The Build
With all permanent buffs, Hungering Void and Bloodfury. DPS shown is Albrecht’s Aether Ray.
Obviously the Belt & Medal affixes are GDStashed, but you don’t need to do that as I show with the setup below.
The build will perform with a base item (affixes can be anything) Lunal’Valgoth’s Girdle and a Rylok Mark of Readiness. Max out Wasting to offset the loss of inherent DA on the character.
Build Features
Upsides:
- 100% Vitality AAR!
- Great sustain
- Full spellcaster gameplay
- Build does not require specific affixes on MI items
Downsides:
- Run speed is not capped
- Can run into Energy issues (despite being an Arcanist!)
- Build requires 5 items for full conversion
- No kick-ass RED BEAM OF DEATH visual
Build Overview
Here’s my idea of a Blood Mage in Grim Dawn! 
This is my approach to a build that I have never seen posted online (and I searched around for quite a bit!). Funny enough, it seems that the Decree of Malmouth is all the rage this week with a build from @Nery and another from @Valinov using this pretty rare scepter.
Let me know what you think and if you have any questions or suggestions! Feedback is always welcome.
Equipment Choices
Try to get maximum Aether to Vitality and Elemental to Vitality conversion and be sure to craft the Helmet & Amulet for Slow Resistance
Core Items:
- Amulet: Conduit of Arcane Whispers. [24% WD to AAR, necessary resists]
- Weapon: Decree of Malmouth. [~50% Elemental to Vitality conversion, Crit Damage, +%OA]
- Belt: Lunal’Valgoth’s Girdle. [~50% Elemental to Vitality conversion, affixes don’t matter]
- Off-hand: Mythical Skull of Gul’Amash. [~50% Aether to Vitality conversion, +%OA, Casting Speed, mods to SoC]
- Helm: Mythical Abyssal Mask. [~25% Aether to Vitality conversion, -10% Vit RR to BP]
- Chest: Mythical Heart of Yugol. [~25% Aether to Vitality conversion, tons of Health, 5% ADctH, tons of +%Vit Damage]
You could choose to use the Mythical Dread Knight’s Guard instead to get the conversion, however, they are more for a Spellbinder and I think the Mythical Bloodfury Spaulders are more helpful with Warlock. This build needs as much ADctH as it can to pass through that 24% WD on AAR, so the chest and shoulders are BiS in my opinion.
Supporting Items:
- Ring 1: Mythical Signet of the Fallen. [Typical ring for Vitality builds with Casting Speed & -15% Vit RR proc]
- Ring 2: Mythical Wraithstalker Band. [Casting Speed and +2 AAR are essential, but Mythical Cursebearer is an option if you go with Serenity Relic instead]
- Shoulders: Mythical Bloodfury Spaulders. [Health, ~5% ADctH with the excellent Bloodfury proc giving lots more +% Vit Damage and Casting Speed]
- Pants: Mythical Wraithborne Legwraps. [+%OA and +2 AAR are needed here]
- Gloves: Mythical Aethereach. [Essential gloves in any AAR build]
- Boots: Mythical Deadwalker Footpads. [Gives needed +2 AAR, but I hope these boots get some love in 1.1.5.0]
- Medal: Rylok Mark. [SoC mod is helpful and prefix doesn’t matter, however, try to get of Readiness here]
- Relic: Eldritch Pact. [Serenity is in too many of my builds and I wanted to use this after seeing @sir_spanksalot’s recent build #turndownforwhat!]
- Movement Rune: Rune of Displacement. [No movement skill is needed for Devotion procs, so go with this one]
Devotions
Max Damage Setup:
- Will of Rattosh > to Albrecht’s Aether Ray
- Twin Fangs > to Bloody Pox
- Raise the Dead > to Sigil of Consumption
- Hungering Void > to Curse of Frailty
Gameplay
Keybinds:
- LMB: Point to Move
- RMB: Albrecht’s Aether Ray
- Mouse Scroll Up/Down: Mirror of Ereoctes/Nullification
- Keyboard 1: Curse of Frailty
- Keyboard 2: Blood Pox
- Keyboard 3: Sigil of Consumption
- Keyboard 4: Rune of Displacement
- Keyboard V: Blood of Dreeg
- Mouse Middle Button: Bloodthirster
Standard procedure:
- Movement rune in/out.
- Debuff using CoF and BP, drop SoC.
- Fire away with AAR, only refreshing debuffs and SoC when necessary. Try to maximize your AAR channeling whenever possible!
- Use Nullification for offense and defense and use Mirror of Ereoctes when you are in danger.
- Kite around your SoC if necessary.
Build Performance
Shattered Realm:
The build is SR65+, maybe higher. I only checked to see if it’s possible.
Crucible:
I don’t play Crucible, so I’m not sure how it will perform. I am attaching the save file if anybody wants to take a stab at it. Since the build is SR65+ I imagine it can complete 170, but I’m not sure of the time and the buffs/banners required.
If anybody takes it for a spin and posts a video, I will attach it here and give appropriate credit. Thanks in advance if you do!
My Conclusions and Suggested Changes to Items
This build is pretty fun and fits the bill for what a Warlock should be in my eyes. That being said, it is very tough to assemble having a total of 5 needed items to fully convert AAR!
My suggestion would be to change the rarely utilized Mythical Abyssal Mask to be a Vitality AAR item with the following changes:
Move the +3 to Blood Pox and the -10% Vitality/Bleeding RR item modifier to BP to another item.
Add +3 to AAR with an item modifier to AAR to add Flat Vitality Damage as well as change 100% Aether to Vitality to AAR. Don’t forget the RED BEAM OF DEATH visual change too please!
I would increase the casting speed on the item with the change to Vitality AAR as well to +9% CS.
With this change, the build would only need 3 items to convert the damage, one of which is a MI and the other is a low drop-rate Legendary. That would be manageable, but still tough to get the needed items.
Additionally, I think the Decree of Malmouth needs some Casting Speed…
Enjoy my take on a Blood Mage! 
Here is the character file, so people can try it out or take it for a spin in the Crucible: _Scion of the Abyss.zip (913.2 KB)
Thanks to @thejabrixone for the build post template.
