Grim Dawn Build Compendium X (Forgotten Gods)
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Thanks to Mirenheart, Missing String, ibugsy, Cryodacry, Dikkiedik, Chthon, sir spanksalot and veretragna for their work on Build Compendium I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX&X respectively.
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Honorable mentions (in no particular order): Superfluff, x1x1x1x2, mad_lee, malawiglenn.
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I would also like to sincerely thank our wonderful moderators - the unsung heroes of the forum - for everything that they do. The forum would be dead if it weren’t for their diligence.
User Guide (must read)
Search
Let’s say you want to find builds that have Fire Strike. First press Ctrl+F and type:
“Fire Strike” @Stupid_Dragon
Check the “Search this topic” checkerbox and press Enter. Click “more” to see all post. This will search through all of my posts that mention Fire Strike. The post preview will have the name of the character class in the beginning. Choose the post with class you’re interested in to navigate to it. All mentions of Fire Strike in the post will be highlighted.
Similarly you could search for other text elements, e.g. for builds flagged as [DW Melee].
Bookmarking
You can bookmark this thread for a quick access! For this scroll to the bottom and press “Bookmark” in the footnotes. Then you’ll be able to access Compendium from your profile menu:
You can also bookmark individual posts, for this press three dots (“show more”) in the post menu and find “Bookmark post” there.
(c) and other tags
(c) is the crucible tag, it shows how the build performs in the Crucible.
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(cr) - can complete wave 170 of the Crucible on Gladiator difficulty using a maximum of 3 buffs and a banner in less than 8 minutes
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(cr+) - can complete wave 170 of the Crucible on Gladiator difficulty using a maximum of 3 buffs and a banner in less than 6 minutes
(sr) is the shattered realm tag, it shows how the build performs in the Shattered Realm.
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(sr-) - can complete Shattered Realm up to Shard 50 on Ultimate difficulty (30 for Hardcore characters);
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(sr) – can complete Shattered Realm up to Shard 65 on Ultimate difficulty;
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(sr+) - can complete Shattered Realm up to Shard 75 on Ultimate difficulty.
(vid) - has videos of gameplay, most often as proofs of (c+) and (sr+) capability.
(hc) - hardcore character.
(L) - includes levelling guide.
Build Submission Guide
Which builds could be submitted into Compendium X
A build that has a dedicated thread on this forum. Compendium essentially is a collection of links to these threads. Builds that do not have a dedicated thread thread can’t participate in the compendium.
There are no strict rules on what such thread should contain, so check out other submissions to get a general understanding on what makes a good build thread. The bare minimum is:
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grimtools link of your character;
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A screenshot of your character’s sheet in-game (example);
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A short description.
Note that Compendium’s definition of a build is your character’s build. Grimtools allows you to theorycraft builds in great detail, but builds without an existing character can’t be submitted into Compendium. Whether you levelled the character legit or created one with a cheat tool doesn’t matter.
Also, do not submit builds that are not at level cap or reasonably close. It is perfectly fine to post your low level character’s build on this forum, but it is viewed as work in progress. Compendium is for more or less finished builds (think of it as an archieve).
Application form
To submit your build into compendium you need to fill the following form. Simply copy-paste it into your reply window and edit the necessary parts. Please do not fiddle with tags encased in < > brackets.
* <font color='YellowGreen'>[Playstyle] [Patch] (mi) (crucible) (shattered realm) (hc) (vid) (L) [Build Name](build url) (Author) </font>
* <font color='YellowGreen'>Damage: </font> Damage Type 1, Damage Type 2, Damage Type 3
* <font color='YellowGreen'>Active Skills: </font> Active Skill 1, Active Skill 2, Active Skill 3
* <font color='YellowGreen'>Passive Skills: </font> Passive Skill 1, Passive Skill 2, Passive Skill 3
* <font color='YellowGreen'>WPS Skills: </font> WPS Skill 1, WPS Skill 2, WPS Skill 3
How to fill the form
[Playstyle] - simply change the content between [ ] brackets to something that would match your build. Typical and recommended options are [DW melee], [DW ranged], [2H melee], [2H ranged], [shield melee], [shield ranged], [Caster], [Melee/Caster], [Ranged/Caster], [Pet], [Retal]. If you feel like something else will describe your build better then go ahead, but I ask you to be reasonable – people may use these tags for searching.
[Patch] - version of the game the build is for. Obviously, the time goes on and some builds may receive revisions for newer patches. I accept requests to change the patch version of your submission if that happens.
[Build Name] - what you call your build. It doesn’t need to be a 100% match with your dedicated thread, but yet again – please be reasonable and don’t call your build in compendium submissions as something totally different from your dedicated thread’s name. Because of how this forum processes links, it is forbidden to use any extra square brackets in the build name.
