First, I don't use the gog downloader and I haven't played GD in around 2 years and I only have the base game atm.
I recently found out about the update they had a year or so ago and want to download it. I have version 1.1 9.4. There is no manual patch to go from my version to 1.2.1.3. There's a file to go from like version 1.2.1.? to 1.2.1.3 but nothing from an earlier version.

Do I need to manually download the three game files again and install to get current? Will this delete my current characters since it'll appear to be a fresh install and not an update.
I originally came back because steam had the definitive edition for like $25 during their xmas sale and wanting the dlcs for a while now, I figured gog would have had a similar sale but it's not even on any discount here for some reason when everything else seems to be. I've started playing a primal strike shaman and it's so fun that before I get far, I want to update the game and/or play the dlcs too.

So anyways, what's the simplest way to get my game current here and if anyone has any insight, any chance the definitive edition goes on sale here anytime soon?

Thanks for confirming what I was assuming to be the case. I have 4 characters above 50 and a few others that hold items and if there is a chance of losing them, I'd figure I'd just buy it on steam now while it's on sale and start over. I really want to play the Forsaken Gods DLC.
Plus modding seems easier on steam too as almost every time I google mod questions, the posts are steam specific.

I would still prefer to buy on gog but don't know how long to wait since I'm enthused about this game again right now and want to keep playing, but with the definitive edition as it currently is. I don't see it going on sale again when the new dlc releases as the definitive edition will probably include that and they won't discount it for a while afterwards.

Modding's not really a problem since GD doesn't use Steam Workshop. Just download what mod/s you want from the links on the official forum and extract the files to the mods folder. Uh, having said that not sure how it works if you don't have Galaxy. What's the path for your game on GOG and is there a mods folder?

I switched over to Galaxy because I used to have very slow download speeds so updating GD and TQ meant it used to take all morning to do as each one took about an hour and a half to update. Have a faster service now, so don't know if it would be much slower than having Galaxy. I expect so because you're still having to download the whole game rather than just the latest patch.

Yeah, I saw steam doesn't have a workshop for GD. I just meant it's easier to mod on steam because if you have a question, you can just Google and get an answer whereas if you have a question about modding on gog (for any game actually), it's like looking for a needle in a haystack more often than not. I've modded skyrim, xcom2, and a bunch of others on steam with no issues but everytime I gotta mod something here, I get anxiety lol.

That said, I don't have a mods folder for GD as that was the first thing I looked for when deciding to try GD stash or the other similar one that's also popular (item something?). I just have 2 folders iirc - saves and data. My ISP gives me a 100gb download limit every cycle and if I go over, they start throttling my usage. So I usually wait till the end of the cycle to do my downloads in case I go over. I don't do automatic updates in steam also for this reason.

So i will dl the 5gb or so for GD here in a few days. Maybe the 1.2.1.3 version will include the mods folder so I don't have to guess where to manually add it. Still crossing my fingers for a definitive edition sale before the years up tho so I can just download it all one time.

Thanks for all your information btw. It's helpful and appreciated.

I don't know where it would be if you're doing manual installation, but my Galaxy path is this:

GOG Galaxy - Games - Grim Dawn and the mods folder is in the files that show in there.

My saves on other hand are different because I use local saves so they're in:

My Documents - My Games - Grim Dawn - save

GDStash is a tool, not a mod so won't go into the mods folder anyway. Just put it wherever you want it to be.

Yeah, thats where my saves folder is too. I don't use cloud saves either. I saw Stash was recently updated and so will download that later tonight, create a \mods directory where you said yours is and hope it works.
Also, been watching a Lets Play of GD while playing myself and the QoL improvements are immense (esp the Wind Devil persistence!) that I will DL the 1.2.1.4 update tonight too and start a character with that. It'll probably take me over my throttle limit but I can't wait another 8-10 days.

This game is so good, can't believe I hadn't played in nearly 2 years now and its taking all my willpower atm to not just buy it on Steam sale. If I didn't have gear and faction stuff to pass down to my new characters, I may have actually bought it there already but don't want to start completely over although its quite tempting.
I was looking over my older characters and the builds for both the 76 witch hunter and 67 warlock are so bad, No specializations and each has 5-6 different types of skills on their hotbar - chaos, poison, acid, vitality, etc. It was fun for sure but I kinda took a break because the choices in the devotion tree, and with all the gear options got overwhelming. Just didn't expect to be a 2 year break. Picked up the witch hunter again and he's a few quests away from ultimate but I do need to respec his skills if I keep playing him.

I noticed your title here says "GD playtester". Is that because you're part of the testing for the new dlc or just because you play a lot? If the former, are you allowed to talk about it a little or is there a full NDA? Would be curious to know what's happening there aside from a new class. Thanks for confirming that info.

Don't put GDStash in the mods folder; it not a mod. Just put it somewhere where you want it to be. I put mine in the My Games folder just so it was near to the saves, but it doesn't really matter. You'll set the paths up in it when you start it up.

Yes, I playtest and no, can't really say anything about the playtesting. While not under an NDA can't say anything that isn't already publicly known.

Didn't realise Stash would be as cheaty as it is. Guess I should've looked into it closer. But it works and didn't mess up my game as I sometimes fear with mods. Nor did installing 1.2. The only negative from that seems to be it created nearly an extra gig of possible bloat in my GD directory than a fresh install probably would've done. I may still do that after backing up my saves directory.

My favorite feature so far actually turns out to be the icon for MI drops. Gotta say that always had confused me before as I never knew (still don't) what the rare suffixes and affixes are and only assumed I got an MI when the item had a long list of stats to it. The new icon helps with clearly identifying MIs. Downloaded the rainbow mod to possibly help me more but didn't install yet.
And don't think this was related to 1.2 but met my very first nemesis in this game last night and he destroyed me in 5 seconds. I took some time gearing up as best I could with components and such and went back hoping it didn't despawn, which it didn't. When I got close, it turned and one-shotted me lol, not ready for them anytime soon. That was my first character I got to Elite and when looking at the stats, he's died 196 times! My second one only died 29 times and is almost to Ultimate so that was a massive improvement for me I'd say.

Thanks again for your assistance in this thread. Was super valuable to me and while I have tons more questions, related to gameplay and the numerous choices/options this game gives, discovering it as you play is partly why it's so fun. Happy holidays and have a wonderful new year.

Well, updating did because this happened in the v1.2.10 patch:

"Nemesis boss spawns have been overhauled. Nemesis bosses now appear randomly nearby when you slaughter monsters of their faction that grant experience and/or infamy, with more progress granted in Challenge Areas. Nemesis bosses no longer have fixed spawn points. Each Nemesis can still only spawn once per session."

They no longer have specific spawn locations and can appear anywhere now.

Np, happy to help. Wishing you an enjoyable gaming 2025.