[1.2.1.0] - Ultos' Savagery Druid (no MI) - SR80 - Ravager of Minds 1:59 - Callagadra 1:25 - Avatar of Mogdrogen 1:34

[Dantioch]

When I saw in the 1.2.1.0 updates that wind devils became perma summons I know that the time has come to complete one task from my GD bucketlist, namely my Ultos’ Druid. Back then when I leveled my first character I traded my very first item with a guy, who wear full Ultos’ set, crlackling and shit, and I was like “OMG I NEED THAT!!” Somehow over the years this haven’t come together, mainly because I hate to summon wind devils, but now it is here. To be honest I did not plan to post this build, because I was sure that there must be a similar build in the appropriate section of grimtools. When I was done with the theorycrafting I checked GT and was quite surprised because I have found lots of Savagery/Upheavel builds, found several Ultos’ builds (a build which utilizes the full Ultos’ set) and ofc a lot of Druid builds, but I haven’t find an Ultos’ Savagery/Upheaval Druid build. Actually there is one Ultos’ Druid build which uses savagery but it is a primal strike build and just uses it for the buff. So lets fill in this gap. OFC this is a no-MI no-Dope toon.

A few words about the build as the general idea is not new. Shaman part is pretty standard S/U setup. If you see one, you have seen them all. Minor tweaks here and there. For arcanist I went to support offense as much as possible.

This toon gives back the “unstoppable force of nature” feeling I looked for. Flashy, your eyes melt. This is actually a problem as well, because on higher SR-s I died just because I haven’t seen that I am standing on a patch and I don’t want to stare on the right bottom corner all the time.

Gameplay wise it is brainded simple. Tbh a bit too simple for my taste, but if you just want to sweep across the land as a furious thunder this can do that.

GRIMTOOLS

Lets see the results

note: the boss fights were recorded first, here I went min physique and max cunning around 40/60%. For SR I had to change this as you can see it in gt. Why do I have 10 point on cunning? Because with 10 point I exactly have 3400 OA when savagery is up and that is a nice round number.

SR75

Grim Dawn [1.2.1.0] - Ultos Savagery Druid (no MI) - SR75

SR80 - I have done 85 with him, definitely doable, but I am lazy nowadays so you have to accept this 80 vid.

Grim Dawn [1.2.1.0] - Ultos Savagery Druid (no MI) - SR80

Ravager of Minds 1:59
This time I tought that I will accept the challenge because I read/heard that minds is really really bad for a build like this. A very offensive, low defense, low hp, mainly relying on ADCtH for survival. Boy oh boy I did not know what I have casted on myself… This fight was BY FAR the hardest of my entire GD journey so far. Before anybody asks how many times I tried to pull this off, the answer is simple → too many… But here it is, just under 2 min.
p.s.: If somebody would be so kind and try this build against Flesh and would share the results with me, I would be really happy. Quite interested actually.

Grim Dawn [1.2.1.0] - Ulto's Savagery Druid (no MI) - Ravager of Minds 1.59

Callagadra 1:25
This vid starts from running because in the previous attempt I missed one sunder…

Grim Dawn [1.2.1.0] - Ulto's Savagery Druid (no MI) - Calla 1.25

Avatar of Mogdrogen 1:34
Who wins the “Who is the better lightning druid - contest”? poor mog does not

Grim Dawn [1.2.1.0] - Ulto's Savagery Druid (no MI) - MOG - 1.34

As always, constructive criticism is welcome.

Happy Gaming!

[sk_choi]

I see your genius. No-MI, no-doping, even with 2H weapon… it’s a great accomplishment.

You’re not my friend anymore. You’re my rival.

[mad_lee]

@Dantioch

constructive criticism is welcome.

Hey, few things that could be improved imo:

• Patching up armor absorb (you are trying hard to stack armor yet you are leaving absorb at 90%)
• But actually switching to Sanctified Bone because it’s more important for a single RR lightning build (otherwise Grava will eat you for breakfast)
• Redistributing skill points (you want to take Conversion and Fabric of Reality from Arcanist’s passives while Arcane Will is a bit of a waste of points here)
• Actually consider investing into Mog Pact as it has double value here: fully converted flat + regen boost
• Consider taking regen devos since Ultos set supports it
• Getting good pair of pants (and green pants with of Vitality suffix will greatly boost your survivability, I would go for Solaels or Dreegs), because you are just shooting yourself in the foot by choosing not to play without green items (same with rings)
• Patching up CC-res. Without trap res and with Freeze res that low SR/Crucible is going to be uncomfortable to the point where you might easily die because you got stopped by CC.

