Help for non-melee cleric

[redoubt]

My cleric is a healer, turner, offensive caster. He does not melee (except crates and barrels, he whoops up on those.)

I've taken the positive, light and sp boost from the first tier and I'm planning to take either 5 or 6 points of wisdom to boost my DCs.

I'm not sure what else to take. Much of EA is melee oriented. Then judgement line looks interesting, but I'm not sure how it works in practice.

Ideas?

[AegonTargaryen]

Actually, only 3 of the EA enhancements have a melee aspect to them.
Wisdom is good for the DC's, but in the long run, you are better off twisting in +3 to a school of your choice (usually evocation) from the magister line.
Avenging Light is awesome. With radiance gear and the requisite light dmg enhancements, it can hit for over 1000 pts of dmg on a crit and costs 3 SP.
Judgement, Lay to Rest, and Judge the Many are fantastic against undead/evil outsiders, doing 10d100 pts of dmg in an AoE. As with AL, the SP cost is very low, 10 SP for Judgement and Lay to Rest. Judge the Many gives a 50% chance for other applicable mobs in a Judgement blast to be become Judged as well.
Then we get to Divine Wrath. What can I say about this that hasn't already been raved about a million times on the forums already? It is freakin AWESOME. First off, Its an AoE dealing tremendous light dmg. (anywhere for 650-3600+ depending on whether they save, whether you have a good radiance item equipped, etc...) It costs 30 SP. If all that wasn't awesome enough, it also heals party members that are inside the blast radius as well. (equivalent to a mass Heal, if not better)

As you can see, alot of EA is a great augment for divines, and for a non-melee divine, probably the best. Once you get Divine Wrath, and get the hang of using all these new abilities, you are gonna have a hard time remembering what it was like to play a divine pre-U14.

[Kinerd]

Renewal will change your life. It will take you about a minute to get used to it, as it is subtly different in practice from all your current healing abilities, but it's unbelievably powerful.

I think divines are uniquely suited by maxing the Wis line, because we have so many schools we want to cast from. Personally I just play my arcanes if I want to DC-cast, but if you like it divine-style why not?

Judgment et al are fun, but it's not like you're really desperate for ways to hurt undead on a cleric so it's only about half as useful as it first seems. Still fun, though.

[PNellesen]

Actually, only 3 of the EA enhancements have a melee aspect to them.
Wisdom is good for the DC's, but in the long run, you are better off twisting in +3 to a school of your choice (usually evocation) from the magister line.
Avenging Light is awesome. With radiance gear and the requisite light dmg enhancements, it can hit for over 1000 pts of dmg on a crit and costs 3 SP.

And don't overlook some of the Unyielding Sentinel enhancements as well - I like to twist in Endless Turning and the boots to Fortification too. I've got a level 25 pure cleric who's working his way to Magister, and the Unyielding Sentinel twists are coming in handy.

[AegonTargaryen]

And don't overlook some of the Unyielding Sentinel enhancements as well - I like to twist in Endless Turning and the boots to Fortification too. I've got a level 25 pure cleric who's working his way to Magister, and the Unyielding Sentinel twists are coming in handy.

Found another typo... :D (sorry for being a grammar troll. I saw your edit and couldn't help myself...)

[SirValentine]

Wisdom is good for the DC's, but in the long run, you are better off twisting in +3 to a school of your choice (usually evocation) from the magister line.


Those are not mutually exclusive. They stack. Magister (and/or DI) only give you a boost to 1 school, out of many you might care about, so grabbing the Wis, too, is a good idea if you care about your DCs.

But it's very much about your build/playstyle. If you are mainly a DPS/nuker sort, all that Light & Judgement stuff is awesome, I'm sure. But if you're about CC/instakill, it's not nearly as useful or interesting.

[voodoogroves]

Those are not mutually exclusive. They stack. Magister (and/or DI) only give you a boost to 1 school, out of many you might care about, so grabbing the Wis, too, is a good idea if you care about your DCs.

But it's very much about your build/playstyle. If you are mainly a DPS/nuker sort, all that Light & Judgement stuff is awesome, I'm sure. But if you're about CC/instakill, it's not nearly as useful or interesting.

Exactly this.

Some of it is a benefit/cost ... but bear in mind that increases to your casting stat help ALL DCs. If you were a sorc who was just a 1-school nuker, maybe you don't care so much. If you're a wizard who wants good DCs across the board, more INT may be better for you than a deep point-splash into a single school.

Divines are tricky. You could stick to primarily evocation. Greater Command and Destruction/Slay Living are pretty tasty too, though may not be to your tastes.

[guardianx2009]

Tier One
Avenging light: Active Ability: (Cooldown 3 seconds) Deals 1d4+4 light damage + 1d4+4 per three character level to 1 target. Fortitude save (DC 10+ character level + charisma or wisdom mod) for half.
Very nice. Dirt cheap SP cost. Use the cove dagger click free maximize, then cycle thru Maximized Searing Light/Nimbus/Avenging light for 20 seconds of continuous stream of light damage at dirt cheap SP cost.


Endless faith: Passive Bonus: Spell point pool increased by [4/7/10]%. Echoes of power restore up to [18/24/30] sp.
Worth the nice boost to SP.. albeit costly (see below).


Radiant power: Passive Bonus: +[10/20/30] Light spellpower.
Healing power: Passive Bonus: +[10/20/30] Positive energy spellpower.
Individually these don't do much. But kinda have to take these to if you want Endless Faith.



Tier Two
Judgement: Active Ability: (Cooldown 15 seconds, 10sp) Target undead or evil outsider will explode when killed, dealing 10d100 light damage to other undead or evil outsiders near them. WARNING Judgement can kill Palemasters in your party.
meh.. very situational. Something to play around with if you have points to spare.


