I at first decided to give up being a bard class entirely and wait for a fix. However, after going back and playing my summoner I just couldn't hack it. I needed to be a bard. Let's just say the class felt right. Now, here's what I have noticed. The first night after the patch I struggled with green con solo monsters. Admittedly my equipment is mostly green/blue con to me because I was waiting to make 20 to switch to all medium armor. However, I decided to come off a little money. I replaced a couple grey items and bought me some App II upgrades to some of my skills. I can now take on green solo mobs and fare just about as well as before. Blues are also about the same pre-"improvement". I bit the bullet and stopped delaying the decision to go either Dirge or Troubador. Obviously I completed the Dirge quest (which put me about 35% into 19). Looking in my quest journal I noticed i had a few quests I needed to finish in Blackburrow that were green to me. I decided to head down there and take on a few guys. I started big.. tried a ^^ green gnoll. Immediately realized I was going to die with my health at about 50% and the mob around 80-85%. Ran for the zone. Tried again with the same result. So then I saw two ^ green mobs and decided to try those. I had almost killed the first one, and hit around 25% health. Ran for the zone. So I decide to go after some easier fare. Tried to fight a ^^ grey mob and actually had to run with the mob around 50% health. That's sad. I can't even complete quests because people will not group with me for the easier mobs (for one quest) because they'll get no xp/loot. Secondly for two nights now I have gone without a single invite to a group after advertising it and turning on LFG. I used to have a group at worst in about 30 mins after I started looking. So, I headed out to Antonica and happened to see a ^^ green deer that I was able to solo a couple levels ago (around 3) with some effort but was able to always able to kill. I ended up running after I hit around 30% health left. Deer was still at 60% health. Then the kicker I ran for a long time and it appeared the deer had given up. It comes running over the hill about 10 secs delayed an whales on me so I have to run again and ended up zoning after it had chased me nearly all the way across the zone. Sad really... I understand that group mobs were not meant for solo people to defeat them. That's understandable. However, there needs to be some scaling so that if nothing else grey ^^ mobs can be defeated. If someone is killing those chances are it's for a quest of some type. If we can't kill those when can we finish a quest? In 20 levels? The devs have decreased the desirability of bard classes in groups so our chances of grouping are less. I can't get a group to complete the quest. I'm a grouping bard. It's why I made a bard in the first place. I don't want to solo except to tie up some lose ends from time to time. I'm not asking to be able to solo ^^ whites or higher. But darnit we should be able to stand a chance against grey/green ^ and ^^ mobs.
Let me give you some advice here. You obviously want to be a dirge and finish this quest. First off, if you want to have a chance against a green ^^, buff with adept 1+ songsters luck. This frequently puts a green ^^ into about the same difficulty as a grey ^^. However, for this quest you do not need to kill any ^^ mobs. If you go back out into Antonica and head north to the road, you'll find some wandering level 15 green gnolls. These gnolls will advance your quest and are very easy. We aren't meant to solo green ^^'s anyways. No one is, however there will be times in your characters life he will be able to. I found somewhere around level 19 my bard stopped being able to solo green ^^'s for a while, at least not many. I instead found myself in groups to about level 30 when I was doing some quests that forced me to tackle some green ^^'s. I learned then the power of songsters luck. It's HUGE when it comes to soloing grouped mobs. You can also utilize slows and your ranged abilities to kite mobs if you have room. This is more of a last ditch ability on advancing quests. Anyways, the patch hit, and I still easily solo orange solo mobs, and green ^^'s mobs. I was soloing golems in RoV with ease, and even some named mobs in TS who were green ^^'s. So take the complaints on the boards with a grain of salt. The Clara debuff line, songsters luck line and our damage output would be enough to more than pull our own weight, but we still do much more than that.
Don't worry about soloing its a giant waste of time and effort! Fix your goals on grouping, and quit hatting your class, face it the majority of classes are jacked up not just ours, take the positive and run with it! FOR SOE! Yummy! Give me my rusted chain look back!
Level 38 Dirge here. First of all your only level 19. Im not trying to be mean here but you really dont have enough tools at your disposal to do what your trying to do. Blue and Green items and App1 & 2's will not help you to take out green ^^'s. Plus you just need more attacks and things that you will be getting soon. To be honest at my level I have a very hard time taking out a green ^^ and I have all my main spells at Adept 1, have pretty much all white and yellow items with a few blue. To be honest they are not worth the effort anyway. It takes too long to take them out, drains you to far and adds too much risk if adds pop in etc etc. I generally prefer soloing flat yellows and oranges. Which for me at my level we only have really one place for that and that is in EL on the NB's and all north of Rivervale entrance. I tried to take out a green ^^ Ferral in EL last night and got my **** handed to me and had to run about halway through the fight. Anyway...a few other tips..... Don't ever buy anymore App2's. They are a waste of money for the tiny upgrade it gives you. Your better off checking the market and getting a App4 or Adept1. Grouping will get easier and easier for you as you level. I now have people constantly sending me tells even when I dont have LFG up. Just keep at it. Once you get your first version of Clara's make sure you use it every fight. Also make sure of course your doing HO's over and over again every fight if your soloing. Once you get to 21.8 or whatever it is try to upgrade Lanet's right away and then use it to start your fights off. Pull with Lanet's then go into your other attacks etc. All I can think of right this second....still trying to wake up, hehe.
Thanks for the advice guys. I've been actively pursuing groups since the nerf but just not having any luck so I am soloing my way through 19 to 20. I completed my quest to become a dirge and in 49% xp I will be one. I know that app II's are mostly garbage and some of my arts are at Adept I (piercing shriek for example). Maybe I am doing something wrong here but I'm so utterly broke all the time I can only afford 1 app at current prices on my server (60s to about 1 gp). I have never had even so much as 1gp after running all quests I could from level 1 to about 15. I scoured each city zone talking to every NPC. I dunno maybe It's my hard luck but I've only got a few drops worth any amount in my career and most haven't sold. I have an Anger (Adept I) that I put up for sale all the time. As low as 20s and no takers well anyways that's besides the point. Leaetherstrip Level 19 dirge in training. Steamfont
Mine some silver or coral from the rocks and sell them as you wander around. I would rather sell them and buy 3 or 4 Adept 1's than get that one Adept 3. Not to mention I am not going to upgrade a spell to Adept 3 that will get replaced in a few levels anyways.
