This is the crux of the matter which I know for a fact is being widely missed.
When we are asked to test new content, we are explicitly asked not to do so with high-damage, “cutting-edge” builds. So, for instance, when 1.1.5.0 rolled around and brought the new roguelike with it, I slapped together a middle-of-the-ground, 1500% damage vitality build to see how the majority of players would experience the new content.
But, obviously, this sort of strategem isn’t immediately apparent to people:
Skilled players GDStashing perfect rolls and slamming themselves against Crucible content is a poor representation of Grim Dawn’s playerbase and ergo not the only consideration for the way things are balanced.
Something being better (a vitality caster being better than a vitality autoattacker) or something being worse (physical cadence being worse than pierce cadence) is an inevitability of a game with customization as broad as GD’s. I understand the argument that, inherently, one might fundamentally expect a Physical Warborn Cadence build to automatically be better than all other implementations of Warborn Cadence, because Warborn grants Physical Damage and % Physical Damage. However, I do not agree with this assertion and, in fact, I am glad that it is not the case. I’m glad there’s still a means to get creative with sets and use them in ways that are not immediately apparent to fantastic results. If Warborn Cadence were shoehorned into Physical Damage, it’d be another monotonous set in a sea of monotonous sets.