Leveling a Defiler

[Reeko26]

Will be duoing and possibly trioing with friends, and grouping with anyone else we can find. VERY little soloing. Will be trying to almost always be in a group because I love being a support character in a group <-- it's why I play MMO'sWondering what the best way to spend AA's and such... I'm a newb so just shoot any advice you got. Looking to up my healing as much as possible but if the benefits are minimal while leveling up then I will up my DPS. Again just give me some guidance please

[Spiv]

If its just gonna be small groups most of the time get STR line for the extrea dog healing and AGI line for your melee damage.  On the defiler tree, buffs, then damage.

[Kari]

I would recommend the wisdom line, and then strength. The bonus to wisdom will help give you more power in the early game, and ritual of mind will give you a faster recast, allowing you to ward more often. Dogdog does get some nice heals in the strength line, but his survivability is pretty low until you get enough points to get the final achievement in the line. So you may want to start out with wisdom until you get enough aa to complete a line, then respec to str and go back down the wis line again with your new points.

[Besual]

I would place the 1st 5AAs into the "Enhance: Bane of Protection" improving AA if you are level 26+ and have access to the "curse of shielding" spell line. After that... park your next AAs in the wis or in the int line till you have enough to respec and get the final abilitiy in the str line. Then it's up to you to get a 2nd line in the shaman tree up or go for "Enhance: Abasement" (3AA) -> "Enhance: Abomination" (3AA) -> "Enhance: Tendrils of Horror" (5AA) or go for Cannibalize.

[Arielle Nightshade]

<p>I had my leveling partner for Defiler tell me he would disown me if I didn't take WIS down to get Ritual of Alacrity.  On one character he's a Guardian, on another a Wizard...both want that ability.     I also have INT spec'd just for leveling, but will go down the AGI line once I start in on gear-getting post 60...with plans to be AGI/WIS/STA spec'd.   On the defiler tree, emergency things down to Soul Ward, then Buffs.</p><p>My 2.  I have a 70 Pvp Defiler and a 60 PvE Defiler.</p><p>(edited cause I can't spell STA)</p>

[Sedenten]

<p>I run a slightly different AA spec from what others have posted, so I'll give you my current one and my argument behind it. </p><p>AGI:  4/4/4/8STA:  4/4/6/8/1WIS:  4/7/5/8/1</p><p>First, I ran STR line until mid-50 levels, and it's a great line but I was always frustrated that any riposte or aggro for half a second would kill the dog and thus destroy any benefit from the line.  As long as you keep the dog alive (which requires the entire STR line), it can be remarkably powerful.  So I never will say the STR line sucked, as it was quite useful to me.  I just find my current spec much more useful and I can get a lot more done with it.  Now to explain my reasoning behind the above choices:</p><p>AGI:  I chose this line for heal crits.  Heal crits affect our wards and heals, as well as any procs of the two off items and abilities.  STA:  I chose this only for the cure speed.  I cure an immense amount, and having this AA line makes things a lot easier.  I went ahead and finished the line for Coagulation and have had it save the group in quite a few situations.WIS:  I chose this line for the reuse speed, skill bonus, and the temporary healing bonus of the second ability.  The healing bonus also applies to the power given back by Cannibalize (with 7 in that 2nd wisdom ability, Canni will return 13% instead of 10% power).</p><p>Ignoring the above, I would honestly do WISDOM and STRENGTH or STAMINA spec pre-70.  I'm currently addicted to the STAMINA line, so it's unlikely I will ever give it up for anything else.  AGI is always good for the heal crits, but I could see replacing it with one of the other two until 70.  </p><p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>For DEFILER AA's, I run with the following setup:</p><p>SOULWARD:  This is a lifesaver, at least in a group situation.  I use it when the tank is taking entirely too much damage for me to heal and to give me that extra time to get debuffs landed and heals back up.</p><p>CANNIBALIZE:  This is in my opinion the  #1 ability we get via AA's.  You will almost never run out of power with this ability.  </p><p>CURSEWEAVING:  This is another line I'm addicted to, as it makes our debuffs quick and very power efficient.</p><p>Out of the three lines, I would go with Cannibalize and Curseweaving pre-70.  I was Cannibalize/Soulward before 70, but Soulward isn't one of those abilities you will use every fight (though it is powerful in it's own right).  Also, Bane of Shielding is very nice to max out, so I did spend 5 points in it.</p><p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>In closing, here's how I would do my AA setup in your situation, in the order that I would spend points:</p><p>STR 4/4/8/6/1 (shaman)CANNIBALIZE line (defiler)Bane of Shielding x5 (defiler)CURSEWEAVING line (defiler)WIS 4/7/4/8/1 (shaman)</p><p>Upon hitting 70, I would switch from STR to STA and add AGI to max out heal crits.  For class, I would add Soulward from class.  </p>

[Arielle Nightshade]

<p>The above post is exactly how I will spec my defiler when she hits T8 - it's a really good bunch of choices, IMO... while she's lower level and soloing a lot, though, I went INT instead of STA for more DPS.</p>

[Rahatmattata]

<cite>Sedenten wrote:</cite><blockquote>AGI:  4/4/4/8STA:  4/4/6/8/1WIS:  4/7/5/8/1</blockquote>That is 71 AA.

