Grim Dawn doesn't hold your hand. The game drops you into Act 1 with no clear explanation of how mastery points, devotion shrines, or damage conversion work. By Ultimate difficulty, these systems determine whether you're a killing machine or a loot piñata for bosses. This walkthrough covers the complete progression from your first kill to farming Shattered Realm 75.
Level 1-15: Normal Difficulty, Act 1
Pick your first mastery at Level 2. If you're following one of our Best Grim Dawn Builds, invest your first 10 mastery points into the mastery bar itself (not individual skills) to unlock higher-tier skills early. Put 1 point into your main attack replacer (Fire Strike, Savagery, Cadence, etc.) and use it for everything.
Act 1 priorities:
- Push the mastery bar to 15/50 by Level 10 for second-tier skills
- Collect all 3 Devotion Shrines in Act 1 (one near Burial Cave, one in Burial Cave, one in Steps of Torment entrance)
- Complete all side quests for bonus skill points (2 total in Act 1)
- Join a faction at the first opportunity (Kymon's Chosen or Order of Death's Vigil)
Gear doesn't matter much in Act 1 Normal. Equip whatever has the highest damage or armor value. Resistances become important later. Sell everything else to vendors and stockpile iron bits.
Devotion start: Spend your first 3-5 Devotion Points on starter constellations that grant affinity you need for your end-game path. Sailor's Guide (3 Ascendant affinity) and Eel (3 Primordial affinity) are the two most common starters because they grant useful movement speed and defensive absorption.
Level 15-30: Normal Difficulty, Acts 2-4
At Level 10, choose your second mastery. This is permanent. If you're unsure, check the Grim Dawn Tier List for class combination rankings.
Acts 2 through 4 introduce elemental damage types and enemies with actual resistance values. Your build starts to matter here.
Key milestones:
- Both mastery bars at 25/50 by Level 25
- At least 5 Devotion Shrines restored (Acts 1-3)
- Primary attack skill at rank 10+ with its modifiers at 5+
- One resistance-reducing skill maxed (Thermite Mines, Curse of Frailty, Night's Chill, etc.)
Common Level 20-30 mistake: Ignoring component crafting. Components are items you attach to gear that grant resistances, damage bonuses, and passive abilities. The Blacksmith in Devil's Crossing crafts components from materials dropped by enemies. Attach a component to every gear slot. Even basic components like Imbued Silver (+16% Chaos resistance) and Purified Salt (+16% Aether resistance) prevent one-shots from magic-damage enemies.
Level 30-50: Normal Difficulty Completion + Elite Start
Finish Normal difficulty by clearing Acts 5-7 (including the Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods expansions if you own them). The expansion acts grant 3 additional skill points each and access to critical Devotion Shrines.
Total Devotion Shrines in Normal: 28 across all acts and expansions. You won't find all of them without a guide, and that's fine. 20 shrines by the end of Normal gives you enough points for your core devotion path.
Transitioning to Elite difficulty:
Elite applies a -25% resistance penalty. If your Fire resistance was 60% in Normal, it's now 35% in Elite. Before entering Elite, check your character sheet and confirm:
| Resistance | Minimum for Elite | |-----------|-------------------| | Fire, Cold, Lightning | 50%+ | | Aether, Chaos | 40%+ | | Vitality, Pierce | 30%+ |
If you're below these numbers, farm components in Normal or buy faction augments. Dying to resistance-checkable damage is avoidable.
Level 50-70: Elite Difficulty
Elite difficulty is where your build either works or doesn't. Enemies deal 50% more damage, have 50% more health, and your resistance penalty makes previously harmless attacks dangerous.
Elite priorities:
- Cap primary resistances to 80% (accounting for the -25% penalty)
- Push mastery bars to 50/50 on your primary mastery
- Complete all faction quests to reach Honored reputation (unlocks augments)
- Farm Devotion Shrines (you can re-clear shrines in Elite for new points)
Gear upgrade strategy: At Level 50, you can equip Elite-tier unique items. Target specific slots that need resistance patches. Use the Blacksmith's Dynamite crafting to blow open secret areas in existing maps that contain bonus loot chests.
By Level 65, you should have your core build online: main attack skill maxed, key buffs maxed, devotion path 75% complete, all resistances above 60% in Elite. If your damage feels low, you're probably missing resistance reduction. Stack more RR from skills and devotions.
Level 70-85: Elite Completion + Ultimate
Finish Elite by Level 75-80, then start Ultimate difficulty. Ultimate applies a -50% resistance penalty and enemies gain significant offensive and defensive stats. This is where Grim Dawn gets real.
Pre-Ultimate checklist:
- All resistances must cap at 80% after the -50% penalty (so 130%+ on your sheet)
- Defensive Ability above 2,600
- Offensive Ability above 2,400
- Health pool above 10,000
- Primary damage skill dealing 30,000+ DPS on the character sheet
If you can't hit these numbers, farm Elite Shattered Realm (Shards 25-35) for better gear. The Shattered Realm drops targeted loot based on the shard level and your game difficulty.
Level 85-100: Ultimate Difficulty and End-Game
Ultimate Campaign is tougher than Elite but your character's power curve accelerates faster. Legendary items (the game's highest rarity) drop frequently from Level 85+ enemies and dramatically boost every stat.
End-game content unlocks:
| Content | Entry Requirement | Reward | |---------|-------------------|--------| | Shattered Realm 65-66 | Clear previous shards | Consistent legendary drops | | Shattered Realm 75-76 | Optimized build | Best farming efficiency | | Crucible Gladiator 150-170 | Strong AoE + survivability | Iron bits + legendaries | | Super Bosses (Ravager, Callagadra, Crate) | Min-maxed build | Unique boss drops, achievement |
Shattered Realm 75-76 is the standard farming target. Clear both shards in under 10 minutes for optimal loot per hour. The key to fast clears is balancing AoE trash speed with single-target boss damage. Builds that excel at one but not the other hit a wall.
For the advanced mechanics that optimize your end-game performance, see our Grim Dawn Tips and Tricks page. If you're just starting out, our Grim Dawn Beginner's Guide covers the fundamentals.
