Back when she wrote for Destructoid, Stephanie Sterling said right off the bat thatGrim Dawnwould be an ARPG to remember. Here we are, then, with a whole new expansion slated to release in 2025, and its new subclass is the more-than-faintly familiar Berserker with two transformations in tow.
More specifically, I can’t help but feel that the developer Crate Entertainment came up with the Berserker as a bit of an alternative take onDiablo‘s classic Druid character class. Specifically, it’s because theFangs of Asterkarn‘s Berserker, too, is a magic-infused shapeshifter who will absolutely ruin your day if push comes to shove. Note, however, that we won’t be playing Berserkers until 2025, even thoughtheFangs of AsterkarnDLC was initially slated for 2024.
The Berserker is coming as part of Grim Dawn’s Fangs of Asterkarn DLC
As is the case with any otherGrim Dawncharacter class, the Beserkers too prominently focus on a particular aspect of their magic: shapeshifting. A Berserker can transform into the vicious melee-heavy Werewolf form, or the ice-casting Wereraven. These transformations are temporary at first,butCrate Entertainment’s blog claimsthere will be ways to make them permanent, too, which I didn’t see coming.
Berserkers, however, are also experts in dual-wield combat and will be able to dish out loads of critical strikes if needed. This is particularly interesting in the context of Onslaught: an all-new basic attack replacer that allows you to build and spend stacks in much the same way as you do in the newDiablo 4.
The Berserker might seem like a minor addition toGrim Dawn‘s impressively substantial selection of subsclasses. From a broad point of view, it’s particularly irrelevant compared to some of the othermassive upgrades the game’s recently been getting, as well as the DLC’s own upcomingAscendant Mode. The catch about every new subclass (or Mastery, if you will) added toGrim Dawnis that it can be combined with anyothersubclass.
In effect, this means that we’re not going to have nine unique character classes inGrim DawncomeFangs of Asterkarn. Instead, we’ll have 45 possible combinations in total with the Berserker included. It’s a very exciting predicament, especially if you intend to come up with some snazzy new combos for your next character. Like, why not double down on the Berserker’s naturalistic powers by taking theGrim Dawn‘s Druid as your secondary Mastery? Or, alternatively, go all-in on the melee side of things and push for an Occultist combo, instead.
As per Crate, the names for Berserker-based class combinations are appropriately juicy: Dreadnaught, Evoker, Mystic, Primalist, Reaver, Runekeeper, Thane, Veilwalker, and Zealot. We don’t know their respective combos yet, mind, butboydo they sound cool.
