My collection of AAR builds for SR

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
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I tried all possible combinations of AAR builds (RR support) and took them to SR. All can do at least SR 36+ consistently and all can at least sometimes finish SR 38. The best of them can do SR 40+ and even SR 42+ for one. I also tried Rava and Calla with them but the optimization was for SR and not for celestials or speedrunning anything. Some builds can tank Rava but none can tank Calla. So with Calla tank only for a short time and then reposition.

They are ordered from the best damage type to the worst and within the damage type from the best to the worst build as well.

If you think some build could be improved for SR post it.

1. physical AAR

Physical is the best damage type. Physical Damage is good on every build. IM and Fabius are dangerous but managable with good timing of skills. All can finish SR 40 but not all consistently.

  1. Battlemage - SR 42+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Battlemage is the king of AAR builds.

    _Albrecht the Mighty Battle.zip (1.3 MB)

  2. Templar - SR 40+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Templar has a bit more damage but weaker defenses than Battlemage.

    _Albrecht the Mighty Templar.zip (1.4 MB)

  3. Spellbinder - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Spellbinder is surprisingly good but a bit behind Templar.

    _Albrecht the Mighty Binder.zip (1.3 MB)

  4. Warlock - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds is tough
    Warlock is still good but has the weakest damage of these builds.

    _Albrecht the Mighty Warlock.zip (1.4 MB)

2. aether AAR

Great only with Spellbinder and Sorcerer. Reaper is slow to kill on all builds. For fighting celestials it would be better to go for Rattosh instead of Korvaak due to life leech RR.

  1. Clairvoyant Spellbinder - SR 40+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Clairvoyant Spellbinder is the best.

    _Albrecht the Clairvoyant Bind.zip (895.4 KB)

  2. No set Spellbinder - SR 40+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    No set Spellbinder is a little slower than the set version and defensively similar to it.

    _Albrecht the Aetherial.zip (837.7 KB)

  3. Sorcerer - SR 38+, Callagadra is tough and slow
    Sorcerer is behind Spellbinders in damage and defense but it is still good.

    _Albrecht the Clairvoyant Sorc.zip (896.8 KB)

  4. Piano Warlock - SR 38+, Callagadra is slow
    Warlock needs more RR but Sigil of Consumption gives good leech.

    _Albrecht the Doomer.zip (845.6 KB)

  5. Pure Warlock - SR 36+, Callagadra
    Piano Warlock is a little better due to % DR and better leech on Sigil of Consumption. It still needs more RR.

    _Albrecht the Clairvoyant War.zip (927.2 KB)

  6. Mage Hunter - SR 36+
    Mage Hunter is the worst due to lower damage and cumbersome Inquisitor Seal.

    _Albrecht the Clairvoyant Mage.zip (895.2 KB)

3. chaos AAR

Choas is decent but the set with Ritual Circle makes it worse. Set needs to be remade and Ritual Circle needs to go. AAR does not need piano gameplay!

  1. Set Warlock - SR 40+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Set Warlock is the best. Sigil of Consumption is good. Build is better with it.

    _Albrecht the Chaotic Warlock.zip (1.0 MB)

  2. Mage Hunter - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Mage Hunter is far behind set Warlock. It needs more damage. Inquisistor Seal is not as good as Sigil of Consumption.

    _Albrecht the Chaotic Mage.zip (1.0 MB)

  3. No set Warlock - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    No set Warlock is defensively weaker and slower than set variants but still good.

    _Albrecht the Possessed.zip (1.1 MB)

  4. Sorcerer - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra both tough
    Sorcerer is the weakest due to low item support and low phys res. Damage is good.

    _Albrecht the Chaotic Sorcerer.zip (1.0 MB)

4. lightning AAR

Builds are relatively close to each other with the exception of Warlock.

