Halfling Cleric

[Ghost_Aeon]

Looking at a build for a halfling cleric and, judging by what I've been reading on the forums, I believe already it's a fairly solid build. I don't plan on doing any melee with him, but do intend to make use of other clerical spells outside of just healing the party. Also considering a level of barbarian for the speed boost so I can either keep up with the rest of the party, or get out of dodge fast when the party's already wiped. I don't have a lot of practice playing a primary healer, but when my bard finds herself in the role, I think I do fairly well.

Feat selection I'm looking at is, in order:
Least dragonmark of healing
Quicken
Lesser dragonmark of healing
Greater dragonmark of healing
Maximize
Heighten
Empower (projected level 18 feat, may change when that day comes around)

Definate skill is Concentration, planning to also take diplomacy for those rare instances it's actually useful, and to help lessen the hate mobs tend to default with on clerics (much like how PC's default hate on mob clerics). This will give a good bit of versatility, I'm thinking, able to heal strong when needed as well as afford some good clerical offensive spells when there's either a second cleric or the party's just rocking that hard.

What I'm wondering is what my stats should look like. Alrady know I'm settling with 11 Dex, 9 Int, and 18 Wis (Int getting a +1 tome at 1st level, Dex when I find one and Wis may wait as well). That leaves strength, constitution, and charisma to go, knowing I'm not taking less than a 9 strength (prefering 10 or 11) for carrying capacity alone. So should I bother with Con since I'm hoping not to see melee and go 11 Str, 9 Con, 15 Cha? Or should I keep my Con up and go 10 Str, 13 Con, 13 Cha?

(Recap, starting string choices of Str 11, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 9, Wis 18, Cha 15;
or Str 10, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 9, Wis 18, Cha 13.)

[Blazer]

Stats:

Even if you're not planning on melee combat, having a solid CON score means more HP, a better Fort save, and a higher Conc skill. Since you're talking about using some +1 tomes, I'm assuming you have access to 32 pt builds. I would start with 14 CON, 18 WIS, keep that 9 INT (and use the tome). This leaves you 9 stat points to spread around STR, DEX, and CHA. Maybe something like this?

STR 10 (4 pts)
DEX 10 (0 pt)
CON 14 (6 pts)
INT 9 (1 pt)
WIS 18 (16 pts)
CHA 12 (4 pts)

This leaves you 1 stat point to flex where you want at creation.

Skills:

I think you may benefit more from Balance than Diplomacy. If you're planning on wearing full plate, you're going to want to get back up quickly after you get knocked down. Diplo has uses, but I think Balance is better overall.

Feats:

Maybe look to swap when you take Maximize and Quicken. Quicken is best for getting stuff like Blade Barriers, Symbols, and the like (slow casting spells) down quickly when you need them. It's also great for preventing spells from getting interrupted. Neither of these things is something you'll need to worry about at the lower levels, especially if you can level up while wearing Addy FP (the 3 DR cuts most mobs melee damage in half, if not completely negating it).

[Ghost_Aeon]

Stats:

Even if you're not planning on melee combat, having a solid CON score means more HP, a better Fort save, and a higher Conc skill. Since you're talking about using some +1 tomes, I'm assuming you have access to 32 pt builds. I would start with 14 CON, 18 WIS, keep that 9 INT (and use the tome). This leaves you 9 stat points to spread around STR, DEX, and CHA. Maybe something like this?

STR 10 (4 pts)
DEX 10 (0 pt)
CON 14 (6 pts)
INT 9 (1 pt)
WIS 18 (16 pts)
CHA 12 (4 pts)

This leaves you 1 stat point to flex where you want at creation.

True while I don't plan to melee, I know I'll eventually/often get attacked. As for a con of 14, I buy another point by making it only a 13 and usng a tome. Maximum tome supported by level 20 is a +5, so odd-stat helps future-proof. +1 tomes are also easier to get than +2 tomes, and +3 tomes are as easy to get as +2 tomes.

Feats:

Maybe look to swap when you take Maximize and Quicken. Quicken is best for getting stuff like Blade Barriers, Symbols, and the like (slow casting spells) down quickly when you need them. It's also great for preventing spells from getting interrupted. Neither of these things is something you'll need to worry about at the lower levels, especially if you can level up while wearing Addy FP (the 3 DR cuts most mobs melee damage in half, if not completely negating it).

I was more worried about not having the SP at 3rd level to support Maximize, but otherwise you're probably right on that respect.

[Angelus_dead]

I don't have a lot of practice playing a primary healer, but when my bard finds herself in the role, I think I do fairly well.

If you already have a bard who can function as a healer, I wouldn't think a non-melee halfling cleric is the right choice. You're spending 3 or more feats to get some bonus heals, which aren't much better than simply mailing over a stack of Heal scrolls from the bard. If you have a bard charcter with full haggle, it is likely you can afford to buy many heal scrolls without worry.

