The "Tale of Two Blacksmiths" quest in Grim Dawn forces an early choice that shapes your crafting options for the entire playthrough: side with Angrim for martial gear and pierce resistance, or Duncan for caster-focused energy regeneration and off-hand magic items. The decision isn't permanent — New Game Plus on Elite difficulty lets you recruit the other blacksmith and unlock their recipes — but your first run will feel meaningfully different depending on which smith sets up shop at Devil's Crossing.
The Quest Setup
The quest triggers the moment you speak with Duncan at his camp in the Foggy Bank, just past the cave section. He wants the Malleus Menhir, a legendary hammer currently held by his former master, Angrim. Tracking Angrim down means fighting through a Groble camp to the northeast and crossing a plank bridge to his isolated ledge. He refuses to hand over the hammer voluntarily. You can either kill him and return the hammer to Duncan, or convince Angrim to relocate to Devil's Crossing and replace Duncan as the settlement's blacksmith. Grim Dawn respects player agency here — there's no "correct" dialogue path to get the hammer peacefully. Violence or persuasion are your only levers.
What Each Blacksmith Actually Offers
Angrim's crafting pool leans physical. His items can roll bonus Pierce Resistance, Armor, or Physique — stats that directly amplify melee and ranged weapon builds. His exclusive recipes include the Brutal Great Axe, Battle Shield, Honed Longsword, and Rotating Rifle, the last of which is a standout early-game firearm for rifle-focused characters. Duncan, by contrast, caters to magic users. His gear can roll Energy Regeneration, Defensive Ability, and Physique. His unique recipes — Adept's Bladed Mace, Double-Barrel Pistol, Glyphed Archive, and Occult Horn — provide off-hand options for casters and hybrid builds that Angrim simply doesn't stock.
Why This Choice Exists
Grim Dawn launched in 2016 from Crate Entertainment, a studio formed by Titan Quest veterans. The game's design philosophy centers on meaningful build-defining decisions rather than illusion of choice. The blacksmith quest is an early tutorial for that philosophy: your character's damage type, resource economy, and gear progression all shift based on a single NPC interaction. Most ARPGs gate crafting behind reputation grinds or random drops. Grim Dawn ties it to narrative consequence, a rarity in the genre that reinforces the game's reputation for depth over accessibility.
The New Game Plus Safety Valve
Here's where the stakes soften. After defeating the final boss on Normal difficulty, you can restart the campaign on Elite with the same character — effectively New Game Plus. The blacksmith you didn't choose becomes available in the second run, unlocking their full recipe list. Completionists lose nothing long-term. For a first playthrough, though, the choice matters: Angrim's Rotating Rifle can carry a physical build through Elite's early acts, while Duncan's Glyphed Archive and Occult Horn enable caster scaling that otherwise requires rare drops.
The Pragmatic Take
Both blacksmiths are temporary. Devil's Crossing is the first of several hubs, and later settlements — Homestead, Fort Ikon, the Conclave of the Three — offer superior crafting options that render Angrim and Duncan obsolete by the mid-game. The guide author's advice holds: pick Angrim to avoid backtracking to Duncan's camp, then grab Duncan's recipes in Elite. The "wrong" choice costs you maybe two hours of convenience, not build viability. Grim Dawn respects your time more than its reputation suggests.
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