why use guns at all if you just are a caster, though? 
Nice build, in fact Iâm lvling a Pyromancer for it right now. Letâs see if I can get it past SR 75 applying good stutterstepping.
Who said this, Crate? A ranged build is by definition, supposed to be used from afar. Otherwise, why even call it a ranged build.
come to think of it, is there any other arpg that expects ranged builds to facetank stuff?
also, do the new mobility options not include some form of backflip or teleport, that allows to keep your orientation to the enemy, so you can kite better?
I would love if Range could play at Range if he wants to. It is simply awesome to pull out all of that spells or arrows in D2 for example without the need of stutter run or else. You still have to watch your feet carefully - fast and well positioning is key. Glyphs are a good beginning to lose that static gameplay, no need for stutter-walk maybe in some future. 
for procs like Storm Spread and skills like Phantasmal Blades, you want to be close to the enemy, so he gets hit with all procced projectiles instead of one; aka âshotgunningâ
usually you avoid this in arpgs by making fan-like attack patterns just hit every enemy in the area as 1 projectile and gets balanced around that (e.g.: multishot from D3 or shotgonne attacks in torchlight.)
the only arpg i know that uses it like grim dawn is poe, but they do it, because you can chain and pierce with every projectile.
DISCLAIMER: Itâs inconsistent af. Expect lots of deaths. And you need loads of luck. It took me at least 15 tries to beat SR 75, but I did it.
I had to do it.
BippityBoppityBoop was the first character I ever made. 
Just gonna throw this out there but you guys do understand you can run more than one Movement Skill right? Most of them have CDs so running 2 movement skills is not a bad idea. Its served me well. And this patch its easier than ever with the Runes they added in FG. I run one movement from my skill set then another from a rune and this makes it where i almost always have a get the fuck out here right NOW key. Especially if you have one movement skill that doesnât require a target. (This is saved for getting OUT The one that Requires a Target is how we Engage) Then for my second i use one that doesnât have a Max Distance⌠this makes it possible for me to move up to multiple screens worth of travel distance around winding loops and shit. Really helpful for not only kiting but also covering more ground for faster more efficient farming of things like Items and Exp. Its saved my ass so many times i cant even count at this point running 2 movement skills. The important part is one does NOT require a Target if possible. This is Key.
Disengage would be my go to i think if i built into ranged for sure. Also every single ounce of Slow Target i can reasonably get i would think would go a long way as well. IDK though ive started to notice Slow doesnât quite have the weight it does in other ARPGs ive played. Some monsters even with insane amounts of Slow investment are still so fast it doesnât do near as much as you would like thatâs for sure.
Oath Keepers Minions might also be an option for a Meat Shield since they are immortal out the box so no need to invest in them for survival. But youâll definitely have to keep that Pet Command Key close by at all times and use it quite a bit. And even then they always attack together so you canât split them up to help kite 2 things but they could possibly take one thing out of the equation. Multiple bosses though i still feel like best bet if more Leech and sustain which just ends up you getting to the point youâll be face tanking and we are right back to the subject at hand⌠Maybe if Guns had access to something that give Pets of the Ranged build more Threat?
You canât run 2 movement skills if youâre ranged. At least I donât think you can. Iâm not sure about vireâs might and blitz.
EDIT: Disengage sucks. Use arcane displacement. Itâs BiS.
2nd EDIT: Displacement > Aleksander
Slow effects canât stack as only the highest value counts and bosses + nemesis like all CC effects are immune to it, making it fairly useless.
Blitz requires a melee weapon as far I know.
Couse its easier and safer to start as guncaster, since at low level thunder stike do more damage then savagary and having ragtag equipment(assuming first character) make it somewhat problematic to keep savagery charges up against anything half serious. Once you get enough XP to be able to get all inquisitor passive default attack moves savagery become much more appealing as you can have 2-3 devotions power on whats pretty much autoattack
you are right, i think i overlooked the part where you suggested respeccing to savagery later, i still feel weirded out by GD for the fact that you want to respec all the time into other builds, rather than play a build for the whole leveling phase^^
Given the popularity of this thread, would it be beneficial if I made a guide explaining how I play ranged characters?
I donât know if itâs the best way to play them, but it certainly works for me.
Would be interesting to see
Iâll add it to the rune of arcane displacement guide I made the other day. Seems like a natural addition to the melee demonstration I did.
That being said, I must confess that guns are highly impractical in the mid-game when things start getting hard, and when youâve yet to get good mobility runes.
Itâs nice of you to offer and I for one would be interested. Learning canât be bad.
Now I think the popularity of the thread also comes from the frustration that FG brought in terms of top tier build diversity. It will require some balancing from Crate, like dmg nerf of S&B and movement speed tweaks for the fastest bosses to get there.
I know this is simply not going to happen (ever on GD1 at least), but a class specialised in controlling the battlefield would have been awesome. For instance, the ability to build walls, or to âphase outâ bosses, etc. The balance would be very hard to find, but that would solve the issue for good.
http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82596
^Itâs at the bottom of the page.
EDIT: Youâll soon see why I keep saying warlords trivialises the game both in terms of playstyle, and theorycrafting.
thank you, this is much appreciated! arenât you usually going for glass cannon ranged builds though? might be fun to have someone explain a more survivable alternative for the âmovementcripplesâ like me 
Thereâs no real point in going for a ranged âtankâ build in my opinion, because youâre not going to kill fast enough to actually maintain distance. Youâre just going to get surrounded.
At which point, you might as well go for your classic S&B build.
I suppose you could do it as a thematic build, which is fine and all, but it just lacks practical sense. (No offence).
i didnât mean a ranged build thatâs super tanky or able to facetank, but one that doesnât just keel over with one mistake
I see. Itâs true that pyroâs are probably the squishiest dual-mastery in the game.
For something tankier, purifiers are your best bet. You have seal, word of renewal, damage reduction, and blastshield.
You can also go the classic warborn/havoc tactician (though I personally think thatâs a boring playstyle).
Another alternative is the DW paladin (thereâs some gun which converts elemental to pierce while adding %WD to righteous fervor)
Regardless, I picked my pyro (bippityboppityboop) because I wanted to demonstrate that with decent piloting, even squishy classes can be used to clear some of the hardest challenges the game has to offer.
P.S: The principles are the same in my opinion. It goes back to the concept of kill potential vs. threat level. For a tankier spec, both your kill potential AND threat level are just lowered.
Worth pointing out that while you WILL survive better as a tankier spec, sometimes offence IS the best defence because there are just some things you canât out-tank.