[1.0.0.7] Gunslinger Sorcerer - Fire & Chaos

Ving · January 20, 2017, 6:03am

Gunslinger Sorcerer - Fire & Chaos:

1.0.1.0 Update
From a cursory reading of the patch notes there don’t seem to be any significant meta changes that would alter the build. The only noticeable change on my char is an increase in Fire Strike sheet dps of around 6%. Other demo changes should increase overall dps slightly as well. A quick Fabius run seems to confirm that, with a rough kill time of 25 seconds, which isn’t bad at all for a Gunslinger!

1.0.0.9 Update
No changes to the build, just a slight buff to dps and hp.

1.0.0.8 Update
Changed a few things around for 1.0.0.8 based on nerfs / buffs. Also, thanks to kallman89 and Chthon for suggestions.

gained a bunch of dps (although the way sheet dps is calculated changed again, so hard to say exactly how much…I forgot to screenshot straight after update)
gained Meteor Shower
gained some OA
gained 6% Physical Resistance
lost a bit of Health and some Resists

Gear changes

[ul][li] switched to Ulzuin’s Amulet for +Health and 3pc Physical Resistance bonus[/li]
[li] switched to Ulzuin’s Shoulders for 4pc +2 Demolitionist Skills bonus[/li]
[li] changed ring component to Frozen Heart[/li]
[li] changed augments to 6x Outcast’s Warding Powder and 1x Mankind’s Vigil[/li]
[li] dropped Viper so changed 1 weapon augment to Essence of Ch’thon for %rr[/li]
[/ul]

Skill and Devotion changes

[ul][li] changed devotions for more offense and Meteor Shower (attached to Flashbang)[/li]
[li] reduced BWC and AF to 12/12 due to scaling nerfs[/li]
[li] maxed out Explosive Strike[/li]
[li] moved a few other points around in both masteries[/li]
[/ul]
If you want more points for anything take them out of Reckless Power/IEE/Maiven’s. I kept Maiven’s for a small amount of Absorption (and to cap Stun Resist), but for a lot of bosses it isn’t necessary - feel free to skip it.

Videos:

[ul][li]Ultimate Moosilauke 1.0.0.8[/li]
[li]Ultimate Valdaran 1.0.0.8[/li]
[li]Ultimate Fabius 1.0.0.7[/li]
[/ul]
Character sheet 1.0.1.0:
With passive buffs (no Maiven’s):

Gear:
The 2nd ring, pants, and boot slots are flexible. Use whatever you have to cap resistances and get some ADCtH. I just have ADCtH on Solael-Sect pants, but you could go with a Lifegiver signet or a rare, whatever you have. Change pants and boots accordingly to cap resistances as much as possible.

Click here to view equipment configuration

Weapon switch for mobility:
Main hand: Warpfire ([Haunted Steel](http://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/search?SearchBox=Haunted Steel) / [Outcast’s Inferno (Outcasts)](http://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/search?SearchBox=Outcast’s Inferno))
Offhand: [Aldanar’s Vanity](http://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/search?SearchBox=Aldanar’s Vanity) (Riftstone / [Outcast’s Inferno (Outcasts)](http://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/search?SearchBox=Outcast’s Inferno))

Attributes:
All to Physique for Health and DA.

Skills and Devotions:
GrimCalc base skills and devotions:
http://grimcalc.com/build/1008-nORIa3

GrimCalc with +skills (+5 Demolitionist) and devotions:
http://grimcalc.com/build/1008-rLqWRg

[ul][li]Eldritch Fire > Fire Strike[/li]
[li]Meteor Shower > Flashbang[/li]
[li]Giant’s Blood > Flame Touched[/li]
[li]Wayward Soul > Iskandra’s Elemental Exchange[/ul][/li]Skills and Devotions Screenshots:

Gameplay:

Open with Flashbang and Blackwater Cocktail
If it’s a boss/hero then lay down some Thermite Mines and try and position yourself so the mob is standing on a mine
Start firing
Use Blackwater Cocktail on cooldown and keep the Flashbang de-buff up
Use Mirror of Ereoctes and Bloodthirster when necessary
Use Nullification to remove enemy buffs / self de-buffs

I also use Warpfire and [Aldanar’s Vanity](http://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/search?SearchBox=Aldanar’s Vanity) on switch, mainly for mobility with Riftstone, but it also improves cast speed for Thermite Mines, BWC, and Flashbang. Obviously you don’t do this in the middle of a fight, but if you are Chaos Striking around and you come across a hero it’s very efficient to lay down your mines and cast Flashbang and BWC before switching to guns and engaging.

Original Post

Introduction:
This is an updated Gunslinger Sorcerer build that is Nemesis capable. It’s an end-game optimised build, so is fairly gear dependant, although you can adapt it to what you have available. The general principle is to stack resists reduction, damage, and Attack Damage Converted to Health in order to stay alive, whilst capping resistance where possible and having enough DA to not be crit.

A word on Gunslingers:
Unfortunately, Gunslingers are just about the least supported playstyle in Grim Dawn (currently…bring on the Inquisitor! :)). Whilst there are a number of items that enable dual wielding of pistols, there are no skills or devotions that directly support or boost it.

They are fun to play though, and this is currently my most successful version of a Fire Strike Gunslinger Sorcerer. It can easily kill all Nemesis bosses, and also Mad Queen with a bit of kiting. I haven’t yet tried it in Crucible.

Thinking behind this build:
Given the current pistols and sources of -rr available, the most obvious damage combo for Sorcerer is Fire, with Chaos as a secondary.

