SIR BLOODYDOTS Vitality Bleed Conjurer



Welcome to the Complete Build & Leveling Guide for the SIR BLOODYDOTS Vitality Bleed Conjurer. This build is great for new players, a top starter build, can complete all campaign content with self-found gear, is hardcore viable, has a Damage over Time (DoT) playstyle, and is solid for farming Ultimate. If you’re looking for a fun DoT-based caster build that is strong from the start and scales very well, and also allows you to beat on bosses with a gigantic club, this is the place!

JAN 2020 UPDATE! Click here to see a detailed announcement by the Guide Creator about the issues he encountered with the Grim Dawn Community, Forum Moderators and why he moved his guides from the Grim Dawn Forums.

The GrimTools link is available at the bottom of the guide.

I’ve always loved DoT builds and have been a fan of Bloody Pox for quite some time, but it just wasn’t strong enough for end-game. While Grim Dawn features numerous DoT types, I wanted to pursue a combination that had solid leech, great damage, and was fun to play. And with the recent update to Grasping Vines, it looks even better than before.

Featuring great crowd control, vitality leech and bleed damage, additional supportive healing (Wendigo & Blood of Dreeg) paired with resistance reduction, this build is a DoT powerhouse that loves shredding everything to pieces. And while everything is bleeding to death, you get the beat on larger targets with your giant 2-handed weapon. The build has excellent AoE and solid single-target damage, and once your devotions are complete, it rips through all of the core content with ease. Oh, and it’s fun!

This build is Hardcore viable! But because our Defensive Ability (DA) isn’t very high, we must rely on life leech from vitality damage and kiting tougher bosses for survival.



The initial inspiration to make this build came from Beoron’s Carmilla; Bleed and Vitality Conjurer. It was after posting the first version of this build that Valinov came along, sharing his similar build (with a different devotion structure and a few items, but the same sets). His build also utilized Savagery to buffer damage and leech. Not only is his build rock-solid (I’ve switched over and it’s fantastic), he’s personally cleared SR89 with it, showing great end-game viability. The thread for his initial build can be found here. I asked him if I could integrate his build into this updated guide and he gave approval. So, a big thanks to Valinov for his support!



Before we begin, I recommend these mods to anyone playing Grim Dawn, especially new players. Note none of these mods cheat or change the core of the game – they just add quality of life:

GrimInternals (https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/tool-grim-internals/38773) 
This is hands down the best mod currently out for Grim Dawn. Automatic component pickup and monster name/labeling with legendary drop Sound FX are just a few reasons why every Grim Dawn player should have this.

GD Item Assistant (https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/tool-grim-dawn-item-assistant/30491)
This mod allows the player to store an unlimited number of items they find. This is fantastic because it supports “account building” with extending storage to be anything the player feels is important in the future or for another build.

Item Color Filter (https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/tool-rainbow-filter-item-highlighting/42765) 
A fantastic visual modifier to the game that shows item prefixes and suffixes in colors based on their damage/resist/skill type. Extremely popular and valuable. Note this is for the WanezGD Tool, which auto-installs and manages the rainbow filter. Download the setup.exe for the Tool.

 



Resistances are everything in Grim Dawn. If you die, it’s probably because your resists were low. Below is a list of recommended components that are commonly used throughout the leveling process:

Components List

  • 7: Wardstone | 7% Elemental, 15% Bleed Resistance | Amulet & Medal
  • 15: Silk Swatch | 18% Pierce & Bleed Resistance | Shoulder, Chest & Leg Armor
  • 15: Imbued Silver | 20% Chaos Resistance & 15% Bleeding Resistance | Mainhand/Offhand (Toggled Item Skill)
  • 15: Purified Salt | 20% Aether Resistance | Mainhand/Offhand (Toggled Item Skill)
  • 15: Antivenom Salve | 20% Poison & Acid | All Armor
  • 15: Unholy Inscription | 10% Vitality, 15% Bleeding | Hand Armor
  • 20: Runestone | 12% Aether & 12% Elemental Resist | Head Armor
  • 20: Soul Shard | 20% Vitality Resistance | Ring, Amulet, Medal
  • 20: Mark of the Traveler | 8% Movement Speed & 10% Slow Resistance | Boots
  • 24: Sanctified Bone | 18% Vitality, 12% Chaos | Chest & Head
  • 24: Aether Soul | 16% Aether Resistance | Amulet & Medal


Augments are the most important thing for end-game and require honored or revered reputation with a faction to access them. Rule of thumb: as soon as you hit Honored with any faction (which will begin to happen in Elite mode), immediately buy the Writ (for 88,000 iron) that doubles your faction gain. This will help you get to Revered much quicker, and give you access to the necessary augments to help your resists in Ultimate.

Augments List
The factions a player gets Honored and Revered with first are generally: Devil’s Crossing, Rovers, Homestead, Black Legion, Order/Kymon, and Coven of Ugdenbog. I’m listing some of the most popular defensive Augments below for reference, which can greatly help in surviving both Elite and especially Ultimate.

  • 40: Arkovian Rose Powder | 10% Elemental Res | Rings/Amulet | Rovers Honored
  • 40: Slith Venom | 15% Poison, Acid & Bleeding Res | Rings/Amulet | Devil’s Honored
  • 40: Gazer Eye | 10% Aether Res | Rings/Amulet | Devil’s Honored
  • 40: Corpsefiend Tentacle | 10% Vitality Res | Rings/Amulet | Devil’s Honored
  • 40: Divine Flame | 10% Elemental Res | Rings/Amulet | Kymon’s Honored
  • 40: Blessed Ashes | 15% Fire & Lightning Res | Rings/Amulet | Kymon’s Honored
  • 40: Consecrated Silver | 12% Chaos Res | Rings/Amulet | Kymon’s Honored
  • 40: Necrotic Flesh | 15% Bleeding Res | Rings/Amulet | Order Honored
  • 40: Chillheart Powder | 15% Cold & Vitality Res | Rings/Amulet | Order Honored
  • 70: Venomguard Powder | 15% Poison & Acid Res | All Armor | Rovers Revered
  • 70: Nightshade Powder | 7% Pierce & 10% Cold Res | All Armor | Rovers Revered
  • 70: Bladeward Powder | 10% Pierce Res | All Armor | Devil’s Revered
  • 70: Mogdrogan’s Touch | 10% Poison & Acid Res, 7% Vitality Res | All Armor | Devil’s Revered
  • 70: Kymon’s Blessing | 15% Fire Res | All Armor | Kymon’s Revered
  • 70: Kymon’s Conduit | 15% Lightning Res | All Armor | Kymon’s Revered
  • 70: Demonbane Powder | 7% Vitality & Chaos Res | All Armor | Kymon’s Revered
  • 70: Mankind’s Vigil | 7% Aether Res, 7% Chaos Res | All Armor | Black Legion Revered
  • 70: Kingsguard Powder | 7% Pierce Res, 10% Poison/Acid Res | All Armor | Black Legion Revered
  • 70: Flameweave Powder | 7% Pierce Res, 10% Fire Res | All Armor | Homestead Revered
  • 70: Solarstorm Powder | 10% Fire Res, 10% Lightning Res | All Armor | Homestead Revered
  • 70: Wraithtouch Powder | 15% Cold Res | All Armor | Order Revered
  • 70: Spiritguard Powder | 10% Vitality Res | All Armor | Order Revered
  • 70: Spellward Powder | 10% Lightning Res, 7% Aether Res | All Armor | Order Revered
  • 90: Coven Warding Powder | 7% Elemental Res | All Armor | Coven Revered
  • 90: Coven Black Ash | 8% Pierce and Chaos Res | All Armor | Coven Revered


