Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

KickStarter Grim Dawn

Zboj Lamignat

Arcane
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
5,523
Thanks, that explains a lot.
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath
You can conceivably do it earlier. I did it at around maybe lvl 40ish, but my build permits me to endlessly kite while not really losing any significant damage.
 

Fedora Master

Arcane
Patron
Edgy
Joined
Jun 28, 2017
Messages
27,825
So I've been leveling a Vindicator (Inq/Sha) and it feels pretty damn powerful and EZ. Those pistol skills from the Inquisitor really clear house almost by themselves. Im almost lvl 50 and have been doing nothing but Veteran..
 

Shadenuat

Arcane
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
11,955
Location
Russia
Maxed Foul Eruption (Ravenous Earth) is pretty rad I gotta say. Mobs just exlode in chain reactions. I also have aether mines there with -resist for extra bang. I'm level 92, carefully going through first half of regular Ultimate. I also done first difficulty Crucible but was kinda bored with it in the end.

Yes I'm still pure class necromancer.
 

Aothan

Magister
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Messages
1,742
Fedora Master said:
So I've been leveling a Vindicator (Inq/Sha) and it feels pretty damn powerful and EZ. Those pistol skills from the Inquisitor really clear house almost by themselves. Im almost lvl 50 and have been doing nothing but Veteran

Inquisitor can be powerful, I don't know if they are easy, for the effort of playing the class so many other classes can do the same without being so defenceless. I've been using the Nightblade as a secondary class, Pneumatic Burst in conjunction with Word of Renewal offers a lot of accessible support healing, Amatsura's Blade Flurry is of moderate use the additional flat damage with a few points in Lethal Assault is useful enough, Blade Barrier as a recourse when other skills won't reliably work in that situation (saved me once so far), and most of all the area of control ability which immobilises groups and reduces defensive ability

however the Inquisitor has limited total health and the constant focus makes for an awkward playstyle when every second group has heavily armoured types that not only absorb damage but also move quicker than Word of Renewal and Pneumatic Burst speed bonuses, the Inquisitor's skillset is primarily activated by maintaining a burst so as to generate weapon pool skills, so the difference between theory and pratise with the concept of a fast constantly moving lightly armoured ranged specialist becomes noticeable. This is why I think the Shaman's extra health, powerful area of control abilities (Grasping Vines), a Briathorn, and natural synergy with lightning complements both the defensive and offensive aspects of the Inquisitor

I recommend trying to include multiple ranged procs, either Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning which synergise with the Inquisitor's multiple attacks and increased elemental damage, the character sheet lists damage ranges from your weapons whereas the multiple lightning strikes which are instant, can stun, and help with peripheral enemies are not to my knowledge listed in the damage output but are, assuming some focus on elemental damage, contributing probably more than 30% of combined damage whilst effectively stunning and negating constant attacks from multiple angles

there is also Blessed Steel which I've placed in both pistols for focusing on the skeleton knights, flesh hulks etc, the short cooldowns allow for regularly concentrating damage in a rotation plus the combined effects of reduced defenses (including the Nightblade's abilities) to stall and focus heavily armoured types that are designed to run in and disrupt ranged characters
 

Fedora Master

Arcane
Patron
Edgy
Joined
Jun 28, 2017
Messages
27,825
It's a bit sad that individually the monster models look great but they all blur into a blackish mass during actual play. Same with the area textures, I'm fucking around in the void right now and all this super grimdark bones-and-obsidian is really cool looking but when moving around it's just a mess of black on black with a hint of red.

I reached lvl 50 a while ago and re-did my constellations, might respec my skills as well soon to optimize everything. I've mostly used lightning and frost damage and a briarthorn to keep at least SOME of the monsters away. I might check out the barrier skill to see how effective it is at keeping enemies at range.
 

Aothan

Magister
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Messages
1,742
yes Grim Dawn is a very nicely detailed game with all manner of intricate details albeit a touch subtle at times, many of the details are not easy to fully appreciate unless you have the time to look at them, i.e. drinking tea larping away etc

if you mean Grasping Vines, I think it would help especially as many of the enemies grow in strength and seemingly use their abilities more frequently, the radius also increases measurably with the first three skill points, and there is also the effective Entangling Vines component. Given the crowd control abilities you could probably slow groups to remain in an Inquisitor's seal which you are not yourself standing in (which is partly how I think the Inquisitor's internal class design should have developed for late-game tactics)
 

Shadenuat

Arcane
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
11,955
Location
Russia
Heh, grasping vines. I got bored with using same build through game, so I use insect swarm now to make monsters die quicker on ulti (dat almost -70% vit resist huehue stuff just melts).
http://www.grimtools.com/calc/wV1wKYDN

think I know if or when it works or not?
I HAVE NO IDEA
I AM LITERALLY THROWING SOME BROWN SHIT AT PEOPLE
no idea.
 

