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Leveling character that killed Ultimate Korvaak and Lokarr
- can proc Maul with 1/1/1 Vire’s Might and not use Judgmement if you prefer
- I beat SR65 Ult with it to get SR set and test the next build
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Budget optimized build
- not worth it, just farm Warborn with the leveling build
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Endgame builds
- DW by Fordprefect (recommended - has very similar devotion)
- DW by Nery
- 2H by Fordprefect
- 2H by banana_peel + mad_lee
Foreword
Not very nicely formatted, I wasn’t going to publish the guide but new players keep wanting to level Physical EoR so it might be helpful.
Leveling gear
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of course if you get Warborn Bastion set, some Legendaries with + to EoR, Soulfire medal etc
wear them immediately, here I’m limiting myself to budget gear -
I used multiple greens with Of Scorched Ends prefix for +2 EoR while leveling
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Wardstone component (crafted at Angrim)
- for more movement speed
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Brutal Great Axe (crafted at Angrim)
- if you don’t have a good weapon early on
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- you don’t need the 3rd one, it’s not much better than the 2nd one, but you can farm totems at level 60 for blueprint if you want
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- DW them after Cronley, should have enough rep to buy DW relic at Devil’s Crossing
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- 2 of these wielded most of the leveling, 1 after getting Beronath, Reforged
- drops from dinosaurs in FG, don’t spend much time on this, I got mine easily
- here’s the farming route if I remember correctly
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- for Elemental → Physical conversion till you get Beronath, Reforged
- get it in Temple of Osyr
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- will be needed for crafting, might be best to get it when you’re low level
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- I wore it at 75 level because my Energy was dropping too much sometimes
- since it scales with Weapon damage, a lot of Regen will be from movement skills [edit] and Scales devotion proc that has weapon damage
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- you can buy these if you need some good resistances
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(elite) Rhowari Grips - I bouth the low level ones although I had +2 EoR magic that might have been better
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- powerfarm blueprint at 75 from Vinelton
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HGOTYUQohc
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grJz0W6Vats
- also get some other blueprints that are needed while you’re at it such as Savage, Inferno and Rampage
- best crafted at Gaius
- possible bonuses are Crit, Energy Regen, Acid res
- craft in Normal because in Elite it’s best to skip FG
- powerfarm blueprint at 75 from Vinelton
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Eternal Band rings
- for Attack Speed, +2 to Soulfire, disruption protection
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- +1 to Soldier
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After getting to 100 most probably you can get +1 to Oathkeeper belt and amulet if you want:
- Kaisan’s Eldritch Eye
- Kaisan’s Burning Eye
- Conduit of Divine Whispers
- test in-game if the conversion you get is not detrimental to the build
- Dreeg Venomspine Waistguard
- Dreeg Venomspine Girdle
- Gargoyle Girdle
Skills order
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if you need more than 1p Presence of Virtue earlier for Energy Regen then take it. I needed if very late. Also Arcane Spark in the medal if you need
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don’t put 1p into menhir’s will like me as it doesn’t work with dual wield!
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all points into Forcewave and Tremor Warlord, Level 14 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
- I played with it in Crucible (see Journey) and later till killing Viloth
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after that, at around level 14 respec into 1p Vire’s Might and max EoR asap Warlord, Level 14 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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1p into Tectonic Shift
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1p into Guardians of Empyrion Warlord, Level 18 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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max Soulfire Warlord, Level 26 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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1p into Presence of Virtue and Rebuke to benefit from Sandclaw Slicers bonuses
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max Divine Mandate
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max Celestial Presence Warlord, Level 35 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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max Ascension, put 1p into Clarity of Purpose
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1p Heaven, Resilience Warlord, Level 42 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
and either Volcanic Stride or Judgment depending on which you proc Maul with.