Transmutation
This is a new and critically important feature introduced with Forgotten Gods that allows the player to convert set items to another item of the same set. And it works with BLUE (non-legendary) set items! The quest to unlock Transmute is given by Kargon in the Conclave of the Three. The quest unlocks after you’ve progressed to the Oasis area. The Tome is found on Canen’s Corpse. It costs 120,000 iron per transmute, and uses 1 Eldrich Essence (which is quite rare, so make each transmute count!). Luckily, a player put together a guide on Farming Eldrich Essence. Remember, if you can craft the helmet of a set, you can transmute those helmets to other pieces. This means you can craft an entire set just from the helmet recipe!

Another technique is to convert a set item to another random set item. This costs 30,000 iron, scrap and crystals (which is a lot cheaper than converting to the same set). A good example of this technique is if you want the Mythical version of a set item (but you have none, and don’t have the recipe to craft the helm), you can take another mythical set item and convert it to a random set item with the possibility of getting a mythical of the set you’re looking for!



Once you get Grasping vines and Swarm up, this build levels very quickly. There can be energy management issues in the beginning (just throw Ectoplasm in your jewelry), but with Grasping Vines being your main damage during leveling, you just need to strategically place and cast it every few seconds (at most) because all of the mobs that run into it will get shred to pieces. Curse tougher mobs and even RR them with Swarm, you can also add Bloody Pox on top of all that, but most trash dies long before you have the chance to stack the damage. The Vitality Storm Totems also provide great leech support, and if you need it, Wendigo Totem and Blood of Dreeg are at your disposal. It’s great to cast Grasping Vines once and kill the entire screen full of trash. For bosses, you can whack on them with Savagery to cause additional weapon and bleeding damage.

The General Play Technique focuses on Grasping Vines as your main damage dealer. It alone will often kill most trash (and it has a VERY large AoE). For tougher trash, just GV and Curse of Frailty (CoF). Rarely will you need to do more than this, but some trash in Ultimate (when you get to AoM or bleed/vitality resistant mobs) can require a 3rd cast of Bloody Pox (which procs Wendigo’s Mark), which spreads beautifully through a large group. Mobs rarely even reach you as they die of gushing wounds running through your AoE damage.

It’s important to mention that the damage from Grasping Vines stacks, so be sure to keep those 3 stacks up on tough targets whenever you can!

Survival is all about killing most targets from a distance and if necessary setting up the Vitality Leech paired with the regeneration of Blood of Dreeg (which should always be active) and healing of Wendigo Totem. But the great thing is we can get up close and personal with Savagery, which also increases our leech and health regeneration. The build can actually be quite tanky with the right gear and leech damage, but some bosses just hit too hard and you’ll have to kite them – but a DoT build is perfectly built for this gameplay style.

Rotation for Trash: BoD always up. GV on the edge of the group you want to shred, and they’ll die running to you. For tougher trash, add CoF and BP on top of that. They’ll never reach you.

Rotation for Bosses:: BoD always up. GV on the target, CoF, Swarm, BP, and lay down your Storm Totem, Wendigo Totem and then BEAT THEM MERCILESSLY WITH SAVAGERY! Cycle through the same as cooldowns are made available. The goal is to keep all DoTs, Devotions, CC and RR on the boss at all times while you whack them over the head. Most bosses can be facetanked with BoD, Wendigo Totem (with the leech of Swarm and Storm Totem) and Savagery, but when you need to kite, just follow the above and .. RUN! Cast behind you and try to loop around to keep the boss in the GV field as long as possible. You can also whack them twice and run away. Some bosses will stun you as they rush; these are the most dangerous (for any build) and can be mitigated with stun resistance. For really tough bosses, make sure you get your armor absorption as high as possible (90% or higher recommended) so you can take the hits better.



Final Level 100 Stat Distribution: 98 Physique, 9 Spirit
Faction of Choice: Order of Death’s Vigil

Items

This build utilizes bonuses from two sets: the first is the Wildblood set (3 items: 2H, Shoulders and Belt). This set focuses on enhancing Grasping Vines and provides both Vitality and Bleed damage. The second is the Valguur set, which provides more Vitality and Bleed damage with Storm Totem support. The good news is there are plenty of green and blue drops that focus on Vitality and Bleed damage during leveling, and the Wildblood set is very common (I believe Valguur’s is more rare to find). 

Remember: with the Kraken devotion providing great damage enhancement, and using Savagery to whack on bosses, we always want to be using a 2H weapon!

While leveling, you’ll find these items to be very helpful:

  • 25: Gluttony (Relic)
  • 35: Torment (Relic)
  • 40: Gargoyle Vistage (Helm)
  • 50: Sacrifice (Relic)
  • 50: Empowered Revenant’s Edge (2H)
  • 50: Wendigomane Leggings (Legs)
  • 50: The Guillotine (2H)
  • 58: Bloodfury Spalders (Shoulders)
  • 58: Boneweave Girdle (Waist)
  • 58: Thorn Girdle of Misty Glave (Waist)
  • 58: Deathlord’s Band (Ring)
  • 58: Mark of the Forbidden (Amulet)
  • 65: Empowered Locust Gem (Amulet)
  • 65: Wendigo Dread Mask (Helm)
  • 70: Necrosis/Solael’s Decimation (Relic)

Skills

We first focus on Shaman leveling, damage with Swarm and Grasping Vines, rushing to Storm Totem and Blood pact. We then build out Occultist while mixing some Shaman, rushing to Possession to add solid support (including Blood of Dreeg, etc.). Finally we add Savagery and then touch up the final skills.

Phase I (Shaman)
Swarm (6) → Mogdrogan’s (1) → Grasping Vines (6) → Heart of the Wild (1) → Swarm (3) → Grasping Vines (3) → Wendigo Totem (1) → Oak Skin (1) → Entangling Vines (6) → Storm Totem (6) → Corrupted Storm (1) → Blood Pact (1)

Note: You can pursue Phase III at this point if you want to get Savagery and its supportive skills before pursuing Possession, but the build performs just fine at this point without it, and rushing Possession is important. If you are having single-target damage problems (due to self-found items) go ahead and take Phase III before Phase II and start beating on bosses.

