Grim Dawn thread

[Peregrine]

I know a lot of us have been playing this and talking about it in the Steam thread but I am upgrading its status to threadworthy!

I am super happy with this game - action-RPG like Diablo - really more accurate to say it is more like Titan Quest since some of those team members are running it and it is using the same engine basically.

$25 on Steam in Early Access but is going live in February and is very full-featured. Highly recommended if you're into the ARPG genre!

BTW all four acts are in the game as well as the sixth class - video is slightly dated!

[Marmel]

Quick review. The only ARPG I ever played before was Torchlight2 and I loved it. This game is just as good. I just finished the main quest line last night with my first character. I love just about every minute of it.

A few cons:
Character building seems overly complicated. There are tons of skills and you get to choose 2 classes, which double the skills. Plus the constellations, which there are dozens. I'm level 43 and if I had to start from scratch, I'm not sure I could rebuild this character on my own. I've had to build it from a guide, and I'm pretty intimidated to start my own thing. I'm not good at this stuff in the first place, but this is a tough learning curve.

Also, Act 1 is clearly defined, but after that, acts 2, 3 and 4 all run together. Also, the final boss was pretty anti-climatic. The game just kinda ended and I was like, huh?

Lots of useless gear. I'll go on long runs and completely max out my inventory and I'll be lucky to find 1 piece of armor that is better than what I have, and that is completely ignoring all white gear that drops.

I spent a whole night trying to figure out how to get/make my own skeleton key. Luckily there is some good help out on the net since this thing has been in development for a couple years it seems.

Overall I'll give this a very solid 8/10. One of the better games I've played in the last few years. I already have about 60 hours on steam (a lot of that is idling, but still). The full release and some better guides could push this up to a 9 for me.

I've unlocked Elite mode, but haven't even started that yet. I am enjoying doing bounties and side quests with my VERY powerful Druid right now. It is massive fun just crushing large groups!!

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Marmel

Also, Act 1 is clearly defined, but after that, acts 2, 3 and 4 all run together. Also, the final boss was pretty anti-climatic. The game just kinda ended and I was like, huh?

Agreed with this...after all the buildup the ending was pretty weak, both in terms of tone and gameplay.

Spoiler

...the final baddie is one of the only non-moving bosses in the final game. He doesn't move, but does massive damage, so the final fight consists of just running in and hitting him a few times before you die, then repeating that cycle a few dozen times. There's probably better/smarter ways to handle that fight, but the game pretty much just encourages the brute force & repeat strategy, which makes for the LEAST exciting conflict in the entire game, rather than the most.

[Peregrine]

As for the excessive item drops, I think it's a necessary evil as if you didn't get that many drops you wouldn't be able to get enough money. There's no item/gold find (a major difference from other ARPGs) so you kind of have to grind the cash from quantity. I think they expect you to buy a lot of your gear from the faction rewards (and many are very good) so basically I use or keep the epics, sell everything else.

As far as the character builds I agree - I am using online builds for some of my characters but others I am deliberately doing it on my own. I agree that the devotion system is especially kind of tricky to figure out. It's relatively cheap to respec as needed which is nice at least.

[thesloppy]

It seems like the devotion system picks up in importance once you get into a new playthrough....like, levelling happens much less often as you get above 50th, but resetting the map (and all of the shrines with it) for a new playthrough means that you're still reconstructing shrines at a relatively regular rate, which keeps you upgrading your character when the experience-based levelling tapers off.

[thesloppy]

Anybody want to try and set-up a multiplayer session? I think it tops out at 4, so no massive MMO style raids, but might be fun. Anybody done any of the multiplayer yet, with friends or randoms?

[Peregrine]

Grim Dawn stuff I learned in the past day or two - if you have pets you can summon (my main character is an occultist/shaman summoner) you can assign your devotion powers to the summon ability and the pet will cast it (and level it normally) not you.

Some shrines are hidden in secret areas off the beaten path or in areas you need to dynamite to access.

[Peregrine]

BTW lots of awesome stuff being worked on for the next build! Less duplicate blueprints would be a godsend.

Grim Misadventure #89: Build 31 Preview - Grim Dawn Forums

[Peregrine]

Well I killed the main boss in Normal last night - not a really hard fight for my summoner but at least it's done!

[Peregrine]

I have been playing a gun-toting Sorceror (Demo/Arcanist) and the damage (with primarily demolitionist skills) is just insane. Just hit 25 and now using two pistols and what can I say but...popcorn!

