[1.1.4.2] Melee DW Dreadfire Aether Fire Strike Bonemonger Defiler (vid)(sr+)

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
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1

Foreword

Aether damge is one of the best top damage types, since generally foes have less resistant to it. DW is always my favorite game play style, so why not give it a try? Again, the best defense is a good offense!

  • The build

    aether1
    aether1.jpg1330×1297 1.14 MB

    aether2
    aether2.jpg1288×1241 1.04 MB

    Grim Tools Link.

  • Video

    SR 75 run 0 death

  • Build Performance

    5 SR 75-76 runs, average time spent is ~12m, not very fast as my other builds, for SR 75+ it is playable and fun.
    Crucible should be a beast. But I’m just not a fan for that. Hope someone is interested to give it a try.

  • Build Overview

    Build Explain:

    • Dual Dreadfire dagger, provided 100% full gobal fire to aether conversion, +2 to Demolitionist Mastery, 40% attack speed and cast speed. Excellent skill with -10% Aether Resistance.
    • Full set of Bonemonger, constantly proc the set’s skill, provided nice AOE damage and healing. With the [belt] together, provided 100% vitality converted to Aether, also -10% skill modifier to Siphon Souls.
    • Dual Albrecht’s Duality rings, provided 100% chaos converted to aether. 88%+ elemental resistance which is very necessary for this build. Excellent skill provided neat full aether AOE damages.
    • Devotions: Giving up Ghoul as global ADCTH is high enough and the skill proc dose not help with this build that much. Chose Phoenix fire for flat damage absorption. 3 points for Hourglass is very important for surviving in SR75+. Since fully converted vitality to aether, bat with proc from fire strike provide extra damage and healing.

    Pros:

    • Insane AOE damage for DW builds.
    • 94% WPS pool.
    • Constantly proc every skill from gears, capable for kiting if necessary.
    • Easily stacked to 200% attack speed.
    • Good survival abilities for SR 75-76:
      • 70+ stun res, 54 trap res, 50+ freeze res, 68+ slow res.
      • 2100+ armor and 25%+ physical res.
      • all res capped 30%+ which is good enough for SR 75-76.
      • 26% ADCTH.
      • 40%+ damage Absorption from Mark of Torment for emergencies.
    • Very High RR sources: Hellfire Mine 40% + Spectral Wrath 40% + Arcane Bomb 35% + Siphon Souls 10% + Dreadfire(skill from dagger) 10% + Raise the dead 25 = 160.

    Cons:

    • Not very enough mastery/skill bonus for Demolitionist, skill points is not quite enough for all other good skills. Fire strike may only reach to 14.
    • Low health ~10k, may be dangerous when facing certain bosses. Need more attentions for your health bar.
2 Likes
2

nice build :smiley:
I would do something like this. https://www.grimtools.com/calc/d2j1XOxN
Soul harvest is hard to pass up when you have 100% vit to aether damage. (over 3k added aether damage + some extra cold on weapon damage) all i did was change skills to fit harvest, change ring augments, and put some point from physique into cunning to make up for the oa loss.

3

I’m just too lazy to cast another skill. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
so, I’d love to invest more points in vindictive flame, to boost heal regen and movement/casting speed.

4

Ah that makes sense. Also I checked out devotions it might be worth trying something like this https://www.grimtools.com/calc/nZo61GzV. phoenix with time dilation is pretty nice. You give up a bit of chaos overcap, but gain da/avoid/a bit more damage

5

NIce one, so Mark of Torment and Phoenix fire are buffed with cool down reduction possibilities. I love it when I play as a caster, so many skills get refreshed by it.

Personally, I love Hawk more, due to extra OA and critical damage bonus. And also for Vulture that gave rare 30% life leech resistance that may sometime save my life in SR 75.