Phase II (Mix)
Curse of Frailty (1) → Entangling Vines (4) → Swarm (Max) → Bloody Pox (1) → Solael’s Witchfire (1) → Vulnerability (4) → Blood of Dreeg (1) → Wasting (6) → Second Rite (1) → Aspect of Guardian (1) → Possession (Max)

Phase III (Mix)
Savagery (1) → Might of the Bear (3) → Brute Force (1) → Feral Hunger (3) → Tenacity of the Boar (6) → Storm Touched (1) 

Phase IV (Mix)
Heart of the Wild (6) → Blood of Dreeg (Max) → Curse of Frailty (6) → Vulnerability (Max) → Second Rite (Max) → Aspect of the Guardian (9) → Wasting (4) → Storm Totem (Max) → Grasping Vines (Max)

Devotions

Crossroads (Eldrich) → Scholar’s Light → Crossroads (Primordial) → Eel → Kraken → Jackal → Wendigo (Bloody Pox) → Crossroads (Chaos) → Revenant (Swarm) → Crossroads (Order) → Panther → Solemn Watcher → Dying God (CoF) [PARTIAL] → Lotus → Hawk → Remove Crossroads (Eldrich, Chaos, Primordial, Order) → Rattosh (Vines) → 1 Point into Bat (15% Vit/Bleed Damage) OR Ultos (OA)



As covered above, this build utilizes both the Wildblood and Valguur’s sets with additional legendary items for support. There are many alternatives that can be used as Jewelry, but the most important thing to focus on end-game is defense since the damage is solid. Make sure your resists are capped and get that armor absorption up as soon as possible.




Below are additional complete build guides you might be interested in!

168 Comments

  1. Hi, so far I love your DOT conjurer. I am lvl58 and I shred everything.

    I had one question regarding your guide : In the Devotions section, there’s [PARTIAL] next to Dying God. I am not sure to understand what you meant. Can you explain me ?

    Thx in advance.

  2. Thanks! When there’s a [PARTIAL] next to a devotion, it’s a reminder that the entire devotion isn’t filled (while the others are) – only part of it (so players don’t accidentally fill out the entire devotion constellation).

    I hope this helps!

  3. Ok thx for the fast reply. I just looked at the devotions and figured Dying God has ”2 different paths” at some point. Anyway, I get it. Thx again

  4. This is a really great build, having lots of fun. However, i’m confused about the following line in the Devotions:

    Ascendant (Chaos) → Revenant (Swarm) → Ascendant (Order)

    There is no ascendant constellation or anything similar, do you mean: Crossroads(Chaos) and Crossroads(Order)?

    Thanks

  6. Quick question regarding the skill progression. Where a skill has a lower number further along the line then previous, does that mean we remove points to bring it lower, or are we adding an additional amount?

    Eg: Swarm (6) → Mogdrogan’s (1) → Grasping Vines (6) → Heart of the Wild (1) → Swarm (3) → Vines (3)
    will Swarm and Vines be at 9, or 3 points each at this point??

    Cheers.

  7. You are correct; you want to add 3 more points. My apologies for the inconsistencies. I need to update the builds to reflect the numbers as being the amount of points you put in rather than the actual value.

  9. I am new to Grim Dawn but have played enough to grasp basics, my question is why do you add Savagery to a caster build?

  10. Because it increases your OA and DA (think of it as whack a stack of buffs) and does some fair damage – however this is situational. Sometimes, the enemy will be so dangerous you have to kite and don’t get any hits in. But when you can tank, or whack and kite, it makes quite a difference at end-game. I hope this answered your question!

  11. Thanks for the build, first-time player. I am wondering if you could give me clarity on the devotions?

    “Crossroads (Eldrich) → Candle → Crossroads (Primordial)”

    I’m assuming “Candle” is actually “Scholar’s Light?”

  13. Thank you for the response. I am level 31 and this build is melting enemies. It’s also able to face-tank a lot of bosses so far.

    This is a great beginner build. I’ve tried to get into this game multiple times but this is the first time I actually felt “addicted” lol.

  15. Hey bro, loving the build so far. Playing HC self-found and its performing well. One thing tho, could you explain why the swap of Primal Bond for Possession?

  16. Thanks! I was very happy to see it works great for Survival and Permadeath as well (just need to get bones or tech to raise the initial $10M). Let me know how it goes!

  17. Apologies; it’s been months since I’ve played BLOODYDOTS. That’s actually an interesting question; if I recall, we get more benefit from Vitality damage than Bleed, and Possession has Chaos Resistance as well. Can definitely try it out though – if you do, let me know how it goes!

  18. Makes sense! for now im sticking with Primal Bond since i’m just lvl 60, ill transition into possession once i have enough skills to respec and max it out, thanks!

  19. Probably a silly question. I am enjoying your build a lot, however there are a huge number of skills with a small amount of points in and I’m running out of numbers in the hot keys. Any advice? Thanks.

  20. The different phases focus on just 1 point for general use with “padding” later on (e.g. Blood of Dreeg) while others (such as Bloody pox) are a key part, but we use the mechanic rather than the damage caused by the skill (and with 1 point in Bloody Pox, it’s actually 8 with BiS item support). Check out the Gamplay section for BLOODYDOTS – it details the use of these skills and the rotation(s). I hope this helps!

  21. Hi thanks,

    It does help somewhat, I guess what I’m asking is what do I drop off the hot keys once there are more than 10 skills as there are multiple things that “need to be toggled on to maintain effect”. Are there some that are only useful for early gameplay and become less useful later on? I thought bloody pox was a bit like this due to increase in bleeding resistance in the later game. This is quite different from my previous builds that have focused on a few core skills maxed on, so I just want to make sure I’m getting the most out of it. Thanks for your time

  22. The GrimTools link shows the skill-based layout (e.g. left click is Savagery, right-click is Devouring Swarm, #1 is Grasping Vines, etc). It’s been awhile since I played this build so I think some of the “buffs” I place on the 2nd page of skills; but the actual combat “play” skills all fit on the 1st page (there’s 10 of them – including LMB and RMB so you only need 8 slots). If you are running out of hotkey slots, I recommend placing the toggled buffs (such as Whirling Blades) on your 2nd skill page since you’ll only need to re-toggle it when you die. I hope this helps!

  23. Hey David,

    Man, thank you SO much for these build guides, seriously man! With the help of your builds, I’ve been able to bring on 3 new players (+ myself) into this game and everyone is having a good time. (hell, come to think of it…the Devs owe you a thanks as well! lol)

    Anyway, quick question. I’m running this build around level 39 right now.

    My question is, at this point, what “stats” should I be focusing on for items; Just vitality dmg? Or should I still be monkeying around with some bleed damage as well?

    Any thoughts welcome.

    Thx for all your hard work! 🙂

  24. Thank you! Feedback like this makes it all worthwhile 🙂 As you’re leveling, just take the best drops you can get that focus on either one. Ultimately, Vitality is what does the most damage, but bleed does its own job as well. You’ll find most items that are a good match have both bleed and vitality. Note Bleed is Physical damage and Vitality is magical damage, so each has their own place. I know this is a bit vague, but when you’re playing with self-found gear (building your character as you go) you end up working with what the game gives you 🙂 I hope this helps, and let me know how things go as you progress into Elite and Ultimate!

