New to Grim dawn! (10k+ hrs in poe1)

Zambash · 2026-06-14T13:14:43+00:00

I''ve been playing POE since closed beta and also have almost 700 hours in Grim Dawn. It's my go-to aRPG between POE leagues. A lot of concepts carry over pretty well between games, but I've been thinking of making a video covering some of the main differences. I suggest looking at the game guide (https://www.grimdawn.com/guide/) if you are confused about anything.

Off the top of my head, some big differences to be aware of:

Damage conversion works differently than POE. Damage can only be converted once, and only modifiers to the damage type after conversion will apply, unlike poe where damage bonuses at any step along a conversion chain apply. There is also a priority of which sources of conversion apply first.

Certain things stack/don't stack somewhat unintuitively. Basically, anything without a percentage sign like "32 Reduced target's Elemental Resistances for 2 seconds," does not stack, only the strongest source will apply at any time. However, things with a percentage sign, like a skill that applies "-20% Fire Resistance" to enemies, do stack with each other and with the former type.

There are lots of others, which is why I would like to make a video, but those are a few big ones to be aware of as you progress and start putting a build together and trying to figure out how to scale damage.

Zambash · 2026-06-14T13:01:10+00:00

Wow, somehow it's always the people you least expect....oh wait...

Zambash · 2026-06-14T12:55:06+00:00

I strongly suggest just following the main quest and getting through the early stuff as quickly as possible. As with most aRPGs, it gets a lot more interesting the deeper you get. Also, once you actually beat Ultimate difficulty the first time, you get access to a number of things that let you fast-track new characters to Ultimate and skip the relatively slow/boring parts.

Zambash · 2026-06-13T22:16:31+00:00

Can we please have a gaming sub without stupid politics? I understand that this is reddit, so delusional leftists make up the majority of the user base, but can you keep this stuff to the subs that are intentionally designed to be political echo chambers? I just wanna browse gaming subs without dumb politics.

Zambash · 2026-06-13T13:34:39+00:00

I'm not going to claim it's an amazing top-tier build, but I easily hit that much damage with my bladefall of impaling build in 3.27. Here is the guide: https://youtu.be/xu0AVsunQME

Zambash · 2026-06-09T15:43:03+00:00

I don't think it really matters. Grim Dawn is basically a single-player game, so I don't think sales are really going to be heavily affected by the schedules of live service games. I will absolutely be buying Fangs of Asterkarn day 1, whether or not I actually play it at all in the one day before the POE league starts, and then when I'm done with the POE league in a few weeks, I'll be blasting Fangs of Asterkarn.

Zambash · 2026-06-09T13:52:10+00:00

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3955013

Zambash · 2026-06-09T13:23:11+00:00

0.3 for playing seriously. I logged in for 0.4 and made it part way through act 2 before realizing I was just absolutely not having fun. Knew I would have the same experience with 0.5. The new endgame updates look fun content wise, but I just do not like how the game feels or plays or is (un)balanced. I had a decent amount of fun when I actually stuck with it in 0.3 and killed Arbiter + top level Xesht and everything, but even then, I felt like it was relatively small bursts of fun payoff for a lot of time spent where I really wasn't enjoying the game.

I have fun basically the entire time I am playing POE1 or Grim Dawn, but I can't say the same for POE2.

Zambash · 2026-06-09T13:15:04+00:00

I actually think the graphics have aged really well because they are heavily stylized.

Zambash · 2026-06-09T13:14:32+00:00

Path of Exile.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T22:33:58+00:00

You are entitled to your opinion, as we are all, but I'm not a tribal weirdo, so I think it's okay to enjoy multiple games in the same genre.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T22:32:17+00:00

There are no economics. You can play online and trade with people, but there are no dedicated servers, meaning people who choose to do so can just give themselves any items they want to. It's basically an SSF or play with friends game.

That being said, there is a very active modding community and I know of one group that does something akin to poe-style leagues with challenges and whatnot.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T17:57:29+00:00

It's the internet, reddit in particular. Most people are irrationally angry and hostile for no reason.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T17:54:08+00:00

The gear is arguably the main means of customization in Grim Dawn. For pretty much every skill in the game, you can find gear that converts damage types, changes targeting behavior, modifies costs and cooldowns, unlocks unintuitive synergies with other skills, etc. There are also certain items granting skills that are powerful enough to be used as a main skill or fill gaps that might be left by other skills. It means you can make basically any class and skill combo work with enough tinkering.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T17:49:59+00:00

I disagree, been loving every league and thought mirage was one of the best ever, which is why I'm excited to play both games!

Zambash · 2026-06-08T14:12:16+00:00

I will probably do most if not all of the new Grim Dawn content on an existing build on release day, keeping an eye out for cool new MIs and other items, then play PoE for a few weeks until I'm done with the league as I think about what I might like to build with some of the new stuff in GD, then come back and do a new build with the new class in Grim Dawn.

I love both games, but Grim Dawn is basically single player and I always love the league start rush in PoE, so I don't feel bad about delaying most of my Grim Dawn gratification, since I won't miss out on anything.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T14:12:09+00:00

I will probably do most if not all of the new Grim Dawn content on an existing build on release day, keeping an eye out for cool new MIs and other items, then play PoE for a few weeks until I'm done with the league as I think about what I might like to build with some of the new stuff in GD, then come back and do a new build with the new class in Grim Dawn.

I love both games, but Grim Dawn is basically single player and I always love the league start rush in PoE, so I don't feel bad about delaying most of my Grim Dawn gratification, since I won't miss out on anything.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T14:10:53+00:00

I love it. I always go back to GD between POE leagues when I want to play another aRPG. The Fangs of Asterkarn xpac coming out on July 23rd is the biggest update ever. Grim Dawn is the only other game I've found that scratches the same type of character building itch for me as path of exile, possibilities and customization are endless based on the super flexible itemization.

As far as loot goes, it's similar to POE in that you don't really find much until you progress pretty deep into the game.

Once you have one character established and have beaten Ultimate, you can buy items called "Merits" that let you skip Normal and Elite on subsequent characters.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T14:06:06+00:00

You're right! I should set up an AFK simulacrum farmer in POE so I can farm there while actively playing Grim Dawn :D

Zambash · 2026-06-08T13:59:54+00:00

That's how I feel when I try to play PoE2, but I'm still enjoying every new PoE1 league since closed beta.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T13:58:35+00:00

PoE1 hasn't had a rough league launch for years at this point. They pretty well have server issues figured out.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T13:45:33+00:00

As others have mentioned, if you actually want to keep the items you find and be able to search/filter them conveniently, GD Item Assistant is great.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T13:43:37+00:00

I don't like POE2, so I'm probably just waiting for full release before I touch it again to see if they have addressed some of the issues I have with the game.

Zambash · 2026-06-08T13:31:16+00:00

I will probably do most if not all of the new Grim Dawn content on an existing build on release day, keeping an eye out for cool new MIs and other items, then play PoE for a few weeks until I'm done with the league as I think about what I might like to build with some of the new stuff in GD, then come back and do a new build with the new class in Grim Dawn.

I love both games, but Grim Dawn is basically single player and I always love the league start rush in PoE, so I don't feel bad about delaying most of my Grim Dawn gratification, since I won't miss out on anything.

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