Frequently Asked Questions (Beginner FAQ)

Character Creation and Growth

• ▸Q. Which difficulty first? A. Start Normal - Veteran is a toggle you can flip anytime (see Normal or Veteran).
• ▸Q. Are mastery picks reversible? A. Only the two-mastery combination is permanent; skill points can be refunded at the Spirit Guide (see Respec Rules).
• ▸Q. Where do attribute points go? A. All Physique when unsure; Cunning/Spirit only to meet gear requirements (see Attribute Points).
• ▸Q. Where to start with Devotion? A. Restore shrines on sight and use Crossroads as affinity scaffolding (see Devotion Basics).

Combat and Survival

• ▸Q. Sudden burst deaths? A. Resistances first - check the character sheet and fill gaps with armor resist components (see Resistances and Components and Augments).
• ▸Q. Missing attacks / eating crits? A. OA/DA shortfall - the mechanics live in their own article (see OA and DA Explained).
• ▸Q. What does dying cost? A. On Softcore, only the bottom-gauge XP, recoverable at your grave marker - never a level (see Early XP). Hardcore is different: death permanently loses the character.
• ▸Q. Where are my health potions? A. Since v1.2.0.0 they're baseline skills, not items - use the dedicated quickbar buttons (see Your First Character).

Systems and Items

• ▸Q. More inventory bags? A. Quest rewards, five max: four on Normal, the fifth from an Elite re-clear (see Inventory Bags).
• ▸Q. Out of stash space? A. Buy tabs with iron; expansion scope is DLC-dependent, and SC/HC stashes are fully separate (see Stash Expansion).
• ▸Q. Which blacksmith? A. The difference is only the crafting-bonus pool, and each difficulty re-opens the choice (see Blacksmiths).
• ▸Q. Green gear named after an enemy? A. That's an MI (Monster Infrequent) - fixed dropper, deliberately farmable (see Monster Infrequents).

Progression, Money, and Shopping

• ▸Q. Short on iron? A. Fill your bags, rift to town, sell, repeat (see Early Game Money).
• ▸Q. Underleveled? A. Use the tiered XP articles - quest progression usually suffices (see Early XP and Mid XP).
• ▸Q. Skipping difficulties on an alt? A. FG Merits do it, auto-granting lower-difficulty points, bags, and riftgates (see Difficulties and Merits).
• ▸Q. Which DLC to buy? A. AoM then FG as the baseline; FoA releases 2026-07-23 (see the DLC Guide).
• ▸Q. How do I research builds? A. Pick an archetype from this site's build list, then number-check on Grim Tools (see the Grim Tools guide).

1. Grim Dawn Japanese Wiki: FAQ — Confirms the source FAQ content behind the money and bag answers; each answer's detailed citations are consolidated in the linked articles' sources.
2. Official Grim Dawn Game Guide: Game Difficulties — Confirms the primary basis for the difficulty answers (Normal start, the Veteran toggle).
3. Official Crate Forum: Grim Dawn v1.2.0.0/1/2/3 Hotfixes — Confirms the primary basis for the baseline-skill potions (v1.2.0.0).
4. Official Crate Forum: Grim Dawn v1.2.1.6 + Hotfix — Official patch notes for the verified version.