[1.1.8.1] Grim Dawn SUBJECTIVE Class Rankings - Post your personal rankings here and we'll pool it into a singular list of sorts

x1x1x1x2 · January 22, 2021, 2:18pm

What’s this?

Over the past day there has been some discussion in another thread about what the best classes in GD are and why Battlemage isn’t one of them and it quickly became apparent that people have different opinions and stuff like that. Since everyone has their own tierlists I had the idea of trying to collect what the community thinks what the best classes in GD are as of the current patch. You can use any criteria you want, which will be explained in the next section.

How do I submit my own tierlist? Are there rules of some kind?

1. List at least your TOP TEN from best class to 10th best class You can put more than 10 classes on your list or basically include all of them if you want. You can also lump classes outside the top 10 if you think they’re on the same tier. Like for example you can group together [Spellbinder, Conjurer, Sorcerer] as the three worst classes in any order. But it’s important that you list your top 10 individually since that portion will be pooled in a single table after the collection process has ended. ONLY REPLIES TO THIS THREAD WILL BE COUNTED AS SUBMISSIONS.

2. Put an explanation for each class in the top 10 The explanation can be as short as one phrase for each class or as long as an entire thread. This explanation can be based on anything from competitiveness to fun factor to personal bias. The only rule I want here is that NO TROLLING. It means you can put Saboteur on number 1 and no one could judge you on that as long as you don’t put something “I wanna see the rankings disrupted” as the reason. If you genuinely find sabo fun and that’s why it’s your number 1 it will be fine.

3. NO UNHEALTHY DISCUSSION OR JUDGING OF OTHER PEOPLE’S LIST ON THIS THREAD Had to put that on caps cause everyone loves drama a lot, including me. And even if someone bashes the guy who put sabo on number 1, I’ll still include their submission since everyone in here is part of the community and thus, their opinion should matter. As long as rules 1 and 2 are followed, that is.

4. 1 week after this is posted I will pool all the ranking lists in this thread and I will make another thread with the results. Maybe if enough people participate I can make the title “GD FORUM COMMUNITY CLASS RANKINGS” or something like that.

EXAMPLE RANKING LIST (I’m just putting random stuff here. This isn’t my actual personal ranking)

Pyromancer - I really love fire based classes and pyro just has the name and even the skills to do it. Sure it’s not as good as something like sorc but it’s my favorite class so number 1.
Spellbinder - I haven’t played this class a lot but when I always felt the strongest. Also I read grimsheet and it’s ranked 1 there. Can’t overtake my pyro tho.
Sorc - did I say I love fire? Imo this is objectively the best class for fire atm. Shieldbreakers are too squishy.
Dervish - I love DW in other games and here I think dervish suits me perfectly with righteous fervor and lots of support.
Warlord - this is the first class I played cause I heard it’s good and yeah I really liked it, but I think it’s too defensive. I heard retaliation is good tho.
Purifier - another one of my fire bias class. Not better than sorc tho and especially not pyro.
Shieldbreaker - FIRE. But too squishy for my tastes
Commando - I found the name cool so I tried it using the fire forcewave build. It’s not as powerful as my other fire builds but it’s cool swinging your club and spewing fire.
Templar - I love fire AAR and this is easily thebest class for it
Battlemage - I played this class once and I don’t really understand why people say it sucks. I guess I had my krieg set already ready at the time so I had it easier.

I’ll collect all the data 1 week from now. It’s currently January 22, 10:30 PM here in my time zone so we’ll have until January 29 on the same time

PUT YOUR RANKINGS HERE SO I HAVE SOMETHING TO READ! THANKS!