(build url) - the link to the dedicated thread of your build on this forum.
(Author) - your nickname on this forum.
(mi) - include this tag if your build has at least one Monster Infrequent item. Whether the build needs specific affixes or not is irrelevant - if there’s a Monster Infrequent and the build testing was done with it then the submitted build should have that tag. Some buildmakers have adopted the practice of including a non-MI versions of their builds, but if the main build is the one with MIs then it should be marked with (mi) tag nevertheless.
(crucible) - replace it with (cr) or (cr+) depending on performance in the crucible. Guidelines:
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(cr) - can complete wave 170 of the Crucible on Gladiator difficulty using a maximum of 3 buffs and a banner in less than 8 minutes;
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(cr+) - can complete wave 170 of the Crucible on Gladiator difficulty using a maximum of 3 buffs and a banner in less than 6 minutes;
(shattered realm) - replace it with (sr-), (sr) or (sr+) depending on performance in the Shattered Ream on Ultimate difficulty. Guidelines:
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(sr-) - can complete Shattered Realm up to Shard 50 on Ultimate difficulty (30 for Hardcore characters);
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(sr) – can complete Shattered Realm up to Shard 65 on Ultimate difficulty;
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(sr+) - can complete Shattered Realm up to Shard 75 on Ultimate difficulty.
(hc) - include this tag if the character is played in hardcore mode, otherwise remove it.
(vid) - include this tag if there are videos posted in the build’s dedicated thread.
(L) - include this tag if the build has a levelling / progression guide.
Damage - list your damage types, separated by a comma.
- List only those damage types you’re building around or consider a significant part of build’s damage output.
- Entries like “Cold, Frostburn, bit of Bleeding” will be shortened to just “Cold, Frostburn”.
Active Skills - list your active skills, separated by a comma. You need to list all the active skills the build uses regardless of where they come from.
- If your build got access to say Stormfire but you don’t actually use it then it shouldn’t be mentioned.
- The one pointer skill you took just for proccing some devotion should be mentioned.
Passive Skills - list your passive skills, separated by a comma. The Compendium definition of passive skills is activable buffs and auras, as well as buffs that proc under certain conditions rather than actual passives.
- Rule of thumb is if you can bind a devotion to it then it should be mentioned, otherwise not.
- Actual passives like Military Conditioning shouldn’t be mentioned and will be removed from your submission.
- Auras and buffs that come from components shouldn’t be mentioned and will be removed from your submission. This includes Presence of Might, Whirling Blades, Arcane Resonance, Burning Weapons, Chilling Weapons, Electrifying Weapons, Envenomed Weapons, Aether-Ward, Void-Ward. Reason is chances for someone to search for a build based on these are rather low.
WPS skills - list your WPS skills, separated by comma.
- If the build has no WPS skills then this line must me omitted.
- That includes WPS granted by components & items.
- WPS is any proc with “activates off default weapon attacks” in description. For more information about WPS check out this thread
Submission example:
* <font color='YellowGreen'>[DW Melee] [1.1.1.2] (c+) (sr) (vid) [Cholol, the Breathtaking - Deathmarked Blademaster, Gladiator (6:08) and SR 80 viable](https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/47346) (veretragna) </font>
* <font color='YellowGreen'>Damage: </font> Cold
* <font color='YellowGreen'>Active Skills: </font> Cadence, Shadow Strike, Amarasta's Blade Burst, Ring of Steel, Pneumatic Burst, Reaper's Mark, Icechill, Blade Spirit
* <font color='YellowGreen'>Passive Skills: </font> Field Command, Fighting Spirit, Veil of Shadow, Oleron's Rage
* <font color='YellowGreen'>WPS Skills: </font> Markovian's Advantage, Belgothian's Shears, Whirling Death, Execution
What it would (should) look like:
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[DW Melee] [1.1.1.2] (c+) (sr) (vid) Cholol, the Breathtaking - Deathmarked Blademaster, Gladiator (6:08) and SR 80 viable (veretragna)
- Damage: Cold
- Active Skills: Cadence, Shadow Strike, Amarasta’s Blade Burst, Ring of Steel, Pneumatic Burst, Reaper’s Mark, Icechill, Blade Spirit
- Passive Skills: Field Command, Fighting Spirit, Veil of Shadow, Oleron’s Rage, Chilling Weapons x2
- WPS Skills: Markovian’s Advantage, Belgothian’s Shears, Whirling Death, Execution
FAQ
Q. Can this thread be pinned (a.k.a sticky)?
No, I’m afraid forum administrators have declined this proposal, for a good reason. The thread that links all Compendiums (vanilla, AoM and FG) is pinned instead. Make sure you haven’t unpinned it by chance.
