please help a new player

[Jarker]

<p>I started 2 boxing my Zerker with a Defiler and so far i like it (level 20 now).  I can keep my tank alive and barely taking damage. And I have a healer that can be useful in bigger groups/raids. Right now i'm putting points into the wis line.</p><p>What I need help with are the AA's. I searched around and found a couple options. Str/wis or Wis/Agi.  I know you have to go all the way down Str for it to work, but I was reading that you need to position the dog right.  What is the right position and how do you keep him alive?</p><p> Is it hard to keep the dog alive, especially 2 boxing? Should I go agi/wis to make it a bit simpler and still be able to keep my wards up on the zerker?</p><p> Any advice is appreciated. thanks in advance</p>

[Kari]

<p>I have tried both options, and I prefer the STR line. The AGI line is definately simpler and lets you focus more on heals, however the dog does add a good amount of heals and dps. Currently the dog does 5-10% of my heals.  For two boxing you should probably try both ways and see if the distraction of the dog is worth the extra heals. Since I just play the one char, it isn't as complicated.</p><p>The dog can be kept alive pretty well with a little bit of attention. It is important to keep the dog set to passive (that little peace dove symbol). The most important thing is to make sure the tank has established aggro before you send the dog in. The dog can only take one or two direct hits, so make sure the mob wants to hit something else. For higher level mobs like raid mobs, the correct positioning is to send the dog in from behind. This prevents the dog from getting riposte damage. However, even at level 80 I seldom take the time to position mine. My tank typically turns the mobs to have their back to the group anyway. So I just send in the dog and she generally survives quite well.</p><p>I just wish there were a way to get her to stop barking all the time. That was the real reason I went agi for a while. </p>

[Solzak]

I 2-boxed with my monk while levelling for quite a while.  Since your healer will probably be on AF, I found the best way to fight was to GroupWard, pull the mob with your fighter, run just a little past him and turn and fight.  Now your defiler is behind the mob and you can send in the dog, with both away from riposte damage.  Turn on his autoattack (if you like.. not like defilers do much melee damage <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> &nbsp<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />, and get back to fighting, healing as needed.  I usually throw up the single target ward as soon as everyone is set, and maybe the ward pet if its going to be a long fight.  Don't forget to hotkey Dehate along with those heals, tho.