I don't think having this many resistances/damage types is really a good thing.

[TheBlueBomber343]

Alright, so I get that tons of RPGs include various resistances and damage types, but I'm not really that type of thing is really needed for this game.

You don't really get much choice over what enemies you have to fight, so it's not as if you can really focus on a single damage type or resistance. This means that you're mostly forced to balance out resistances or accept that some enemies will just do massive damage to you due to you lacking some resistance.

I think this system would be just fine in a game where the main difference between different attacks was purely their damage type, and the main difference between armor was resistance type... But it's not that way in this game. Almost every attack in this game is fairly unique, and almost every viable armor piece has some unique buff (in late game).

Due to this, I rarely prioritize resistance over anything else. When am I going to take the piece of armor with more well rounded resistance values, over the piece of armor that gives me +2 to some commonly used skill or %-On-Hit effect.

What about the simple 'Armor' value though? That's alright, I'm okay with that one. I feel like rather than having all these resistance types, they should all just be combined into that single 'Armor' value. I'd even be fine with having 'Melee Armor', and 'Ranged Armor'. That way different play-styles could have armor types that suit them. That'd actually be interesting and fun. The problem with the current system is that you aren't really choosing resistances depending on your play-style. You're just balancing them so you don't get obliterated by the random enemy who does that damage type.

Sorry about this post being kinda all over the place, but hopefully it gets my thoughts across fairly clearly. But hey, what it might lack in clarity, it makes up for in length. :)

[gNuff!~©~gNom3™]

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

Due to this, I rarely prioritize resistance over anything else. When am I going to take the piece of armor with more well rounded resistance values, over the piece of armor that gives me +2 to some commonly used skill or %-On-Hit effect.

aaaand that's what we call a classic example of "wrong" stat prioritization folks
now, during normal, to some extend potentially even parts of elite, that's not necessarily the biggest of issues/"possibly manageable", but for Ultimate, specially late or endgame content you want those resist, dare i say need them,
and the game being balanced around it; means it's not an issue or bother to get them, so not getting them is player's own decision to gimp themselves, they are available and simple to get

anyways, resist being a core/main defence vs multiple dmg types isn't really necessarily that related/as related as you may think,
you can easily have a game where you have way less dmg types, but you still need to focus in resist, and max them, and then being more sparse to obtain because of being fewer dmg types, effectively ending up in the status quo anyway

devs have however agreed that Grim Dawn probably ended up with too many dmg types, and if/when GD2 were to happen they'd probably trim it down a fair bit
^whether or not that means they're gonna shift focus on resist being your primary dmg mitigation i don't think there was any mentions of tho

[Violesta]

Over on Nexus is a mod for GD called Grim Dawn Simplified. Might check that out & see if its what u might like.

[Question]

I think the whole "some enemies are weak to certain elements" thing is a staple of RPGs but the problem is that its an ARPG and you are expected to fight a variety of enemies. Its not like an MMO where you can choose to farm cold mobs that are weak to fire because you are a mage specializing in fire damage.

They could have given all mobs of the same level the same amount of resists and nobody would notice a thing.

And the too many damage types thing also clutters up itemization. I find it quite odd that compared to titan quest, grim dawn's masteries are very spread out in terms of damage dealt. Most force you to specialize in more than one type of damage. I think soldier is the only phys focused mastery where you can get away with focusing on just one main stat, the rest such as oathkeeper or inquisitor force you to focus on either phys or piercing + at least one magical element.

For magical masteries, its the same thing, most masteries force you to focus on multiple damage types and it is quite hard to scale all of them at the same rate. Aether ray for example, forces you to scale fire, lightning, aether and electro. It is quite hard to get all 4 on the same item. Only when you reach end game and start getting 100% conversion items and top tier BIS items for your build with all the correct damage types does it become less of an issue.

[gNuff!~©~gNom3™]

Originally posted by Question:

And the too many damage types thing also clutters up itemization. I find it quite odd that compared to titan quest, grim dawn's masteries are very spread out in terms of damage dealt. Most force you to specialize in more than one type of damage. I think soldier is the only phys focused mastery where you can get away with focusing on just one main stat, the rest such as oathkeeper or inquisitor force you to focus on either phys or piercing + at least one magical element.