Q. Is this Compendium helpful to me if I DO NOT possess Forgotten Gods DLC?
If you are someone who DOES NOT possess ASHES OF MALMOUTH and Forgotten Gods DLCs then this compendium is all but useless to you. The builds you are looking for can be found in Build Compendium V. If you have only Ashes of Malmouth DLC but not Forgotten Gods DLC, then you’ll find appropriate builds in Build Compendium IX.
Q. Why did you delete gear tags?!
The gear tag system was extremely flawed. Here I explained why it is.
I wrote this guide as a hopefully more adequate replacement.
Q. There are too many builds here, which one is most suited for beginners?
Check out the Beginner Guides section in the first post of the Compentium. You can also try looking for builds with (L) tag.
Q. Which builds are best for farming Crucible and/or Shattered Realm?
Builds tagged with (c+) and (sr+) respectively are a good bet.
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(c+) builds could do a Gladiator 150 to 170 run in less than 8 minutes with 3 buffs and a banner or less than 12 minutes with 4 buffs and no banner. Because crucible buffs last 25 minutes, this means 3 and 2 runs respectively, with the extra minute to loot the items.
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(sr+) is a more fuzzy case, because it only denotes that the build passed Shard 75. It doesn’t mean it could reliably do the Shard 75 to 76 run in a time that would make it worth it.
Also, please keep in mind that because the author of the build could do sub-6 minute Gladiator 170 runs or reach SR75+ it doesn’t mean you could do it too simply because it’s the same build. Personal piloting skill does matter.
Q. Why some builds have (sr) tag but don’t have a © tag and vice versa?
In the vast majority of cases it’s because the creator of the build doesn’t play either Crucible or Shattered Realm. Some builds have neither of them.
Q. Will (c+) build qualify as (sr+) and vice versa?
Shattered Realm and Crucible have a somewhat different meta (going further in SR requires more durability and doing faster runs in the Crucible requires more damage), so it’s better not to automatically assume that.
Q. What should I do if I have suggestions for the Build Compendium?
Either PM me or post them in this thread.
Builds for Beginners
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[Build Collection] Nery’s beginner build collection (Nery)
- [Caster] Beginner’s/budget acid Sentinel
- [Caster] Beginner’s/budget lightning Vindicator (caster version)
- [2H Ranged] Beginner’s/budget lightning Vindicator (2H ranged version)
- [DW Ranged] Beginner’s/budget DW pierce ranged Tactician
- [Caster] Beginner’s/budget vitality RE Opressor, Cabalist version added
- [DW Melee] Beginner’s/budget DW cold melee Trickster
- [DW Melee] DW cold infiltrator for beginners – build diary
- [Caster] Beginner’s/budget PRM Mage Hunter
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[Build Collection] The Carnival – A Guide to Pets (Maya)
- [Pet] Dodo – Pet Conjurer
- [Pet] Wisp – Pet Cabalist
- [Pet] Doctor – Pet Ritualist
- [Pet] Birb – Pet Occultist
- [Pet] Boo – Pet Necromancer
- [Pet] Thorns – Pet Shaman
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[DW Melee] Beginner’s Forgotten Blademaster (Stupid_Dragon)
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[DW Melee] Beginner’s Virulent Dervish (Stupid_Dragon)
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[Shield Melee] Beginner’s pre-Krieg Death Knight (Stupid_Dragon)
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[DW Hybrid] Beginner’s Phantom Infiltrator (Stupid_Dragon)
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[Caster] Beginner’s Nephrite Spellbinder (Stupid_Dragon)
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[DW Melee] American dream: from 0 to beating endgame (Blademaster, For beginners) (banana_peel)
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[DW Hybrid] Beginner’s Shadow Strike Infiltrator: Cruise through endgame in faction gear (banana_peel)
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[Skater] Vanquisher Fire Sentinel, semi-beginner friendly and practically farmable (Udars)
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[Melee/Caster] BYOB (Build Your Own Breaker) (Xervous)
Resources
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[Tool] Grim Tools (dammitt) – the most important resource for a Grim Dawn player by far. Do yourself a favour and take the time to learn how it works, especially the build calculator. Forum threads:
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[Misc] GD Acronyms and Abbreviations (DraonCC) - a bit outdated, some terms had never been used much and some didn’t exist at the time it was written.
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[Beginner] Tips I wish I knew Before Playing (elnawawi)
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[Beginner] New Player Knowledge Compendium (ceruleansong)
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[Farming] Farming Routes/Farming Guides Compilation (adoomgod)
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[Farming] A how-to on getting loot efficiently + advice on levelling (sir spanksalot)
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[Crucible] Piloting specs in the Crucible (sir spanksalot)
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[Crucible] Ultimate Guide to Crucible Speedrunning (ya1)
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[Theorycrafting] How make your own Gladiator (veretragna) - one of the very few guides that attempt to teach theorycrafting
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[Theorycrafting] Devotions: a how-to on maximizing them (sir spanksalot) - another guide that teaches theorycrafting, specializing on devotion setups
Each class is hyperlinked to its respective post. Please click on it to view its corresponding build submissions. Thanks for all the help with this eisprinzessin!
