[1.1.9.8-1.2] Beginner Lightning Rune Paladin - With leveling guide, budget setup, end game version

Getting back into GD after a fairly long break and really enjoying this build - landmines and kiting is a very different style of play from my earlier characters. In particular, dropping a full stack of runes on top of a shrine and getting the “cleared” message as soon as I turn it on is never going to get old.

A good caster offhand with Hell’s Bane Ammo seems like a better play over the Obsidian Bulwark, at least through lower difficulties where resist reduction doesn’t matter as much.

Glad you like it!

The Storm Box offhand is a solid choice as well. Although keep in mind that if you use this you’ll eventually need to go a different devotion route and will be missing out on a good chunk of physical resistance. Another argument in favor of Bulwark is the +1 projectile modifier, which is a bigger deal than it sounds.

Not even really optimized yet and I just instapopped Ultimate Mad Queen. This is so much fun. Paladin, Level 98 (GD 1.2.0.3) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator

I love the fact that Korvaak’s Eye turns OA into a defensive stat. I haven’t yet felt like I needed any additional defenses from a shield, I just keep pumping OA and letting my hammerbros petrify everything.

New player here, thank you so much for the detailed guide! One question, how are you able to get sailor’s devotion w/o selecting the middle crossroads?

Constellations can support themselves once completed.

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Great work Crab Turtle. This build imo is underrated, many players get put off due to the casting and detonation time of runes but it’s powerful af. This was discussed prior here too : [1.1.9.1 - 1.1.9.4] (Caster) Thunder in Paradise - Lightning RoK Purifier [SR90] [4:40 Crucible] [Avatar, Crate] - #9 by x1x1x1x2

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Just finished levelling this, fresh start, no help from other characters and playing hardcore.

Great build all around and would recommend to anyone as their first or fifteenth character.

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When looking for new items, what should be my priority?

What damage stats do we need?
We are leaning into shock & eletrocute, but we have resistance reduction for all the elementals, so elemental damange is also fine? We need OA to get crit for crit procs?

What is the priority for defense besides resistance capping?

(I should add I completed the budget build and approach late game)

Main damage skills (box and rune) deal lightning and electrocute damage so the damage stats you want are +x% to lightning, elemental and electrocute damage.

Yes as mentionned in the guide.

I would’ve said physical resistance but that may be changing in the upcoming patch. Health is always good, heal procs too since regen and leech are not that good here.

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Hello there! Great build guide, I’m looking forward to trying it out. One question though - if I were to pick Vindicator over Paladin, wouldn’t it make sense to use Storm Totems alongside RoK as a main damage skill, or would it be just a waste of points?

Definitely not a waste of points in fact it’d be foolish not to do so :stuck_out_tongue: I made said build and enjoyed it quite a bit. Make sure to grab a stormstrife to summon 2 at once and max out maelstrom on your devil’s as well.

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Totems are good yes.

Hi! Another quick question - if I were to replace SoH on the devotions with Tempest, how would it affect the build?

You could play something like this Level 100 (GD 1.2.0.3) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
Should be good.

If you decide to pick a lightning caster off-hand and use Rhowan’s Crown for flat rr instead of the shield, then you have to give up Korvaak as well.

Thanks a lot! Very interesting devotion path, will definitely try it out when I have some free time.

This build is almost unethically powerful once you have the three RoK mis, can enthusiastically recommend this build to new players and it’s prob my new favorite way to level Inquisitor based classes. Also, I didn’t see it mentioned but the blue gun Aldur’s Inquisition has a elemental seal proc and +2 to Artifact Handling. A decent option if you haven’t found any good lightning main hand weaps yet, and you can put Hell’s Bane Ammo on it for even more damadz (as if you needed it)