  25. Heya M8,

    I’ve been playing grim dawn for over 100 hours now, but i’ve mostly tried funky builds that generaly do “OKish” in end-game but fail somewhat at realy high-end content (nemesis bosses, crucible 150+, Shards >50, celestials, etc). I was wondering if this build can do all the content or you can spot some weaknesses in realy high content.

    I’m not even lvl 100 yet on the conjurer (never had one), and from the gear it’s listed here i still don’t have most pieces, but at least I already have the 2H weapon so that’s a good start.

    So far i feel like i’m cuting mobs like butter, everything is fast and feels nearly OP. Quite sure it’ll tone down at >90 but at least so far it’s going realy well.

    Thanks

  26. Welcome! If I recall, this build can do Crucible 150+ and SR >50 (I think to 75), but it’s not the best at Celestials and uber bosses. But for farming, it’s one of the best IMO as it is a melter 🙂 If you want to pursue top tier end-game damage (and kill Celestials and do SR>75 etc) you’ll need a build that’s specifically designed for it. I think Cold Melee is still top tier, but I’d have to research it since things have changed with the most recent patch. Let me know how things go!

  27. Hey David,

    Hope you’re well man! Absolutely enjoying this build; thanks again for the guide man!!

    I had a few questions I was hoping you wouldn’t mind answering:

    1. Just finished up getting the Revenant Devotion, and I was curious as to it’s purpose? Forgive me, as I’m not trying to come across as critical! Just want to understand.

    The skeletons don’t seem to do much damage. (granted, I’m only lvl 53 right now, and “raise the dead” is only lvl 7). Maybe this is whole things comes into play much later?

    2. Also, if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask about 1 more thing in the guide. Under “General Play Technique”, you say: “For tougher trash, just GV and Curse of Frailty (CoF) to proc Wendigo’s Mark.”

    My question in regards to this, is how this combo would proc Wendigo’s mark, when in the devotion section of the guide it says to “attach it” to Bloody Pox? I assumed that means we have to actually “use” bloody pox to have a chance of triggering Wendigo’s mark. Am I wrong on that?

    (coincidentally, since up till now I haven’t used Bloody Pox that much, I ended up attaching it to Grasping Vines, as I was worried I wouldn’t get to utilize it that much on bloody pox, since I’m not using that skill very much as of right now. (lvl 53))

    Any insight into these 2 things is greatly appreciated, and again, I hope these questions aren’t coming across as “questioning” what you have in the guide – I darn well know you know a lot more about this game than I do! haha. Just wanting to understand these mechanics. 😉

    Thanks again David; u the man!!

  28. Morning Bret!

    1. You’re referring to Raise the Dead on Revenant, correct? That provides energy and health leech and some extra DPS with the skeletons, but if I recall the big thing is they debuff targets (lower the resistances). This is a big deal in ultimate and can help out a lot.

    2. Whoops – you are absolutely correct – it should be Bloody Pox, not Grasping Vines! I’ve adjusted the guide. And yes, you need to use BP to proc Wendigo’s Mark. BP is one of my favorite skills in the game 🙂

    I hope this helps!

  29. Thanks so much for putting these builds together for the theory-craft ignorant among us (like me).

    Question about Devotions – why Hawk instead of the same points in Bat which gives you Vit/Bleed damage and Vit decay along with OA? Is it for the 3% OA increase at the end of Hawk?

  31. Thank you so much for the guide! I ran a conjurer minion build before and I did not make it into Act 5 on Ultimate, so I wiped everything and started with your build, and whooo yes it works!!

    One thing: “It’s important to mention that the damage from Grasping Vines stacks” – do you really mean GV or did you mix it with Savagery?

  32. That’s great to hear! If I recall, Grasping Vines does stack – apologies for not knowing with 100% accuracy off the top of my head as I haven’t played this build in months – but if I were to return and start from scratch, I’d probably choose this build as my first return build since I love DoT builds 🙂

  33. Thanks for your quick reply. My little research has shown that DoTs from different sources do stack. But if you place multiple GVs, only the DoT of the last one counts.

    Now I still have to find the right gear with + to the most important skills for this build. The problem is without good gear you hardly find good gear … I am trying Shattered Realm on normal.

  35. Hi, very new to Grim Dawn and I’m looking at this build to try and learn the game, what should I be spending my attribute points on? I don’t know if I’m missing something but I don’t see any sort of indication on what to do with them

  36. The first line under “Leveling Guide” (I put it in the same place as the others) it says:
    Final Level 100 Stat Distribution: 98 Physique, 9 Spirit
    Faction of Choice: Order of Death’s Vigil

    I hope this helps!

  38. I want to thank you for this amazing guide. I am a returning player, but I have very limited time to play, so this guide is godsend for me. Everything in this guide is useful, especially the mod-recommendation. I am only at lvl 15, so I cannot really tell much about the build, but at the moment I am having a blast.

  40. Hello! Is it possible to know which is the right choice in Sagon, Bysmiel and Dreeg for this type of character, please?

  41. If I recall the new FG faction selections don’t really matter; they just unlock the new movement skill types. Apologies it’s not more fresh in my memory, it’s been a bit of time since I played Grim Dawn and I can’t remember the details. A quick google of the faction advantages should answer your question – let me know what you find out!

  42. Hey bud great guide! I’ve reached lvl 80 on this guy though I got to about 40 before I saw your guide. The main differences being I started with Occultist and maxed bloody pox / wasting and I went with Bat, Falcon, and Huntress devotions before following your build from about 40-80 though I haven’t respeced yet to copy it fully.

    I can tell i’d be getting more out of your devotions so I’m not trying to argue that and I saw you mentioned why you liked hawk over bat in another post. How inferior do you think this line would be? I really like the Rend from Huntress but Falcon as a 5 point constellation probably isn’t worth it. So far I’ve had no problems shredding through elite like this but if I hit a wall I know what to change. Do you think there is a more efficient way to include Huntress? (I like focusing a little more on the bleed side of things, even if vitality damage is more optimal.)

    One more question, how do the relics you recommend in the item section stack up against the sacred talisman from ultimate “The lost Elder” quest in act2? It’s a lot of work (as a new player) to gather the recipes and craft all the stuff and I’m not sure if it should be my focus or not right now.

    Thanks!

  43. Hey Paul; welcome! I’m honestly not sure as to your questions – I’d really have to dive into the build and review your proposals. One thing to keep in mind is compare the end-game setup (especially devotion links) to see if there would even been room to tie a trigger action to rend. When it comes to items, use what’s best. If I recall, when Bloodydots was released, all the FG core items were out, so I think it’s still BiS gear – however with the latest 1.5 patch I believe some new uniques were added, so there may be some consideration for them – I’d have to review though. Sorry I don’t have better answers at this time – feel free to share any changes you make, and if I get a chance I’ll dig into your questions with more detail.

  44. Okay cool. Here’s a link to my character https://www.grimtools.com/calc/O2GL18nV

    I messed around with my devotions respecing a little bit and that’s what I came up with in order to keep rend. I didn’t really want affliction but I didn’t have enough points to finish Revenant, nor dying god.

