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Grim Dawn is a pretty fun Diablo-like (hexbear.net)
submitted 1 day ago by LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net to c/games@hexbear.net
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My partner got it for me a week or two ago because it was on sale for $3 and it's been a lot of fun so far. Reading about it kind of put me off from it because I thought the class/skill progression would be more similar to Path of Exile, but it's not. Basically at level 1 and level 10 you get to pick a class, but each class has its own set skill tree. For some reason the description I'd initially read made me think there'd be more granular customization of skills instead, which I wouldn't really like (because if I'm just mixing/matching whatever I want, it's hard for me to feel like my character is whatever class they're supposed to be? idk)

I would say it's actually A LOT more fun than path of exile and that the only thing POE does better is allow WASD + Mouse movement but maybe that's just a testament to how much I really, really hate POE's class/skill progression (OH BOY, I LEVELED UP. TIME TO PUT MY >>>ONE<<< SKILL POINT INTO: 0.2% HEALTH REGEN PER SECOND!! WOW)

I wouldn't say it's necessarily worth buying at full price but it's 10000% worth it if you like Diablo esque ARPGs and it goes on $3 sale again

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[-] Leon_Grotsky@hexbear.net 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Longtime Grim Dawn prosyletizer here, and I have to shout out that if you liked Grim Dawn mechanically speaking, and don't mind 20+ year old games (chomsky-yes-honey) , give Titan Quest a shot! The first big hit by the same devs when they still worked for THQ/Relic (kitty-birthday-sad )

E) There's even a halfway decent mobile port of the game I played for a bit that IIRC only cost like $8.00 usd

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 7 points 1 day ago

yeah I remember liking it but I only played it for a little while

TQ is the only game where I literally bought a physical copy but then it didn't work so I had to pirate it and use the CD key, lol

I want to try TQ2 but it's too big for the space I have left (although i DID just realize POE2 is taking up like 130gb) and I feel like I'll be disappointed by it only having 5 masteries

[-] Runcible@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It feels very dated to the point where I would recommend grim dawn for gameplay or TQ1 if you just want it to be bright

[-] hotspur@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago

It’s honestly one of the best AARPGs I’ve played in a long time, lots of interesting build combos, satisfying gearing, and the campaign is interesting enough (given that you’ll have to replay it quite a bit.)

That said, it’s one of those games where the DLC aren’t really optional, as they sort of complete the game. Luckily there’s only 2 (with a third on the horizon) and they aren’t usually that expensive.

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago

I literally can't stop starting new characters to try different builds

my one criticism is I wish it'd just show me my class combo on the character select screen. I made a second "druid" last night because I didn't realize I already had an arcanist/shaman :|

[-] hotspur@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

Yes, this is a problem I had as well—trying to remember what I was, especially for the first 20-30 levels as usually you don’t need to have your second class locked until then. And Syrah so many different combinations, it’s draw for the sure of trying out new combos and equipment that supports that.

My only complaint is probably that “endgame” involves grinding for some set of gear that wasn’t available prior to completing the campaign, and there are some rift-esque activities, but basically you achieve the super cool gear and you’re sorta done, you do t have a lot of activities to use that gear for other than the random rift like thing and the super/secret bosses, which mostly serve as trophies to demonstrate the power level you’ve achieved with the good gear. But because there’s so many cool class combos it really wasn’t a problem for me, I would usually just start up a new character.

[-] AFineWayToDie@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago

I prefer Path of Exile myself, but I'm more used to the feel of the skill/class progression system, and Grim Dawn allows for a lot of flexibility while not requiring multiple spreadsheets like PoE does.

Grim Dawn is a good medium between PoE's complexity and the more straightforward Diablo games.

[-] crusa187@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 day ago

Agreed.

I’ll say this though, the atmosphere in grim dawn is excellent for a dark and gritty hack’n slash. Speaking purely aesthetics, it’s a serious contender for best of the 3 imho.

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I just can't make myself love path of exile. the more I think the more this post is gonna be an anti POE post lmao

like when I loaded it up for the first time in a year last night I was like, wow, only two new classes, still??

played for like five minutes, leveled up a couple times, and had 0 desire to keep it up because all the next skill points I foresaw using would go into nonsense like "+10% damage" or "0.2% hp regen/sec" and it's just like, yawn, boring

and other skills are tied to equipment or slots which I hate in a game about looting equipment because then I'll inevitably get tied to using one piece of gear until the point the calculus on whether something is an upgrade becomes murky enough that I'm just like "fuck it"

[-] AFineWayToDie@hexbear.net 1 points 1 day ago

I've failed to convince more than one Diablo fan to try PoE, and if PoE wasn't already too dense for most new players to crack, the dozens of league mechanics make it pretty much impenetrable. I doubt I'd be able to get into if I were trying it for the first time now, rather than having played on and off for more than ten years.

[-] Chulk@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I couldn't ever get into POE1, but POE2 is great.

The passive tree has a lot of the mundane nodes as you mention, but there are some that completely change your class (or even brick it). Each class has 2-3 ascension classes that bring uniqueness too.

The skill/gem system are also no longer tied to gear (which I absolutely hated).

As someone who grew up playing thousands of hours of D2:LOD, PoE2 is a worthy alternative.

[-] LeZero@hexbear.net 1 points 2 hours ago

To be fair, your comment on the passive and ascensions applies in the exact same way to PoE1

The skill system no being tied to equipment was a great change (although allowing only one of a kind of support gem feels pretty bad, even if it's the way they balance the new skill system)

[-] Acute_Engles@hexbear.net 7 points 1 day ago

No ARPG has been able to hook me like diablo 2 did and every one I play doesn't hit the same spot. Still playing off and on to this day

[-] Belly_Beanis@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago

I miss PvP and no other game comes close to what D2 had. Sometimes I think about picking it back up again, but the botters and duping is a pain in the ass to deal with.

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago

there's apparently a mod I haven't tried that turns Grim Dawn into Diablo 2 but you can still cross-class so you can be a Necromancer/Paladin etc

[-] take_five_moments@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

grim dawn is great, i definitely like it more than POE, but even with a bunch of hours in it i suffer from the "can't see shit" syndrome when playing, it lacks a lot of contrast and a lot of environments have similar palates so stuff doesn't pop as much as i would like. idk i'm not sure if others have the same issue.

[-] SickSemper@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago

Love grim dawn, basically addicted to getting to lvl 50 and making a new class combo

[-] Grebgreb@hexbear.net 2 points 1 day ago

Grim dawn is amazing and I think it's the best arpg since probably Diablo 2.

I would say it's actually A LOT more fun than path of exile

absolutely. last time i played poe it was too bloated, online-only, full mtx spam, ran pretty poorly, and you had to buy stash tabs. it was also full of tedium like having to unlock the lab every league.

Malmouth gives you xp pots; Forgotten gods gives you an option to unlock skill/devotion points, quest rewards, and rifstones from the first two difficulties, so you can chop a lot of the tedium in replays down if you want.

They're working on a new expansion too so there's going to be another class, potion customization, and a new gamemode/difficulty to make farming the story mode more rewarding.

this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2026
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