Hi all, I rolled a Defiler on the Kaladim TLE server. I am currently level 22 and I'm really struggling with trying to do quests. I understand that as a priest, my main role is keeping a group alive. When I'm in groups I'm fine and really enjoying it. However, when I want to take some time out and play at my own pace doing quests I find I am really struggling. My rotation is: 1) Ward myself 2) Atrophy or Abomination to pull the mob 3) Putrefy to apply DOT 4) Heroic Oppurtunity setup 5) Imprecate 6) Wrath *Heroic Oppurtunity complete* Repeat steps 4 to 6 until the mob is down. I'm really struggling currently in the Commonlands though. I have done all the Freeport outer areas (Graveyard, Sprawl etc). Completed the DLW quest series and done a lot in the Commonlands. Grouped once for the Wailing Caves and cleared it out with the group (I had loads of fun here as my wards were keeping everyone alive). I am kind of nearing Nek Forest questline now, but I went there recently to complete the Mooshga quest (collect purple mushrooms) and found I was struggling against a level 20 blue spider! I had run out of most of my power and I was sat there for like 5 minutes trying to take it down. Am I doing something wrong? I feel like I might be. I have level 20 armour that is quite good in comparison to drops. Using a spear and shield combo which again, are good compared to drops. I'm starting to wonder whether I have chose the right class for my play style now just due to time constraints and not always up for grouping. But that said, how am I meant to level my Defiler if the solo option is not viable? Would really appreciate some help!
I hate to be the bubble-burster, but especially in vanilla and DoF, defilers are dreadfully bad soloers. You will rarely die, but the same can be said for anything you try to kill. Defiler DPS is, and always be, near the rock bottom of the game. What I can tell you is that, for your level, you are doing it right. That's the extent of your dps capacity. The only thing I can recommend further is making sure you're auto-attacking for each fight, that can provide some background dps that speeds things up a little - you might also look into upgrading the quality of your spells. The bump in DPS on our spells from apprentice II to even adept can be pretty meaningful. If you've got the cash, researching your spells to master will enable you to tackle some content solo a little more easily - but you will never be known for your damage dealing skills - it's really just not part of the class identity. Better to know now before you get too far, or get burned out trying to solo even further up - it will only get harder as you level to do anything on your own. If you're looking for self-sustaining heals and DPS, druids are often a good bet. They bring a lot more DPS to the table than other priests.
TLE servers are made for grouping. Not soloing. I feel for ya though, cause I'm dying quite a bit myself soloing. After lvl 18, you are just gonna have to choose your fights.
What is the quality of your spells ? U must have adept/expert spells as defiler to do ok. Also i remember at dome point u don’t get new damage spells for a while and the ones u get are crap so at some pount around lvl 20 it’s hard. But defilers are liw dsp healer so u need high quality spells. On kaladim i see a lit of people running with app spells. Even at lvl 40. Don’t wait to be max lvl to care about that. Adept is the minimum to do ok.
I agree with Raff completely. This is how it was Back in The Day for soloing for most of the priests (maybe except Fury...). The best thing to do is grit your teeth, get a group to level, don't expect to experience the content solo (as a Defiler) then roll something like a Shadowknight to actually do the quests. Either that or be SUPER patient and kill blue or green mobs. Leveling a Defiler solo is crazymaking.
If you're going to solo, switch to 2H - more DPS, easier to time casting between swings, you're a defiler if you need a shield to solo something, you'll fall asleep before killing it - and upgrade your damage spells to at least Expert - Don't forget to reaply the DoT. As a Defiler, you'll need every bits of DPS. If that's not enough try to find a questing partner even if only for a short time. Hey worst case scenario, it will a Guard or another Defiler
Actually, go with a wand rather than a 2-hander and do spell ranged auto-attack.. that way you don't have to worry about timing your auto-attack. And ranged auto-attack damage is generally comparable with a 2-hander
