Farming for the best gear is one of the most rewarding parts of Last Epoch. Fortunately, the ARPG offers a general idea of where to find specific items you need while completing Monoliths. Some of the quest echoes are more likely to yield item types, like helmets and body armor or swords and shields. Getting a Mad Alchemist’s Ladle to drop is difficult, but not impossible.
What is a Mad Alchemist’s Ladle in Last Epoch?
The Mad Alchemist’s Ladle is a unique wand that offers some of the best affixes in the game for spellcasters in Last Epoch. Whether you’re a Warlock, Acolyte, or another build mainly using spells, it is borderline overpowered. As such, it’s useful for just about anyone using these types of skills. You can easily check if your skills (at the bottom of your screen) are spells by hovering over them and checking the tags for ‘spell’.
Every ladle comes with a similar set of stats, but the percentages are always different. Additionally, the item can have anywhere from zero to four Legendary Potential (LP), which allows players too add more affixes using the Eternity Cache. More LP is better and what you’re really looking for, but higher than two LP is going to be really tough to find. Zero LP versions of the item are called Alchemist’s Ladle, only gaining the ‘Mad’ title with LP.
Each Mad Alchemist’s Ladle has the following affixes:
A randomly rolled percent chance to do the following on Spell Hit-
- Slow
- Apply Frailty
- Shred Armor
- Electrify
- Poison
Then these stats are always the same:
- 6% more Spell Damage per negative ailment on the target (up to 8)
- +1% increased Cast Speed per 2 Intelligence
- 1 Mana gained on Potion Use per 4 Intelligence
Where to farm a Mad Alchemist’s Ladle
The most important part of grinding Last Epoch for a Mad Alchemist’s Ladle is that it can only drop from a single enemy type. As you play through the campaign and begin endgame activities, you might’ve seen a lot of Exiled Mages, the enemies that spawn from inside a locked object and only emerge when you click on it. These objects are called Rune Prisons, and the powerful enemy inside offers the ladle, though the drop rate is very low.
According to a popular Last Epoch build planning and guides site, it’s most likely to drop from Exiled Mages found in the Stolen Lance timeline in the Monolith of Fate. Specifically, missions offering the following rewards are most likely to drop the Mad Alchemist’s Ladle:
- Set Wands
- Unique Items
- Unique Wands and Catalysts
However, farming higher level areas with a better gear drop rate is even better regardless of which timeline you’re in. In my experience, I spent hours farming the Stolen Lance timeline, which was far below my level, and never sniffed one of these sweet, sweet ladles. Then, I went back to doing standard runs, completing a level 90 timeline instead, and eventually two different ladles dropped.
If you’re still leveling up and completing timelines, just keep going and it’s more likely to drop in higher levels. Once you’ve completed everything and start adding corruption at higher levels, that’s when it’s worth farming the Stolen Lance timeline’s Exiled Mages.
