The Dervish's role in a party - Guild Wars Forums

L33TNeMiSiS · Jan 09, 2008, 08:07 AM // 08:07

Hi All

I've played gw for about 600 hours now where 520 hours of that is playing with an ele .. So my knowledge about other classes stretches as far as optimizing my hero's to work with my ele.

I'm currently struggling to understand what roll the dervish plays in a party.

After playing about 40 hours with the fella I'm really starting to enjoy playing with him and would like to continue playing with him for many more hours...

A buddy of mine GAVE me Arachni's scythe
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Arachni%27s_Scythe

And I've been using the Avatar of melandu build under Great General builds on pvx, to get an idea on what the class is all about. But still I have no idea what exactly I'm suppose to be doing .. Looks like I'm suppose to be a tanking char but then again the dervish seems allot weaker than a warrior when it comes to that. The dervish does however have the 'hit multiple targets' thing, but doesn't do that much damage(ele speaking). Nor does it seem like it's a class that helps at spamming a target with hexes and conditions.

I feel like my char would have a hard time going up against 1 single lvl 20 enemy. I could just be that I'm use to the high damage output of the ele or that I'm just not getting what I'm suppose to be doing in the party : /

Njaiguni Blaze · Jan 09, 2008, 08:42 AM // 08:42

Tanking is bs.
And Dervishes should not be a tank (neither should a Warrior imo).
Guild Wars is a team-based CORPG (co-operative role playing game), and that is what the Dervishes role should be: a teammate. You are frontline, and you should be dealing damage. The "AoE" of your scythe does that very well, as does it's high dmg and high chance of a critical hit. Because of those strong points, Dervishes have a small offset, being having less armor than a Warrior. But, you have many enchantments/skills which should keep you alive fairly well. Other than those skills, keeping you alive is the job of another teammate; your monk(s). Let them do the healing. Don't pack like 5 skills that protect you, let the monks do their job. Plus, you chose Melandru (good choice), which gives you +some hp an immunity to conditions.
And again, tanking is bs.

Those are my thoughts.

RhanoctJocosa · Jan 09, 2008, 08:46 AM // 08:46

If you're running Avatar of Melandru all you do is spam Wearying Strike

Toutatis · Jan 09, 2008, 09:03 AM // 09:03

I wouldn't keep comparing the dervish to the elementalist. The two professions operate on completely different levels and specialise into entirely different roles within the party.

The dervish is based around enhancement. Their enchantments and forms allow them to modify their basic capabilities: changing their damage type, modifying attacks to inflict conditions, and modifying their basic physical characteristics to make them more effective against certain enemy types and strategies. The dervish's role within the party is to determine which enhancements will make them more effective at slicing through the enemies the party will be facing and assisting in the destruction.

For example: If enemies are using a lot of slow casting skills, the dervish could bring Avatar of Lyssa to let them deal more damage to those enemies as they cast. If enemies are undead, the dervish could bring Heart of Holy Flame to modify their damage type to holy and do double damage. If enemies are using speed boosts, the dervish could being Grenth's Fingers for an AoE snare or Pious Haste to chase them down more easily.

tmakinen · Jan 09, 2008, 09:08 AM // 09:08

A dervish is a warrior with built in AoE, so it's counterproductive to use a D just for tanking (which doesn't mean that you shouldn't use the landscape to your advantage, e.g., by confining the enemy into a tight group for your AoE to have maximal effect) or going 1-on-1.

Just like with bow attacks that are not particularly fearsome by themselves, you can slap several multiplicative effects on top of scythe attacks to make a lean and mean reaper machine. If you haven't tried it yet you should get somebody spamming Splinter Weapon on you while you swing at a mob.

Operative 14 · Jan 09, 2008, 09:11 AM // 09:11

What Njaiguni Blaze said is absolutely true. As a Dervish, your job is to be a frontline attacker using enchantments to add to your damage, and to a small extent your survivability. Unless you're using a solo build, let Monks worry about healing you. Though... bring Mystic Regeneration to help them a bit if you can...

