Curse

randomname · Nov 26, 2010, 04:08 PM // 16:08

I have decided to get myself a survivor char, and since Dervish is the only char that I do not have I am going to give it a go. I realise that a melee char is probably not the smartest way of doing it, but I have never been accused of being the smartest guy!

So my question to the pro's out there is what sort of build should I run in general? I looked at the avatars, and reckon either melandru or grenth would be my best bet.

P.S. I intend to get survivor by playing the game normally and not doing the boxing thing.

ajc2123 · Nov 26, 2010, 05:11 PM // 17:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by randomname

I have decided to get myself a survivor char, and since Dervish is the only char that I do not have I am going to give it a go. I realise that a melee char is probably not the smartest way of doing it, but I have never been accused of being the smartest guy!

So my question to the pro's out there is what sort of build should I run in general? I looked at the avatars, and reckon either melandru or grenth would be my best bet.

P.S. I intend to get survivor by playing the game normally and not doing the boxing thing.

I would assume dwayna (healing and hex removal) balthazar (+40 armor = half damage + speed boost for sticky situations) or Melandru like you have mentioned (100 health and condition immunity isn't bad) Are the best for survival. grenth does give life stealing but I would rather take Dwayna for survival.

Melandru is a pricey skill though also.

If you are confident that your hero/hench can kill whatever you come across, I would just stick to skills that increase survival.

Earth Prayers is good for this. Conviction, Armor of sanctity, Mystic regeneration are all good options. Sand shards for Damage and a cheap enchant.

Reap impurities is an interesting self heal and scythe attack.

Ermites zeal is nice for energy management.

I honestly don't know how much is too much protection for a survivor character....I don't think there is such a thing. Go with what you feel safe with.

Kronk_Shaan · Nov 26, 2010, 05:28 PM // 17:28

Go D/W and get Defy Pain as an elite. I only have 2 survivor toons and they are both Warriors. The other method is not worrying about that and skill cap the title. If you need Leg. Skill Hunter, work on both at the same time. I almost got my Rit there, but was actually playing the game working on it and died in Heart of Shiverpeaks.

Luminarus · Nov 26, 2010, 10:25 PM // 22:25

Prot Spirit is your friend!. Your a dervish, so in areas with heavy enchant, pop up some covers for when you run in.

reaper with no name · Nov 29, 2010, 04:54 AM // 04:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronk_Shaan

Go D/W and get Defy Pain as an elite. I only have 2 survivor toons and they are both Warriors. The other method is not worrying about that and skill cap the title. If you need Leg. Skill Hunter, work on both at the same time. I almost got my Rit there, but was actually playing the game working on it and died in Heart of Shiverpeaks.

Defy Pain is a strength skill.

Dervishes do not have access to the strength attribute.

I'll leave you now to ponder the implications of those two statements with regards to your suggestion that a Dervish should use Defy Pain when going for survivor.

Bandwagon · Nov 30, 2010, 06:46 AM // 06:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by reaper with no name

Defy Pain is a strength skill.

Dervishes do not have access to the strength attribute.

I'll leave you now to ponder the implications of those two statements with regards to your suggestion that a Dervish should use Defy Pain when going for survivor.

Agreed, your better off with conviction and its +24 armor, 50% block versus defy pain's 90 HP, 20 armor, 0-1 damage reduction at 0 strength.

Hania · Dec 01, 2010, 10:04 AM // 10:04

The build I use for dervish survivor via general PvE is:
Random Attack Skill (Zealous Sweep might be best)
Victorious Sweep
Conviction
Mistic Vigor
Heart of Fury
Aura of Holy Might
Eternal Aura
Avatar of Dwayna

12+1+1 Scythe, 11+1 Mysticism, 6+1 Earth
Full survivor insignias, Rune of Vigor (best you can afford), and a Rune of Vitae.
Zealous Scythe of Fortitude, HP > longer enchants for a survivor. If you have over 600 HP, mobs won't attack you too often. Take a MM hero, a healer hero (hybrid monk with Prot Spirit) and 2 healer henchies. You will progress slowly but safely.

I hope it helps, and good luck!

FoxBat · Dec 01, 2010, 01:33 PM // 13:33

If you want to get real cheesy, you can just run SoS, or grenth avatar with spears or volley. But good luck to ya if you want to survive in melee... you might want an ER protter with life or protective bond on you constantly.

Morgall the Deft · Dec 02, 2010, 10:06 AM // 10:06

I don't have a Survivor char but on my Dervish I run Vital Boon, Mystic Regeneration, Conviction and Armor of Sanctity for tanking in HM, and I rarely get below 50% health.

Rites · Jan 05, 2011, 04:09 AM // 04:09

Faithful Intervention--- my derv never leaves an outpost without it, if it ever goes down, that means its time to play defense

many peeps have told me this skill is not worth it, but it has saved me many times

Kunder · Jan 05, 2011, 06:01 AM // 06:01

Conviction and Faithful Intervention are absolutely sexy as has been mentioned, for obvious reasons. Assuming you have AoHM on that provides a failsafe so you don't lose Conviction's effect as soon as Faithful Intervention dies (ie when you are actually taking serious damage).

For harder areas, either take a monk hero to micro Protective Sirit onto yourself or take it yourself. PS is why I don't recommend armor of sanctity BTW, it reduces damage before PS comes into effect so its pretty much useless. I'm assuming you will have the foresight to know what areas have a damage output that would lend themselves toward recommending PS, of course.

For the 95% of the game in which you have corpses, run with 1 or 2 MM heroes. Not bombers, real AotL MMs that will keep almost a dozen full health tanks in the front line with you. If melee heat ever gets on you just run straight through the nearest minion and the aggro is lost.

Never get overconfident. Even if you know you can pull two groups and live easily, Murphy's Law states that if you have even a 5% chance of dieing you will certainly get disconnected and end up furiously logging back in trying to make sure you survive.

If you want to be safer and not frontline for any specific areas, you can make a poor Derv's ER with Arcane Zeal. Not exactly a powerbuild, but sitting in the back of the party isn't a horrible idea in a few areas.

Verene · Jan 05, 2011, 06:01 PM // 18:01

Conviction and Faithful Intervention, with a monk hero casting Protective Spirit on you. Mystic Regen is not a bad skill to have on your bar, since you'll be using Earth Prayers anyway and should always be enchanted. And I like Victorious Sweep, since it will heal you when you attack.

Just make sure that you're careful with what you're doing and you don't rush things. All the protection in the world won't help you if you overaggro and then disconnect

Rites · Jan 07, 2011, 04:19 AM // 04:19

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/b...t10244740.html

pretty good guide, but i read the longer guide that he mentions.

either way, i now finally have a survivor derv thanks to the tips here