Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars players respond to the Dervish update

Thursday's Dervish update in Guild Wars shifted the foundations of the entire class. The community has been buzzing as players talk over the changes, share new builds, dust off old Dervishes, and create new ones.

It was an easy decision to step away from Guild Wars 2 this week and focus on the mega-update. This one has been a long time coming, and I wanted to chat a bit with some community members to see what they think of the update, now that it's finally arrived. Follow along after the jump to hear what five members of the Guild Wars community have to say about the new and improved Derv!

Massively: What is your favorite aspect of the update?

The Boz: The sheer number of viable new builds is staggering, and I love it. I spent the better part of the day thinking up new Dervish builds for both PvE and PvP. Oh, and the merging of many PvE/PvP skills makes for a much simpler transition between the two modes.

Teina: I like the Flash Enchantments. That has always been the annoyance with the old Dervish concept. Casting enchantments would break the rhythm of the battle.

Rhokk: The updates that the avatars received. The fact that they're both viable in PvP and can be used in endgame PvE is pretty awesome.

Ace: The update makes the Dervish a lot more durable in combat, especially with the Mysticism armor bonus.

Shal Loraine: The fact that Mysticism no longer needs to be huge in order to properly cycle energy from pushing a lot of enchantments. The fact that scythe attacks use adrenaline, letting the Dervish funnel more energy to various other skills.

Pyros: Flash enchantments are my favorite aspect of the update. The effects and ability to cast them instantly and remove them quickly if needed is nice. This device of the Dervish class has always been there, but it wasn't executed well.

What is your least favorite part of the update?

The Boz: My least favorite is the reduction of scythe critical damage, but I see how it was needed. Nothing else really stands out in a negative way.

Teina: The increased dependence on enchantment stripping. While that was a part of the old Dervish, it was not a major component. Now I feel that if I'm not enchantment stripping, I'm being sub par. One of the complaints about Assassins is their one-dimensional playstyle that heavily depends on chaining. I feel ANet took a step back by making Dervish follow the same style.

Rhokk: Any Dervish-related equipment that traders can sell is pretty much sold out, and the market prices are ridiculous.

Ace: By Urals Hammer doesn't give you a little boost like "I Will Avenge You!"

Shal Loraine: Flash Enchantments and changing Aura of Holy Might. I understand the reasons for the second, but I greatly miss it. I never liked enchantment juggling back when it was first set forth as a general playstyle --original Dervish skills such as Pious Assault auto-recharged, stripping some of the various "effect on end" enchantments. I have a hard time remembering the proper order, and for me, slapping a lot of enchantments means making myself a Mesmer target. Also: the fact that scythe attacks use adrenaline, meaning that I have to worry about the usual warrior counters when I'm playing on my Dervish.

Pyros: Adrenaline is my least favorite. Dervs are a "magical" class. It would seem that their skills would be energy based instead of adrenaline like the warrior. However, since some of the derv attacks are purely hack and slash, I guess having those as adrenaline-based does make some sense.

How will this affect your Dervish personally? Will you play it more, less, or pretty much the same? Will it be difficult for you to relearn everything?

The Boz: Definitely going to be play her a lot more. There are certain combinations/chains that can make for a very effective PvE Dervish, and I really want to try those out first, just for fun. And as far as relearning everything goes, I don't find that difficult at all. For me, that is a pretty large part of the gameplay of Guild Wars.

Teina: I'll likely play her about the same as before, unless someone discovers something really interesting about the new mechanics.

Rhokk: I'll be playing my Dervish a lot more. Vow of Strength plus Sand Shards will allow me to fill in as a 100b on Speed Clears with my guild.

Ace: I remade a dervish to check out the changes, and I'm loving it. I can easily see it becoming my new favorite Underworld choice.

Shal Loraine: There's definitely a lot of change and my old builds are totally nonviable anymore. I feel like I need to sit down with a bunch of Balthazar faction and tomes and figure out how I want to play my Dervish.

Pyros: This update makes it necessary for me to focus more on how I use flash enchantments. Before, I had a nice skill bar using a couple PvE skills and scythe attacks that kept me alive, increased my damage output, and inflicted some conditions. Now, I'm still working on building a skill bar I like: do I use an avatar and which one matches my play style best? How many Flash Enchantments do I bring and which ones do what I want? Which scythe attacks do what I want and remove an enchantment too? The update won't change how often I play my Derv: he's my main, so I'm working on his titles for the HoM - which means all my alts are collecting dust (which sucks, because I like my Rit and Ele more than my Derv).

Do you think these changes make it easier for players unfamiliar with the Dervish class to give it a try? Why or why not?

The Boz: Yes. Teardowns are much more intuitive, skills are a whole lot more logical, and a fair number of seriously "huh!?" skills have been changed. Also, 100% uptime avatars are always fun.

Teina: I don't think it'll be difficult. It's pretty much a standard combo mechanic most gamers should be familiar with already.

Rhokk: These changes were very nice, but I think that the learning curve was raised quite a bit. As mentioned in the developer notes, Dervishes are now the manifestation of a "pressure" class. They can do DPS and they can tank, but what they really excel at is spreading conditions.

Ace: I've never been able to play well as a Dervish, but now after the update, I'm finding them much nicer. The Flash Enchantments mean that they don't feel too spell caster-y, so they fit my normal Warrior playstyle quite well.

Shal Loraine: Probably easier, because the scythe attacks seem a little more focused now, although they still tossed a few into non-scythe lines, so who knows.

Pyros: The Derv has always seemed to me to be underappreciated and used mostly as a tank in place of a warrior. These changes make clear the difference – and since it's an unusual class, it might take some time to get used to playing it well for those new to the profession, and it might take some time to relearn for those comfortable with it.

Rubi is a longtime Guild Wars player and the writer of Flameseeker Chronicles here at Massively. The column keeps a close eye on all the events in Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, and anything bridging the two. It's also the home of a weekly summary of the travels of [MVOP], Massively's Guild Wars guild. Email Rubi at rubi@massively.com.