The ARPG Grim Dawn just got a sudden announcement in the form of an entirely new expansion, 4 years after the last one.
Grim Dawn Gets Third Expansion, “Fangs of Asterkarn”
We were just talking about how ARPG fans have it good quite recently, in our coverage of theRunemasterfor Last Epoch. Diablo IV just announced a25% discount, with a 25% bonus to XP and Gold rates. Path of Exile 2 revealed some great gameplay footage on theDruid, Warrior, and Huntress.
Crate Entertainment, the developer and publisher of Grim Dawn, has suddenly come out of the shadows and announced a follow-up expansion to their ARPG entry. What’s new, and what’s cool in the third major expansion for Grim Dawn? Let’s find out together.
The Fangs of Asterkarn
Grim Dawn’s newest expansion will bring players into the frigid peaks of Asterkarn, a desolate location filled with towering forests, dark and dingy caves, and everything you would expect from a snow-themed tileset. This is in stark contrast to the melancholy Ashes of Malmouth, and definitely a far throw off the Forgotten Sands, which took place in a desert.
Players will explore the lands of Asterkan in an attempt to resolve conflicts and drive out corruption. All isn’t as it seems, as the local population called the Kurn have a dark past that may be more trouble than it’s worth.
Beasts Within Grim Dawn
Clearly, the highlight of Fans of Asterkarn is the introduction of the game’s 10th Mastery (or class), the Berserker. These unwavering warriors are some of the most staunch citizens of the punishing Asterkarn region. Being molded by the elements has given them the ability to enchant their weapons with the cold. Further moving into their berserker roots, the Mastery is also proficient in dual-wielding in combat. Presumably while also yelling at the top of their lungs.
Lastly, the Berserkers have become followers of the beast god Mogdrogen, who has granted them the ability to shapeshift into different forms. Much like a druid, they will have various options to choose from. The Grim Dawn page doesn’t mention specifics, but the poster image does have a wolf, and there is a brief mention of talons mixed in for good measure.
Since Grim Dawn allows players to mix and match two masteries in one character, adding in the 10th one will bring about the total combinations to 45. This is up from 36 from the previous expansion.
Upping the Ante
Crate Entertainment has confirmed that the player level cap will not increase in the Fangs of Asterkarn expansion. Player power will be increased via the new items (of which there are hundreds). Potions can also be customized in the expansion, allowing players to turn the basic health and mana potions into flasks that provide buffs and a plethora of other useful effects. Grim Dawn will also be getting an Enchant system similar to Diablo 4. You can now reroll some affixes on your gear, letting you get rid of that one annoying stat that just doesn’t seem to fit your perfect build.
To challenge players are some new game modes and some expansions on existing systems. First is the “Ascendant Game Mode” which powers up the campaign mode even further, making all enemies (including bosses) much more challenging. The horde-based Crucible will get 30 additional waves, which will highly likely feature enemies and bosses from the Fangs of Asterkarn expansion.
There will also be two new Rogue-Like dungeons being added into the mix, for good measure.
Grimmest of Dawns
The Fangs of Asterkarn expansion for Grim Dawn will be released “sometime” in 2024. There also isn’t any pricing available (nor is there a Steam page), but Crate claims that it will be priced “comparatively to past expansions”. Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods was priced at $17.99 and $15.99, respectively. So we can assume the third expansion to be within that range.
Grim Dawnis a Victorian action RPG that focuses on being grim. It was developed and maintained by Crate Entertainment and was originally released way back in 2016. The ARPG has tons of build variety thanks to its 9 existing masteries which you can mix and match for some truly unique combinations. The diversity is further enhanced with the devotions or constellations which give even more options for building a perfect character.
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