Grim Dawn - Introducing the Crucible

In number 99 of the Grim Misadventures some information is provided about the upcoming DLC The Crucible.

Grim Misadventures returns with a bang. Last time we left you with a teaser, a little taste of what was on the horizon for Grim Dawn: The Crucible. Today, we will detail just what’s in store for you with Grim Dawn’s upcoming DLC content.

Back during the Kickstarter, one of the campaign’s final stretch goals was the unlocking of what we then called Survival Mode. It was described as follows: “In survival mode players will fight to stay alive against increasingly difficult waves of monsters.” At its core, the new Crucible mode embodies this statement, but it also delivers so much more as you tackle its 150 waves.

Push On, or Cash Out
In the Crucible, death marks the end (especially true for Hardcore players). Every 10 waves of enemies, you have to make a difficult choice: continue on for the next 10 encounters for a chance of greater reward, or cash out what you’ve earned and not risk your own demise.

Should you perish, you cannot continue and the treasure will be reduced substantially.

Earn Tributes
Tributes are the currency of the Crucible, earned only through bloody combat. How you spend your hard-earned Tributes is up to you:

• Activate powerful Celestial Blessings to give you an edge in battle
• Create devious Defenses to aid you in combat
• Gamble them away for better rewards

Battle Across Multiple Arenas
The Crucible is a cruel place where even the mightiest heroes meet their match. But we couldn’t stop with just one deadly arena. Crucible mode will feature several battlegrounds, each with a different layout and defensive positions.

Overcome Cruel Mutators
Mutators are global effects applied to all monsters or players, each one a unique twist that strengthens monsters/players in one way, but weakens them in another. As you progress through the Crucible, additional Mutators will be applied, and every 10 waves they will be re-randomized.

Three Difficulty Modes
The Crucible will test your characters like nothing has before as you battle through the Aspirant, Challenger and Gladiator difficulties. Defeating 100 waves on a difficulty unlocks access to the next, where greater rewards (but also greater challenges) await.

The Crucible DLC is coming later this summer (pricing to be determined at launch). As a special thank you to those who have been with us at the beginning of Grim Dawn’s journey, everyone who purchased the game through our website prior to/during the Kickstarter, or through the Kickstarter campaign itself, will receive the DLC for FREE.

Beyond the horizon, you can also look forward to more free content updates for Grim Dawn, as well as the expansion, which is yet to be unveiled. Release of the Crucible will coincide with patch 1.0.0.5, which will include a balance/tuning pass.