Somewhere between the delicate stat-tinkering of Path of Exile and the dopamine dispenser of Diablo 3, there's space for Grim Dawn, an action RPG that's we first wrote about four years and eight months ago. It might be almost finished by the end of the year perhaps!
Acts are being added, bit by bit. The latest update adds new zones that make up the start of the final act. It also raises the level cap to 60 and adds a new layer of progression called the Devotion system. That lets you restore shrines to earn points to spend on a star map containing up to "50 unique Celestial Powers". Constellations even have their own lore, which merges world-building and levelling systems in a way seldom seen, and it's an extra layer of complexity for theorycrafters.
Crate also writes: "The remainder of Act 4, which will take you into Necropolis and then down into the final dungeon, is virtually complete and just awaiting polish work and animation of the final boss. It should roll out near the end of the year."
The update also makes a bunch of balance and itemisation tweaks. You can find the full patch notes on the Grim Dawn forums. Among other things, "you can now split item stacks without resorting to weird tricks". The patch also fixes "a bug where certain loot containers would not respect their minimum and maximum level range." Naughty loot containers!
The game is currently available in Steam Early Access, currently discounted by 35% as part of the Steam sale. A few advanced editions are available through the official site, which might be of interest if you like the idea of slaying monsters in a George Washington wig. Final release is planned for early 2016, "but ultimately, we'll work as long as it takes to get it right.”
Ta, RPS.