For magical masteries, its the same thing, most masteries force you to focus on multiple damage types and it is quite hard to scale all of them at the same rate. Aether ray for example, forces you to scale fire, lightning, aether and electro. It is quite hard to get all 4 on the same item. Only when you reach end game and start getting 100% conversion items and top tier BIS items for your build with all the correct damage types does it become less of an issue.

another misconception
you dont' need to scale multiple dmg types just because a skill has multiple dmg types, or because you havent' reached 100% conversion/any conversion yet, it's just an option for you, but not a force.
the other part being that some stuff doesn't require 100% conversion/conversion to be effective during levelling, and for many skills/dmg types you also don't need to wait until end to get conversion

i get that the game/presentation can appear "misleading" by suggesting a skill initially has 3dmg types and you don't get any conversion items for maybe 20 levels or even way more, but instead of looking at it as a forced choice, look at is as an option "oh, i can level AAR as either aether, or fire, or lightning, - and it will still have dmg enough even if i dont' stack all 3 bonus dmg types"

[TheBlueBomber343]

Originally posted by gNuff!~©~gNom3™:

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

Due to this, I rarely prioritize resistance over anything else. When am I going to take the piece of armor with more well rounded resistance values, over the piece of armor that gives me +2 to some commonly used skill or %-On-Hit effect.

aaaand that's what we call a classic example of "wrong" stat prioritization folks
now, during normal, to some extend potentially even parts of elite, that's not necessarily the biggest of issues/"possibly manageable", but for Ultimate, specially late or endgame content you want those resist, dare i say need them,
and the game being balanced around it; means it's not an issue or bother to get them, so not getting them is player's own decision to gimp themselves, they are available and simple to get

anyways, resist being a core/main defence vs multiple dmg types isn't really necessarily that related/as related as you may think,
you can easily have a game where you have way less dmg types, but you still need to focus in resist, and max them, and then being more sparse to obtain because of being fewer dmg types, effectively ending up in the status quo anyway

devs have however agreed that Grim Dawn probably ended up with too many dmg types, and if/when GD2 were to happen they'd probably trim it down a fair bit
^whether or not that means they're gonna shift focus on resist being your primary dmg mitigation i don't think there was any mentions of tho

My main issue is that I don't really think having many resistance types beyond 2 or 3 adds much to the game. Again, we don't really get to choose what enemies we fight or don't fight, so if we're going by average resistance needs... We need them all.

And if we're going to need them all, why not just combine em all into one resistance type? There's no reason to split them up into a billion resistance types if we can't reasonably specialize into just one or anything.

I'd be fine if there was just 'Melee Armor' and 'Ranged Armor', as like I said, I could spec more into one than another depending on my play-style and build. That'd actually be fun and interesting.

It's not so much that I prioritize stats wrong, so much as the +2-To-Skill or %-On-Hit stats are way more interesting. And having to lose out on those just because something like 'Pierce' or 'Chaos' resistance on that armor piece is too low is just... Lame... It's just lame.

Now, mind you, I'm fine with resistance types as long as I can play around them. But I can't really do a whole lot to play around lacking 'Chaos Resistance' or something. Instead it's more of an annoyance that I'll sometimes have to deal with, when going through certain areas. So again, I just have to keep balancing out resistance types or accept that I'll have a bad time depending on what area I'm in.

[nacciw574]

Originally posted by Question:

For magical masteries, its the same thing, most masteries force you to focus on multiple damage types and it is quite hard to scale all of them at the same rate. Aether ray for example, forces you to scale fire, lightning, aether and electro. It is quite hard to get all 4 on the same item. Only when you reach end game and start getting 100% conversion items and top tier BIS items for your build with all the correct damage types does it become less of an issue.

While leveling, you don't need to force scale 4 damage types (in your example).

