Thanks for your help.
I guess that’s the problem then, cuz I was misunderstanding that at lvl 7 I need to put searing ember into some kind of rifles. will try again then! Thanks!
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It doesn’t really matter if it’s a rifle or not. I’ve been actually putting my first Searing Ember into my first rifle, because looking for a dagger + caster offhand that early can be a pain. The important part that you should be stopping using a rifle and start using Fireblast.
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Thank you for the work on the build and when it comes to trash it certainly mops up fast, but as a first time player the leveling experience with it on veteran was horrible. Anything that has a skull over it owns you. I switched to skeleton/blight fiend in the 20’s and it is almost as fast on trash and way less frustrating on bosses.
devotions are bad. i can t pick revenant and Widow fallowing steps
Just opened a calc and took widow and revenant following instuctions in the guide. Works fine.
Post your current setup perhaps?
Hey, I was looking up the mythical agrivix set, and I don’t see the fire to aether conversion, was it changed it is it hidden, like the target penetration on the desolater rifle?
It was removed from the amulet with the recent 1.1.9.2 update.
Well shoot, any idea how to get the conversion after the update, I’ve been search to no avail.
On an Aether Spellbinder? You have tons of options, look for Elemental->Aether conversion as well though keep in mind it doesn’t stack additively with Fire/Cold/Lightning->Aether conversion.
Without knowing what your build or character looks like now or what rarity of gear you’re able to get efficiently (e.g. can you farm for Legendaries or are we looking at something easy to get like MIs), I can’t really advise what you’d be best going for specifically.
I made a post about it once in public test but it’s deleted now but I do remember that conversions are still fine with this set.
Unfortunately there’s not a lot of options for Agrivix CT Spellbinder (which is natural end-game progression for this beginner’s build).
Our only free slots are hands, boots, rings and weapon - and none of them are optimal.
Option 1: keep Magelord rings and transmute them to get high conversion rolls so we get 100% elemental → aether from rings and Maw of Despair (which you can also craft to get high rolls). This is a cheaper solution but we lose 10% RR, %aether damage, OA and 6-10% casting speed and one damage proc.
Option 2: swap Wrath of the Ascendant for Dreadfire dagger. If we roll high on Dreadfire and Cord of Violent Decay we’ll get 100% fire → aether conversion. We lose 7% RR, +1 to all skills, skill energy cost, racial damage and we get a bit worse proc (10% on attack vs 100% on critical) but with more damage and stronger against group of mobs. This should be stronger option because we have enough skill points and we can use Band of Eternal Haunt for more RR but good luck getting two random drop legendaries with close to max conversion rolls… Also, some investment into cunning is required so we can equip the dagger.
Either way we lose something but the build should still be strong. Although, I don’t know how it performs in comparison to builds that focus more on CT with 2h weapons, no-set builds with Fleshwarped Codex (you get full conversion in one item so it opens a lot of possibilities) or builds that focus more on Devastation.
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So far this has been the least fun character to level. Hope this gets better after converting to aether damage.
This is quite an old guide. I can help with optimizing the damage if needed since I leveled it a bit / theorycrafted beginner build for CT and enjoyed, felt like Primal Strike to me tbf. I didn’t level to 100 completely though.
For example I remember this gun is the best if you’re in Homestead already Fleshwarped Carbine - Items - Grim Dawn Item Database for 50% Elemental conversion and all other things
Can also farm these shoulders for even more conversion Ascended Shoulderplates - Items - Grim Dawn Item Database near Cronley.
You can import your character to the calculator if you’d like someone to have a look at it.
Sth like this Spellbinder, Level 100 (GD 1.2.1.0) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
- unfinished beginner link that would need a little update but illustrates a modern Aether CT approach
- has Aether Ravenous Earth as a suport skill
Using gun and Hydra also also allows more movement speed which is great.
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Thank you for the advice. I just collected the Fleshwarped Carbine and am close to hitting level 50. It has been a slow ride with this one.
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The build is still working fine.
The Medal shown in the OP is not usable anymore, right?
As far as I understand, it now converts Calidor’s Tempest damage to Lightning, but we want Aether.
This is my current character. It’s not min-maxed, but leveling has been smooth so far. It’s not as strong as some MI-heavy leveling builds (Blackwater Cocktail, for example), but it’s definitely good enough.
I’ve finished Normal and could start Ultimate now. I plan to farm a few MIs first and then go straight into Ultimate.
Current setup:
Aether Ray would be an option, but I really dislike the high energy cost.
So for now I’m sticking with Calidor’s Tempest + Devastation, and it works well enough for me.
I also changed the devotion route.
I started exactly like in the original post:
- OFF + Fireball / Greater Fireball
- rushed Elemental Storm
- then went for Reckless Power, cast speed, and Devastation
I also tried Trozan’s Sky Shard for a while, together with a main-hand mace MI, but I really dislike Trozan. I want to play an Aether spellcaster.
At level 45, I respecced into Calidor’s Tempest and adjusted the devotion setup, and everything feels fine right now.
The devotion setup I’m aiming for is the one from RektByProtoss’ Let’s Play Spellbinder (ARR):
Later on, if I get the required gear, I’d like to switch to the Top 21 Aether Ray Spellbinder build.
Edit:
One Ancient Grove run on Normal, just to show that the build is good enough for leveling and not bad or worse than other leveling builds.
No saying necessarily that it won’t later but on Normal everything works 
Also you are not following it if you’re changing devotion.
I doubt anyone would make CT Binder this way today, including Stupid_Dragon. Well 6 years have passed and some complaints above which is why I presented this more up-to-date 100 level budget template. Btw I can guarantee that it’s on a completely different level than what’s presented in the OP
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Haha, yeah, I know that pretty much everything works in Normal. But I’ve leveled so many builds by now that you can definitely feel the difference. Some builds let you rush through smoothly and faceroll everything, while others feel noticeably slower and more tedious.
I have the day off today, so we’ll see how far I get — and how far the Calidor’s Tempest “beginner” template can actually go without farming a lot of gear. I’m also curious how it compares to the other “beginner” builds that can all clear Lokarr and SR 26. Maybe 30 (?)
You’re absolutely right about the second point as well.
I think especially the Aether items and the devotion setup from the original post have gone through several changes over time. That said, there really aren’t many beginner guides like this on the forum anymore — basically just the AAR Spellbinder and this one. That’s why I think it’s nice to share something more up to date.
The gameplay itself is still the same as in the original post: an Aether damage spellcaster using Calidor’s Tempest and Devastation, until you eventually get the gear and decide to switch to a min-maxed endgame build.
This is what my character looks like now at the end of Act 1:
For devotions, I simply followed the route from the Top 20 build. Gear and skills aren’t optimal and definitely not min-maxed — I usually rush straight to the end of Ultimate and just pick up whatever MIs are reasonably usable along the way.
With other builds, I find this a bit easier. If you look at how many MIs exist for something like Forcewave or BWC, compared to this setup, the difference is pretty noticeable.
edit / update
87k paper DPS, currently on my way to the Necropolis.
I really like Devastation — it helps a lot in boss fights and against totems. I would not play Calidor Tempest without Endgame Gear without Devastation as a Support.
I’ve also noticed that there are some solid blue faction rings, medals, and amulets that actually make sense to buy. Other than that, I’m very happy with how the build is performing so far.
In terms of clear speed, this build is currently on par with other leveling builds.
Trash mobs are one-shot by Calidor’s Tempest, two hits at most. The gameplay flow is basically: take a step, cast, take a step, cast, and keep running until the next pack — which fits my playstyle perfectly.
Boss fights usually last about one Devastation and I just facetank them.
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