I’ve been leveling a skelemancer using reapersgaze’s build and having loads of fun. When I saw this one the other day I thought I would roll another pet build 
and run it as well for a bit of variety :rolleyes: so far it’s looking great. Thanks.
This build looks great! Didn’t see anything about stat distribution as you level, sorry if I missed it. How would you level stats? Looks like mostly Physique.
If you hover over the stats in the Grimtools, it provides the stat allocation. You put 85 points in Physique, and then disperse the rest between Cunning and Spirit so that you can equip the Mythical Valepiercer.
Glad to hear it’s working great for everyone. I haven’t had the chance to take on the new Kupa or any of the other Nemeses (Alex is a pain, but he’s improbable to find with 40 spawn locations), but I’ll report them as I progress through the expansion.
Will this build get a 1.0.3.1 update?
Oh thank you for the tip on hovering in grimtools. I’m new to Grim Dawn and really enjoying the community.
Will we ever get gameplay footage of this build? I’m the type that doesn’t want to level something until I see it actually work.
I do not make gameplay videos of any kind, as I’m between testing multiple builds and have a small amount of time to play the game in the first place. If beating Fabius with just two buttons and beating Gladiator don’t convince you that this build actually works, I don’t know what other evidence there could be. I’ll update this thread with strategies in fighting the expansion nemeses, but I’l still figuring out how many of my proposed build ideas are even viable to try the expansion content in the first place.
Every single piece of gear serves a distinct purpose, so until the beast dungeon opens up and there are more pieces of pet gear available, there will not be any significant changes between the version updates. I may consider changing some components to make use of the new armor absorption components to replace the Scaled Hide. I’d also like to increase my Elemental Resistances so that it passes 30% overcap. I’ll post some component suggestions once I play around with a few ideas. There’s no need to fret too much, though; the build is incredibly stable.
I think I’ve found my new character.
Thank you so much.
Yes, that is me taking a screenshot of myself right before I get smashed by the giant meteor - it took off 60+% of my health, but I remain victorious.
After reloading 10-20 times to get the spawn location I wanted, I finally have my first Aleksander kill without any deaths. I don’t know whether Zantai nerfed him when version 1.0.3.0 came out or whether the armor increase was that beneficial, but his damage output is a lot less crazy.
Mind you, you still have to run a lot, and you will have to resummon your pets quite often, and his meteor will take a large chunk of your life if you get hit by it, but something happened in the last few updates that make him much more manageable.
Grava’Thul remains the only Nemesis I have yet to find and conquer, but I imagine that battle to be easier than Aleksander as Grava will actually set off our pets’ Retaliation damage.
Congrats on the Alex kill. Grava is indeed easy to kill with this build. It just requires staying close to him, and usually don’t even have to resummon.
Note that this post was before Crate ‘fixed’ Grava with version 1.0.4.0. He is now extremely difficult and you will have to resummon your pets quite frequently.
Now onto the secret quest and see how that goes.
EDIT: Updated the OPs for Nemesis strategies, pics to match the updated version, and a few additional notes.
Oh, and almost forgot, on my way to fighting the expansion main quest, this item dropped:
Ideally, you wish this was a Fleshwarped Bulwark or a Warden’s Fortress, but you’re not going to find a better combination of prefix/suffix. If anyone would like, I’d be glad to give away this item to anyone leveling this build. Please send a PM if you’d like to have it.
As a few people in this thread asked for different class combinations, I wrote up a few Grimtools theory builds that should suit everyone’s preferences. The Mythical Beastcaller’s set is so versatile and grants so many Shaman bonuses that basically any class that doesn’t infringe too much on the Shaman’s skill points requirements should do fine.
Mind you, the Conjurer is far and away the most appropriate build for this, as the multiple auras and items that grant pet resistances means that the Conjurer’s pets have a much easier time rolling through the content than the other class combinations. But there is something here for almost everyone, and I’ll write a more full write-up of each class once the holidays come to a close.
*Note in some builds an ideally rolled Fleshwarped Bulwark is BiS since it adds 25 flat damage to Mogdrogen’s Pact. If you are not a fan of farming MI’s, the Vanguard of the Legion shield or the good-ol’ standard Empowered Defender of Devil’s Crossing should be fully adequate to use.
Ritualist (Shaman + Necro): http://www.grimtools.com/calc/D2p3RgLN
Vindicator (Shaman + Inquisitor): https://www.grimtools.com/calc/wV1G79PN
Elementalist (Shaman + Demolitionist): https://www.grimtools.com/calc/q2MMKW72
Warder (Shaman + Soldier): http://www.grimtools.com/calc/a2d7bL8N
I am currently playing my conjurer with this build, but for some reason i feel like i get stuck in place for a while sometimes.