Sigil of Consumption has 3 damage types however it can carry you (this skill alone and nothing else but devo's) all the way to 94 easily by just scaling vitality damage, res shred, and early MI's.

As for resistances, you can easily cap everything per difficulty without faction rep with proper choices.

[TheBlueBomber343]

Originally posted by Question:

I think the whole "some enemies are weak to certain elements" thing is a staple of RPGs but the problem is that its an ARPG and you are expected to fight a variety of enemies. Its not like an MMO where you can choose to farm cold mobs that are weak to fire because you are a mage specializing in fire damage.

Yeah this is exactly what I've been thinking. We don't get to specialize, so we have to spec into all resistance types fairly equally. (Unless you've researched the game a massive amount and know the % of enemy types over-all)

There just doesn't seem to be a reason for it beyond "It's just how RPGs are."

[Question]

Originally posted by gNuff!~©~gNom3™:

Originally posted by Question:

And the too many damage types thing also clutters up itemization. I find it quite odd that compared to titan quest, grim dawn's masteries are very spread out in terms of damage dealt. Most force you to specialize in more than one type of damage. I think soldier is the only phys focused mastery where you can get away with focusing on just one main stat, the rest such as oathkeeper or inquisitor force you to focus on either phys or piercing + at least one magical element.

For magical masteries, its the same thing, most masteries force you to focus on multiple damage types and it is quite hard to scale all of them at the same rate. Aether ray for example, forces you to scale fire, lightning, aether and electro. It is quite hard to get all 4 on the same item. Only when you reach end game and start getting 100% conversion items and top tier BIS items for your build with all the correct damage types does it become less of an issue.

another misconception
you dont' need to scale multiple dmg types just because a skill has multiple dmg types, or because you havent' reached 100% conversion/any conversion yet, it's just an option for you, but not a force.
the other part being that some stuff doesn't require 100% conversion/conversion to be effective during levelling, and for many skills/dmg types you also don't need to wait until end to get conversion

i get that the game/presentation can appear "misleading" by suggesting a skill initially has 3dmg types and you don't get any conversion items for maybe 20 levels or even way more, but instead of looking at it as a forced choice, look at is as an option "oh, i can level AAR as either aether, or fire, or lightning, - and it will still have dmg enough even if i dont' stack all 3 bonus dmg types"

If you want to maximize your damage, obviously, you do need to scale all of them. Of course you can still level without doing so because the game is easy, but its sub optimal. But by that logic, you could just wear +phys damage gear even though you dont deal +phys damage because the game is easy enough anyway. Its counter intuitive to how people play these games. For example, if you are dealing mainly phys damage, obviously you invest in skills that do phys damage, it doesnt make sense for you to put points into something like Panetti's missile because it doesnt deal phys damage. You might be able to level to 100 by doing that anyway, but it is clearly sub optimal.

I just found it weird that the game forces you to split so many damage types, much more than the way titan quest did. In TQ, you had masteries that were very obviously focused on one or two damage types at most. Hunting is almost entirely pierce and bleed for example, and it was very easy to focus on those stats via gear, and they all scaled via cunning. Whereas in grim dawn, its much more spread out. Inquisitor's auto attacks use phys, pierce, fire and cold for example and they scale off cunning + spirit. I found it very different to scale everything appropriately, whereas it was so much easier playing a mastery like soldier where it is very focused on physical.

[Question]

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

Originally posted by Question:

I think the whole "some enemies are weak to certain elements" thing is a staple of RPGs but the problem is that its an ARPG and you are expected to fight a variety of enemies. Its not like an MMO where you can choose to farm cold mobs that are weak to fire because you are a mage specializing in fire damage.

Yeah this is exactly what I've been thinking. We don't get to specialize, so we have to spec into all resistance types fairly equally. (Unless you've researched the game a massive amount and know the % of enemy types over-all)

There just doesn't seem to be a reason for it beyond "It's just how RPGs are."

With diablo 3, they simplified it, there are two groups of resists, each group scales off a different stat and theres some variations due to gear and such, but you dont need to worry about maxing out a resist or whatever since its dimishing returns.

