Newb in need of help - DW Purifier stuck in elite

Hi all - been playing GD for a few weeks and after a few runs with various characters to get a feel for the game I decided I liked the idea of a dual wielding gunslinger type so found the Purifier. Without any prior knowledge I found this guide:

https://www.requnix.com/gaming/grim-dawn-builds/dual-wield-fire-lightning-gun-purifier

It looked fine to me, and I was following it pretty closely until I started finding threads and comments that, in so many words, imply that that this guide (arguably all of those on that site) are no good. Now I am no pro builder or anything but am leaning towards that being a pretty good opinion as once I finished normal with no issues at all, Elite has proven to be quite hard. So I decided to try to respec based off this guide:

And - I am still sort of stuck. Mostly because I am not sure what to prioritize. The bottom line is my damage output is pathetic and survivablity is very dicey. Trash mobs are no issue but champions and bosses are a nightmare and usually end up in a death. Currently I am completely stuck at Level 61 and cannot, after several attempts, get past the Warden.

Now I know my resists need some work - having been a long time Diablo/D2 player I grasp the concept but am still limited by what I can find. And after having done some research I found that my pierce resist is too low and those spiny attacks that the Warden does are usually the end of me if I cant dodge them. And, my gear sucks :confused: I am constantly on the lookout for better pistols but so far - nothing.

Thing is, since this is my highest level character I dont have a very big pool of items to choose from yet. And I am still searching for better gear while I work on DPS and resists. I am trying to do the best with what is available to me until I find better. Here is my build:

https://www.grimtools.com/calc/DV9zlAnZ

Yes, I know its terrible :slight_smile: That is why I am here - at first I thought to prioritize Blast Shield since I am so squishy but I saw a noticeable decrease in DPS. Actually that pretty much sums up where I am at right now - I know some changes need to be made and I can see the end result, but the path to that point is a mystery to me.

Help? :fearful:

Hey, Glad to see another player trying purifier out.

Firstly about skills, keep WPS skills ie storm spread, bursting round and chilling round at 7/6/6 respectively until later on. The added damage is not worth it. Also put more points into inquisitor seal because it can save you in very tough situations. You can keep blast shield for later on because its a proc and not permanent, you won’t get a ton of benefit from it most of the time.

Secondly about items, try to focus on one damage type and not two, If you want to go lightning you can level with fire and then switch are the other way around. Always Keep the damage percentages uniform until endgame.

Thirdly about resistances, use augments available to you to cap them as much as you can and based on the monsters you fight as you see fit.

The final point about devotions, I personally use a different set of them for more consistent survivability.
You can use my build that I tweaked based on my experience and tips from the people here on the forums as a reference for endgame (https://www.grimtools.com/calc/nZodP4zN).

Also, you should decide if you want to facetank damage or if you want to kite. If you want to facetank, pump Inquisitior Seal to 12/12, this will increase your survivability by a lot.

I feel your pain, man. I’m relatively new to GD and Puri was my first class, so it was a difficult learning curve for me. Sam has already given you some nice tips (esp about Seal, that is literally life for a Puri) but if I could offer a couple more just based on what I found while leveling to 100:

You should have a component on each and every slot to help you with resists while leveling. If Warden is giving you big probs, it’s likely your lack of aether resist (assuming you’re not letting him smash you to death as well lol) so a sacred plating in head/shoulder/chest will make a big diff for you. Just swap out your components as you find new gear, mix and match them according to bosses/damage that gives you trouble. Even prismatic diamond in helm is like another circuit breaker for you when you get in trouble.

Take some skill points and get to max Demo mastery asap. Brimstone is a very good skill that will help with your damage and lack of aoe.

Get more RR. You have Rhowan’s Crown, but can add Viper as a super cheap node and Solael’s Witchblade gives awesome fire RR%

Attack damage converted to health is very powerful for Puri, and synergizes with attack speed, so try and stack both where you can. Ulzuin’s wrath is a 1 pointer just for the adcth it gives. Also for me, Revenant constellation was a game changer, you get both adtch and atkspd from there. Quicker shots downrange = better sustain.

Hope this helps. I can tell you things came together for me very late in the leveling process, I struggled a lot and wasn’t sure this was gonna be the class for me. But all of a sudden, bamm, it came together as I found some more gear that kind of solidified my build and then I was farming Nems without too much trouble at all (except Fab post patch lol). Puri is super fun and very capable against all content I’ve faced so far. Good luck!

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Awesome, thanks so much for the tips everyone. I dropped blast shield and almost got Inq. Seal maxed, then I will get Demo maxed and go for Brimstone - does that sound like my best route from here?

Also as far as choosing either fire/lightning - I am a bit confused by that tip since most builds I see, including this one, have both of those types of skills allocated. Or do you mean to only use one or the other as a damage type while still keeping points in both?

Going pure 1 element is more just for endgame after you have a full set equipped. I personally am using a hybrid fire/lightning build, simply because I don’t see the gear piece or devotion path that will convert 1 to the other like a lot of other builds have.

With the amount of gear swapping you do while leveling it probably doesn’t make much sense to try and single 1 out.

EDIT: keeping 1 point in BS is still good lol

Tip: do not be color racist, green items can be better than epics and legendaries when it comes to OA/DA, resistances and health. And guns too, some green well heck even yellow ones can be upgrade. For instance, don’t tell me you have not found a better belt than that piece of crap you are using at level 61 :stuck_out_tongue: And level 61, you “should” have fettan mask by this point.

You should focus on scaling fire or lightning resistance and getting either arcane bomb or solael witchfire and one Tier 3 Fire or Lightning devotion basically. But this is more of an end-game thing. But devotions you “should” make a choice now since the devotion skills need to level up.

Speaking of gudies, both Nery’s and Requinix guide are based on a guide/diary by x1x1x1x2 and you could study it for more insights regarding leveling.

I am playing the game since release and dont have the Fettan Mask yet lol. Just found your vid a couple hours ago but thought that saving a certain guy from the Desolate Wastes would be prioritized over collecting that thing :joy:

Ulgrim.
So you are trying Elite and have not even completed AoM story with that char?

Its not global adcth though and the heal you get from Ulzuin’s wrath is kinda minuscule unless you really invest in that skill

Just wanted to drop a quick thank you! Am doing much better now, resists almost maxed and headed to the Necropolis. Much better damage and survivability now. Still working on gear but that’s pretty much a constant, init?

Ten bucks says I will be crawling back the first time I stumble into Act 1 Ultimate and get pasted by the first trash mob I see. :grin:

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