Embrace the light: Passive Bonus: You take +[10/20/30]% less light damage.
Meh... unless you're a PM or something..


Tier Three
Lay to rest: Active Ability: (Cooldown 15 seconds, 10sp) Target undead or evil outsider under the effect of Judgement takes 10d100 light damage.
See Judgement.

Smite the Wicked: Active Ability: (Cooldown 15 seconds, 10sp) Melee smite. Gain twice your charisma bonus to your attack roll and damage bonus of (level x3) +7 against evil opponents. On hit 50 light damage against undead and evil outsiders. On Natural 20 and confirmed crit, destroy undead or evil outsiders under 1000HP.
MEEEEEHH.. even if you're a melee divine! It's a single melee strike that deals pitiful damage.. then goes on timer for 20 seconds or whatever...


Renewal: Active Ability: (Cooldown 3 seconds, 5sp) Heals 1d2 HP per [4/3/2] character levels every 2 seconds for 8 seconds. If target is below 50% health, grants celestial shield, which absorbs [30/40/50] damage.
Absolutely fantastic. VERY NICE dirt cheap healing. Very powerful with healing amp. Pair with healing aura and you're nigh invincible for 8 seconds. Or toss it on a melee and know he'll be taken care of for the next 8 seconds. Can really stretch your SP pool if used effectively.


Purity of essence: Passive Bonus: [3/5/10]% healing amp.
Can't stress healing amp importance, even for a cleric. Healing Amp is what you need nowadays if you want to your bursts/renewal/aura etc to heal you effectively.



Tier Four
Judge the many: Passive Bonus: Undead or evil outsiders judged gain "Guilt by association". When target with guilt dies, any undead or outsiders caught in the area have 50% chance to receive the effects of the Judgement epic ability (see above).
See Judgement.

Rebuke foe: Active Ability: (Cooldown 3 seconds) Only usable when Endless Ardor stack >=5. Target enemy tales 5% additional damage from physical and light damage for 30 seconds. Can stack up to 5 times, new stacks add 30 seconds to remaining duration. Endless Ardor stacks reset to zero.
Not sure about this. Have yet to use it.


Blood and radiance: Passive Bonus: Each time you cast a light based spell, you gain Endless Ardor: +1 sacred bonus to positive energy for 10 seconds. Each time you cast a positive energy spell, gain Righteous Fervor: +1 sacred bonus to light spellpower for 10 seconds. Can stack up to 10 times. Each stack add 10 seconds to remaining duration.
You'll need this if you want Divine Wrath.


Excoriate: Passive Bonus: When your Righteous Fervor stack is >=5, your light spells and smites have a 3% chance to stun opponents for 6 seconds.
Not sure about this. Have yet to use it.


Tier Five
Be at peace: Active Ability: (Cooldown 2 mins, 10sp) Target enemy is dazed for 1 minute, no save. Damage breaks this effect. Endless Ardor and Righteous Fervor stacks are reset to zero.
Not sure about this. Have yet to use it. Seems like it can be very useful in EE content, but situational.


Tier Six
Divine Wrath: Active Ability: (Cooldown 3 seconds, 30sp) Only usable when Endless Ardor stack is 10. Call down divine wrath on foes, dealing 2d6 light damage per character level, will save for half (DC 10 + character level + half charisma or wisdom mod). Allies caught within blast are healed for 1d6 HP per character level. Resets Endless Ardor.
Have yet to use it. But have heard nothing but good things about it.


Reborn in Light Epic Moment: Active Ability: (Cooldown 30mins) Each time you gain Endless Ardor or Righteous Fervor you gain a counter. When it reaches 100, ability becomes available.
Have yet to use it. But have heard it is horribly broken.


Strike down: Active Ability: (Cooldown 15 seconds, 10sp) Only usable when Righteous Fervor stack is 10. Melee smite gain twice your charisma bonus to attack and damage bonus of (level x3) + 7 against evil opponents. On hi 500 light damage. On hit after damage destroy undead or evil outsiders below 1000 HP. Resets Righteous Fervor.
Have yet to use it. But looks crappy like Smite the Wicked.

[redoubt]

Renewal

Why bother on a Radiant servant. I have 21 turns right now. Very rarely do I ever run out. My aura and aura burst sound much better than an 8 second HOT.

Am I missing something?

[guardianx2009]

Renewal

Why bother on a Radiant servant. I have 21 turns right now. Very rarely do I ever run out. My aura and aura burst sound much better than an 8 second HOT.

Am I missing something?

Because it's not the same. It's more of a form of single target heal. It sticks to a target, unlike aura and burst. You can use it more like a first line heal spell.

I had the same initial thought as you. Give it a chance.

[Kinerd]

Renewal

Why bother on a Radiant servant. I have 21 turns right now. Very rarely do I ever run out. My aura and aura burst sound much better than an 8 second HOT.

Am I missing something?Try it and see. What do you have to lose? If we of the Gospel of Renewal are even halfway right you have much to gain.

[DarkForte]

Tier Six
Divine Wrath: Active Ability: (Cooldown 3 seconds, 30sp) Only usable when Endless Ardor stack is 10. Call down divine wrath on foes, dealing 2d6 light damage per character level, will save for half (DC 10 + character level + half charisma or wisdom mod). Allies caught within blast are healed for 1d6 HP per character level. Resets Endless Ardor.
Have yet to use it. But have heard nothing but good things about it.

It's basically a stronger mass heal with a larger cooldown that deals a 1k+ light damage burst to everything around you. Also, did I mention it costs just 30 SP?
This alone makes light spells viable in endgame.