Initial Thoughts on the Dervish

[Sadow]

What's everyone's thoughts on the Dervish, thus far?

They're certainly an interesting class. One thing I've found is that they require a lot of Energy to keep up, and while Mysticism helps, it's not a catch-all for when you need 4+ enchants to get Mystic Sweep working effectively.

I've had some initial success with them in the random arenas, but their dependency on enchantments and the rather random scythe damage is detrimental to their overall effectiveness, especially with the lack of a primary class attack speed skill. I've had hits as low as 4, and crits as high as 125.

It certainly has potential, but I think we'll only see its real use once all of the skills are more accessible.

(As a side note, I highly suggest bringing along Reversal of Fortune. It's an amazing self-heal for the Dervish.)

[Azgalon]

Well, after checking the skills, i find the Dervish VERY capable.

It can serve many roles.

Tank with Balth-form, self-heals, heal others, enchantment removals, lots of PBaoE-attacks etc.

Jack-of-all-Trades in a Shapeshifting way.

Potential is the keyword!

[crying wolf]

Ok, what my main problem with the dervish is, is simple. I saw elites in only mysticism. I'm hoping that those are just the ones available for the beta test and that more are coming, because I looked in earth prayers and was like WTF? I just hope their skill list isn't complete as of now, but will be later.

And yeah, I'm liking their aoe attacks. Melandru's avatar was nice, but I find that I need energy management skills to make this class truly effective. I'm thinking of using a memser secondary with inspiration magic skills.

[Sadow]

Channeling might be a good idea, especially considering the whole emphasis on AoE attacks.

[Princess eirika]

I have to admit, i found the Dervish to be the most excting class to play. ever.

It's just, i was expecting so little, and got so much more.

Everything about the Dervish is just wow :tongue:

[nanothegreat]

I agree. Now I can't wait to get nightfall! Dervishes ftw!

On the other hand, there was something I just didn't like very much about the paragon. Monk is one of the only professions I don't really play (Rt too), so maybe I don't much like being support. And they're encroaching on my ranger's ranged fighter slot! (not actually complaining)

[GormWolfblade]

Dervish (and Paragon) have me excited! :)

[BunnyLord]

I was amazed by this class, not only their skills and gamestyle are awesome, THEY LOOK AWESOME, finally a class with long a** hair. Dream come true I tell ya!!!

[Menzoberranzan]

I'm pretty impressed with the new class so far :) It definately has a lot of potential.

One thing that got me annoyed was the long hair, it doesn't look natural and appears as if her hair was dipped in superglue...

[The Last Windseeker]

Dervishes are amazing, i was able to take on 2 warriors at once using the class. There enchantments are great, put it on and it does something and as soon as it off it does another thing. Mythiscm works greak, i kept on using the one skill that does +~27 damage, removes an enchant, and reacharges instantly if one is removed. By using that whenever i removed an enchant i would get energy health and i would have just about a constant +27 damage in addtion to what my enchants were doing. I think if they have this much capability as of now they will be even better later on.

On a side note i think they will be very capable farmers, saying that there sythe automaticly hits multiple targets, and they have very good synergy throughout their skills.

[jhjbhcsd]

I really like Dervishes, but I feel a nerf coming. Take a look at Avatar of Dwayna for example.

[Khift]

Haven't actually played the class yet, just looked at the skills and played against them in RA as a monk.

I will say that the PBAoE enchantments are very underwhelming. Simply put, when a Dervish runs up to me and starts casting one of those enchantments I kite and nothing happens. The only saving grace these premades seem to have is Crippling Sweep or whatever it's called.


However, they definitely have potential. Once the general populace finds a build that works they will be pretty popular in 8v8 and ABs I will bet.

[harmosonja]

it's obivous that it wxwill be nerfed a little, but he will become the elementalist conctact class with high damaging AOE attack and good tanking, a good chcracter to destroy Minion masters or to dismember a whole pack of players..
but careful, very reliant on enchantment...

[Longasc]

They rock.

Scythe AoE damage is awesome, especially for PvE.

Dervish/Warrior and Wild Blow - Free AoE Crit hit damage
Combine with Vigorous Spirit and Live Vicariously for PvE - pwnage, you heal yourself and deal death at the same time.

I think they are in for a heavy nerf.

The Balthazar Avatar costs 5 instead of 15 energy and can tear through minions like nothing:

Scythe AoE, Holy Damage - ugh.

[BastDawn]

One thing that got me annoyed was the long hair, it doesn't look natural and appears as if her hair was dipped in superglue...