Sykar

Arcane
Joined
Dec 2, 2014
Messages
11,297
Location
Turn right after Alpha Centauri
yes Grim Dawn is a very nicely detailed game with all manner of intricate details albeit a touch subtle at times, many of the details are not easy to fully appreciate unless you have the time to look at them, i.e. drinking tea larping away etc

if you mean Grasping Vines, I think it would help especially as many of the enemies grow in strength and seemingly use their abilities more frequently, the radius also increases measurably with the first three skill points, and there is also the effective Entangling Vines component. Given the crowd control abilities you could probably slow groups to remain in an Inquisitor's seal which you are not yourself standing in (which is partly how I think the Inquisitor's internal class design should have developed for late-game tactics)

I zoom in when I think there is something interesting to see like in houses. Almost always worth for me.
 

Aothan

Magister
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Messages
1,742
yea so do I but I'll need to add the zoom keys to maybe k and l (near map rotation) having just recently swapped the alternate skill bar key to the mouse wheel so as to make changing skill bars easier. If only skills could be added to the keyboard..actually I probably can change some of the keys from both of the skill bars to the keyboard
 

Castanova

Prophet
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
2,949
Location
The White Visitation
OK just picked up this game with a friend. We're experienced in the genre but not this particular game and need build suggestions. Neither of us have the expansion yet.

Are there any good pure caster builds these days? It seems like every build I look at is either attack-based+procs or summons. Ideally using Arcanist or Occultist as the main mastery.

FWIW, this build would be paired with probably a 2H Shaman/Soldier Lightning build I saw on the forums today. But potentially also could be paired with an Elementalist caster build I also saw on the forums.
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath
Panetti's Replicating Missiles or Dreed's Evil Eye builds are pure casters and are Arcanist or Occultist-based.
 

Aothan

Magister
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Messages
1,742
if one of you will be tanking and drawing creature attention I would compliment with an Arcanist using Trozen's Sky Shard (sp), said spell is very powerful but has a short cast time

you don't really need to start by following builds on the forums, the game is naturally playable without an advanced knowledge of the mechanics, you can learn most of the basics and acquire an intuitive feel for the game simply by playing and learning about different abilities as you progress
 

Hyperion

Arcane
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,120
FWIW, this build would be paired with probably a 2H Shaman/Soldier Lightning build I saw on the forums today. But potentially also could be paired with an Elementalist caster build I also saw on the forums.

If it's the Electrocute Damage Warder who wields Stormreaver, I'm actually running a more defensive variation of it with more forms of regen and heals. Just reached The Blood Grove on Ultimate and I have been pretty much invincible the entire time, while doling out pretty huge DPS.

It has TONS of elemental resist reduction (+ some Aether RR), so combining them with that in mind could be powerful.

Www.grimtools.com/calc/L2JLB00Z
Seems to be pretty strict gearwise, but seems to be strong and is HC viable to boot. On my phone so the forum thread is a pain to link, but the title is HC CDR aether Spellbinder Rei.
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath
So, the plot of the expansion. Slaying the Big Bad feels a bit like a hollow victory, just like slaying the Loghorrean. What are we doing? What is the ultimate goal? Can the world be unfucked? The plot doesn't even end on a cliffhanger like last time, it just ends in the middle. It also wasn't very clear what the Aetherials' ultimate goal with the Fleshworks was. What was the point of the Tzimisce Cathedral? So many questions, so few answers.
 

Varvarg

Educated
Joined
Jun 17, 2017
Messages
168
Location
Sweden
Bought the expansion because base game was comfy. Booted up an inquistior + arcanist because i'm a special snowflake and dont want to do demo + inquisitor.

But how fucked am I, in regards to trigger attacks, when I dont have a default attack replacement, like fire strike? Too bad you can't trigger devotion specials from default. Should I reroll?
 

Gentle Player

Arcane
Joined
Jul 1, 2011
Messages
2,334
Location
Britain
Bought the expansion because base game was comfy. Booted up an inquistior + arcanist because i'm a special snowflake and dont want to do demo + inquisitor.