[Dantioch]

Thanks for your valuable inputs. If somebody, you know how hard it is is to juggle between all the aspect of a build so there are some points which I can/want to amend and some which do not. Mixed up a bit the order of your points just for easier reading.

• Patching up armor absorb (you are trying hard to stack armor yet you are leaving absorb at 90%)

Scale hide instead of ancient armor on legs.

• But actually switching to Sanctified Bone because it’s more important for a single RR lightning build (otherwise Grava will eat you for breakfast)

You are correct that this build has some resist issues, and seriously considered using sanctified bone, but that would upset the whole resist setup this build have. Need to think about this a little more.

• Consider taking regen devos since Ultos set supports it

Experimented with giant&lizard instead of chariot&hound as these have the same completion bonus but going from ~1k regen to ~2k does not seem worth losing wayward and armor in return.

• Getting good pair of pants (and green pants with of Vitality suffix will greatly boost your survivability, I would go for Solaels or Dreegs), because you are just shooting yourself in the foot by choosing not to play without green items (same with rings)

We share this no-mi disability with sk_choi, so thats that, this is how I like it But ofc, you are right, this build should be much better with proper MI-s. Those would solve the resist issues.

• Redistributing skill points (you want to take Conversion and Fabric of Reality from Arcanist’s passives while Arcane Will is a bit of a waste of points here)
• Actually consider investing into Mog Pact as it has double value here: fully converted flat + regen boost
• Patching up CC-res. Without trap res and with Freeze res that low SR/Crucible is going to be uncomfortable to the point where you might easily die because you got stopped by CC.

Adressing the last 3 points above I made some changes on skill point distribution. Dropped Arcane Will and Elemental balance. In exchange conversion is at 10 and Mog pact at 16 (max for this build). Need to test it.

Druid, Level 100 (GD 1.2.1.0) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator

[mad_lee]

@Dantioch

Experimented with giant&lizard instead of chariot&hound as these have the same completion bonus but going from ~1k regen to ~2k does not seem worth losing wayward and armor in return.

Gotta go heavier into that, like Giant + Scythe or if you can’t fit Scythe, Giant + Ghoul + minor t1 devos that have regen and that fit.

@Dantioch

We share this no-mi disability with sk_choi

That gave me a good chuckle, at least you are honest about it.

But seriously, running three minutes each run to Solael’s or Dreeg’s guardians or whatever those bosses names are like 5 times will probably already yield better pair of pants - a task that any scrap metal faction gear build can do.

@Dantioch

Adressing the last 3 points above I made some changes on skill point distribution. Dropped Arcane Will and Elemental balance. In exchange conversion is at 10 and Mog pact at 16 (max for this build). Need to test it.

I think leave conversion at 6 and invest at least a point into Mirror: can’t skip it on Arcanist, especially with cdr.

Also if you are going full Upheaval then Feral Hunger is taking away from your Upheaval procs (but you probably know that). Like game checks to roll wps or not to roll it first and then if you don’t roll wps (75% of the times) it checks if to roll crit or not (so you proc Upheaval when you crit but only 75% of the time). Not sure if that was your initial idea or not.

Also also Haunted Steel is a powerful crutch for a build like that.

[Dantioch]

I left feral hunger because of The Crimson Claws. I know that it hinders damage, but gave me a reliable heal sustain. Probably this build should be made more defensive/tough as you hinted as well. If there is one thing what this toon is not short of, it is damage.

[Dantioch]

One question to you guys, because there is one thing I haven’t found an answer for. How does the % chance for +% damage mechanic works? I understand that it can activate for every attack which does the respective damage type. But this build has two sources and my question is about how these two work together.

Is it “WPS like”? So in this case 33% for 585 30% for 250 and 37% for nothing? Or these can proc simultaneously?

[orwund]

i think you actually answered your question quite well. its not big differense since we have on one side 33% on +585%, 30% on +250%, and on another
0.33 * 0.3 chance on +585+250%
0.33 - 0.33 * 0.3 chance on +585%
0.3 - 0.33 * 0.3 chance on +250%
no big deal at all

[Gnomish_Inquisition]

@Dantioch

Or these can proc simultaneously?

yes
it’s also not really a proc in the normal GD sense, since it doesn’t require a specific action (attack/crit/when hit), but just “a” dmg application to occur
it’s like a direct dmg booster to an instance of dmg, not just when you slap something
lightning dmg happens, it might apply that/those booster to that singular instance of dmg, individually or together, or none at all, so on and forth when dmg occurs

@orwund

no big deal at all

not a big chance for both to happen at the same time perhaps
but 585% can be anywhere from a 25%-15% build dmg booster, so it can be a decent dmg bonus

[Reuphrosyne]

Hello, Dantioch.

