MMOexp Last Epoch: What Are Rift Beasts

In Last Epoch's Primal Hunt system, Rift Beasts are far more than just endgame bosses. They are living, evolving legends that grow stronger with each battle. Instead of Last Epoch gold fighting static encounters, you shape their destiny through a lineage system that determines how they evolve, what powers they wield, and the rewards they drop. Each choice you make along the way impacts not only the fight itself but also the resources you gain for crafting powerful gear.

This guide explains how Rift Beasts evolve, how to manage their lineages, and what to consider when choosing evolutions to maximize your loot and survive the escalating challenges.

What Are Rift Beasts?

Rift Beasts appear through Mysterious Rifts, golden portals resembling glowing claw marks. Entering one transports you into an Ancient Era cave, where you fight through enemies before confronting a Rift Beast guarding its nest. These encounters are unique in that defeating the beast does not end the story-it marks the beginning of its evolutionary journey.

After every victory, you must decide how the beast evolves. Each choice grants new traits, powers, and guaranteed material drops, while permanently altering that lineage's future forms. In other words, your decisions directly shape the next beast you face.

Starting a Primal Hunt

At the entrance of a Mysterious Rift, you'll meet Skarven Bloodhorn, the Hunt Master who offers guidance. Once inside, clear the cave and face the Rift Beast at its nest. Defeating it triggers the evolution menu, where you choose how its lineage continues.

Importantly, Primal Hunts appear both in campaign areas and Monolith echoes, meaning you can encounter Rift Beasts throughout your progression. Each lineage starts fresh, but the choices you make snowball into increasingly challenging fights.

How Evolution Works

Every Rift Beast can evolve up to four times by default, though this cap increases to seven evolutions after completing the Woven Echoes in the Rampant Coast. After each fight:

You're given three evolution choices.

Picking one permanently adds that trait to the lineage.

All future Rift Beasts in that lineage inherit the accumulated traits.

Traits stack, so after several evolutions, the Rift Beast becomes a terrifying opponent with layered abilities-extra heads, wings, elemental breaths, or even minion summoning. Alongside added difficulty, each evolution guarantees at least one Primordial Material drop linked to the chosen trait. These materials function as bounty Last Epoch gold, essential for crafting or acquiring Primordial Uniques.

Torn Rifts and Lineage Progression

Once you select an evolution, you'll start finding Torn Rifts-green portals that instantly spawn ambushes by the evolved Rift Beast in your current zone. These fights skip the cave segment and thrust you straight into combat. After several Torn Rift battles, the next encounter will again be a full Mysterious Rift, allowing you to pick the next evolution in the lineage.

This cycle repeats until the lineage reaches its evolution cap. At that point, your only option is to end the lineage, finalizing its growth and claiming special rewards.

Ending a Lineage

You can end a lineage at any point, either because the beast is too dangerous or you've already secured the materials you want. Ending a lineage at max evolutions rewards a guaranteed unique item called Evolution's End, in addition to the usual Primordial drops.

Ending early skips that bonus but allows you to reset and start fresh with a new lineage. Either way, every finished lineage moves you closer to long-term rewards, such as unlocking the expanded evolution cap.

Choosing Evolutions: Strategy and Loot Goals

The biggest challenge in the system is not just surviving stronger Rift Beasts-it's choosing evolutions that match your goals. With over 60 possible traits, knowing the categories helps you target the right materials:

Horn Evolutions → Drop Primordial Horns. Add horns, armor, or charging attacks.

Wing/Feather Evolutions → Drop Primordial Feathers. Add aerial mobility and dive-bombs.

Head/Fang Evolutions → Drop Primordial Fangs and Bones. Add elemental breath attacks and raw damage.

Plant Evolutions → Drop Primordial Petals. Add poison pools, vines, or area denial.

Some of the rarest rewards, like Crystallized Hearts, come from either finishing full lineages or special encounters. These materials are vital for high-end Primordial Uniques and represent the ultimate goal for dedicated hunters.

Balancing Power and Survivability

Each new trait makes the Rift Beast harder. A well-chosen evolution can align with your build's strengths, while a poor choice might create a nearly impossible encounter. For example:

If you struggle with summoner mechanics, avoid plant evolutions that spawn adds.

If direct AoE damage is your weak point, you may prefer handling swarms of weaker enemies over a beast with devastating area attacks.

Success comes from balancing loot farming goals with practical survival. Sometimes the smartest play is skipping an appealing material drop if it means facing a fight your build isn't equipped to cheap Last Epoch gold handle.