  1. Templar - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Templar is the best.

    _Albrecht the Lighter Templar.zip (777.2 KB)

  2. Sorcerer - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Sorcerer is weaker than Templar.

    _Albrecht the Lighter Sorcerer.zip (777.2 KB)

  3. Druid - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Druid is close to Sorcerer.

    _Albrecht the Lighter Druid.zip (748.8 KB)

  4. Mage Hunter - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Mage Hunter is the fastest and a little squishier. Inquisitor Seal is cumbersome.

    _Albrecht the Lighter Mage.zip (775.6 KB)

  5. Warlock - SR 36+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra both are slow but fine
    Warlock is the slowest and weakest.

    _Albrecht the Lighter Warlock.zip (750.6 KB)

5. vitality AAR

Vitality needs more leech on off-hand. Builds are not much tanky due to it. Damage is great. Moosi is tougher.

  1. Warlock - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Warlock is the best due to set and class support.

    _Albrecht the Vital Warlock.zip (938.6 KB)

  2. Templar - SR 38+, Callagadra is slow
    Templar is weaker than Warlock. Moosi is tougher. You can tank Moosi for a while and then disengage. It is on the edge of being an SR 38 build.

    _Albrecht the Vital Templar.zip (943.7 KB)

  3. Spellbreaker - SR 38+, Callagadra is slow
    Spellbreaker is close to Templar. Moosi is tougher. You can tank Moosi for a while and then disengage. It is on the edge of being an SR 38 build.

    _Albrecht the Vital Breaker.zip (944.3 KB)

  4. Druid - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh is tough, Callagadra
    Druid is a glass cannon. Devouring Swarm is cumbersome to play with.

    _Albrecht the Vital Druid.zip (926.6 KB)

  5. Spellbinder - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Spellbinder is very squishy quite unexpectedly. One would expect it to be among the best…

    _Albrecht the Vital Binder.zip (949.4 KB)

6. cold AAR

They are all close to each other with the exception of Warlock. Cold nemeses are tougher than nemeses for other builds. They bring cold damage down. Were it not for Moosi cold builds would rank higher. Kuba is very slow to kill. Fabius is relatively fine with good timing of skills but slower. He needs more visibility of Blade Barrier. Something like Valdaran has.

  1. Spellbinder - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Spellbinder is the best due to defenses against bosses. You can tank Moosi with good timing of skills.

    _Albrecht the Chilled Binder.zip (1.6 MB)

  2. Templar - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Templar is close to Spellbinder but slightly weaker with bosses. You can tank Moosi for a while and then disengage.

    _Albrecht the Chilled Templar.zip (1.5 MB)

  3. Sorcerer - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Sorcerer is weaker than Templar but still good defensively. You can tank Moosi for a while and then disengage.

    _Albrecht the Chilled Sorcerer.zip (1.5 MB)

  4. Spellbreaker - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Spellbreaker has the best damage but it is squishier against bosses. Moosi is tough. Kill him from distance don’t tank him.

    _Albrecht the Chilled Breaker.zip (1.5 MB)

  5. Mage Hunter - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Mage is slower but defensively better against bosses with the exception of Moosi which is tough due to need to move and cumbersome Inquisitor Seal. Get away from Moosi’s crystals.

    _Albrecht the Chilled Mage.zip (1.6 MB)

  6. Druid - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Druid is offensively better than Sorcerer but has weaker defenses.

    _Albrecht the Chilled Druid.zip (1.4 MB)

  7. Warlock - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Warlock is the weakest and slowest.

    _Albrecht the Chilled Warlock.zip (1.5 MB)

7. fire AAR

Iron Maiden is doable with good timing of skills. Use Phoenix at appropriate moments.

  1. Templar - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Templar is the best.

    _Albrecht the Fiery Templar.zip (873.3 KB)

  2. Sorcerer - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Sorcerer is weaker and slower than Templar. It is close to being an SR 38 build.

    _Albrecht the Fiery Sorcerer.zip (873.7 KB)

  3. Druid - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Druid is close to Sorcerer. It is close to being an SR 38 build.

    _Albrecht the Fiery Druid.zip (847.5 KB)

  4. Mage Hunter - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Mage Hunter is the slowest and Inquisitor Seal is cumbersome. Defensively it is not bad.

    _Albrecht the Fiery Mage.zip (874.6 KB)

  5. Warlock - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh is tough, Callagadra
    Warlock is the weakest defensively but not the slowest.

    _Albrecht the Fiery Warlock.zip (898.7 KB)

8. pierce AAR

Pierce needs more damage and better item support.

  1. Spellbreaker - SR 38+, Ravager of Souls, Callagadra
    Spellbreaker is fine. Not great not terrible. I tried a variant with Blade Spirits but it was weaker defensively and the damage wasn’t that much greater.

    _Albrecht the Piercer Breaker.zip (805.9 KB)

  2. Mage Hunter - SR 36+
    Mage Hunter has similar stats and is one of the worst AAR builds… One would expect it to be better defensively with Inquisitor Seal and Aura of Conviction but no… It has the worst damage overall and expensive gear.

    _Albrecht the Piercer Mage.zip (804.3 KB)

There is an ordering by class in the post below.

8 Likes
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Here is ordering with respect to class from the best to the worst and within each class from the best to the worst build. There are no GT links and downloads here. They are in the post above.

1. Templar

Templar does everything well. It is always a good pick.

  1. Physical - SR 40+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Physical is the best. But Templar is the second best physical build.

  2. Lightning - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Lightning is weaker than physical. Templar is the best lightning build.

  3. Fire - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Fire is very close to lightning. Templar is the best fire build.

  4. Cold - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Cold is slightly behind fire and lightning due to tougher cold resistant nemeses.

  5. Vitality - SR 38+, Callagadra is slow
    Vitality has the best damage but is squishier compared to the others. It is on the edge of being an SR 38 build.

2. Battlemage

Battlemage lacks variety but its one build is the best.

  1. Physical - SR 42+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
3. Spellbinder

Spellbinder is great but it has one weak build.

  1. Aether Clairvoyant - SR 40+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Aether Clairvoyant is the best Spellbinder and the best aether build.

  2. Aether no set - SR 40+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    No set aether is slower than Clairvoyant but defensively similar.

  3. Physical - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Physical is a bit slower and weaker than no set aether.

  4. Cold - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Cold is slower and weaker than physical but the best cold build.

  5. Vitality - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Vitality is very squishy compared to the other Spellbinders but damage is good.

4. Warlock

Some Warlocks are very good and some bad. Aether Warlocks are not great despite set support. Sigil of Consumption makes Warlocks better. All elemental Warlocks need better defense and more damage.

  1. Chaos set - SR 40+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Chaos is the best Warlock due to set support but it is a bit a piano. It is also the best chaos build.

  2. Vitality - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Vitality has the most damage but is defensively a bit behind chaos. Sigil of Consumption makes a difference and vitality has less leech on AAR. Warlock is the best vitality build.

  3. Physical - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds is tough
    Physical is surprisingly good. Defenses are solid and damage is ok.

  4. Aether piano - SR 38+, Callagadra is slow
    Aether Clairvoyant piano is behind physical in both damage and defense but is still fine. It needs more RR.

  5. Chaos no set - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    No set chaos is slower and wekaer than Aether piano.

  6. Aether pure - SR 36+, Callagadra
    Aether Clairvoyant needs more RR and % DR. It is faster than aether piano but squishier.

  7. Lightning - SR 36+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra both are slow but fine
    Lightning and fire are very similar but slower and weaker than pure aether.

  8. Fire - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh is tough, Callagadra
    Lightning and fire are very similar but slower and weaker than pure aether.

  9. Cold - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Cold is the slowest and weakest.

5. Spellbreaker

Spellbreaker has decent builds that are close to each other.