I initially played VM but switched to Judgment -
1p in Blitz for better movement (optional) Warlord, Level 46 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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12/12 Fighting Spirit Warlord, Level 51 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator (I may have more here and later because I changed my mind later)
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1p into Veterancy Warlord, Level 53 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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1p into War Cry (bind Ulzaad’s Decree to it) and Field Command Warlord, Level 57 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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1p into Decorated Soldier Warlord, Level 60 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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max out Presence of Virtue finally as I felt the need of Energy regen Warlord, Level 65 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
I’m planning to keep it at 12 even after getting bonuses to this skill -
soft cap Squad Tactics (unless you can somehow reach more attack speed with some bonuses)
and 1p Blindside Warlord, Level 73 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator -
1p into Scars of Battle and as many points as possible into Break Morale Warlord, Level 83 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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soft cap Military Conditioning Warlord, Level 85 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
(I also removed 1p into Menhir’s Will because it doesn’t work with Dual Wield) -
soft cap Field Tactics Warlord, Level 89 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
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invest 3 and 5 points in total in Haven and Clarity of Purpose (CTRL + Shift in GT): Warlord, Level 93 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
Devotion
Blue means taking Blue Crossroad
-X means respeccing from X
You respec at a Spirit Guide.
Blue
Bull (bind to Forcewave, later to EoR),
-Blue,
Assassin (bind to Guardians, later to EoR),
Lion,
Yellow,
Tip of the Scale Ulcama proc,
Wraith
Bear (bind Maul to Judgment or Vire’s Might with Volcanic Stride)
Purple
Ulzaad’s Decree (just the proc, bind to Blitz and War Cry later)
Crab proc (bind Divine Mandate)
Stag
-Bull
Turtle
-Yellow
Solemn Watcher
-Lion
Complete Crab
-Wraith
Hammer
Shifting Sands (bind like in GT)
Red
Ghoulish Hunger (bind to something)
Jackal
-Red
Azrakaa free node
Tips and info
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spend leftover Attributes points in Cunning (Physique / Spirit just to meet requirements) but left 10 points in the tank just in case there’s suddenly a high requirement to meet
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I have Blitz, Vire’s Might and Medal movement skill macro’ed to 1 button that spams them
same with Ascension, Judgment and War Cry
for chill netflix gameplay -
Aether Crystal farming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uMD_sWN6Wo
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after killing Cronley you got enough reputation too buy DW relic in Devil’s Crossing
go to forgotten gods to get shoulders and weapons -
I sided with Kymon’s, later in Ultimate it’s super easy to switch to Order and max its rep if needed
by doing bounties in Warden’s Lab because you get rep for both a bounty and aetherial heroes and monsters- remember to stack up Kymon’s armor augments before doing so though
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Treasure Troves are good source of blueprints
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Steward Halberd - alternative for 2h (for Gutsmasher for example) - but subpar most probably
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when at 75 level, farm Totems till you get all 75 components blueprints - it’s easier that way [hypothesis]
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consider of Scorched Ends prefix Grim Internals notification
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bloom farming vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOk4SfWMRws
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Death’s Vigil farming vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC2MnRwlmgY
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blueprints (i.e. for Warborn set) probably the easiest to farm by doing SR75-76 Normal
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check if your devotions are bound especially to items auras after you mess with your equipment
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read blueprints as you get them
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important - when you run out of energy, you lose Beronath conversion aura and need to recast it
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in Normal to quest for Barrowholm and Ugdenbog but don’t go further (to Malmouth).
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I moved to Elite at level 50. To much grind to reach 75 to be able to equip Beronath at the start of Elite
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on the very rare times you don’t have Energy and pot’s on cooldown - stand in some DoT for the bar to quickly feel up by proccing Scales
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can buy troll bone crushers at Benevald’s
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don’t forget to farm Mistborn Talisman in Smuggler’s Pass (I did)
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it’s always worth it to spam Rifts so that you can teleport to them after dying
- or next to some side road to come to it later and be able to teleport back
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you can plan how to use augments & components in GrimTools before doing in on your character
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in Ugdenbog always kill all trees and plant, click stomps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOk4SfWMRws
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can wear some items with Energy Regeneration for example with Of Insight suffix
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Clear all totems along your way to get a lot of greens and Iron Bits from selling greens, it’s going to be useful later.
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Keep multiple item pieces for every slot with various resistances so that you have a lot of options while making adjustments.
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Early on it might be worth it to buy some Scraps from vendors.
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Horrus from Gates of Necropolis can transmute materials into each other, see
Blacksmiths’ Crafting Materials Exchange.
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Always kill Ch’thon Cultists along the way for a good chance of Blood of Ch’thon.
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Read blueprints that drop from a totem before farming the next one. I’m not sure of this but I read once that the game checks which blueprints the player has already read.
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I followed the Ugdenbloom route below but not the whole one - I restarted after clearing Undergrowth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOk4SfWMRws:
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Skip Malmouth in Normal and Elite
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skip Forgotten Gods in Elite.
