Cleric/Paladin build--newbie questions

[BhoAh]

At what level are Clerics granted Level 9 Spells? I'm calculating at 17 Cleric levels, is that correct? Or is it 18?

How important/vital/amazing are the Level 9 Spells? True Resurrection sounds pretty great! Can I perform it on myself? As an aside, so far I've only run quests with my boyfriend or alone, never with a group, so I don't know that I'll need group heals, unless those spells work for both of us at the same time....do they?

I started playing a few months ago, and have fooled around w different builds, and have decided that I want to really work to level up one toon, based on how I like to play so far. I LOVE Greatswords and self-healing; I like Paladins with LoH, but find my spellcasting Cleric to be more fun, so I've chosen to focus on a (mainly) offensive caster Cleric with 3 levels of Paladin. Now I'm wondering if I've gimped myself by not having 18 levels of Cleric, or not having Level 9 Spells until I'm actually Level 20....??? I'm considering taking Fighter at level 16 if I'm going to miss out on Level 9 Spells anyway because I've read that at high levels melee becomes more important.

I already have a lot of bound to character stuff I'd like to use, like level 4 and 8 Cloaks of Night from the Halloween festival, so I'm hoping I don't have to reroll, and am not sure when I'd be able to reincarnate.

Here's my build--right now I'm Level 4 Human with a 28 pt build. Please give me any constructive criticism you can think of ~

Astraal
28 pt Human Female Lawful Good
Cleric 17 / Paladin 3
(Always raising WIS)
or
Cleric 16 / Paladin 3 / Fighter 1
(If I do this I will take Fighter at my level 16 and take THF as extra feat, and take STR at Levels 16 & 20)

Strength 14
Dexterity 8
Constitution 14
Intelligence 8
Wisdom 16
Charisma 14

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell
Feat: (Human Bonus) Toughness

Level 2 (Paladin)

Level 3 (Paladin)
Feat: (Selected) Mental Toughness
I chose MT instead of Extend Spell because I read that Extend Spell is only good at lower levels for extending buffs, and as of now I don't use any buff spells.

Level 4 (Paladin)
Taking a 3rd level of paladin instead of just two levels like recipe called for gives me Aura of Courage, Aura of Good, Fear Immunity and a second Lay on Hands
Ability Raise: WIS

Level 5 (Cleric)

Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Spell

Level 7 (Cleric)

Level 8 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS

Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell

Level 10 (Cleric)

Level 11 (Cleric)

Level 12 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell

Level 13 (Cleric)

Level 14 (Cleric)

Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell

Level 16 (Cleric or Fighter)
Ability Raise: WIS (or STR if Fighter)
(If Fighter, Extra Feat: THF)

Level 17 (Cleric)

Level 18 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons

Level 19 (Cleric)

Level 20 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS (or STR if I took level of Fighter)


I still haven't exactly figured out all of my Enhancements, but I know I want to become a Radiant Servant I and II
but not sure which of these I should take:
Cleric Divine Cleansing I, Cleric Divine Healing I, Cleric Divine Light I, Cleric Divine Might I, or Cleric Divine Vitality I
then
Silver Flame Exorcism, Unyielding Sovereignty, or Cleric Charisma II
Any suggestions?

Am I gimping myself by wanting to use THF Greatsword when I want/need to melee?

Thanks for any and all input ~

[frznvimes]

(sorry i can't go into depth atm)
you get level 9 cleric spells at level 17, don't worry.
level 9 spells are nice. not your most important spells imo, but a pretty big thing to give up (THF is not worth the trade, especially if you're going to be heightening spells).
the only ressurect spell you can use on yourself is death pact (level 8).
I'd definately go with the sovereign court over the silver flame. An occasional full heal+greater restoration is just going to be useful more often.
Divine might or divine vitality will probably be use most useful (divine vitality only helping when you're grouped with other casters, of course).
There's nothing wrong with wanting to use a greatsword. Since you don't have space for twf, and you won't have a meaningful ac, thf is your best melee option.
You should be using buffs! They're ultimately going to save you sp (either by reducing healing or by making melee more effective so you have to cast fewer offensive spells). Extend spell also applies to blade barrier, which is your best damaging spell. You might want to featswap mental toughness for it eventually.

