The evade mechanic in Last Epoch is a relatively new movement ability introduced to enhance battlefield mobility and diversify gameplay styles. It functions as a quick forward dash that players can use to reposition rapidly, bound to the space bar by default and featuring two charges with a cooldown of about 4 seconds, which can be reduced by cooldown recovery stats Last Epoch Gold.

How Evade Works
Evade is distinct from traditional traversal skills in Last Epoch. Unlike traversal abilities, which often have skill trees and longer-range movement, evade is a simple, short-distance burst forward without granting invincibility frames (iframes) or damage immunity. Its main purpose is to provide a quick repositioning tool available to all characters, allowing players to dodge attacks or reposition during combat more fluidly.

The cooldown on evade decreases by 0.5% per character level, meaning that at higher levels, players can use evade more frequently. Additionally, cooldown recovery gear can reduce the cooldown further, potentially allowing evade to be used almost constantly. Importantly, evade does not share a cooldown with traversal skills, so players can equip both and benefit from two separate movement options.

Player Feedback and Criticisms
Despite its potential, the evade mechanic has received mixed reactions from the player community. A common complaint is that evade feels janky or delayed due to how the input is queued and executed. For example, if a player uses a skill with a casting animation and tries to evade mid-cast, the evade direction is locked to the direction of the last skill used rather than the player’s current input. This delay and input buffering can cause the character to evade toward enemies unintentionally, reducing the mechanic’s responsiveness and usefulness in fast-paced combat.

Moreover, evade does not scale its distance with movement speed, which can make it feel less effective at higher speeds. Some players find that it doesn’t cover enough ground and lacks the fluidity seen in dodge or roll mechanics from other action RPGs. The absence of iframes also means evade cannot be used as a defensive invulnerability tool, limiting its utility in avoiding damage buy Last Epoch Gold.

Design Intent and Future Potential
From the developers’ perspective, evade was introduced to reduce the necessity of always taking a traversal skill, thus opening up build diversity. It also enables the design of more challenging boss encounters that require quick repositioning without forcing players into specific skill choices. Evade is intended as a core movement mechanic that can be enhanced by future passive nodes, items, or skill tree upgrades, potentially improving its effectiveness and integration into gameplay.