Grim Dawn - From the Depths of the Void

[Myrthos]

In issue 74 of the Grim Misadventures blog for Grim Dawn, we are told about build 26 and can see a set of monsters from the Void.

In GM#73, you may have noticed a collection of fiendish obsidian two-handed weapons. Such cruel weaponry is not wielded by just anyone. The Chthonian Dreadguards are the brutal vanguard of Ch’thon’s infinite legions. Armed with weapons of war crafted from the Void itself and incapable of feeling pain, these hellish brutes cut an unstoppable swath of destruction across their enemies’ ranks.

But they are not all just mindless beasts, hell-bent on annihilation. Deep in the darkest pits, there dwells a scheming creature of fire and shadow known as Shar’Zul. In its black domain, the demon plots the eradication of all life on Cairn, and the return of precious blood to its master, the Dead God Ch’thon.

It is a well-known fact that the Void is the birthplace of unspeakable horrors, the nightmares of mortals made manifest. One such creature is the Chthonian Leech, a fiend consisting of dozens of ravenous life-stealing tentacles, each seemingly with a life of its own. Leeches prey upon all living creatures with an insatiable hunger; they are even known to turn upon the denizens of the Void when other sources of food prove lacking. Thankfully for them, and unfortunately for you, Cairn is ripe with the spawn of the Dead God’s blood.

Should you ever find yourself in the deepest pits of the Void, steel yourself against these fiends and their vitality attacks, lest you become another desiccated corpse rotting in the Ashen Wastes.

The deepest pits of the Void await you in Act 4. Do you dare enter the domain of Ch’thon?

More information.

 

[Arkadia7]

Wow, that monster could have come straight out of a Lovecraft story! I love it.

Dang, this game is taking a long time to finish though. It seems like it has been a long time anyway, and they still have to do the last act, Act 4, to complete the game.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Yeah, I'm getting really tired of people who talk about how awesome they are and show some concept art all the while they take their own damn sweet time.

 

[DArtagnan]

I think the issue is that the game itself isn't all that great. It's Titan Quest in a new setting, which is fine, but it's not exactly a miracle.

 

[rune_74]

Yeah, I'm getting really tired of people who talk about how awesome they are and show some concept art all the while they take their own damn sweet time.

This is playable....not just concept art.

If only games could be made instantaneously.

Granted these guys have taken awhile, however weren't you a supporter of Vault dwellers game? He has been going for much longer.

 

[mercy]

Team has really cool monster designs!

 

[rossrjensen]

I think the issue is that the game itself isn't all that great. It's Titan Quest in a new setting, which is fine, but it's not exactly a miracle.

Well plenty of people out there consider Titan Quest to be one of the best action RPG's ever made. Grim Dawn adds factions and quest line C&C, which alone sets it apart. Don't be so cynical, that comment reeks of an "Oblivion with guns" attitude.

 

[Archangel]

I decided to go back to this game after more than 6 months of pause (last time I played was when Act 3 part 1 was out) with my Hellhound + Doombolt Occultist.
It is even more fun now than before. Seems the game runs a bit better now and higher levels (40+) are fun when you can actually max a few skills you wanted.

Whole Act 3 is out now, I am having fun clearing all the new content. There are some HUGE new maps, bigger than before. Since I like exploring, I am enjoying it.

And as mentioned, C&C is cool and so is factions system.

 

[DArtagnan]

Well plenty of people out there consider Titan Quest to be one of the best action RPG's ever made. Grim Dawn adds factions and quest line C&C, which alone sets it apart. Don't be so cynical, that comment reeks of an "Oblivion with guns" attitude.

Do I have to be cynical because I don't agree that Titan Quest is one of the best action RPGs ever made?

I liked it - and it WAS one of the better action RPGs upon release, but I don't think it holds up all that well these days.

 

[rossrjensen]

Do I have to be cynical because I don't agree that Titan Quest is one of the best action RPGs ever made?

I liked it - and it WAS one of the better action RPGs upon release, but I don't think it holds up all that well these days.

I don't think you're cynical for disagreeing that Titan quest is one of the best action RPG's out there, I think you're cynical for saying that as Grim Dawn is poor because it is the same thing.

