Cleric Spells - What to memorize...

[dbrottman]

Hi All,

This has probably been covered ad nauseam elsewhere but...

After unlocking veteran status, I decided to make a cleric for the first time. Now, I generally know some of the capabilities of clerics, and am familiar with some of their spells from pnp. However, I was hoping someone could give me some advice as to spell selection when playing an offensive-casting cleric. Obviously I have some cure spells, and I eventually I'll want Flamestrike and Blade Barrier. What other offense should I be packing, especially with 2nd, 3rd and 4th level spells? I know I can switch out spells to meet particular challenges, but I wanted a good idea of what I should USUALLY be memorizing.

Thanks.

[Kralgnax]

At lower levels, you'll be switching spells much more, and there's not a lot of compelling damage/debuff spelss, but a few observatons from my experience so far (caveat - I'm more of a fightin' cleric, but I don't think the differences are that big at lower levels):

Don't leave the inn without:
Soundblast - an AoE stun, made of WIN
Shield of faith (mass when you get it)
Aid (mass when you get it)
Pro Evil
Pro Energy (set hotkeys for each element)
Cure light wounds + your best cure (also mass, when you get them)
Panacea

Spells you need situationally:
Nightshield - if facing a lot of magic missiles
Bull / Bear / Eagle / Owl - depends on group vs. solo, and gear
Deific vengeance - against undead
Remove curse - mostly more useful on higher difficulties at lower levels
Doom - if you're needing to debuff an enemy
Remove fear/paralysis - handy if you're facing a lot of spell casters
Pets - for solo play mostly
Bless - redundant to Aid, BUT includes an AoE buff/debuff element
Waterbreathing - rarely & even then, you may have clickies / potions or just buy the 30 minute from House P when you need it

Others
Fear - I don't really care for save-or-else spells
Hold person - handy if you're mostly fighting humanoids, but again, it's a save-or-else
Obscuring mist - nice defensive static AoE, but I never seem to actually use it

Hopefully, other people can come up with better suggestions, but that's my stab at it through level 4 spells.

[Elsbet]

That's a pretty good listing, but I'd drop panacea and put remove fear on the "don't leave home without it" list. I never found a use for panacea, but all clerics heal differently.

[dbrottman]

Thanks for the replies, much obliged.

[Zenako]

Honestly at low levels it will REALLY depend on the group you are with. With twinked out guild groups, some buff spells are all but worthless, while with a newbie group in a PUG, something like Bull's STR can be a very useful long duration spell.

Think about your typical run. If the group is one that is prone to sticking to together and engaging mobs as a team, something like Soundburst is great, you can end up preventing tons of damage that way. However, if the playstyle tends to be more scattered, the more effective use of spells is to provide longer lasting individual buffs, like Stat Buffs (Bulls Str, etc), Resists, Mass Aid, etc. Once you hit 7th level and get things like Death Ward, it can be a life saver in undead quests, but almost useless elsewhere. As you mentioned, situational.

Fix it spells are useful to focus. The Removes (Curse, Dissease, etc.) Once again, the need will vary from group to group. The Panecea spell is a one stop fix a lot of things spell that often finds a spot on my hotbar in those mid levels, but goes away later.

Searing Light is about the best low level direct Damage spell you have access to. But it does reguire a clear line of sight to land it.

Or taking another bent, self buff your cleric and kick butt that way. Divine Favor helps a bunch, and when you get it, divine power.

[IronCyzyk]

Remove Fear is something I've found very useful at low levels.

Mass Aid is a nice buff, but really just a glorified Bless at double the cost. Or so I thought, until I realized 12 temporary hitpoints on six people is basically pre-healing 72 damage for only 10 SP. A pretty good deal.

Curse is like super-doom. If you don't like Doom, you won't like Curse.

Remove Curse is definately more useful than Remove Paralysis. One wears off; one doesn't. Admittedly, one often results in death before it wears off.

I am a big fan of Summon Monster spells when solo/duo. Cheap damage mitigation.

[Ardkor]

Generally, I tend to sort things like spells/feats/equipment etc into three groups:

Offense - kill things, blow stuff up, or help me to do that (to hit buffs are offense, for example)
Defense - keep me from getting hurt
Role - things that let me do my 'job' in the group, whatever that job is

I break things down this way for ALL my characters, not just my cleric, and it makes life simpler when you are trying to sort thru a huge pile of choices.

Here are the 'rules of thumb' that I use in making my decisions about what to memorize/carry/ready:

1. Things that help you hit more *often* are worth MORE than things that make you hit *harder*. The effective DPS of a miss is always zero-point-zero.