    As for the other question, I was talking about the relics you list in the “while leveling, you’ll find these items helpful”

    35: Torment (Relic)
    50: Sacrifice (Relic)
    70: Necrosis/Solael’s Decimation (Relic)

    and how they compare to the one you can get as a quest reward in act2, as that one wasn’t listed. Here’s a link https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/1477

    Thanks for all the help!

  45. hey, im leveling this build atm, finished elite difficulty, it goes quite well, i mostly facetank everything, there are couple mobs that i have to kite. all with green/blue gear. And about gear i want to ask you, how can i efficiently farm legendaries to try to fish for those 2 sets? and if i dont have those are there any sets/legendaries i can use untill i have those items?

  46. It’s always best to play in the highest difficulty you can. For example, you’ll farm better in Act I Ultimate vs. Act IV Elite. So if you can do Act I Ultimate, do the warden run for farming. If you’re in Elite, I recommend farming Malmouth (if you can) but if not there’s many farming routes documented online. I hope this helps!

  47. Thanks for the guide! I’m new to Grim Dawn and I’m having a great time with this build on my first character, currently 68.

    I’m trying to make sure my Skills match yours and I’m not sure what to change. The build you posted at https://www.grimtools.com/calc/r2BYRMBN , for example, shows 2 points into Solael’s Witchfire and 8 points into Curse of Frailty. The skill leveling guide you posted (Phase I, II, etc) shows only putting 1 point into Solael’s Witchfire and 7 into Curse of Frailty. Which should I choose; your typed leveling order or the Grimtools link?

    I can’t imagine it makes a ton of difference, but I’m curious to know, and interested in matching your exact recommendations while I learn the game.

    Thank you again for your awesome build and guide!

  48. You’re welcome, and thanks for the feedback! The GrimTools link is the final end-game version, so you’ll want to follow the leveling process prior to level 100. Sometimes I only take the leveling process to L80-85 or so because the final points end up in one skill (when looking at the grimtools link). As long as you stick to the guide, you should be fine! I hope this answered your question; let me know if you have any others!

  49. Thanks for all these builds, came back to grim dawn after a longer break (played one char to lv 80 before the expacs) and now bloodydots is going to be my 1st level 100 fella. Amazing build really, this dude basically just mows everything down after around level 40 or 50 and some devotions – and doesn’t really die due to all the healing incoming.

    Was good to have something like this initially – now that I’m hooked again, time to theorycraft some of my own builds 😉

  50. You’re welcome, and thank you for the support! My two favorite builds are SIR CRUNCHYBONES and SIR BLOODYDOTS; enjoy, and may you find awesome gear!

  51. I thought I would give a short progress update since 3 weeks ago. I just reached lvl 59 with this build and after having maxed possession, things die so fast! Still on normal though, with AoM almost finished and Godless not yet started. I checked Valinovs guide, and he did some optimization on the skills (no storm totem) and devotions, which I have applied (feels better without the totem). I am still using your general leveling guide, which is so incredible helpful!

  55. hey thanks for the build it was my first character in GD…I have it pretty much done(except for rings) and have finished all normal and dlc content through ultimate(except super bosses). Worked out great and I really enjoyed it.
    One stumbling block…lokarr
    I get worked by lokarr even with potions/consumables.
    Is this build at a big disadvantage vs lokarr? I realize not all builds can handle the celestials.
    Tanking doesn’t work at all and kiting doesn’t seem to do much damage at all, plus hard not to kill the clones.
    thanks!

  56. Hey Sean – thanks for the feedback! Strange, if you’re nearly BiS you should be able to do Lokarr. Can you share your GrimTools link so I can look at your character?

  58. It very well could be that my piloting skills are…bad…
    I’ll try and get a grimtools link up soon

  60. Hey David. Recently came back to GD after a break and using this starting fresh with self found. I’m lvl 55 so far and it’s very strong at all content I’ve come across so far. Thinking about restarting on Elite but havnt started malmouth content properly yet. I’ve worked my way upto coven and done the hidden path quest line. Should I finish malmouth and start forbidden gods on normal or restart on elite play through?

    Also do you happen to have this build on a youtube video ?

  61. I recommend completing all the content in order before moving to the next difficulty; I find it more immersive and fun that way. Unfortunately, I don’t have any video guides at this time. Who knows what the future holds!

  62. I can’t really tell, because I was at a low level when I scrapped storms. I was constantly low on mana, so that was one of the reasons I scrapped storm.

  63. Nice and fun build, but seen that these are starter build Imsuggest to add coulle of lines saying which kind kf damage you want to use so that while leveling you know what to keep.

    From the title I assume it is just vitality dmg and bleed damage, correct?

  66. I totally love it!

    One thing, for the last devotion point you take gallows for 15% vit damage.
    First point of BAT gives 15% vit dam, + 15% bleed dam

  68. I’m proud that i could help improve this great build of yours.
    Thx for all your work and your builds at this point! Was a big help for me when i started.

  70. I was under the impression you could only improve an attribute once per level for a maximum of 100 levels – yet your final attribute distribution is ”
    Final Level 100 Stat Distribution: 98 Physique, 9 Spirit”

    How do you explain this?
    🙂

  72. Hello ! First of all, i’m new to the game. Found some stuff that might be handy to people that never played this game Before and trying out this build.

    At the beginning we are lacking some energy reg. I found out that this item “Bone Talisman” which is a quest reward from “The Lost Elder” in act 2.Really helps with the energy and also a 100% dmg increase. 35 sec skill recharge time but its Active 10 sec. This relic on Elite gives 300% dmg increase and energy reg.
    Also when lvling, the gloves called Apothecary’s Touch really helped me alot aswell. 33% to all damage and +250 Health and alot of elemental Res, also +2 to Blood of Dreeg and the granted skill saved me from Death ALOT. 8% Health restored and it also comes with a + Health restore+health reg per sec.

  74. Greetings!

    First off thank you for all the guides you made, I just started this game and your guides were easy enough to understand for a complete beginner like me. I’ll be sure to try out some of your other builds once I finish the entire game with Bloodydots. 😀

    Just one question(for now) about Second Rite. Do you mind explaining why you advise maxing it? I’m for sure missing something, but Witchfire seems so good, +% Vit damage, +% attack speed. Or even maxing Aspect of Guardian. Is it simply for the +% Vit Resistance?

  75. Thanks for the feedback! If I recall the decay damage is the biggest benefit from Second Rite, which is a big part of our overall DoT. The final version of the build maximizes both Second Rite and Aspect of the Guardian. I hope this helps!

  76. Thanks for the quick reply!

    I see. You most certainly recall correct, I tried to remove points from Second Rite, and the decay damage plummeted. Didn’t know it was a global buff, so much left to know in this game for me. :’D

    Also I realize, read and understand your current situation with this game, but do hope you do make more guides in the future (whispers Warlord build please).

    I tried to lookup other “guides” and all of them just slap on a grimtools link, some vid links and call it a day.
    But I digress, many thanks again for Bloodydots!

