ty for the build i’m still on leveling and stun jacks really good even without off-hand MI, i farmed those big eyes about 2 hours for the MI but it never dropped, i’m really unlucky 
I started this Guide and im lvl 10 noe on HC Veteran.
1 Like
strange I get them do drop all the time in wardens cellar areas
1 Like
Are there any low setpieces you would recommend ?
Good Guide. Just killed Krieg. So now comes number 9 
look great! I just made this for someone on discord https://www.grimtools.com/calc/vNQyvnjN 
took valaxteria for conversion on soulfire
1 Like
Nice!
Next patch will level it with fire, Idk why people don’t appreciate Stun Jacks? 
1 Like
Soon level 90 I can post you my journal here when I am “done” if you want
1 Like
Way more difficult to use and less effective than BWC 
and bwc is fire like the build will eventually be
I tried spam BWC and spam jax in veteran recently and it’s like day and night how one is easier to play and sustain
1 Like
That will be really helpful! You can make different topic if you like or I can edit mine with your journal.
1 Like
◎ Spin2Win Shieldbreaker from scratch ◎
a build journal
“Final” build I made “budget” style https://www.grimtools.com/calc/0V00BdaV took me around 30h starting from scratch leveling and farming without any learned blueprints etc thereby simulation of a new player experience (although you might need double the time hehe).
Our goal is to make Nerys build, but with an important addition - we will dual wield axes instead of 2H mace. Reason is they hit faster and you can use them while leveling. Thing is, these axes had bugged drops when Nery made original guide - they did not drop at all 
But now drops have been fixed and this is a popular build and guide so I wanted to make effort to make it even more accessible.
The main skill is called “Eye of Reckoning” and is often shorted by “EoR”
Our main damage type will be fire
Video sample gameplay from Ultimate Steps of Torment (SoT) https://vimeo.com/496639262
Here is another “goal budget” build by @Nery https://www.grimtools.com/calc/xZyX47KV similar to mine, just another flavor (and maybe he found other items than me, does not matter that much).
Here is my build but with other devotions made by @salvor https://www.grimtools.com/calc/RZRPQBx2
Without ascension. The reader with magnifying class should see I am missing a scaled hide in the shoulder here, I forgot to put one in!
With ascension
Killed Lokarr with some kiting, very annoying because you have to re-start your spinning quite often when he stuns you… I also forgot fire res potion, we do not have enough fire res overcap actually (40% overcap is the target and in game its just 28% grim tools shows average rolls on gear).
Click on the text below to open a box to read what’s inside!
Important preparations
Our goal is to play as the goal build asap. In order to do that, we need two things:
- EoR (Eye of Reckoning) axes https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/12471 (note, they come in different levels etc) that drops in FG (Forgotten Gods) expansion. It is this base we need for the build.
- Relic Bladesworn Talisman that you buy blueprint from Devils Crossing faction vendor when you have at least respected status.
You need to do FG quests ASAP, select Solael faction to get their faction rings once I hit level 90 and to access area to farm weapons. Do this in all difficulties.
You can farm the weapons from this boss https://www.grimtools.com/monsterdb/2029
which spawns in area called Bloodied Wastes and you need to be sided with Solael to open it. Drop chance is like 85% so very good place to farm it. To access area, you need to have this quest https://grimdawn.fandom.com/wiki/The_Heart_of_Onarix
In order to dual wield, you need to be respected with Devils Crossing to buy blueprint for dual wield relic as mentioned above. You are usually respected once you kill cronley and maybe also kill some extra Cronley heroes (like do a couple of Cronley hideout runs or Hanneffy mines).
You might even have another char, that is respected with Devils Crossing? Then you buy and learn the blueprint - those are shared amongst your chars
We will for the first 25-30 levels go with Blackwater cocktail (BWC) skill with its diagonal node active. This allow for good clear early on. We will also use fireblast skill from component https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/2869 and once you hit level 20, go to your blacksmith (there is one in devils crossing that you save and also one in conclave of the three) and craft this https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/2842 to give you a toggle skill that boosts your fire damage.
I managed to get to a point where I can dual wield EoR weapons in 2,5h Not that bad considering that we will play this char for +30h.
By the way, I mentioned the different levels of those EoR axes. Here they are 20, 40, 55, 70, 84 & 94. Around these levels, it is a good idea to go back to the boss https://www.grimtools.com/monsterdb/2029/skills and farm upgrades. In normal up you can even get the level 70 version and in Elite you can get all level tiers of this weapon.
Finally, do not try to copy exact what I did, it will be 100% impossible because there is no way you can get same items and with same affixes Use my snapshots as some kind of inspiration and to get ideas how to progress in terms of armor, resistances, skills and damage
Level 10 (normal)
Remember to change to “normal” in this grimtools link https://www.grimtools.com/calc/pZrkqK6N
Grab the free “Slith primal ring” from the rover quest you get in Wightmire.
