Any guides out there for builds pre-expansion? I enjoy the game but starting to become more of a grind.
Currently Shaman, havent chose second class. Im assuming ill have a few other characters to try out other classes.
Should find plenty here
http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48165
and welcome to the forum and to the game.
Sorry, im such a novice still. Thought those were AOM builds. Thank you!
Edit - Feel free to delete this thread.
Current Compendium (VII) will be AoM builds, the older one (V) was compiled before the expansion came out so should be good for base game build ideas. 
I’m also a vanilla player. I’ve tried two Shaman builds - Superfluff’s Chaos/Vitality Conjurer is very good so far. I also have a Warder at higher level, but since I didn’t find anything I liked (lightning, 2-hander) in BC5 I’ve been winging it. Loosely based on jajaja’s Electrocute Warder from post-AoM. Works well so far, but figuring out devotions took some work. All the pre-AoM lightning 2-hander builds (Druid, Elementalist) “helpfully” updated to level 100 and didn’t keep the old level 85 grimtools version… I’m happy with what I figured out for myself though.
My first character is a physical commando, also working very well. Just struggling with third playthrough tedium in the mid-70s.
I’m having fun with a fire gunslinger sorceress but in hindsight I should have done something else. Using Inquisitor instead of Arcanist would be so much better… Oh well, I didn’t know what Inquisitor was when I created the character. 
My #5 character is a cold spellbreaker, partly because I keep finding cold gear with boosts to Trozan’s Sky Shard. (Lots of vit/chaos gear motivated the conjurer as character #4 as well).
Anyway, lots of good stuff out there to try. Make sure to check the Archives on page 4 of the BC5 thread, since there are many more builds there than just what’s on the first page.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask! I’m happy to help to the extent that a slightly-less-new player in the same position as you can help, and most of the folks who made level 85 builds are still active and can tell you why they made certain choices or point out that something doesn’t work the way you think it does, etc.
Thanks for talking about your experience!
Noob questions:
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Should i just be placing these “objects” into my armor and weapons when I get them? Or hoard them? I seem to get a ton but wasn’t sure what to do with them.
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I have found two places that need skeleton keys. It says once you go in you cant ever go in again. Should I be saving those for when I am higher level? I don’t want to waste special areas. (Steps of Torment + Port Valbury)
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If I spend 80 skill points in shaman, then grab another skill… can i refund all those skill points and be able to maybe do 60 in shaman then 20 in the other or am I handicapping myself?
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Gear: Any reason to grind for stuff? I am level 37 currently and I havent been finding many items better than what I currently have. I read the intro thread in the other forum so I have been focusing on keeping my armor high and resistances (even been specializing my devotion for that as well)
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Dynamite? Do I get more of this? I feel so gun shy in using it because I don’t want to trap myself unable to advance (I know most games dont do this anymore, but fuck it was rage inducing back in the day)
I am sure I’ll have more questions… just the ones off the top of my head.
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Both. You can use them to increase your resistances for example, but many are also needed for shrines and crafting at the blacksmith so keep them all.
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Many players do. If you’re new I’d hold on to them until you’re more familiar with the game. These are what are called rogue-like dungeons where once you’re in them you either fight and win your way through them or die. If you die you lose some of your XP since you can’t go back into the dungeon in the same play session. You have to exit and try again and will need another skeleton key. You will find a blueprint which, once you learn it, means you can make more keys at the blacksmiths providing you have the necessary ingredients for it.
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Skill points and devotion points can be bought back at the Spirit Guide for iron and aether crystals. Also in the AoM expansion you will get potions allowing you to completely reset these if you want.
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I wouldn’t bother, better gear is at higher levels.
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Yes, you’ll get more dynamite. It appears in several locations in the game and the blacksmith at Homestead also makes it.
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I tend to be pretty free about using common components like scavenged plating and polished emeralds. Sometimes I’ll put one on an item as much to mark it as a “do not sell” piece as for the bonus (I usually keep a variety of rings, amulets, and a few alternate armor pieces so I can optimize my resistances). Less common stuff I generally save for crafting/shrines/endgame. A tip for managing them - just dedicate one of your shared stash tabs to components and crafting materials. It beats having smaller stacks of the same thing clogging every character’s bags.
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The advice I followed, which worked well for me, was to wait until the end of Elite and then do SoT and BoC. Not much point spending keys in Veteran, and I wanted to see what’s in there and what the bosses are like before facing them in Ultimate. Definitely read the appropriate sections of the Survival Guide first so you know what resistances you’ll need and what you should watch out for. I haven’t bothered with PV since aether-ground irritates me in the campaign, and PV has some sort of random aether tornados in addition.
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Points in skills can be refunded, points in mastery bars cannot until you get AoM. And costs of skill and devotion refunds start low but can get ludicrously high if you do a lot of them on one character. So if you decide to do a massive respec keeping very little of the original build, it may be worth using a mod. Your specific example is totally reasonable, 20 points is pretty cheap and should get you a good start on your second mastery.
