So I’ve played up to 50 with an Arcanist/Occultist, and up to 80 with by beloved Inquisitor/Demolitionist. I’m looking for something different, but I’m not sure how much melee really appeals. Are there any good AoE combos I might try? Both of the previous characters have been very lethal, but very single target (Aether beam and dual pistol shots, respectively, granted the latter have some splash).
I was hoping the activity on this thread was indicative of a sale somewhere! I’m waiting to get the two major expansions, Forgotten Gods and Ashes of Malmouth.
Do the major expansions require a whole bother play through to enjoy or is it end game content? Should I stop playing and wait to get the dlc?
LeeAbe
3326
Malmouth is end game, after you beat the regular game.
Gods you can do after act 1, but can do anytime.
Ashes of Malmouth adds a new act onto the end of the game but Forgotten Gods content can be done any time after Act 1.
They both also add new classes and other features that are available earlier in the game.
Shaman/anything is a worth trying. You can opt for melee, range, single-target, AoE, and any combination of those. It’s the most versatile class in Grim Dawn, and one of the most powerful ones too.
Primal Strike is one of, if not thee, best ranged AOE skills/builds. Lots of builds on the forums, which is a great way to get inspiration for new characters.
I was looking at it and coming to that conclusion myself, good to hear it verified by you and Ultrazen. I’m trying to get a sense of good second class pairings.
I have a Shaman/Inquisitor (Vindicator) and Shaman/Occultist (Conjurer) and both are awesome, probably my best characters in terms of power and survivability.
LeeAbe
3332
I am playing a Dot based Conjurer and so far its pretty tough (still early though). Most things die just trying to get close to me. Bosses I tank with a 2H weapon. Been a lot of fun in Act 1.
I was thinking maybe demolitionist to stack fire and lightning damage together, though I already have a demo so maybe it would be more interesting to pick something I’ve not used before. Not that the application isn’t completely different, potentially.
My Warlock never uses his Occultist class for anything, much (really wish I could change it, in fact). It’s probably the mastery whose usage I understand least, honestly.
With Shaman, Occultist is best used to reduce enemies’ resistances, or to supplement a pet build. Very effective in both cases, indeed.
I’m currently doing a demolitionist/shaman. I’m also 16 levels into my first game and maybe don’t know what I’m doing so hopefully this wasn’t a bad combination to go with. It does seem to force you into 2 handed ranged weapon though since a lot of the Shaman’s skills seem to be 2 handed based.
Generally there are two or three obvious ways to play a specific class so none of them should force you into a single way of playing. However, sometimes combining two classes effectively can limit some of those paths. On the bright side, respeccing out of a couple skills is reasonably cheap if you come across some 1 hander items that seem really good for you. Based on your combo I would also think it would be pretty easy to switch to a 2-handed melee weapon if you get a good drop there.
Why are 2h’ers dropping that are +2600 dps more than the best 2h ranged I have at level 35? 1h are +400ish over my rifle too. Is it just due to my GD Defiler boosted stats and skills throwing out how melee is calculated over ranged?
what do you get if you switch your left click attack to the default melee attack and then compare them? I saw streamer do that once and he explained that was so he could compare the base damage (more or less).
Some weapons do base cold or acid or fire or whatever. If you’re a heavily elemental build, that could do it.
my default attack is ranged only with all types of bonuses as its some kind of ranger/outrider skill, when I use melee as my second wep it’s default attack. Its probably oddness from amended stats+mods (and its multiple mods in one) I’ll have to compare wep vs wep rather than my dps and the +/- bottom line number in the wep description
2h melee weapons will always end up being the highest values you can find. There is some overall compensation built into the game for the inherent advantage that range has, it also has to do with a confusing array of what boosts what, and the difference in sheet DPS and actual DPS.
If you spend some time in front of the practice dummies, and look at your actual hits, you’ll probably be even more confused when assessing weapons. Sometimes things that look amazing on paper, don’t actually translate, and other times seemingly backwards moves yield huge numbers. You really have to get inside how they calculate all of the stacking and percentages, which is not an easy task lol.
There was a good rundown of all this on the forums at one point, I’ll see if I can find it. There are some really tricky things going on based on flat damage vs weapon damage vs spell damage.
Here’s a good overview, but it’s still very confusing. Combat
P.S. This is the main thing that makes creating characters and builds in the game tricky. Focusing on very specific modifiers and damage types is the only way to end up with truly powerful builds, and it’s surprisingly easy to mistake something you think is going to boost you that doesn’t. It’s a good idea to just browse through highly rated character builds, and take a look at how they are set up.
LeeAbe
3342
Stupid game. Killing it with my Conjurer, everything is easy. Dots do crazy damage and if something does reach me I can put down most things with ease. Some of the bosses I have to kite a bit, but nothing has been challenging. Enter SoT at level 36, and that first locked room kills me. Stunned, couldn’t move, dead.
