I've played the game during launch and recently returned trying out a bunch of classes and carefully reading as much information as possible. My choice finally came down to the Dirge class. I love DW melee combat in combination the huge set of tools the Dirge have and can do. I understand the Dirge is no Assassin or a pure DPS class, but I would want at least respectable melee damage. By melee damage I do not necessarily mean the pure melee hits with a weapon, but the ability to go toe to toe, which is for me a relative important factor in combat. Though I understand I'll have to master kiting for certain though experiences and some pvp fights. I just don’t want my melee weapons to be a novelty. Perfect does not exist, so I'm sure some aspect will be not as expected, but is the above pretty applicable to the Dirge class or am I (eventually) in for a disappointment? Any input, advice, opinion or criticism =)
Depends on several factors: Level Spell/CA mastery levels Weapon used Gear Procs You the player behind the toon.
A comparatively equipped and skilled Dirge won't do as much personal DPS as non-bard scouts or generally tanks. Damage will be a mixture of spells and combat arts. However, melee autoattack and combat arts will always be a significant factor in game play and never just a novelty. Melee groups will love you because of your buffs and debuffs. Soloing against group or heroic mobs will often involve kiting followed by finishing the mobs off in melee. In general solo combat tactics will vary a reasonable amount compared to many other classes (mixed kiting, fearing adds or giving time to lifetap, stunning to flank mobs etc.). It will be a fun class to play and is in demand for most groups.
I'm only level 55, but I've enjoyed every level up to now on my Dirge. For me, there is no better class - she's awesome! I mainly solo, simply because I'm not online very often, and when I am online, finding PUG groups are few and far between. So, I solo - and I've managed very well so far. By the time they get to me, they're already dieing anyway, so the melee part is just putting them over the hump. With CA's, spells and autoattack, even mobs don't stand a chance. Yellow's take a little more thought, but even those aren't really difficult. To put it simply, a dirge isn't meant to go toe to toe with epics, but what we ARE meant to do, we do very, very well.
