Sanjo's Craftlocked Mod

It is a Grim Dawn mod that removes most random wearable gear drops from normal loot sources and shifts progression toward crafting. Monsters and chests still reward you, but those rewards are mostly meant to help you make equipment rather than hand it to you outright. You can still see the occasional direct monster drop, just far less often than in the base game.

The goal is to make upgrades feel earned instead of incidental. I wanted Grim Dawn to feel less like a loot vacuum and more like a dark survival ARPG where materials, planning, and crafting decisions actually drive your power curve.

Under the hood, the mod rewrites shared loot tables, named chest tables, and certain creature records that would otherwise drop equippable items directly. Those references are replaced with loot tables that favor safer rewards like components, materials, and other crafting-oriented drops.

Yes, at least in the sense that power spikes arrive less randomly. You cannot count on enemies to solve your gearing problems. You need to think ahead, gather materials, and engage with crafting much earlier than usual.

No. The point is not to make the world empty. The point is to change what kinds of rewards matter, moving value away from direct gear drops and toward ingredients, support items, and build planning. You will still occasionally see usable gear from monsters, but it is no longer the main path for progression.

You pay more attention to recipes, vendors, blacksmith access, and material income. The big shift is mental: instead of waiting for enemies to dress your character, you use loot to fund the gear you plan to craft. Vendors are still part of the loop, but spending iron bits carelessly can slow your progress when that same currency may be needed for recipes, components, or your next crafted upgrade.

Yes. Vendors are still usable and can be an important part of progression. The difference is that currency becomes a more strategic resource, so buying on impulse is riskier. Every pile of iron bits you spend at a shop is iron you are not spending on crafting momentum.

Quest rewards are their own loot source, so they do not automatically follow the same rules as normal monster drops and chest drops. In the current version of the mod, the main focus is redirecting most direct gear rewards from enemies and loot tables. Quest rewards may still need their own review and cleanup if any equippable item rewards slip through.

Not necessarily through crafting alone. Some of Grim Dawn's strongest gear is not normally craftable, so this mod is better understood as changing your main progression loop, not as guaranteeing that every best-in-slot item comes from the blacksmith. The core idea is that most everyday gearing should rely much less on random drops, while the game's rarer or more specialized chase items may still depend on whatever source normally provides them.

No. They are less important as a source of instant gear upgrades, but they still matter as a source of materials, components, iron bits, and other loot that feeds your crafting progression. In other words, containers are still rewarding, just in a more practical and less jackpot-driven way.

They still matter, but for slightly different reasons. Exploration and side content become more about finding resources, earning currency, uncovering recipes, and improving your overall crafting position than about expecting a sudden gear jackpot. You are still rewarded for going off the main path, but the reward is more often long-term progression fuel instead of an immediate equipment spike.

No. Monster totems are less about exploding into a pile of instant gear upgrades, but they can still be worth doing because they condense danger and rewards into one spot. In Craftlocked terms, that means more chances at materials, components, currency, and the occasional useful drop, all of which can still push your progression forward.

The intended experience is Veteran Hardcore. That setting best matches the mod's harsher pacing, tighter resource pressure, and more deliberate progression loop. You can still experiment outside that format, but Veteran Hardcore is the version of the experience this mod is built around.

It is for players who like Grim Dawn's combat and world, but want a stricter progression model where equipment is made, not casually found.