Least dragonmark of healing
Quicken
Lesser dragonmark of healing
Greater dragonmark of healing
Maximize

You're taking Greater Dragonmark but not Empower Healing. Be aware that Maximize will not boost the power of the Greater Mark of Healing, like Empower Healing would. However, Maximize is very helpful to fight monsters with spells, especially Blade Barrier.

Definate skill is Concentration, planning to also take diplomacy for those rare instances it's actually useful, and to help lessen the hate mobs tend to default with on clerics (much like how PC's default hate on mob clerics).

It is false that monsters default to clerics.
Also, the Jump and Balance skills (even at cross class half rank) will help your combat survival way more than Diplomacy ever will.

So should I bother with Con since I'm hoping not to see melee and go 11 Str, 9 Con, 15 Cha? Or should I keep my Con up and go 10 Str, 13 Con, 13 Cha?

You should probably dump charisma down to 8, and put the points into strength or constitution. Consider dumping dex to 10, unless mithral fullplate highly appeals to you.

[Ghost_Aeon]

You should probably dump charisma down to 8, and put the points into strength or constitution. Consider dumping dex to 10, unless mithral fullplate highly appeals to you.

Taking a level of barbarian for the speed boost, MFP is the armor of choice I'm looking for.

[Blazer]

True while I don't plan to melee, I know I'll eventually/often get attacked. As for a con of 14, I buy another point by making it only a 13 and usng a tome. Maximum tome supported by level 20 is a +5, so odd-stat helps future-proof. +1 tomes are also easier to get than +2 tomes, and +3 tomes are as easy to get as +2 tomes.

I was more worried about not having the SP at 3rd level to support Maximize, but otherwise you're probably right on that respect.

Yeah, but the +5 tome will probably be hard to come by, whereas the +4 will be easier. Therefore, the even number stat will work better, I suspect. But then again, my cleric is human, so I can flex Human Adaptability to make it even no matter what. You won't have that luxury with halfling.

Maximize is not something you leave on all the time, obviously. In retrospect, the best thing to do is probably take Extend at lvl 3, then swap it out when you get higher level. Casting 6 min resists vs 3 min resists makes a big difference at the lower levels; 30-32 min resists vs 15-16 min resists - not so much.

Oh, one other thing from your OP - don't bother with the level of barbarian to keep up with the rest of the party. If they zerg and die or zerg and scream for healing, it's their own fault and you should tell them as such. Just keep yourself in good striders, maybe a haste clickie (and some pots) and you'll be fine. When you get to the point that the wiz/sorc/bard can keep the party in haste all the time, you'll be fine for keeping up with the group. Also, at that point, the barb should not have any issue keeping himself alive while he zergs ahead.

[Angelus_dead]

Taking a level of barbarian for the speed boost, MFP is the armor of choice I'm looking for.

Interesting.

A barb level mixes poorly with MFP, because being a barb blocks you from wearing Chaosgarde, which provides the same +2 AC differential as mithral armor. There are better bracers you can get, particularly Demon's Consort, but you'll have to decide if you think you can raid Laliat enough.

Also having a barb level will give you proficiency in all kinds of good weapons, making it seem even stranger that you're not planning to melee. I'll point that in existing high level DDO content, a cleric with one or two feats spent on melee is a lot more useful.

[Angelus_dead]

+1 tomes are also easier to get than +2 tomes, and +3 tomes are as easy to get as +2 tomes.

That's quite untrue. The place to get +2 tomes is Sleeping Dust or Rainbow (hard), and gaining a +3 tome isn't nearly that easy.

[Ghost_Aeon]

That's quite untrue. The place to get +2 tomes is Sleeping Dust or Rainbow (hard), and gaining a +3 tome isn't nearly that easy.

I wasn't aware that +2 tomes dropped outside of raids anymore. Good to know.

[Snoggy]

Maximum tome supported by level 20 is a +5, so odd-stat helps future-proof.

I'm not really convinced the game is going to play out like that.

and +3 tomes are as easy to get as +2 tomes.

Tradable +2 tomes drop in Vale quests. I'd say right now they're much easier to get than +3 tomes.

[Snoggy]

I'll point that in existing high level DDO content, a cleric with one or two feats spent on melee is a lot more useful.

But this build is a dragonmark halfling. It's already dedicating 3 feats (and numerous action points) to the dragonmark. Melee feats don't have much room left to be squeezed into.

[Pellegro]

There are a few key differences between the DM heals and using heal scrolls.

Heal scrolls are slow, and don't heal much.

The DM heals can be empowered (maybe even maximized - not sure) and fire off very fast.

For burst healing, there is no comparison.

Whether that is worth the 3 DM feats is a different issue.

I'm enjoying both my 1bard/XXwizard healing (kinda) arcane, as well as my halfling clerics.

I don't know if I still will past level 12 or so.