 

[DArtagnan]

I don't think you're cynical for disagreeing that Titan quest is one of the best action RPG's out there, I think you're cynical for saying that as Grim Dawn is poor because it is the same thing.

Please point out to me where I've said it's poor.

 

[rossrjensen]

I think the issue is that the game itself isn't all that great.

I would say "not great" is, in modern language usage, most commonly meant to indicate substandard.

 

[Archangel]

What little I played of Titan Quest I didn't like it, but I loved Grim Dawn from the first moment.
Only things lacking in GD are teleport and some standard spells like Fireballs and Lightning and I would consider it best aRPG ever. But for now, I still rate D2 #1 (and GD #2).

 

[DArtagnan]

I would say "not great" is, in modern language usage, most commonly meant to indicate substandard.

Well, in my world, not all that great means exactly that. How about we stick to what words actually mean?

I think Grim Dawn is good, but not all that great.

 

[rossrjensen]

Well, in my world, not all that great means exactly that. How about we stick to what words actually mean?

I think Grim Dawn is good, but not all that great.

I think we can both agree that definitions are important. However, reality is probably more important.

 

[Roland]

For a small independent team I think they're doing a remarkable job. Really enjoy the game in it's current state.

If you look at the various Build releases you can see the amount of work and new design mechanics that have been created for the game.

Yes, I too feel that Titan Quest was a great and exceptional ARPG game, and still is imo

But Grim Dawn has progressed far beyond being simply a TQ clone re-skinned.

Just look at the latest Build notes. It's amazing what they're doing, alone with new creature designs and all the new landscape areas and textures.

I think it's a great game, by a great team and a great effort by designers that love what they do, love what they're creating and listen and appreciate their fans/players.

Can't get better than that imo

Here's the latest Build Patch notes just to highlight some of the new features that are now active in the game:

Roland

****************************************************************

http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22338

We are proud to announce that Build 26 has come ahead of schedule!

With this major update, Act 3 is now complete and you may venture forth beyond the northern walls of Homestead and into the Cult of Ch'thon's territory. You may now become an ally of either the Order of Death's Vigil or the Kymon's Chosen factions, or earn their hatred and spawn their Nemesis! Also with this update, the level cap has been increased to 50, granting you access to over 70 new Epic items.

While this build marks a major milestone for Grim Dawn, there are still many exciting things on the horizon as we push towards our end-of-the-year target release date for the full game. Future releases will include Legendary Items, the Devotion System, an unannounced 6th Mastery, and more!

We wish to thank all of our supporters who have helped us get this far. 2015 is an exciting year for Grim Dawn!

For a full list of B26 changes, see the full changelog below:

v0.3.4.5 (b26)

[Major New Features]
The Final Chapter of Act 3 is now available. Venture out to the north of Homestead and face off against the vile Cult of Ch'thon and their minions. Learn about what brought the Cult to the north and the cataclysmic plans they have in store for Cairn in Act 4!
Humanity will not survive through the efforts of just one individual. Join forces with the enigmatic Order of Death's Vigil or the zealous Kymon's Chosen factions and turn them into valuable allies in the battles ahead.
Two new Nemesis bosses have been added; one each for the Order of Death's Vigil and Kymon's Chosen factions.
The Level Cap has been increased to 50. Discover new loot and reach for ever greater power as you gain access to over 70 Epic items and class-specific Rare suffixes.

[Tech]
Critical Damage Bonus now visible on Character Sheet
Pet reputation levels sync with player's regularly instead of only on pet creation
Skill confirmation dialog changed back to not require confirmation in between mastery panels
Bonus items from dismantling now have a proper seed

[Art]
Updated Aether Crack terrain texture and Scattered bone Terrain Texture

[Game]
Boss and Hero monster health scaling adjusted. Should have minimal impact at the levels you normally fight individual bosses at, but improve scaling at higher levels.
Drop rate of Manticore eyes increased
Rifthounds have had their Component table replaced so that Bristly Furs will drop more consistently in the early game
Drop rate of Bristly Fur from Boneback rats has been increased
Bounty: Mortallis now spawns on the first 3 floors of Steps of Torment instead of the bottom 2 floors. Reward reduced.
Bounty: Lord Executioner has been replaced with a new target that does not require entry into the roguelike dungeon. Reward reduced.
Updated the requirements, rewards and text for various bounties. Some bounties may be reset because of this.
Fixed an issue that could cause players on any bounty to be stuck without a bounty and unable to accept another
Fixed Stone Clan Groble bleed dealing excessive damage
Sped up default cast animations by 8%
Fixed an issue with being unable to complete the Seamstress quest