Turtle222 · Jan 09, 2008, 09:16 AM // 09:16

You seem to be a guy that likes to see a lot of yellow numbers. Thus here is my build for you:

Mystic sweep
Eremite's Attack
Protector's strike
Heart Of Fury
Avatar Of Lyssa
Eternal Aura
Wild Blow
Rez

This will guarantee you hitting in the hundreds to many enemies. Dervs are meant to be AoE melee damagers. they are insanely good in PvE

Puzur · Jan 09, 2008, 12:00 PM // 12:00

If you like to see yellow numbers you can add splinter weapon as one attack skill :-)

Now Im Sad In Pantz · Jan 09, 2008, 12:20 PM // 12:20

Ok... 1) probably not the best thing to compare an ele to a dervish.. when i use my dervish to cap skills and stuff and get titles ETC i use ebon aura and go for melee to reduce pressure on the casters or if you DO want to use a damage build, use an IAS and onslaught and spam attack skills such as mystic sweep and eremites sweep

L33TNeMiSiS · Jan 09, 2008, 12:25 PM // 12:25

I was actually just thinking about eternal aura doing up to double damage against some of the foes. Just realizing how power full things like grenths fingers and Heart of Holy Flame really is. Especially when going up to creatures that have a weakness against certain skills. Thz for all the help so far .. plz keep the advice coming

This means I'm really gonna spend allot more time in the bestiary.

Jan 09, 2008, 08:07 AM // 08:07	#1
L33TNeMiSiS Academy Page Join Date: Sep 2007 Guild: Graveyard of Undying Heroes Profession: E/	The Dervish's role in a party Hi All I've played gw for about 600 hours now where 520 hours of that is playing with an ele .. So my knowledge about other classes stretches as far as optimizing my hero's to work with my ele. I'm currently struggling to understand what roll the dervish plays in a party. After playing about 40 hours with the fella I'm really starting to enjoy playing with him and would like to continue playing with him for many more hours... A buddy of mine GAVE me Arachni's scythe http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Arachni%27s_Scythe And I've been using the Avatar of melandu build under Great General builds on pvx, to get an idea on what the class is all about. But still I have no idea what exactly I'm suppose to be doing .. Looks like I'm suppose to be a tanking char but then again the dervish seems allot weaker than a warrior when it comes to that. The dervish does however have the 'hit multiple targets' thing, but doesn't do that much damage(ele speaking). Nor does it seem like it's a class that helps at spamming a target with hexes and conditions. I feel like my char would have a hard time going up against 1 single lvl 20 enemy. I could just be that I'm use to the high damage output of the ele or that I'm just not getting what I'm suppose to be doing in the party : /

Jan 09, 2008, 12:20 PM // 12:20	#9
Now Im Sad In Pantz Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Jan 2008 Guild: Knights of Toking Dragons [Herb] Profession: D/	Don't use tanker Ok... 1) probably not the best thing to compare an ele to a dervish.. when i use my dervish to cap skills and stuff and get titles ETC i use ebon aura and go for melee to reduce pressure on the casters or if you DO want to use a damage build, use an IAS and onslaught and spam attack skills such as mystic sweep and eremites sweep

Jan 09, 2008, 08:42 AM // 08:42	#2
Njaiguni Blaze Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: May 2006 Location: The Netherlands Guild: The Biggyverse [PLEB] Profession: Me/	Tanking is bs. And Dervishes should not be a tank (neither should a Warrior imo). Guild Wars is a team-based CORPG (co-operative role playing game), and that is what the Dervishes role should be: a teammate. You are frontline, and you should be dealing damage. The "AoE" of your scythe does that very well, as does it's high dmg and high chance of a critical hit. Because of those strong points, Dervishes have a small offset, being having less armor than a Warrior. But, you have many enchantments/skills which should keep you alive fairly well. Other than those skills, keeping you alive is the job of another teammate; your monk(s). Let them do the healing. Don't pack like 5 skills that protect you, let the monks do their job. Plus, you chose Melandru (good choice), which gives you +some hp an immunity to conditions. And again, tanking is bs. Those are my thoughts.

