Offensive Caster

[fervidsea]

I have been jumping all around the boards lately trying to nail down a class to roll with.

Are Offensive Caster Cleric's, such as http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=156683 found in the per the Build Catalogue, a viable and wanted route for solo/group play?

I see a lot of post around battle clerics, but I would prefer to heal/dps by casting, with some slight melee capabilities, when I'm out of mana.

I went 20 pages back into the cleric forums and really didn't see any "full" builds, w/feat, spell and or enhancement ideas. Is it that easy of a class that it doesn't need more explanation or just not a viable wanted class? Or... Am I just asking for to much and need to try it out for myself?

Thanks for the input.

[jsaving]

Battle clerics are viable even in the hands of unskilled players, which is one reason why they're such a common choice for first characters in DDO.

Offensive casters are definitely viable and wanted -- more so than battle clerics, in fact. But without putting some thought into which spells/enhancements to carry and which metamagic feats to use, you can easily find yourself burning through spell points at an unsustainable rate, making this path less-than-optimal for novice players.

For stats you'd generally be looking at something like a 10/8/14/8/18/12 human with maximize, empower, quicken, and both spell penetration feats, with three slots left over for some combination of toughness, heighten, spell focus, mental toughness, and extend. You'd max out the spell pen and wisdom enhancements available to you and also put at least a few action points in energy, wand/scroll, life, and toughness enhancements.

[fervidsea]

Thanks for the input... Makes sense.

[fervidsea]

Hows this to start and build around as time goes?

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.10
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Human Cleric_OC
Level 20 Chaotic Good Human Male
(20 Cleric) 
Hit Points: 262
Spell Points: 1547 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 5
Will: 20

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Stats          Modified Stats
Abilities        (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             10                    10
Dexterity             8                     8
Constitution         14                    14
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               18                    27
Charisma             12                    12

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance              -1                    -1
Bluff                 1                     1
Concentration         6                    25
Diplomacy             2                    12
Disable Device       n/a                   n/a
Haggle                1                     1
Heal                  5                    18
Hide                 -1                    -1
Intimidate            1                     1
Jump                  0                     0
Listen                4                     8
Move Silently        -1                    -1
Open Lock            n/a                   n/a
Perform               n/a                   n/a
Repair               -1                    -1
Search               -1                    -1
Spot                  4                     8
Swim                  0                     0
Tumble                0                     0
Use Magic Device      n/a                   n/a

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell
Feat: (Human Bonus) Toughness
Enhancement: Follower of the Sovereign Host
Enhancement: Cleric Smiting I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I


Level 2 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot I
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery I


Level 3 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Penetration
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Smiting I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life I


Level 4 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS
Enhancement: Cleric Smiting II
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II


Level 5 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot II
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery II


Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Spell
Enhancement: Unyielding Sovereignty


Level 7 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II


Level 8 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Smiting I
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery III


Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Spell Penetration I


Level 10 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom III


Level 11 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery IV


Level 12 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Penetration
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Spell Penetration II


Level 13 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III


Level 14 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV


Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life II
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot III


Level 16 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot IV


Level 17 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life II


Level 18 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life III
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life III


Level 19 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Wisdom I


Level 20 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Intervention
Enhancement: Human Improved Recovery I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II

[Nyvn]

Caster Cleric's rock, Who needs to heal when the bad guys are laying around? Your posted build looks pretty solid.

[fervidsea]

Feat and Enhancement Suggestions... And does alignment make a difference end game for an offensive casting healer?

Looking at:

Feats ~
L1: Extend, Mental Toughness
L3: Empower Spell
L6: Improved Mental Toughness
L9: Quicken Spell
L12: Maximize Spell
L15: Spell Penetration
L18: Greater Spell Penetration

Enhancements ~

Divine Intervention
Wand Mastery IV
Energy of the Zealot IV
Divine Vitality III
Divine Healing III
Improved Spell Penetration III
Life Magic IV
Incredible Life III
Prayer of Life III
Wisdom III
Human Adaptability Wisdom I
Extra Turning II
Human Versatility I

Am I missing anything... Going to far on some?

[KillEveryone]

I have been leaning toward this and have been wondering about quicken.

It is nice to get the spell off immediately but is there a level of concentration that you wouldn't have to worry abou this.

I have been wondering because I have played around with quicken and you still have to wait for the spell cool down, and it seems like it takes agonizing long time. I know it isn't any longer than normal, but it just seems that way because of the speed of the cast. Is there anyting that speeds up the cool down?

Also, is there a point where concentration doesn't do any good that you need to keep putting in points. I know that after 40, putting them in jump is worthless, at least what I have read. I was wondering in case I decide to start putting them in jump.

I haven't hit the higher level content so I don't have a perspective to judge this stuff on.

[jsaving]

At endgame, it is not uncommon for characters with maxed-out concentration to fail their checks. On the other hand, none of the skills most useful to clerics (balance, jump, maybe spot or UMD depending on the build) are class skills so there's a reasonable argument to be made for maxing concentration anyway.

It's also worth pointing out that we're not necessarily talking about an either/or choice here. Many, many offensive casters put as many skill points as they can in concentration while also carrying and using quicken. But there are also some who opt for only one of these, and they generally say the one they picked is enough to get their spells off as long as they're paying attention to battlefield conditions (taking advantage of cover, only toggling quicken on when it is most needed, etc).

[Dacian_Falx]

I would recommend Impaqs build for a battle cleric that becomes a casting cleric.

14/8/14/8/18/8 28pt build. This is what I am using now and have no regrets so far. Turn undead barely works most of the time and if I wanted to use my Turns in any fashion, I would invest in Divine Light for the damage instead of the turn.

It's a pure build, no multi-classing. Although I did read a post about splashing monk at level 19 and 20 to round out the caster side (wisdom stance for added wisdom to offset the lost DC point and gaining evasion and 2 extra feats) which looks very intriguing.