Last Epoch’s Season 3 introduces the Primal Hunt — a rewarding endgame loop built around evolving boss fights, rare loot, and powerful crafting. If you’re wondering how to start Primal Hunts, what to do inside a Mysterious Rift, or how to farm Primordial Uniques and Runes of Evolution, this guide has you covered.
Table of Contents
- What Is the Primal Hunt?
- How to Start a Primal Hunt
- Torn Rifts vs. Mysterious Rifts
- How Rift Beast Evolutions Work
- Where to Find Rift Beasts
- Primordial Materials Explained
- Using the Hunt Master Skarven Bloodhorn
- Primordial Uniques & Rune of Evolution
- Woven Echoes and Weaver Tree Nodes
- Pro Tips to Maximize Rewards
What Is the Primal Hunt?
Primal Hunts are an evolving boss fight mechanic introduced in Season 3 of Last Epoch. These encounters center around Rift Beasts — powerful enemies that evolve over time through a system called Lineage.
Every time you defeat a Rift Beast in a Mysterious Rift, you choose one of its hatchlings to continue the bloodline. That choice adds new traits to the Lineage, making future encounters harder — but also increasing the quality of rewards like Primordial Uniques, Crystallized Hearts, and Runes of Evolution.
How to Start a Primal Hunt
You can begin Primal Hunts in two places:
- Campaign Mode: Starting at Area Level 10.
- Monolith of Fate: Randomly while progressing Echoes.
To initiate a hunt, look for a Mysterious Rift — a yellow, claw-shaped portal. Entering one throws you into a cave from the Ancient Era, where the Rift Beast resides. Defeat it, then choose a hatchling to evolve the lineage.
Torn Rifts vs. Mysterious Rifts
Mysterious Rifts
- Appear as rare yellow claw-mark portals.
- Lead to a full cave dungeon with Ancient Era mobs.
- End with a Rift Beast fight and Evolution choice.
- Reward large amounts of Primordial Materials.
Torn Rifts
- Appear more frequently as green claw-shaped cracks.
- Instantly spawn your evolved Rift Beast in your current Echo.
- No full dungeon — fast loot source based on active Evolutions.
You must clear 2 to 4 Torn Rifts before another Mysterious Rift becomes available. Note that Rifts do not spawn in Quest Echoes, Arena Echoes, or zones with side areas like Tombs or Cemeteries, as only one side area can exist per Echo.
How Rift Beast Evolutions Work
Each time you defeat a Rift Beast in a Mysterious Rift, you’re given three Evolution options via the hatchlings.
- Each Evolution adds:
- A new ability to the Rift Beast.
- Unique drops tied to that Evolution.
- You can’t repeat Evolutions within the same Lineage.
- A base Lineage allows up to 4 Evolutions, extendable to 7 via special Woven Echoes.
Once a Lineage is complete, defeating the next Rift Beast ends it and rewards you with Evolution’s End, a unique Primordial amulet.
Where to Find Rift Beasts
Rift Beasts appear in two ways:
- Inside Mysterious Rifts (side zones with dungeon-like layouts).
- Via Torn Rifts (spawn instantly within your current Echo).
Both Campaign and Monolith gameplay support these Rifts. The deeper you go in Monolith timelines or story progression, the more often they appear.
However, Rifts will never spawn in Quest Echoes, Arena Echoes, or Echoes containing Tombs or Cemeteries — only one side mechanic can spawn per Echo.
Primordial Materials
Primordial Materials are essential crafting resources earned by participating in Primal Hunts. Each Evolution path grants a different material type, which then drops from the corresponding Rift Beasts and their allies.
| Material | Source | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Bones | Enemies inside Mysterious Rifts | General currency, base for most trades |
| Primordial Horn | Evolution-specific drop | Trade for gear & crafting loot |
| Primordial Feather | Evolution-specific drop | Used in bags and Runes of Evolution |
| Primordial Fang | Evolution-specific drop | Used in Uniques & crafting bags |
| Primordial Petal | Evolution-specific drop | Needed for Crystallized Hearts |
| Crystallized Heart | Dropped only at Lineage end | Required for Rune of Evolution |
Each Evolution shows its corresponding material type at the bottom of the selection screen, helping you plan your material farming route.