But how fucked am I, in regards to trigger attacks, when I dont have a default attack replacement, like fire strike? Too bad you can't trigger devotion specials from default. Should I reroll?

Play it as a caster, or use Shard of Beronath or something for default attack.
 

bozia2012

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
3,309
Location
Amigara Fault
Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again!
What was the point of the Tzimisce Cathedral?
Revulsion is a striking color on a painter's palette. Revulsion is instinctual, and instinct is a powerful level to work toward; to evoke it, a glorious accomplishment. I see a glimspe of wonderment in your otherwise dim stare.
 
Joined
May 1, 2013
Messages
4,499
Location
The border of the imaginary
So what's the review on the expansion itself? Is the story any decent? Are the environments good?

Also, I was wondering if anyone could help me, I can't really figure out an interesting build. I tried a forcewave build, that was kinda fun but got boring fast, then I tried a pistol dual wielding inquisitor with demolisionished (focus on crit) that one was fun, but I kept dying a lot. I then tried an essence drain build, but that got boring fast. I mostly enjoyed the 2-handed rifle build where I picked demolisionised and occultist, but I've played too much of that one. I also tried a laser beam build with arcanist, but everytime I try it, it just kills me inside. So any ideas for interesting builds? I don't particularly like pet/summoning builds though.

Try a Physical 2H warder. Facetank with decent life leech. I don't think I died outside of carelessness in Ultimate. Focuses on Physical/Bleed damage (and to a lesser extent Internal Trauma). 80k+ crits on blade arc. And default attack is buffed up savagery which procs a WPS 75% of the time. It was Pre Expansion of course. bu loking at the new qequips it shoudl still rock post expansion.

I have noticed people tend to go lightning for warder, as arguably the devotions are more suited. But Physical Blade Arc Warder is solid fun to play.

I don't like the inquisitor much; except for the elemental inquisitor+Demolisher Fire Strike and WPS combo.

As for Necro; Caster with ravenous Earth/Dreeg's Evil Eye/Possession is p. solid; so is Drain Essense/Devouring Swarm and transmuted Storm Totem.

Necro+Occultist poison based Caster with Possession is the most heretical build you can play in terms of game lore. And good wholesome fun.
 
Last edited:

Hyperion

Arcane
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,120
Physical / Bleed Warder is probably stronger at this point because, as rumor has it, the Mythical version of the Guillotine is broken. There was a post on the Grim Dawn subreddit a week or two ago about it. Alas, I'm at work and Reddit is blocked (but Best Codex isn't!) and can't search for it. It was a picture of a 7 digit Blade Arc crit I do believe.

Either way, both are solid choices. Lightning Warder is much prettier to watch, especially once you get Hand of Ultos' Devotion proc, and there are lightning cracks all over your screen.
 

deama

Prophet
Joined
May 13, 2013
Messages
4,352
Location
UK
So what's the review on the expansion itself? Is the story any decent? Are the environments good?

Also, I was wondering if anyone could help me, I can't really figure out an interesting build. I tried a forcewave build, that was kinda fun but got boring fast, then I tried a pistol dual wielding inquisitor with demolisionished (focus on crit) that one was fun, but I kept dying a lot. I then tried an essence drain build, but that got boring fast. I mostly enjoyed the 2-handed rifle build where I picked demolisionised and occultist, but I've played too much of that one. I also tried a laser beam build with arcanist, but everytime I try it, it just kills me inside. So any ideas for interesting builds? I don't particularly like pet/summoning builds though.

Try a Physical 2H warder. Facetank with decent life leech. I don't think I died outside of carelessness in Ultimate. Focuses on Physical/Bleed damage (and to a lesser extent Internal Trauma). 80k+ crits on blade arc. And default attack is buffed up savagery which procs a WPS 75% of the time. It was Pre Expansion of course. bu loking at the new qequips it shoudl still rock post expansion.

I have noticed people tend to go lightning for warder, as arguably the devotions are more suited. But Physical Blade Arc Warder is solid fun to play.

I don't like the inquisitor much; except for the elemental inquisitor+Demolisher Fire Strike and WPS combo.

As for Necro; Caster with ravenous Earth/Dreeg's Evil Eye/Possession is p. solid; so is Drain Essense/Devouring Swarm and transmuted Storm Totem.

Necro+Occultist poison based Caster with Possession is the most heretical build you can play in terms of game lore. And good wholesome fun.
Is the offensive stat important for a mage? Does chance to hit even matter for a mage?
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom