I have an Auradin 100 Elite. Following @RektbyProtoss tips, are these items you commented on and very hard to drop? Is there any other tip to give. I returned to Auradin just to farm such items.
Just farming, not harder than any other legendary item 
sr and totems are recommended
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Just what @WhiteWalker suggested above. Pants are easily farmable, the rest is just a common drop. Ultimate difficulty yields more Legendaries than Elite.
Hope I understood your question correctly.
Sorry for not answering in time 
. There is already a save file given by @kompaniet3462, but if you want to see the original one, visit this topic. Have fun!
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came to verify that cadence dual bloodsworn repeaters works just fine for leveling. the build’s a little squishy until your damage output jumps at level 50 when you can start using legendaries. also it was my first time leveling a witchblade and i was kinda YOLO’ing it.
once you hit level 94 this build is just stupid powerful. i was not expecting to kill ultimate krieg in like, 2 seconds per phase.
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I am currently levelling the build, trying to go for Coyote’s template (I know it’s not tested and tuned, but there’s always room for that).
What can I say? The toon is level 44 running through Ugdenbog (currently Softcore Normal) and it feels fun to shoot guys down with withering gunfire and occasionally doom bolt some poor schmucks. Fun but relatively squishy feeling, did not invest into real defensive options yet and the gear is nothing to write home about, really. Lot of room for improvements.
Anyway, how did I approach the leveling?
Current GT: Witchblade, Level 44 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
First, starting as your average, garden variety Forcewave Soldier. It’s not exciting or refreshing, but if you have a soldier-based character, FW is a safe bet for fast and low-effort leveling.
Around level 18 I’ve got a nice Shambler amulet coupled with a Mutant Bludgeon (and crafted Battle Shield with whooping 19 % phys resist), so I’ve decided to put a twist on things and uncklick the spam transmuter. Getting used to cd on FW took a little time, but with Bludgeon and shambler ammy it’s just 2s CD, which is acceptable. And the thing hits hard (8 - 10k crits at level 20 or so are no joke), I just had to play a little slower and pay more attention to positioning as each shot had to count due to CD.
Attributes:
First, I’ve been doing 1:1 Physique/Cunning ratio to have enough cunning for the guns. At 10 Cunning I ditched it in favor of Physique and at 25 Physique I’ve decided to pump Spirit a bit. Probably will push Spirit to 25 as well and switch to Physique. Maybe throw 5 more points into Cunning? Everything can be recalibrated later using attribute respec potion (we can get a couple free ones in the Main Campaign).
Handling Skill points:
Early game, before Respec
Classic Soldier start, go for Tremor transmuter ASAP and fill out the FW line, while pushing Soldier bar to 40 (that should be enough damage, I had to remember that a respec would happen relatively soon - no reason to go for War Cry and other phys damage stuff now). After getting there, I then opened Occultist mastery and started pumping the bar, gunning for Solael's Witchfire aura. Meanwhile, I've reached Blood Grove and started going for the doomguns. Wasn't lucky on affixes, they are rather poor. Definitely a lot of room to improve. Also crafted the Gunslinger's Talisman, it's needed for dual-wielding pistols.Respec
Decided to do it around level 33 or so, I don't think it has to be done on a given level; it may be a good idea to delay it to play with a few more skill points. The only important thing here is to realize that the minimum level for respec is 30 - which is the lowest level requirement for doomguns.Anyway, I refunded all the FW line points, also refundend the Blitz point and the one point for Shield Training (was going S&B CD FW, so that point was for a neat damage bonus with Milton’s Casque), otherwise I kept the Soldier bar at 40 (required due to Deadly Momentum).
Those points went into the Cadence line - one point into main skill, 12 into Fighting Form (one point refunded later as I got Mogara’s Fangs for +1 Soldier skills) and maxed Deadly Momentum - that’s what makes Cadence tick, after all. Also decided to put one point each into Zolhan’s Technique (damage, 100% passthrough) and Markovian’s Advantage (damage & slight DA shred). Rest of the points went into Occultist bar to 15 (Consecrated Blade transmuter for 30% phys → chaos damage conversion) and into Solael’s Witchfire (flat chaos dmg + attack speed).
Note: both Markovian’s Advantage and Zolhan’s Technique fire two rapid shots when procced - this actually accelerates the Cadence discharge shot cycling (each of those shots counts as a separate charge for Cadence), which results in higher actual DPS.
Further skill allocation after respec
After respec, I finished Solael's Witchfire and rushed Occultist bar to 50; the goal is to reach both Doom Bolt and Possesion before or around level 50 (it's generally a good idea to have your exclusive skill before or around lvl. 50). Spent one point into Doom Bolt, which sums up to 6/12 thanks to the two doomguns (2x 2 DB points) and +1 Occultist belt from Rovers. Next target is Possession, then I would max DB and go for perhaps Blood of Dreeg, Field Command and some more defensive options.Devotions:
Going for the map in Coyote’s GT:
-
Started with Red → Jackal → Refund Red → Blue → Sailor’s Guide
Reasoning: In beginning I am playing FW soldier, no need to rush Chaos nodes. Both Jackal and Guide are on the final map, and taking them early means a nice boost in movement speed. -
Afterwards I went with Rat → Hawk → Solael’s Witchblade
Reasoning: As I gained levels, I needed to slowly steer towards Chaos constallations as respec time was nearing. The first and most important constellation is Solael’s Witchblade (-% Chaos RR), took Rat and Hawk for affinity points (Hawk has a nice bonus of dropping Cunning requirements for guns by 10 %) -
Next step is Quill → Hydra
Reasoning: Hydra is, obviously, a must-have constellation for gunners. Quill just fulfills the affinity requirements for Hydra. Currently Hydra is not yet finished in my GT. -
Afterwards I aim to go for the first T3 devotion: Fox → Abomination (right side). Need to remember to put a point into Curse of Frailty to bind Abominable Might to.
Reasoning: Abomination is a key chaos constellation, the proc also offers 50% phys → chaos damage conversion. Fox is for those 5 missing green affinity points. -
Final step should be Eel → Lizard (interchangeable) → Dying God (binding to Doom Bolt) → two points in Ulzuin’s Torch → final point in Spider. That should complete Coyote’s map.
Reasoning: Simply finishing the map with the other signature chaos T3 constellation, Dying God. Eel and Lizard are fillers for blue affinity. The last three points are for useful stats.
I like this map, easy to figure out (if you know how devotions work) and does not really require respeccing; all the mentioned constellations are on the final map, only the red Crossroad node is refundend early (the blue one has to stay to meet the requirement for Dying God).
In Momentary Conclusion
Current feeling about the build
I like the build. Had to start with FW, but this build really cannot be played from level 1 without massive headaches. So easy FW until getting two doomguns and Gunslinger's Talisman, respec is not exactly level-sentisive (needs to be done after level 30 though, because that is the minimum level requirement for doomguns), but doing it around level 30 - 35 feels good. Build guns down most baddies, some kiting is a good idea around bigger opponents. Harbingers need to be kited hard, they have high chaos resist and can lay down some serious hurt.When Doom Bolt came online at level 42, thing started to make the turn for fun and enjoyment. The skill deletes packs of trash and nukes bigger baddies like it’s nobody’s business - all while bullets are flying everywhere.
4 Likes
Thx for trying the concept out - it is always interesting to see how a concept works in the game.
Please don’t miss the opportunity and make a guide thread (when you are finished) as guides for gunners are still rare
Thanks.
For a guide, I did not really make any leveling notes. I would have to level the character again and make the notes, character snapshots, etc., so the guide would have desirable quality of content. I will think about it. Even though, I would hack it together somehow and smooth it up later when leveling again and making proper notes and other preparations for a leveling guide.
Oh, and I would definitely stay with spam FW in the guide for the early game section. The CD FW was just a diversion for a more interesting leveling experience 'cause I’ve got decent items for it.
Thank you.
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i’m tempted to try and write a leveling guide myself but for cadence dual pistols. i did kind of a crappy job from levels 1-30 and i feel like it’d probably work out much better the second time around. starting as an occultist and putting points in solael’s witchfire was Not Smart. for devotions i went spider → ghoul → solael’s witchblade → wraith → hydra which probably was also not optimal.
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Yeah. That’s why I pretty much off the bat realized that Forcewave is the way to go until level 30-ish when I can farm & use the pistols. It’s why I said:
You tried, that is fine. The probability of making a working Chaos gunslinger from level 1 is pretty much nil. Start with FW, decimate everything until levels around 30 - 35 and then respec (have the guns and gunslinger relic at hand). Much better start.