x1x1x1x2 · January 22, 2021, 2:51pm

MY ACTUAL RANKINGS

Spellbinder - Just objectively the most powerful non pet, non retal class on the game. Perfect synergy. Necro gives arcanist what it needs in passive aether RR. Arcanist gives Necro that bursty skill it doesn’t have for aether. It can even do physical and vitality builds. Superb cruci class, same with SR and it can even utilize Krieg making it one of the best beginner classes.
Sorc - I haven’t made a strong one in a while but this is hands down my favorite class. And objectively sorc is also like top 5 class in the entire game.
Oppressor - if sorc is my favorite class then THE Z U C C is my favorite build ever. This build is also my most played build for FG and nothing’s probably gonna top that. Also probably rip zucc on 1.1.9.0. Also oppressor has some beastly vit builds too.
Death Knight - one of the best beginner classes. The best non retal phys class (and even has one of the best retals lol). Also great on aether. Cool name.
Warlord - it’s here because retal is busted right now and while it’s not the fastest in cruci, warlord retals go deeper in SR than you’ll ever do in bed. Well at least until 1.1.9.0 where we’ll see what happens.
Dervish - There’s usually two common answers when it comes to what the best DW class is. Either Dervish or Infiltrator. I’m more biased towards dervish because it’s got its own autoattack so it’s a bit easier to build than infil. Infiltrator is more flexible tho.
Blademaster - Dervish and Infil are the best DW in the game, but Blademaster is the easiest DW in the game. Lemme explain. Aside from pierce cadence, DW blademasters are just discount versions of what Dervish and Infil offers but BM has no WoR, no possible seal, no ascension, has blitz four triple movement and has no casting RR in the case of pierce. It’s got really good QoL for DW personally.
Infiltrator - It’s only lower than BM because of personal bias but double passive cold RR is what makes this the best cold DW in the game despite no autoattack, and since Inq is also the only other class with pierce RR, it’s also automatically a top tier pierce DW class.
Conjurer - I’m rating Conjurer very low compared to what many people will probably do, because I don’t play pets and conjurer vit builds are very hard to play for me personally. It’s objectively a very strong class but it’s not my cup of tea.
Vindicator - Class has fallen in recent patches with the nerfs but imo you can never really go wrong with the quintessential box-devil-totem combo. Just a slight buff on this class will make it skyrocket in performance just because of how strong the combo is.

Ulvar1 · January 22, 2021, 3:11pm

Paladin because paladin is my fav class in diablo 2
Warder because everything is tankier with soldier according to reddit
Spellbinder because looks glass cannon but is almost immortal when played correct
Vindicator because i have made like 6 of them from scratch I never get bored of it.
Infiltrator because class also has, with correct itemization, sick aether rr and phys res.
Deceiver because underrated but can be made tanky as fuark
Tactician because it is a dead class
Cabalist because it was very good in AoM
No idea. Edit - I decided to put Apostate here, because it sounds cool.
Warlord cuz Warlord

Thats it

Monceaux · January 22, 2021, 3:19pm

Spellbinder
Absolutely broken, easy to build, easy to play, receives nerfs every patch that barely hurt it but fucks over other builds, that’s how strong it is.
Druid
Flashy and versatile, bunch of top-tier builds that are always a pleasure to play with.
Pyromancer
A bit stuck between fire and chaos but do them very well, doesn’t matter if caster, melee or ranged. Darkblaze is the best gunning experience I’ve had in this game.
Trickster
Very fun class with original builds. Mixing “”“pets”"" and casting ? Possible with Demonslayer. Melee and casting ? Rancor. Pierce + bleed hybrid ? Yep. Hotel ? Trivago.
Warlock
A surprising place for an underappreciated class. Basically it has 2 OP builds and that’s about all that people know about it. Hijacking some sets like Rah’zin or Pyran works nicely on it so it’s more versatile than you’d think. Oh and it’s supported by Clairvoyant, Doom Bolt is awesome so it doesn’t feel like playing a retarded spellbinder.
Elementalist
Strong lightning synergy, though mostly used for kite casters, I have yet to explore the melee side of it. The class gets challenging at end game when you have to balance the stats, deal with the squishiness, with tight skill points and without using too much utility skills.
Witch Hunter
Mainly there thanks to Rah’zin. The class makes some smooth DWers or poison casters.
Ritualist
One of my first builds was Valguur Ritualist, you know how vit casters are.
Sorcerer
Always a great dps, very fun to play, surprisingly tanky those days. You never have enough skill points though
Solo occultist
Bird.