[Reeko26]

Well I have discovered I can not kill very well AT ALL... dogdog dies in literally one hit sometimes, and I myself have trouble taking on mobs of equal level it seems. I have been duoing with a friend (he plays a dirge) and thank god for that because he can kill everything for me.Is dogdog always going to be this weak? I learnt pretty quickly he isn't going to be a tank for me and rather just a helper/buffer on the side...

[Kari]

<p>It helps if you consider dogdog to be more of a weak dot spell than a pet.  As you level up and start to encounter more mobs with aoe attacks you will find that he can die without even being targeted by anything. That is why everyone advising you on aa is saying how important that last strength aa is, it is the only thing that will keep dogdog alive around aoe mobs. So if you go down that line you need to go all the way so he stays alive and all those other points aren't wasted.</p><p>There are a few basics to keep dogdog alive. Make sure he is set to passive. That is the green dove icon. Wait until the mob is engaged and you or your tank has aggro, then send the dog in to attack. If you can, turn the mob so the dog is hitting from behind, because riposte damage can kill him too. If you have a tank, hopefully the tank will turn the mob as a routine, otherwise try to send the dog in from enough of an angle to avoid the riposte. Once it becomes a habit you just do this without really thinking, so it is not so bad as it sounds. Dogdog is still doing 4-5% of my healing, so to me it is worth it to keep the spec.</p><p>Kari</p>

[Sedenten]

<cite>Rahatmattata wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Sedenten wrote:</cite><blockquote>AGI:  4/4/4/8STA:  4/4/6/8/1WIS:  4/7/5/8/1</blockquote>That is 71 AA.</blockquote><p>Well, I did type out that post from work, so didn't have access to my character at the time.  I am replying currently from work again, but if you have eq2players subscription, you can see exactly how I spec'ed here:  <a href="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/characters/character_achivements_g.vm?characterId=757241203" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://eq2players.station.sony.com/...terId=757241203</a>.  If that link isn't getting you there, my defiler's name is Koinoo, on Crushbone.  </p><p>You can subtract 1 AA from the WIS line (choice between the 2nd and 3rd abilities) and it's more than likely the way I spec'ed.   I'm not 100% sure whether it's 7 in WIS2 or 6 in WIS3.  Just take your pick, subtract one, and it'll be 70!  It's really not that complicated <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Vikingstaff]

<p>These were very helpful ideas.  I am starting to play a defiler as an alt, and getting some advice for AA placement is just what I needed.  Thanks!</p>

[firewolf]

At 80 with only 113 AA, my spec isINT 4/4/8WIS 4/4/4/8STA 4/4/8/5<span class="postbody">CannibalizeCurseweavingAs I don't raid much, the extra damage on INT is better than AGI in solo and group settings for me.  </span>

[Ladro209]

<cite>Reeko26 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Well I have discovered I can not kill very well AT ALL... dogdog dies in literally one hit sometimes, and I myself have trouble taking on mobs of equal level it seems. I have been duoing with a friend (he plays a dirge) and thank god for that because he can kill everything for me.Is dogdog always going to be this weak? I learnt pretty quickly he isn't going to be a tank for me and rather just a helper/buffer on the side...</blockquote>I started a Defiler recently and have been enjoying it quite a bit. I haven't had any trouble killing things my level or even up to yellow con ^ mobs. As others have mentioned, dogdog is not a tank pet, ever. I always have him/her (haven't decided yet <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" /> ) on passive and once I have a mob engaged I send in dogdog and then turn the mob so all the attacks from my pet are behind the mob. Then it is just a matter of damage, wards, heals until the mob is dead. Also don't forget to take advantage of your Heroic Opportunities as they add a nice amount of DPS.I started my AP spec down the INT line for the spell crit bonus. I plan to go all the way down the STR line and then most likely will move into the WIS line. At level 28 I am currently specced4/4/8 INT4/4/1 STRIf when I get this toon to 80 and enough APs I think my spec will look something like:INT: 4/4/8STR: 4/4/8/8/1WIS: 4/8/4/8/1 CannibalizePreventionCurse-weavingI have read that dogdog can be quite useful until Veeshan's Peak and I don't foresee me being there on this toon anytime soon if ever. When I am higher in levels and have enough AP to play with specs I will most likely get an AP mirror made so I can try out different specs for different situations.