By the way, I am slowly starting work on a leveling guide for this build, though the progress won’t be blisteringly fast. I might have some experience with the game, but guide writing is new for me as is Markdown. I am learning, though.
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This is a great build, thanks for sharing it. I’ve respecced my melee Obsidian Juggernaut witchblade into it and definitely like it more. The thing about it I like the most is how easy it is to play: only 3 buttons to press, including the default attack.
While there is not much room for improvement, given how well optimized it is, I decided to make some modifications nonetheless - specifically, it feels pretty tanky, especially for a ranged build, so I thought we can trade some survivability for a bit of AoE which we’re low on. Here is what I ended up with: Witchblade, Level 100 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
Modification highlights:
- Got rid of the cost-ineffective Ghoul, since we already have a great circuit breaker - The Harbinger, and it doesn’t really feel like we need another one
- Took the Blizzard proc from Amatok instead, because
- It does CC (freeze and slow), which is always nice to have for a ranged build
- It deals 16% of our huge weapon damage per icicle
- Flat cold damage won’t go to waste either, since we have ~80% cold-to-chaos conversion laying around
- Some tier 1 devotions rearranged to free up points for Amatok
- Put on Black Star medal, mostly to free up some skill points, hardcap Aspect of the Guardian and put some in Decorated Soldier, to compensate lost CC resist from Sailor’s Guide
- Demonbone pants because I’ve never got nicely-rolled Solael-Sect ones; but that +%armor won’t hurt anyway
- Replaced Sacred Plating components with Living Armor, to squeeze up some more OA and get more crits to proc Blizzard more often; augments rearranged accordingly
I didn’t do actual measurements yet, but subjectively it feels like it started to clear up trash mobs noticeably quicker, with no too significant loss in survivability. Although it’s very much possible that I’ve missed or miscalculated something something, so feedback welcome.
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You are welcome 
.
I would still hold Ghoul, Harbinger proc has different impact - on offensive side mostly.
It needs a constant attack with a possibility to crit. Volley is not good at that, since it must proc AND crit at the same time. Too low chance to justify the sacrifices made. The only good skill to proc Amatok is Touch of Chaos, but how do we apply Chaos RR then? If you do not mind another button to press, take a point from ZT (it does not have additional 1% chance to proc) and use Bloody Pox for Amatok
The medal does not give points to Aspect. Its proc is overriden by modified DB. I still incline towards Markovian medal, we need as much default attacks covered by WPS skills as possible for damage.
%Freeze Res is also necessary, your current value is too low even with crafing bonus. You can farm Dreeg-Sect pants instead, they have innate %Stun Res and %OA, can roll with Freeze (but better farm both). Or use Hoarfrost ointments.
Depends on many factors. Subjectively, it does not look that better in AoE department due to low number of Amatok procs.
Anyway, good luck!
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I would still hold Ghoul, Harbinger proc has different impact - on offensive side mostly.
Tbh I never understood why Ghoul is so popular. The 80% ADCTH doesn’t seem that useful for builds like this: at 24% ADCTH, we already can heal to full with just one 240% WD Doom Bolt hit, or with ~3 default attacks made in 1 second. The 18% physical resist is good, by can it save you from dying in case of emergency?
It needs a constant attack with a possibility to crit. Volley is not good at that, since it must proc AND crit at the same time. Too low chance to justify the sacrifices made. The only good skill to proc Amatok is Touch of Chaos, but how do we apply Chaos RR then? If you do not mind another button to press, take a point from ZT (it does not have additional 1% chance to proc) and use Bloody Pox for Amatok
Volley does 3 attacks in a row - to my understanding, each one has its own chance to crit. So if we have e.g. 22% chance to crit, then Blizzard proc chance would be 0.25*(1−(1−0.22)^3)~=13%. Not that bad I would say? But anyway, I agree this is suboptimal.
If you do not mind another button to press, take a point from ZT (it does not have additional 1% chance to proc) and use Bloody Pox for Amatok
Hmm, I do mind another button, but in case of Bloody Pox it probably won’t need to be pressed as often.
The medal does not give points to Aspect.
