I want to share this Templar build because it’s a playstyle that as far as I know didn’t really exist before the “Forgotten Gods” expansion launched and I’m enjoying it so far.
Keep in mind that I’m everything but an expert on building strong characters in Grim Dawn. While this build works well for regular campaign content I’m not sure how it would do against super bosses, in the Crucible or in the Shattered realm because I haven’t tried neither yet. I’m thankful for any feedback
This (very low resolution :D) character sheet displays the stats with only the permanent buffs on. At first glance they look pretty mediocre but temporary buffs aswell as OA/DA debuffs make it work.
I currently use 3 non-GD-stashed rares that I had laying around. They are far from perfect and can be changed if you happen to own better ones. Given the lack of better alternatives I was primarily looking to max my resistances aswell as get all of the OA, DA and health that I could.
Pro:
High mobility, you can dash around like a madman and don’t have to run around as much
Enough AoE damage to clear trash mobs without caring about them
Decent enough single target damage for my taste
Circuit breakers aswell as several sources of damage absorption
Several OA/DA debuffs
Vanquisher set can be farmed
Con:
Can be difficult to get enough DA without sacrificing a lot of other stats
Rares make maxing out resistances easier, they don’t need to be perfect though
Still difficult to get good overcap on resistances
You can die when not paying attention
This build uses transmuted Callidor’s Tempest aswell as Vire’s Might to deal damage:
The unique and fun aspect comes from the very high mobility. By using the Vanquisher Set you can reduce the cooldown of VM to 1.4s. Pair that with for example the short cooldown teleport glyph (Glyph of Disorder) and you can get around the map very fast. Check out the following video if you want to see if you might enjoy that type of gameplay. I personally like the fact that playing this build requires a certain amount of awareness - this way farming can be challenging aswell as rewarding.
Steps of Torment run
(The recording picked up the sound from my mic, so feel free to mute the sound if the mouse clicks become annoying )
In the video I haven’t maxed devotion-levels + skill points and am using a different belt and pants than in the GT-link. If anyone happens to own the “Mythical Crimson Lotus” belt blueprint feel free to let me know --> Steam ID: Sinaril
While it’s certainly possible to raise the OA by a lot it would come at the cost of DA. To get at least some of the latter I had to adjust enchantments and devotions. Even if you add up all the OA debuffs & circuit breakers, staying alive can be challenging against certain bosses. Your mobility is your best friend. Use time dilation to decrease the downtime of ascension and apply high burn effects while dodging enemy hits.
I’m curious to hear how you think this build could be improved upon.
I posted a concept of this build in the theorycrafting thread using 1h + Off hand.
Then one of the playtesters noted that he/she uses Myth. Infernal Brimstone so I took a look at it and changed the build. It does help a lot with the burn and skill bonuses.
Nice! I had the same build ready just without greens. So it might be a little bit squishier but maybe more damage. Overall I am a bit disappointet with the set. The damage seems a bit low Also even with the high VM cooldown it seems slower than I thought. I found one targeted ability like shadow strinke plus Vire’s might a lot faster than VM + blink. Or even double dash because of lower cooldown. Might do another build instead now that I saw that, but good work!
I’m not sure how I would level this build, because I levelled a pure arcanist prior to the expansion. Depending on if you want to start out in ultimate with the token or do some veteran/elite first I would adapt my levelling build. Probably whatever skill you like until 50-75 and then choose a skill depending on the equipment you have available. I wouldn’t fully rely on VM+CT before you have the Vanquisher set but maybe you could make that work too.
The 4 parts of the Vanquisher set can’t be transmuted into each other and have a chance to drop from the big chest at the end of the 4 Roguelike dungeons (each dungeon only drops one of the pieces).
I started levelling a Templar with the notion of using VM and CT. Between playing an existing level character and the Templar, the Templar is only up to level 43, but its not been horrible. You will want some other means of dealing damage then just VM/CT if you us the CT transmuter (as I did–also running 2h currently).
Yes, I just tested it. When giving one of the pieces to the inventor and pressing transmute a message pops up that states “This item cannot be transmuted.”
I guess Crate really wants us to play all of the 4 Roguelike dungeons instead of only farming one
I’ll start playing one when I get home. Setup is flamebrand sword + zarthuzellan offhand. Gets up to 0.7 cd on vire’s might with all the mods and star pact. Skaterboi baby.
Yeah, this is closer to what I was considering to do. Is Star Pact better than Divine Mandate on this build? I didn’t think that the slight decrease in cooldown is worth putting 18 more points into Arcanist that I wouldn’t put in otherwise.
It’s not the vire’s might cooldown. It’s mirror, ascension, all the devotion procs. Divine mandate nets you better dps, but pact gets you survival. For campaign and cruci mandate all the way but I’ll try to crack high realms with this.
--> Steam ID: Sinaril
Also even with the high VM cooldown it seems slower than I thought. I found one targeted ability like shadow strinke plus Vire’s might a lot faster than VM + blink. Or even double dash because of lower cooldown. Might do another build instead now that I saw that, but good work!