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side with Solael in Forgotten Gods
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I filled up the whole Death’s Vigil Honored bar to Revered in an hour. The best (and only) bounties I recommend are the ones in Warden’s Lab and maybe also the crafting ones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC2MnRwlmgY
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Side with Anasteria but do NOT give her 3 rare crafting mats on any difficulty - it’s a scam. You’ll max out Outcast’s Secret’s reputation easily anyway.
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Don’t farm bounties on lower difficulties if you can progress smoothly anyway. The higher the difficulty, the more reputation you get (?)
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pushing SR Normal, stop every 5 levels for the loot
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You don’t need to grind SR[1-25] on Ultimate to get 3 Skill Points for doing the following quests:
You can reach high SR on Normal and do just SR35 on Ultimate instead.
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Gargoyle farming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukSHbrNlpQw
The Journey
- 1st level in-game by killing zombies, read the first note from the corner of the prison
- turn off common items
- spec into Forcewave
- get 5 Crucible devo points in Crucible of the Stars and level a bit (optional)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlLr-kskjuQ - explain how it’s done INSERT VIDEO
- turned of yellows
- Bull Rush to Forcewave
- kill reanimator Warlord, Level 14 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnR5kg3isdQ
- do some quests and reach 14 level
- make sure you have Energy pots
- started Assassin’s Mark
- kill Viloth / character after Respec Warlord, Level 14 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
https://youtu.be/ApyY1UzHAWY
(1p Vire’s Might + 13p in EoR is fine for Energy regen for me, lower it and Presence of Virtue if needed )
- maxed out EoR
- using gear with Energy regen is one of the ways to help with it
- 1p into Tectonic Shift
- 1p into Guardians of Empyrion
- kill Salazar Warlord, Level 18 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW9Mw7GxYZY
- I think I forgot to assign Devotion point, anyway bind Assassin’s Mark to Guardians for now (might change it later)
- you can craft Great Axe at Angrim’s if you don’t have any good Physical weapon
- crafted 2 Wardstones for more Movement Speed
- crafted Silk Swatch & Antivenom Salve for Poison, Pierce and Bleeding res
(not that I particularly need it now, just for good habit) - started Lion devotion
- killed Krieg without problems but had problems with recording (showed green screen)
- I’d go to FG but first I’d like more rep with Devil’s Crossing to buy
relic that enables dual wielding
Warlord, Level 23 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
- found two items with +2 to Eye of Reckoning
- improved my resistances and attack speed with more components
- joined Cult of Solael to for Charge movement skill to use together with Vire’s Might
- went off road to kill some bees for Royal Jelly that will be needed for a quests
- I don’t crit atm to apply Assassin’s Mark but I don’t care about it for now, just have it bound for it to gain exp
- I crafted some dynamies at smith in Forgotten Gods
- maxed out Soulfire
- Level 26 vs Cronley in Normal Warlord, Level 26 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlnemezIAnA
- after killing Cronley you got enough reputation too buy DW relic in Devil’s Crossing
- found +2 EoR gloves
- I wore some items with %OA
- I prepared myself for Forgotten Gods to get some Items Warlord, Level 27 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
- continued Forgotten Gods and doing quests for Solael
- I found one Sandclaw Slicer so I put 1p into Presence of Virtue after leveling to benefit from its attack speed buff
and 1p into Rebuke since the axe has bonuses to it - started putting points into Scales of Ulcama to reach the proc
- Level 28 vs Ramzul in Normal Warlord, Level 29 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxJuk-7TXww - started leveling Celestial Presence [MISTAKE, SHOULD HAVE PUT POINTS INFO DIVINE MANDATE DUE TO LOW %DAMAGE]
- to get Korvan Spaulders I had to clear Temple of Osyr for the 2nd time
- I also got my 2nd Sandclaw slicer after going to Korvan Plateu for the 2nd time
- here’s my character wearing these: Warlord, Level 29 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator (should have specced into Divine Mandate)
forgoing Forgotten Gods till Ultimate and continuing Vanilla game from Twin Falls
- bought Runestone blueprint from Rovers just in case after meeting their reputation threshold
- after killing Kilrian at the end of Arkovian Undercity I got to Tip of the Scales and bound it to Presence of Virtue
- respecced from Celestial Presence into Divine Mandate and started maxing it instead
- after that Celestial Presence
- I put Kilrian component in the chest
- crafted Shockweave Sash as I found blueprint for it
- Level 35 vs Zartuzellan in Normal Warlord, Level 35 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69ocCp0E9Fg
- don’t forget to farm Mistborn Talisman in Smuggler’s Pass (I did)
- kept 2 Bonecrushers because I think they might be useful in crafting later (relic mainly)
- I started putting points in Ascension and 1p into Clarity of Purpose
- I sided with Kymon’s, later in Ultimate it’s super easy to switch to Order and max its rep by doing bounties in Warden’s Lab
because you get rep for both a bounty and aetherial heroes and monsters- remember to stack up Kymon’s armor augments before doing so though
- Level 40 vs Karroz in Normal Warlord, Level 40 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H4bL0A25m8
- I reached Maul from Bear devotion and bound it to Judgment
- I switched to Assassin on EoR and Guardian on Bull
- Level 45 vs Loghorrean, Talonis in Normal Warlord, Level 46 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6IsEtbqFUY
- joined Barrowholm in Normal
- in Normal to quest for Barrowholm and Ugdenbog but don’t go further (to Malmouth).
