In Grim Dawn, the Occultist class is known for its versatility, strong elemental and chaos damage, and ability to summon pets. Choosing the best Occultist build can make the difference between breezing through content and struggling against endgame bosses. Whether you prefer casting powerful spells, summoning minions, or mixing elemental and poison attacks, the right build can optimize your damage output, survivability, and overall effectiveness. Understanding skill synergies, devotion setups, and equipment choices is crucial for creating a high-performing Occultist character that can handle both solo and multiplayer challenges.
Why the Occultist is Popular
The Occultist in Grim Dawn is a flexible class that excels in damage over time, debuffs, and summoning. Many players are drawn to the Occultist because it allows for both offensive and defensive strategies, making it viable for various playstyles. With access to skills like Curse of Frailty, Blood of Dreeg, and Summon Familiar, an Occultist can weaken enemies, boost survivability, and control the battlefield. This versatility also allows for hybrid builds that combine elemental, acid, and chaos damage, making the class effective against different types of enemies in the game.
Key Skills for an Effective Occultist Build
To maximize the effectiveness of an Occultist, focus on a combination of offensive and defensive skills. Some essential skills include
- Blood of DreegA vital skill for sustain, it provides healing and boosts offensive capabilities when combined with passive abilities.
- Summon FamiliarA strong minion that adds additional damage and can distract enemies, improving survivability.
- Curse of FrailtyThis debuff increases the damage enemies take, amplifying the effectiveness of your other skills and pets.
- PossessionGrants a temporary boost to damage, health regeneration, and casting speed, making it essential in challenging encounters.
- Dreeg’s Evil EyeProvides additional chaos and elemental damage, ideal for hybrid builds.
Popular Occultist Build Types
There are several highly effective builds for the Occultist class in Grim Dawn, each catering to different playstyles. Choosing the best Occultist build depends on whether you prefer direct damage, damage over time, or summoning minions to do the heavy lifting.
Pet-Focused Occultist Builds
Pet builds leverage the Summon Familiar skill and various passive bonuses to maximize damage output while keeping the player relatively safe. This build emphasizes survivability, as pets absorb incoming damage while dealing consistent elemental or chaos damage. Key skills for a pet-focused build include
- Summon Familiar – your main pet for damage and distraction.
- Blood of Dreeg – increases sustain and provides additional damage over time.
- Curse of Frailty – amplifies the damage output of both the player and pets.
- Vile Eruption or Acid Spray – to support pets and deal additional area damage.
Chaos Damage Occultist Builds
Chaos builds focus on dealing massive damage over time and burst damage using chaos-based skills like Dreeg’s Evil Eye and Possession. These builds often combine curses with high chaos damage weapons to melt through bosses and strong enemies. A typical chaos build prioritizes skills that boost offensive stats and reduce enemy resistances. Essential skills include
- Dreeg’s Evil Eye – primary source of chaos damage.
- Curse of Frailty – reduces enemy defenses, increasing overall damage output.
- Possession – provides a temporary power boost in tough fights.
- Blood of Dreeg – sustain skill that ensures you remain in the fight longer.
Elemental and Acid Hybrid Builds
Hybrid builds mix elemental and acid damage, making them versatile against different enemy types. Acid Spray, Vile Eruption, and Dreeg’s Evil Eye synergize well with the Occultist’s passives to provide consistent damage over time. Players often pair this build with devotions that enhance elemental or acid damage to maximize efficiency. Recommended skills for hybrid builds include
- Acid Spray – primary skill for damage over time.
- Vile Eruption – strong area of effect skill that complements acid damage.
- Curse of Frailty – debuff that increases the effectiveness of elemental and acid attacks.
- Blood of Dreeg – sustain skill that enhances both survivability and damage output.
Optimizing Devotions for Occultist Builds
Devotion choices are essential for any Grim Dawn build. Occultists benefit from devotions that enhance damage over time, survivability, and elemental or chaos damage. Some effective devotion paths include
- Widow – provides bonus poison and acid damage, ideal for hybrid or pet builds.
- Rat – enhances offensive capabilities and offers defensive utility.
- Solael’s Witchblade – increases chaos and fire damage, supporting chaos-based builds.
- Blazing Ray or Fiend – improves overall damage output and attack speed.
Equipment Considerations
Choosing the right gear is crucial for maximizing an Occultist’s potential. Focus on items that increase your primary damage type, boost energy regeneration, and improve resistances. Weapons with acid, chaos, or elemental bonuses, along with defensive armor that increases health and energy, are highly recommended. Additionally, rings and amulets that enhance skill levels, casting speed, or damage over time effects can significantly boost performance.
Tips for Solo and Multiplayer Play
When building the best Occultist, consider the context of play. In solo play, a mix of sustain, damage, and survivability ensures you can handle various encounters. Pets are particularly valuable for solo players, as they provide additional damage and absorb enemy attacks. In multiplayer, focusing on offensive skills and debuffs may be more effective, as teammates can handle crowd control and support.
Survivability Tips
Even with high damage, survivability is key for endgame content. Prioritize skills like Blood of Dreeg and Possession for healing and temporary buffs. Avoid standing in dangerous areas and use summons or pets to tank enemies. Enhancing resistances through gear and devotions also helps manage difficult encounters.
The best Occultist build in Grim Dawn depends on your preferred playstyle, whether focusing on pets, chaos damage, or hybrid elemental builds. Key skills like Blood of Dreeg, Curse of Frailty, Possession, and Summon Familiar provide a solid foundation for damage and survivability. Optimizing devotions and equipment enhances your overall effectiveness, while strategic positioning ensures success in both solo and multiplayer modes. By understanding skill synergies, gearing correctly, and choosing the right devotion paths, you can create an Occultist build that dominates enemies, excels in endgame content, and remains a favorite among Grim Dawn players.