[Itemization]
12 new Faction Augments have been added to support Pet builds
6 new Faction Augments have been added for Burn, Coldburn and Electrocute builds
Many older Monster Infrequents (MIs) have had their stats updated to bring them in line with more recently introduced MIs
Rare Suffix - Abomination: removed % Offensive Ability for real this time, added % Physical damage
Component - Arcane Spark: can now also be applied to Medals
Component - Mark of the Myrmidon: added 16% Reflect
Crafting - several blueprints have been updated to use Chthonic Seals of Binding instead of Aether Crystals. More blueprints will be introduced in the future that use this crafting material.
14 new Epics have been added to the loot pool in the 10-50 range

[Class & Skills]

Soldier
Warcry: now has tiered effects that scale in size to more accurately represent the skills effect radius. Radius increased.
Markovian's Advantage and Zolhan's Technique have been adjusted to provide a more fair value relative to other weapon pool skills, for their weight for point investment. They now increment to 25% prior to the level cap, then only bonuses increment.
Markovian's Advantage and Zolhan's Technique bonuses have been shifted around and rebalanced to be more in line with the number of targets each skill hits
Blade Arc: Bleed and % Weapon damage scaling increased
Break Morale: changed from % Total resistance reduction to absolute Physical resist reduction. The resistance reduction also scales up to about twice what the original provided.

Demolitionist
Fire Strike: Fire damage scaling with rank increased
Static Strike: base chance increased from 15% to 30%, scaling to 60% at max and 75% at ultimate. Damage adjusted to start lower but scale higher.
Quick Jacks: Lightning damage reduction increased to -30%, from -25%

Occultist
Wasting: Vitality damage increased
Black Death: Poison damage increased. Vitality and Bleed % damage bonuses increased
Sigil of Destruction: Chaos and Fire damage increased

Nightblade
Weapon-pool skill weights now all start at 8% and increment to 20% by level 5. Beyond that level, only the power of the skill increases.
Scaling on various weapon pool skills adjusted based on the higher starting weights and change of Nidalla's Hidden Hand to affect Belgothian's Shears and Amarasta's Quick Cut.
Belgothian's Shears %physical bonus changed to pierce so that it isn't self-boosting and flat physical scaled down slightly.
Amarasta's Quick Cut %weapon damage scales to a higher cap. Pierce damage also increased at cap but %pierce was removed.
Whirling Death %weapon damage starts lower but scales faster to reach within 5% of the than the original cap. Bleed damage scaling increased.
Ring of Steel: Pierce damage starts lower but scales faster to reach a higher max damage
Circle of Slaughter: Bleed damage significantly increased
Blade Trap: replaced % Weapon damage, which was actually not functioning, with flat Pierce damage. A significant damage increase for the skill. % Defensive Ability reduction now scales with rank, starting at -25%, instead of being -50% at all ranks.
Devouring Blades: added % Pierce bonus, reduced starting % Damage Converted to Health to 25%, from 33%
Frenetic Throw: Total damage reduction increased
Lethal Gambit: % Current Life damage minimum now scales up to 7% at max ranks instead of remaining at 1% at all ranks
Amarasta's Blade Burst: % Weapon damage now scales up to 75%, up from 50%
Merciless Repertoire: % damage bonuses increased. Added % Acid damage bonus

Arcanist
Panetti's Replicating Missile: slightly increased scaling, more so at rank 13 and above
Distortion: slightly increased Aether damage scaling with rank, with a bump at rank 12. Added % Fire damage
Supercharged: % Elemental damage bonus increased with rank
Proliferation: now starts at 2 additional fragments, % Aether damage bonus increased with rank
Sky Shard: area of effect scaling increased, but energy cost increased with rank as well
__________________
***Waste of Souls***

 

[DArtagnan]

I think we can both agree that definitions are important. However, reality is probably more important.

I'd agree that asking for a clear definition if you're in doubt about words is more productive than assuming the worst case scenario.