heighten or empower healing?

[Makkuroi]

Whats better for a wis-based caster/stunner clonk in GMoF? Empower healing would mainly be nice on aura and burst, heighten on holy smite SLA and destruction.

[guardianx2009]

I would say empower healing. Aura/Burst.. aura particularly is very very powerful if you build it right.. aura with 80-120+hp a tick and a burst that heals for 400-600hp is nothing sneeze at.

Heighten is nice for Destruction. It provides a small boost in EH content but it will barely be work in EE content. Heighten for Holy Smite SLA is irrelevant in epic levels.

[Thalone]

I'm surprised you can't find more spells to heighten. Slay living (touch range, but you're clonk so you will be in range), Greater Command, Soundburst are all in my regular rotation. The level four smiting spells are also situationally useful for slowing/stunning groups of monsters of the appropriate alignment.

That being said, if you're just using it to heighten two spells, you might be better off taking Empower Heal, which also applies to Renewal and Rejuvenation Cocoon for cheap single-target healing.

[SirValentine]

For me, I'd say Heighten is the clear winner for a Wis-based caster. Empower Healing is nice, but a heal will heal whether it's got Empower Healing on it or not. DC-based offensive spells mostly basically all-or-nothing, so every little bit matters. If you see yourself more in a healer role than a caster, you might feel differently.

Though, what are all your other feats that you can't fit both?

[firemedium_jt]

Well you don't need Heighten right away, but it so cheap to use it for the returns on investment for a WIS based DC cleric. I would not take it earlier that 15 or later than 18 IMHO, but some take it earlier for soundburst and other spells. I have 2 versions of blade barrier and other spells on my shortcut bars. Ones with and without Max and Empower, but I always have Heighten on my spells that use it.

Empower Healing is soooo cheap to use and you get more benefits from it. At high lvl it goes from 75 power to 100 power. A must have also for your heals.

Auras and Bursts I can't live without. They save so much in spell points they are must haves IMHO. By saving spell points with them you can devote more SP towards casting and less toward healing in most 6 men groups that you solo heal. Raids too depending on the party make up.

Really we need to know what other feats you have?

Another vote for keeping both here, but it depends on your other feats.

[guardianx2009]

it all depends on the content you plan on playing in..

For levelling and EH content, you may find more utility out of heighten because your CC/instakills still work.

Empower healing is better for survivability. For EE content, your DC is takes a back seat while defense and survivability takes precedence. A potent aura is invaluable here in help keeping you alive.

[SirValentine]

it all depends on the content you plan on playing in..

For levelling and EH content, you may find more utility out of heighten because your CC/instakills still work.

Empower healing is better for survivability. For EE content, your DC is takes a back seat while defense and survivability takes precedence. A potent aura is invaluable here in help keeping you alive.

I do not dispute that a stronger aura & other healing is helpful for survivability.

However, DCs being somehow more important in easy content but taking a back seat in hard content seems completely backwards to me. It's in EE that I scrap and claw for every last point of DC I can get. The best defense is a good offense. You don't have to heal damage from a monster that's been CCed or instakilled. In EH I would probably not even notice whether I had Heighten on or not, or had forgotten to swap on my +5 DC item, or had not got ship buffs, or had not drunk a Yugo pot. The the standard is so much lower, it hardly matters there.

[guardianx2009]

I do not dispute that a stronger aura & other healing is helpful for survivability.

However, DCs being somehow more important in easy content but taking a back seat in hard content seems completely backwards to me. It's in EE that I scrap and claw for every last point of DC I can get. The best defense is a good offense. You don't have to heal damage from a monster that's been CCed or instakilled. In EH I would probably not even notice whether I had Heighten on or not, or had forgotten to swap on my +5 DC item, or had not got ship buffs, or had not drunk a Yugo pot. The the standard is so much lower, it hardly matters there.

I didn't say its more important. Frankly eh is so easy it matters little what you take. Its just that if you had to choose, you might find more utility out of it than empower heal in eh.

EE heighten sure if you can get your DC to matter.

Op is clonk build, aura is more likely to serve him better in this case.

[Makkuroi]

I could probably fit both at 21, not taking great wisdom...

my feats:
monk: stunning fist, twf
human: maximize
heroic: evo focus (for unlocking magister evo mastery), PL:wiz, empower, quicken, (heighten/emp heal), itwf, gtwf
epic: (great wisdom/heighten), not sure yet...