What are the always-keep-prepared-spells

[sekopasa]

Hi, im new to DDO and i wonder what are the spells a cleric always should keep prepared?

[mediocresurgeon]

That depends greatly on your build, your playstyle, and what type of scrolls you keep around.

Can you give us more details, please?

[FluffyCalico]

Hi, im new to DDO and i wonder what are the spells a cleric always should keep prepared?

It depends on your level as some you get replace others. For example your list could change drastically once you get heal as it does much more than heal.

Please pick a level so we can more accurately give you a good answer

[GlassCannon]

You can memorize any as needed, like a Wizard. You may only do this in Rest Areas and at a Rest Shrine before you move after resting, however.

Lesser Restoration, Restoration, Greater Restoration...
Raise Dead, Resurrection...
Resist Energy, Mass Protection from the Elements...
Remove Poison(or carry a wand at all times), Remove Disease(same), Remove Curse(Same), Remove Fear...
The rest are up to you, more or less.

If you want to kill things, specialize in damage of some sort. A popular solution to that dilemma with Cure specialized Clerics is the famed Blade Barrier. Clerics originally took Maximize and Empower(not Empower Healing) just for this massive circling blade deathmachine, and the cleric damage builds grew in popularity, branching out to Smite and Light specialists as well. Blade Barrier cannot be amplified currently by any line of enhancement, and so is more or less general damage output. The DC of such spells(if applicable) is of course your Wisdom score plus modifiers(if any). The Damage is affected by Potency, as Cures, Light, Smite and other spell groups are as well. Some clerics have also decided to go Necromancer, but have no real place in DDO *yet*.

It's handy to be able to kill the things chasing you around the world as you try to raise the dead after a cataclysmic defeat. Thus, many clerics also take Quicken, to drop those Blade Barriers faster, and avoid Concentration checks on those vital Raise Dead and Resurrection spells(in the case of soloing or a hard fight, Heal spells as well). Sometimes, these Clerics perform so well they venture off into soloing top end content successfully, using the standardized Blade Barrier, then run in a panic through said Barrier... drop more, same drill... panic run.

[sirgog]

Spells to keep prepared at low to medium level (remember all healing spells except Close Wounds, Panacea, Heal and Mass Heal are always prepared)

Level 1: Command - It's easier to prevent that ogre from scoring a critical hit on your rogue than it is to put the pieces of that rogue back together. (This spell is obsoleted by the level 5 spell Greater Command).

Level 2: Resist Energy - This spell prevents a LOT of damage in many quests. 10 (up to 30 at high level) damage may not seem like a lot, but this spell prevents 10-30 damage from every single hit players take.

Lesser Restoration - This spell cures some annoying and debilitating debuffs. Ray of Enfeeblement is the main one, stat damage is the other. This spell is obsoleted by the level 4 spells Panacea and Restoration.

Level 3: Protection from Energy - This spell is much less useful in general than its level 2 version, but has its opportunity to shine in quests where you suffer large amounts of damage from a single source such as the Kobold Shamans in elite Waterworks with their 50-point lightning bolts or 70 damage Niac's Cold Ray. Obsoleted by level 5 and 7 spells.

Remove Curse - This spell removes two very serious debuffs - traditional '-4 to all rolls' curses, and also incoming healing suppression debuffs (which are rare until high level).

Mass Aid - This spell provides minor combat boosts and a not-insignificant amount of temporary hit points to save on future healing.

Level 4: Panacea - This spell cures some HP and everything that could be cured by multiple castings of Lesser Restoration, Remove Blindness and Neutralise Poison. (It does not make you immune to poison afterwards, however). This spell is obsoleted by the level 6 spell Heal (which does the same thing but cures 10 times as much HP damage).

Restoration - This spell cures negative levels, which are a severe debuff indeed. It also cures anything that multiple castings of Lesser Restoration could cure. This spell is obsoleted by the level 7 spells Greater Restoration and Mass Restoration.

Death Ward - This potent buff makes the target immune to death spells, negative levels, and more. Obsoleted by the level 8 spell Mass Death Ward.

Level 5: Raise Dead

[Therigar]

Hi, im new to DDO and i wonder what are the spells a cleric always should keep prepared?

This is an excellent post and excellent question. If it were in the Sorcerer forum you would have a very specific set of spells tossed at you with extremely limited options. That is because the sorcerer players have worked out what is optimal given the game's content.

In the Cleric forum, however, you are going to get much less information because few people have really worked out the must have spells. Here is my breakdown of what you should be carrying -- and why. When there are fewer than the allowable number of spells it means that I don't have a strong preference for what else you select. I'm also not including the cure spells that are automatic.

L1 spells:

Command -- monsters don't fight back when they are on the ground, your equivalent of trip
Nimbus of Light -- your version of magic missile
Night Shield -- bonuses to saving throws, negates magic and force missiles
Shield of Faith -- up to +5 deflection bonus to AC, good against anything that doesn't dispel magic, saves an item slot

L2 spells:

Hold Person -- monsters don't fight back when they are held
Resist Energy -- mana is cheaper than wands and this spell will get lots of use
Soundburst -- monsters don't fight back when they are stunned, does damage even if the monsters are not stunned

L3 spells:

Mass Aid -- bonuses to everyone, a decent buff spell
Protection from Energy -- mass protecton is better but this is cheaper situationally
Searing Light -- your version of force missile

L4 spells:

Deathward -- you'll want this one, your group will want this too
Divine Power -- you'll want this one if you melee
Freedom of Movement -- not being held is so much better than being immobilized
Recitation -- a good buff spell
Restoration -- negative levels and stat damage hurts, this fixes them

L5 spells:

Protection from Elements -- the mass protection version of Protection from Energy, more mana efficient as a party buff
Raise Dead -- almost compulsory like Haste is for an arcane caster
Slay Living -- your version of PK
Spell Resistance -- can be handled by items but a good buff for those that use up all their slots with other toys
True Seeing -- you can't hurt them if you can't see them, useful in many quests

L6 spells:

Banishment -- send 'em home if you can, better than fighting them
Blade Barrier -- almost compulsory like Wall of Fire is for an arcane caster
Heal -- this should be compulsory for all clerics with L6 spells
Heroes Feast -- a great party buff

L7 spells:

Destruction -- if they won't go on their own then eliminate them, your FoD spell
Greater Restoration -- take care of it all at one time
Protection from Elements, Mass -- more mana efficient than buffing the group one at a time
Resurrection -- don't just raise them, make 'em useful as well with half their HP

L8 spells:

Firestorm -- I just like to see 'em burn
Mass Death Ward -- another of those mana efficient buffs

L9 spells:

Energy Drain -- hey, they drain your levels, pay back is a lot of things
True Ressurection -- why just useful, get back in the fight I say!

Alright, a lot of spells left off here and some that duplicate later mass versions. So let me explain a bit more.

If you can remove some effect with a wand or potion that is usually more efficient and cost effective. There are some specific quests where you'll want remove curse and remove disease loaded. But, most of the time you can get by with a wand for these remove effects.

Starting at L4 spells there are a lot of good choices. In some cases there are more good choices than you will have spell slots. I've listed what I think are the best of the best.

When I list redundant spells that have mass equivalents it is because clerics are so solo friendly. You don't need to waste mana on a mass buff when you are the only one there. You also don't need to waste mana when there is only one group member that needs a protection or resistance.

I did not list mass stat spells because by the time you get them most players will already have better than +4 stat items for the things they need anyways. Carry wands for stat boosters and use them instead on party members that need them.

And, keep in mind that any of these "should carry them" spells can be swapped out if needed for a specific quest.

[Gamertothebone]

Been playing my cleric for a few weeks now but as a new player here is what I think.

First I am going to assume you are playing a cleric who heals the group.

My mission in groups is to heal as effectively as possible.

First thing that helps is knowing the dungeon you are doing.

Doing elite kobold quests? Resist Fire and Resist Electricity will save you tons of sp. Try to find if any elemental damage is going to be very common or AoE on your party. I find a Resist Fire on everyone saves SP after Flamestrike is cast a 2nd time on party.

Monsters do less damage for you to heal when they die fast or go down. Like mentioned Command sometimes is a usefull spell to keep your party members from taking damage. You need to understand when it is going to get resisted allot becoming a sp waste and when it is a effective spell to cast though.