First of all, I’d like to express my deepest gratitude to you for sharing the build. Your build is the first I came across during my very first gameplay of this game.

You can check the build here: Druid, Level 100 (GD 1.2.1.2) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator (I did a little modification to gears and devotion point allocation).

I’ve been playing with the same build for this past three months. And few things I suggest:

• You can switch the component Ancient Armor Plate to Titan Plating on your armor to boost Physique, Armor rating, and Piercing Resistance. It helps to sustain against piercing-based damage boss like Fabius “the Unseen” Gonzar. Although you’re still need to kite him a little bit to avoid his Blade Spirits.
  
  

With proper affixes in rings, the Piercing Resistance can get flat 80% or beyond.

• I’ve changed the rings to Mythical Glyph of the Storm Witch to add Chain Lightning procs when hitting the mobs. With Storm Touch skill the procs goes infinite, especially when it mix with Ultos’ Wrath (Ultos’ Gear passive skill).

• For Rune Augment, you can go either Rune of Ultos’ Arrival or Rune of the Stormtitan to boost the damage output. Ultos’ Arrival gives less damage than Stormtitan though. But it’s a good pick if you want to escape in a tight situation.

• In Devotion, you can complete Sailor’s Guide (by one point) and Rhowan’s Crown (by two points) to increase your Physique, damage output, and Elemental Resistance respectively. Refer to link above for the point allocation.

The build goes pretty well with Warlord in Shattered Realms runs, due to its damage boost in Squad Tactics. It boosts between 900k-1.2m damage ticks, if you’re lucky.

Looking forward to your inputs, opinions and suggestions for improving this build.

Cheers!

[Gnomish_Inquisition]

@Reuphrosyne

In Devotion, you can complete Sailor’s Guide (by one point)

why?
you’re sacrificing hawk, OA and Crit, for 15physique, which not only benefits you less, but gives you an excess blue affinity you also don’t need/benefit from

@Reuphrosyne

component Ancient Armor Plate to Titan Plating

you end up with less armour rating, less absorb, and overall less DA - while not needing the pierce res
OP (has 90% absrob:

yours (78% absorb)

this is not the benefit you think it is, as it ends up with a net loss (rather large)

[Reuphrosyne]

I forgot to display the Poison & Acid Resistance. It goes 80% with extra 5%. The affixes on gears and components have a crucial role to its resistance.

[Gnomish_Inquisition]

i feel you misunderstand?
Grimtools shows stats with avg rolls, it doesnt’ show exact, but that’s still a key point; OP has res covered/better stats with avg rolls, and doesnt’ rely on high/max roll to cover it.
So if OP is then likewise applying high/max roll; OPs setup still end up with overall better stats/resist

edit. you can swap 2 augments btw,
you’re using the same Vit-Bleed augments in legs and boots that OP does, but your setup doesn’t need the bleed because you’re using 2 extra ugdenleather/have a 50 bleed res surplus

[Reuphrosyne]

I changed both augments for legs and boots to Solael’s Soulbinding, as your suggestions.

Here’s the updated build: Druid, Level 100 (GD 1.2.1.2) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
But the Vitality Resistance still display its value as 75%

Thank you for the input.

[Reuphrosyne]

Piercing Resistance goes up. No more flat resistance.

[Reuphrosyne]

Quick question, sir.

If I wear two rings with this skill effect, does the proc stacks or proc separately?

[Gnomish_Inquisition]

they are independent of eachother, so can both go off at the same time, or in a row after eachother

[Mihaaai]

Hello! It is a nice build and yesterday I finished it. But there is a problem wich I cannot identify. I get one shotted in SR between 65-80. Any advices?

[Gnomish_Inquisition]

trying to facetank when shouldn’t/not paying attention to debuffs or specific boss attacks?

*just saying getting 1shot doesn’t really provide as much information as might assume, it depends when/where and what it is and such

[Mihaaai]

Sorry, Im new to this game and I dont know so much details…I try to evade as much as I cand and try to regen, but some mobs just lauches projectiles and get me one shotted. Same with that skeleton with red projectiles.(again maybe I play bad, Im still new in this game).