Build Intro:
Since Purifiers are already well known for their ranged superiority, I was just curious to see if they would fare well with a melee playstyle. Kind of surprised by the end results myself.
Artist- https://www.deviantart.com/razwit/art/Fire-Knight-533785461
Pros & Cons
PROS
- Great single target damage ; can easily achieve capped attack speed of 200% with item skills
- Above average crowd control
- High mobility
- Respectable amount of health and defense ; Can sustain well with life steal + high attack speed
- Easy Skill Rotation
CONS
- Cannot tank for long durations due to average crowd control damage output
Leveling
In terms of leveling, I can suggest referring to this guide. To clarify, I have tried it while leveling other demolitionist characters on hardcore so it does work as of September 2022. I choose the ranged method of leveling, because it just feels safer overall:
[1.1.9.1] Budget 2-handed ranged "The Desolator" Fire Strike Fire Purifier
Your priority would be to rush the demolitionist skill tree all the way to mastery level to 50, as it is the easiest way to level. Along the process, invest in these skills:
- Fire Strike- 12 / 12
- Flame Touched- 12 / 12
- Explosive Strike- 12 / 12
- Vindictive Flame- 8 / 16
- Searing Might- 3 / 3 (Note that this is only applicable if you want to level with 2H ranged weapons)
- Temper- 12 / 12
- Static Strike- 10 /12
- Brimstone- 12 / 12
From here on:
- Start investing one point per level up into inquisitor mastery
- Place one point per level up into Thermite mine until it is at 10 / 13
- After TM is done, rush the inquisitor mastery line until it hits level 50
- After inquisitor mastery is maxed, put all future skill points into Aura of Censure until it is at 12 / 12
At this point, you can fill out the remainder of both skill trees as you see fit. My suggestion is to get Steel Resolve to 10/10 as soon as possible simply for the resistances and then to gradually sink a point per level up into vigor to slowly increase survivability.
Inquisitor seal and arcane empowerment should be next. If you are comfortable with your resistances and life total, then consider increasing these two skills first before steel resolve + vigor
Deadly Aim, Blast Shield and the remainder of Vindictive Flame can be safely held off until late game once all the above have been settled, but if you feel the need, then max blast shield early. You can always refund the points for cheap later.
Word of renewal is a one pointer to keep its modifiers active since I really don’t have a lot of success using it as a healing ability when I really need it.
Build
Purifier, Level 100 (GD 1.1.9.6) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator : Final Build
Note- Grimtools link is the correct version since I erroneously slotted one of the components in-game. However, I think the actual stun resist is 74%. I can’t determine why both versions are different, but more than 70% stun resist is still acceptable, so I wouldn’t fuss about it too much.
Attribute points- Physique / 74 Cunning / 20 Spirit / 13
The optimal way for me to use this build would be just as a straight up auto attacker when dealing against trash enemies that go down in one hit.
For more resilient mobs, or against heroes / champions, I would start laying down thermite mines and inquisitor seals where I’m standing to tank. I also like to spam stormfire for a second or two until the meteor celestial power starts to proc.
If the battle isn’t over when the seals are almost fading, I will back away while spamming stormfire for life steal healing and to let the meteor power do more damage. Once I’m ready, I’ll just repeat everything from the top until everything is dead.
Basically, engage when your skills are up and disengage / teleport / kite for a bit if the job isn’t done yet to prevent yourself from overextending.
Devotion Pathing
- Green Node
- Spider
- Red Node
- Jackal
- Solael’s Witchblade (Bind to Fire Strike)
- Fiend (Bind to Inquisitor Seal)
- Blue Node
- Lizard
- Behemoth, 4 nodes (Bind to Flame Touched)
- Ghoul (Bind to Presence of Might)
- Revenant, 5 nodes
- Magi (Bind to Thermite Mine)
- Oklaine’s Lantern
- Refund Green Node
- Refund Red Node
- Ulzuin’s Torch (Bind to Stormfire)
Final Words:
Overall, the build feels like a cross between a warlord and a spellbreaker (Maybe blademaster would be a better example, but I haven’t really made a blademaster yet.) Basically, this character feels like it is performing on the upper scale of damage and survivability, but only slightly. It’s a very fun play style for me, since I do enjoy seeing my character flail both weapons at max speed, but there were also more than a handful of times when I pushed my attack too far instead of backing up a bit. So while it is a very capable setup, one does need to assess the battlefield closely or risk being overwhelmed, due to the fact that it doesn’t clear certain mobs as quickly.