Nery · January 22, 2021, 3:48pm

Sorcerer/Sorceress. Very versatile class, CDR from Star Pact, multiple strong offensive spells by Demo, just synergetic. It’s very good for fire builds, but realistically works for lightning, but also aether as Agrivix build or Lucius. Also strongest chaos AAR is Sorc, perhaps some other chaos Sorcs can be good as well. My only issue here is that is single RR class and mines aren’t the best source of it and they we’re nerfed.
Spellbinder. King of aether, actually my problem with the class is that is really limited to one damage type outside of some gear like vitality AAR or physical? But Binder is soo good for aether, Mirror+Torment is premier defensive combo as well. AAR, DEE, 2H aether builds, even DW melee, so many good aether builds.
Conjurer. Resilient pet master and very strong vitality casters. Conjurers aren’t the fastest builds around but that’s not needed! Also easy class for leveling and Dark One set and other common gear helps with top 3 ranking.
Infiltrator. I don’t know if it’s objective enough or I am biased But I like cold melee builds and this class is good for both auto-attacker or SS build. Pierce also works, although for Belgo build is clearly inferior to BM. Pierce SS is fast and cool build though.
Mage Hunter. Reslient casters with Maiven, Mirror, Seal, Censure and Renewa, wow! Very good class for both lightning and fire AAR and PRM. Also good for Allagast, Iskandra and other tri-elemetal cool builds. Best class for elemental FoI. Only problem is the fact you need Censure and can’t take Star Pact.
Shieldbreaker. Strong class for fire casters, tends to be a bit glassy. Piloting can be factor for how good it performs. Fire casters/melee/spinners are suitable for this class. I made good physical caster as well, lightning EoR can work for this class etc.
Oppressor. You can’t spell Oppressor without OP CDR vitality casters are especially good for this class. Also some physical builds and ofc retal. Not fan of retal…
Dervish. Acid goodies, yes please! I am torn between Dervish and WH for acid builds and there’s even Sentinel, so tough to rank Dervish any higher. I like DW auto attacker, acid SS, vitality Demonslayer works well for this class. Cold RF is also a thing?
Warlord. King of retal (or isn’t?) physical EoR, Octavius, decent class for Bleeding Arc, new player friendly, sturdy. My problem is both physical FW and Blade Arc work better as DK. And even DK retal is good. So tough call between these two classes.
Purifier. Best class for ranged play style (even if it’s not the strongest possible archetype). You can also do number of fire and even lightning casters. Purifier kinda lacks a poster boy, but solid class non the less.

So this is my ranking. If I was making one based purely on my preferences, it will feature all Nightblade class combinations

Retal_Abuser · January 22, 2021, 3:57pm

Since this is a subjective tier list I am allowed to comment even though I don’t have any clue as to what good pet classes are since I haven’t and never will play an actual pet build:

Spellbinder: I think there are already people that have explained as to why it’s the best class in the game or why they are immortal, but I wanna emphasize that they also have some of the most fun skills (imo) to play with, such as CT, Devastation, AAR, RE and DE. Also despite that Aeon+ Spear devotion map is popular, they can easily use Rattosh with vit> aether conversion and other vitality devotion powerhouses like Wendigo and Bat for more leech.
Ritualist: My favourite Vitality class simply because of Ravenous earth. I also think they are better than Conjurers when it comes to Vit casters ( I know ppl will disagree with me on this). I wish I played any pet build to give a more wholestic opinion on this topic. Ritualists also have that aether pierce-through Primal Strike with Vortex of Souls which is interesting to say the least.
Dervish: I haven’t really played many of them, but the fact that they can have enough competitive builds with different dmg types speaks for itself. They aren’t even limited when it comes to play styles,
Acid DW melee/ Immortal pets/ Vit PB caster/ Bleeding DW/ Pierce or Cold EoR and that’s only the ones that come from the top of my head.
Warlord: It’s limited when it comes to dmg types ( Physical/Trauma or Fire, which other classes do better), but retaliation Warlord and deep SR pushing are synonyms at this point. Warlord is the definition of an actual TANK in this game. Also let’s not forget Warborn EoR.

Ok here is where the list actually gets harder for me.