I moved to Elite at level 50. To much grind to reach 75 to be able to equip Beronath at the start of Elite. - my character prepared for Elite: Warlord, Level 50 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
- I reached Ulzaad’s Decree and bound it to Blitz for now.
Later I’ll bind it to War Cry
Level 54 vs Krieg Elite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4OZWYWG4Yk
- bought writ from Homestead on Normal because I reached Honored in them
and weapon augments with % Physical damage - refarm Sandclaw slicers in Forgotten Gods (Korvan Plateu, dinosaurs)
- farmed Mistborn Talisman
- crafted Bladedancer relic (better DW wield relic)
- fixed my devotion because I replanned my devotion path
- crafted prismatic diamond (might be worth it to farm totems and lower level for component blueprints)
- my character after the changes Warlord, Level 58 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHAFlNFxI50
- I started putting points in Presence of Virtue becasuse I felt the need for Energy
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsOk1JZ0tsI
- character prepared for Ultimate: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/8NKxYnJ2
(gonna put points in Squad Tacticts and Blindside next)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HGOTYUQohc
- I crafted Beronath at Gaius (went quickly to Malmouth in Normal to him), even bumped Kymon’s Rep a bit in the process (still not switched despite Ultimate)
- Arcane Spark
- Fettan Mask
- you can get +1 to Soldier / Oathkeeper Mace now if you want
- my character after these modifications: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/w26QE3xN
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kurSn2SCQ3w
- getting Kymon’s and Outcast to Revered, I improved my overcaps considerably: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/M2gLLaYV
- crafted higher version of Blademaster Talisman, not needed it’s not that much better https://www.grimtools.com/calc/62aLpgbN
- I got Seal of Might blueprint so I crafted them https://www.grimtools.com/calc/DV9l1Wx2
- got Malmouth to revered, crafted my first expensive components, 2 ugdenbob leathers https://www.grimtools.com/calc/0V0dk3rV
- I might use some leveling pots from Malmouth in Ultimate Forgotten Gods, although they are not really needed, you can spare your iron bits
- upgraded my gear https://www.grimtools.com/calc/RZRxY6r2
- killed Korvaak https://www.grimtools.com/calc/YZeLr1pV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnxnZ7WJZB0
Mods and tools
I’m a tool enthusiast and this is what I use:
- https://www.grimtools.com/
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Calculator (Planner) to test item / augment changes while leveling
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World Map displayed on my TV not to miss any secrets
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Checklist - didn’t use it but I should have to check if I did all important quests
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Item Database to find best items
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Monster Database to prepare for bosses
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- https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/tool-grim-dawn-item-assistant/30491 because I detest limited stash and quit games because of that
- https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/tool-grim-internals/38773 for
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being able to make cool screenshots
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debuff icons on enemies
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auto-pick up of greens which normally takes a lot of time after conquering totems
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visual and sound notifications about being nullified which I otherwise often missed
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display of health / energy potions cooldowns
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fixing time of the day
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removal of fog which makes the game look better
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- https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/tool-rainbow-filter-item-highlighting/42765 for making item stats more readable
- camera hack - for improving Rotate Left / Right Camera rotation because it’s otherwise very slow
- https://pandateemo.github.io/YoloMouse/ for having bigger and more visible cursor
Let me know if you are using this guide and having some problems along the way.