2. Things that inflict status effects (blind, stun, daze, knock prone, etc) are more useful than those that just do damage - everyone can do damage, not everyone can disable the big bad guy in one shot.

3. Damage prevented is better than damage healed. Temporary hit points are a Good Thing (this is why we do the Cannith Crystal quest 4-5 times, to get a bunch of those clickie THP items).

4. Have a solid single target spell you can rely on, and have a solid Area-of-effect (AoE) spell you can rely on. You will need both eventually, but the single target one will see more use after the first few seconds of a fight. AoE stun/status effects are better than AoE damage ('crowd control' instead of 'aggro bomb').

5. Remember that you need to stay alive and active in order to help others - when in doubt, go with the option that helps *you* personally.

If you are joining a group, don't hesitate to ask what kind of healing/nuking they already have, or if they need specific kinds of buffs from you. Adjust your spell choices accordingly. The time to do this is *before* you leave town and go into the dungeon.

If you are just loading up for solo play, or your group has no preference, I would split my spells evenly between the three types (offense/defense/role).

Some general tips as a healer: If you are the dedicated healer, keep the main tank in line of sight and range for healing - if he needs a heal fast you won't get a second chance. If the main tank goes down, the rest of the team gets wiped out right after that. Agree ahead of time who can call for a retreat (this is usually the party leader, or the main tank - someone who can accurately decide whether its time for the group to flee or not). If you get the word to bug out, get out immediately - don't try for one more spell, or one more swing. Run for your life. Your buddies are counting on you coming back to rez them, which you can't do if you are DRT (Dead Right There). Never leave the main group to heal - if someone runs off and gets into trouble, don't try to go save them. Carry a shield, learn to block when you aren't casting or swinging your weapon, take cover whenever when you can find it. Never be the first one entering a room or turning a corner, never be the first to zone into the dungeon (or OUT of it). keep your concentration skill maxed - a disrupted heal is worthless. Know when to yell for help, too. I have a macro that says "CLERIC UNDER ATTACK" in bright red letters (you know, just in case...if I could figure out how to make it flash and play the Red Alert klaxon from Star Trek, I'd do that too).

If you like to nuke, pick targets that are already engaged by your tanks or other melee types. You want to be the guy who finishes off the wounded monster, not the guy who pokes the fresh monster in the eye and grabs its attention. (My daughter describes this as "you want the monster to say "Arggg a caster THUD" not "Ouch, now you die, finger-wiggler")

[mandos2]

Great post Ardkor.

One spell that Kralgnax didn't mention, and that I'm a huge fan of, is Command (and Greater Command). Making something, especially a boss mob, lie down submissively while your tank and DPS whack the **** out of it is great fun. I especially love the giant animation: they get down on all fours and present their rumps for a non-flat of the blade whippin'. It's usually a race between me and my Wizard guildie to see who can get the most mobs down/charmed in an encounter.

Obviously you need to be smart, and not like, cast this on undead, or have a low wis so it won't stick.

[phalaeo]

My squishy Mage friends have really taken a shine to Stalwart Pact. And I have noticed that they are not going down as quick, Might be good to hit the rogue with it too.

Make sure you read up on what each spell cures- for example....
Mummy Rot requires Remove Disease and Remove Curse in order to work. Do a little reading before you enter blindly into a quest, especially if it's long and is themed. Mummy Rot was a huge issue for us in the Sands of Menachterun, so much so that I actually just bought wands of the above mentioned spells because I would have to cure at least one (usually 2) party members per mummy encounter. I asked them to look into Disease Immunity belts as an option, but they all chipped in for the wands, so.....whatever.

If you know you're going to be running a series of quests that involve Poison removal, such as Whisperdoom, just get the wand with half charges. And ask your party when you go into a susceptible situation- "Ok, who here has poison belts, and who doesn't?" After one run with you grumbling for them to slow down so you can get it off, they'll be annoyed enough to go buy the immunity item they should have in the first place.

[Lorien_the_First_One]

So good suggestions above. I'll add cometfall to the list of spells as both a damaging and CC related spell (knocks em down while doing damage)

[Kralgnax]

I have a macro that says "CLERIC UNDER ATTACK" in bright red letters
Ok, I'll break down and admit my ignorane on this - how do you make text macros?
Halp, I has teh stoopidz.

[Lorien_the_First_One]

I have a macro that says "CLERIC UNDER ATTACK" in bright red letters
Ok, I'll break down and admit my ignorane on this - how do you make text macros?
Halp, I has teh stoopidz.

its the /alias command http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=195161&highlight=%2Falias