ARPG Grim Dawn gets a huge Diablo-style modernization sweep with its latest update

Grim Dawn has been trucking along for quite a while now, and even though we’ve had a fair selection of competent hack ‘n’ slash ARPGs over the years, it is still near the pinnacle of its niche. And now, with update 1.2.0.0, Grim Dawn is taking its next leap forward.

This leap forward, however, is really more of a dodge, as that’s one of the most notable new features making their way into the game. As per the developer Crate Entertainment’s recent announcement, Grim Dawn is due to receive a dedicated evade ability (with invincibility frames, to boot), hugely improved level and difficulty scaling, an overhaul of all loot tables, and the streamlining of how it handles its health and mana motions. These changes are a huge shift in Grim Dawn‘s meta all on their own, but they only scratch the surface of what else is coming with update 1.2.0.0 on November 16.

Grim Dawn’s biggest update yet introduces the dodge and more

As old as it might be, Grim Dawn is still actively receiving new paid content, with the big Fangs of Asterkarn DLC due to launch sometime in 2024. At the same time, Crate Entertainment is also producing entirely free content revamps, and update 1.2.0.0 is going to be totally free for all Grim Dawn players, regardless of whether they own any of the game’s several major expansion packs.

For the most part, 1.2.0.0 is focused on bringing the game forward in regard to its quality-of-life offerings. The introduction of a dedicated evade move, which will be tied to the spacebar by default, is almost certainly going to change the game’s combat loop. On top of that, players will no longer need to hoard potions, as they’ll have an infinite number of health and mana snacks ready to go, albeit on a cooldown. That’s because Fangs of Asterkarn aims to introduce potion customization and update 1.2.0.0 is setting the stage for it.

The list of changes being made to Grim Dawn with the free update 1.2.0.0 is far too long for us to include all of them here. For that, be sure to check out the official announcement posted by the developer itself, but we do have a shortlist of some of the most notable tweaks:

• Revamped level scaling for Normal and Elite difficulties, with areas scaling up to level 100 on Elite.
• Defeating the Loghorrean boss on Normal/Veteran unlocks Elite/Ultimate difficulties for that character.
• A 30-60% reduction in loot drops across the board, with an appropriate bump up in loot quality and iron bit amounts to compensate.
• Bosses now always drop their non-legendary Monster Infrequents
• Toggled buffs automatically turn on without being attached to a skill bar
• Introduced ability to disable buff visuals for improved customization clarity
• Improved health bar visibility
• Revamped Nullification mechanic
• Option to disable the day-night cycle, aerial fog, and more
• Option to enable cooldown counters and increase the auto-pickup radius
• Option to temporarily disable HUD/UI for screenshots via a dedicated keybind

Another important change is that Crate Entertainment is increasing the world map size limit from 2 to 4 GB total, while noting that modders may wish to keep in mind that Crate itself will use a portion of this expansion for official content expansions. Similarly, the total number of Faction Slots is being bumped up all the way to 40, with Crate intending to use at least 18 of them in the future. This suggests that Grim Dawn is bound to grow significantly larger over the course of 2024, with who knows what else already looming on the horizon.