I believe this is due to the fact that I am clueless about how pet aggro works, I like to run into stuff myself seeing as im tanky as anything.
Nevertheless, I love it Thank you kind sir, for sharing this with us and please have my first forum post for yourself <3
Is this still getting updated? Wasn’t there some update recently for pets and pet sets? What are the pros and cons of this build vs something like skelemancer? The pets are WAYY tankier and so are you right?
Is this true that you are sitting on a neat build that got some love last patch. And to ask nicely and you may post it.
Could be old news but just read it somewhere .
Go on post it , pretty please 
I just updated the Grimtools for the BiS set-up; the new resistances on the Beastcaller’s set means that you can swap around the components for maximum resistance efficiency. For example, the new Poison & Acid resistances on the shoulders means you can equip the belt with Spellscorched Plating and get your Elemental Resistance past the 30% overcap I was hoping to obtain.
Pros: You’re definitely right on the much tankier aspect, as your two Briarthorns have a plethora of Health so you can focus on having the right positioning without having to babysit them. Wendigo Totem is fantastic for continuous healing, and having 3500 DA (with Harp activated) means that you can avoid getting crit from monsters that have heavy crit damage, even with the multiple -DA debuffs monsters like to throw at you. Having heavy armor with 100% Armor absorption (as of 1.0.4.0) + 45 Physical Resistance really helps against being surrounded by mobs.
Having Ishtak for taunts + Beastcaller’s additional threat means your pets do better at leeching enemies away from you than other pet builds, which makes the 33% chance of 80K+ retaliations almost (but not quite) equivalent to having a 33% chance for massive crits for more offensive builds.
Cons: Without the retaliation strikes, your damage profile is weak, meaning your build will struggle more against full casters, though you have more than enough damage to beat enemies like the Port Valbury boss that don’t use Melee at all. Not having AoE pet abilities like Flame Torrent really hurt your ability to fight things like the Sentinel or really any strong enemy that can also summon adds, and really strong enemies like Grava’Thul can still rip through your pets if your pets don’t have 80% resistances to everything.
That language sounds oddly familiar…
*See Reapersgaze posting in his build thread.
*Sees that the post is him urging me to post the build I showed him. 
The build Reapersgaze is referring to is his creation; he had asked me a while back to give him some comments and the last patch gave it everything the build was looking for. I have a few more things to post in the feedback thread and have some updating to do with my other builds, but he has given me his blessing to post it, so I’ll see if I can fit it in.
I tested out Grava’Thul again with the new component set-up. The extra 20% Chaos resistance for your pets is absolutely vital to making this battle bearable. It was a lot easier this time around, but definitely watch out for the Annihilation Orb, as you’ll get rekt multiple times over if he catches you while you’re rebuffing + resummoning.
I also replaced the images in the second post so everything’s updated for 1.0.4.1 now. Additionally, I added an experimental set-up with Mythical Fiendflesh Mantle - not sure whether the DPS loss is worth it, but it’d be interesting to see how 20,000 points of absorption fares.
Second update: Updated Alternate build with a Crucible-ready build that can complete Wave 150. Use the Stonewall banner and the Electric banner that reduces resistances, no blessings required. Got Zantarin every Nemesis wave from 110-140 and got Sentinel 
, Alkamos, Krieg, Archon and Bloodlord Thalonis for Wave 149. Lokarr made up for it by giving me 3 Mooses for Wave 150. EZ-PZ.
Thanks to this set-up i have managed to safely complete Port of Valbury, tons of defense + overcapped Aether resist it the way to go.
For campaign i believe it is safe to have Empowered Grimoir of Og’Napesh in order to have extra summon to speed up the clearing speed without losing much in survivabilty.
I am having non-mythical items and cleared Grava’Thul with non-mythical Black Scourge on Ultimate, though i had to resummon the pets several times, so with top items as per your build it should be even less of concern.
On the other hand, if you have 4 guys like Grava’Thul simultaneously in the Crucible, then i apprehend my clearing speed will not be enough to deal with them.
The Crucible set-up gives pets 80% Chaos Resistance, and as a result I’ve went over to fight Grava’Thul again and was able to beat him without any worries. Just make sure you beat up all the creatures in the area before fighting him, because you’ll flip something when you whittle him down to a quarter of his health, only to have the Chtonian insects heal him back to full.
Do not click on the spoiler tag if you don’t want to be spoiled on a secret boss fight:
[spoiler]
Holy smokes, this guy is a pain, it took me a few deaths to learn his patterns and what not, but he recovered to full health and then I beat him from full to zero, so this build is capable of taking the secret quest without any deaths. You need to play really careful and leave your totems where your pets can get healed. You also have to move constantly because your pets can get blitzed from 100-0 super fast if you’re not paying attention.[/spoiler]
is it viable to use dual myth briarthorn band?