The underrated 84 Metacritic dungeon-crawling action RPG with deeper builds than Diablo 4 (that feels like a true Diablo 2 successor)

Diablo 4‘s Season 11 has been quite a hit among fans, thanks to the introduction of the new Paladin class as well as a shift in approach that finally fixed many pain points the game still had. Even though the Paladin single-handedly adds over a dozen meta builds to the game, all with different skills at their core, one of Diablo 4‘s biggest problems remains — the depth (or lack thereof) of its skill trees. There have been many action RPGs over the years to try and reclaim that throne that used to belong to Diablo 2, with Path of Exile and Path of Exile 2 getting very close, and Diablo 4 improving more and more.

Yet, there is an underrated gem from 2016 that has been, for all intents and purposes, another game like Diablo 2 in the ARPG scene, and that’s Grim Dawn. With two expansions under its belt (which are purchased separately), Grim Dawn is about to get even better and bigger in 2026 with the release of Fangs of Asterkarn, the most ambitious and biggest release ever for the game. Not only that, but the game now has deeper skill trees and class systems, called Masteries, than Diablo 4, and this will even improve with the addition of the Berserker.

Diablo 4 is a Great ARPG, But Grim Dawn Nails Builds and Classes

Diablo 4‘s best Paladin builds don’t boil down to just a couple of different skills like most classes, and while this is a great plus for the newest class in the game, it’s also a symptom of a bigger problem. Skill variety in Diablo 4 is very low, as each class typically only has 24 usable skills, even though some have 25 or 26. There are skill upgrades and builds do matter, but overall, the skill trees don’t offer a lot of depth on their own without Uniques, Mythics, and the Paragon Board. Grim Dawn has a much more complex system, though.

Grim Dawn’s Masteries and Class System is Virtually Unbeatable

Grim Dawn’s Class System Explained

• Grim Dawn has 9 Masteries and another on the way, equivalent to classes:
  • Soldier: Focuses on melee attacks, defensive options like heavy armor and shields, and prowess with firearms.
  • Demolitionist: Masters of explosives that mix magic with engineering, focusing on ranged attacks and traps.
  • Occultist: Has access to minions, curses, and various spells that deal direct damage to opponents.
  • Nightblade: The spellcaster with a sword class, having great damage output in close quarters, using two melee weapons at once, and fantastic mobility.
  • Arcanist: A quintessential mage that is the perfect glass cannon, with incredible damaging spells but little defenses.
  • Shaman: Casters with a predisposition towards natural magic as well as two-handed melee weapons.
  • Inquisitor: Hybrid attackers that can defeat enemies from afar or in close combat with the help of relics and runes dealing with the occult.
  • Necromancer: Has plenty of minion-related options, using skeletons and death magic alike to dominate battles.
  • Oathkeeper: Uses divine powers and shields to protect themselves and strike down their foes.
  • Berserker: Capable of defeating foes with the power of ice and wereforms, shapeshifting in and out of melee combat.
• Each Mastery can be combined with another to create the ARPG’s dual classes (the first class is unlocked at level 2 and the second at level 10), creating endless build opportunities and replay value.
• All Masteries have access to different skills that are unlocked by spending Skill Points in the Mastery bar (which also grant attribute increases), whereas each skill is unlocked or improved by spending Skill Points in it.
• Skills from Masteries in Grim Dawn have a few different types or purposes:
  • Active: Skills that are used by players to perform certain actions.
  • Passive: Skills that provide a boost passively.
  • Modifiers: A way to change how Active or Passive skills behave with some effects.
  • Transmuters: Modifiers that augment Active or Passive skills dramatically, potentially changing how builds work.
  • Exclusives: Skills of which only one can be active at a time.
• The Devotion system in Grim Dawn provides progression akin to Diablo 4‘s Paragon Board and Glyphs, further enhancing existing builds and Masteries.

Why Grim Dawn is the True Successor to Diablo 2

Diablo 2 has become the benchmark for what modern ARPGs should strive for, and that’s because it was very much ahead of its time with its features and gameplay loop. Games like Path of Exile and Last Epoch try to take what made Diablo 2 great and make it their own, and while some titles do this successfully, Grim Dawn ticks all the boxes. It has:

• Incredible player agency with one of the most flexible selection of classes in RPGs in general, let alone ARPGs.
• A dark, gritty world that is both unforgiving and very rewarding for those who like plenty of different endgame systems.
• A reputation system that makes factions and vendor options relevant.
• Loot-driven gameplay.
• Endless mods to choose from, enhancing the game and making it extremely diverse across each run, combined with already high replayability.
• Grim Dawn can be played offline.

Released

June 5, 2023

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact