This is a work in progress! Please, current Dirges, I want your feedback and opinions because YOU are playing it in raids, not me.
1. General Class Info
Dirges are the premiere buffing scout. I have benefits for tanks, healers, and DPSers. All classes love a dirge. I can also put out some decent DPS myself. I deal out buffs, I throw debuffs at the enemy, and I can stab as well as anyone.
2. Why pick your class over another
I've have a rocky past with my dirge. I originally switched to the class as a way to further the raid, we had lost both our dirges to real life stuff. So in a way, I didn't pick the class. But the class grew on me. It's easily one of my favorite classes in the game. I cast my debuffs and then DPS my heart out, throwing some buffs in along the way. I get to help all the members of the raid simply by being there. When I look at other classes, other games, etc. my experience on Ferk is the lens that I look through to compare them to what I love to do.
3. AA choices and why - with screen shots
WORK IN PROGRESS
Current AAs - A link to my current AAs, these are changing, I'm going to be doing testing with some switches soon.
4. Spells
WORK IN PROGRESS
Ferk's Spell List
5. Hot bar setup/screen shot
WORK IN PROGRESS
6. Buffs and where they go
Dirges have more group buffs than they can actually run at one time. I'm going to lay them out, then tell you which ones I run and why.
GROUP WIDE:
Jael's Mysterious Mettle: 75.6 Parry
Harl's Rousing Tune: 118 STR and AGI, 2.5% base avoidance
Songster's Luck: 99 melee skills, 10% Accuracy with focus
Dead Calm (GM): Damage proc on 24% of combat hits (ANY COMBAT HIT, that means Spells, CAs, Autoattacks, ripostes, etc)
Percussion of Stone: Stoneskin on 14.4% of hits
Noxious Symphony: 2316 Raid Wide Nox mitigation
Bria's Inspiring Ballad: 68 In-combat power regen
SINGLE TARGET (OTHERS)
Battle Cry (AA): 8% Flurry, 15 DPS mod with Focus
Hyran's Seething Sonata (lowlevel GM): 37% +Hate, 30 Aggression
Ok, so Battle Cry is the only thing listed above that doesn't take a concentration slot. As you can see, there's 8 spells there and only 5 slots to run things. This used to create a problem. Now things are a little simpler.
Here's the key: Nox Symphony and Bria's are absolute CRAP. When nox mitigation is over 50k, 2k is a drop in the bucket. When the power drains on fights are all or nothing, 68 regen isn't gonna do a lot.
There, now we're down to 6 with 5 slots. That makes everything more manageable. 4 are easy to guess: Harl's (benefits multiple classes), Songster's (10% Accuracy is wonderful), Deadcalm (free DPS for everyone), and our godly Percussion of Stone (this is a FREE stoneskin ALL THE TIME, your tank and healers will love you). Now for the fifth, this one is pretty simple: Tank need hate? Run Hyran's. Tank doesn't need hate or no tank? Run Jael's. Occasionally, if the tank is really getting hit hard, I'll drop Hyran's without prompting to run Jael's for the extra avoidance.
7. Prepull Buffs
Cadence of Destruction at about 5 (starts the Potency build up in prep for an early RO chain).
On pull: Clara's, Zander's, Disheartening, and Daro's as soon as the mob is in range for it. These four debuffs wont start your autoattack and get the debuff on the mob ASAP, two will help the tank and two will help your DPSers.
8. Casting Order
9. OH NO Buttons
<EVAC>
Rezzes, one single target, one group.
10. Gear Choices
WORK IN PROGRESS
11. Adornment Choices
White:
Crit Chance to 650
DPS in chest, neck, and belt
Casting Skills in Boots and Wrists (I've noticed that we need just a little boost to keep stuff from being resisted)
Agi in the rest
Purple:
Flurry in the shoulders
Crit Bonus or DPS in the rest
Weapons+Belt: Whatever you can get... Focus on groupwide buffs. I am also looking to get the 50% Crowd Control resist one though, I think it's a must for scouts/tanks.
12. Diety/other items
Ro... Ro all the way for one simple reason: Incinerate. It's a HUGE nuke for when the mob is <50%. I save it for long named fights where I can get multiple RO/VC combos in.
13. Marcos
RO/VC group macros. Deadly Dance group macro. Chimes to group and raid. Rezzes to group and raid. /Tell on scrub.
I also have a fast cast Rez+scrub w/tell.
14. Useful Tools
ACT is your best friend!
Find a custom UI that you like EQ2 Interface I personally use DrumsUI but I've used ProfitUI and I tried DarqsUI (it was really buggy but I did like it otherwise). I use the full package but you can take pieces. The spell timers are a must when you have important debuffs (I only have my % health one on there or my screen would be full of them).
15. Video of you doing your job
I'll get one up when I can. Haven't been on him much as of late and not at all in raids. If another Dirge wants to do a video in raid and send it to me, I'll add that.
