Blacksmiths: Angrim vs Duncan

The Choice and How Permanent It Is

• ▸The Act 1 side quest Tale of Two Blacksmiths decides whether Angrim or Duncan is unlocked (see the related quest for the walkthrough).
• ▸Within that difficulty the choice cannot be changed.
• ▸But the choice is made independently per difficulty, and choosing differently elsewhere has no effect on other difficulties - a character who picked Angrim on Normal can freely pick Duncan on Elite.
• ▸Neither choice blocks progression or quests; the difference is crafting only.

The Crafting Bonus Pools

Crafting gear at a smith attaches one random bonus from that smith's pool - the substantive difference between the two.

• ▸Angrim (the military-gear expert): a defense-leaning pool with 3-7% pierce resistance, 2-4% armor, +2-4% physique, and the like.
• ▸Duncan (the magical-smithing prodigy): a caster-leaning pool with 8-16% energy regeneration, +4-12 Defensive Ability, +2-4% physique, and the like.
• ▸Choose by bonus value: take Angrim if armor or pierce resistance suits your build, Duncan if energy regeneration or Defensive Ability is what you want. Every bonus applies to the player - none affects pets directly.
• ▸The bonus rolls randomly per craft, so re-crafting the same item to chase a specific bonus is possible - budget permitting.

Recipe Scope and Later Smiths

• ▸Smiths craft gear, components, relics, and more from blueprints, and learned blueprints work at any smith.
• ▸Each smith's innate recipes differ, though - Angrim and Duncan each carry specialty low-level weapons of their own.
• ▸More smiths join through act progression and expansions - thirteen in total across the base game and DLC, each with its own bonus lean.
• ▸The Celestial Smiths met on Elite and above are the special case handling respec tonic crafting (see the Respec article).
• ▸In practice the first choice carries little weight: later smiths pile up and each difficulty re-opens the choice, so pick whichever fits your build without agonizing.

1. Grim Dawn Japanese Wiki: Crafting — Confirms the Angrim/Duncan bonus pools (3-7% pierce res, 2-4% armor, +2-4% physique / 8-16% energy regen, +4-12 DA, +2-4% physique), the innate recipe differences, the thirteen total smiths, and the per-difficulty independence of the choice.
2. Grim Dawn Japanese Wiki: Blueprints — Confirms learned blueprints being shared (within the mode) and usable for crafting regardless of smith.
3. Grim Dawn Japanese Wiki: Crafting (Celestial Smiths) — Confirms Celestial Smiths appearing on Elite+ and crafting the respec tonics without blueprints.
4. Official Crate Forum: Grim Dawn v1.2.1.6 + Hotfix — Official patch notes for the verified version.