Secondary

Basically, I've read up on the Dervish a lot, but since the update I now have no idea what secondary to take.

I usually always take a mesmer secondary, but im not sure. What are you guys gonna take for your Dervish? And why?

... I wonder what illionary weaponary would do with dervish? A mesmer may be the way.

I think Mesmer primary is better for IW tbh. Having said that Mesmer secondary for dervish rocks my socks.

Well, there's the obvious synergy between Dervish and the monk. Load up on Vigorous Spirit, Live Vicariously, and Mystic Vigor and get healed for over 50 health every time you swing. Put like 3 points in earth prayers, and you get 50% evade and maxed health regen on top of that. If you only have healing prayers at 9, you can still get Mysticism to 15 and Scythe to 12 (or the other way around) with one superior rune. However, Mystic Vigor alone accounts for half of that healing, and with Mystic Regen and Vital Boon (with an enchantment saccing attack - I like Twin Moon Sweep), you can heal just as well without ever leaving the Dervish profession. Healing is a major component of the Dervish skills, so I don't think Monk as a secondary is that good of a choice.

Finally, the Paragon does have some good synergy as well. You're generating tons of adrenaline with that scythe that's not getting used, so why not use it on "Go for the Eyes!" to hit that huge max damage more often. Also, look at some of the finales in Motivation to heal you, give you energy, and remove a condition every time that shout ends (every 2-4 swings). However, Chants and Echos are not enchantments, so they don't go well with the mysticism bonus, and while you will be helping your team as well, there are better secondaries for increasing your own damage.

Mesmer is an option, for Illusionary Weaponry. However, IW cuts out that average 30ish base damage of your scythe, while allowing you to hit through things like blindness and weakness. The Dervish is weak against conditions, having only Avatar of Melandru (with it's 2 minute downtime) and Featherfoot Grace (only cuts their duration in half) to deal with them. But with either a Paragon or a Monk on your team, you shouldn't really have to worry about conditions anyway. Your job is to use that lawn mower of a scythe to wreak havoc on your opponent.

That brings me to what I consider to be the best secondary for a Dervish: the Elementalist.

The Earth Magic line has great synergy with the enchantment nature of the Dervish. Consider Kinetic Armor (renew an enchantment every 8 seconds to keep it up) for a huge armor boost, Stoneflesh Aura for unconditional damage negation, Sliver Armor with Extend Enchantments, or Armor of Earth in PvE. You can also pick up whirlwind/aftershock for some good damage.

On the other hand, you can pick up a Fiery scythe, and use the Fire Magic line for an incredibly offensive dervish. Consider Conjure Flame, Burning Speed with Featherfoot Grace to keep the foes around you nice and crispy, Mark of Rodgort in PvE where it might not get stripped so fast, then take Inferno, Flame Burst, or Star Burst [E] for extra PBAoE damage. If you have energy problems, use Raging Renewal or Vow of Essence [E].

All in all, I'd say the Elementalist has the most versatility as a secondary, while the Paragon has the greater potential for helping teammates in addition to yourself. I honestly don't see anything in the Monk secondary that the Dervish can't already do pretty well.

Well I agree with you in the monk secondary to an extent. Monk stacks well with dervish regardless of your skill lines. Protection stacks well with earth prayers, Smiting and healing both stack well with mysticism. I'm considering a mass holy damage build utilizing Balthazar's Champion and some of the mysticism holy damage skills since holy damage resistance is almost non existent. The Vigorous Spirit+Live Vicariously+Mystic Healing combo is also incredibly nasty. You can almost be completely self sufficient, barring certain hexes and conditions. You don't always have to look for something in a secondary that is different from your primary's capabilities. Sometimes you need to look for something that enhances those capabilities.

Another option of course will be warrior. With all your attack skills being most effective in close quarters, you will probably tank alot. Tactics line will mesh very well with that.

Edit: The reason I choose warrior over Ele is because of Bonettis defence. Will help E-management alot.

How about straig Dervish there is actually not need for another profession, Think about it. Great deal damage, Ablity to regenerate Hp and Energy. So whatever secondary u get is going to be ok.But that is just me.

I think you are going to need quite a bit more than hp regen if you are going to be successfull. Cant depend on the healer in groups to take care of you. Thats why defensive stances works perfectly. I have tried warrior, and so far I have solod every quest on the starting island. Havent died a single time, and going strong for survivor! Ranger might also make a good secondary, but I prefer warrior for bonetti's defence.

If you want to go with mostly dervish skills, I'd suggest warrior secondary. For no atts invested, you can get wild blow. 5e is easy for a dervish, and scythe crits are HUGE.

would you be able to used Warrior Skills using Scythe? Or the point to have Warrior as a secondary is to be able to get stance Skill?

To get the stance skills. They fit really well with the healing per hit skills. Energy management is not that much of an issue as I thought it would be. Might decide to switch to ranger later on.

For my dervish I am using Ele as my secondary. Mainly for the use of Armor of Earth and Ward against Melee. Those two let me stay right in the thick of things during a battle. I have even switched Armor of Earth out for Sliver Armor and been able to hang in the melee. Later I will look into the defense spells in Water magic to replace Earth, as I do not like the slower movement of Armor of Earth.

For my Dervish Hero since I do not have any dervish elites unlock I made her a D/W. I have a few different stances on her bar like Glads Defense and Disciplined Stance. Added in the healing enchantments per hit from the Dervish and she can stay alive with little problems inside of Melee.