Dirge's leveling

Discussion in 'Dirge' started by ARCHIVED-Properman, Feb 28, 2010.

  1. ARCHIVED-Properman Guest

    Ive been playing this game for 2 weeks now and loving it, Ive made and tried a few class race combos and found I enjoyed playing a dirge. Now that Ive gotten a few levels (lvl 27) its turned into a very frustrating toon to play. Whenever I get more then 1 mob on me at a time(almost always now, way too many pats in the zones Im in) I dont do enough damage to fight my way out of it and I cant take many hits before I die. Every time Ive tried running away the mobs never stop chacing me and I die.
    If I can fight a single mob at a time I do ok but that hardly ever happens. I also have a 17 paladin I was trying out and not only can he survive 3-4 mobs at once but he can kill them very fast as well. Ive tried using 2 weapons for more damage but that wasnt dong it, I can survive a lot better against single mobs using a shield. Im on the last of the armor quest chain so my armor isnt too bad and I have some other half decent equipment as well.

    Any suggestions on how I can again make this toon the fun one it was when I started out?
  2. ARCHIVED-nipxur Guest

    Dirges (and Troubs I imagine as well) aren't the most solo friendly toons. However you put them in a group or raid and they really shine. You shouldn't expect to have the survivability of a plate tank or the dps of a rogue or predator. However you will bring much more utility and benefit to a group/raid than any of them.
    To help with your soloing I would recommend getting some mastercrafted armor. There isn't much I can think of off the top of my head that is better than mastercrafted armor through each tier. Upgrading your spells will also be beneficial.
  3. ARCHIVED-billchivers Guest

    1. I hate people who say 'learn to play', but seriously, you should be able to go through most of the solo content in this game without spending most of your time fighting multiple mobs. Keep your eyes open, learn to body pull if the circumstances really require it (which they rarely do). If you are fighting toe to toe, my advice is to get used to using 3rd person and use the camera to glance around to keep an eye on any roamers. Be ready to relocate if necessary. Especially, watch out if you are in an area that someone else has cleared. Those re-pops'll screw you every time.
    2. Kiting FTW. Dirges have great kiting tools. I have both a mythical dirge and a mythical ranger, the dirge is far better at kiting since many of the spells can be cast on the move. You can kite in some quite small spaces. Personally, I would say that dirges have far superior survivability to predators, especially by mid level. Take a good look at your spells and figure out which ones can be used to control the mobs speed. Don't forget about Garsins - it is to slow a recast for old eq1 style fear kiting, but its a handy one to keep up your sleeve when things go wrong. Got an add? Slap garsins on it, swap back to original target whilst the casting bar completes (you don't want to attack the add again) and get the first mob dead before the add comes back.
    3. Try and get a decent bow, and invest cash / rares in those spells and combat arts that are most use at range, i.e. those you can kite with, and as you have the AA available invest in the dirge tree to improve the damage and recast from those arts. That way your cash and AA's compound up on one another.
    For example, Jeal Dreadful Deprivation does a decent chunk of damage to open a fight, this puts a stun on the mob (15% broken on damage) so slap on some debuffs at that point (things like Daro's (you get at 30) debuff the mobs damage outpout and movement speed yet do no damage themselves so won't break the root).
    Howl of death is another great one to invest in ( you get it at 28 ) as it not only damages the mob, it also heals you, and its on a short timer, and you can cast it on the move. It doesn't have a long range, but it *is* longer than melee, so if you control your range well it is a great way to kite.
    4. Perhaps go 100% AA for a while. If you are soloing a lot, the standard group dirge AA builds that people suggest will not be optimum. There is a lot of virtue in going a little way down most of the lines, just to get the extra attacks. There are also a few things that chain together quite nicely. (cheapshot, run past, bump, misfortunes kiss). You might want to hold of until you reach level 32 though (the later part of a tier is a bit tougher than the early part because you got all your shiny MC gear at level n2 and the mobs keep going up in level all the time even though your gear hasn't, plus as mentioned above you've got some handy spells coming along over the next few levels.
    5. Finally, I've found my dirge to be far better at solo than I was expecting (mostly because people say that Bards are weak at solo), but having said that all your buffs are wasted if its just you. You are highly group desireable, so don't be shy, put it about a bit
    6. Finally finally (!) 1 more thing - a lot of the significance of stats has changed since the last expansion, most significantly for scouts. So, ignore any gear recommendation post over 2 weeks old, as we were telling people, correctly at the time, not to worry about AGI but instead get Mostly STR with INT where possible. Now, AGI is important. get agi gear, agi food, agi drink and temporary agi potions.
    Good luck! Come back and let us know how its going! If you further explanation on the above, do ask. I'm not exactly the dirge guru but I can hold my own.
  4. ARCHIVED-Elementus Guest