How to Use the Hunt Master in Last Epoch Primal Hunts
Inside every Mysterious Rift and in Chapter 10’s hub, you’ll find Skarven Bloodhorn, the Hunt Master. He offers powerful items in exchange for the Primordial Materials you’ve collected.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bag of Uniques | 10 Fangs + 10 Feathers | Random Unique items |
| Bag of Glyphs | 10 Fangs | Random Glyphs |
| Bag of Gold | 5 Feathers | Random Gold |
| Bag of Shards | 10 Petals | Random Shards |
| Bag of Primordial Mats | 10,000 Ancient Bones | Random mix, small chance for Heart |
| Rune of Evolution | 1 Heart + 35 Feathers | Upgrades Exalted gear |
| Crystallized Heart | 20 Horns + 30 Petals | Required for Rune crafting |
| Bag of Amber | 1 Heart + 10 Horns | Only usable if you belong to Weaver Faction |
You can purchase the same item multiple times, as long as you have enough materials.
Primordial Uniques & Rune of Evolution
Primordial Uniques
Primordial Uniques are enhanced versions of base Unique items. There are currently 25 total — 22 can be bought from the Hunt Master, while 3 only drop directly from evolved Rift Beasts.
Some Primordial Uniques have Legendary Potential, allowing them to be upgraded into Legendary items later.
Importantly, if your Rift Beast drops the same materials required to buy a certain Unique, your chances of getting that Unique as a drop increase.
Rune of Evolution
Runes of Evolution are rare crafting runes that upgrade a Tier 7 affix on an Exalted item to Tier 8 Primordial Sealed, without consuming an affix slot.
This transforms your item into a Primordial Exalted — allowing it to hold six affixes instead of the usual five. However, the upgrade is random and irreversible, so planning is key.
You can only equip one Primordial Item at a time, whether it’s a Unique or an Exalted.
Woven Echoes and Weaver Tree Nodes
To further enhance your Primal Hunt experience, certain Woven Echoes and Weaver Tree nodes modify how often Rift Beasts appear and how rewarding they are.
Woven Echoes
| Echo | Effect |
|---|---|
| Bloodline Glade | Best place to farm Primordial Exalted Champion affix items |
| Nesting Grove | Adds Rift Beast encounters to nearby Echoes |
| Rampant Coast | Increases max Evolutions per Lineage (up to 7), and good source of Crystallized Hearts |
Weaver Tree Nodes
| Node | Effect |
|---|---|
| Age of Beasts | +10% Rift Beast spawn rate per point (3 points max) |
| Riven Gateway | Rift Beasts spawn extra Ancient mobs that drop Bones |
| Crystal Growth | +15% Crystallized Heart chance, +15% HP, +5% damage per point (3 points max) |
| Primordial Ambush | Chance for ambushes with random evolved Rift Beasts & increased drop rate |
Pro Tips to Maximize Rewards
- Always choose a hatchling to keep evolving your Lineage — the more Evolutions, the better the loot.
- Target Woven Echoes early in your Monolith progression, especially Nesting Grove and Rampant Coast.
- Farm Torn Rifts frequently between Mysterious Rifts to collect materials tied to your current Evolution path.
- Spend your Crystallized Hearts wisely, ideally saving them for Runes of Evolution rather than vendor loot bags.
- Stack Weaver Tree nodes that boost spawn rate and Crystallized Heart yield — they scale well with invested points.
- End Lineages at max Evolutions to ensure you receive Evolution’s End and reset your strategy with new traits.
Primal Hunts are more than just a loot system — they’re a progression layer that grows with you. Each Rift Beast encounter builds on the last, letting you craft increasingly powerful gear and chase high-value drops in a rewarding feedback loop.
See also: Helldivers 2 Warbonds Ranked – Best to Worst Tier List
Whether you’re hunting your first Evolution or pushing for Primordial Exalted perfection, mastering the Primal Hunt system is your ticket to dominating Last Epoch’s endgame. Play Now!
