Hello,
I was seen this ask numerous time but the various answer left me uncertain. Here I tried to provide details so my question is treated differently than a simple “any mage build?” request.
I have tried GD before AoM and didn’t get far since I wasn’t sure if I would be able to play as a mage.
Maybe allow me to “define” what I believe is a “mage” and what it isn’t.
physically weak
Spells, from his skill tree (not from gear). Things like fire|ice|storm|magic|arcane bolts|rays, various AoE, some DoTs, some crowd control (freeze, sleep, sheep, obstacle, whatever)
The D2 sorceress, the WoW mage or the Torchlight2 Embermage are good example (also Baldur’s gate wizard/sorcerer, ToME4 archmage).
I believe a mage shouldn’t rely on physical trait (str, vitality) and should boost magic related attributes (magic, mind, focus, intelligence, you-name-it).
I wasn’t comfortable with the titan quest oracle class (storm/spirit) because it relied on summon and the staff power instead of any spells.
I have read about the pyromancer but to me it looks like more of a grenadier than a mage. There is also some summoner type builds (with occulist? not my style either) and totem based builds (so, summon and forget, summon like? No thx).
Is there something for me in vanilla GD? Or maybe with AoM or the next exp?
You can play pure caster builds like a druid based on Trozan’s and Wind Devil, or a ritualist with Ravenous Earth and totems, or maybe a Panetti mage hunter, they have excellent gear support ; you should check the build compendium for builds labelled as ‘caster’
I’ve had a similar issue, trying to find a true mage to play.
You obviously want arcanist in the mix most of the time. If you are ok with more of an elemental type mage you could leave it out in favor of shaman and inquisitor though.
Really you only have a couple options though to mix with arcanist as you seem to have the same restrictions as me.
Demolitionist is probably out because it’s all guns and grenades, so there goes your main fire based mage (this annoys me a lot…)
Nightblade can be a good cold mage if you are ok with the focus on just cold. The rogue theme and the spells focus on blades might turn you off though.
Occultist is ok if you don’t mind a bit of warlock type arcane theme. You don’t have to do the pets. The curse is a really good debuff for elemental casters. You will see lots of pentagram visuals though so depends if you are into that.
Necromancer much like Occultist depends if you are ok with that theme of magic. Lots of bone and life drain stuff.
Shaman is ideal for a lightning based mage. Yes it is called a “druid” when mixed with arcanist but its mostly about summoning storms and using trozan sky shard from arcanist. It does use the lightning totem though which may go against your style.
Inquisitor actually has the most varied fire/lightning/cold spells in one class and has a very mage like feel if you ignore that part of the class theme is about guns. Word of pain is a nice dot with a cool mage looking Debuff on the monsters, and the runes work like traps but put magic glyphs on the ground that actually look and feel very spell like to use. It’s also the best combo to use the panetti missiles from arcanist.
Thank you all.
I may try the panetti since it s mentionned. Otherwise, the magehunter might be another option.
@Rhaegar
It s reassuring to know that I am not alone. Currently, I am satisfying my mage-itch with TL2. I too was kind of sorry that the sorcerer was more like a grenadier than a mage. I will try druid and maybe mage hunter when I grab the extension. Or I might bit the bullet, forget about mage and go full melee or guns.
Nope, you have to have specific set of items. Items make builds in Grim Dawn. But good news is that all those items are very affordable if you trade on these forums. You can buy them for some moderate amounts of iron bits/crafting mats.
It is of course possible to do a build with same skills, but less performance using only basic items. It depends on what you mean by “a good build”. Only a few % care about end game stuff like crucible so you should not project those definitions to everyone
A really good “pure mage” build is a Mage Hunter (arcanist + inquisitor). Use Panetti’s Replicating Missiles as main attack and Storm Box of Elgoloth for taking down bosses. Throw in some support powers from both classes (Deadly Aim, Word of Renewal, Olextra’s Flash Freeze, etc.) then add Devastation when you get there. Easy to play, no need for crazy items to make it obliterate the screen. You will need to use the component Ectoplasm on your jewelry, the energy cost of this build is pretty high.
I don’t know about that, build I linked is of my creation and it’s a spellbreaker. It’s pretty hard to make caster spellbreaker work properly without good items. If you don’t have items or playing self-found, I would recommend playing Mage Hunter/Tactician/Deceiver, those would make pretty solid “mage” builds without end-game legendaries/sets.