I also use https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/7173 which is free item. Click on “map” to see where it can be found.
Level 21 (normal)
Remember to change to “normal” in this grimtools link https://www.grimtools.com/calc/d2jQ8g4N
Next: get blast shield and thermite mines.
In act 2, get the “Bone Talisman” relic by lying when you do the quest “Lost elder” for the rovers. Select “No, I did not find a talisman” and you get a relic with a nice dmg boost for boss fights.
Go to FG and side with Solael after you have gotten respected with Devils crossing (kill Cronley and hand in quest, perhaps you need to kill some more Cronleys to get reputation up, just make a new game and go back to Cronleys hideout)
In FG try just to run past everything you do not need to kill.
Grab “Eye of Ekur” from the chest in the room in “Temple of Osyr” and save and exit. No need to kill the priest 
(don’t try to play a hero hehe)
Get to “vanguard of the tree” and go into the rift on “Altar of abyd” (note you need the quest first). Then from the end boss in there, he has 85% drop chance for these wpns, just get 2 for starter. Get nice vit and chaos res before you farm them.
When you have two EoR weapons, and the relic, you can respec your char at a Spirit Guide and then you can farm for two others if you need. Look for attack speed affixes and fire/elemental damage +%. They always roll with some attack speed. Search in grim tools item database what your affixes you got and see if the are good. “Searing” and “of alacrity” are the easiest ones to get.
Because BWC deals fire dmg mostly, make sure to have around +200% fire dmg or more.
Level 27 (normal) - Eye of Reckoning transition time!
Remember to change to “normal” in this grimtools link https://www.grimtools.com/calc/1NXQgXk2
Took me 2h 30min to get here.
Next step will be to get “Vindictive flame” for speed, “Guardians” aura “celestial precense” and “Divine Mandate” exclusive skill.
Playtip: if you get stuck and can’t EoR, click “force attack” or “force move” button and you start spin again! Also make sure to have good CC-resistances (crowd control) like stun, slow and freeze.
Level 31 (normal)
Remember to change to “normal” in this grimtools link https://www.grimtools.com/calc/RZRPar02
Farmed some better wpns for EoR, trying to get Tip of Scales now for energy and good life steal ability (our weapons convert vitality to fire).
Changed to veteran for a while, is also very easy!
Level 40 (normal)
Remember to change to “normal” in this grimtools link https://www.grimtools.com/calc/bVA7Ya4N
Farmed some new level 40 weapons. Also picked up a Bolvar amulet for +1 oathkeeper skills https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/14014 from Bolvar the bloodbinder, has three possible spawn points in the bloodgrove area. Pretty nice, but later on we will use and farm another amulet.
Level 50 (normal)
Remember to change to “normal” in this grimtools link https://www.grimtools.com/calc/bVA7lE4N
Gonna farm gargoyle belt https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/12191 in “Astral Fields” and valaxteria chest https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/8341 now. Valaxteria spawns in the same place all the time in Crown Hill area in Ashes of Malmouth (AoM).
Just as with the EoR axes, these exists in different tiers and affixes. Get some and use those that solves your resistances best. Farm for upgrades when you need. Note, the valaxteria chest comes in two version, we want the one with lightning to fire damage conversion for soulfire.
Remember to have some attribute points unspent so you can wear rings etc that has spirit requirement. I try to have 5-10 attribute points unspent as buffer. Also you can use mastery bar to get some attribute points. There are potions you will get from quests later that you can use to change attributes (but use them wisely).
When we hit level 55, also gonna farm new axes!
Level 60 (elite)
Remember to change to “elite” in this grimtools link https://www.grimtools.com/calc/a2dQdxGV
Much gear upgrade, also changed devos a bit to get sailor and throne for CC res.
Came to vanguard of the three. Ready so we can farm level 70 weapons later (we can also do it in normal but more fun in elite).
In vanilla we just did cronley and the first rover quests.
Level 70 (elite)
Remember to change to “elite” in this grimtools link https://www.grimtools.com/calc/YVWv8W72
Gonna hit Ekket zhul, but first farm new level 70 EoR weapons in FG. We already made it to vanguard of the three and can access the area where that boss that drops them lives.
Preparations for ultimate:
- get exp pots
- get new valaxteria chest
- get some armor augments (Black legion and homestead)
- skip the last quests in FG in elite, we will go back and do them later.
