Grim Dawn VS Path of Exile - An Honest In-Depth Look - [ Comparison Video ]

[@oBseSsIoNPC]

I like the simplistic design of Grim Dawn and how intuitively it plays. Offline mode is a huge one for me.

[@jameskurth3560]

Offline is a great option indeed.

[@NoNameRIPd]

I played both, POE and GD but i like grim dawn more. I already loved titan quest back in the days!

[@ByKutay]

You can play it with new dlcs

[@Propheten]

Do play diablo 2 Resurrected... Perfect game ever...it comes 2021 out

[@sly9263]

Grim Dawn is dark with a pretty well done story mode. It allows most character builds to be viable for endgame, with additional customization via the devotion tree. Each class combo has a ton of different builds you can go with, and that's before you look into item granted skill builds. The endgame could be a bit more challenging- I think it is designed more for singleplayer than multiplayer scaling; it gets much easier with class synergies.

[@ThatMans-anAnimal]

Been a long-time fan of the genre, D2 and Titan Quest were great, and Grim Dawn and Path of Exile are my top two today.

[@SirDutchie]

+SoCalAries All the games you mentioned are great. Sigh, too many games, not enough time!

[@durandpatrice7659]

+SoCalAries my top three D2 and titan quest + Grim dawn

[@greysquirrel404]

I'm just really happy that D2 took off in the first place to spawn the genre.

[@Isaiah42069]

D2 didnt start the genre of ARPG.. you must be to young to have played anything before D2.. like D1. lol.

[@greysquirrel404]

Isaiah Jones It wasn't the first, but it was the game that popularised the genre and spawned so many clones.

[@somethingTudo]

Thank you sir! I have never played each game but from what you say, I prefer Grim Dawn because it doesn't seem to be too over-complicated. Plus, it's from creator of Titan Quest - huge deal!

[@gmingfool]

i love POE and grim dawn both but the fact i lose my characters passive points and have to research to rebuild every few months drove me away from POE .

[@_vsalts]

Maybe I'm leaning towards Grim Dawn more because of the stronger Diablo 2 feel to it. The environment feels more in character to the premise of the game. I feel more immersed.

[@Kim-uu8fc]

In my opinion Grim Dawn is the better game.

[@jac6548]

Are you shitting me. I think PoE is the better game, and that opinion is different from your opinion, so you must therefore be wrong and stupid

[@ryksa6479]

@@jac6548 Learn how to argue properly actually using your brain. Profit.

[@brendanscott8989]

@@ryksa6479 Learn how to identify sarcasm properly using your brain. Profit.

[@Wizardi1111]

I like Grim Dawn way more than PoE

[@Specoups]

Having played and finished both games (by finished I mean I've finished all quests, even sidequests, on normal difficulty), I can honestly say that I prefer Grim Dawn. GRIM DAWN ► - Coherent and controlled art direction. - Enemy formations and compositions are complex and well-balanced, providing the player with both choices and constraints on how to handle them. - Better graphics and most realistic animations overall. End-game characters look powerful and pretty, without it being overdone. - Progressing, leveling, and discovering new areas has never been more interesting in any modern ARPG. - Story is non-intrusive, but still easy to find out. - Grim Dawn has excellent writing, and manages to build a cohesive and believable world, through short notes that can mean a lot, factions and NPCs interacting with each other, subtle storytelling through environment, and believable dialogues with NPCs. Sidequests are often found in the outer wild, by exploring, maintaining a feeling of connection between the world and the player, and rewarding experiences for exploring deeper and deeper. - Items do not dictate your playstyle as much as in PoE, and are to be regarded as complements to your skill tree and devotions (even if this doesn't apply to all builds and classes). In this regard, Grim Dawn feels more like Diablo II : skills first, build second. This allows the player to be powerful enough on his own, without the need to grind for items. Farming gear will still be required to complete the vast majority of builds, but you can finish the game with very poor items if you've made smart decisions in playstyle and skill leveling. Cons: Voice acting is not even close to half-finished. Where the hell is the story's ending ? Well... In a paid extension... Also, the multiplayer is close to non-existent due to the lack of interest from the developpers. Conceptually, the multiplayer experience is identical to Diablo II, wich is always a good thing (it means flexibility and freedom), but you can't play with more than three persons in the same game, for a total of four players... what a shame, really... PoE ► - Great story. Not really cohesive, or believable, but... "Grand" story. It is extremely original, weird in a good sense, and impressive in scale. - Mind-blowing build diversity and complexity, nothing will ever beat PoE or even come close to that anytime soon IMO. - A lot of replayability, mainly due to randomly generated terrain and a better support of multiplayer compared to Grim Dawn. - Free to play ! - More stable software, very good optimization. Cons: Your character will always look like a homeless person if you don't buy cosmetics (and they're very costly). While it makes sense and adds to the atmosphere when you're stranded on a fallen and acursed land, it makes little when you start fighting against GODS while half-naked with goofy-looking armors, a tea-pot on your head, and nothing to protect your legs... Path of Exile has a great story, with writing on par or even superior to Grim Dawn's ; but contrarily to it, piecing together the universe is extremely slow, difficult, and bound to grinding during hours, since map generation is random. It's extremely hard to understand PoE's universe without spending hours trying to figure it out, as very few NPCs do give you actual insight, and the few who do often are very cryptic. Environment also hardly helps the player understanding what is going on in the game's universe save for four or five of them. Finally, not being able to carry information after finding it, contrarily to Grim Dawn with its Index, puts a nail nail in the coffin of PoE's very poor storytelling features. It's a shame, for the story of PoE is very rich and original (save for the Lovecraftian rip-off. Gim Dawn even has the same problem). Boss fights are so fast-paced that there are very few strategies besides hoping you have the right stats to endure the fight.

[@SirDutchie]

Beautiful comment mate! Enjoyed reading your thoughts :)

[@Specoups]

Thanks pal

[@Bbeaucha88]

Although your comment is well worded and nicely structured, I can't help but feel like you might have only scratched the surface of PoE. The main storyline and Acts have evolved more to represent a very long tutorial for the game instead of it's primary component. Once you get through the final act, you open up the Atlas of the world where you can finally begin mapping. Mapping is where PoE truly starts and whenever a PoE player is talking about the game, they are really talking about mapping and NOT the Acts. From what I have found, most reviewers seem to spend only enough time with the game to finish the acts and then write their review which would be loosely comparable to writing a immediately after completing the tutorial. EDIT: Wow, I just noticed how old this video and review is so you might have actually been spot on with your review at the time. PoE has likely evolved a lot over the last year.