[HGM-Chi]

At what level are Clerics granted Level 9 Spells? I'm calculating at 17 Cleric levels, is that correct? Or is it 18?

17 is correct.


How important/vital/amazing are the Level 9 Spells? True Resurrection sounds pretty great! Can I perform it on myself? As an aside, so far I've only run quests with my boyfriend or alone, never with a group, so I don't know that I'll need group heals, unless those spells work for both of us at the same time....do they?

They can be pretty handy for sure, Mass Heal is nice for party healing, and the mass cures do work on everyone within range of person targeted with the spell, whether yourself or someone else. You cannot cast True Res on yourself, but you can cast Death Pact which will give you a Raise Dead if you manage to die.


I started playing a few months ago, and have fooled around w different builds, and have decided that I want to really work to level up one toon, based on how I like to play so far. I LOVE Greatswords and self-healing; I like Paladins with LoH, but find my spellcasting Cleric to be more fun, so I've chosen to focus on a (mainly) offensive caster Cleric with 3 levels of Paladin. Now I'm wondering if I've gimped myself by not having 18 levels of Cleric, or not having Level 9 Spells until I'm actually Level 20....??? I'm considering taking Fighter at level 16 if I'm going to miss out on Level 9 Spells anyway because I've read that at high levels melee becomes more important.

I'd be more inclined to go with an 18/2 split with a cleric, especially if you plan to be an offensive caster. That being said, if you want to be a melee caster I'd not bother thinking about offensive casting at all, really. The more caster levels you drop the more ineffective your spells become. If you want to multi out a cleric into a battle style cleric I'd focus on healing/buffing and melee damage. That said, you'd probably want to make the 18/2 split with fighter so you get two bonus melee feats (Power Attack and Improved Crit perhaps... don't bother with the THF feat).


I already have a lot of bound to character stuff I'd like to use, like level 4 and 8 Cloaks of Night from the Halloween festival, so I'm hoping I don't have to reroll, and am not sure when I'd be able to reincarnate.

Here's my build--right now I'm Level 4 Human with a 28 pt build. Please give me any constructive criticism you can think of ~

Astraal
28 pt Human Female Lawful Good
Cleric 17 / Paladin 3
(Always raising WIS)
or
Cleric 16 / Paladin 3 / Fighter 1
(If I do this I will take Fighter at my level 16 and take THF as extra feat, and take STR at Levels 16 & 20)

Strength 14
Dexterity 8
Constitution 14
Intelligence 8
Wisdom 16
Charisma 14

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell
Feat: (Human Bonus) Toughness

Level 2 (Paladin)

Level 3 (Paladin)
Feat: (Selected) Mental Toughness
I chose MT instead of Extend Spell because I read that Extend Spell is only good at lower levels for extending buffs, and as of now I don't use any buff spells.

Level 4 (Paladin)
Taking a 3rd level of paladin instead of just two levels like recipe called for gives me Aura of Courage, Aura of Good, Fear Immunity and a second Lay on Hands
Ability Raise: WIS



Ah, so you're already a 1/3 Cleric/Pally split, eh? I'd call that a mistake, as the things you mention that you gain (Fear Immunity and LoHs in particular) aren't worth the loss of another cleric level. LoHs? You get *heal* as a cleric. You also get a spell that will give fear immunity to yourself and everyone around you when you cast it... I'd ditch Mental Toughness for either Power Attack or Extend. Extend is awesome for your buffs, and you will want to cast them. Prot Fire? Deathward? Stalwart Pact? Freedom of Movement? Oh yes you will :)


Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell

Again, I don't think you should be looking into offensive casting with your cleric, so I wouldn't worry about heighten. Take a melee feat or extend :)


Level 16 (Cleric or Fighter)
Ability Raise: WIS (or STR if Fighter)
(If Fighter, Extra Feat: THF)

I don't think you should water your caster levels down further for the sake of one feat. Again, you probably should have taken 2 levels of fighter over your 3 levels pally, but bygones...


