When comparing Battleborn vs Grim Dawn, the Slant community recommends Grim Dawn for most people. In the question“What are the best Class-Based games on Steam?” Grim Dawn is ranked 1st while Battleborn is ranked 6th. 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
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Great blend of FPS gameplay and MOBA elements
Battleborn mixes FPS gameplay and MOBA-like elements. You shoot, use special abilities, and gain exp as you kill enemies, allowing you to select new abilities as you level up. This adds a surprising depth to the standard FPS formula since a kill advantage will also make you stronger than your opponent. Fortunately, it's not just about being a good shot, since you also need to plan properly, use abilities at the right times, and know when to take risks and when to avoid them.
Pro Plenty of loot to earn
The huge array of customization comes from all of the loot you earn as you play. Lootboxes are generous, giving tiered rewards such as epic gear, like high-powered weapons that you constantly want to aim for. There's also the nice addition of unique skins that you can unlock for each of your characters, helping them stand out even more from other players who may be using the same ones as you. After every battle, you may find yourself opening as many lootboxes as you can to get as much gear, weapons, and skins as you possibly can.
Pro Tons of customization for your characters
Thanks to a variety of gear from lootboxes and in-depth skill trees, you have a lot of control over how your character plays. Customizing your preferred character with certain gear with bonuses to damage or defense, for example, and then doubling down on those stats through the skills you pick is a great way to tailor your gameplay experience. You have many ways to make your character your own, which ensures that no two players will have the same experience. Whoever you spend the time to customize the most ends up feeling unique to your playstyle.
Pro Exciting online and local co-op
Playing Battleborn with a group of friends makes for a great time. Whether you move together as a tight-knit team or go off on your own and take down others as you see fit, you have the added bonus of being able to coordinate what happens to your team members. Having this advantage makes the gameplay more interesting, as you get the chance to plan out strikes for the best kill advantages. Talking over with your team on the best ways to take risks or hold back opens up ways for you all to earn as much experience points as possible and earn the best loot that you can.
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 No players online
Con Boring story mode
There is little story in the game, and what there is, is often uninspired and boring. The narrative is pretty basic, and it will sound too familiar to you if you've played other popular shooter games. The gameplay in the story mode is also a bland horde mode that throws the same types of side missions at you over and over again. There's sadly not much here that's fresh or interesting.
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.