back to pick your brains some more

[gamejunkee]

I have my halfing barb/fight to level 6 now (Pig), unlocked drow, still having tons of fun with pig but keep wanting to try a caster again now that I know more about the game, this second toon will not be a "main" I dont think, but who knows

Even though I unlocked drow, i don't like the way they run, prob sounds stupid but watching them run from behind just drives me crazy when I am driving heh..

I like the idea of being able to heal other peeps, but would not want to be stuck healing all the time, reading in the cleric forums that sounds like battle cleric, but most the builds I see, seem to be almost 100% melee clerics, is it feasible to have a caster oriented battle cleric, good offensive spells (cc.damage w/e), able to heal good (but not great) with "decent" melee? (casting the ofensive cleric spells, some heals, and mixing it up melee in between)

Thanks and sorry for any typos!

[Arianrhod]

What you're describing is pretty much a "standard" D&D cleric. The more you want to cast offensive spells, the higher you'll want to take your wisdom, but other than that it's pretty much all equipment & practice. It can be very demanding to play a cleric that can contribute meaningfully to a tough fight (with offensive spells/meleeing) and still manage to keep the whole party alive, but it is possible. Personally, I'd recommend concentrating on the healing at first, while practicing the other aspects on easier fights. Then you can expand your role as you grow more comfortable with the character and how it's played.

[Aranticus]

imo you should start with playing a healing cleric before playing an offensive type so that you gain experience when to pull from a battle to heal, when to use certain spells. i run an offensive cleric who uses maximise and carriers a superior potency 6 item. i cast massive blade barriers and cometfalls and can insta kill using the destruction spell. knowing your spells is important, knowing when to cast which more so. a wrong spell can get you agro which can kill you. just recently, i gave OJT to a player new to playing a cleric and showed her how to use certain spells in certain situations. if u do require my help, you can come over to Khyber and i'll give ya some tips.

btw my cleric is a 32 point dwarven build with these starting stats 14/12/14/10/18/6. i've eaten a +2 str, +2 dex, +2 wis and +1 con tomes. i do not have the critical healing enhancements (only those that raise standard healing power) but instead used the ap to beef up my smiting enhancement. sp is a factor here so i have both the cleric and dwarven lines of enhancement, a +6 wis item and a wizardry 6 item to boost my sp up to 1403. a high ac is necessary for i use blade barriers alot and is required to kite mobs in and out of the blades.

have fun with this build but really, try a healing cleric 1st. my fun on this cleric did not really start until i hit L11

[Cowdenicus]

If going the battle cleric route I would not go pure class, there are way too many benefits of taking two levels of pally in any build.

In a perfect world I would do something like a 11 cleric 3 pally all dwarf, moderatly high wisdom, solid str con and cha.

[Lost_Leader]

I like the idea of being able to heal other peeps, but would not want to be stuck healing all the time, reading in the cleric forums that sounds like battle cleric, but most the builds I see, seem to be almost 100% melee clerics, is it feasible to have a caster oriented battle cleric, good offensive spells (cc.damage w/e), able to heal good (but not great) with "decent" melee? (casting the ofensive cleric spells, some heals, and mixing it up melee in between)

1. You want to be able to heal, but not be the main healer.
2. You want good offensive spells, and designate crowd control as a major point.
3. Decent melee skills.

All of these things say to me not 'battle cleric'. They say to me 'Bard'. There are many great ways to build bards, and they fit everything you want, with perhaps the exception of few damage spells and great crowd control abilities (fascinate is awesome).

...Just another thought to throw into your pondering.

[gamejunkee]

I think I am gonna hold off on the cleric, might try the bard though. I just dont enjoy healing as a primary dea, and thus doubt I would ever be that great at it, now that I am getting into a little higher stuff (although still low I know), I find my sefl wondering how the clerics in my parties are able to do what they do...maybe 3rd toon I will try it when I know more heh.

I keep making false starts based upon things I fight...i.e. these clerics were destroying me somewhere, and I started thinking "wow, might be fun to play one of these guys" lol, which I am sure it is...just proabably not for me : )

still digging my barb/fighter though and am really glad in hindsight I went with a melee class as a first char (thanks to all who recomended that in other post), although I think I am still misunderstanding melee as well, +hit and all...well that will be next thread!

[gamejunkee]

Bard sounds good, crowd control actually seems like more fun to me than straight damage spells, race wise is there an "obvious" choice or "bad idea" between halfing,dwarf and drow?...although the drow run turns me off

[Razar]

I'm thinking the /op probably wants to unlock the 32pt build before getting serious with any character.