    I've also just rolled a Dirge alt and am curious as to which AA tree would be the best to start out with? I'm thinking of either (or both) AGI or INT with 4/10/10. Then I could work my down to Fortissimo 4/4/10 and DKtM 4/8/10/1 (which of these first?). Thanks :)
  5. ARCHIVED-nipxur Guest

    Elementus wrote:
    I'd recommend at least one point in Rhythm Blade first. The bonus to your skills we be very helpful. After that I'd recommend putting points in to the dirge tree. If you are soloing, I feel you get more bang for your buck with points in the dirge tree. The reason I say this is the the first 8 points in Stamina tree don't help you when you solo (as most dirges dual wield, not sword and board). The first 8 points in Agility tree don't help much (you can Cheap Shot and then Bump, but requires some good timing). The first 8 points in Wisdom tree can be used, but I don't feel they provide as much as putting points in the dirge tree to improve your combat arts. Once you get a decent number of points you can always respec your dirge tree and put points in to say the Foritissmo line.
    In the dirge tree, I'd recommend points in the lifetaps first, as those are quite useful when soloing. I personally like the Verlien's Keen Despair, as it reduces their resistance to disease damage, and most of our spells (if not all) do disease damage.
    Of the bard line, I'd recommend Fortissimo first, DKTM second, and AGI/INT third depending if you are solo/group. DKTM is now second for me as crits have been combined so getting higher crit on melee and spell damage is easier than before, and since a lot of our damage is from auto-attack, Fortissimo is quite beneficial.
    Just my .02, YMMV.
  6. ARCHIVED-Elementus Guest

    Thanks a lot for the detailed recommendations. It's always helpful to have such suggestions with explanations about the reasoning behind them :)
  7. ARCHIVED-fogcat Guest

    I remember the solo pains as a young dirge. It has been a while though. Do you have the Funeral March yet? I see you said you had root. The single mob encounters became easier with this formula: Arrow root, debuff with slows and hit with any ranged you can while mob is running to you, Cheap Shot when they get close for a happy stun and run behind and backstab while they are figuring out where you went. Back up and kite hitting the slow or snares, arrow root again...rinse and repeat. If there is more than one in a group mob, it does get trickier. If you have the Funeral March you can send one packing for a bit which should give you enough time to kill at least one of the big nasties. If you have more than 2, kite until the March comes up again and single them out that way. I suspect it is not as hard to do this as it used to be at that level. Once you hit 70, you can find groups. I know there are not that many lower tier groups these days, but it doesn't hurt to call out for it...you might hit paydirt with others levelling.
    Just know it DOES get easier to solo. Incredibly easier as your aa's go up and you get some nice songs. I solo quested much of my 80-90 progression and it was cake (well the expansion kind of made it so, but I digress). Dirges are loved so once you get high enough to hit the groups go for it. Remember, tanks will be your buddies. They want you....and they want you BAD! You will eventually be able to see how good tanks vary from bad tanks and will be able to pick and choose who YOU want to be with.
    I agree with the previous poster about Fortissimo. Get that and Luck of the Dirge (though a great case can be made for Denegrations). Don't Kill the Messenger is widely accepted as one of THE major aa lines, but with this new expansion, at end game crit chance is very easy to come by and while I still have it, it is not as in demand as it used to be. Allegro, however, is a beautiful thing. I like Rhythm Blade...a lot, but do not forget Bump for your extra back attack.
    If you are going solo and happen upon a solo tank, I suggest making a duo partnership if you get along. With that kind of duo, you will sail....fly....