Help me build Lord Gaara, the Sand Maestro

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
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Hey guys, I recently got a blueprint for this relic;

Azrakaa’s Epoch

I immediately thought of the Azrakaa Constellation and its devotion ability, and decided I want to create a character that just totally focuses on abusing these 2 things. I want to say before you read further, understand I don’t care if this build wont be able to really have a presence in the end-game. I really only care about creating a way to proc the hell out of these skills.

Clearly this would need to be a crit-based build, and I’d like to try to make Pierce damage the main, but if I have to go Physical that would work too. I was trying to figure out what class combo would be best for this. Tactician? Any kind of weapons would work, I dont care as long as it can consistently proc Azrakaa’s skills from the relic and the constellation.

I am more than welcome to any advice, build suggestions, or any thoughts on this what so ever!

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Sand tsunami! Oops, not Tsunami.

I like the thematic builds. But here depends what you like, melee or ranged. You can use Azraaka for example in pierce Blademaster with SR set. Azraaka don’t have +skill bonuses, but SR set have plenty and ofc will give you CC resistances, not to get killed often.

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I didnt think about Blademaster!! Great idea! Going to start the build right now.

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You could also do a ranged pierce.

Silverbolt + valdun 2H or maybe DW Infiltrator with Oathbreader + Blind assassin

Use jaxxon bullet rings to spread chances even more.

For example Infiltrator might be: example infiltrator pierce focus

5

You could try to make a Bleed/Physical build with putting the perhaps thematically fitting Sandreaver Bracers in.

But since I have a little hangover right now I can´t think about further details. Just some thoughts. :neutral_face:

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I have build with both Azrakaa

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Why not both? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Being a weeb with fond memories of Naruto, I’m putting my own take on it too. Classic DW Tactician physical gunner with a sandy twist (Desert Coffin pun intented). A bit slow on cruci 170 clear speed (around 10-12 mins) but very tanky af.

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I just recently got those bracers! Not sure they will fit the build but its definitely an item I am looking to consider in this build. i got really excited when i saw the item name on the ground in the game, but the Bleed damage was a disappointment- was hoping for phys/pierce and another sand-looking effect. Not certain, but id guess the granted skill doesnt appear to look like sand but rather a pool of blood, which wont fit the flavor of the build as much- that said, if the item functions well i might use it anyway.

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Ah, so i was wondering about this ranged idea- probably the best route to go, but for now I am going for a Pierce/Phys Blademaster. Why Blademaster? Because thematically it fits better while maintaining the desired damage types.

I do feel that Gaara is more of a caster/ranged type, however the Inquisitor skills just don’t align with Gaara’s skills in the Naruto canon. He needs to have a skill that Immobilizes (not freeze) enemies, as part of his signature Sand Prison/Coffin technique.

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Yeah man, brewing builds designed after characters from my favorite shows/movies is my favorite thing to do in this game. I have done this the most with Naruto characters. So far i have made;

Deidara (Demo/Necro) - all the explosives and some acid/poison > fire/burn for exploding blight fiends w/unstable anomaly alongside a lot of CDR. Still waiting for better acid/poison to fire/burn damage conversion for this build to go further. Festerblaze set seems good for this idea but theres a lot left to be desired.

Danzo (Shaman/Nightblade) - cyclones. Yep. No idea how to take him further.

Gaara (first version is a Soldier/Oathkeeper) - max block chance/recovery exploitation for his “ultimate defense”. First time using Azraaka devotion and it didnt function very well, but hes tanky af at level 85.

Hanzo (Occultist/Necro) - acid/poison everything. Was really strong until about level 60. Not sure what happened but i lost interest in this build, will come back to it later.

Hidan - (Occultist/Necro) 2h Vitality/Bleed damage, CoF, bloody pox, sigil, DE, lifesteal/adcth, extremely fun build but only level 50.

Hinata (Paladin) - Elemental damage, DW EoR. Lay down the Seal at any chokepoints, hold position inside the seal while spinning EoR for her protective 8 trigrams 64 palms technique.

Inoichi (Demo/Arcanist) - Mind control! Confuse! Stun! Freeze! Full tilt debuff/status effects, max Flashbang w/Eldritch Fire, Trozans w/Aetherfire, OFF, and Haunt with whispers of the Muse. Uses Codes of Truths. A true Psi-ops agent!

