To Dirge or Not to Dirge - A few questions and request for feedback

[EQ2noob]

<p>Hello all,</p><p>After a 3 year break, I am pondering coming back to EQ2.  I never got too far in my first attempt - got a brigand to level 30 (level 31 jewelcrafter).  Had a lot of fun.  Thinking of going the distance this time - so I will be looking for a good mix of solo/group content with a 50% chance of raiding in the endgame.  So a few questions:</p><p>1.  Realistically, for the purposes of leveling, how well do dirges do solo (say compared to a swashbuckler)?</p><p>2.  In low level content (10-50), how hard is it to find a group?  Are people doing that content in groups?  (I have no friends or spouse that plays EQ2:  it's just me + sufficient social skills.  Will I be mostly alone?)</p><p>3.  I generally like playing support but every once in a while I must be able to do things on my own.  Will dirge work for this?</p><p>4.  I generally don't like fighting styles that involve kiting (though I must say, I'm quite good at kiting).  Do dirges have to kite to handle challenging mobs?</p><p>Thank you in advance for your feedback.</p><p>EQ2noob</p>

[RingleToo]

<p>I have a lvl 60 Dirge, and he solos just fine. Sometimes I do have to kite a tough mob, and a Dirge can kite nicely - as long as you're aware of your surroundings. But since you like kiting, you're already know the importance of knowing where you're at when you kite.</p><p>No, a Dirge won't solo as well as a Swashy which is one of the better soloing classes. (For soloing, Brigand might have the edge compared to the other scout classes). It's not really fair, though, to compare a Dirge to the other scout classes (except trouby), because the Dirge is designed to be a support class. And it's one of the best support classes in the game. (Probably <span style="text-decoration: underline;">the</span> best for melee groups - but then I'm biased <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" />&nbsp<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />.</p><p>However, having said all that, I spend most of my time soloing, and as long as I'm smart I rarely die. You really need to understand the Dirge's CAs and AAs - know what they do and when to do them. Tactics are always important with any class. However, sometimes with my Swashy I can jump in, hang the strategy and tactics, and just start killing everything around me and live. You're not going to be able to do that with a Dirge. You play smart, your Dirge is going to solo very nicely.</p><p>I think, anymore, that any class is going to have difficulty finding groups at lower level. A Dirge has the best chance, though, because every group will always take a Dirge. Everytime. But then, I'm biased.</p>

[gatrm]

<p>I'm going to give you some different answers from Ringle. </p><p>1.  For the <strong>purposes of leveling</strong>, a dirge solos just as well as a swashbuckler and maybe even better; because they can run faster, getting from questgiver to mob and back a lot quicker.  Frankly, since the addition of all the soloing lines, there is never a need to kill anything hard.  Therefore, the swashbuckler's advantage of higher dps and better survivability (stuns and such) is not necessary, and does not come into play.  If you wanted to level by farming heroics, then yes, a swashbuckler (or brigand) would be more effective. </p><p>2. Ringle is mostly right on this one.  You will have better luck forming groups if 1. you start the group, and 2. you take any class.  Honestly the original game heroic content can be completed by 2+ players, if they are geared in appropriate level mastercrafted, because of the AAs and vast improvement in gear quality over what the original game was designed for.  So if you try to form a group and you are not picky on class, then you will likely have good luck in putting a group together, depending on server.</p><p>3-4. Dirge is able to do things on his own effectively if geared well and has enough AAs.  It's harder to kill tough (heroic) mobs, but doable.  To kill a heroic solo, then the dirge will have to kite.  As long as the mob isn't immune to snare, doesn't snare or stun you, and you don't get an add, you will win.  Dirges do have a couple of tools to make kiting easier, such as two snares, a stun (two if you use a shield), and a short duration root (bow attack). </p><p>If you like being utility, then a dirge is a good fit.  You might also consider troub, as they have a mez and short duration charm that helps them to solo tougher mobs a bit easier than dirge does.  I haven't played troub though so can't give you much more details than that.  Once you  get to max level you probably won't have a problem getting a group, but there are a <strong>LOT</strong> of dirges out there, so take that into consideration depending on the population on your server.</p>

[Aaramis]

<p><cite>gatrm wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I haven't played troub though so can't give you much more details than that.  Once you  get to max level you probably won't have a problem getting a group, but there are a <strong>LOT</strong> of dirges out there, so take that into consideration depending on the population on your server.</p></blockquote><p>FWIW, I play a Troub who betrayed to Dirge to test it out about 2 expansions ago, and then switched back to Troub shortly after that.  Both Troub and Dirge solo well, but I'd say Troub have a distinct advantage vs. heroics.  With Mez, you can call a time-out at any point and let your HP/mana regen songs bring you back up to par while keeping the enemy frozen at whatever health you left them off at.  Recycling your big hits, then mezzing, there's really no heroic you can't tackle, unless it's a boss-level heroic.  It just takes a bit of time.</p><p>But as mentioned above, for solo content there's not much a Dirge or Trouby can't tackle.  And for groups/raiding they are both very wanted classes.</p><p>Try it out, and if you don't like it, try something else.  Simple as that, really <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>