Sorcerer: I haven’t delved that deep into this class outside of Fire CT/AAR/ Pyran set, but this class is a powerhouse for Lightning and Fire builds alike. Iskandra set, Barrelsmith, Ulzuin are few of the sets this class can use and become a top performer when it comes to damage while retaining defensive mechanics like Blast shield and Mirror.
Shieldbreaker: It’s like a Sorc except Oathkeeper’s defensive skills are less reliable than Arcanist’s. Pretty limited to fire damage, but it has a ton of options for that. Blightlord ( which in my opinion is one of the best sets in the game), Infernal Knight, Ulzuin’s, Virtue’s and while some of them are past their prime they are still good enough to make a competitive spec out of them. Also fire EoR though I don’t know how it performs nowadays.
Deathknight: One of the best Forcewave/Blade arc Classes and Drain Essence retaliation is still broken after so many supposedly retal nerfs. Probably the best class that makes full use of Krieg set ( and I mean 5 pieces, since Spellbinders are better off using Ascended Casque for that. And maybe BMs too @Nery have you tried that on your Krieg BM?). It would have another competitor with Blood knight if Counter strike was worth using outside of retaliation.
Conjurer: Would have probably been higher if I knew how much better its pets are compared to Ritualist ( or even replaced it ), but it’s still one of the strongest Vitality classes in the game. Also it has some tri-elemental and mono elemental builds.
Infiltrator: Probably still the best Cold (and) Pierce class in the game. Limited to Dual wield and Runes though. Another one of the classes I would like to delve deeper into cause I have not spent much time with it.
Druid: Ultos set, Trozan set, Cyclone Wind devils with Arcanist support.

Honorable mentions that could fit in top 10:
Oppressor ( Blightlord/Bonemonger sets), Mage Hunter ( most versatile class for AAR, but we haven’t seen any of these lately), Blademaster ( pierce DW and Spite at its peak O: ), Vindicator ( Totems and Box power), Warlock ( Trozan, Chaos AAR), Cabalist ( Clairvoyant, Vit caster), Warder ( Lightning retal, Primal strike, Bleed builds), Witchblade ( Acid and physical retal builds). Purifier( Valdun).
That’s it, it’s done.

fordprefect · January 22, 2021, 3:58pm

This will be a weird list since I only play melee and even mostly DW melee. I exceeded 2K hours recently and my definition of fun haven’t change much even though I learned a lot about the game. I re-specd a lot of characters into different damage types/skills and experimented a lot with them.

So my criteria will be fun/versatility and being inclined to melee. But note that some of the classes I have only tried one build but I liked them so theorycrafted a few to test in the future.

Sorcerer - So versatile, has almost everything so you can experiment a lot. One can not possibly waste a sorc character. Easy to play, I have two sorcs and tried every possible melee with them and If I got bored from playing melee, I can make top-tier casters aswell.
Reaper - Even though it’s so squishy and lack a lot; I liked the class and the playstyle it brings. The problem is if you had to use both ABB and BH for the buff, it may become too piano. And having easy %100 WPS is a cool thing.
Pyromancer - I like the Demo class particularly and Occultist brings a lot to the table, even for melee builds. I made only one build but really liked it, even more than SB so I’ll definitely try other possible versions aswell.
Shieldbreaker - Because Fire Melee And although most people say it’s squishy; having a Shieldbreaker with LoE constellation is really tanky.
Death Knight - Great melee class, very versatile aswell. A bit dull to play though.
Oppressor - Made only one real glasscannon build for now but I know I can re-spec into another damage type anytime I want. Another really good melee class. It’s squishier than DK but more fun to play.
Dervish - I experimented with DW acid a lot then made a cold one, even tried fire in between. A solid class, has good options. Another character that you can’t simply waste but I really didn’t like the acid damage that much so there are better melee classes for me.
Saboteur - No one really likes it but it’s a total DW Melee class. Has some different damage type options but it’s so squishy. I like the features it brings the table and I hope it will get more love with the upcoming patch.
Tactician - I made one recently and really liked the synergy. Doesn’t have many options though but it’s quite tanky combination as I experienced. I surprised that not many people played with it.
Defiler - I tried 2 different builds with it. It’s a problematic class but I liked it. A bit piano for melee playstyles just as Reaper but also a bit tankier. Has good options for all kind of players.

