Nemesis System Overview

The Nemesis System is a new random encounter system similar to Exiled Mages, added in Last Epoch Patch 1.1 Harbingers of Ruin. It is found and interacted with in Campaign, Monolith, and Dungeon maps.

Nemesis System Mechanics

The Nemesis appears as a floating pile of armor around a slain warrior. It's also marked on the minimap with a small orange icon.

When clicking to interact with the Nemesis, you are presented with a set of four items, which are always Rare, Exalted, or Unique. At least one Unique item is presented for characters above Level 50.

The Nemesis type and stats are based on Zone, whereas the loot is based on character level.

In addition to being shown items possessed by the Nemesis, you are also presented with 3 ways to interact with these items:

• Banish: Lose access to the items, and the next Nemesis encountered offers you a new set of four items.
• Challenge: This option allows you to fight the Nemesis; defeating it rewards you with the four presented items.
• Empower: This option allows the Nemesis to escape, upgrading the four presented items for the next encounter.

Empowering the Nemesis

With the Nemesis System, a Nemesis can be Empowered up to two times before it must be Challenged or Banished, and each Empowerment further upgrades the presented items. It is important to note that Empowering a Nemesis still requires a fight against the Nemesis. The items retain their initial Empowerment with subsequent Empowerments and are upgraded further.

Rare and Exalted Items can have their Affixes modified up to Tier 7, increase their Forging Potential, or gain Sealed Affixes up to T7. Unique items can gain Legendary Potential or become a Legendary item.

After Challenging or Banishing the Empowered Nemesis, a new set of four reward items is generated.

General Nemesis System Loot and Rewards

When a Nemesis is fought and defeated, crafting materials are dropped only, not regular loot. When Challenging a Nemesis for it's offered rewards, those drop in addition to the crafting materials.

At higher levels a Nemesis may offer a special item type called a "Vengeful" Weapon as one of the rewards. These special Weapon base types upgrade when a Harbinger is killed with it equipped, becoming an "Avenged" version of the item. The upgraded version has improved stats. Every Weapon and Off-hand category has a Vengeful base type.

Forgotten Egg

The Egg of the Forgotten is another special item offered by higher levels Nemeses.

When offered by a Nemesis, the Egg of the Forgotten can be replaced with one of your own Uniques that lacks Legendary Potential or Weaver's Will. An option to access your Stash is also presented on the Nemesis window.

Placing one of your own Uniques on the Nemesis in place of the Egg of the Forgotten allows your item to be Empowered instead.

Choosing not to replace the Egg of the Forgotten causes it to become a random Unique.

The chance of an Egg of the Forgotten appearing scales from 0% below Level 60, 20% at Level 60, and up to 60% at Level 100.

Enhancing the Nemesis Mechanic

The Weaver Tree offers a few ways to enhance the Nemesis mechanic beyond its baseline functionality. In addition to this, the Defiled Fortress Woven Echo permanently adds a new Voidborne Nemesis into the pool of possible Nemeses, while also improving the chance for Rare and Exalted items' affixes to become Exalted when Empowering a Nemesis.

Weaver Tree Passives

Here is the list of Weaver Tree Passives that affect the Nemesis Mechanic:

Forsaken Weaponry allows a Nemesis that you Empower to drop Exalted versions of their exclusive "Vengeful" items, where usually these would only be offered sometimes as rewards for defeating the Nemesis. If you are interested in farming a "Vengeful" item base for your build, this gives easier access to seeing them drop as rewards.

Fated Nemesis offers an 8% increased Nemesis Spawn Rate, with the ability to have 3 Passives allocated, for a total of 24% increased Nemesis Spawn Rate. This makes it more likely to encounter a Nemesis in your Echoes.

Warden of the Dead gives your Tombs and Cemeteries of the Erased a chance to include a Possessed Nemesis encounter. Each Passive Point gives a 34% increased chance, with 3 points available to be allocated. This increases the likelihood of finding a Nemesis in your Tombs and Cemeteries, becoming a guarantee at 3 points invested. Since the Nemesis is Possessed, it also serves as a source of Memory Amber.

Permanent Enhancements

Completing the Defiled Fortress Woven Echo permanently adds a new Nemesis type into the pool of possible Nemesis encounters, the Voidborne Nemesis. In addition to completing this Echo, you permanently receive an improved chance for Rare and Exalted items' affixes to become Exalted when you Empower a Nemesis. This serves to improve the overall loot quality you find when farming the Nemesis mechanic.

Nemesis System in Multiplayer

In a multiplayer party, each individual can interact with a Nemesis. The Nemesis remains after defeat, allowing each player to interact with it individually. Each player maintains their own current Nemesis Empower progression but parties still fight each Nemesis as a group.

Summary

• Nemesis enemies appear in Campaign, Monolith, and Dungeon Maps.
• Interacting with the Nemesis System shows a modifiable offering of four items (Rare, Exalted, or Unique).
• Banish a Nemesis to receive a new offering of four items with the next Nemesis.
• Challenge a Nemesis to receive the four offered items immediately.
• Empower a Nemesis to upgrade the four offered items further for the next encounter.
• A Nemesis can offer a special item base type called a Vengeful Weapon, which gains upgraded stats upon defeating a Harbinger with the item equipped.
• Egg of the Forgotten can also be offered, which you can replace with one of your own Uniques. The Egg of the Forgotten becomes a random Unique otherwise when Challenged.

Credits

Written by VisionGL.
Reviewed by McFluffin, Tenkiei.