Who also experience this trend in the Chat Channel? "Group is looking for Dirge/Illu". Only taking an Troub, when no Dirge is aviable. This is a huge trend on Innovation server. So I would like to hear if this is also true on other servers. To see, if there is a big red line, or just a trend on a few servers. (And I'am speaking of Pick-Ups, that you get to group with your friends/raiders is social grouping ) Ethuil, Troubadour on Innovation Server
Faelgalad wrote: Yea this happens on every other server as well, especially for PUG's. The reasoning behind it is for direct hate xfer's for the tank.
Yep hate transfer is a huge reason, add in cob, dps mod etc. I do find it annoying when I have to "wait" to get a group and see LF Dirge spams. Sometimes I get lucky and players I know or guild group has an opening. Otherwise it's wait till some group being formed by Crusader/Mage where they want Trouby buffs. Mindset for most is Dirge > Troub, much the same with Illy > Coercer. Not the end of the world but it is annoying none-the-less.
What I find ironic is the comments from the tanks when I group my troub in PUG's. "Wow! I am having a pretty easy time hold aggro with this group!" And from the other group members who say, "Wow ! You are doing a great job with aggro! What are you doing?" Then I pipe in with, "Actually, I am running my Alin's Serenade song. Reduces aggro generated by non-fighters in the group." "Cool! We didn't know troubs could do that!" If they don't believe me I just drop Alin's. Its just a matter of seconds before I then have to evac because the healer and wizard got stomped into a squishy puddle.
It's not a matter of hate at all, even though the dirge hate increaser is > to the troub hate decreaser, it's only by a few %. ( of course with the coming changes the disparity will get bigger because dirge hate will be >>> troub dehate ) Not only is the dirge class very good at increasing the dps output of melee classes, it is very good at increasing the survivability of your group : buffs like stoneskin, luck of the dirge ( proc % increaser ), the chain interupts thanks to CoB and gravitas are huge. The dirge parry buff brings x2 more skill points than the troub defense buff. wtf ? debuff wise they can reduce the haste of an encounter by 30% and the dps mod of a target by 50%; players tend to forget how freaking huge these effects are, and that most damage done by ennemies is from autoattack. Player dps wise they debuff magic damage almost as much as a troub but they also have a physical miti debuff. Now take the new overpowered void legendary bp, it adds a luck of the dirge like effect to either potm or cob, and it stacks with luck of the dirge. When you know that cob is up 1/3 of the time whereas potm is up 1/4 of the time this effect just digs the hole a bit deeper for troubs. Now if the dirge has some VP or TSO set gear cob is up 1/2 of the time, litteraly burrying the troub. Add in the fact that diges do more dps, solo better and are more numerous in the perfect raid setup than troubs, you get the the unwanted non casual friendly class that is the troub. As long as enchanters, SKs and clerics sit where they are sitting you can say that class balancing is dead in eq2.
I see this all the time in level chat too. I play a Troub and a Coercer, and their counterparts are definitely more desirable to PuGs. Funny story though... I had a huge shock one night a few weeks ago. I'd left my Troub AFK somewhere as I had gone to eat dinner. When I got back a couple hours later, I saw a random tell from some person I don't know, offering me 5 plat if I'd join their Unrest group and stay the duration. It was like a flash from the Twilight Zone. Guess all the Dirges were on coffee break?
I do look for dirges too.. I do alot of PuG's and my general preferred group setup is this; Paladin(me) Swashbuckler(wife) Defiler Assassin/Brigand Illu/coercer(illu pref) Dirge Scouts do more dps than mages on my server.. So my group tends to get melee centric. Its got little to do with aggro, since Im a paladin, but more about the increased dps a dirge gives for a melee centric group. It also seems to be Tanks that lead and start groups. That might have something to do with it as well. Squishies die if they take aggro, scouts dont. When I play my wizzie (I also start groups) and then my pref setup is slightly different. Wizard(me) Swashy(wife) tank (any type will do) Troub(mainly because Im a wizard, but will get dirge if my wife nags to much about getting one) Illu or Coercer(mainly for regen, but prefer illu) Defiler
You think playing a Troub is bad? Trying playing a Necro. I have to claim I can spot heal just to get a group.
I do have a level 80, mythicaled necro. That is why I play a troub, now. I also have an Inquisitor and a Zerker. I guess that makes me a masochist.
Hmm - a slightly discouraging thread since I have been leveling a Troub alt on a second account. I chose this class because my main is a Fury so naturally I thought Toubs were the way to go, my guild could benefit from an extra Regen class and there are too many Dirges on my server already. I do not want to play another over-exposed class. /em looks directly at his Fury. Then again I do not want an unneeded class since PuG's are my main source of group content. Oh decisions, decisions.
Mogote wrote: I love my Troub, and oddly enough if my guild groups don't need a healer (my Warden), I'm asked to bring my Troub before my Coercer - as I play the three interchangably. I tend to favor the underdog classes just for the challenge, but players naturally flock to the classes that currently in favor due to the game mechanics. Does your guild already have a high level Dirge? I'd go Troubie if so, especially you if plan to box it and your Fury together sometimes. I've been dragging my own Troub around to mentor my new baby Defiler who becomes a wake of death and destruction with the buffs. <3 Betrayal is always an option if you wind up not liking your choice, so you're not locked in if it doesn't work out for you.
I play on LDL and tend not to have problems finding a group at 80, though I do hear "group looking for a dirge..." and rarely the other way around. I asked about that in chat the other day, and the response I recieved was that if the tank is forming the group, they prefer a dirge for the stronger hate buff and the stoneskin.
When I see lf Dirge in the channels I just ask: can't use a real bare ie Troub ?? And usually I get a spot.. Don't be afraid to lvl up a troub, there are groups for it for sure..