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No, and in this game it isn’t really possible to grind for most specific things. MIs are the only items that drop from specific mobs, and for the most part you don’t care about them while leveling. The one exception I can think of would be a pierce Blademaster wanting to farm a couple of decent Dermapteran Slicers in each difficulty level. But those drop like candy so it’s not hard to find a couple that should work.
But if you’re in a position where you have 2/3 of the Herald’s set, too bad, wait for RNG because there’s absolutely nothing you can do to get that last piece any faster.
If there’s an item slot where you don’t have anything that works, check faction vendors. They have gear at 35, 50, and 70, some of which is good (also don’t forget to look at the blueprints they sell). As I recall a first character won’t unlock the level 35 gear until the mid-40s or so, but once that first character maxes out rep with everyone (end of Elite, with only a small amount of grinding) all your other characters will easily have all the rep they could want thanks to Mandates.
- If you need more, just visit the Black Legion blacksmith like Medea said. There’s always one piece in each of the mines in Act 2 as well. If you’re thinking of those locked treasure chests, I usually do spend a dynamite on them. They drop a blueprint reasonably often, and even if they don’t at worst I’m trading a dynamite for an Ancient Heart or something like that, which is OK.
Hey mate, firstly - welcome to the forums!
I personally am a tad hesitant to recommend builds to new players. As you progress through GD, you’ll find that builds are very personal things.
I suppose the best approach here is for me to turn this around, and to ask you a few questions:
- What kind of playstyle do you envision using? A tank? Spellcaster? Gunslinger?
- How in depth into mechanics do you want to go?
- Would you rather just ‘play’ the game and avoid the hassle of theorycrafting/min-maxing altogether?
Regardless of your answers to the above, I strongly recommend reading the link below:
http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69750
Feel free to PM me with any questions.
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From playing many other similar games, i enjoy pets, tank, melee, spellcaster… I chose shaman cause I wanted to wreck with lightning and have a pet
(im guessing ill probably level up several characters) -
Meaning using items and stuff or what is the best synergy? I enjoy that kind of stuff but its not the end all be all.
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I would like to just play for right now but unless there is a fast way to level characters later I would rather not wreck any of them by doing anything stupid.
That aside… I love running fast. Yeah, i know its dumb to say but mobility and moving around in these types of games helps keep it enjoyable.
Well, you can up your movement speed with various items. But if you want more “exotic” ways of moving then you’re going to have to install the Ashes of Malmouth expansion so you can then play the Forgotten Gods expansion when it comes out later this year. Because that will include these:
Looks like the D2 sorceress lightning teleport, loved it.
Question:
For these builds I am looking at, I need to have the items from what I can tell… But will they still be viable enough without the extra items?
What is max level in vanilla? Some of the builds show 75 others show 85.
Max level in the base game, i.e. without AoM is 85. With AoM it goes up to 100.
If you look for builds such as these
http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52296
http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52309
they’re designed to be beginner friendly so not as reliant on gear as many other builds.
Look for low g numbers in Build Compendium 5. Anything g3 or less should be fine. Of the ones I posted above only the conjurer exceeds that (g4).
And gear only matters at max level, for doing difficult things. Any decent build will cruise through leveling with ease, using whatever gear you happen to find. I have never paid the slightest attention to the gear section of any build that I’m working towards (aside from the initial check that it’s not some g5 thing that requires a specific item to get the skill the build is based around…), and none of my characters have died in longer than I can remember.
I would characterize “doing difficult things” as meaning fighting nemeses, progressing in Crucible (Aspirant 100 means fighting one nemesis), Mad Queen, Mogdrogen, maybe the rogue-like dungeons. In my one visit so far SoT was fine, Shar’zul at the end of BoT took some work. I think that’s RNG - Alkamos dropped nothing notable, Shar’zul dropped the Worldeater which I believe means it was wielding it during the fight…
Re: movement speed, several skills can boost that, and I think it’s pretty easy to reach max run speed. Soldier and Nightblade both have gap-closer skills, Blitz and Shadow Strike. I miss those on my characters that lack those masteries.
That is cool. I was unsure about some of the things.
I did go with the Shaman + Occultist and doing the bleed build… Maybe i just suck but I am getting my ass kicked now. Oh well. I’ll get through and finish up. I take too many hits and don’t have a pet to allow to take some of the damage.
I start with the curse for increased bleed damage, then do the bleed spells and wack them until they die. (wrong order? i dont think so… boss at end of act 3 kicked my ass. I am level 42 i think).
So many ways to play Conjurer - that’s not one I’d considered, but it looks very solid.
Your sequencing is correct, get the RR on, then start doing damage. So Curse of Frailty, Devouring Swarm, hit with Savagery until CoF and DS wear off or target dies, repeat. Make sure to use Blood of Dreeg when necessary - it’s a good buff so keep it up at all times (takes practice, I’m not great about it myself).
Part of the learning curve is just getting used to the game. I had a lot of deaths in the 20s and 30s getting used to controls and learning some of the tricks specific to this game. For example constitution can be used in combat, just run away (or in circles) for a bit and recover your hp.
If need be you could also take skills in a different order than the guide recommends. Wendigo Totem is very good at keeping shamans alive, just stay in the radius and make sure there’s an enemy also within the radius (perfect for boss fights).