Level 80 (ultimate)
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/q2MGB9lZ (almost 15h)
Things starts to hurt in Ultimate even with good resistances. It is because armor rating is very bad. Need to fix it somehow even if our damage takes a hit. EoR dps now is 125k
Around level 84 are gonna go back to elite and farm the EoR weapons again (and again at level 94) from the boss in bloodied wastes. Also need to go back and to Hidden Path quest in Elite.
Level 85 (ultimate)
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/d2jQlaqN
Managed to fix armor and resistances. Just came to Broken Hills rift gate. Made some small devo adjustments and started to use ascension on boss fights. EoR dps is 136k
Would be nice with some more health
We are now gonna start Hidden Path on Ultimate so we can farm Solael pants, also gonna farm totems in hope to get some epic items and finally farm demo amulet in Ancient grove (Elite though, just get amulet then quit game until we get a good one). This will eat many skeleton keys, so be sure you have the blueprint learned so you can craft them. You can buy it from the “secret” vendor in bloodgrove if you don’t know it. Otherwise you can also get it from the quest: https://grimdawn.fandom.com/wiki/Descent_into_Torment
Level 90 (ultimate)
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/Q2z8AJLZ
Made at least some upgrades. Grabbed the faction rings from solael, vendor farmed to get max OA roll (reset vendor by leaving the area and visit two other shops, then go back). Dps is now 181k
Next step will be to get to level 94, farm insane EoR weapons and try to get some blue gloves, legs and boots with phys res. We can also craft stome stoneplate greaves or use the Legion faction boots with high phys res roll. Also option is Solael pants. So after level 94, we are gonna do totem runs like crazy.
After that we will do some more quests etc to build up reputation to buy the end game augments. I think barrowholm will be important for weapon augments so we are gonna make them revered asap.
Rest of farming we will do monster totems over and over again until we get some good basic blue epic items, also farm new EoR axes until we have some good level 94 ones. Upgrade also Valaxteria chest.
Where to get items for budget end-game builds
-
Helm: Fettan mask (also exists in level 75 version) https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/12319 drops in an urn in a hidden region in korvan sands. Click on “map” below the item description in grim tools and the location is shown (can be tricky to get there),
-
Weapon: Riftclaw slicer https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/12471 as we have discussed in several places in the guide. I just got two “searing” “of alacrity” not super good but at least have the basics like extra fire dmg and attack speed. Just keep grinding! “of scourged runes” is a very good suffix, if you get it you are almost done
-
Shoulders: Elite Coven Arcane Mantle shoulder from coven, also have level 65 version at respected. Good one. Also this is good Elite Coven Arcane Spaulders
-
Chest armor: Valaxteria’s Arcane Robes from Valaxteria. Also this is good from dreeg faction Elite Dreeg Arcane Vestments farm until you get a couple of dope ones.
-
Amulet: Vilgazor’s Heart drops from a boss https://www.grimtools.com/monsterdb/1598 in the last level of the Ancient grove dungeon. He can be hard to spot since he runs like a moron. Here we will “invest” some skeleton keys to grab some good ones. I still use a level 70 one that I got in elite. Do not bother with the final boss unless you are prepared to die or has a build similar to our end-game build.
-
Rings Solael Stormfire Seal from Solael faction at honored status. This is also very good ring to use if you find one the skill disruption is very helpful! Mythical Eternal Band also give +2 soulfire.
-
Gloves Mythical Obsidian Grasp I use because give damage, speed and good phys res! Also these two are good Mythical Embergrip Handguards & Mythical Runesinged Handguards these are random drops, do totems and random bosses/heros. Meanwhile you can use crafted default gloves yellows from blacksmith or these https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/11730 if you have the blueprint. Look for attack speed affixes, resistances and dmg.
-
Boots Elite Legion Greaves good faction boots from Black legion revered. You can also craft boots the default yellow from blacksmith or Stoneplate Greaves if you have the blueprint.
-
Belt Gargoyle Girdle already discussed, farm Astral Fields. Drops from the gargoyle monsters. You might need to do like 10 runs or so to get a good one. Farm in elite first if you can not access area yet in ultimate.
-
Pants Mythical Legplates of Valor very very very good defensive pants. Also you can farm solael boss (2nd boss in the hidden path quest) Solael-Sect Legguards these are very good base pants and can be even better if you are lucky (or farm much) to get good affixes. Also you can craft pants the default yellow from blacksmith or Rimeguard Chausses or Stormguard Leggings if you have the blueprint.
-
Medal Mark of Burning Shadows you can buy this blueprint from solael faction at revered. Very good! Also this is good medal https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/7803 which is random drop (but part of set so if you drop ring or belt you can transmute it at an inventor). Finally these are good MI (monster infrequent) options that you can farm meanwhile Martin’s Crest, Balthazar’s Crest & Kymon’s Badge simply because they always roll with some +%fire dmg.