Bard is an awesome idea. Keep the UMD up and you'll be able to heal with wands, Res with scrolls, etc... You'll not want to be the main healer, nor be the primary Tank, but you'll add enough to any party to get people to want you with them.

[Strakeln]

Make a female drow sorc. Assuming you're male, the view from the driver's seat should take care of the silly run. :rolleyes:

[Borror0]

I'm thinking the /op probably wants to unlock the 32pt build before getting serious with any character.

Four less points won't change much on most builds. You'll be still a really player and have a good build.

Those four more points change nothing most of the time, unless you're really spread out.

[Lost_Leader]

Bard sounds good, crowd control actually seems like more fun to me than straight damage spells, race wise is there an "obvious" choice or "bad idea" between halfing,dwarf and drow?...although the drow run turns me off

The three you chose are good races to highlight.

Drow- this would be your 'obvious' choice. They have more stats at the beginning, getting the +2 dex and cha and -2 con. The +2 cha is a very nice bonus for a bard, as this is the bard's main stat. The -2 con hurts if you plan on being a melee character, but it certainly isn't something you can't overcome. The +2 dex is nice if you plan on range as your main mode of weapon offense.

Halfling- no penalties or bonuses to cha, these lil buggers make great bards, too. The +2 to dex is nice for range, the -2 to str hurts the melee a bit.

Dwarf- being the greatest race ever, with the best jokes, beer and women, they of course make superb bards. Whistle Mithrilheart, my bard, is great fun to play. Okay, in all seriousness... as a dwarf you take a -2 penalty to cha. This is a big stat deficit for a bard, especially when a drow gets +2. Essentially giving you 4 less than the optimum starting stat. The +2 to con is nice, especially as a melee bard, and if you look into the Warchanter enhancement line, combined with some combat feats and dwarven toughness, a dwarven bard can be a meaty frontliner. (Whistle is a repeating crossbow, spellsinger. Almost more of a role-play style build, he is still very effective in quests. I have toyed with the idea of virtuoso, but the natural fascinate ability really doesn't need extra enhancement specialty help. His build would be more effective on a drow or halfling, but you'll never hear me say that.) Dwarf would be considered by some to be a 'bad idea' but if played well and planned with the dwarven strengths in mind, they can be superb bards.

Human- Don't rule em out, though I'll never play one, they have a lot goin for em. Human versatility, ability to put +1 to choice of stat with enhancements, extra feats and skills... a lot to be said for humans.

My thoughts to you on building a bard:
1- remember that as the 'jack of all trades' bards can do many things well, but none of them as well as a specialist could. Even as a 'jack of all trades' you don't want to overextend yourself into too many fields.

2- check out the bard forum for builds, and maybe the user written strategy guide section. There is the perfect performer thread which has a few insights that would be worth checkin out. Not sure if there are others on bards there.

3- Plan ahead before you start rolling and start leveling. As with any character, plan out especially where the stat points and skill points will go, as those are things you cannot change. Use the ddo character builder, it is a great resource for planning characters. Even if you plan to play casual, plan the character to level 14 and beyond. Remember you can change out spells and feats for a bit of cash, and waiting 3 days between each change. (need a dragon shard of appropriate level for the feat change). It isn't a bad idea to take spells at lower levels which are great for early quests but not so good later. You can always switch em out when they become less effective.

4- UMD. Use Magic Device is huge for bards, be sure to take advantage of it.



Anyways, hope that helps you focus your thoughts a lil on what step to take next, or at least, points you in a direction. :)

[Borror0]

Human- Don't rule em out, though I'll never play one, they have a lot goin for em. Human versatility, ability to put +1 to choice of stat with enhancements, extra feats and skills... a lot to be said for humans.

I have a saying:

"When in doubt, go human!!"

[philo]

If you are going bard I recommend not choosing a race that has a -2 chr racial penalty. These are dwarf and warforged. While it is possible to be any race for any class, especially for one of your first characters, it is probably not wise to choose a race that takes a penalty to your primary stat.

I recommend drow or human. The drow obviously make a good choice because of the +2chr racial bonus. For humans the extra feat and skill points, plus the extra chr enhancement and human versatility enhancement, can actually give the human a higher umd and a similar chr to the drow.

[Borror0]

If you are going bard I recommend not choosing a race that has a -2 chr racial penalty. These are dwarf and warforged. While it is possible to be any race for any class, especially for one of your first characters, it is probably not wise to choose a race that takes a penalty to your primary stat.

I totally disagree. These two make really good battle bards.