Grim Dawn Angrim Or Duncan Which Blacksmith Should You Choose
During the early hours of exploring the Burrwitch Outskirts in Grim Dawn, players encounter a narrative crossroads that permanently shapes their crafting journey in that specific playthrough. The quest forces a choice between two rival metalworkers, Angrim and Duncan, only one of whom will pack up their tools and join the refuge at Devil's Crossing. Making the right decision involves understanding how their passive crafting bonuses alter your character gear throughout the campaign.
Analyzing Angrim Armor and Weapon Specializations
Angrim is a traditional smith who favors heavy martial equipment, making him an excellent asset for physical combat archetypes. When you craft items through him, he applies unique blacksmith bonuses that improve physical damage, pierce resistance, or total armor value. These defensive and offensive adjustments are incredibly helpful for heavy melee builds like Soldiers or Wardens who need to survive intense frontline skirmishes.
In addition to basic gear upgrades, this veteran smith possesses blueprints tailored to martial survival. Choosing him ensures your early-game armor pieces receive structural reinforcements that simplify point allocation into defensive attributes. Players who rely heavily on raw physical scaling or internal trauma multipliers will find his forge highly efficient.
Evaluating Duncan Arcane Forging Capabilities
Duncan offers a completely different philosophy, focusing his forging hammer on elemental attunements and magical enhancements. Equipment produced by this younger apprentice carries chances to gain bonus energy regeneration, elemental resistances, or increased casting speed. These attributes are crucial for spellcasters like Arcanists or Occultists who constantly consume large amounts of mana during chaotic battles.
His crafting inventory emphasizes arcane focuses, ranged tools, and lighter armor pieces suited for agile characters. Selecting his services makes it significantly easier to manage early resource issues without sacrificing offensive power. If your build relies on throwing spells or maintaining high elemental damage over time, his workspace provides the ideal baseline assets.
The Multi Difficulty Strategy for Completionists
Fortunately, your choice in the initial campaign does not lock your character out of the alternative option permanently. Grim Dawn allows players to alter their alignment decisions when progressing through higher difficulties like Elite and Ultimate. Many experienced adventurers choose one smith for their normal progression and select the competitor during the next difficulty tier.
This rotating strategy gives your shared stash access to both sets of specialized equipment enhancements over time. You can easily jump between different difficulty checkpoints to utilize the exact crafting bonuses required for a new build configuration. Planning this balance ahead of time removes the stress of feeling permanently separated from specific endgame recipes.
Final Recommendations for Your Campaign Selection
If you are currently running a character focused on raw blade work, shields, and physical durability, prioritizing Angrim is generally considered the optimal path. His structural stat boosts will immediately impact your survivability against tough act bosses. The added armor percentages keep your defenses scaled properly without needing over-leveled drops.
Conversely, choose Duncan if your primary strategy involves keeping your distance while unleashing elemental destruction across the battlefield. The energy regeneration modifiers alone will save you countless iron bits on energy potions during long dungeon runs. Ultimately, alignment decisions depend heavily on what resources your current class combination lacks most.