[1.0.6.1]Wonky Warp Warmage, DW Elem and Aether Battlemage

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
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Forwarning :

This is my first level 100 character and I’m proud to announce that I can farm all Nemesis and Lokarr reliably with it (well, Grava is still Grava, I have not tried Mogdrogen, too scared :smiley: and I’m hostile with Barrowhold because…reasons. You know what I mean). That said, I don’t like Crucible much, so I haven’t pushed beyond Gladiator Weave 100 (I’ll do it and update the guide eventually, but I’m not expecting anything super impressive), and I have no illusion, this is not the most powerful build evaaaaaar.

As such, it is as much a build guide as an open discussion on how to improve the build, I’m open to suggestions, and some choices here are due to personal preference, and maybe (probably) newbie ignorance too, and may not be linked to straight efficiency. I’ll try to detail my reasoning for my choice of skill/gear, but keep in mind it is based on my limited knowledge of the game, I welcome veteran’s criticism! :smiley:

Now, unto the build :

Grimtool link : https://www.grimtools.com/calc/r2BwYozV

Concept/Reasoning :

Ok, at first, I wanted to make a dual-wielding Battlemage for flavor, and try to utilize IEE to the fullest, since I liked the novelty of Elemental damage in Grim Dawn, tri-elements sounded pretty cool. The original idea was to take Star Pact, and make a Cold-Lightning character, aiming for the Blind Seer Tier 3 Devotion.

I reached level 100, and assembled the 4 pieces of the Iskandra set I was aiming for. The Hood and the Amulet give crazy amount of flat damage, so all was good…Until I realized two things :

  • I had meh RR, with no clear way to get much more beside Rowhan’s Crown and Viper constellations
  • I had more sheet dps with Reckless Fury than Star Pact…and I know, I know, sheet dps is deceptive, but it wasn’t just the flat Arcane Damage, it was the Attack Speed, and I wasn’t make a very good use of the CD reduction anyway, the best benefit was gaining 1-2 seconds on MoE, which was great, but yeah…

So I took a look at many other builds on the Compendium to see how they were doing it. Special thanks to :

Also, I really didn’t like Viper as a Constellation. Sooooo, I realized that I could add a ton of flat Aether Damage to my attacks, switch my focus to Attak Seru for some sweet Elemental flat damage plus an Aether+Elemental proc, pick Arcane Bombs quite easily for both Aether and Lightning, and that Mindwrap was giving Global %RR anyway. I also noticed that I had great Fire RR with OFF…and then I stumbled unto Warpfire…converting % Cold to Fire? From the worst RR to the best RR given by this build by far? Nice! But was it worth it forgoing a second Mindwarp just for that? Turns out it was.

So, yeah, my first wonky build can defeat Lokarr, woooh! Feel free to make any remarks you want (especially in regards to Skill points), I’m always eager to improve my knowledge about the game. :slight_smile:

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Hi myhr2!

Congratulations on your first build here! I have a question - did you try to use this medal https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/8954 ? It grants you possibility to use dual wield melee weapons and hence you can play around with the relic. :slight_smile:

Regards,
Strannik

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Hi Stannik, thanks for the reply!

Well, to be honest, I…don’t have that medal! :smiley: Yet! :rolleyes:

I know it exists, but still have not gotten it! A couple things about using it, though, just theorical thoughts as of now :

  • Flat Pierce damage doesn’t seem that useful, I mean, from what I’m understanding, I’d need Pierce to Elemental or Pierce to Aether, as Physical to Elemental/Aether does NOT work for Pierce damage. Well, I think that’s how it works, never made a Pierce character before!
  • other bonuses seem “meh” for the build
  • no idea how Direwolf Claw compares to Mutilate. I mean, 3% less activation, but 135% WD instead of 100%…but 100 Physical should be converted to Elem/Aether, whereas 100 Piercing should not (again, if I understand Piercing correctly)
  • good thing with M. Gildam Arcanum is -15% Cunning for Melee weapons, combined with the -15% From Iskandra Chest, and a lucky Completion bonus on Blademaster’s relic, it means I only have to put one point in Cunning, and the rest goes to Physique (could probably farm more for a better Completion bonus, aiming for that sweet 4% Physique/Cunning/Spirit…or another one, I don’t know which completion bonus would be better between % stats, Crit damage, %OA or %DA)

Soooo, yeah, there are some very interesting relics out there, but Iskandra’s Balance proc requires a Caster Offhand (dammit), and so does Eternity proc (double dammit). So yeah, itemisation for a Caster Elemental/Aether Battlemage seems great…for a Dual-wield Melee, it’s, hum…limited?

I also wonder about the non-mythical version of Gildam Arcanum, since the build wouldn’t loose much, it would basically trade 3 skill points for the Elemental Blast proc…but I don’t have that medal either :rolleyes: so yeah, that’s where I’m at! :smiley:

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I got it. Hope you will get the medals soon. :smiley: