When comparing Attack on Titan 2 vs Grim Dawn, the Slant community recommends Grim Dawn for most people. In the question“What are the best action games on Steam?” Grim Dawn is ranked 20th while Attack on Titan 2 is ranked 33rd. The most important reason people chose Grim Dawn is:
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities. Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines. Then there is item customization with crafted "modifiers", adding additional unique stats and skills that you can use, all this adds literally to thousands / millions of character possibilities. Do you want to use a double weapon shooting lightning bolts? You can do that. Do you want to summon your creatures and support them with fireballs? You can do that as well, you can push it wherever you want.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Control is easy to maintain during combat thanks to target locking
You can swap and lock onto targets at will. Even though you'll be wildly attacking and zipping around the air in aerial acrobatics, control of where your attacks will land is easy to maintain. Whether you're attacking the arms, legs, or head of the massive Titans, you'll be able to lock on to your chosen body part. This locking allows you to focus your damage with precision and control, resulting in smooth and refined combat.
Pro Incredibly fun aerial combat
The combat has a satisfying feel to it that never grows stale, so even after the long campaign, it still feels fresh. It's fast paced, fun, and zipping through the air never loses its appeal.
Just like in the anime, you wear a jetpack type item called the ODM (Omni-Directional Mobility). It's what you'll be using to perform aerial maneuvers and fling yourself across levels. It makes you move incredibly quickly, so the combat has a very fast paced feel to it.
Once you've got a Titan in your sights, you can lock onto 1 of 5 attack points on it's body such as the arms or legs. Using the ODM, you'll send out hooks that latch on to your target as you launch yourself into the air.
From there, you can bounce around, almost like a bungee cord, between the open air and your target as you time your weapon strikes for maximum damage. You can also swap targets midair, such as going for an instant kill neck hit. This results in some impressive aerial combat.
Pro Using bases on the map, you can customize a unique strategy for your playstyle
Deciding what base to build is up to you, with each providing it's own benefit. This leaves a lot of room open for your own personal playstyle and strategy based on the battle at hand. Bases can be used for offense, defense, or supply generation. For example, if you find you're always running low on blades and gas, you could put up a Supply Base to give you a steady stream of resources. Other bases include cannons and turrets which can be used to provide cover or attack the Titans from long range.
Pro Sneak attacks are a fun risk/reward stealth mechanic
Choosing whether or not to unleash a sneak attack before the Titans notice you can be great fun when you pull it off, but downright hazardous when you mess up. It's a risk/reward system that allows for some rather interesting stealth strategy in an otherwise action-heavy game. Sneak attacks allow you to instantly kill or severely wound a Titan (provided they haven't seen you yet). However, if you mess up or botch the attack, the Titan will become instantly enraged. This makes them stronger and incredibly dangerous to fight.
Pro There's a secret ending that's not in the anime, which puts a new spin on the story
There's a secret, special ending for gamers that's different from the ending in the season 2 anime. Even if you've seen the anime, you'll still have the opportunity to see the story conclude in a new way.
Pro The unique opportunity to fight alongside characters from the show and manga
You can recruit characters from the show and manga to help you in combat. While you can't control them directly, having them in your group allows to you unleash powerful combat buffs on-demand such as attack power increases and one shot kills. This provides a fun aspect to gameplay where you feel like you're engaged in fighting the Titans alongside well-known characters from the anime without having to micromanage too many things. At the same time, you'll still be getting all the benefits and excitement of playing with a group of anime heroes.
Pro Complex leveling system with thousands of possible builds
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities.
Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines. Then there is item customization with crafted "modifiers", adding additional unique stats and skills that you can use, all this adds literally to thousands / millions of character possibilities.
Do you want to use a double weapon shooting lightning bolts? You can do that. Do you want to summon your creatures and support them with fireballs? You can do that as well, you can push it wherever you want.
Pro Great homage to old school ARPGs
This game is very dark, and grim. It harkens back to games like Diablo 2 or Titans Quest. While other ARPGs have come out since then, none have hit all the marks of what fans of the genre have been asking for. For those that wish for an updated version of Diablo 2, Grim Dawn is the game for them.
Pro Exploration
Pro Highly modifiable
Relevant in modern gaming because the community can keep products like this fresh and varied, even if the developers eventually decide to slow down their updates (which they have not!). The possibilities are great with modding, while the experiences in Diablo 3 and Path of exile are a lot more static.
Pro Drop-in co-op (online and local)
Co-op is pretty convenient as players can drop in and out of your gaming session at any time. This way there is no wasted time jumping out of ones game in order to find players to play with.
Cons
Con The friendship system and skill unlocking is extremely one-dimensional
Skills are unlocked by forming friendships with other characters. Choosing the "wrong" dialogue option during interactions prevents you from building this reputation, thus locking you out of certain skills. For example, if an NPC is bragging about how awesome he is, you either have to agree to appease him or else you'll lose out on valuable combat skills.
Con Your main playable character feels like a secondary thought rather than the main focus
You are nothing more than a trainee that lives to serve the other characters. When interacting with them, there's no consistency in the dialogue options. Nor is there anything to denote your character has any kind of unique personality at all. It's hard to form an attachment or become invested to your character when you're just a "Yes Man" for the NPCs if you want to learn combat skills.
Con Story mode has a lot of repeated content from the first game
Majority of the story mode in Attack on Titan 2 is simply a retelling of the first game. This is perfectly fine for people new to the series, but if you've played the first game, prepare to see hours of the exact same cut scenes and boss fights before you get to the new stuff.
Con Only some builds are fun
There is a definite meta, with superefficient vs non-viable builds.
It's easy to mess up a build, and attribute and spec-bar points are non-respeccable (you can use a cheat editor, but devs want you to reroll a new char).
Con Difficult to move when fighting, especially when you are ranged
Con Static pre-rendered levels
This may cut down on replayability a bit as all the levels in the game are pre-rendered, meaning that each playthrough will have the exact same layout, making for something that can get tiring and too familiar. Similar games have gone with randomized levels, which can keep the game fresh. While Grim Dawn is meant to be a throwback to earlier games in the genre, some newer features found in more recent released would have been welcome.
Con Lots of trips to town
The majority of loot in the game can be useless, with odd stat restrictions or repeats of vendor items. This means the user will need to make many trips into town to sell it all off in order to have room for even more loot they will not necessarily need.