Agreed. The first long hair style needs to be bent down the back more instead of sticking out the way it does. Not all long hair is bad, but that one style could use a lot more work. :tongue:

[Enosh]

I think they are the same as druids in wow, or any other MMORPG.

they can do mele, but not as well as warriors/assasins
they can cast offensive spells but not as well as necros/mesmers/elemetalist
they can heal but not as well as monks/ritualist.

and they got the "shapeshift" forms which increses the profit of one of the tree pats (eiher better mele dmg, better spells, or better heals)

[Akirai Annuvil]

They're completely different from Druids in WoW; for one Druids in WoW are underpowered Dervishes are over powered ;), another thing is that Dervishes aren't reliant on their forms. Also they have very very little healing, and cannot be compared to monks/ritualists whose healing and group support are their main assets. Their offensive spells behave very differet from eles, mesmers, and necros because they do PBAoE damage (they damage nearby enemies), and when they end they'll cause conditions again PBAoE.
They can melee as well ad warriors and assas but their strengths lie at melee AoE damage while the assassin focuses more on single target damage (and some disruption), and the warrior more on tanking (and some singular target damage).

So very very different from most druid classes :)

[petezombie]

I'm glad I managed to kill a few of them in the PvP arenas, they have a lot going for them but can still be taken down.

[Servant of Kali]

Dervish so far seems to me a very versatile class which mind be extremely difficult to balance, due to synergies with other professions. That's why i'll probably have one : ) hoping that there will still be overpowered combo left hehe. And even without that, they are still interesting.

Paragon seemed cool with spear.. but... Ranger primary atm seems better sigh. And im not too thrilled with being Bard atm. If i want to play support i'll take my Rt.

[Tinnic]

I think there will be a lot of Dervish when nightfall comes out...

[fat razza]

I think the dervish is a little too good at the moment, as i am no prize player but me and 3 others (2 dervishes, both using the ready-made builds, a paragon and a monk) managed to get 19 flawless victories, being beaten ast the end cause only one person had res.

Unfair?

[Ravendove786]

I think the dervish is a little too good at the moment, as i am no prize player but me and 3 others (2 dervishes, both using the ready-made builds, a paragon and a monk) managed to get 19 flawless victories, being beaten ast the end cause only one person had res.

Unfair?

Agreed. I've never ad as much success in random arenas as a group I was just in with 2 D/W's and 2 Mo/Me's. And even then, at one point i triggered some bug on a bridge in one of the new arenas and couldn't move at all, and we still won.

Another thing I've noticed is that they have excellent durability. Although this does mean battles can run on for a good while. A looooong while.

At the moment, they don't have too many downsides...

A class that's dependent on enchantments, but against which enchantment removal is not the solution, as it just gives them more health, energy, triggers effects, and just lets them cast them again as cooldowns weren't too long.

Even if it were the solution, enchantment removal, while a lot more common than it was, is still a pretty costly affair.

[Akirai Annuvil]

Well of the Profane does kick *** against Dervish, but there aren't enough corpses in RA. It's great in Alliance Battles though :)

EDIT: Destroyed typo's :afro:

[Malhavoc Adhamar]

So far it's looking good. The down side to the Dervish is that it's power relies on being enchanted. Anything with an enchant removal or E-denile is going to have a field day with the Dervish.

That said I'm already thinking of class combos that use the Dervish as a secondary. A scythe bunny R/D build is one, using Mirage Cloak to provide evasion while TF is running.

[Mantrunks]

I see that there will be MANY A/D in the future for the critical strike bonus on a 9-41 weapon @.@ and these dervish are very enchantment reliable so possible a heavy mana one with mantra of recall since they have to lose an encchaantment half the time so might as well make it one that you have to lose

[DrunkenWarriorGuy]

The dervish is a very interesting class...especially with the godforms. However, it is VERY enchant-dependant, so mesmers will have a field day against this in pvp. Looks promising in pve too, unlike the assassin...

[Goldfish God]

Just a thought (i.e. stuck at work): what does Empathy do to devrvishes if they're scythes are AoE like cyclone axe/triple chop?

[EcHoMaN]

it is VERY enchant-dependant, so mesmers will have a field day against this in pvp. Looks promising in pve too, unlike the assassin...
Not really, the reality is any mes in PVP usually only has 2 enchant removal, 20+recast and would use them on a monk instead.

[WingspanTT]

Just a thought (i.e. stuck at work): what does Empathy do to devrvishes if they're scythes are AoE like cyclone axe/triple chop?

yes, empathy > dervish

[SnipiousMax]

I do not think that enchant removal is going to be effective at all against a Dervish. For one, Dervish enchants have short recharges, so there is at least one spammable enchant to fuel their enchantment fueled attacks. For another, alot of their enchants have secondary effects that trigger upon removal... So there are going to be times when removing the enchants is going to effect your own team negatively. My initial concern was that the Dervish was going to be a PBAoE assassin. Those concerns have been put to rest. They are swimming in potential. They are very sturdy, and feel at home on the front line. I do wish they'd increase the radius of effect of their enchantment effects... but that's another discussion.

[shadow the hero]

All Professions got a Weakness here, is the Dervish's

[soulstryke]

I really, really love the Dervishes but I am thinking the Paragons are going to hold their own after all. One thing I noticed; so I may have to go back and rebuild; is I have pretty low energy despite the high costs of all my skills - but I cast a whole bunch of enchantments prior to the battle so I am wondering if the lower energy is to balance out spamming them too much - so you have to concentrate on yourself as well as your target...