[@genedanisebelarmino6580]

Specoups e

[@CronoSMagnum]

I really like your commentary style here. Very calm and even-handed. Great job!

[@SirDutchie]

Thanks mate, glad to hear that. I'll keep that in mind with future videos ^^

[@tecuanita8812]

I prefer grim dawn

[@withhazelnuts2108]

+Tecu Anita I prefer to believe women playing ARPGs are a myth. ;)

[@tecuanita8812]

Gro Hazelnut jajaja

[@Youtube_Globetrotter]

I played PoE 2013. I remember it was fun. I think I would go with Grim dawn now.

[@Martel_Clips]

i much prefer the responsivity in GD than PoE which isn't optimised for a penny also i found PoE community to be really toxic during the hundred hours i played global chat was half diablo bashing half making fun of noobs

[@AP-RSI]

PoE is just a shit game, because of unplayable on some areas and have no real balance.

[@SubTonic]

Both games are about on par with each other, with Grim Dawn having the superior single player experience and Path of Exile having the superior multiplayer experience.

[@3_1_3rd_gaming]

PoE has a STEEP learning curve. Grim dawn is actually on the same level as PoE imo, but Grim Dawn has a different type of environment, actually, a relaxing one. PoE is a edge of your seat game, in Grim dawn, I'm laid back killing and looking to my hearts content. Both are insanely great games.

[@tingkagol]

You are so right about the controls. GD has better controls / responsiveness. It also queues the last skill button you pressed in the middle of an attack so that it will be executed right after. It makes doing combos more fluid and satisfying. It also adopts the same left mouse button mechanic that I love from Diablo 3 (a game that was meh for me). Keeping LMB pressed moves your character, and automatically attacks any monsters you mouse over while keeping it pressed. On the other hand, PoE does feel clunky and not as fluid. I believe this can be fixed in a patch, that is if the devs are compelled to fix it.

[@SirDutchie]

If it would be a simple fix I imagine GGG would've done something about it already. Perhaps their priorities are different or perhaps it's something with the engine. Doesn't strike me as an easy fix though

[@The1rust]

I think we can all agree that both titles are far superior to Diablo 3. Diablo 3 has production quality to back it up but it's the definition of a pond that's a mile wide but an inch deep.

[@lefterisphasarias8934]

nah

[@thsscapi]

yea

[@Derrickstare]

Yeah I prefer Diablo 3's graphics and gameplay much better. But the gear/rng system is real, real bad. Slot machine addiction af, you get a million "legendary" items in an hour, and maybe 1 or 2 of them are actually useful.

[@LCInfantry]

Derrick Jee The loot is worse with grim dawn.

[@whiteymcflightey]

Production quality? Debatable.

[@anthalas1]

for me grim dawn

[@cjxsnos]

Ditched POE for Grim Dawm after 1000 hours. POE skill tree gives you the illusion of choise and diversity. There is no reason to have so many passives that can potentially ruin your character just for the sake of having the option. Not to mention endgame in poe is just mindless grinding, and i find no challenge in reaching endgame with all classes. just spam one skill. just my 2c

[@GingrBreadMan]

I think you explained all my issues with POE... I get what POE is going for, but the reality of it is most people end up cheesing with meta builds they picked up on a website, and it's complexity is really hampered by the way the game is designed.... which is a shame imo, and the builds themselves are just incredibly boring to play.

[@withhazelnuts2108]

You knew I'll comment, so here I am: great video mate, didn't expect an extended version(since people tend to judge videos by their intro lol), but that just made it even better.

[@SirDutchie]

+Gro Hazelnut Glad you like it! Just wanted to take some extra time to really cover the more important aspects of both games without overlooking anything

[@stavik96]

man, I really hate when people make these kind of videos and then finish it up by just calling it a tie, feels like they don't have the balls to choose a game out of fear of upsetting the people that don't agree with your choice.

[@SirDutchie]

+stavik96 Can't you make your own decision which is the winner?

[@stavik96]

SirDutchie If I could make a decision I wouldn't even bother watching this video.

[@SirDutchie]

+stavik96 If you can't decide for yourself after watching the video I don't know what to tell you. I think they're a tie when it comes to quality and that hasn't changed. Have fun with whatever you pick though

[@imLumineux]

+stavik96 overall both games are good, but imo PoE is much better. mainly because of the fact it's F2P, and that the customizability of the game is huge with the skill tree and special uniques. I would rather compare Grimdawn to Diablo III since they both have a set skill tree. It's like if you choose to be a summoner in Grimdawn, you're locked to that class and its set skills. Unlike in path of exile where you can have varied skills from multiple "classes" in a single character. e.g. generally rangers can be considered a "squishy" character in poe, but I could opt to choose a different character that's more "tanky" yet still have the same skill set, but sacrifice a bit of damage. Another important thing to note is that PoE is still growing and will continue to be updated in such, with its newest coming patch a few new skills and items are being implemented. PoE community is also huge and overall friendly, if you're unsure of builds there are several thousand people who post their builds up for others to use or help build upon.

[@brandonmercer6552]

"If I could make a decision I wouldn't even bother watching this video." Sounds like a personal problem. You can't go around life expecting others to make decisions for you...review the video and then make your own decision based off of what was presented to you. Even if he had chosen a "winner" your opinion could still differ and then you would play the better game of your opinion instead. Both are amazing games, I would highly recommend both of them. POE is free so just try it out...if it doesn't fit your play style then buy Grim Dawn. Playing both is also an option...

[@GriffyRly]

I ditched Diablo 3 and PoE for Grim Dawn. Playing it with mods right now. DAIL Grimmest (S). WEW, so much action! Best game I've bought in quite some time!

[@Corrupted]

Single player/Single playthrough: Grim Dawn Multiplayer/Economy/Endgame: PoE

[@goodfella1605]

Grim dawn is very replayable because of the drastic difference in character builds. Personally, I have more charchters on Grim Dawn than POE.

[@regenesisgaming9107]

Great comparison video, SirDutchie. They are both great games and you did a super job breaking them down!

[@Naim-Lest]

if the basis is game mechanics probably grim dawn, environment and graphics again grim dawn, game depth i think grim dawn.. guess what? overall greatness grimdawn hahahha

[@traumadoc3883]

I like the old flintlock type guns in Grim Dawn. It makes me feel like an Inquisitor.

[@revenous167]

After watching this video. I came to one very solid conclusion about grim dawn. Minus the dark aspect of the game, it honestly reminds me of Titan Quest.

[@SirDutchie]

+revenous167 Well it is made by pretty much the same developers :)

[@cokejoker]

Hey man, really nice vid and very helpful. Keep it up

[@SirDutchie]

Happy you liked it :)

[@shtroizn]

Played both. Love Grim Dawn and now there are some awesome mods out - it is even better (for instance - DAIL is a collection of most GD mods and has tons of extra classes to choose from - created by some very respected modders including the guy who made "Skyrim Redone"). I respect GGG for their business model and PoE is a good game but it is very much a matter of taste. Personally - I don't like the gem system at all - I mean - kudos for the originality but it is just tedious and doesn't give the feeling that you actually learn a skill by becoming more experienced (you just find a gem and viola! You can be a warrior that shoots lightning bolts). Also - don't like the massive skill tree in PoE - much prefer the Grim Dawn skill system and the Devotion system. Still waiting for Diablo3 to come out (yes - I mean that in a sarcastic way).

[@tmsphere]

Liked POE but GD has crafting and recipes. Also it only has 2 proc-generated maps. The rest of the maps are completely hand crafted to fit the narrative. Like you walk in some house that seems kinda different with a lot of medical charts and find a diary of the local apothecary, totally optional but adds soo much to the immersion of the game. You walk into towns with NPCs living there, that are completely outside the "hub areas" that are being harassed by raiders. There aren't really "maps" in DG like POE, aside from the dungeons. Its one huge seamless sandbox map with a lot of secret areas. I'd say DG is a lot more story focused than POE.

[@Mw2AimClan]

POE has crafting and recipes too

[@Vaan1984]

"Liked POE but GD has crafting and recipes." ahahahahaha sry but did you even played PoE? all the currency is just for crafting xD

[@tmsphere]

Vaan1984 I mean crafting weapons and armor not just gems.

[@Vaan1984]

do you really play poe? you can reroll and craft the s*it out of this game if you want tbh just much rng.

[@tmsphere]

Can you craft a unique belt from some scrap, iron and monster parts? Is it really crafting just combining a gem with a found component to level it up? Think actual crafting tables. Last time I played POE you couldn't do any of that. Just combine gems to more powerful gems and combine them with found gear. Got only 90 hours of POE have to admit.

[@tehhaldiniho]

wow, the music you played is the music tesco tech support uses, and as i used to be a tech guy i used to have ring that helpline a lot.. man the feels werent good lel. anyhow cool video. just getting into path of exile and saw grim dawn too so was looking for a comparison :)

[@yup873]

Another great vid SirDutchie keep up the good work!!

[@SirDutchie]

+JTstyles Thanks man glad you like it

[@darktrexcz]

a very nice in depth comparison, very well done. i do have two suggestions. the first is really not a big deal and just a pet peeve if mine. but the way u say varied just really bothers me lol. its ver-eed, not ver-i-ed. this second one i think is far more important. the music, i know ur just picking music thats not copyrighted, but try to get music that fits the theme of the video. like for this exact video, maybe something dark and grim sounding. this music was far too upbeat for a comparison of these two games. then theres the fact this specific song is just annoying(but thats just my preference).

[@darktrexcz]

also u got urself a new subscriber, keep up the good work.

[@darktrexcz]

***** bro, chill the fuck out. pronunciations arent opinions, not everyone gets their own, there a specific way words are pronounced. i wasnt even being a dick about it, i was just letting him know hes saying it wrong. its this thing called constructive criticism.

[@darktrexcz]

***** The English language disagrees with you. www.dictionary.com/browse/varied He has an accent, hes not saying it wrong because of a speech impediment. Not to mention, AGAIN, I wasn't being a dick to him about it.

[@SirDutchie]

Guys! Let's just be friends here, shall we? I appreciate both commenters and I'll see if I can pronounce varied properly next time around, always open for suggestions and constructive criticism to improve my content. And thanks for the sub, it actually does help!

[@fabledorchid8410]

Triggered

[@animeemperor2268]

I like both games but Grim Dawn is better for me. I simply like apocalypse and dark themed games and dont like POE skill tree...

[@Tom-em8nn]

Glad that I found this comparison. Awesome video - great explanation. Kudos

[@SirDutchie]

+Tom Vermeulen glad to hear it mate

[@0num4]

Thanks for the vid SirDutchie! I drew the same conclusion as you -- I just choose Grim Dawn at this time because it is newly released. Both games are very good in their own way, and both dev teams got a lot of things right.

[@SirDutchie]

+Onuma I agree, and it's even better that the developers both created different games that can provide fun gameplay in many different ways without feeling too similar.

[@0num4]

SirDutchie It's a great time to be a gamer. Cheers!

[@juniorthrasher]

Grim Dawn is very good, but Path of Exile is fantastic. Great video, hugs.

[@kmisialak]

Great vid pal. :)

[@Ekainen]

You can't really be objective when it comes to GFX, you can compare the models, textures and technical stuff, but it doesn't mean the overall feel will be good with a huge GFX budget. I think GD graphics are under PoE ones but the feeling of loneliness you get in GD makes me like it more. The overall art is just sick. I know I shouldn't talk about D3 but let's be real, while the GFX are technically MUCH better, the feel is ... not what it is suposed to be, you don't feel lost, you don't feel disgusted by flesh and guts flying arround, you don't even feel having a hard time, you feel like a God walking among ants even during leveling, which is far from D1 or D2. Therefore can we say the GFX are better or not? PoE is more about hopelessness and its soundtrack is absolutly gorgeous ; it's weird you don't talk about those games musics. That aside both games are amazing and clearly 2 of the best HnS out there .. and I really can't tell which one I prefer ,_,

[@lhays117]

PoE feels like build matter much more than actual skill. Grim Dawn feels kind of the opposite (at least so far from my limited experience of it).

[@10175978]

I like parts of both, but GD is the go to game of the two for me. I also hate microtransactions.

[@zyanhd1892]

i've got the feeling you like grim dawn :)

[@fuinharlz]

Just some things to add: 1 - Grim Dawn is a evolved Titan Quest. I say that because the company behind GD bought TQ from bankrupt THQ, and used it as the base for grim dawn. (and they also improved TQ and re-released it in an aniversary edition pack). You can spot many features from titan quest in grim dawn, such as the multiclass system, the layout on inventory and stash (actually thay didn't even changed it, it's the very same), the attachables, etc. And no, this is not a bad thing, this is a GOOD thing, since titan quest is one of the best action rpgs ever released. 2 - Path of Exile end-game, when on maps, have an kinda "new" upgrade, with a new boss (the shapper). Besides that, there's also some special maps, like the atziri map, uber atziri, hall of the grandmasters. Also, with the shaper, came out the atlas expansion, where maps are now organized on a kind of atlas, where you can see your "progression" through maps, add enchantments to maps, while you go towards the center to face the 4 guardians and then the shaper itself. The replayability on both games rely mostly on both games having a huge potential list of possible builds. Path of exile on the almost infinite possible combinations of active skill gems with passive skill tree allocation and ascendancy, and grim dawn with its multiclass system, combined with classes skill trees, that gives the player tons of possible combinations and skill tree builds to follow.

[@EarJuice]

How do you activate the rune/orb things? I can press Q or W to get two fire ones but how to I raise a zombie?

[@williamweeks6990]

Which game are you talking..I have not played grim dawn. if its poe you set up raised zombie on a key stroke and hit that key as you hover mouse over dead corpse

[@pseudocoder78]

I'm a long time Diablo fanatic-since 1996. Recently a friend got me into Grim Dawn and I really am enjoying it versus Diablo 3 which I have mixed feelings about. I have never played PoE but wondered whether it would be more interesting to me than Grim Dawn. I think I'll stick with GD for now thanks to your video!

[@SirDutchie]

+pseudocoder78 You can always give it a try since it is free to play. Either way have fun!

[@richardkim3652]

How hard are these "orbs" to get? Because i remember long time ago i played and i will grind hours and just get 1 exalted orb or something like that and i would get angry since people would sell armor/weapon for like 20 orbs and etc i dont know if thy changed or not...

[@Pizzarugi]

Another difference between the two is Path of Exile having a more "hardcore" emphasis on the game than Grim Dawn. I'm not talking hardcore in the sense of difficulty where you lose everything on death, but rather the dedication and time the game requires of you in order to fully experience the true fun. If you have a lot of time to spend, PoE is a great option. If you're anything like me, you're also someone who generally likes to play summoner classes in ARPGs. Both games have it, but which one is better? Path of Exile wins outright in the summoning department. Having come from Diablo 2 originally, certain skills available in PoE reflect on the summoner necromancer class. You can raise zombie minions from the corpses of your enemies, conjure golems of various elemental types with passive bonuses to the caster and even create spectral copies of dead enemies which can prove incredibly dangerous. Utility skills are available which can temporarily speed up all minions at the cost of consuming corpses, or an AoE that CREATES corpses for you to raise more zombies. There's even an ascendancy class you can pick up that further improves your minions. Grim Dawn only has 4 summoning skills between 2 classes, all of which can be spawned on cast. If you're aiming for a swarm of death, you'll need to rely entirely on equipment and devotions, but most minions granted by them only last for a few seconds before needing to be resummoned after a short cooldown. You get fewer, but stronger pets in Grim Dawn overall. The other problem with Grim Dawn's summoning is that enemy AI and aggro results in them having tunnel vision and will chase you to death if you can't get your minions to bodyblock them. Unless Grim Dawn comes up with a necromancer class, there's absolutely no way it can compete with Path of Exile for the best summoning until the developers fully implement modding.

[@Nabelnoob]

Dude when did you last play the game? The game need 2 sec to start these day

[@radumotrescu3832]

It litterally opens instantly now, check your facts or get a new HDD.

[@TheHaydnp]

POE loads a lot faster now lol. They improved loading performance like a year ago I think.

[@Duckers_McQuack]

Which song was used here? Really like it.

[@holyflame2]

Both Path of Exile and Grim Dawn stomp Diablo 3's ass so bad. 😂😂😂

[@wyteprvlge]

only when it comes to character customization in terms of skills and builds. diablo 3 now is LEAGUES ahead of where it was at launch. its actually super fun now. i only wish they would adopt one of these games' takes on skill trees and abilities. d3 went a bit too streamlined for my taste.

[@holyflame2]

+b0sse the PS4 version is still being supported and updated just like the PC version, the PS3 version is barely hanging on as it is, i doubt it can handle more updates than that.

[@tesladhyani8466]

agree 100% xD !

[@fuinharlz]

It sounds more fun, but kinda isn't. Most of the "new content" was to be added on the games release (like Kanai cube), and some of the "upgrades" (like ancient pieces and the increase in overall players power) are mostly placebos, where you think you "improved", but no, you didn't. Ok, you'r reaching a "higher number" on rifts, for sure, like 80, 90, even 100. But the time it takes to you to get there, and the dificulty, are the same as to rach lvl 60 rifts on the time the rifts were released, or even easier.

[@airbomb34]

holyflame2 Nope. Diablo 3 does everything better. Path of exile is beyond tedious with horrible sync issues and grim dawn is mainly antiquated game design which offers no legit fun while playing unless you preplan based upon build guides.

[@Morboeatspeople]

Great video! I totally understand the tie. The only difference for me is, Grim Dawn = $24.99 VS Path of Exile = Free. Free FTW. If I had iffy internet, I could understand hating the online-only aspect of PoE.

[@fqueirozf]

Loved the ARPG reviews so far. Please make POE vs Diablo III. I would really like to watch it and to have your opinion on both directly compared.

[@Uchyiamada]

Mods made Grim Dawn better than PoE though (unless you desire playing online solely) There's for example a giant mod overhaul called "DAIL" that has like 30 classes, new end-game bosses, overhauled exp scaling, higher/lower amounts of mobs etcetera. New items, blueprints etc are being added constantly.

[@arienstern753]

Both the best in this RPG style, if I need to choose, will be Grim Dawn because it is offline and has mods.

[@BigWyrm67]

PoE is a great game but I never liked the monster design. Half the mobs in the game will charge/leap in your face from off screen giving you little/no time to react. Also, alot of the mechanics are not user friendly such as evasion (unreliable), armor (diminishing returns), crafting (pure RNG), etc. Also I dont like online only since GGG cant seem to afford decent servers.

[@LuqaslncredibIe]

What do u mean about decent server? The server seem pretty good to me. I have constant 40 ms with pretty bad internet (Max download rate 200kb/s). The only exceptions are league starts, which always cause issues :O

[@tmsphere]

I'd say GD is more forgiving in the combat department since many POE mobs/bosses love to rush you incredibly fast and specing up is no.1 priority. GD has more of a strategic edge, you can pull camera pretty high (if you dont want to be caught by a mob) and you have more control of the combat. You can even stand behind a semi cover and lob grenades or destroy some fences and shoot the mobs trying to catch you from the other side which is important since certain types of spec defenses are REALLY hard to come by.

[@artemis142]

So basically you are bad at the game so its worse, gotcha

[@timmalinowski62]

artemis142 quiet, you blue-haired buffoon...adults are talking

[@looots1320]

Well said

[@mr.mammuthusafricanavus8299]

I like Both. I get bored of one I play the other.

[@EquusTarRoc]

Great vid. Really like your voice and great summary

[@SirDutchie]

+EquusTarRoc Always a pleasure to hear that, glad you liked the video :)

[@RBarros01]

After hundred of hours playing both games, I've got to go with Grim Dawn. PoE has much more end game content, but the combat is too boring. You basically keeps spamming your main skill all the time hoping to find good loot.

[@rletzin]

+Rafael Barros It's like you've explained the point of every grinding loot-based RPG game ever.

[@lelcetz7628]

then stop playing faceroll builds?

[@codediporpal]

+Brandon Letzin At least games like Wow have lots of bosses with complicated mechanics at end game, and require juggling at least 5 skills to be effective, especially if you're a tank or healer. Never played PoE, but I found combat in Grim Dawn pretty boring, even though I enjoyed the game for a play through.

[@lelcetz7628]

codediporpal poe has that. if you dont dodge, insta- rip. its a bit annoying with "oh you didnt dodge one attack, lets make u dead." if you dont research some of the bosses, its damm near impossible to win.

[@rletzin]

+codediporpal I guess if you invluce MMOs into the equation though I was focused on ARPGs such as the two in the video.

[@DepriverOfSouls]

I have to say, "Grim Dawn" look fun. Can't say that I have played it yet though. As for "Path of Exile", it is fun but damn...some things are just obnoxious. However, I still like it. I just haven't played it in soooo long. Long enough that I didn't know they added things past the Skill Tree system.

[@PrimePixelHD]

Hello Sir, Grim Dawn is currently on sale (-40%). I really, really like the game =] . I never liked PoE, for a number of reasons that I won't get into but GD solves EVERY issue I have with PoE.

[@Nelekets]

I think this video doesn't really capture what makes PoE replayable, and why people play it over and over. The character building in PoE is leaps and bounds higher than any other ARPG I've ever seen. The way unique items change game mechanics, and the way skill gems interact with each other, while also being able to have so much freedom on the passive skill tree, makes the game have so many options for character builds. There are new builds coming out all the time because there is so much room for experimentation. Also, MFing for rare items, something that classic Diablo 2 mastered, is also captured in PoE. You aren't just always looking for uniques, but instead you are trying to find rare items that have completely unique stats from others, to compliment your builds. These two things make the game enjoyable and replayable.

[@TheStranger1112]

I still remmeber the utter shock I got when I found a "Leap Slam" gem and realised I could use it with Shadow who I thought was an assassin like character. It was so amazing, mind blown.

[@krzyzowiecart]

I think you do not play too much grimdawn, bcs many things you tell there as a up for poe are same in grimdawn. For example, mfing, you do not simply look for just purple item but for good type of it, or even 1 tier lesser can do it for your specific build. Sometimes even yellow items have some crazy ass stat which make you powerfull. Also devotion is a way to make totally unique class focused in some apecial dmg type. I found dirty pants in that game which provide me skill to throw poop to my enemys. Was cool adventure xd

[@PowernapSystem]

As a Path of Exile player, the one thing I can tell you that might swing you over is how varied the skill system is. Grim Dawn and Diablo were fun, but they didn't keep me interested beyond clearing the main story. The customization allowed in Path of Exile is immense. Also, Path of Exile is completely 100% free. Stash tabs are nice if you want to support the game. I'll use the basic Fireball spell as my example. If you have the right support gems, it can be changed in so many ways. You could shoot out 10 fireballs instead of just 1. Your Fireball could jump from enemy to enemy automatically, or continue through everything in a straight line. You can spawn a totem that shoots it for you, allowing you to focus on positioning and survival. You can make a trap or mine out of it, so when triggered the fireball blows up on the enemy immediately. You can even change the damage from fire to cold or chaos if what you're fighting heavily resists fire damage. The possibilities are almost endless. The game seems very complex at first glance, but don't ignore Path of Exile because it seems hard to understand. As you play more and more, like any game, you learn what is powerful, what isn't even worth your time, and you might even create some special skill strategies that the game devs have to patch because they never thought about how a certain combination of skills and supports might work together.

[@torrvic1156]

Excellent conclusions! Absolutely reasonable. Both games are great. As for me I prefer Grim Dawn because it have no micro-transactions and it wasn’t sold to some greedy Chinese company.

[@qaerkyr9197]

Hi Sir. After 3.0 POE, we got 10 acts and single playthrough (eliminating the redundancy of fighting the same battles over and over again), insanely hard endgame bosses. And gets new content every 4 months. And by new content I understand how it was the Lord of Destruction for diablo 2 patch (after the original diablo 2 game release).

[@adiveler]

Is it just me? or indies are recently doing reincarnation of old franchise better than the original companies? (POE and Grim Dawn, Cities Skyline, Planet Coaster, Allison Road, Yooka-Laylee...)

[@SirDutchie]

I think It's because the big companies lost sight of what made their games so good in the first place and seem more focussed on solid advertising and pre orders to guarantee profit rather than actually, you know, make good games. I get the impression most triple A publishers think units sold = quality. The early access games you named have fewer sold units but generally a better quality of actual gameplay.

[@airbomb34]

Unraveler Hardly. There is a ton of antiquated game design and shouldn't occur today for example allocation of stat points for a specific class which only leaves the option of screwing the character up and not realizing it until you've sunk several hours into it.

[@adiveler]

airbomb34 So you are saying that stats are extinct beast? Also, are you suggesting that Simcity 2013 is better than Cities Skyline?

[@airbomb34]

Unraveler allowing allocation of stats in categories which will fuck you over is. Its not depth its just tedium and to fuck a player up if they don't know better.

[@laimiskleinauskas3654]

i played both grim dawn and poe. i managed to play grim dawn for around 16 hours total before i got bored out of it and poe for almost 2k hours before i got bored of it :D

[@bryannaacz6143]

Can i play the grim dawn on low end laptops? My laptop is acer, intel pentium 3556 processor(1.7ghz,2mb L3 cache)

[@chloehoughes6856]

Wonderful video SirDutchie! I think without going too in depth you've given both a pretty fair shake! I'm a fan of both and have given both an enormous amount of my time. I prefer Grim Dawn myself, even after the the new overhaul on PoE. PoE has some gaping flaws in its design and it drove me away from it. I did spend 4-5 months out of my year stint with it doing nothing but theorycrafting; the tree is so extensive. But I do feel that Grim Dawn is a more engaging experience from the story to the leveling experience. Respec'ing your skillset within the classes is so much easier to do than PoE and it's a lot less stressful to go from one playstyle to another within those classes. Another thing I'm happy about is the speed of leveling of Grim Dawn in comparison to PoE. Grim Dawn is so much quicker so if there's something you're not particularly fond of in your current class, you can catch back up in no time. Anyway, again, Thanks for the video SirDutchie! I enjoyed it :)

[@spzHades]

130h grim dawn, 10 hours d3, 2 hours poe. So yea.. grim dawn really hooked me. And without expansions

[@Kainnax]

My final verdict: Grim Dawn - dropped after 37 hours. Path of Exile - Playing since closed beta in 2011.

[@VillianAtHeart]

Both games have improved over time which is awesome and I couldn't be happier! I do prefer Grim dawn but Path of Exile has my respect!

[@samueldemers5747]

ive played both games. POE is a great game that completely destroy diablo 3 and i have huge respect for it. but i stop playing when Grim Dawn was release. Grim Dawn for me is simply a better game now in every single way.

[@punkpacarola]

Great video bro! love your voice. I play both games, it hink i prefer POE just because grim Dawn on the end game feels very grindy on repeteating the same quests over and over. But both are great games! Love from Portugal.

[@SirDutchie]

+Tiago Lopes Thanks man! Yeah it's a tough choice really, both have their ups and downs and they are both equally amazing. You can't go wrong with either while still being different enough to cater to different players.

[@marioflores9327]

poe is great but something was left behind when they went for super customization of gear rather than putting more focus into how the game plays and feels. poe is all about getting gear so good you one shot the entire screen plus a few. what comes with that is never feeling the impact or power of your character. it feels literally no different to go from 10 mil dps to 20 mil dps. it only shaves boss fights by 10 seconds but literally who tf cares lmao. Mobs actually feel like mobs in grim dawn rather than just bugs you one shot in path of exile. grim dawn is a way better experience overall especially if you are a hardcore player. POE is better if you like pushing builds to their absolute limit.

[@420Smokeapotamus]

The lag/spikes in PoE turn me away. It's an amazing game, with so much in-depth capability, the skill gems, and maps- some of the best things to happen to ARPG in awhile, and gaming in general. Like most of my top tier graphic games, I don't get that lag/spike like I do in this game. For the difficulty of this game, its just not worth it if you're a hardcore player. By all means, PLAY THE FUCKIN GAME NOW, if you don't care for hardcore. I've seen problems like this with other games that come out, and people with the best graphics card/specs can't play it, but people with lower tier stuff can for some reason. What I'm saying is, it has to be a certain spec, to get good results for some reason. I see it a lot now-a-days, and its a problem that seems to be over looked. Don't get me started on the micro transactions... I understand its free, but damn, would've loved to enjoy the cosmetics with out forking money to where I could honestly just spend it on better things. I could buy so many games with the way those micros cost, but I guess if its someones hobby, to each their own. I've switched to grim.

[@mikeyoung9810]

The lag is a problem especially in boss fights but the crashing while zoning gets old.

[@DarkPsy]

" lag/spikes " Fucking pleb you know nothing. You are full of shit. Never experienced lags, idiot!

[@420Smokeapotamus]

I've had multiple end game characters. Way to nerd rage. Difference between lag, and having lag spikes. Especially when that's literally 90% of all the negative reviews for the game. If you would not read in between the lines, and have a little more common sense on what I said, it'd all make sense in your tiny little brain.

[@rastadoge3539]

/oos bros

[@Ashanthala]

has it ever worked? Did anyone ever fall for such obvious troll? *sadface*

[@Radwar99]

I got bored with Path of Exile while I'm having a great time with Grim Dawn. It's right up there with Diablo 2 as the best ARPG's IMO.

[@TakeTheBluePilll]

A truly great comparison. Can't really call leveling in Path of exile slow, but still well done.

[@SirDutchie]

+TakeThe BluePill Thanks mate, glad you liked it

[@beanshady]

I know this is an older video now, but I prefer Grim Dawn over PoE. I played both but Grim Dawn still has me playing it rather constantly into 2019.

[@alexs1949]

Something i wish you'd brought up is also the replayable and always new challenge season leagues every third month in Path of Exile since that's a HUGE, most definately the biggest part of the game itself(looking at the players playing it)

[@Disrupted_SP]

Path of Exile is still evolving, as GGG intends to make it 10 acts or so (currently 4) with a single difficulty. Just as Grim Dawn will get mods, over time PoE will change and get more acts (one thing that happened after this video for example was a revamp of the map system to have an atlas with pathing and one "uber" boss added at the end of it). Will you do another comparison video next year after PoE gets act 5 and removes one difficulty (and whatever more content changes will happen, the pace might be changed) and Grim Dawn hopefully gets some good mods?

[@SirDutchie]

+Disrupted I fully intend to revise most games that are in continuous development, don't worry :)

[@TheCooderix]

10 acts would be sick. Let's just hope the fifth act will be better than Act 4. Cause A4 looks pretty boring. (And is pretty boring)

[@Disrupted_SP]

@SirDutchie Nice, thanks for answering man. @Tom We'll see, they do say its the largest act so far and they intend to make it pretty awesome since its the end of the current storyline.

[@TheCooderix]

Disrupted End of the story line = It will probably be even more grim than Act 4 is. While I want the game to become darker and darker, I do seriously miss Act 2 and Act 3 prettyness.

[@Disrupted_SP]

yeah... I wonder if we'll get to see snow in 5 or 6. I imagine 5 will have a lot of blood so the contrast would be nice. but guess we'll have to wait and see

[@zava007]

played d2 and titan quest, but when i start playing poe was so frustrated, because u need to learn game mechanics, game punishing for a noob, u better do ur homework before starting play this game and have fun, linking/crafting/chancing makes u feel bad or happy but always wanna try it, pray for ur RNG luck, races are lovely are like exams :)) Cant say Poe is hard but i can say poe is like a book that needs 2 be read so that u can take the shortcuts and progres faster. GD is nice but liniar game.

[@viking_II]

Online -> Path of Exile / Offline -> Grim Dawn. (love 2 but if need to chose: offline). After finish a game I don't enjoy farm (damn, is digital slavery!), also is not cool trade/deal with kids (or grown idiots), is not the majority, I know, in average people from PoE was cool with me, but sooner or later you will meet idiot/kids, is inevitable in online-games. Instead, I enjoy modding to make the game perfect to me, and this is Grim Dawn!

[@viking_II]

Jeremy Jolivet in general I have no critics to PoE community, but online is online, and sooner or later you will found an idiot, examples: arena during Leo's quests is full of OP characters that only wants to not let you complete Leo hehe. Another (personal) example, a "friend" (person with I've made maps and long chats), have "stolen" 4ex and then ignore me, damn, for 4ex? really? (my fault to thrust in him but, damn, you can't thrust no one in online games?)... pd: PoE with offline mode (as Diablo 2) would be the best ARPG ever, sadly GGG was greed and leave us just a client instead the entire game to modd it...

[@viking_II]

Jeremy Jolivet single and multi exactly like Diablo 2 I mean.

[@SmokeMyBlunt]

Excuse me ? Coming from Poe and seeing people with names like "BigFistingGirth" "Sexynerdplayboy" "Anusthrobbler" etc ,makes me wonder what your definition of maturity is..

[@Handle35667]

Jeremy Jolivet do you realize you are a narrow/feeble minded foreigner as well?

[@Minmataro718]

I love both these games. I wonder if you covered Marvel Heroes and Torchlight 2. ill search. Thanks for the video.

[@FatalisArx]

imo GD is better .. looking from Titan Quest to GD is the greatest game ever. you can play Offline too this is important. and looking to your comment you take too much time speaking about Poe. BUT GD is very good regarding classes combination and variantion of builds. this is rly fun to play. Poe is looking way of Anarchy mostly the skill tree. omg. ty for the video

[@DGP406]

I finished Grim Dawn last week and can't bring myself to play it again since most of the class combos didn't interest me that much, PoE has more options to pick in this regard, even if you pick a class at the start you aren't locked to its obvious role due how the skill system works

[@komasdfg]

there is a couple of endgame farming, depending on what you want. it is not exactly flaw as different build has different purpose. The problem is player expect the build they do to capable of doing everything in one-shot. A speed clear build can clear maps fast -> bring in more currency/map but doesnt mean it could do all endgame content. A boss clearer can kill bosses reliably =/= fast map clear. Different build different taste different purpose. Albeit, there is still some skill gems out there that is total bonker. But hey, if someone could make glacial hammer a boss killer, anything is possible.

[@sergearkhipenko8775]

This is really a great video, thank you. I have played around 600 hours PoE and it is indeed the most complex ARPG with new builds constantly being created. Frequently players find unbalanced OP situations, because the versatility of items and skill combinations is absolutely huge; then it gets nerfed :). You can't play and pass the game in PoE without big investment of time, but it is what I like about it - around 30 hours (altogether, at different stages of playing and understanding) were spent on reading forums and watching videos - actual learning process, and for dedicated players it is extremely rewarding. Also around 60 hours were spent on trading, which is amazing and interesting in PoE, with additional software helping a lot. After all this I feel I still have room for improvement in PoE, true mastery requires more time and, perhaps, talent :). Also, it's free. But it's online and lag in some situations can be a bit of an issue. I've only played GD for about 15 hours now, and I can definitely say it is better than D3, which is crap (300 h there for me was totally enough to stop enjoying completely and delete it forever). However, I was not a big fan of TQ before, and I find the levelling process quite slow in GD. While in PoE there are thousands of builds and you can read any AND adapt it a bit to your needs/playstyle if you understand the game good enough, the limited amount of skills in GD prevents me from properly reading builds, as I feel I will be simply purely repeating everything! I think, just as with any other process in life, the more you invest and learn, the more you can enjoy. I probably need to learn in-depth mechanics, damage types, defences and their interactions in GD to improve my clearing speed and playing experience. Last comments: I need to try Torchlight 2, didn't play, can't compare. And D2 of course remains the beloved grandfather of all these.

[@SirDutchie]

+Serge Arkhipenko I like the way you look at things and I agree completely. Makes me wonder what Grim Dawn has in store for us in the future with added expansions and mod support.

[@eric6897]

bro, exactly what i wanted to type.

[@aaronanon3056]

I like how you say varied

[@SirDutchie]

^^

[@stankostankochunt5837]

Aaron Anon It reminds me of RunForTheCube. top kek

[@xezzee]

I think you can play Path of Exile to ~lvl 68 when maps starts easely without ever trading. Well, using some build which does not requir any item to be amazing. If you think you would like to play Path of exile and Find your build, do not read any more ^_^ I think it is more fun to find your own build. Witch Summoner, Marauder Totems or Templar are of effect spell build to say few. In order stongest in the end in my opinion. All of them can be found from youtube. I my self looked up to see what I could do better, I had Marauder with 2 totems, looked up if I could make it better, and I saw that Blood magic is amazing with them :D Summoner is weakes because you focus more to make your summons strong that you leave your self weak, I noticed that when every boss could one shot me if I stopped even for second . . . yeah, what are you going to do when all summons die? Well, die my self

[@alastairtivy-harris8129]

That moment when you realize that both of these games look darker and more "Diablo-y" than Diablo 3 does.

[@doggaki]

Thanks for effort and info!

[@joaogomes9405]

I'll always choose Grim Dawn just cuz it means I don't have to deal with GGG's garbage ass servers. Been disconnected out of my sessions far too many times to enjoy POE anymore

[@shammymars2974]

I love Hack'n'Slash games! They're so addictive and easy to get into! Kill some monsters, get gold, get equipment, slay stronger monsters, get richer, get better equipment and skills. It's brilliant! You didn't have enough fun the first play through? Here have several other classes and difficulties and have fun. There is so much freedom.

[@CADPgamer]

I'm more for Grim Dawn mostly because it's mainly an offline single player game, so I can play WHEN I WANT... something that both POE and D3 lack sadly :(

[@kevinvandenoetelaar5880]

I play Poe for 2.5 years now and i have to say i have never experienced a time when i could not play Poe because the servers where offline. The only exception is when a new league starts. Servers will be offline for 1 hours to patch, which is once every ~3months

[@Axthenon]

sadly some people in 2016 don't have internet. lel

[@DeadlyDanDaMan]

If you want multiplayer with trading, go with PoE. If you want a better singleplayer experience, go with Grim Dawn. It's literally just that simple. You won't get anywhere in PoE without trading with other people, that is a fact. Grim Dawn was built from day 1 as a singleplayer game, so it is balanced for that. It does have multiplayer, but it isn't anything special and there is no trading economy.

[@beebo.666]

DeadlyDanDaMan not true there on your poe made it to cruel act 3 with just dropped gear thats not good

[@blackyvertigo]

ascendancy system in path of exile can suck because the labyrinth is just absurd at times depending on how it is randomized, and the fact if you die you have to start from the beginning. most characters and builds don't start to work well until you have 4 points, which for most builds requires level 60+.

[@keharacek]

I love PoE and have played many, many hours of it, so I went and tried Grim Dawn, I can't say I didn't like it, but it often felt a bit confusing, especially quest descriptions and the devotion system - it felt a bit unspecified, as like developers were not sure what exactly to add. However I enjoyed it a fair bit, played through whole game on first difficulty and went through something like half game on second one, but it didn't manage to keep me interested. Modding sounds great in ARPG game.

[@xenowerks7020]

I prefer Grim Dawn because I didn't like the socket system in PoE . I also like that GD is a big open world with dungeons instanced vs all zones instanced. I don't think you mentioned that in the vid.

[@homevid]

because of you, I just lost 25€ on steam!!!!!! Knowing PoE very well, I just stumbled on Grim Dawn, and now your video..... which made me made the buy :-) Thnks for your vid, clear, honest, and comparable to a known game (PoE). Now, just so, for me, the BEST ARPG remains Diablo 1...... not for today, but D1 is just timeless!!!! :-) Again, GREAT video, thnx for sharing!!!!! THUMBS UP

[@SirDutchie]

Diablo 1? Don't hear that very often. Care to explain why you think D1 is better than say, D2? Also, hope you have fun with GD :)

[@homevid]

Hi Sir Dutchie :-) :-) Well, I won't say D1 is better than D2.... but, the time spend on it, the first and ongoing impressions of the game, the very gore and dark part, all seen as a whole, AT his time each, D1 was FOR ME, better.... now, D2 afterwards, seen in a simple gamers timeline view, was of course better in different ways :-) Hell, I now passed over 75 hours on the game (GD), nearly night and day to say so far :-) :-) And Hell yes I have fun with GD!!!! Cheers m8 ;-)

[@ShoahBiz]

@@homevid so how do you think the two games compare now? GD and PoE

[@homevid]

@@ShoahBiz Well, hard to say... they are both just EXCELLENT.... for me, somehow when I played too much one of them, I jump back to the other, and so forth. They are both inredibly awesome! And... wanna know what? I recently started by scratch Titan Quest ^^ ANd for sure will be back on GD and PoE one day, again... and again.... (in awaiting Lost Ark...... :-) :-) )

[@chriszako8386]

Is there trading in grim dawn? And can you reset you skill tree/stats? Please someone respond!

[@Nicomattio]

there's trading on official forum section. you can respec your skill points as many as you wish, but you can't respec points spent on mastery bar and on characthers stats

[@Pyro-Moloch]

I have a weak wifi. Can Path of Exile be played offline if I want to play single-player?

[@lucidityofpower807]

Path of Exile can't be played offline period. If your connection is slow to the server, your single player experience will suffer or be ruined altogether.

[@Pyro-Moloch]

***** thanks

[@mikeyoung9810]

I like PoE but the lag on my old system gets old as does crashing when zoning after I play for awhile.

[@Frej84]

PoE IS GREAT IF YOU PREFER TO READ ALL THE ITEM DESCRIPTION IN CAPSLOCK. PERSONALLY I WISH THEY HAD TAKEN A COURSE IN INTERACTION DESIGN.

[@koalawithchaingun53]

What’s funny is I usually hate the swampy, dark ritualistic aesthetic. But I love it in Grim Dawn.

[@darthchubbz5668]

torchlight 2 with mods is by far my favorite arpg