Ten years after Grim Dawn originally launched, Crate Entertainment has released Fangs of Asterkarn, the ARPG’s third and final expansion, on Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store for $18.99, the price Crate confirmed last week. It arrives alongside the free v1.3 update, which brings an enhanced inventory management system, a UI overhaul, WASD accessibility controls, HDR lighting, detailed item tooltips, balancing, and bug fixes to all players. As we covered when the release date was announced in May, the new Asterkarn region spans over six square kilometers, making it the biggest zone the game has ever gotten.
Two of the largest additions this time around are the Berserker, the game’s 10th Mastery, and the new Ascendant game mode. Berserker is a shapeshifting class that transforms into beastlike forms, while Ascendant reworks the entire campaign into an endgame-level challenge, with every dungeon and boss encounter tuned for refined builds and a new equipment ascension system for chasing more power. “This may not be Grim Dawn 2, but to us it is very much Grim Dawn 1.5. A massive expansion of everything you’ve loved about the game and so much more,” said Kamil Marczewski, production director at Crate Entertainment.
Beyond the headliners, the expansion adds potion customization for turning standard potions into vitality tonics or unique buffs, affix transmutation for rerolling rare and magic items, new regions and boss arenas within the Shattered Realm, and the ability to awaken many Epic items to unlock their full potential. There are also three factions to contend with, led by the Kurn tribes, plus new super bosses, additional Nemesis bosses for old factions, five new hero monster archetypes spread across all of Cairn, and 30 additional Crucible waves for owners of the Crucible DLC. Two new roguelike dungeons are on the way as well, though those will arrive after launch through free content updates.
We received a key for Fangs of Asterkarn a couple days ahead of launch and have been working our way through everything new since. When Crate first announced the expansion back in 2023, we had just revisited Grim Dawn to catch up on everything we missed since our original playthrough, so this release has been a long time coming for us. Expect our full review sometime next week.
