The Sapper - Saboteur WIP

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
1

Hey all!

One of my favorite things to do in GD is theorycrafting builds, and I am having a lot of fun with this one I thought I would share:

Level 30
http://grimcalc.com/build/VK1q0E

Level 50 (sans equipment)
http://grimcalc.com/build/GReUDk

The idea behind the build is to focus on the abilities that don’t scale with weapon damage, someone that controls the battlefield and uses mobility and craftiness to take down the enemies.

Key parts of the build:

Grenado - Love it. its basically a great way to take down the troublesome critters you cant kill easily, knockdown is nice but it hits like a truck either way

Stun Jack Spam with Elemental storm - WOW. You lay down a wall of electrical death with a healthy dose of DoT (also some Internal Trauma), and the Elemental Storm debuff. I love watching a group of baddies try to get to me through this wall of death, its like watching someone try to walk through a hurricane.

Mortar Trap - Really solid, great way to keep the damage pouring on in a tactical retreat situation.

Veil of Shadow - Really great for slowing down they enemies trying to get to you as you spam Jacks.

Long term focus will be to inflate my % Miss chance with Pneumatic burst/Shadow Dance and gear, and to Focus On lightning/physical Damage with Flame Touched/Temper. Grenado, Jacks, and Mortar Trap And taking Ulzuin Chosen to do what I can to pump Damage with my toys (and buffing Blast shield)

My Next Devotion goal will be to grab the Behemoth, and Possibly the Lantern The viper combos well with Elemental Storm (40% elemental resists debuff!)

Gearing has been interesting, because weapon damage doesnt really matter, its just about the bonuses, so for example I have an amazing yellow offhand item I have yet to find a replacement for because of its great all around bonuses and skill pluses. I have been focusing on Lightning Damage first, and physical/fire next as well as gear that enhances my % to avoid chance. I am strongly considering pushing for the hourglass as my first Tier 3 devotion, it seems like a natural addition to this builds defensive strengths.

To address the questions on the below post:

Why Nightblade?

  • Pneumatic burst!
  • Blade Barrier
  • Veil of Shadow
  • This character has a lot of Physical Damage - nightblades are great for cunning.

Why Stunjacks?

  • You might have missed the fact that this is the spammable stunjacks. with elemental storm in 2 seconds I have a literal wall of Elemental Storm Procs, all debuffing the entire area, it’s amazing to watch actually

These 3 abilities compliment the character build quite well, You have to mix it up with this character, as stun jacks have limited range. The idea is to survive short stints in intense combat. Slowing down the enemy, while speeding yourself up and attac avoidance is perfect. Havind an oh sh!t button is awesome too.

Let me know what you think as I’d love to hear peoples thoughts, but so far I am having a “blast” with this toon!

2

Interesting build, I am making a grenadier sorcerer with the end-game goal of using Barrelsmith Twins or Devil Tongues.

One suggestion: I would use canister bombs + transmuter instead of stun jacks. Canister bombs has a 100% stun chance and a bigger AoE in my view.

We don’t do any cold damage so I am not sure why you opted for nightblade.

But hey, if it works for you, who am I to say no?

3

updated a few things, would still love to hear peoples feedback and suggestions :stuck_out_tongue:

4

Are you French? :stuck_out_tongue:

5

Nope! Just USA

6

Elemental Storm normally has a 1.5s recharge, so you’d only get 1 per 1.5s.

Does each Jack get an individual cooldown, bypassing this?

7

It certainly seems to. I have had 3 or 4 Storm procs pop at times very quickly, and they stay for a long time. I believe I’ve seen as much as 6 going at once. Sometimes its hard to tell with overlap. Sometimes its hard to tell because They double stack on Its also great because sometimes the proc In the back rows beyond the Stunjacks as well.

This is also amazing when standing toe to toe with a boss or hero, as they are eating a constant stream of jacks, and have multiple Storm procs stacking on them. The Internal Trauma/electrocute damage is nice as well.

8

I’m a newbie so I can’t comment on viability etc. but I do want to say that if this build is viable for ultimate, I’m sure as hell going to try it 'cause it sounds like a lot of fun!