Smuggler's Pass - #18 - Hardcore Veteran Soldier - Grim Dawn (v1.0.0.5)

Series playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPo00Kvl9Ha3pRCCfIFkhNERSrBW4myLY&playnext=1 Curious what changed in Grim Dawn version 1.0.0.8? Check out my patch notes review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCkXRPqJCa0 In this playthrough I'm going to see what the Soldier class in Grim Dawn has to offer. We're going with a shield and whatever melee weapon works best in our other hand, focusing heavily on defense and damage reflection/retaliation. I accidentally created this as a hardcore character, but I'm going to run with it and see how far we can make it. *Build outline* Soldier base build: http://grimcalc.com/build/1009-l7nHIE This build is going to focus heavily on all the defensive passive skills the Soldier class has to offer. Our main attack skill will be Cadence, supported by Markovian's Advantage. Overguard will be our "panic" button to bolster our defenses and boost our life regeneration. Counter Strike will be our AoE mob clearing skill, along with retaliation damage from our gear and Devotions. For gear, our priorities will be to get high armour, so we focus on Physique as our primary stat so we can equip it. Next, we want to maximize our resistances and get a big life pool with high life regeneration. Rule of thumb: if you can't stand still and tank a purple boss, you need more life regen. 100-150 regen per difficulty is a good number to keep in mind. Our shield will help us mitigate a lot of incoming damage by blocking 70% or more of all attacks. For offense, we only have one hand, so our DPS in boss fights is going to be lower than a dedicated aggressive build. Luckily, high regen with a large health pool and defensive procs makes us nearly immortal in obss fights, so victory will be inevitable anyway. Damage reflection and retaliation is great for trash mobs, but bosses attack too slowly to really capitalize on this. Cadence helps a lot here. *Second class* Your second class gives you 50 mastery points which greatly enhance your life and stats, so you need it to increase survivability from Elite difficulty onwards. Our base Soldier build will be done at level 43, after which we focus on our second class. Our focus on damage retaliation and tankiness means there are two obvious second classes: Demolitionist and Shaman. The Demolitionist just wants to see the world burn, and incidentally has a some nice defensive tools at his disposal as well. Blast Shield, Flame Touched/Temper... we need to stretch our skills wide in order to make something of this. We gain a powerful damage shield and an offensive aura with retaliation bonuses, so it's worth it. Commando (Soldier + Demolitionist): http://grimcalc.com/build/1009-kc7xVJ *Devotion Tree* - 1 pt, White starter - 5 pts, Tortoise: defense, health, dmg absorption proc (1 white, gives 2 white, 3 blue) - Refund White starter (-1 pt) - 3 pts, Hound: physique/retaliation (1 blue, gives 4 blue) - 5 pts, Dryad: health, poison res, heal proc (1 white, gives 3 white) - Total: 13 pts, 5 white, 7 blue - 7 pts, Targo the Builder: defense, health, armour, +dmg blocked, proc reflect (4 white, 6 blue, gives 1 white) - Total: 20 pts, 7 white, 7 blue - 1pt, Purple starter - 5 pts, Wolverine: defensive ability, retaliation (1 purple, gives 6 purple) - Refund purple starter (-1 pt) - 6 pts, Messenger of War: retaliation, reflection (3 purple, 7 blue, gives 2 red, 3 blue) - Total: 31 pts, 7 white, 10 blue, 7 purple, 2 red - 6 pts, Shieldmaiden: block/retaliation (4 white, 6 blue, gives 2 white, 3 blue) - Total 37 pts, 9 white, 13 blue, 7 purple, 2 red - 3 pts, Lizard: health regen (1 blue, gives 4 blue) - 7 pts, Obelisk of Menhir: defense/block/retaliation, block proc effect (8 white, 15 blue) - Total 47 pts - Last 3 pts into Scales of Ulcama, towards 30% total damage node. *About Grim Dawn* Grim Dawn is an Action RPG set in a world where the zombie apocalypse happened, where humanity is scattered and under attack from all sides. Technology seems on par with fantasy victorian times: there are guns, but there is also a lot of magic. - Game website: http://grimdawn.com/ - Steam store page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/219990/ *My Info* - YouTube: https://youtube.com/narnach - Twitch.tv: https://twitch.tv/narnach - Twitter: https://twitter.com/narnach - Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/narnach?sub_confirmation=1 I record Let's Play video game series about Action RPGs and strategy games. I love simulation and programming games as well, though they play a smaller part on my channel. I'm an analytical player, so my playthrough will be filled with English commentary analyzing the game, comparing and contrasting it with others, and trying to understand the mechanics behind the game. If you are a developer, feel free to reach out if you want me to look at your game!