Masteries that synergize with soldier & physical damage

[Siddha]

I want to choose a second mastery for my soldier and I am uncertain which
I have considered Nightblade and Shaman
I want to boost physical damage and have defence and physical resistance debuffs
Or maybe there are other considerations I am unaware of - I'm a beginner
??

[Burusagi]

Originally posted by Siddha:

I want to boost physical damage and have defence and physical resistance debuffs

Honestly, you'll get all that from Soldier alone. Using Cadence+Charge+Warcry (with the Physical Resistance debuff added to it).

What you should look at with your second class is basically what they bring to complement this. Buffs and heals and whatnot. Honestly, Soldier works pretty well with any other class in that regard.

Blademaster (Soldier + Nightblade) is pretty straightforward: use the buffs and auto-attack enhancer passives (such as Execution) in combination with the Soldier skills mentioned above.

[Tenko]

try the demolistionist then! it has amazing synergies with the soldier. maybe this build tier list can help: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1so3T0si4RPFQ7n0i54tuirJCx6_yA2_MaJXb50xOYRo/edit

[terry]

I was doing all physical type damage at first but after reading some and running into a couple problems with things that have high physical resist i figured it would be best to get a fairly strong second type of damage. So i picked up demo and went with fire strike(and its xmuters), and done away with cadence. Its working out pretty well(i do have a lot of +%physical damage on my gear though) and i think it will only get better as i get a little more +% damage to increase the fire strike damage.

[KG]

For physical damage Witchblade (Soldier + Occultist) is pretty much the default best choice. Curse of Frailty debuffs physical res. Blood of Dreeg + Aspect of the Guardian give huge poison res, good physical res, a bunch of OA, and extra regen. You rely on Soldier for your offense - Cadence, Forcewave, Blade Arc, or Charge - which one depending on where you are in the game, what gear you're using or you find, etc.

If I were to choose another class for generic physical damage with soldier I'd need a specific reason to do so.

[Burusagi]

Originally posted by terry:

I was doing all physical type damage at first but after reading some and running into a couple problems with things that have high physical resist i figured it would be best to get a fairly strong second type of damage. So i picked up demo and went with fire strike(and its xmuters), and done away with cadence. Its working out pretty well(i do have a lot of +%physical damage on my gear though) and i think it will only get better as i get a little more +% damage to increase the fire strike damage.

Quite the opposite actually. Physical is the best damage type in the game simply because of how universally low the enemy resists across the board is against it (not to mention how easy it is to debuff it).

It has no enemies super strong against it, nor any enemies super weak against it like the others.

[GuineaGamer]

Interesting. I just bought this game. Then....bought the DLC. I believe I am hooked! I made a Shaman/Soldier for my first character. Hopefully I didn't bollocks it up.

[Zeddicuus]

I don't think it's possible to mess up just with a class combo, RealGuineaGamer. Trial and error for your playstyle seems to come from how you want to mix the various skills of both classes. I think Shaman is supposed to have some very powerful two handed weapon skills, which would work great with the physical damage boosts from being a Soldier.

Good luck!

[Siddha]

Thanks for the replies folks
I will consider your suggestions

Originally posted by Alcohol Fueled Brewtality:

Originally posted by Siddha:

I want to boost physical damage and have defence and physical resistance debuffs

Honestly, you'll get all that from Soldier alone. Using Cadence+Charge+Warcry (with the Physical Resistance debuff added to it).

What you should look at with your second class is basically what they bring to complement this. Buffs and heals and whatnot. Honestly, Soldier works pretty well with any other class in that regard.

Blademaster (Soldier + Nightblade) is pretty straightforward: use the buffs and auto-attack enhancer passives (such as Execution) in combination with the Soldier skills mentioned above.

There is no Soldier skill - Charge; I presume you must have meant Blitz
Yes I am seriously considering Nightblade - Veil of Shadow looks good

Originally posted by honeypuff:

try the demolistionist then! it has amazing synergies with the soldier. maybe this build tier list can help: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1so3T0si4RPFQ7n0i54tuirJCx6_yA2_MaJXb50xOYRo/edit

Thank you for that doc link - excellent resource which I will study

Originally posted by KG:

For physical damage Witchblade (Soldier + Occultist) is pretty much the default best choice. Curse of Frailty debuffs physical res. Blood of Dreeg + Aspect of the Guardian give huge poison res, good physical res, a bunch of OA, and extra regen. You rely on Soldier for your offense - Cadence, Forcewave, Blade Arc, or Charge - which one depending on where you are in the game, what gear you're using or you find, etc.

