back after 6 months - does my Clr 14 need some tweaking?

[GlassJaw]

Hi all. I took a 6 month hiatus right after the Gianthold was released but I'm thinking of jumping back in the game. I know a lot has changed since then so I was hoping to get some opinions on my cleric. When I left, I had run all the Gianthold on elite (except for the Reaver raid) and had capped at 14.

I mainly played this build as a support/healer and then started to become a more offensive/void caster in GH. I wore robes and didn't get into melee at all. My AC was basically irrelevant and hp's were on the low side - 180 currently, only base 12 Con and crappy Con item (+2 of Imp False Life Belt) - but I never had any problems with survivability. From what I've heard though, this may become an issue in the new areas.

My Wis is 32 and I have around 1290ish sp's (give or take).


1 Clr 1 2 Mental Toughness
Extend Spell (human bonus)
2 Clr 2
3 Clr 3 1 Extra Turning
4 Clr 4
5 Clr 5
6 Clr 6 1 Imp Mental Toughness
7 Clr 7
8 Clr 8
9 Clr 9 1 Empower Healing
10 Clr 10
11 Clr 11
12 Clr 12 1 Maximize Spell
13 Clr 13
14 Clr 14
15 Clr 15 1 ?
16 Clr 16


I'd like to basically continue in the same role that I've been doing - main healer/buffer for the group but also doing some offensive casting when the need arises. I'm leaning towards taking Spell Penetration at 15 but I'm also wondering if I should respec something else and get Gr Spell Pen as well. I've also heard some debate on the usefulness of Empower Healing (which I used a lot previously) and Extend Spell. Quicken Spell also seems to be getting a lot more attention as well. When I stopped playing, it was essentially irrelevant (did it get a boost in one of the recent mods?).

I don't remember what my exact enhancements were but I know I had most of the spell point enhancement, DV's, a few extra turns, and some healing crit enhancements.

Any help would be appreciated - thanks!

[Frodo_Lives]

Quicken is the new must have feat it seems for meta magic, and by level 14 extend is not really needed for a buffing/offensive casting/healing cleric. It may be time to swap it out. Quicken is great to make sure you get the heal off without a concentration check, which is kind of nice not to waste sp or have someone die cause of a failed roll.

Empower Heal has it's pros and cons, and I prefer to use enhancements for spell pen., although taking the feat as well will certainly help. Taking spell focus (necromancy) is also a viable choice depending on what type of spells you like to cast.

Your build certianly looks as viable as it was 6 months ago as there doesn't seem to be any glaring weaknesses.

[samho]

Quicken is the new must have feat it seems for meta magic, and by level 14 extend is not really needed for a buffing/offensive casting/healing cleric. It may be time to swap it out. Quicken is great to make sure you get the heal off without a concentration check, which is kind of nice not to waste sp or have someone die cause of a failed roll.


Consider Extended only cost 10 more sp to make your Blade Barrier / Symbol line last longer enough, I would say keep the extended (especially when you have the Maximize..)

Empower Heal could consider replace with Empower Spell, since it's 5 more sp than Empower Heal now and it works for most thing except Heal (which I don't think you may need the empower effect on)

[GlassJaw]

Thanks for the help so far.

I'm leaning towards keeping my feats as-is right now and taking Spell Penetration at level 15. However, that means if I ever want to take Gr Spell Pen, I'll have to respec two feats.

I was also thinking about swapping Maximize for Spell Pen now and taking Gr Spell Pen at 15. Maximized Blade Barriers are nice but I didn't use it for much else when I was playing. Just seems like a lot to spend a feat for a one-trick pony.

[Sandpredator]

You have to remember one thing, the cleric is a buffer also. So having extended is a must. When running the new quests there aren't many shrines so having the extended buffs is really nice (and necessary).

[Ringos]

I think Quicken is pretty darn nice to have, so something to look at.

Never used Extend with my Cleric, as I've never been much of a buffer. At higher lvls, others can do resists, so I'll just throw Cleric buffs as needed. I wouldn't Extend buffs anyway as shrines/deaths/debuffs/etc seem to make it less necessary. It would be nice for Blades at times, just couldn't decide on what to drop to get it.

[sirgog]

I'd work on doing something to get the HP up.

Recommend that you run Tapestry runs in the Orchard of the Macabre until you can get your hands on a Minos Legions helm. Then look for a +5 or +6 Con item (these are worth a lot less than they were 6 months ago).

As for feats, I'd ask myself 'do I want to use non-damaging spells much'? I'm talking Destruction, Symbol of Persuasion and Banishment - these are spells you will want Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Pen for. If you prefer Bladebarrier and Searing Light, Maximize is a top choice. Note that metamagic feats are FAR stronger than they were when you last played - a maximized quickened Bladebarrier has fallen from 140sp to 70.

If you have the maximum possible Wisdom or close to it, I'd focus on the non-damaging spells - if your Wis is 29 or lower, I'd go with Maximize, as these spells still are good when foes make their saves.

[GlassJaw]

I'd work on doing something to get the HP up.

Recommend that you run Tapestry runs in the Orchard of the Macabre until you can get your hands on a Minos Legions helm. Then look for a +5 or +6 Con item (these are worth a lot less than they were 6 months ago).

As for feats, I'd ask myself 'do I want to use non-damaging spells much'? I'm talking Destruction, Symbol of Persuasion and Banishment - these are spells you will want Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Pen for. If you prefer Bladebarrier and Searing Light, Maximize is a top choice. Note that metamagic feats are FAR stronger than they were when you last played - a maximized quickened Bladebarrier has fallen from 140sp to 70.

If you have the maximum possible Wisdom or close to it, I'd focus on the non-damaging spells - if your Wis is 29 or lower, I'd go with Maximize, as these spells still are good when foes make their saves.

As far as Con goes, I'm working on getting at least a +5 Con item and then take the Human +1 Con enhancement. I have a +6 Wisdom circlet so it's tough to swap that out for the Minos helm at the moment.

My Wis is 32 so I'm leaning towards the non-damaging spell route. I was using Destruction, Slay Living, Greater Command, and the Symbols quite a bit before I left. Think I am going to swap out Maximize and take Spell Pen and GSP.

[Krazed]

As far as Con goes, I'm working on getting at least a +5 Con item and then take the Human +1 Con enhancement. I have a +6 Wisdom circlet so it's tough to swap that out for the Minos helm at the moment.

My Wis is 32 so I'm leaning towards the non-damaging spell route. I was using Destruction, Slay Living, Greater Command, and the Symbols quite a bit before I left. Think I am going to swap out Maximize and take Spell Pen and GSP.


If you work on crafting, you can get a Wiz VI, +50 SP, +6 Wisdom clothing piece somewhat easily with small/med ingredients.

[GlassJaw]

Any thoughts on dropping Extra Turning for something else? I currently have 11 DV's but that's only with a 14 Cha. I heard that Cha items add to your turns now, which wasn't the case when I was playing. I do have a +6 Cha item that I could use. If I used that and dropped ET, I would have 10 DV's - one less but I have to use up an item slot for it.

I'd probably swap ET for Heighten Spell.