It was hard for me to make a top 10 list because my playstyle is limited and I only made 16 characters so far and hated 2, have mixed feeling about other 4. The classes I made but didn’t include into the list are Druid, Trickster, Warlord, Warder and Templar.

It’s almost impossible to make worthy melee with Druid and Templar. Or I haven’t been able to do it so far.
I made a really good 2H melee Warlord but it is surely a DK concept and Warlord only brings smoother playstyle to the table and the rest of the class is either caster or retaliation so it wasn’t my style. And DW Warborn Cadence is really worse than it looks. Maybe physical EoR perform better but I don’t know about that.
Warder is a interesting class, has good 2H Physical Melee synergy but you have tons of skill choices that have some edge to the other and you sit on the fence while looking at Cadence, Savagery and BA lol. (I tried Avenger set which dissapointed me really hard and it was boring.)
Trickster is definitely not an AA build, I mean there are no synergy between them except Bleeding damage. Cold damage looks really dull to me with Trickster even though Korba set and helmetless Deathmarked Trickster.

Edit: I forgot to add the Blademaster into the unincluded list I made Belgo BM as most of the players did and do. It’s a single target beast but squishy among crowds. I killed my first Ravager with it etc, it’s a good build, I even experimented with it but the class has only Pierce/Cold Cadence and Belgo; that’s all and as far as I observed Infiltrator beats BM in both. So It might be the least versatile class ever.

ya1 · January 22, 2021, 4:08pm

I’ll do the classic S to D tier grouping. Balanced strength is top priority so classes that excel at both defense and offense will appear highest. In some cases extreme offensive performance might make up for the lack of excellent defense. It is not the case the other way, though. List also considers versatility, meaning if a class is a one-build pony, it won’t get a very high ranking even if that one build is top tier itself.

Druid might go to A and Paladin to C. In fact, every time I look at it I wanna change something so let’s just post.

grey-maybe · January 22, 2021, 4:12pm

imagine needing subjective tier list when you have an OBJECTIVE one smh.
(btw, i’m going to pretend like it’s already 1.1.9 and retal was DESTROYED by fax and lohic.)

Spellbinder - i don’t consider this class to be broken though. no wonder it’s immortal granted it has 4 best defensive skills. same goes for damage. and it’s good not only for aether, but for vitality and phys as well. even has some melee builds. Overall, it’s a class with superb synergy, good variety, top performance and it’s actually require some skill to unleash it’s full potential.
Dervish - my favorite one. Greatest variety both in terms of playstyles (melee, casters, player-scaled pets, hybrids) and damage types (acid, physical, vitality, aether, fire, cold, pierce and bleed - all endgame viable). Ofc it’s strongest side is acid, 'cause like 70% of acid gear is biased towards OK. Also insane mobility w/o heavy investments. Overall, i’m super happy about it being so diverse. It doesn’t have any “broken” builds, but yet again - versatility is superb.
Conjurer - the ultimate pets build. I don’t like pests though. Still, pets build are kinda trying to be different from one another (they are all the same to me), has some strong vitality casters as well. Feel w/e about this class, but it’s definitely strong.
Sorcerer - 3 and 4 are replacable here, almost equal in power. Perhaps the most resilient casters on average due to cdr stacking, damage type variety is fine, yet only has caster builds. Have not much to say, quite skill-based (kiting&side steppind + cdr rotation). It’s the mastery that got fire and lightning nerfed overall.
Infiltrator - the only inq’s combo that i consider to be great. Nothing much to say about cold and pierce build - you’ve probably seen a good dozen of them. I’ve made an aether one though - works just fine. Also quite diverse when it comes to playstyles. ( i could’ve said a lot more but a bit tired)
Oppressor - diverse, strong, fun. The only class that have AA physical melee build that doesn’t suck. Sick RE casters, has some pseudo-pets tricks and melee is frankly good. It’s like a dervish but on smaller scale.
Reaper - all hail banana_peel for introducing us the raw strength of this class. Owner of the biggest WD there could be. Probably one of the fastest classes for CR. Has insanely good melee builds and some casters as well (morgo’s ill omen being a sub 4 build.) It’s just good, but one might find them squishy (they’re actually not).
Druid - flashy kitting casters, has both ranged and melee builds. A top tier pilot can show outstanding results with this class The only down-side - all builds are lightning. Which is sort of lame.
Blademaster - kinda like reaper. The best pierce build is there and has some cold melees as well. Hopefully, the next patch is going to extend it’s diversity to acid as well.
Shieldbreaker - dps monster for sure, but has poor variety (almost only fire&casters) and often ends up being glassy. Still has incredible synergy and a good portion of builds. To be honest, it should’ve been ranked higher, but i do like when class has a lot to offer in terms of diversity. Which is sadly not the case with SB.

