crafted gear, or synergized with fast attack animations.
To keep the item from being overpowered:
The repeat effect should never trigger recursively (i.e., a repeat cannot itself repeat).
The weapon should have low base attack speed, encouraging deliberate, high-impact hits.
Cooldowns and visual effects should clearly communicate when the repeat has occurred, preventing confusion in chaotic battles.
Availability & Drop Location
To preserve the mystery and cheap Last Epoch gold power of the Temporal Cleaver, it would make sense to tie it to a high-tier Monolith Timeline Boss, such as Chronomancer Oris, or a rare drop from an Echo involving time-based enemies.
Alternatively, a temporal-themed Dungeon, like the Vault of Paradox, could serve as its source, requiring players to manipulate time-based mechanics to unlock it.
Conclusion
The Temporal Cleaver is more than just a weapon — it’s a testament to Last Epoch’s core identity: deep builds, time-warped mechanics, and rewarding experimentation. Its ability to echo attacks across time opens up thrilling possibilities for players who seek to turn the tide of battle with a single, repeated strike.
Whether wielded by a Void-drenched Knight or a primal berserker, the Temporal Cleaver stands as a symbol of what makes Last Epoch so compelling: a world where time bends not just storylines, but swords.
So the next time you swing into battle, listen closely — if you hear the cleaver's echo, it might already be too late.