My Gaming Experience and Suggestions for Fangs of Asterkarn

[Nieo]

Hello guys,

It has been about a month since I returned to Grim Dawn after taking a break for years. (If I recall correctly, the last time I played was around the initial release of Forgotten Gods.)

Previously, I had never reached level 100 or fully cleared content on Ultimate difficulty. This time, however, is different: I now have two level 100 characters and am preparing to face the toughest bosses in Ascendant difficulty. Significant changes in the game have truly refreshed my experience. Today, I would like to share my feedback on various mechanics and compare them to similar games, such as Path of Exile and Last Epoch. I hope this provides useful input for the devs to make GD even better!

Core Gaming Experience

The core of ARPGs is always the same: we make a plan and build around it. The main source of fun comes from that building process, and Grim Dawn offers a very unique flavor compared to its peers.

PoE usually requires players to craft gear through a complex system, whereas GD focuses on farming gear based on an item affix system—a direction I personally prefer. LE sits somewhere in between. Using the third-party tool DPYes, I can easily filter and pick up exact items with desired affixes. This makes the overall gameplay feel remarkably smooth: I can focus purely on the hack-and-slash loop without breaking immersion while farming. Furthermore, sorting loot after a run is quick and straightforward because every piece of gear picked up carries at least one relevant affix. You can jump into the next run almost immediately, and time just flies by.

In my opinion, GD’s greatest strength is that it isn’t built around artificial “player retention” mechanics. PoE requires a massive player base to sustain a healthy trade economy because crafting and drops are so rng-heavy; as a result, many of its design choices seem explicitly intended to slow players down and keep them playing longer. LE avoids this specific problem, but its endgame content and boss challenges currently lack the depth to keep players engaged long-term.

Time is everyone’s most precious asset. While PoE often feels like it is actively trying to waste my time, GD never feels that way. The developers truly respect the player’s time, which naturally motivates me to play more out of genuine enjoyment rather than FOMO or endless, artificial achievement goals. As a returning player, this respect for my time is the most valuable part of the experience, and I deeply appreciate it.

Regarding Ascendant Difficulty

This is an intriguing design. I initially thought it was too difficult, but the moment I stepped into it, its purpose clicked for me.

To be honest, I am not a fan of the Shattered Realm because its time-limit mechanic forces builds to clear at a specific speed to maximize rewards. In Ascendant difficulty, however, this isn’t an issue. I can play at my own pace and rhythm without being penalized for moving “too slowly.” Playing this mode with friends is even more enjoyable—even in early acts, the difficulty scaling yields handsome loot. Ultimately, finding upgrades and getting those dopamine hits is the core of any Diabo-like ARPG.

Furthermore, unlike many other modern games, Grim Dawn features a hand-crafted world map rather than randomized, tile-based layouts. This delivers a wonderfully old-school experience that is rare in modern ARPGs. The world map is so detailed that even after multiple playthroughs, I am still discovering hidden chests and secrets.

I have four suggestions to help polish this difficulty:

• Currently, opening chests can spawn an ambush of enemies. I’ve noticed that most of the time, these spawned packs belong to the Bloodbound faction. Given that there are around 10 hostile factions in the game, having the system randomly spawn ambushes from any of these factions would add variety, making the gameplay more dynamic and intense.
• We could also introduce a wide-area taunt mechanic when attempting to open lootable containers, triggering chaotic, large-scale skirmishes.
• Grim Dawn has many unique heroes and bosses, but each unit generally spawns only once across the static world map, which can make farming specific MIs feel tedious. It would be exciting if a random hero from the same faction could spawn alongside a Nemesis boss, and if a random unique boss from any faction could spawn together with The Dread. This would significantly heighten the combat intensity!
• Could Loghorrean, the original main campaign boss, get some love? Perhaps a new humanoid Nemesis boss named “Aspect of Loghorrean” could be added, inheriting Loghorrean’s full skillset and loot table. Due to his huge model size, he rarely gets seen outside his arena and can’t spawn as a random encounter or in Crucible. (And while we’re at it, let’s not forget Kra’vall in Ugdenbog!)