[Eaglesfan27]

Having a blast with my Battlemage. He crushes things with this new 2 handed sword and the Skyshards spell is very fun against throngs of creatures.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Having a blast with my Battlemage. He crushes things with this new 2 handed sword and the Skyshards spell is very fun against throngs of creatures.

Funny how you can make so many different type of builds - I have a battlemage too but he is just a sword/shield tank with tons of armor and using the soldier procs - I guess both work!

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Funny how you can make so many different type of builds - I have a battlemage too but he is just a sword/shield tank with tons of armor and using the soldier procs - I guess both work!

Mine is very balanced between physique and spirit. Maybe, when I get further in the game, I will need to specialize more.

[Eaglesfan27]

Got my first 2 handed epic weapon that is just a perfect fit for how I built my character. Level 23 and just mowing down anything that isn't a boss in front of me.

[Peregrine]

Yeah there are so many epics but so few that are really great fits - that's why I always save all of them (non-duplicates) so I have them available for other characters.

[thesloppy]

I found my 4th piece of Legendary gear....but more importantly, it's the first piece that I can actually equip. If memory serves it's something like a set of shoulders that heals 1200 hp on 5% of hits.

[IlliniCub]

Just a heads up this is on sale on Steam right now.

[Fidatelo]

Picked this up last night, spent most of my time just messing with video settings to get it to play OK on my Surface Pro 2. In the end it should be fine but the screen is pretty small for all of the little details. Sort of wish I had an external monitor at home. I'll probably mess around with the Steam Controller at some point, too, if that is workable I could connect it to a TV maybe and play that way.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I have found a couple amazing pieces of gear for my Shaman.

[chinaski]

Hows the multiplayer on this work? Is it like D3 where you just pick a zone and clear it or are there infinite dungeons? For single play, can I play forever or is there not much to do once youve beat the campaign?

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Hows the multiplayer on this work? Is it like D3 where you just pick a zone and clear it or are there infinite dungeons? For single play, can I play forever or is there not much to do once youve beat the campaign?

Pretty much works like singleplayer but with a group. You can follow the normal game progression or just jump around via rifts if you all have them - no infinite stuff that I have seen. The main limiter seems to be that sometimes if the person who hosts the game has already completed quests others who haven't can't do them - so best to have the lowest level character host the game.

Been doing a lot of this since so many of my friends are hooked on this game as well now.

[Peregrine]

I've been experimenting with a Witch Hunter (occultist/nightblade) using an acid/poison build - lot of fun so far! Both have poison skills plus they can strip down poison resists very well so that's a super lethal combo.

[chinaski]

Just picked it up!

[Peregrine]

Hope you like it Chinaski - been having a blast with this game. So many ways to customize your character.

[chinaski]

Addicted is an understatement. Just about to hit 40 with my occultist, this is probably the best aRPG ive played. Even rivaling D1 and 2.

[Drake]

Fuck all you guys. This thread cost me $25 and like a hundred hours in the last two weeks.

[thesloppy]

I think one of the best things about Grim Dawn is how I can move around the map, attack a dozen different enemies (with my main attack), and even open (some) boxes and crates without taking my finger off the mouse button. Comparatively, I could only play Path of Exile for 20 minutes at a time, before my fingers would seize up from having to click on every gotdamn thing that popped up on the screen.

I think there's lots of smart under-the-hood UI/design decisions like that which combine to make the Grim Dawn play so well...it flows better than a lot of similar aRPGs, and doesn't get in it's own way. Similarly, with mechanics like crafting, or the bounties, you could sink a hundred hours into chasing down every little detail, or you could ignore them entirely, or bounce back-and-forth, depending on the player's playstyle, but the game isn't hampered whatever way you choose.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by Drake

Fuck all you guys. This thread cost me $25 and like a hundred hours in the last two weeks.

I'm growing worried that this will be my post right around the time March Madness rolls around ...

[JPhillips]

Last update today before official release tomorrow morning.

I could play levels 1-30 over and over. The timing and increased power of the early leveling system is damn near perfect.

[Peregrine]

So if you haven't checked this game lately it has officially gone out of Early Access now, and a couple of big patches have been released with a lot of changes. The Arkovian Undercity has been totally redone and looks pretty gorgeous.

[chinaski]

70 hours deep now. Really loving it, probably the best aRPG ive played since D2. Just hit 62 with my Occulist/Soldier, tearing my way thru Elite difficulty now. Its great how the story resets once you switch to Elite and even adds new quests. Awesome stuff.