- Archon (Oathkeeper + Shaman)
- Dervish (Nightblade + Oathkeeper)
- Oppressor (Necromancer + Oathkeeper)
- Paladin (Inquisitor + Oathkeeper)
- Sentinel (Oathkeeper + Occultist)
- Shieldbreaker (Demolitionist + Oathkeeper)
- Templar (Arcanist + Oathkeeper)
- Warlord (Oathkeeper + Soldier)
- Apostate (Inquisitor + Necromancer)
- Battlemage (Arcanist + Soldier)
- Blademaster (Nightblade + Soldier)
- Cabalist (Necromancer + Occultist)
- Commando (Demolitionist + Soldier)
- Conjurer (Occultist + Shaman)
- Deathknight (Necromancer + Soldier)
- Deceiver (Inquisitor + Occultist)
- Defiler (Demolitionist + Necromancer)
- Druid (Arcanist + Shaman)
- Elementalist (Demolitionist + Shaman)
- Infiltrator (Inquisitor + Nightblade)
- Mage Hunter (Arcanist + Inquisitor)
- Purifier (Demolitionist + Inquisitor)
- Pyromancer (Demolitionist + Occultist)
- Reaper (Necromancer + Nightblade)
- Ritualist (Necromancer + Shaman)
- Saboteur (Demolitionist + Nightblade)
- Sorcerer(-ess) (Arcanist + Demolitionist)
- Spellbinder (Arcanist + Necromancer)
- Spellbreaker (Arcanist + Nightblade)
- Tactician (Inquisitor + Soldier)
- Trickster (Nightblade + Shaman)
- Vindicator (Inquisitor + Shaman)
- Warder (Shaman + Soldier)
- Warlock (Arcanist + Occultist)
- Witchblade (Occultist + Soldier)
- Witch Hunter (Nightblade + Occultist)
Monoclass builds
Arcanist
Occultist
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[Pet] [1.1.2.4] (cr) (sr+) Birds of Bysmiel - Pet Occultist (Maya)
- Damage: Pets
- Active Skills: Summon Familiar, Summon Hellhound, Summon Skeletal Servant, Curse of Frailty, Blood of Dreeg, Dreeg’s Evil Eye, Call of the Beast, Bysmiel’s Command
- Passive Skills: Bonds of Bysmiel, Possession
Demolitionist
Inquisitor
Nightblade
Necromancer
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[Pet] [1.1.2.4] (cr) (sr+) The Spoopy - Pet Necromancer (Maya)
- Damage: Pets
- Active Skills: Raise Skeletons, Summon Blight Fiend, Reap Spirit, Call of the Grave, Ravenous Earth, Bone Harvest, Mark of Torment, Sovereign
- Passive Skills: Master of Death, Spectral Binding
- WPS Skills: Reaping Strike, Necrotic Edge
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[Pet] [1.1.2.5] (cr) (sr+) Ghololol… - Pet Necromancer (Maya)
- Damage: Pets
- Active Skills: Raise Skeletons, Summon Blight Fiend, Summon Eldtritch Talon, Reap Spirit, Call of the Grave, Ravenous Earth, Bone Harvest, Mark of Torment, Sovereign
- Passive Skills: Master of Death, Spectral Binding
Shaman
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[Pet] [1.1.2.5] (cr) (sr+) Gaia - Pet Shaman (Maya)
- Damage: Pets
- Active Skills: Summon Briarthorn, Conjure Primal Spirit, Summon Skeletal Servant, Summon Chillmane, Summon Revenant of Og’Napesh, Wind Devil, Wendigo Totem, Storm Totem, Grasping Vines, Devouring Swarm, Savagery, Call of the Beast
- Passive Skills: Mogdrogen’s Pact, Primal Bond, Spark of Ultos
Soldier
Oathkeeper
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[Caster] [1.1.2.5] (sr+) (vid) Lindsey Naegle Solo Class Virtue’s Light (No Greens) (omnitrio)
- Damage: Fire, Burn
- Active Skills: Aegis of Menhir, Vire’s Might, Judgment, Summon Guardian of Empyrion, Ascension
- Passive Skills: Divine Mandate, Presence of Virtue, Resilience
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[Caster] [1.1.2.5] (sr+) (vid) Lindsey Naegle Solo Class Ardor of Octavius (No Greens) (omnitrio)
- Damage: Physical, Internal Trauma
- Active Skills: Aegis of Menhir, Vire’s Might, Judgment, Summon Guardian of Empyrion, Ascension
- Passive Skills: Divine Mandate, Presence of Virtue, Resilience