[gNuff!~©~gNom3™]

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

My main issue is that I don't really think having many resistance types beyond 2 or 3 adds much to the game. Again, we don't really get to choose what enemies we fight or don't fight, so if we're going by average resistance needs... We need them all.

that is correct, 100%
and it's probably also why it's relatively simple to get all those resist up and work as your main defence
the "benefit" multiple dmg types mainly bring is FX variation i think, i does/did/"could" bring build variation if the dmg types remained unique or had additional effects. Ex being supposed in the old days lifesteal and vitality dmg was sorta combind i think? and conversion wasn't as common so you couldn't just turn any skill into every dmg type you wished.
so those are def potential ways to add more significance to multiple dmg types than just mere FX or thematic stuff

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

My main issue is that I don't really think having many resistance types beyond 2 or 3 adds much to the game. Again, we don't really get to choose what enemies we fight or don't fight, so if we're going by average resistance needs... We need them all.

And if we're going to need them all, why not just combine em all into one resistance type? There's no reason to split them up into a billion resistance types if we can't reasonably specialize into just one or anything.

I'd be fine if there was just 'Melee Armor' and 'Ranged Armor', as like I said, I could spec more into one than another depending on my play-style and build. That'd actually be fun and interesting.

that's not really so much related to GD having multiple/many or too many dmg types, as it's because of the chosen option/design for player defence
easy example is dark souls, it has fewer dmg types and specific attack type defences, but it's also not really that relevant defensively "mostly" because your main defence isn't physical, thrust defence, or lightning resist, it's simply just full dmg avoidance via dodging
it would have been relatively easy to make dark souls defence mechanics as "simple"/"boring" as grim dawn and just have you need to stack phys fire and lighting defence equally, and not have the dodge option, and the game would be entirely different for it
just like GD could easily still have 10 dmg types, and resist not necessarily mattered as much, if it had aimed at others or different ways of handling defence and dmg mitigations as its core stat/stat or defence design option

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

It's not so much that I prioritize stats wrong, so much as the +2-To-Skill or %-On-Hit stats are way more interesting. And having to lose out on those just because something like 'Pierce' or 'Chaos' resistance on that armor piece is too low is just... Lame... It's just lame.

thing is, it "is"
because "good" items, will give you resists *and* a proc/%-on-hit effect, or resist *and* +X skills, or even all 3 at the same time
so you're never really forced between getting either a proc, or resist, or +skill, because the good items deliberately come with them, and the vendor fodder/really early game/low lvl items are the ones that does not