If I were to choose another class for generic physical damage with soldier I'd need a specific reason to do so.

Yes Occultist is also on my shortlist - thanks

Originally posted by RealGuineaGamer:

Interesting. I just bought this game. Then....bought the DLC. I believe I am hooked! I made a Shaman/Soldier for my first character. Hopefully I didn't bollocks it up.

Lol!
That is how it went for me too; I got hooked just before xmas :)
Damn game is addictive

[Fendelphi]

Lot of ways for the Soldier to further Physical damage. How you go about it depends on what type of style you want(dual wielding, 2-handed, 1-handed+shield), and if you focus on auto attacks or abilities.

Typically, all class combos can work, depending on what aspect you want from them. Even the Arcanist(arguably the most magical of all classes) can be used to boost physical damage and increase your survivability("Arcane Will" and "Absolute Zero" to boost offense, and "Mirror of Ereoctes" and "Maiven's Sphere of Protection" for defense).

This is a build I just theory crafted in about 5 minutes(no Devotions, sorry). It is basically a hit and run two-handed build with a lot of AoE and decent control. Becomes specially strong if you takes a bit of damage(as it can trigger both Arcane Will and Fighting Spirit, for +330% total damage on all your attacks/abilities). You also have access to 2 AoE physical resistance debuffs.
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/mN4wYGxZ

[Siddha]

Thanks Fendelphi

[undefined]

My vote goes to Demolitionist. You could also get some nice DoT with physical trauma, not to mention the buff at the top of the tree (forgot the name) gives +% physical among other things. Plus there's some nice retaliation synergy as well. Good luck!

[Burusagi]

Originally posted by Siddha:

Thanks for the replies folks
I will consider your suggestions

Originally posted by Alcohol Fueled Brewtality:

Honestly, you'll get all that from Soldier alone. Using Cadence+Charge+Warcry (with the Physical Resistance debuff added to it).

What you should look at with your second class is basically what they bring to complement this. Buffs and heals and whatnot. Honestly, Soldier works pretty well with any other class in that regard.

Blademaster (Soldier + Nightblade) is pretty straightforward: use the buffs and auto-attack enhancer passives (such as Execution) in combination with the Soldier skills mentioned above.

There is no Soldier skill - Charge; I presume you must have meant Blitz
Yes I am seriously considering Nightblade - Veil of Shadow looks good

Yeah, Blitz. It is the kind of skill most games would simply call Charge (cuz it is what it does, lol) so I got confuzzled.

And yeh, Nightblade is fun. If there is such a thing as a "main" in Grim Dawn, mine is a Reaper (Necro+Nightlbade). Very fun and effective.

[Siddha]

Originally posted by Alcohol Fueled Brewtality:

Originally posted by Siddha:

Thanks for the replies folks
I will consider your suggestions




There is no Soldier skill - Charge; I presume you must have meant Blitz
Yes I am seriously considering Nightblade - Veil of Shadow looks good

Yeah, Blitz. It is the kind of skill most games would simply call Charge (cuz it is what it does, lol) so I got confuzzled.

And yeh, Nightblade is fun. If there is such a thing as a "main" in Grim Dawn, mine is a Reaper (Necro+Nightlbade). Very fun and effective.

At the moment (lvl 32) I use Blitz and Forcewave as my main attacks
And I have Brutal Slam (Severed Claw) on my 2h weapon - 330% weapon damage etc
I use hit & run tactics; especially with heroes and bosses - so a very active style of gameplay
Up to this point I have no experience with any other mastery - so very much a beginner

Coming to grips with the complexities of the game and crafting a character is a lot of fun
Choosing my second mastery is a big decision which cannot be undone
so I want to be sure

[Siddha]

Originally posted by Hadley:

My vote goes to Demolitionist. You could also get some nice DoT with physical trauma, not to mention the buff at the top of the tree (forgot the name) gives +% physical among other things. Plus there's some nice retaliation synergy as well. Good luck!

The thing about Demolitionist is the emphasis on fire damage
I dont want to split my damage

[Fendelphi]

Originally posted by Siddha:

Originally posted by Hadley:

My vote goes to Demolitionist. You could also get some nice DoT with physical trauma, not to mention the buff at the top of the tree (forgot the name) gives +% physical among other things. Plus there's some nice retaliation synergy as well. Good luck!

The thing about Demolitionist is the emphasis on fire damage
I dont want to split my damage

While that is partially true, you dont have to pick the fire damage skills. Just pick the ones that directly increase your physical damage potential(either through buffs or an extra high physical damage skill to add to your arsenal, like Grenado).