First off I have to give credit to this build as it was the first I saw when I decided i wanted to look into and try and build an Obsidian Swordsman build. It is a good build. Very good. But there are some key differences. Zealot, Level 100 (GD 1.3.1.0) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
Here it is. I have long been interested in a zerker build. But it seemed all of them were werewolf builds. That wasn’t my tea. But then the update came. And I found a random quest I hadn’t seen before. And it took me on a fun little journey. And I ended up with an awesome looking 2H sword that was part of a set. And so I looked into it and saw that it was new. And there was only one guide. But it looked right up my alley. So I decided to build it and make it my own. And here are the results.
It was said that the build felt squishy. So I decided to focus on fixing that. And for the most part I think I have. I went with a few different choices on gear and augments. Upped the HP by quite a margin without sacrificing much on the OA or the DA side of things. Also worked on the attack speed as that felt a little slow to me. Not going to lie I am still not completely happy with it and going to continue to eventually try to get ascended attack speed where it will benefit me more than what is on there.
A couple of alternative items I looked at were the Gladiator’s Distinction and Thread of Mortality. Both are fantastic and both will work in the build. Both are key items in different builds I run. Also the Sandreaver Bracers would work as well especially for the boost to attack speed. So technically if one wanted to avoid any greens at all they could use those instead.
The devotion tree I must give full props to the other builder. They did a fantastic job with the devotions. Or maybe I just like Oleron too much. I tried various different maps but I kept coming back to this one. So if you also like Oleron I am not sure you can do better than with this Devotion map.
The build literally builds as you fight. I have seen the armor get over 7k at a glance in the middle of a fight. But even without those moments where everything has procced the armor usually runs over 5k. The OA and DA also usually runs up to the 3200 range usually and higher.
The weakness I have found with this build is Negation. Mobs and Bosses and Nemesis that have Negation can literally eat you if you don’t pay attention against those. Other than that this build is stupid strong and a ton of obsidian fun. It clears packs quick and melts bosses and Nemesis just fine.
By reaching anything over 100% you lessen the best WPS this build has… Anything over 100% (which if I put a point in any other WPS it will take it to) and the game will squish all of the WPS skills down to 100% total, effectively reducing percent chance of the best WPS the build is sort of built on…
which is of course Shattering Smash and it’s 50% proc chance.
Now would I fault anyone for doing this? Not at all. I was just not impressed enough with Bloodfangs to put 1 point into it and in effect lower my percent chance of Shattering Smash to proc.
Yes you could build it that way. However I found that while the Leaps put out some juicy numbers the overall DPS went down. Significantly. Also RF builds you up increasing your armor, your DA, your attack speed, your elemental resistance, and your overall damage.
The BIG numbers are awesome… but the clear is noticably slower.
plus the quicker you attack the more Shattering Smashes you proc with all its massive damage and huge physical resistance reduction. Leap won’t proc that.
I sort of get the logic, but not why’d you go with zealot over shieldbreaker if you want to make a DAR focused build, I mean, do you want to use leap or not?
I had no interest in making a shieldbreaker. I liked the non-werewolf skills of the berserker tree and it meshed well with what I wanted to do.
I also felt that a shieldbreaker would be too squishy and too susceptible to insta-gibs.
leap is another weapon in the arsenal instead of the only weapon or the main weapon. I use it constantly.
It is likely a Shieldbreaker would work fine and might would fit another’s playstyle better than this build. There’s nothing wrong with that. Great thing about this game is probably every combo can be successful if geared right and played well.
I haven’t found that to be the case
blast shield with the ascended affix on the weapon to refresh it works wonders, not many things will outlast the sheer dps the build puts out
Sounds like an interesting build and hopefully someone will put it out and we can see how it performs with this set.
I just felt of the 3 combinations this combination was the best and it meshed with what I wanted and my playstyle. In no way does that mean it is any of those things for any other player.
For this build RF is better than focusing on Leap with Onslaught, not only in DPS but also the other factors that it adds in overall defenses and resists.
The combination of zerk and oathkeeper skills build up an impressive rock of a tank with a DPS that quickly melts things so that I don’t really have to worry or focus on things. It is a laid back build that works very very well.
This is mine I made not too long ago. It can do up to 34 in HC. Im still a noob builder and already took a point off of firestrike and put it into something else. Ill have to try yours out. I really love this set. Its cool cause this build has 2mill crits
That does look fun as well. The set is fun. I may try to build that build and see how it performs in a direct comparison.
I’m a noob or rookie as far as builds goes so don’t feel bad. I like 2Hs and non meta builds so I feel ya. I love this set so I really like that build as well.