Jan 09, 2008, 08:46 AM // 08:46	#3
RhanoctJocosa Legendary Korean Join Date: Aug 2006 Guild: The Benecia Renovatio [RenO] Profession: W/	If you're running Avatar of Melandru all you do is spam Wearying Strike

Jan 09, 2008, 09:03 AM // 09:03	#4
Toutatis Walking Wiki Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Isle of Medication Guild: Visitors from Aranna [VFA] Profession: Me/E	I wouldn't keep comparing the dervish to the elementalist. The two professions operate on completely different levels and specialise into entirely different roles within the party. The dervish is based around enhancement. Their enchantments and forms allow them to modify their basic capabilities: changing their damage type, modifying attacks to inflict conditions, and modifying their basic physical characteristics to make them more effective against certain enemy types and strategies. The dervish's role within the party is to determine which enhancements will make them more effective at slicing through the enemies the party will be facing and assisting in the destruction. For example: If enemies are using a lot of slow casting skills, the dervish could bring Avatar of Lyssa to let them deal more damage to those enemies as they cast. If enemies are undead, the dervish could bring Heart of Holy Flame to modify their damage type to holy and do double damage. If enemies are using speed boosts, the dervish could being Grenth's Fingers for an AoE snare or Pious Haste to chase them down more easily.

Jan 09, 2008, 09:08 AM // 09:08	#5
tmakinen Desert Nomad Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: www.mybearfriend.net Guild: Servants of Fortuna [SoF] Profession: E/	A dervish is a warrior with built in AoE, so it's counterproductive to use a D just for tanking (which doesn't mean that you shouldn't use the landscape to your advantage, e.g., by confining the enemy into a tight group for your AoE to have maximal effect) or going 1-on-1. Just like with bow attacks that are not particularly fearsome by themselves, you can slap several multiplicative effects on top of scythe attacks to make a lean and mean reaper machine. If you haven't tried it yet you should get somebody spamming Splinter Weapon on you while you swing at a mob.

Jan 09, 2008, 09:11 AM // 09:11	#6
Operative 14 Forge Runner Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Arizona, USA Guild: [OOP] Order of the Phoenix I	What Njaiguni Blaze said is absolutely true. As a Dervish, your job is to be a frontline attacker using enchantments to add to your damage, and to a small extent your survivability. Unless you're using a solo build, let Monks worry about healing you. Though... bring Mystic Regeneration to help them a bit if you can...

Jan 09, 2008, 09:16 AM // 09:16	#7
Turtle222 Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: :D:D Profession: D/W	You seem to be a guy that likes to see a lot of yellow numbers. Thus here is my build for you: Mystic sweep Eremite's Attack Protector's strike Heart Of Fury Avatar Of Lyssa Eternal Aura Wild Blow Rez This will guarantee you hitting in the hundreds to many enemies. Dervs are meant to be AoE melee damagers. they are insanely good in PvE

Jan 09, 2008, 12:00 PM // 12:00	#8
Puzur Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Nov 2007 Guild: Clan Wolfsbane Profession: P/W	If you like to see yellow numbers you can add splinter weapon as one attack skill :-)

Jan 09, 2008, 12:25 PM // 12:25	#10
L33TNeMiSiS Academy Page Join Date: Sep 2007 Guild: Graveyard of Undying Heroes Profession: E/	I was actually just thinking about eternal aura doing up to double damage against some of the foes. Just realizing how power full things like grenths fingers and Heart of Holy Flame really is. Especially when going up to creatures that have a weakness against certain skills. Thz for all the help so far .. plz keep the advice coming This means I'm really gonna spend allot more time in the bestiary.