alright so i tried to show it, buuuuut grimtools has a display limit, and it sorta "borks"/randomly selects the output items if your search result goes over that 500 limit it seems
these should be most/"all" of the available epic items during levelling:
https://www.grimtools.com/db/advsearch?query=N4IgLgngDgpiBcoCCAnAtgexQBRRsMAxmAJYBuMA%20gBIwCGAJgmCgK4wA0IqmOeBxclQDKACwysANgxgoAzszadu6LLnxFSFSgGFRMOWEXsuPNf01CadAHYMF8FiZW91ArVQDqdEoePKzPg1BbQAZGABzBycA1SD3KwAxGBgjRyUuT3ooDBsAWRhJFMphAHcsJnTnLLoc-MLipAAPOCrlGrqCoqo8ukJWmMzs3OpWG1IbCMoAJVsImAYARlF-IdrcruKAEToI%20ZRVkA6NhpF%20qAIDtrW6wMoAeQAzR9FbSsGj4Zs7sRJC94yn3W9W6JXKKAYACYVtcgZ1TpRmjBoYdjiDir1%20ijYWjRuMSJMZnMFtiPoEAFIwUqFFAQGYEiKHClUml0pBoKSpJlxSnUyS0ygFBh0SSHACSBDQuBgjxITXFkuErGecoVMDQwi5bQAvlwUHQUCRIAhQABRKAkQj%20XUgKCSOgQWThCiixAgNAEhAABi4aDo8vgAA4vdrtUA
^plenty resist, +skills and proc combos
legendaries before lvl 80/endgame:
https://www.grimtools.com/db/advsearch?query=N4IgLgngDgpiBcoCCAnAtgexQBRRsMAxmAJYBuMA%20gBIwCGAJgmCgK4wA0IqmOeBxclQDKACwysANgxgoAzszadu6LLnxFSFSgGFRMOWEXsuPNf01CadAHYMF8FiZW91ArVQDqdEoePKzPg1BbQAZGABzBycA1SD3KwAxGBgjRyUuT3ooDBsAWRhJFMphAHcsJnTnLLoc-MLipAAPOCrlGrqCoqo8ukJWmMzs3OpWG1IbCMoAJVsImAYARlF-IdrcruKAEToI%20ZRVkA6NhpF%20qAIDtrW6wMoAeQAzR9FbSsGj4Zs7sRJC94yn3W9W6JXKKAYACYVtcgZ1TpRmjBoYdjiDir1%20ijYWjRuMSJMZnMFtiPoEAFIwUqFFAQGYEiKHClUml0pBoKSpJlxSnUyS0ygFBh0SSHACSBDQuBgjxITXFkuErGecoVMDQwi5bQAvlwUHQUCRIAhQOF5nYDRB-LqQFBJHQILJwhRRYgQGgCQgAAxcNB0eXwAAcXu12qAA
base rare items:
https://www.grimtools.com/db/advsearch?query=N4IgLgngDgpiBcoCCAnAtgexQBRRsMAxmAJYBuMA%20gBIwCGAJgmCgK4wA0IqmOeBxclQDKACwysANgxgoAzszadu6LLnxFSFSgGFRMOWEXsuPNf01CadAHYMF8FiZW91ArVQDqdEoePKzPg1BbQAZGABzBycA1SD3KwAxGBgjRyUuT3ooDBsAWRhJFMphAHcsJnTnLLoc-MLipAAPOCrlGrqCoqo8ukJWmMzs3OpWG1IbCMoAJVsImAYARlF-IdrcruKAEToI%20ZRVkA6NhpF%20qAIDtrW6wMoAeQAzR9FbSsGj4Zs7sRJC94yn3W9W6JXKKAYACYVtcgZ1TpRmjBoYdjiDir1%20ijYWjRuMSJMZnMFtiPoEAFIwUqFFAQGYEiKHClUml0pBoKSpJlxSnUyS0ygFBh0ST%20AC%20XBQdBQJEgCFAsxQAyUEpAUEkdAgsnCFFFiBAaAJCAAnAAGVW%20PIASXFQA
*and ofc the MIs exists in multiple lower level iterations
faction items
https://www.grimtools.com/db/advsearch?query=N4IgLgngDgpiBcoCCAnAtgexQBRRsMAxmAJYBuMA%20gBIwCGAJgmCgK4wA0IqmOeBxclQDKACwysANgxgoAzszadu6LLnxFSFSgGFRMOWEXsuPNf01CadAHYMF8FiZW91ArVQDqdEoePKzPg1BbQAZGABzBycA1SD3KwAxGBgjRyUuT3ooDBsAWRhJFMphAHcsJnTnLLoc-MLipAAPOCrlGrqCoqo8ukJWmMzs3OpWG1IbCMoAJVsImAYARlF-IdrcruKAEToI%20ZRVkA6NhpF%20qAIDtrW6wMoAeQAzR9FbSsGj4Zs7sRJC94yn3W9W6JXKKAYACYVtcgZ1TpRmjBoYdjiDir1%20ijYWjRuMSJMZnMFtiPoEAFIwUqFFAQGYEiKHClUml0pBoKSpJlxSnUyS0ygFBh0ST%20AC%20XBQdBQJEgCFAsxQAyUEpAUEkdAgsnCFFFiBAaAJCAADFw0HQmggAJzG1W%20RJ4NCJPqkXLioA