  1. Pierce - SR 38+, Ravager of Souls, Callagadra
    Pierce is slower but it is the most consistent due to nemeses not being that tough for it compared to the others. It is the best pierce build and the best Spellbreaker.

  2. Cold - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Cold is defensively similar to pierce and in the middle with damage but has tough nemeses.

  3. Vitality - SR 38+, Callagadra is slow
    Vitality has the most damage but it is squishier, especially with bosses. It is on the edge of being an SR 38 build.

6. Sorcerer

Sorcerers are decent with the exception of a chaos one which is weak.

  1. Aether - SR 38+, Callagadra is tough and slow
    Aether is the best due to item support and devo path.

  2. Lightning - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Lightning and cold are slower and weaker than aether and close to each other. Lightning perhaps has a slight edge due to easier nemeses.

  3. Cold - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Lightning and cold are slower and weaker than aether and close to each other.

  4. Fire - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Fire has good damage but it is a little squishier. It is close to being an SR 38 build.

  5. Chaos - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra both tough
    Chaos is the weakest due to low item support and low phys res. Damage is better than lightning and cold.

7. Druid

Druid does lightning good. Fire, cold and vitality are weaker.

  1. Lightning - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Lightning is the best due to sufficent but not great defenses.

  2. Fire - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Fire has good damage and it is squishier. It is close to being an SR 38 build.

  3. Cold - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Cold is slower than fire but more defensive. Were it not for tough nemeses it would be an SR 38 build.

  4. Vitality - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh is tough, Callagadra
    Vitality has the best damage but it is squishy and Devouring Swarm is cumbersome to play with.

8. Mage Hunter

Only chaos and lightning Mage Hunters are decent and too many skills drag them down especially the chaos set. Mage Hunter has a lot of weaker builds despite good defenses on paper. It has lower damage typically. Inquisitor Seal needs much faster animation and to be centered on the player. It takes too long for its effects to apply… Mage Hunter is more of a piano by default. Word of Pain needs more area for low level investment. I think that both Word of Pain and Aura of Censure need more RR. At least by five percent. Inquisitor as a mastery needs some serious buffs.

  1. Lightning - SR 38+, Ravager of Minds, Callagadra
    Lightning is the best. It has the most damage and decent defenses

  2. Chaos - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Chaos has less damage and weaker defenses than lightning. Piano gameplay is cumbersome. But it is still a decent build.

  3. Cold - SR 38+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Cold is actually nice to play with decent damage and defense but cold nemeses bring it down…

  4. Fire - SR 36+, Ravager of Flesh, Callagadra
    Fire has lower damage and decent defenses.

  5. Aether - SR 36+
    Aether has good damage for a Mage Hunter but the defenses are not good as one would expect. I don’t know why.

  6. Pierce - SR 36+
    Pierce Mage has the weakest defenses and damage. It is the worst AAR build. Not monumentally bad but the worst. It needs more damage.

2 Likes
3

Top 5 builds, all at least SR 40+

  1. Physical Battlemage
  2. Aether Clairvoyant Spellbinder
  3. Aether no set Spellbinder
  4. Chaos set Warlock
  5. Physical Templar

If you want to play every damage type and every class once I would suggest this combination as the best overall:

  • Physical Battlemage - the only option and the best physical build.
  • Vitality Warlock - the only great vitality build. Vitality is weaker and you need to play its best build.
  • Cold Spellbinder - cold is weaker and thus you need to play its best build.
  • Aether Sorcerer - aether is strong and it can compensate for weaker class like Sorcerer and still do it well.
  • Chaos Mage Hunter - Mage Hunter is weaker and chaos has a set support though not a great one.
  • Fire Templar - the best fire is Templar.
  • Lightning Druid - Druid is a weaker class and lightning is its best.
  • Pierce Spellbreaker - pierce is decent only on Spellbreaker.
1 Like
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Nice, will try it

1 Like
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Thank you for sharing your save.

1 Like