[alright I'm adding something way offtopic but if anyone reads this; I don't remember how I turned seeing my own characters' name off in the game. If anyone could help me turn it back on; please PM me with the instructions. I haven't been able to find how to return that to 'normal' in the manual].

[STARSBarry]

dervish if definately the most fun class i have ever played the godforms apart from being damn cool are just that handy.... but there all elite... why WHY MAKE ME CHOOSE :P

[bloodtide]

the dervish seems sooooo gooood its almost like its overpowered. Which currently it probably is but thats not the point. And a freaking hood and a scythe i mean come freakin on. The Paragon can go to hell for all i care im buying Nightfall just for the flippin Dervish currently.

[Azgalon]

dervish if definately the most fun class i have ever played the godforms apart from being damn cool are just that handy.... but there all elite... why WHY MAKE ME CHOOSE :P

One form for every situation/mission/occasion :)

What form would you use for Vizunah Square for example? Melandru? :D

[Nekretaal]

All Professions got a Weakness here, is the Dervish's

I cant imagine that Dervishes will be too fond of Nature's Renewal.

So yeah they have weaknesses.

[WeaselChops]

Meh, overpowered as far as I can tell. I have no spare slots so can't make one myself. Don't think this weekend is gonna be much fun for me.

[WeaselChops]

Actually thanks to the Dervishes I'm not having any fun at all. Think I'll give the weekend a miss unless they open the shop again. Anyone know what Creme Brulee does?

[CMEPTb]

Desecrate enchantments is fun against a group of Dervishes. But get on the end of that scythe...Once your in thier radius, (o.o), your in thier radius.

Right now I think they are a bit powerful, but that is granted, its betta. Both classes I feel are closer to par with the core professions than those in Factions though.

[Shi Violet]

I'm not a PvPer, so after rolling up a Dervish, I only played around a bit on the Isle of the Nameless, and LOVED it. For once, a melee class I'll play! I had a warrior, got her to fire islands, and got bored. Tried the assassin in the first preview and didn't touch the class again. This, however, this is fun.

I just hope that we don't see an explosion of Dervishes in Nightfall like the assassin. I know we *will,* but I hope that they will at least be more welcomed than assassins.

[WingspanTT]

I think we're going to see a lot of W/D once Night falls.

[Zion Farbow]

the dervishes rely on enchantments soemtimes so it might not be good against mesmers >>

[Renegade Returns]

I just love Dervishes. The fact that their Scythe is a AoE weapon amkes them just awesome and you can combine the new weapon with any new build. For example an AoE IW Mesmer/Dervish or a W/D. Their energy managment is a little bad but pack a zealous scythe with ya and all your problems are solved. Im sure Dervishes are gonna be used alot and there are not gonna be any usage problems like with the assasins in the beginning of cantha.

[CanthanPeasant]

BTW, Anet is definitely going to review the Dervish after this weekend, and chances are they are gonna bring out the nerfing on a few things. As it stands right now, the Dervish is an amazing condition spiker (I used the D/W build) and that's not going to go down well with the other professions! :grin:

[Dreadwing]

I still don't know about female dervish she looks like a farmer.....maybe the dress skirt or the hair....

[tommynj]

I am really glad that there is another appealing meele profession other than Warrior, assassin was fine but getting into pve groups was horrid. The armor looks really nice from what we have seen so far. I just really hope people do not tank cause chanes are it won't be the best idea to do so. Other than that let the games begin !

[Servant of Kali]

I just really hope people do not tank cause chanes are it won't be the best idea to do so.

It depends how good player you are and what kind of dervish you make. My Dervish will be uber tanker and uber killer. Yeah, sounds incredible but it's true, it's the result of pvp and pve imbalance, and skills are balanced mostly for pvp. And oh, i dont intend to be uber in Nightfall which will be imbalanced with insane number of enchant removals, just as Factions were. But in Prophecies and Factions woohoo, here i come :)

[MaximumSquid]

They may be a PvE proffession for a long time like the necro was. . .

They are powerful, but after the balances they recieved there are only a few things that they do better than other classes and most of those are PvE related.

They do have some extremely potent and nasty skills, but they look better in the hands of some other primary proffession.

I mean just look at Sandy Grip (http://www.gwonline.net/wiki/index.php/Dervish_Skills). . .

You want to be an Earth ele that perma blinds people just by wanding them?
I know some people want to load that up ASAP on a ranger, but pretty much anyone with a ranged weapon would have a nice go of it.

Onslaught (http://www.gwonline.net/wiki/index.php/Dervish_Skills) is another skill that could be devastating in the hands of another character. That pluss serpants quickness in a trapping build would be amazing.

[Servant of Kali]

It's balanced.. yes sometimes the other professions benefit, but my dervish (beta build) also benefits from other profession(s) so i see nothing wrong with it.