As you can see, i’m more concerned about variety then performance when it comes to ranking classes.
Will return to it while bitching about how garbage paladins and vindicators are.

ya1 · January 22, 2021, 4:14pm

Lol it’s already preferential You under-represent retal and pets, as we know you don’t play them (or post them).

Has vitality been already destroyed? It seems from your list that you don’t include a lot of vit. It used to be maybe one of the strongest playstyles next to retal and pets.

grey-maybe · January 22, 2021, 4:23pm

it’s just not outstanding anymore. WB and Dark One used to be insane, but now should be like above medium. I just find most vitality builds very repetative and boring, unless it’s some hipster hybrid with bleed.

Nery · January 22, 2021, 4:23pm

Since Lee is banned I will sue you!

I’ve posted two pet builds, updated the cold birbs as well! I’ve also played vitality pet Cabalist.

I haven’t posted retal builds but have videos from two separate acid retal hybrids Sentinels, RF Palading and tried @AlkamosHater DE DK.

Verdict is guilty on all charges!

About rankings, I want to do my objective (as possible) ranking.

Also @Retal_Abuser I’ve updated my lightning AAR MH and it’s really strong and fun to play build, mind impossible greens. I did run some fire AAR MH and it’s strong as well.

Retal_Abuser · January 22, 2021, 4:23pm

It’s still good for SR pushing and there are still Dark one+ Nightbringer variants for Callagadra facetanking, dunno about Crucible performance though. I remember Vit oblivion spam from @AlkamosHater and vit Obliteration from @Plasmodermic being sub 5 mins.

Good to hear. I was mostly referring to Plasmos AAR builds, but there were so many players that used to do them during AAR’s glorious days so I forgot about yours.

I think in terms of supported dmg types, Sentinel comes close, except it’s really only the best for Chaos EoR and acid Retal ( although that is debatable when Witchblades exist). Everything else is done better by another class ( maybe Virtues is debatable cause Sentinel has fire Sigil for sustain and Shieldbreaker has more dmg).

grey-maybe · January 22, 2021, 4:49pm

well-p, sentinel has the fastest (and the only working one so far) DW fire build. Also Virtue was proven to be the best at sent. Sentinel is just limited to casters, and it suffers from having very little damage sources. As for variety - yes, comes close, but not all builds there are “working” though.

x1x1x1x2 · January 22, 2021, 4:51pm

You already sucked all the objectivity in my brains when you did grimsheet. Can’t have any of that anymore

Just keep the list pouring guys. I need something to do when my shift ends instead of just trying to speedrun Hades even tho I suck.

Also if you change your minds and wanna edit stuff then feel free to do so, at least until I start gathering everything into one sheet but that’s still a week away.

Ulvar1 · January 22, 2021, 4:53pm

Is this mad_lee’s backup account? xD

x1x1x1x2 · January 22, 2021, 4:55pm

We’re both part of the Hades speedrunning community lol.

Retal_Abuser · January 22, 2021, 4:57pm

Oh Banana’s Sentinel, I forgot about it.

Oh really? It’s been a long time since I’ve checked the set, partially cause it reminds me of Octavius but for fire.

grey-maybe · January 22, 2021, 4:58pm

both Nery and Banana proved that a while ago. Mostly due Occ actually having some flat damage unlike SB and Garbagedin

Retal_Abuser · January 22, 2021, 5:03pm

Sue me, I don’t see either of them on the Compendium and I don’t look at the forums during my breaks so I must have missed Nery’s. Also some builders use titles for their builds which makes it harder to search. And sadly some builds are getting lost in time because of that.