I’m excited to join the ARPG community after completing my very first ARPG experience with Titan Quest Anniversary Edition. Now, Grim Dawn has caught my eye, but as a newcomer to the genre, I’m facing a bit of a dilemma.
Upon browsing Grim Dawn on Steam, I noticed there are multiple expansions available, and it’s left me feeling a bit overwhelmed. As someone diving into ARPGs for the first time, I’m not sure whether I should purchase all the expansions at once or take a more gradual approach.
Here’s where I need your guidance: Would it be better for me, as a newbie, to start with just the base game and gradually add expansions as I progress, or should I dive in and purchase everything from the get-go?
My main concern is maintaining a smooth learning curve and not feeling lost amidst a sea of new content. I want to fully enjoy the game’s experience without getting overwhelmed by too much too soon.
Given my newbie status in the ARPG world, what approach do you seasoned Grim Dawn players recommend? Should I follow the chronological release order to ease into the game’s mechanics, or can I safely jump into the entire bundle without feeling too lost?
Looking forward to hearing your advice and recommendations!
In general, I would say there are two approaches to this, which is not actually driven by gameplay: it’s by two other factors - budget, and whether you enjoy ARPGs in general.
If $50 is nothing to you - get the Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods DLCs and Crucible. Install the lot.
If $ is a concern and you’re not sure whether you’ll enjoy it, Grim Dawn is definitely playable with just the base game - if you want to give it a taster. The DLCs basically modernise the game and add a bunch of QOL features on top of the additional gameplay stuff. So if you want, you can taste test with just the base game and see how you feel. You will, however be missing a bunch of features and options that are greatly enhanced by the DLC.
If you love the ARPG genre and $50 is a manageable amount to spend on games, again, stop thinking. Get AOM and FG and probably the Crucible DLCs. You will definitely get great bang for your buck and won’t regret it.
The key thing to say for Grim Dawn - once you have the base game and AOM/FG expansions, is that almost ANY decision you make can be walked back. The only character things you cannot undo are your mastery choices. So you don’t need to worry about making mistakes while learning the basics, you can do it by attrition if necessary.
Because of this, you may not even need to follow guides for builds (but some of the more nuanced mechanics may not be obvious and require some sort of investigation). GD isn’t so punishingly complex that you’ll get overwhelmed in general, and if you do find yourself a bit at a loss, there’s a few good content creators on YouTube (ahem ahem RektbyProtoss) who have done beginner guides/mechanics for new players which may be able to answer a lot of your questions, as well as some of the nerds here.
That’s really funny, I heard about the original development of GD b/c I found a TQ and TQIT sale on Impulse (it was a long time ago) and played a bunch of TQ/TQIT. GD has a darker tone in general than TQ, it’s probably more like TQIT meets Metallica. If you liked TQ then you’ll love GD and you’ll play all the expansions. I’d check pricing, if you can get a deal on the expansions with original purchase then you may as well get it all at once, if the expansion prices are the same with or without base game then you could play the base game for a few days to get used to it before buying the expansions.
I can say without reservation that I’ve gotten a better value out of GD than any other computer game I’ve played, going all the way back to my Atari 2600 in the 80s.
edit: there’s a nice little streaming community for GD on twitch, Magipher is one of our streamers and he’s fun to watch.
what Magipher said i think is solid
if money is a concern buy the basegame and test out the waters if you like it before committing to the full price
the expansions do add a bunch of stuff, including new classes, devos which will be there from the start, so if money is not really the main concern can dive in with everything
while it might not be guaranteed, perhaps prudent to mention steam sale should be soon (48hours?), and it’s possible Grim Dawn might be discounted there
Adding to what others have said, you may not know that Grim Dawn is the spiritual successor to TQ as it uses a much modified and improved version of the old TQ game engine. And Medierra aka Arthur Bruno, founder of Crate Entertainment, was Lead Game Designer on TQ/IT original disc version. So you will find some similarities between the 2 games. However, GD is a more complex game as it has extra features like the devotion system, factions, etc. So there are things you will still need to learn about the game.
Also if you’'re someone who likes to follow build guides then the most up to date ones are written with the expectation that players have both of the expansions. If you like to dive in blind then that’s not really a problem either.
Both the expansions add more of everything: more masteries to play with, higher max level for your class and devotion points, factions, items, monster totems, map content, etc. That said you can certainly try out just the base game and have a lot of fun with it and then add on the expansions later on if that’s how you want to do things. The game goes on sale several times a year so it’s not difficult to pick up the other parts later on.
Also note that a 3rd expansion is in the works and will require both the expansions. Crucible btw is a separate add on battle arena mode where you fight waves of monsters. If that isn’t your thing then there’s no need to get it to be able to play the main campaign; Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods are the game’s 2 expansions.
The game guide is here if you want to have a read to get a feel of how the game works.
Thanks a lot for the responses! I’m really eager to dive into Grim Dawn. After considering your advice, I realized that if I start with just the base game and then add expansions later, I might miss out on some key features right from the beginning. So, I think the best approach for me is to go for the game and all expansions right from the start.
However, the total price for everything, including expansions, DLCs, and Farthest Frontier, is currently a bit steep for me at 98 euros. But, as Gnomish_Inquisition mentioned, there’s a Steam sale coming up soon. If Grim Dawn goes on sale for at least 50% off, I’ll definitely grab the whole package. If not, I’ll settle for the base game for now.
What you could do is get the base game now or when the sale starts and then buy the rest via the Definitive Edition pack as the discount there will be added to any discounts during the sale. Base game during a sale is usually about 70-75% off while the expansions are around 35-40% iirc.
If you’re not into town building games then don’t get Farthest unless you want to support the devs by buying it. It’s not set in the GD universe, it’s a totally separate and different game.
you don’t need to pick the pack with Farthest Frontier btw, it’s a totally different pack that includes totally different game Crate is making(city builder, not ARPG)
just get the Definitive Edition, not the Crate complete
if you’re on Steam, buying via Steam it will even maintain your discount should you buy base game first/alone, and the finish the Definite Edition bundle later for the expansions
You won’t be disappointed with buying Grim Dawn. I think I got the base game with all expansions for like 40 bucks on a steam sale and I have put over 600 hours into it. Best money I ever spent.
I started with the base game and regret not buying the bundle, because after a week I bought both expansion. Game is super cool and has great replayability. Highly recommended.