-
Relic Bladedancer’s Talisman a step-up from the basic dual-wield relic we had in the beginning. You can buy the blueprint from Hyram in steelclap once you save him (revisit him over and over again until he sells it).
Components: use to get 100% armor absorb, resistances, OA and DA. I used frozen hearts in ring for freeze res. Also some components gives speed. Arcane spark is good craftable amulet and medal component for OA and skill disruption resists, Black legion faction sells the blueprint.
Some you need find blueprint to craft like spellscourge plating, ugdenbog leather, living armor etc. In chest I use https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/2896 that you farm in the boss furthest down in the Arkovian undercity dungeon. It is not high drop-chance like 25% I think so be prepared to do some runs.
In helmet I use prismatic diamond, the vendor in Ancient Grove can sell it. And we will go there many times to farm amulet mentioned above. You can abuse the shop btw, go to the final part of ancient grove, stay there for 30 seconds in game, then go back and the vendor has updated his inventory! Boring but effective
How to get the final build devotion map
This is not 100% what I did in my journal, but here is a way to get devotions for my end-game build with focus to get tip of scales proc asap. First we will get bat.
Green crossroad
Bat (bind proc to BWC when you leveling, then you bind to EoR)
Refund green crossroad
Yellow crossroad
Lion
Lotus
Panther
Scales of ulcama (bind proc to a permanent toggle skill)
Refund panther
Viper
Solaels witchfire (bind proc to thermite mines)
Ghoul
Sailors guide
Spider
Hawk
Ulzuin torch (not the last node with burn dmg) bind proc to flashbang
3 nodes in Wendigo
one point left, I put mine in Magi for +40% fire dmg. Lots of freedom here. The 4th node in Wendigo is not bad, 10% less dmg from beasts is kinda neat.
Also make sure to check out the devotions in the alternative version by Salvor. I leave it as an excerisce to you to figure out how to make that map! Remember that devotions can sustain themselves by their own affinity bonus Bind Magis fissure proc to flashbang and Phoneix proc to EoR.
Tips and tricks
- In order to speed up leveling process, get revered with Malmouth resistance faction to buy experience potions. Once you hit honored, buy and apply writ.
- As soon as you hit honored with a faction, buy and apply writ!
- You can not have more than +10 to a skill. This wont show in game so upload your char to Grim Tools now and then to see what you actually have (will show in red). You therefore might need to refund skill points now and then.
- If you get stuck and can’t EoR, click “force attack” or “force move” button and you start spin again! Also make sure to have good CC-resistances (crowd control) like stun, slow and freeze.
Hope you will have just as much fun as I did with this build Good luck in making your own fidget spinner in Grim Dawn!
1 Like
work in progress, as always
1 Like
So you decided to post it in this topic?
Yeah its easier to have info gathered in one thread I think . You can just link to my post in the first post like “Ulvars build journal” if you want
I will edit the topic later, with dropdown menus. First will be your DW version and second my original one. But I will probably wait for some extra layers, so that I can copy&paste it all. Stealing is sharing, right? 
yes steal as much as you want! I let you know when I am done (I have 80% of the text in word file so just need to copy pasta and add links)
It was very fun char to make! Note my high phys res and DA
Edit: @Nery I am done!!! steal as much as you want for the first post in thread
1 Like
I added your guide to the top. When I add end game build will mix both guides with end game gearing section and performance and will delete most of mine.
About end game version, which set you like IK, Justicar or SR? And what about weapons purples vs MI?
Not sure, have not played EoR since basically FG was released. I was thinking about doing some research and try to make some grimtools for fully gear char and then do some testings in game.
I looked a bit at plasmos build that is based in IK set. I did this version in Grim Tools https://www.grimtools.com/calc/a2E04AnN and this is a version with SR set https://www.grimtools.com/calc/1NXQmyP2 (not sure about energy regen on this)
So I tried some EoR builds. First I made based on IK set but it was way to squish for me. I came up with this based on SR set https://www.grimtools.com/calc/mN4g7EmZ decent tanky, not that high sustain. Idea was bind bat to BWC so we can heal in case we stop spinning. MI belt help with bat conversion. Tip of scales was added for QoL energy. Maybe one good rolled MI EoR axe is good for also heal from tip of scales (can try later) otherwise Alladrah was better damage. With this version I made 75-76 many times, but still no deathless run - always dies 1 time
I am not big fan of EoR in cruci/shards, even with 80% CC res you get stopped by spinning so often which hurts damage and sustain. Not a fun skill for me, it is no near the counterpart skills in Diablo 3 and Path of exile. Heck, even whirlwind skill in diablo 2, a 20y old game, feel smoother for me Very fun leveling and campaign build for me though.