rare affixes with resist+granted skills/procs
https://www.grimtools.com/db/search?query=%22applies%20to%22%20%22level%3A%2092%22%20%22resistance%22%20%22granted%20skill%22&in_description=1&exact_match=0
*again used max level version to filter duplicates out/not bloat the list, but most exist in multiple lower level versions too

rare affixes with +2 or +3 skill and resist
https://www.grimtools.com/db/search?query=%22applies%20to%22%20%22level%3A%2092%22%20%22resistance%22%20%22%2B2%20to%22&in_description=1&exact_match=0
https://www.grimtools.com/db/search?query=%22applies%20to%22%20%22level%3A%2092%22%20%22resistance%22%20%22%2B3%20to%22&in_description=1&exact_match=0

etc etc etc, you have looooads of options to get what you want, in mix match combos and not even being forced to pick/sacrifice something you like, because you could replace it elsewhere or get it while maintaining that thing you wanted

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

Now, mind you, I'm fine with resistance types as long as I can play around them. But I can't really do a whole lot to play around lacking 'Chaos Resistance' or something.

sure you can, that's the thing, you do have options
stack *other* defensive layers big or high enough to compensate for the lack of the specific resist when going into chaos territories, sure it will be way tougher/more complicated than just stacking that resist, but it's possible, atleast to a point.
unsure how far someone has really tried to take the "don't bother maxing resist"concept through ultimate, but atleast through normal and parts of elite you very much have those alternate avenues of play left up to you. Not gonna be easy/easier, because "just getting resist" requires less effort or deliberate investment/build focus, but it's possible.

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

So again, I just have to keep balancing out resistance types or accept that I'll have a bad time depending on what area I'm in.

which isn't really that hard/complicated, again resist are easy to get when the game "asks" you to/"suggest" it by incoming dmg becoming high and dangerous
in the end it's really no difference than stacking XY other mandatory stat in other games, be it raw HP, defence rating or minimum armour value or other forms of defensive layers/mitigations a game might utilize (atleast when it doesn't have "active" defence/agile combat again ex like dark souls dodge/block), it's just the same defence design choice/gameplay structure as might be used elsewhere, in Grim Dawn it just happens to be called resists(multiple resists)

[gNuff!~©~gNom3™]

Originally posted by Question:

If you want to maximize your damage, obviously, you do need to scale all of them.

nope, not all, not even close, again, it's why i started out by calling it a misconception, because that's indeed not what you have to do, nor is it really necessarily the optimal thing to do, for some/many skills atleast

Originally posted by Question:

But by that logic, you could just wear +phys damage gear even though you dont deal +phys damage because the game is easy enough anyway.

that is not remotely what i'm saying nor suggesting and is pretty apples to orange there
having a skill that is aether, fire and lightning dmg, and just focusing in aether dmg, whcih is fine, good even, is not the same as having a skill that does XY dmg and you stacking Z dmg, not even close

Originally posted by Question:

For example, if you are dealing mainly phys damage, obviously you invest in skills that do phys damage, it doesnt make sense for you to put points into something like Panetti's missile because it doesnt deal phys damage. You might be able to level to 100 by doing that anyway, but it is clearly sub optimal.
.

again, not what i'm saying, suggesting or implying, nor what the game is
again, a skill dealing 4 dmg types, and you not stacking *all* those 4dmg types equally, only focusing in 3 2 or 1, is not the same as focusing in an entire 5th dmg type

Originally posted by Question:

I just found it weird that the game forces you to split so many damage types, much more than the way titan quest did. In TQ, you had masteries that were very obviously focused on one or two damage types at most. Hunting is almost entirely pierce and bleed for example, and it was very easy to focus on those stats via gear, and they all scaled via cunning. Whereas in grim dawn, its much more spread out. Inquisitor's auto attacks use phys, pierce, fire and cold for example and they scale off cunning + spirit. I found it very different to scale everything appropriately, whereas it was so much easier playing a mastery like soldier where it is very focused on physical.