Itachi (Inquisitor/Nightblade) - Flames of Ignafar and Blade Trap. Lots of other stuff going on here but, those are the 2 mains.

Jiraiya (Shaman) - midrange build going full Savagery, Briarthorn pet (Gababunta or whatever his toads name was), and Mogdrogens Pact with some Entangling Vines. 5 greens with “of kings” and a weapon set where he can DW those epic axes that can proc Battle Cry, basically as much Battle Cry as I could get so when he plays on a team everyone gets amped. Other weapon set is a 2h.

Kakuzu (Demo/Shaman) experiment using 2 primary attack skills with 2 different weapons sets. 1 set is a fire damage 2h and FS, other is lightning damage 2h and Savagery. This build was strong until level 50 at which point i realized the 2 primary attack idea was at the end of its rope. It was fun while it lasted. Could be done better.

Kakashi (Inquisitor/Nightblade) DW lightning/cold damage, Storm Box and Tethers, ABB.

Naruto (Demo/Oathkeeper) - 2h fire damage nuff said on this build its OP as hell (at least prior to the patch), Vires Might is the Rasengan.

This is getting retarted and taking way too long to type out on my cell phone, so im stoppin here lol. You get the idea.

For this version of Gaara, im trying to fit the flavor in getting as close to accurate with his abilities from the show more than i am trying to make him end game viable. Thats what i mean to say. This means temporarily throw any inhibitions about stats or gear or devotions that are essential for any end game builds out the window, and try to find the most fitting ones for Gaaras skillset while dealing Pierce/Phys damage.

In this way I chose Blademaster (as Nery suggested) over Tactician or Paladin Infiltrator. It fits more thematically as he will have a Sand Prison/Coffin ability (for most enemies) in Blade Trap coupled with Azraaka’s devotion ability. Enemies are immobilized and torn apart by the sands. This will probably look pretty great with some Sand Cyclones wandering around through them.

these 3 functions are to be the bread and butter of the build, so everything I choose is in support of this tactic. Against bosses Blade Trap wont work, so Ill just need a good big damage single target attack (shadow strike/blitz?) these skills dont feel very themeatic for Gaara, but theyre must haves.

I wonder though, do I go DW, or 2h?

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Hey @Knife that’s pretty impressive collection.

I think most ninja build is Kunai knife throwing aka Phantasmal blades.

I would say it’s Ten Ten build, but PB blades are useful :rofl:

Deidara is easiest to be made. Kakashi should be Vindicator with Primal Strike.

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I love your feedback man! Yeah Nightblade is an easy sell for any of these characters given the nature of the kunai in the show.

I have several more that I didnt list, including my 2 favorites;

Might Guy (Battlemage) - This guy is the hardest to use, but the most fun to play. He is designed to function like a Monk (fists only), and sadly with no fist weapons in the game, he uses no weapon. In most cases this would not be fun, but ive actually found that playing through the game like this is a great challenge! You must re-think your entire approach to fighting! You may ask “but how does he even deal any real damage?”

Might Guy is a Full Elemental Cadence build, with maxed Markovians WPS. He main strength comes from gear and abilities providing large “+% to all damage”. This assembly is what I consider to be his 8 inner gates; Fighting Spirit, Arcane Will, and Mana Infusion. When these proc and are used simultaneously, even with his bare hands, Might Guy can take down some pretty tough enemies! Especially when a cadence strike lands.

He uses Mirror and Aether Clusters to provide some defense during this brief window of power, after which he will need for all the cooldowns to recharge before attacking in full again (the exhaustion following the 8 inner gates).

And Tsunade (Warder, 90% Shaman, 10% Soldier strictly for Forcewave/Menhirs Will/Military Conditioning) - Tsunade is my first ever level 100 character bland built entirely around mass HP and HP Regen prior to FG. She was a pleasure to play as she just would never die! Menhirs Will and Tree of Life functioning as her reviving jutsu, and Salvation relic providing contstant heals alongside tons of other sources (Avenger set). She also uses Empowered Touch of Purity for short burst heal with the Healing Rain bound to it so that its reliably proc’d in the time of need.

Ill post these builds in Grim Tools later.