Right, what I meant is that with the Black Star medal we can take some points from Solael’s Witchfire and put them elsewhere - i.e. into Aspect of the Guardian.
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It can save you indeed. Against targets that have high Life Leech Res (like superbosses) ADCtH part is especially valuable. And 18% Phys Res is good too. Ghoul is just a cushion to feel more comfortable fighting hard content. Just watch my videos and see how often it procs. Up to you to use it though.
Maybe for some additional stats proc, not for main AoE clearing ability, in my opinion. But everyone plays as they see fit, not arguing about that.
4 Likes
Hello everyone. Update on my leveling progress: Just hit level 100.
GT shows the state in the moment of the level 100 ding, character does not have all the bonus skill & attribute points yet. Gear is just what the game dropped for me (got lucky with belt and gloves). Found a blueprint for Harbinger helmet and crafted the whole set (not going to use it yet), need 3p of Rah’Zin set (have belt).
Overall, the build is fun and engaging as most gunslinger builds are. However, it’s not really tanky. Two deaths in Ultimate (one from too many dots in Old Arkovia, the second was from neglected resists and a piloting error) and a number of close calls (hilarously enough, on one close call a level up saved my sorry bacon 
). I do not think the build would be actually HC safe, though an experienced player could pull it off.
Leveling guide is in the works, I need to finish the leveling section and work on other stuff like gearing, factions, etc. No ETA yet.
One thing I am planning for the guide is to finish faction grind and tweak the character to match Coyote’s concept (rolls are going to be different, though), so I could gauge its performance (currently few items on my char are better than what the concept has).
Update: SoT on Ultimate done.
Alkamos wasn’t too hard, just had to kite away from the blue pools. However, the build - as it is now - has trouble with big physical hits and CC, particularly entrapment. Had a close call on a Totem due to trap spam from those damned Skeletal golems. Also Illgor wasn’t nice to me, again physical hits. Need to upgrade phys res and armor somehow.
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My rendition of Coyote’s concept (missing a few bonus points and medal - still didn’t drop blueprint for Plunderer’s Talisman yet, using Marauder’s instead):
SoT clear with the concept:
Slighly better stun resist, still zero trap resist (but I was lucky on light skele golem spawns) and phys res slightly higher, but still not high enough. Physical hits still hurt a lot.
Damage dropped a bit, especially on Doom Bolt because of the juicy bonuses on Riftwarped Grasp (which includes added flat dmg, flat CD reduction and energy cost reduction) being absent on the concept, pistols themselves performed similarly to my current build. Pretty OK, I would say. Might try to roll some better greens, maybe farm Lunal’Vargoth’s Girdle?
This is good, but make the guide in a separate topic, please. This one is for endgame Rahbinger Witchblade and its discussion.
Yes, that is the plan. The guide will be its own thread.
Apologies for confusion.
Finally farmed almost all the items for the endgame build (missing only Voidheart, damn little crap refuses to drop), so I did the switch.
Well, I already like the build It’s of course on a different scale than the leveling concept I was coping with (it’s still good and enjoyable to play, but lack of defenses hurts it on Ultimate and in SR) in both damage and defenses.
Really fun, fairly fast-paced x-bow build destroying everything in sight, kills punctuated by a smashing Doom Bolt strike. I just love the combination of DB and ranged autoattack.
I still need Voidheart and a bit of farming to round the components out, but the endgame build is almost done. Well done OP, this is a really nice fun build.
Also, I’ve cleared SoT, VP, BoC and AG with the budget build, as well as reached SR25. However, defenses are nowhere near excellent - low DA (being crittable by heroes and bosses in Ultimate is bad), no circuit breaker and zero trap resistance were a problem (along with my rather sloppy piloting).
AG - died twice to Gargabol, just a stupid dumb oneshot (not fissure, likely got hit by singed plants for RR and then deleted by Gargo). Reshuffled some augments a bit for more fire resist overcap and that was good enough to net a kill.
SR25 is just about where I would likely stop with the budget build. Being crittable was felt badly here, good amount of close call with red bar. Died in a shard, so no timer reward for me. Endgame build is obviously a different story.
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Hi! Nice to see you again in 1.1.9.7 patch 
.
The build is same, the only buff is this:
- Aspect of the Guardian: increased base % Physical Resist by 2% and increased % All Retaliation damage scaling with rank
See you!
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