Resists reduction in this build comes from:
25 from Blacwater Cocktail
-20% Fire & Chaos from Solael’s Witchblade / Eldritch Fire
-40% Fire & -25% Chaos from Thermite Mines
-20% Fire & Chaos from Exterminus
-15% Fire from [Ulzuin’s Headguard](http://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/search?SearchBox=Ulzuin’s Headguard)
15% from Essence of Ch’thon

Survivability and sustain come from:

“Attack Damage Converted to Health” on pants, ring, Revenant devotion, Deviltongue proc, and Haunted Steel / Bloodthirster
Blackwater Cocktail for Reduced target’s Offense Ability and Physical Damage
Flashbang for Confuse, Fumble, and Impaired Aim
Blast Shield & Mirror of Ereoctes for temporary Damage Absorption
Kymon’s Will for temporary damage reduction
Behemoth and Chariot of the Dead devotions
Maiven’s Sphere of protection (if you decide to take it)

Closing comments:
I’ve tried countless different combinations of gear, skills, and especially devotions, trying to find out what works best, and this seems to be a pretty good set-up in general. Nothing revolutionary though…whatever I try I end up coming back to the good old favourites like Behemoth and Chariot

I’d welcome any suggestions on how the build can be improved / optimised further

Ving · January 20, 2017, 6:04am

Reserved for future use.

Stupid_Dragon · January 20, 2017, 7:10am

For some reason I imagined a gunslinger sorc with dual albrecht’s duality plus dual arcanum sigillis plus iskandra set. Your getup looks very pyro-ish to me.

system · February 6, 2017, 10:49am

Do you think Viper is worth it even tho it only reduce fire res by 20%? i guess te other elemental damage u deal is minimal

and cant you use that +5% hp devotion point in the crossroad better? like +35dmg from kraken or maby 6% attack speed from revenant etc

Ving · February 6, 2017, 11:01am

If you remove Viper then you wouldn’t have enough Chaos affinity for Revenant/Torch, or enough Primordial for Solemn Watcher.

system · February 6, 2017, 1:08pm

Well another question…why not max explosive shot? or atleast 10/12 the last points in fire strike simply add 1%wep dmg and 3 fire damage… (if i understand the mechanics right all +dmg etc is based on wep damage (to a max of 100%) so fire strike hardly give any more dmg bonus while getting +3% or 2% wep dmg increase on explosive shot gives more damage (not counting in the chaos dmg)

remember they changed tooltip so fire strike dps dont count in explosive shot anymore

and here is a option:

take 3 in owl (5% more reflect dmg taken) and remove solmen and u only need eel for blue witch gives you 8 devotion points to spend (with the need of 2 red from those 8)

Chthon · February 6, 2017, 1:16pm

Why Maiven’s?

Serafim_94 · February 6, 2017, 4:19pm

What’s stat points distribution?

Ving · February 6, 2017, 4:32pm

Oh sorry. All in Physique as Sorcerer is low on Physique, and therefore Health and DA. Updated.

Weedzy · February 18, 2017, 8:47am

Hello,
Can you help me for starting with this build please (I’m sorry i don’t speak english very well).
Thanks

Ving · February 18, 2017, 9:45am

First of all, in order to dual wield pistols at low level you will need one of the following:

Gunslinger’s Talisman - level 25, crafted recipe from Devil’s Crossing faction vendor
Gunslinger’s Jacket - level 20, random drop
Marauder’s Ammo Belt - level 26, random drop

There are other items later in the game that can also be used - go to gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/search and search for “dual wield ranged weapons”. You only need one of these items equipped to be able to dual wield. As you level just look for items that have fire damage.

Regarding skills, it’s a while since I levelled as a Gunslinger, but a rough guide might be:

Adjust as necessary, e.g. boost mastery faster if you need more survivability or more Physique to equip items (put all attribute points in Physique anyway btw). You could also put more points in Olexra’s Flash Freeze early on for wider AOE / CC.

Of course, you can always level a Sorcerer up to at least level 50 by maxing out Olexra’s and using Fireblast from Searing Ember (level 7) / Greater Fireblast from Flintcore Bolts (level 15). If you go this route then you don’t need points in Fire Strike line until you decide to switch to pistols, so concentrate on Mastery and defensive skills first, and Flame Touched / Vindictive Flame to boost Fire Damage. Put more points in Iskandra’s Elemental Exchange and use Ectoplasm if you have energy issues.

Hope that helps.

Weedzy · February 20, 2017, 6:14am

Thanks to your help! I’m level 53. It’s a great build!

Chthon · February 20, 2017, 6:18am

Nice build, i am sure the new-players would appreciate more gunslinger guides

We all know DW-pistols is the best DW

**Add it to Build Compendium V

Chthon · February 20, 2017, 6:21am

If i may then try using 2x Albrecht’s Rings since you have Reckless Power

And dropping Maiven’s (this is a personal choice, i had a salty experience with that skill)

Btw good use of Hydra. Never managed to get it into too many devotion setups

system · February 20, 2017, 9:32am

how well can it do other nemesis bosses and such?

Ving · February 20, 2017, 8:42pm

You’re welcome! Glad you’re enjoying it

Ving · February 20, 2017, 8:55pm

I ran through all Nemesis bosses this evening in 1.0.0.8 and none of them caused any problems (I’m with Kymon). Will upload a couple of videos in a bit (edit: uploaded Moosilauke and Valdaran videos).

Mad Queen is ok, you just have to kite a bit / stop firing at the right time etc.

Ving · February 20, 2017, 9:03pm

Haha, thanks, interesting idea. It will no doubt screw up resistances, but worth a play just to see what it does to dps. I’ll give it a go when I have some time.

I do like Hydra, it seems to end up in quite few of my ranged builds!

Weedzy · February 21, 2017, 4:47am

What is the order to put the devotions please?

Snipez · February 21, 2017, 8:15am

Is this still being updated? I want to try this out but when i click on the grim calcs they look incomplete. Thanks.