Sup guys
With all the patches and nerfs, what are still the top 5 DW builds?
I own all expansions (just bought FG), and got 2 toons cap
Also got mats to craft and couple of purples in bank stash
I’m more into melee build-like, no kiter or pet, don’t care about damage type or classes combo (although i guess Nightblade will be one) Just a fast pact, DW killing machine
Thanks for advice
>> Not mentioning buffs
<< is not interested about this thread
Take a look here: https://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83773
Check the Blademasters, Tricksters and Infiltrators.
What do you prefer ?
DeathMarked BM : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uoxJFSya5A
DM Dervish : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrviRqn_yhg
Venomblade : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFEV3KqbPgM
Dark One : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmYFpW2eCMo
Belgo : https://youtu.be/59KnKI7xdOs
Non-Nightblade
BloodKnight : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0hdIlF7B9U
define “top”
Top as in able to do end game content
that means:
full campaign on ultimate
cruci 150-170
SR: around 75
Now, i prefer an enjoyable build to a super crazy too high end build with impossible gear to get, don’t care if i do cruci in 7 min instead of 7:30.
Saw a few ones but have been absent for a while and lost track of what is good and what has been nerf/ changed to doom
Thanks
At least, you have to make your choice …
You decide to play a build, but few days they nerf few items, then you change to other build , nerf again … so it took ages for you to enjoy the game
WHy dont you try a build , then take mistakes with that build , then make it happen, make it works ! If still cant do it, we’re here to help
Crucible & SR 75 : not big deal in Grim Dawn anyway, no need a god-tier build to complete , it’s easier than you think, even a lady can do it , come on, man !
LOL you made my day with last sentence, alright alright, i’ll pick a build…
Was under the impression you need the perfect build to even attempt SR
As for rest of the game, been away for a while and back then, Cruci was tough!
Strongest DW build would be Deathmarked Infiltrator.
Personally, I would recommend Veretragna’s Deathmarked BM, DMT’s Acid Dervish (she is going to update it today, watch out) and my Physical Death Knight.
All three are very solid easy easy to pilot green free specs.
Thanks!!! exactly what i was looking for
I was gonna suggest my acid/poison shattered guardian Dervish here for straight up simple Auto-Attacking build:
https://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84205
But then I remember that you need to first beat SR first before building it… 
So yeah, go with madlee’s suggestion. Just picked yours as infiltrator or Dervish and you will be fine as both of them has good build variation.
Trickster is also good, but not recommended for a new player.
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Any build can claim that achievement. In its current state, SR is no measure of strength. A measure of consistency could be established, as in “this build can do SR75 x times in 20 attempts,” but community is too divided on the matter of SR to discuss that with many members disagreeing with everything I just wrote.
if i do cruci in 7 min instead of 7:30.
then you can’t claim to be top 10 even. Even Rah’Zin does 6:30. Rah’Zin, even after buffs, is currently at the bottom of the list of full set dedicated dw.
Deathmarked infiltrator got hit hard in the nerfs. Lost 12% rr and a total of 16% racial.
My ranking would be:
I am not counting Bloodrager Trickster since it’s not exactly a DW-melee build. It’s a dot build mostly.
I am pretty sure Deathmarked Infiltrator is still the king. Belgothian 5 green spec of gdstashing is a one-trick pony that relies on 4th buff in Crucible, quite a bit of monster infrequents and isn’t as tough and well-rounded overall as Deathmarked Infiltratror. Sure, it can boast faster single-target damage or faster clearer times, but Deathmarked Infiltrator can do sub-6 minute times consistently and farm up to Shard 85 without really breaking a sweat or using greens.
I don’t know if Venomblade can go faster than 6 minutes though, but still, it’s not as tough as Deathmarked Infiltrator.
I am not counting Bloodrager Trickster since it’s not exactly a DW-melee build. It’s a dot build mostly.
Strange.
I was thinking I have to hit enemies (multiple times in SR) with two weapons to get the damage I want. 
5:20 is my record. Meaning Mercy or J_S could even approach the 5 min threshold. Setup does 75 no sweat, too.
But talking no-green, yeah, Deathmarked is better - faster and tankier. Venomblade got a beautiful combination of AoE and DoTs. But in no-green it’s not as sturdy as Deathmarked unless you go all defense like Dmt. But then it’s slower than Rah’Zin.
Belgo is crazy. But in no-green setups inferior to Deathmarked as well. Deathmarked is best rounded of all three.
But if you allow greens and look for one setup that beats records in crucible and does SR with close to 100% consistency then number one would be Venomblade.
Now I want to see that Venomblade you are talking about. Show me!
Look at KmK´s link. 3 times Ravager in a row.
https://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82300
The no-green setups are outdated, though. And, in case you don’t know, the green ones are “subpar.” I still haven’t figured out how to squeeze 8 MI into one build.
Interesting spec of the top-performer. I still think Deathmarked Infiltrator should be able to outperform it tho. Also, it’s a 4buffs/1 banner run.
By the way, how does 26 ABB + Righteous Fervor work together? Do you like press ABB every 1-1,5 seconds and hold down Righteous Fervor? Is it really more damage then letting RF + WPS do their thing and then click ABB every 4 seconds? Never played Venomblade, curious about its mechanics.
I had a lengthy PM discussion about it with [redacted]. Let me quote it. Only my part, though, his would require too much further redacting…
- One-pointing ABB on full Venomblade is imo a big mistake. I tested it. You can shove it under playstyle preferences but maxing NHH and wps instead is never better performance-wise. It’s because once your AoE awareness gets better and you know crucible well enough, instinctively lure and hoard mobs, strong AoE is always better than jumping from target to target even with the best single target. The only exception is Superfluff’s Belgothian but only he can pull that off. I couldn’t even get close to his times.
Just watch my videos. Whenever there is a mob of 3-4 heroes, once one is comfortably at 20-30% health so you can leave him to DoTs, the other ones are already at 30-40% without even attacking them. Almost the same goes for nemeses. And it does not depend on their positioning. As for wps, only Whirling Death hits 360. AQC and Execution are single target. Belgo Shears only hits in front of you. And all that only in melee range. ABB, on the other hand, with all the mods and cdr is like a guaranteed wps every 4-5 hits - a bit like Cadence - that hits stronger than Execution, leaves a shitload of DoT (almost like Tainted Eruption and this is without the 310% weapon damage) and does that in 7.5-9m radius. Maxed ABB with Venomblade mods was worth it even on witch hunters. On dervishes with extra cdr it’s a no-brainer.
But ofc if you only play SR by aggroing bosses one on one then ABB is less effective. Still good though.
It was mentioned in the reply that due to the mysterious Effect of Animation Cancelling this is all untrue and [redacted]. Video proof was confiscated by MI6 who were then abducted by Aliens.