Grim Dawn offers a rich and complex system for character building, allowing players to experiment with a variety of classes and skill combinations. One of the most popular and versatile builds is the Necromancer Occultist hybrid, which blends summoning, vitality damage, and elemental attacks into a potent spellcasting and pet-centered setup. This build allows players to command armies of undead minions while wielding devastating occult powers to weaken, poison, and burn enemies. The synergy between the Necromancer and Occultist classes creates a gameplay style that is both strategic and highly rewarding, giving players multiple ways to approach combat and explore the game’s vast, dark world.
Understanding the Necromancer Occultist Combo
The Necromancer class specializes in summoning and empowering skeletal minions, using vitality-based skills to drain life from enemies and bolster survivability. On the other hand, the Occultist provides access to chaos damage, poison, and defensive abilities, adding flexibility and utility to the Necromancer’s offensive capabilities. Combining these two classes results in a character that excels at both summoning and direct damage, making it a formidable choice for both solo and group play. This hybrid setup allows the player to balance minion management with powerful debuffs and ranged attacks, creating a versatile and engaging combat experience.
Core Skills for the Build
When building a Necromancer Occultist character, focusing on complementary skills ensures maximum efficiency. The main skills to consider include
- Skeletal SoldiersThis Necromancer skill allows you to summon undead minions that deal consistent damage and tank enemies, keeping you safe in the backline.
- Raise SkeletonsIncreases your army’s size, giving you more control over battlefield engagements.
- Bone HarvestA high-damage vitality skill that scales well with gear and devotion bonuses, effective against both single targets and groups.
- Curse of FrailtyFrom the Occultist class, this skill weakens enemies’ defenses, increasing damage dealt by both your minions and your direct attacks.
- Blood of DreegProvides healing and offensive buffs, synergizing with the Necromancer’s vitality skills to maintain sustain during prolonged fights.
- Sigil of ConsumptionOffers area-of-effect damage and healing, adding crowd control and survivability to the build.
Devotion Path and Synergy
In addition to skill selection, choosing the right devotion path is critical for maximizing the Necromancer Occultist build. Focus on constellations that enhance vitality, summon damage, and resistances. Key devotion targets include
- GhoulIncreases health regeneration for both you and your minions, enhancing survivability.
- BatImproves attack speed and energy regeneration, allowing more frequent use of skills like Bone Harvest and Sigil of Consumption.
- Rattosh, the VeilwardenBoosts summon damage and vitality damage, synergizing perfectly with the Necromancer’s core skills.
- Ulzaad, the MistbornOffers chaos damage and defense bonuses, supporting the Occultist’s offensive and defensive capabilities.
Gear Priorities
Equipping the right gear is essential for maximizing the hybrid Necromancer Occultist build. Focus on items that increase summon damage, vitality damage, and defensive stats. Some key considerations include
- Weapons and off-hand items that boost summon and vitality damage.
- Armor that provides resistances to vitality, poison, and chaos damage to mitigate incoming threats.
- Accessories that enhance skill cooldown reduction, energy regeneration, and overall survivability.
- Set items that increase minion effectiveness, allowing your army to deal substantial damage and absorb hits efficiently.
Early Game Progression
During the early game, prioritize summoning skills to create a reliable front line of minions. Use basic Necromancer skills like Raise Skeletons and Skeletal Soldiers to clear low-level enemies quickly. Pair these with Occultist spells to apply poison, chaos, and vitality damage, which softens tougher enemies. Focus on leveling up Bone Harvest early to improve your direct damage output, and use Blood of Dreeg to sustain yourself through difficult encounters. Positioning is crucial, as your minions will absorb the majority of damage, allowing you to safely cast offensive and debuff skills.
Mid-Game Strategy
Once you reach mid-game, the Necromancer Occultist build becomes more powerful as skill synergy and gear come into play. At this stage, focus on expanding your minion army and upgrading key skills with points in Bone Harvest, Sigil of Consumption, and Curse of Frailty. Use your minions strategically to block enemy attacks and channel spells from a safe distance. This hybrid approach allows you to handle large groups of enemies while keeping your character relatively safe. Devotion bonuses and upgraded gear further increase your damage output and survivability, making you a significant threat in most encounters.
Late Game Considerations
In the late game, the Necromancer Occultist build reaches its full potential. Maximize minion numbers, invest in high-damage vitality and chaos skills, and use Sigil of Consumption for area control. Equip legendary gear that boosts summon damage and vitality or chaos resistances to survive endgame encounters. Focus on debuffing powerful bosses with Curse of Frailty while your minions and Bone Harvest work to bring them down. Careful positioning and resource management, especially energy, are crucial for sustaining both offensive and defensive abilities during long battles.
Tips for Mastering the Build
- Always keep minions in front of you to absorb damage and block projectiles.
- Rotate between Bone Harvest and Sigil of Consumption to maintain consistent damage output and healing.
- Invest in gear that improves energy regeneration to reduce downtime between skills.
- Prioritize constellations that enhance vitality and summon damage for maximum synergy.
- Use Curse of Frailty proactively on elite or boss enemies to amplify damage from all sources.
- Keep an eye on positioning to avoid AoE damage that can wipe out minions quickly.
The Grim Dawn Necromancer Occultist build offers a flexible and powerful playstyle that combines summoning, vitality damage, and elemental attacks. By carefully selecting skills like Skeletal Soldiers, Bone Harvest, and Sigil of Consumption, and synergizing them with Occultist spells such as Curse of Frailty and Blood of Dreeg, players can create a deadly hybrid character. Strategic devotion choices and optimal gear selection further enhance this build’s effectiveness, making it suitable for both solo and group play. Mastering this build involves balancing minion management, skill rotation, and positioning, allowing players to dominate the battlefield while enjoying a dynamic and rewarding experience in Grim Dawn.
With the right approach, the Necromancer Occultist hybrid can handle nearly any challenge in Grim Dawn, providing a compelling combination of summoner tactics and powerful spellcasting that makes it one of the most versatile and fun builds in the game.