Regarding Affix Transmutation

This is easily one of my favorite features in FoA! Previously, obtaining a double rare MI with your exact desired affixes was practically impossible. With this mechanic, we can now realistically chase those ideal rolls to tackle the game’s toughest endgame encounters. I have zero complaints about it—it is an absolute win for player progression.

Regarding the Ascension Altar

The concept is great, but the current difficulty scaling feels like it was tuned primarily for a full four-player party rather than a solo player. The difficulty spike after using it is quite steep, so collecting more telemetry and tweaking the tuning might be beneficial.

Additionally, the bonus granted by Soul Fragments—which increases the drop chance of MIs—could use a slight adjustment. While it works wonders for MIs with low base drop rates, it provides no benefit for unique bosses that already have a 100% guaranteed MI drop. In those cases, any drop chance bonus exceeding 100% could instead grant a chance to drop multiple MIs may be a reasonable solution.

Regarding Endgame Materials

While there are blacksmiths to exchange certain endgame materials, the options don’t cover everything. It would be great to have new recipes or exchange options for rare endgame components like Celestial Lotuses. However, this shouldn’t come completely free or without effort. Placing a special blacksmith with limited exchange uses in the reward room at the end of each Skeleton Key dungeon on Ascendant difficulty would be a solid, rewarding solution!

That’s all the feedback and suggestions I have for now. Time to get back to farming—see you in Cairn!

[BPFrosty]

@Zantai

tems of all qualities now have a small chance to drop with a randomized Ascension modifier when playing in Ascendant mode. This chance is increased by offering Soul Fragments at the altar, and enables random Ascended drops on lower difficulties. Soul Fragments no longer increase monster equipment drop rates.

From the playtest patch notes

[Chthon]

@Nieo

We could also introduce a wide-area taunt mechanic when attempting to open lootable containers, triggering chaotic, large-scale skirmishes.

That’d be cool.

@Nieo

Additionally, the bonus granted by Soul Fragments—which increases the drop chance of MIs—could use a slight adjustment. While it works wonders for MIs with low base drop rates, it provides no benefit for unique bosses that already have a 100% guaranteed MI drop. In those cases, any drop chance bonus exceeding 100% could instead grant a chance to drop multiple MIs may be a reasonable solution.

Either multiple versions of the same MI or improved odds with rarer affixes. Either is fine.

@Nieo

Given that there are around 10 hostile factions in the game, having the system randomly spawn ambushes from any of these factions would add variety, making the gameplay more dynamic and intense.

Faction ambushes should feel contextual to the region they’re happening in. It wouldn’t make sense to have Aetherials ambush you in Asterkarn or in the Korvan Peninsula. What can be done is to have trap chests can be added to the other factions.

@Nieo

Perhaps a new humanoid Nemesis boss named “Aspect of Loghorrean” could be added,

Loghorrean isn’t some unique being, it’s an aspect of Ch’thon and Ch’thonians already have 2 nemesis bosses.

Also, Loghorrean already got shafted when compared to the other main bosses (Marcell, Korvaak, and Beronath) because his model was reused for Kra’vall. The only love he needs is more buffs.

Just to be clear, I like Kra’vall. If only Crate could’ve closed his mouth, the asset reuse would’ve felt perfect imo.

@Nieo

Due to his huge model size, he rarely gets seen outside his arena

That’s a good thing. He’s the boss of the base game. Imo, the Crucible shouldn’t even have Beronath, Marcell or Korvaak. They’re the final bosses of the expansions.

@Nieo

Grim Dawn has many unique heroes and bosses, but each unit generally spawns only once across the static world map

That makes sense from a world design perspective. Unique enemies save for the locked dungeon bosses are pretty easy to hunt down each session. So farming their MIs isn’t very hard.

Having unique bosses spawn randomly in some illogical location takes their uniqueness away. Grim Dawn’s mechanics embody the ‘A’ in the ‘ARPG’, but its world design is a good example of proper ‘RPG’ design. Exploring the world and discovering these unique dungeons and enemies is part of the charm.