Cold Builds?

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
1

I seem to be getting some sick Cold Damage items, and the Alkamos Infrequents as well…

Is there a sick cold damage focused attack build? The only synergy for cold attacks I see is Nightblade, and, well… The cold I find is linked with other damage types oddly, and most of the class seems to focus on pierce and bleed.

Cold spells do seem to have good support, visibly, with Trozan and Olexra and things like that.

Just looking to see good cold attacks somewhere, and not finding them.

Maybe the new classes will have cold in it? Necro whatever thing that Zantis is hinting could maybe have a “Chill of the Grave” skill line, or something? Even if it’s not a cold focused attack, just cold support would be fine, people can just combine it with Savagery or Cadence.

2

I’m also looking for this kind of build. Specifically a Cold DW Build. I really like cold damage in any ARPG.

3

There are lots of different options for a cold-centered DW build.

You could go the Blademaster route by taking Cadence and equipping lots of physical to cold conversion items to put out lots of cold damage.

You could go the Trickster route and go Savagery with maybe some Wind Devils to reduce elemental resistances. That one would be more cold/lightning.

Witch Hunter would focus more on the cold/poison hybrid with a little vitality/chaos thrown in.

Spellbreakers could max the Iskandra line to make your physical damage more cold-based and would be more cold/elemental.

If you wanted it to be “pure” cold DW, I’d probably go Blademaster.

4

The only good boosts I see on Nightblade are Dual Blades itself, Night’s Chill (which only aids melee, it seems), and Merciless Repertoire. However, DB is half pierce, with flat pierce as well, and MR is half Acid/Poison, with flat poison…Neither have flat cold.

Soldier OFC has Cadence and various attack triggered things, along with tankiness, Soldier aids any attack build generically.

Not finding anything cold based in Shaman. Raging Tempest is vaguely useful, but you wouldn’t go the class just for that. Stormcaller’s pact, that has Frostburn Damage, so it’s technically useful to cold.

Occultist has Vulnerability, and Blood of Dreeg, both good, but not really cold based.

Arcanist has Iskandra’s, which is generic elemental anything, and then Star Pact, which is at least more cold focused than Stormcaller’s, but still not really, as it’s got lightning, electrocute, and CDR on it, so it’s more caster lightning/cold then attack cold.

Demolitionist, obviously, has nothing.

I’m really not finding any good Cold focused…Anything. Cold/Lightning has some support at least. Is there at least some legendary that, say, converts elemental to cold, or something? Converts anything to cold but just phys? Phys-Cold really wouldn’t be enough support to make Cold Attacks anywhere near as good as Lightning, Fire, Chaos, or even Aether.

5

Valid points. I agree that aside from converting Cadence to cold there’s no LMB skill that is cold based.

That being said, Nightblade has 3 different skills that have over 100% weapon damage (which combines both hands) that are at least mainly cold. ABB is 100% cold and Lethal Assault gives flat cold damage (in addition to acid). Ring of Steel is 75% cold with the transmute, and SS is 50/50 cold/pierce. Execution is also 100% cold, and Elemental Awakening gives flat frostburn. Using so many active skills on a DW build might seem weird (like cooldown reduction would benefit this more than attack speed), but the Belgothian relic provides CDR off dual-wield attack procs which means this all synergizes more elegantly than one would think.

Throw in some Arcanist for IEE or OFF and absolute zero for - %physical or mental alacrity for cast speed or get star pact for more CDR plus flat frostburn. There’s even an amulet called Night’s Embrace that can take away bosses immunity to freeze, so you can really go crazy with the cold shenanigans.

There’s actually so many ways to go with this that you can’t choose them all. It’s definitely not a traditional DW build where you just hold LMB on baddies but it IS a DW build and I would argue it’s certainly cold based.

6

That sounds…interesting, but more caster style than an attack. Arguably, as it is an attack, that technically could MAKE it attack styled, but in the end…That sounds much more like a caster. Not that I mind casting, it’s just not really what I’m looking for right at the moment.

I will just have to hope that one of the two new classes has Cold Attack something in it. Or just generic Cold, a flat damage and %, or something like that.

7

Here is a pure cold build - http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49058

You guys missed ABB btw. :slight_smile:

8

Thanks for the link Chthon, I was thinking of your cold build but I couldn’t remember if it was DW melee or ranged. I briefly mentioned ABB though =)

OP seems like he’s looking more for a Cold DW melee default weapon attack build though, which I admit doesn’t seem to exist. Both your build and my suggestion are more castery for his liking.

9

http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48863

10

Actually it does exist. And Professor Xavier posted the link. Kal’s build is imho pretty creative and great.

11

Oh cool, I didn’t know that build existed. That is a neat one, and probably closer to what OP is looking for.

I wouldn’t say it’s a pure default weapon attack LMB build though. Seems like it alternates Scourge Strike and Blessed Strike and focuses more on CDR and less on attack speed. He says he has Scourge Strike bound to LMB. Still a cool build though (pun not intended).

EDIT - NVM I’m dumb lol. Forgot that putting it on LMB means he’ll just default weapon attack when it’s on cooldown. Yeah, this looks as close as you’re gonna’ get to DW cold melee attack based build.

12

The way crate made the game it is quite hard to be a pure build of any kind of damage. As they made sure most skills have multiple damage types.
A DW Spellbreaker can easily get over 80% Physical to cold conversion
15% each weapon
20% from 2 Coldstone Components
15% From Star Pact
10% From Amulet
Then a 3rd of IEE’s Conversion will be cold

13

Take a look at the video if you want. The default weapon attack is used yes, but honestly all the mobs are cleared by the large amount of cold AoE from devotion, skills and gear procs.

14

Both of those look pretty sweet, and I might try an ABB character…Still not quite what I was hoping for though. ABB with the CD really strikes me more as a spell. Maybe if it had a transmuter similar to Primal Strike.
I wasn’t really looking for a burst style build, where you hit a button, almost everything dies, and then you finish up the last couple of things. It’s probably silly, but I enjoy the dueling feel of grim dawn, where it takes a couple hits to kill things. I was kinda hoping I was just missing something that made attacking repeatedly with cold a viable thing. Fire, Lightning, Phys, Chaos, lots of support for that kind of thing…Just not sure why Cold doesn’t also get something.

I do appreciate all the help though guys.

15

i’ve been trying for months to perfect an ice druid, but whether 2H or caster i can’t get it to work.

i assume like every other build in Grim Dawn this can be perfected by jumping on the bandwagon and carrying a shield.