Also when your party members have negative levels, negative stat effects or negative to hit modifiers that means it will take longer to kill stuff and you will have to heal more. Be prepared to remove these kinds of effects. They come in the form of curses, magic and other effects.

Now you can not mem every single spell for every single situation so going back to an earlier point you need to just be prepared for the dungeon.

When you get a party invite do not be afriad to ask "What spells should i mem for this dungeon?"

[sekopasa]

Wow, i could not log in for some day, and the answers are great. I'm lvl5 and can only cast lvl3 spells.thank you to all your great answers.

Sure, i learned alot from this thread. I had no idea about how useful is the resist energy. And its also good idea to ask veteran people needed spells in a first-to-enter dungeon. I will keep this thread as a reference and i can ask more when i level up.

[sirgog]

Wow, i could not log in for some day, and the answers are great. I'm lvl5 and can only cast lvl3 spells.thank you to all your great answers.

Sure, i learned alot from this thread. I had no idea about how useful is the resist energy. And its also good idea to ask veteran people needed spells in a first-to-enter dungeon. I will keep this thread as a reference and i can ask more when i level up.

Resist Energy will be a tremendously powerful spell once you hit level 7 (it becomes twice as effective at that time). It's still nice at levels 3-6, but when you hit 7 you will love it. (It improves again at level 11)

[quinnotaur76]

Just wanna say, ANYTHING that can be carried as a potion use it. (remove curse/disease, etc.) This allows you to keep the benefits of your weapons and/or shield! (spell pen,devotion,etc.) It gets to be a pain constantly minding your gear. Though you have no choice with heal scrolls, gotta use those. Welcome to DDO.

[Thaldon]

I'd like to point out that depending on what quest you are going to undertake, determines what spells you should be carrying. I have a load out for my cleric for undead quests (catacombs, necropolis, delera's, etc.), and a load out for humanoid quests (kobolds, humans, orcs, etc.) and another load out for bigger guys like giants, trolls, etc. This is about as far as I've gotten in the game. I just hit lvl 8, and have replaced a couple spells with others (like pancacea).

I will say that for my group when we fight big mobs of let's say trolls/minotaurs like in Gwylan's stand they really like me to carry Glyph of Warding, soundburst, and a soundburst wand. I put down a few glyphs at known choke points, and then spam the soundburst wand, soundburst spell, back to wand, and man, you can really pump out some dmg and stunning affects quickly that way...and then throw in heals when needed. Also, I've gotten better response at stunning foes with soundburst then hold person.

But what makes the cleric fun to play is the ease of switching spells out. So when I'm in a tavern, I'll switch to eagle's splendor and cast it on my self and put on my haggle charm to help save on some cash :) But then remove it when I leave and plug something else in.

[Purrp]

Level 1: Command - It's easier to prevent that ogre from scoring a critical hit on your rogue than it is to put the pieces of that rogue back together. (This spell is obsoleted by the level 5 spell Greater Command).


So, am I missing something?

My cleric is level 7, Wis 20... no spell focus or anything. But Command seems to fail more often than not. I'm not going to cast it on a cleric or something that I would expect to have a high Will save, but even dumb level 3 ogres seem to make their save half the time... am I doing something wrong, or is that just something I should expect from a level 1 spell?

Ridiculously satisfying when it does succeed, though :D

[XCodes]

So, am I missing something?

My cleric is level 7, Wis 20... no spell focus or anything. But Command seems to fail more often than not. I'm not going to cast it on a cleric or something that I would expect to have a high Will save, but even dumb level 3 ogres seem to make their save half the time... am I doing something wrong, or is that just something I should expect from a level 1 spell?

Ridiculously satisfying when it does succeed, though :D
That's the downside to casting save-or-lose spells that are 3 levels below the top level you can cast.

IMO Protection from Evil is seriously underplayed. Against most monsters it effectively combines the effects of Shield of Faith and Nightshield until Magic Circle comes into play, and then Magic Shield applies it to everyone in the party.

Remove Fear is mandatory for a long time. Cause Fear is a really nasty debuff cast by Kobold Shamans and likely some other monsters as well.