I still haven't exactly figured out all of my Enhancements, but I know I want to become a Radiant Servant I and II
but not sure which of these I should take:
Cleric Divine Cleansing I, Cleric Divine Healing I, Cleric Divine Light I, Cleric Divine Might I, or Cleric Divine Vitality I
then
Silver Flame Exorcism, Unyielding Sovereignty, or Cleric Charisma II
Any suggestions?

Am I gimping myself by wanting to use THF Greatsword when I want/need to melee?

Thanks for any and all input ~

Divine Might would work well for heping boost your str during melee. And no, swinging a Greatsword is a fine idea :) Or a Falchion for the higher crit range would be cool too.

[unbongwah]

Paladin 2 / cleric 18 is not a bad combo if you want a battle cleric but would rather have the saves boost from Divine Grace than, say, the extra feats and +1 STR enh from ftr 2. But paladin 3 isn't worth it, IMHO: in the long run, your LoH will be so weaksauce it isn't even worth factoring into your build (esp. compared to your Radiant Servant heals); your auras will also be almost worthless; and fear & disease immunity are available on items. I'd rather stick with cleric 18 / pally 2 or maybe do cleric 17 / pally 2 / ftr 1.

[BhoAh]

Thanks for all information!

At first I was really happy to hear that I would still get 9th Level Spells, but now it's really sinking in that I should probably reincarnate--to switch Mental Toughness for Extend Spell and to drop a level of Paladin, or even switch to 2 Ftr/18 Cleric or pure Cleric. Perhaps I should Greater Reincarnate so I can have a 32 pt build? Or just re-roll, which is a bummer considering the bound to character stuff I have, like 2 Cloaks of Night.

It seems best to hold off a while, and really see what it's like to play her at higher levels, then decide whether to go more heal/buff/melee or pure OCC.

As a newbie I've no idea what the game is like above 5th level. I'm still sort of squishy and learning how to manage mana.

After trying a pure Paladin, a healing Cleric, a TWF Rogue/Ranger, an Arcane Archer and a Bard/Barb, as Humans or Halflings for the dragonmarks, I went into this build wanting the following things:
* healing
* great DPS
* effective ranged attacks
* melee with a greatsword or other awesome THF weapon
* spells to make things fun (I love Command and calling a Celestial Dog)
* something durable and not uber clicky
* 28 pt, FTP build

I know I can't get everything in one build, but I'm trying to get as much as possible of the things I like. Maybe more experienced players would have a build suggestion for me? I really want to commit to a character and stick with her until endgame, which feels like a really long way away right now, and I don't want to make it extra hard on myself by not having a strong build. I didn't want to spend much on this game, but I'm getting pretty caught up in it, and just went VIP and am contemplating buying 32 pt builds.

Any and all input is greatly appreciated!

[FuzzyDuck81]

Overall, the build looks pretty decent - as others have mentioned, paladin 2/cleric 18 (or pally 2/cleric 17/fighter 1) would probably be the ideal level splits for a capable battle cleric rather than a 3rd paladin level as you'd get extra spell slots with the 18th cleric level, or another melee feat with the fighter one.. still, if you've already got the 3 pally levels on the character it wont be BAD, just a little less optimal but thats not really an issue except with the elitists ;)

Weapon-wise a maul which has the stunning property can be handy, even without the stunning blow feat as a small chance to stun mobs for autocrits on every hit can be nice. A vorpal slashing weapon for use against mobs is usually a good option too, as you dont need to be doing huge damage to kill things. You can also consider vicious weapons to boost your DPS, which will do untyped, non-resistable damage as the regen from your aura will offset the self-harming nicely.

My own take on the cleric/pally/(+ something?) multiclass build is a 15 cleric/3 monk/2 paladin which i LR'ed to (and love.. 40+ on all saves on a cleric is sweet, especially combined with evasion), but a deeper multiclass build of that kind generally requires a better knowledge of your character's capabilities, decent gearing & optimisation etc. which you may not have yet - still, as you become more experienced and confident, mixing things up to really make a character your own is a lot of fun. For a f2p version of it down the line while still using 2handers you could possibly use 16 cleric 2 rogue 2 paladin...*sigh* and now i know what one of my builds to try out half-orc will probably be.. :D