I realise i still know nothing

Since Grim Dawn is single player game primarily you set your own pace and decide what’s your goal.

So you can find something you like and have fun with it, not caring what others might say. Grim Dawn have some advanced mechanics but they are not needed in order to level your toons and try the immense variety of cool looking skills, devotions procs and items.

But if you have some questions don’t afraid to ask, hopefully we can help you to enjoy more Grim Dawn. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Without going too crazy, here are a few of my favorite builds I have seen on here…

@the8anarchist’s support deceiver which was one of the most interesting, creative, unique, and fun ideas I have ever read about on here- This build really inspired me to get creative with my own approaches to enjoying Grim Dawn!

@x1x1x1x2 and @MysteryMeat produced these awesome collective ideas designed around Vire’s Might (Oathkeeper mobility skill) with super super super low cooldown, meaning you can skate all over the place! MAD mobility!!!

and @Contragor’s Immortal Army build is wicked user friendly, what I mean by that is you can VERY easily build this and run it with self found gear and no XP bonus, and you will still crush the early game. Youll be as far as youve ever gotten in like 1 or 2 days, playing only a couple hours a day! Its an awesome farmer build that feels really great to pilot.

And here is a link to @Contragor’s level 100 Hardcore classless build, which is a masterpiece. Read this to get pumped up about Grim Dawn, and it will show you how dedicated this community is to this amazing game and also provides some good resources.

Also, FYI I run a Monk style build in this game, in Softcore and Hardcore- No weapons allowed, just fists! The softcore version is a Battlemage (Solider/Arcanist) and is level 80! The Hardcore version is a Trickster (Shaman/Nightblade) and is level 38 currently. Its honestly pretty fun!!! But you’ll never see a build like that getting lots of attention on the forums because, lets be honest, it will get stomped in SR and Crucible. But I dont let that discourage me because, for me its fun to experience the game differently!

The posts that get traction on here are a lot more professional, but dont ever let that stop you sharing your favorites! It’s because of people like that, that I have enjoyed this game to the fullest! Having people to interact with and discuss this stuff with makes the efforts and experiences that much more meaningful. So whenever you get to building, share it! I would love to see what kind of things you wind up experimenting with!

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Huh? How on earth did I miss that?? :open_mouth:
Sounds super fun! Hey! You can build a 10k/s regen tank around that idea + massive health pool to boot. Imagine a boxing match against Calla!

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Oh I can imagine it. I’m just too smart (ahem/old/ahem) to try it. :wink:

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I would love some tips on how to hit 10k/s regen tank type stats on one of my Monk style builds! That might just be the route I need to go.

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Here you go, lots of ideas right there. We brainstormed and tested it with Aikimox back during our wild HC days. :sob:

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Not knowing all aspects of the game is a good thing, imo.

I am a casual player with over 6k hours played an GD still surprises me.

Very much this.

Personally, I like the “what if?” - factor of GD, I wonder if I can build something fun around an item or a skill and just build a char and start playing. Most I don´t play that much after they are “finished”, but that´s okay, I like the leveling process and tinkering.

GD is a digital playground, do what you like, and keep in mind that the first character is always the hardest, because you simply lack resources, just keep playing. If you hit a wall, ask in the forums or GD Discord, don´t be shy.

My 5 cents for a fresh character:

Pick a Tier 1 devotion that deals a lot of damage, like Falcon, Imp, or Bat (Bat also heals, which is super nice) and later on (lvl 50ish) pick a main damage type and a devotion that provides resist reduction for it, plus one defensive devotion (like Ghould, Tortoise, Dryad, Bat etc.).
Up to lvl 50 it doesn´t really matter if you have 4 different damage types, as long as you kill stuff somewhat effectively.
Start on normal until you feel unchallenged.

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I’m more surprised a guy with 6k hours still calls himself casual :rofl:

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I´m not one to super min/max characters or spend time to calculate the optimal amount of points to spend in a skill … or have tha bestest crucible clear time or whatever.
Just wanna have some brainless fun.

Casual. :skunk:

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We are very dedicated hardcore casuals :innocent:

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Cheers all. Currently having fun with a warden, blitz and savagery - i thought i could use internal trauma as a damage but on page 2 of my sheet it shows 0, now ive read this relates to your base weapon. So does trauma just happen from physical or will i have to find some skill/weapon that triggers that?

Thanks.

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Most damage types have a damage over time variant.

Fire is Burn
Cold is Frostburn
Lightning is Electrocute
Acid is Poison
Vitality is Vitality Decay
Bleed is Bleed Duration

Physical’s is Internal Trauma.

Pierce, Aether, and Chaos damages do not have damage over time variants.

Important to note is that these damages are considered separate, so if something boosts your physical damage it won’t automatically also boost your Internal Trauma damage. You’ll have to find sources for this damage type in addition to the Physical damage sources, however many sources of physical damage will have Internal Trauma damage sources included as well. This will always be designated in the item/skill description.

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More or less players should know basic game mechanism and then decide how deep you wanna dive into. There are lot of posts about them on the forum. You can decide which part (e.g. WPS) you wanna know first and try it out in game to see how it works. This way you learn something in the process also enjoy the game. It won’t take much time even just one little step at a time.

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Seconded. And personally, I think there is not better guide for this then: 🤯 malawiglenn’s guide on game mechanics for beginners

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Just saw Another inspiring build! @WyreZ’s support debuffer! Hell yeah!

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There are direct damage types and Damage over time. Physical is direct one and trauma is called DoT. If you want to see value different than 0 you need to have item/devotion providing flat source of it. So then internal trauma will be applied to both Blitz and Savagery.

% boost of internal trauma will multiply your flat damage bonuses.

Rule of thumb: % damage is important on every build, flat damage (like 12 on item or damage from Flamed Touch or physical from Oleron devotion) is useful on skills only with high Weapon damage, like Savagery, Fire Strike, Primal Strike, etc.

Also since early on gear gives small damage boosts your best friends are devotions damage boosts and more points in your main attacking skill. For example for Elemental build good idea is to rush to Rhowan’s crown devotion. For physical Assasin’s mark is nice start.

Or you completely skip what we say and try different combinations. :wink:

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Cheers all for the help and guidence.

Though it looks like the game wants me to roll a Nightblade/Necro with the blues it keeps dropping.

Which seems to be every arpg i play :smiley:

Some times game is sending you secret messages. :smile:

Grim Dawn have diverse items, so at some point you’ll find good ones for different classes. You can put them in your shared stash for future characters, if you like.

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Boris Tsarevich my current Monk, taking down Commander Lucius in 50 seconds (HC normal). Hes coming along nicely, frequently hits 200% attack speed without any weapons and crits like a mug. Of course, thats bound to change later in the game but hey, for now he is really fun!

@Baranax, this is just more evidence that you can really play this game however the hell you want man. I love to do weird stuff, and in this game weird is totally possible! The sky is the limit! Let your creativity run wild!

Boris Tsarevich current GT link

Loving the idea that Boris hefts around a Wendigo Totem on his back, plopping it down when the need arises. Enjoy this idea so much I wanted to illustrate it, but I am not great at intentional art modeled after specific things. Just for kicks I sketched something quick, workin progress…

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Heres my most recent example of realizing I still know nothing…

Wind Devil says it scales with player damage bonuses… Does this mean it gets the flat damage added from Mogdrogen’s Pact?

Asking for a friend.

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