  77. Thanks for the support! Warlord is a great build, and if I recall there is a good build guide for a Warlord on the forums, but it’s quickly fading into memory. Sadly, since I have no plans of ever returning to Grim Dawn, I won’t be making any additional build guides.

  78. Been following your build best I can and it’s been working pretty well, but I’m a bit confused on the skill distributions per levels. Phase 1 for example has Swarm (6) as the first thing listed. Does that mean I’m supposed to put my first 6 points into swarm before anything else, so 1 point into mastery to unlock first tier, 2 points swarm first level, 3 points swarm second level, 1 point swarm 2 points mastery third level? I’m currently level 27 and have been doing 1 point skill 2 points mastery to unlock blood pact, but my skills aren’t the same levels as what your phases say they should be.

  79. The skill distribution shows the number of points you need to put into each skill at that point; the mastery progression is inherit (e.g. you put just enough mastery points in to reach a skill to put the skill points in). I hope this answers your question!

  80. David, these guides are great man, thank you so much for sharing them, detailed and well explained, really awesome work.

    I have a question regarding the leveling process, in the GrimTools links you show different skill and devotion paths, which from previous comments here I assume are before and after hitting max level.
    I’m doing some initial quests in Elite and having no problems using the “engame” path but was curious if I really should swap all my points to the other, I don’t have any of the set pieces yet but since my gear is holding up really well should I just continue this way or is there really a point where I’ll meet a giant dps/survivability wall that I can’t overcome?

  81. Thank you for the support Nat! Not sure I understand your question; there is only one guide and order of skill and devotion progression. Could you elaborate on your question? Note you’re not expected to have end-game BiS (Best in Slot) gear anytime soon – one reason I choose the builds I did (this included) because they perform so well even without BiS gear.

  82. Oh sorry you’re right, I was talking about the two links at the bottom, one path goes for max Possession (the guide describes this one) and the other goes for max Primal Bond.

    It’s not clear to me what the latter one is for, personally I haven’t had any issue going for Possession but is there any benefit in going for Primal Bond? Is is it an alternative for leveling to then respec into Possession, or an outdated version?

  84. Im following the devotions part of this guide to a T. Im having an issue as once i finish the Wendigo and crossroads Im short the Chaos requirement for Revenant. Has there beeen a change to devotions since this guide was released? Or am I missing something?

  85. Welcome! I bet you’ve missed one point either at the center node system or with one of the constellations – this happens often. I’d re-walk it, verify you have placed each point, and am confident you’ll figure it out. Even with my experience in the game, it happens often to me as well 🙂

  86. Im two points short, just did a 4 day bender on this game and am now back to work for 3 long days, I will see if I missed completing a constellation, I know I didnt miss a crossroads one, hoping thats it. Thanks for that reply.

  87. Ahh was hoping I could edit the above comment. I wanted to add a thanks for these guides, Ive had this game for over 2 years but for some reason never really got into it, think it was the “end game” guides I was shadowing back then. D1, D2, and D3 (meh) and Im pretty sure this game tops them all. Thanks again and hoping I missed something like you said, Im an old fart now as you see Ive played D1 and I was pushing 30 then. Old gamers never die, they just screw up their devotions

  88. Nice guide. I’m new to the game and this is my first build and so far it’s going really smooth.

    In your leveling items you mention:

    20: Gargoyle Vistage (Helm)

    However this MI is only dropped by high level monsters in zones I have not unlocked and databases says you need to be atleast level 40 to equip. Am I missing something somewhere?

  90. Thanks for the support! You’re right! I wonder how that got into the guide? I’ll adjust the information. Will have to wait until later to pursue the helm. 🙂

  91. Hey David, I considered asking this on the forums, but you’re so much more responsive and respectful that I knew I’d get a better answer here. 🙂 How does Bloody Pox spread through enemies? I checked the skill and its modifiers, but it doesn’t mention being able to affect more than one target per cast. Is there an implicit property of this skill that allows it to spread, or am I missing a mechanic somewhere? Thanks!

  92. It spreads to adjoining monsters every “tick” (whatever that is; perhaps every 500ms) – and it spreads quickly. Here’s the kicker. There’s a setting in the Grim Dawn options that will actually disable the spread of Bloody Pox; it’s gore or something. If it’s turned off, it won’t spread! I reported this bug years ago (a gameplay setting shouldn’t disable the spread of a skill) but they’ve never fixed it. So if you’re having issues with it spreading, it’s probably because you have the setting turned off.

  93. Thanks! I never would have guessed that that setting would affect it. I have the setting turned on, so I should be OK. Thanks for the clarification!

  94. You’re welcome! It definitely took me some time to figure out. My issue is it was somehow turned off from Beta and the parameters carried over after launch; but this was around 2 years ago.

  95. In regards to devotion points Crossroads (Eldrich) → Scholar’s Light is not possible with out going through scorpion. Is that correct?

  96. You can put points right into Scholar’s Light right after your first point into Eldrich. When you unlock a central section, it usually unlocks multiple constellations. I hope this helps!

  97. hey david first off i would like to say this build brought me back i wrote off grim dawn 3 years ago to play poe but really wanted to give it a shot again and i love DOT builds and i have to say i love this build (currently lv52)

    i have a question about bloody pox and windigo mark , does bloody pox stack like grasping vines does like i would think we would want windigos mark on something we spam a lot to try to proc it i only cast BP maybe 2-3 times with a pack because it spreads.
    would love some insight on this and what you think about using windigos mark on grasping vines.

  98. Hey Zack! Sadly, Bloody Box and Grasping Vines don’t stack individually (i.e. only one of each can be engaged with a target at any time), but you can have both of them affecting a target at the same time, so BP and GV will stack together. As far as Wendigo’s Mark, I honestly don’t know off the top of my head. My guess is it can only be active or inactive, and it won’t cascade/stack on itself. Some additional Google research should confirm the details. Let me know if you find out differently. Have a great week!

  99. Thank you for the guide, I’m new to Grim Dawn and I’ve chosen this guide as my first build, it’s great so far for leveling.

    I’ve noticed that some items increase the OA but decrease the DPS, should I try to balance these two or should I prioritize one over the other?

  100. If I recall you always want to prioritize OA over sheer DPS because OA encapsulates more than just damage (such as penetration, etc). Apologies for not remembering the specific mechanics; it’s been awhile since I’ve played. Either way, while leveling, just use the best gear you can and you should be fine. Happy Hunting!

  101. Hey David,

    I want to thank you a lot for your work on this build (and others too) and your attention you’re still having towards players here, really amazing!

    I’m a complete newbie in this game so I’m following this Bloodydots guide of yours to the letter and am enjoying the build a lot. Being currently level 36 I’m basically melting everything as I go, even being capable facetank some of the heroes and bosses and loving it.

    I’ve read through the whole comment section and didn’t find any question about why some of the augments in Augment List are highlighted, either bold or yellow or red. Does it have any significance?

    Thanks a lot for your answer.