that example is good
the key here would be to *not* focus in all 4 dmg types "physical and magick" at teh same time, it's not really what the skills are suggesting, it's either suggesting you can use these skills as *either* magick, or phys, or have conversion, (sine phys->X conversions is basic and common - but ofc "you"/a new player might not be aware of that yet, but when the game then shows it, it should sorta spark a light bulb)
the good example here is the elemental focus, since elemental is a doubly shared dmg type, ie it scales on spirit, and instead of stacking fire and cold individually you can stack elemental dmg, you're now focusing in "1" dmg type, and easily scaling that; while the skills are dmg scaled to consider not 100% conversion so you wont be lacking the pierce.
^and attempting to stack pierce will not really boost your dmg, because you're then spreading out, which means when you stack pierce you will likely give up stacking elemental at a 1:1 ration/"+pierce items rarely come with+ele dmg so it's a mutually exclusive replacement not an additional/diversified boost"
likewise you could go for phys pierce at the same time since both those are shared by cunning, and usually come in similar support on items etc.

it's why i agreed/acknowledged the game could be "misleading" in that way/its presentation of things. Because you see this, then you're interpreting it in your own way/X way, and don't know it's "wrong" and that Y Z is possible or "correct"
you're interpreting a skill having multiple dmg types as either you "should" focus in all, or need to focus in all to maximize output, and that's the misconception, because you don't. Not only is it in many cases less optimal, because equally stacking multiple split dmg boosters and RR is either hard or so conflicting it because a tradeoff instead. But the "right" way is to see it as, "i can use this skill as *either* X or Y or Z, or XY or YZ or XZ, not that you have to do XYZ specifically
the game then later, even during levelling, offering you items to assist with this make it even more a deliberate varied choice and lesser of the direct/"singular" force you might perceive

[gNuff!~©~gNom3™]

maybe i should just TLDR it
the things i'm pointing out (in 2 different responses) are

1) many dmg types isn't really the issue/reason for resists stacking/resist being your main defence; it's because resists being the core defence is the chosen design
if another core defence mechanic was chosen the game could still have multiple dmg types, and resist could be irrelevant. Or vice versa if the game had fewer dmg types resist could still be the core and still made bothersome to stack

2) skills having multiple dmg types is not a forced choice or implication that you should stack all those dmg types. It's a suggestion that you can focus in "a" or "some" of those dmg types, giving you more options
^equally stacking multiple dmg types and split dmg types is actually frequently harder or worse, because either "conflicting" or spread so far apart in synergy
doesn't make multi dmg type builds/approaches wrong or impossible, but can be less effective and harder to optimize, and is not what the skill/game is suggestion by the skill having multiple dmg types

(hope that makes for a decent tldr, i kinda suck at these)

[tukkek]

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

You don't really get much choice over what enemies you have to fight

False: not only you know exactly what type of enemies you are fighting per act but on end-game you can tailor your build for what type of content you want to do. Is your goal to kill a certain secret boss or farm a skeleton-key dungeon? Resistance management is critical.

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

Due to this, I rarely prioritize resistance over anything else

No one with good theory-crafting experience in Grim Dawn would say that, which is how I know that you are a first-time player going through the campaign on normal mode. In fact, when I asked him about it, a guy who cleared all of Crucible live on stream, told me capping your resistances is the #1 priority in the game, as many other players say as well.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think there are any one #1 theory-crafting priorities in any decent RPG (let alone one as good as Grim Dawn) but you can't even beat the base campaign on normal with say, 0% chaos resistance (unless you heavily build around it).

I will agree with you that 10 resistances that you can easily see plus another 10-20 you can't is a design blunder but it servers a very important, key purpose for Grim Dawn you're just failing to see the big picture this early in the game You will get there as everyone else does.

How I would handle this many resistances would be to have items like amulet, medals and rings be your only source of resistance, that way they would become a mini-game of its own.

[tukkek]

Even during the campaign, even on normal mode, there are many side-areas that are extremely ill-advised for players to go into without proper resistances - so again the "you can't choose the enemies you fight" is objectively false. Doubly so when playing hardcore!

Also I seem to have lost the ability to edit posts with the recent huge Steam update, so sorry for any typos and such.