I played to about level 60 with a pet build about a month after launch and had a great time, but I eventually put it down and I have an ARPG itch lately, D3 isn’t doing it and PoE always felt like I didn’t want to invest enough time to actually…do things…Grim Dawn is a nice in between for me, and being mostly single player focussed/balanced is nice because I don’t feel rushed.
Also the new expansion is really the main reminder to come back and get my feet wet a little before it launches.
I’m going to keep this super super simple, I’m basically after a “beginner friendly” caster build. I don’t need it to be the most basic thing on planet earth but a lot of builds in the compendium I see recommend having a ton of end game items and at least a “3/5” or more gear requirement and just don’t want to pigeonhole myself into something that’s going to be hard to work with unless I have the gear for it
As far as “what type” of caster I’d like to play I tend to prefer DoT based stuff, whether it’s AoE or kind of chains from enemies to others somehow, auras hypothetically are fine even though that’s less “Caster” specific, I don’t have a specific element I love or hate, or a specific class/set of classes I’ve fallen in love with, I’m open to any suggestions.
I’m coming back with both Crucible and Malmouth installed, so I have access to anything
Vitality casters are said to boast best performance with non-endgame gear. Try cabalist, ritualist or conjurer. Vitality has weak DoT but most of its main casts (Ravenous Earth, Storm Totem, Sigil of Consumption, Bloody Pox, etc.) kinda work like DoT with direct dmg - you cast them once and they keep dealing dmg for a time as you try to avoid getting burst.
Then you got all kinds of inquisitor rune builds. Rune of Hagarrad is so strong that it doesn’t need full spec to perform relatively well. And one of the sets supporting it - Silver Sentinel - is one of the easiest sets to complete. I suggest infiltrator for more dmg or vindicator for more survivability.
They have very good performance even without Legendary items.
The guide that medea posted above is a vitality caster guide. Not technically a dot build, but it is a “fire and forget” build. I am planning on updating that guide to include new items and such, and also include a rituatlist variation (like someone else have done an endgame budget build for here http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81208 )
Undergeared spellbinder can work out OK thanks to mirror and mark of torment (and time dilation helps), devastation can be powerful to use and transmuted siphon soul gives sustain vs packs of hero/champions.
Phantasmal blades could work out if you sort out energy issues, vitality best for levelling as the transmuter converts to vit.
Fire pyromancer or sorcerer can work also. They are speedrun class that can do campaign start to finish in under 10 hr ending at lvl 65. I would expect at higher levels they could pump out more damage with the extra skill point and higher gear, but never tested it. Blast shield is an incredible skill vs the main campaign.
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