  102. And another question:

    GD Item Assistant and GD Stash seem to do the same thing and from what I saw, GD Stash tends to be more popular, do you have a reason to prefer GD Item Assistant or is it just your personal prefference?

    Thanks a lot for an answer again.

  105. New to Grim Dawn and loving the build but i had a quick question unless i missed it how should the attribute points be distributed?

  106. Not a problem – it’s listed at the beginning of the “Leveling Guide” section: Final Level 100 Stat Distribution: 98 Physique, 9 Spirit
    Faction of Choice: Order of Death’s Vigil. Enjoy!

  107. Hi Allen,

    Firstly thanks for the guide. I’ve completed AoM on Elite, currently lvl 86. I’ve a question reg skills. Why aren’t we maxing out skills that we are using ex. Savagery / Tenacity of the Boar / Storm Touched ? Do we need points into skills that’s not being used ex. Brute Force / Feral Hunger / Oak Skin etc ? Thanks.

  108. If I recall it has to do with balance; we only have so many points, and the build performs better with the points elsewhere (i.e. not maxing out Savagery). Oak Skin, etc. is always used because it’s passive 🙂

  109. I just killed my first Nemesis easy peasy on Ultimate dificulty, currently lvl 89 – I really love this build, thanks a lot man! 🙂

  111. I’ve started a new character (I’m at level 41 now) with this build and I have to say there’s a certain rush to slaying hordes of monsters with a single GV. Thanks for this wonderful guide! It’s made the game a lot more enjoyable for me.

  112. Thanks a for this build, it’s great. I’ve tried to play the game a couple of times before but it was quite overwhelming and I fucked up my builds. So I actually got fed up with the game.

    I recently decided to give the game one more chance, using your build this time, and I’ve just advanced into the Ashes of Malmouth content and having a blast 🙂 Keep up the good work!

  113. Loving this build, my first character to go Elite. The Dying God says “PARTIAL”, so I know I’m not supposed to completely fill it. But how many points do I put into it? Thanks!!

  114. Hey John! If it says [PARTIAL] just look at the GrimTools Devotion buildout and you’ll visually see which nodes are recommended. I hope this helps!

  116. I have the same problem as john, and it looks like the grimtools build is not the exact same build as in this guide(does not take Dying God)

  117. Not sure what you mean; the Recommended build seems accurate per the devotion guide – you put Curse of Frailty on the next to last node in Dying God and avoid taking the last node. Are you selecting the (Recommended) build?

  119. Resistances. At your level, your elemental, poison and bleed resists should be maxed. Your Chaos is also -10%. That should be at least 50% by Elite.

    Get those resistances up and you’ll do just fine 🙂

  120. Thanks very much! But….when I have everything turned on (Possession, Mogdrogen’s Pact, Solael’s Witchfire, and Blood of Dreeg), here are my resistances: Fire 73, Cold 78, Lightning 80, Poison 80, Pierce 80, Bleed 86, Vitality 80, Aether 60, Stun 19, Chaos 59. My DPS is also almost 14K. Really, that should be enough?

  121. Strange, that didn’t pop up in the calc; but the toggles may have been disabled. Yes, that’s more than enough. I’m not sure what the Guardian uses, but I think Doom Bolt is Chaos, so maxing your Chaos out may solve your problem. Apologies for not being more helpful, it’s been nearly a year since I played Grim dawn.

  122. No worries, and your guides are a TREMENDOUS help! 🙂 I’ll try to get a bit more chaos resist and see how it goes. Thanks so much again!

  123. I want to say thank you for the detailed guide(s)! I stumbled across these when I first started and am thankful, for being able to understand the complexity of this game. I was a HUGE Diablo 2 player, and quit after Stone of Jordan became currency.

    I did have a question about GV. I am currently level 68 and I’ve noticed that my DS does a lot more damage, and that my GV has basically become more of a AOE slow. Is there any reason why you have GV as the last skill that you max?

    Again thank you!

  124. Thanks for the support, Gage! It’s been more than a year since I played the build, but if I recall GV is very strong at the beginning, but at end-game it’s used only to debuff/heal; the real damage comes from Devouring Swarm, Totems and Bloody Pox. Make sure you also hit them with CoF and have your Dreeg’s Blood and Possession up. Makes a huge difference. I hope this helps!

  125. Hey, firt time playing Grim Dawn and i’ve been following your build, lvl 35 atm, and crushing everything. Just have a few questions. Should I be aiming to get all the usefull leveling items?
    I’ve checked Ellis, the vendor that sells the Gluttony relic, and doesn’t have te bp for sale. Is it lvl restricted ot something?
    Also can I get all those items only with base game?
    Thx for the guide

  126. If you’re playing for the first time and this is your first character, you have a LOT of building to do (i.e. finding components and relics). I remember the Gluttony BP was sold at Devil’s Crossing and Coven of Ugdenbog faction vendor; but I don’t know if that’s changed. Looks like it’s still available there: https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/8209
    I hope this helps!

  127. Yeah it’s my first build, just reached Elite and the enemies are a lot harder now, but the build is still doing great. Do you have any advice on getting the items i need/building a good item pool? Thx for the help!

  128. Honestly, it’s all about farming. Just keep playing and find farm spots you enjoy (steps of torment, etc), and start building your core item repository – this will help not only solidify your current, but future builds as well. Glad to hear everything is going well! Happy hunting!

  129. Hi there. New player here, thanks for the guide! I got two nearly identical Briarthorn Band rings at level 23 that are each +2 Grasping Vines and now I feel like I can never replace them because of how much damage they add to my GV. Is that only a my low level (30), or am I bound to wear these forever?

    Thanks!

  130. You will definitely find replacement rings; and if I recall, GV isn’t the main source of DPS for this build – my apologies, it’s been more than a year I cannot remember the specifics. At a minimum, in ultimate, you can find replacement versions of the same +2 rings that have much better statis. Just keep going, and you’ll find better and better gear! Happy Hunting!

  133. Hey,
    I just wanted to thank you for putting together these guides. I started out with crunchy bones after picking up both GD expansions. That build gave me the start that I needed to build a base of great items and crafting materials that I could use on other builds. I have been SSF so far. I then moved to this build and wow, what a power house. I found a few of the items needed on my journey with previous builds. I don’t even have all of the suggested items yet and it tears through most everything. I was wondering if you were ever going to add the forgotten gods augments to your ‘resist augment list’ that you have in each guide. I use that religiously when fine tuning my resists when i hit elite and ultimate. Anyway, really great stuff. Thanks again.

  134. Thanks for the feedback; I’m glad the build is working! Unfortunately, I don’t play GD anymore, so I won’t be making any adjustments to the guides, but if you want to throw something together in comments, the others playing this build will probably benefit from it! Happy Hunting!

  135. Here you go, the list of forgotten gods augments with resists. I don’t think I’ll be able to add this comment to every guide, but if you wanted to add it to the main section it’s up to you. Thanks!