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Thanks to google, I can remember more Naruto characters.

Temari, should be Wind Devil build with Cyclone set. Also elemental storm devotion.

Shikamaru, Shadow strike build with summoning shadows from constellation Unknown soldier.

Kiba should be Hellhound Conjurer.

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Yeah dude Temari is a Warder with wind devil and force wave, uses some similar abilities in gear such as Tremor.

Shino is a Vitality damage Devouring Swarm based build

Sasori is a Cabalist minion build w/gun and shield and poison damage focused

So my friend and i basically chose 5 naruto characters each, with the intention of having our own ninja tournament against each other IN HARDCORE. We each get the ninja to level 5 then choose an area to fight 1 ninja v 1 ninja. The survivor advances to the next round of matches (at level 10). We will face off each of our 5 ninja this way, and continue with next rounds of matches seauentially at 5 level increments, so next match at level 10, then 15, then 20, and i think final match at level 25. The survivor would have mad bragging rights.

My buddy is working on Minato (Dervish) using mobility skills as mains. Saw a Vire’s Might “skateboarder” build on here recently that i think hes looking to follow. Should be a real bitch to fight against!

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Tsunade

Might Guy - Note: temporary buffs and procs are toggled off in the grim tools here, as those stats are only true when he enters his 8 inner gates. For a level 79, he is weak as hell, however this is a “Sensei” character, who I usually use in order to join games hosted by lower level characters online who are in need of help. Without the weapon, even though his level is much higher, the gameplay is still challenging and it helps to compensate for level disparity that would otherwise make this a boring experience.

You could say I have Might Guy to thank for my opinion on Veteran not being “too hard”. Running a character like this has taught me to TEN TIMES AS HARD AS OTHER NINJA. THE EFFORT IS MY TRUE STRENGTH! HOWL YOUTH!!!

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Shoot, my bad- I forgot to bind the devotion abilities to skills on Might Guy in the grimtools. Below is the grimtools for Might Guy with devotion abilities bound;

Might Guy

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Just picture what happens after Gaara captures someone in his Desert Prison. They get squished and turned to a pool of blood. :rofl:

Agree with the assessment. As long as you understand that Blade Trap only works on fodder mobs then you’re good.

I think Naruto himself is more of the classic DW melee pierce Blademaster. Remember, Naruto uses taijutsu most of the time. Give him Unknown Soldier devotion and you got his Shadow Clones. His wind element affinity more closely resembles pierce damage in GD. My memory is foggy here but when Konoha autopsied the guy with 5 hearts after Naruto beat him, they noticed all the cells in his body were pierced by the Rasenshuriken.

Yep this one is easy. Pierce PB and you’re done. :stuck_out_tongue: EDIT: Ironically despite being one of the weakest chars in the manga, she’s going to be one of the strongest here just by comparing it with the other builds you have above.

Deidara is explosions so basically any demo build with bombs. Kakashi is trickier since his signature lightning move is single target. He uses a wide variety of moves since he is known as the copy ninja with more than a thousand known jutsus.

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Man, this is all really outstanding feedback! Thank you so much! I hadnt even considered the aspect of the blood coming from the aftermath of the jutsu. That makes total sense and is a great fit! Dude I am so pumped to get this guy leveled up so he can start using all this stuff. He just hit 40 last night and finally got the Azraaka’s devotion ability and it definitely works 10 times better on this build. At 40 his attack speeds are hitting about 175% with max Pneumatic Burst active and his DPS is already about 11k. I know it could be much more too, since hes still wearing level 12 gear whose only real benefits are like “+13 cunning and +4 attack speed”, you know, that kind of stuff.

I forgot how fun Blademasters are. My 3rd character was a 2h blademaster and this was back when riftstones still had teleport attacks for granted skills, this guy had 4 teleport attack skills and could bounce all over the screen (Nightcrawler from the X-Men, I appropriately designed him, because i do not restrict myself to Naruto characters). BM move and attack so fast, i could probably have Gaara at level 60 or 70 in an hour or 2 tonight. Ill post him later on, but I can tell you the Azraaka devotion ability is insane on this build- he attacks so fast and the ability only has that .5 second cooldown, the screen is pretty much constantly crawling with sand. I am loving it!!!