    90: Solael’s Voidward | 12% Chaos Res | All armor | Cult of Solael Revered
    90: Solael’s Soulbinding | 8% Pierce Res 8% Vitality Res | All armor | Cult of Solael Revered
    90: Bysmiel’s Desert Barb | 12% Pierce Res | All armor | Cult of Bysmiel Revered
    90: Bysmiel’s Veiltouch | 10% Poison & Acid Res 8% Aether Res | All armor | Cult of Bysmiel Revered
    90: Dreeg’s Veilward | 12% Aether Res | All armor | Cult of Dreeg Revered
    90: Dreeg’s Fiendblood | 10% Poison & Acid Res 8% Chaos Res | All armor | Cult of Dreeg Revered
    65: Sagethorn Powder | +15% Chaos Res | Accessories | Cult of Dreeg Honored
    65: Veilworm Powder | 15% Poison & Acid Res | Accessories | Cult of Dreeg Honored
    90: Osyr’s Wisdom | 15% Vitality Res 15% Bleeding Res | Accessories | Cult of Dreeg Revered
    65: Cinderbark Powder | +15% Bleeding Res | Accessories | Cult of Bysmiel Honored
    90: Ateph’s Will | 30% Bleeding Res | Accessories | Cult of Bysmiel Revered
    90: Irrah’s Blood | 15% Aether Res | Accessories | Cult of Solael Revered

  137. Just entered the Conclave of the Three and not sure which of the 3 factions is best for me to take, didn’t see any mention of it elsewhere in these comments..any thoughts? Thanks

  140. I’m liking these guides. I prefer to start games with a bit of help on the skills so I can focus on the story, then come back and work with the theory crafting. Thank you for these leveling helpers. For this guide in particular, I think it is the first one where “The mobs just melt away” is practically a literal statemen. 🙂

  141. Hi David,

    Thanks for your work on these. New player and it flattens the learning curve immensely. Question – Why buff up swarm so much? What’s the drawback to avoiding swarm all together and rushing GV? Is this more for lowering boss bleed and vit resistance?

    Thanks again

  142. Thanks for the support! If I recall, GV is much better while leveling up whereas swarm has a greater impact towards end-game when mobs don’t die in just a second or two as Swarm helps with the spreading disease. I hope this helps!

  143. Heya, loving the build, but wanted to ask why we would go for Scholar’s Light, considering it’s a Bleed/Vitality focused damage?

  144. My apologies, it’s been more than a year and a half since I ran the build – I believe it’s for obtaining specific constellation points necessary for end-game.

  145. Hi everyone, I recently started playing Grim Dawn with some friends and this is the first build I tried. It has been very fun so far. Only question I have is about Hungering Void. It seems to sap away quite a bit of my health, usually I can keep on top of it with a potion of Blood of Dreeg, but at times my health is draining and I do not have these abilities available. What’s the best way to manage this? Is it something that is handled once Wendigo’s Mark gets leveled higher or should I be putting augments on my items that help with life steal? I realize most of this thread is old but any general tips would be greatly appreciated.

  147. Hey, no problem at all, I appreciate the reply. I will try to find ways to get my regen up a bit.

  148. Hello everyone. the second time I start GD because the first time I wasn’t happy with the build. this time I’m doing great. I am currently lvl 78 on the elite. I understand everything, and everything goes great for me, only one thing confuses me. I came to the end of part of the tutorial – devotions. I finished Rattosh. I see that by the end you are proposing one in Bat and / or a complete Ultos. it confuses me that there will be plenty more devotion points, and I don’t know where to invest them. greetings to everyone from shaking Croatia.

  149. Glad the guide has been helpful! It’s been so long since I played the guide I can’t remember the specifics, but the grimtools link should show you where all of the points go. I hope this helps!

  150. yes, thanks. however my bad. I forgot that there are 55 CP in the game and after that you don’t get CP from the shrine. thanks again for the reply, good job with the tutorial.

  153. Finished Normal Veteran with no issues.
    https://www.grimtools.com/calc/r2BYRMBN

    I like using Gavel of Justice for the stun and clearing.
    The Guillotine Axe really makes it easy to level.

    Will start Ultimate down the road. I don’t have any of the legendary items yet though so will see how it goes…

    Thanks for the Build!
    Tallion

  154. Hey, just started this build I am so enjoying the heck out of it! Kind if cool seeing everything just melt away while explore and pick up loot 🙂 Thanks for organizing and putting everything together. This build practically plays itself!

  156. Hi there! Very new to Grim Dawn. Partner and I decided to give it a go and I’ve been enjoying Bloody Dots so far. I’ve only recently hit level 30 and was able to get some Devotion into Kraken. My “Damage per hit” is still showing that I do waaaaaaaaay more damage with my current off hand and main hand at the moment than any two handed weapon (Off hand provides 96% vit dam, 108% bleed, and +2 to Grasp vines and +2 entangling vines, while also 439 vit dam and 849 bleed damage to grasping vines, plus 100% phys damage converted to vit damage.) Any two handed weapons that have vit phys or bleed on them only show around 800 damage per hit atm, while that offhand alone has me at 2476 damage. Should I still be swapping to a 2H weapon or wait until I find a 2H that shows around the same damage per hit so my other abilities can also benefit from Kraken?

  157. Hey Jousei! My sincere apologies, but it’s been more than two years since I’ve played Grim Dawn and I cannot remember enough to provide any help. I recommend posting either in the Forums or on Reddit so you can get community feedback from people who still play the game and are more recently familiar with the mechanics. Best of luck!

  158. Hi David,

    Although your active playing time with GD may be a while ago, I would like to send you big kudos for yout guides. Brought an own Crunchybone (Bony M) to 100 recently and she is a total Challenge Dungeon machine. Even without any endgame equip, I cleared all content without major problems and my personal Bloodydots just hit lvl 68. Thanks for your time and effort!

  160. hey so do you click physique 98 times and spirit 9 times while leveling for the skill points?

  161. While it’s been years since I played the build, if I recall you just put the 9 spirit points in as you need them for any equipment/gear. I hope this helps!

  162. thanks, new to grim dawn but i like this build! also what kind of gear should i be collecting along the way? i saw your notable pieces to lookout for but wondering what general stats i wanna be stacking.

  163. The build was one of my favorites; unfortunately, it’s been more than two years since I played it (perhaps coming on 3) and I simply cannot remember enough to provide advice beyond my previous comment. My recommendation is just play and advance; the build should just “come together” as you progress through the acts. Good luck!

  164. will do! thanks again for putting this together, its exactly what kinda character i was wanting to play!

  165. Hey man, been really enjoying your grim dawn guides and have been following through this one at the moment. Was just wondering if you could give some insight about the devotions to go down. As a noob I’d be going straight down the bat for the bleed and vitality damage as opposed to scholar’s light that gives elemental damage. No worries if it’s been too long since you’ve played the game to remember, your guides are awesome regardless! 🙂
    Many Thanks

    (PS I tried to leave this comment without an account yesterday so sorry if it comes through twice)

  166. Glad the guides have been helpful! Sadly, it’s been so long since I played GD I cannot really remember; my recommendation is to ask your questions in the Grim Dawn subreddit (I think it’s better than the Forums). Best of luck, and Happy Hunting!

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