Battle Cleric Advice

[ClutchMethod]

I have decided to venture down the Battle Cleric path, why? It seems more often than not lately I've been depending on myself more than the party. This isn't by choice, but because of newer players lack of knowledge and older players lack of focus, and willingness to play team ball. Now before I get flammed I'm not saying every new player is clueless and every veteran is selfish, maybe I just have bad luck and timing. But there are alot of one-track minded players out there.

What I'm asking for is a starting point. I'm very big on learning things thru experience (not others experiences). Meaning I dont want everyone who gives me some advice to have End-Game in mind and tell me why I want that feat at lvl 16 instead of the other one. Because with my other 6 characters and the way this game changes I can't honestly say the character will make it that high. It just seems that when I start making characters I find (say around level 8) that they were gimped from the get go. Darned near anyone can make it that high before their flaws start to shine.

Ive tried reading up on a few character builds and the endless pages of people trying to sound like they know more than the other and quite frankly it confuses me a little. I start reading something thinking I might get an idea from it, 12 pages later Ive waisted 15 minutes and I'm no closer to making a decision than I was before. But thats on me :P

Now as mentioned before I would love just a simple starting point. I dont like following the paths because I like to see all of my options not just predetermined ones. Also Im thinking it would be wise to throw in some splashes of fighter or rogue? Or should I stay pure? I know its hard to just answer that question being there are so many styles of game play, again just looking for an idea to run with.

I'm completely on the DPS bandwagon but I would love to be more of an asset for the party.

As far as my limitations go, I have Drow, I'm very close to the Veteran status (not sure if that even matters). I live in Japan so I cannot buy the 32 point character builds :'(. Tomes? Ive yet to find any. I have an 11 fighter and I'm not sure when they are supposed to start appearing or if I should have found any by now. So I guess those are out of the option.

So if someone with a little more understanding of the game would be so kind as to give me a good starting point (please no links to others threads) the help would be greatly appreciated.

*I didnt intend for this to sound so picky/whiny. I'm very open to ideas*

[Lehrman]

I recommend not making a "battle" cleric, but instead making a cleric who just happens to have a high str and can swing a melee weapon if he wants to do so.

Dwarf Pure Cleric
Str14 (16 if you have 32 pt builds)
Dex8
Con16
Int8
Wis 18
Cha 6

Put your leveling points into wisdom.

Blade barrier will make your battle cleric pointless at higher levels, so you only need to melee until you get the BB spell.

Feats = toughness, extend spell, empower spell, maximize spell, quicken

Taken at 1,3,6,9,12 in that order or jumbled. it will set you up to be able to solo most quests at lvl 12

[ClutchMethod]

Would this character be a healer or offensive spell casting?

[Tumarek]

I recommend not making a "battle" cleric, but instead making a cleric who just happens to have a high str and can swing a melee weapon if he wants to do so.

Dwarf Pure Cleric
Str14 (16 if you have 32 pt builds)
Dex8
Con16
Int8
Wis 18
Cha 6

Put your leveling points into wisdom.

Blade barrier will make your battle cleric pointless at higher levels, so you only need to melee until you get the BB spell.

Feats = toughness, extend spell, empower spell, maximize spell, quicken

Taken at 1,3,6,9,12 in that order or jumbled. it will set you up to be able to solo most quests at lvl 12

Uhm no... a well build Battlecleric can outperform a casting cleric in many situations (not all of course): he has more SP for healing, can be used against any enemy, not just certain ones and is better for soloing. The only problem is that you will have to be more attentive watching the bars of your party while fighting.

Blade barrier is a nice spell no question about that but melee can keep up in average with ease. check out SirGogs build catalog he has a few great build for battlecelerics.

Would this character be a healer or offensive spell casting?

Oh and any cleric is a healer... you cant really make one that cant heal very good.

[Kriogen]

Something like this:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.18
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Good Drow Male
(2 Monk \ 18 Cleric) 
Hit Points: 262
Spell Points: 1226 
BAB: 14\14\19\24
Fortitude: 16
Reflex: 14
Will: 22

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             14                    16
Dexterity            16                    20
Constitution         12                    14
Intelligence         10                    10
Wisdom               16                    26
Charisma             10                    10

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Dexterity used at level 6
+2 Tome of Strength used at level 20
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 20
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 20
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 20

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               7                    11
Bluff                 0                     0
Concentration         5                    25
Diplomacy             0                     1
Disable Device        n/a                   n/a
Haggle                0                     1
Heal                  3                     8
Hide                  3                     5
Intimidate            0                     0
Jump                  5                     6
Listen                3                    10
Move Silently         3                     5
Open Lock             n/a                   n/a
Perform               n/a                   n/a
Repair                0                     0
Search                0                     2
Spot                  3                    10
Swim                  2                     3
Tumble                4                     6
Use Magic Device      2                    11

Level 1 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness
Feat: (Selected) Two Weapon Fighting


Level 2 (Cleric)


Level 3 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack


Level 4 (Cleric)


Level 5 (Cleric)


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


Level 7 (Cleric)


Level 8 (Cleric)


Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting


Level 10 (Cleric)


Level 11 (Cleric)


Level 12 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell


Level 13 (Cleric)


Level 14 (Cleric)


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


Level 16 (Cleric)


Level 17 (Cleric)


Level 18 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting


Level 19 (Cleric)


Level 20 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Drow Melee Attack I
Enhancement: Drow Melee Attack II
Enhancement: Drow Melee Damage I
Enhancement: Drow Melee Damage II
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity II
Enhancement: Vulkoor's Avatar
Enhancement: Follower of Vulkoor
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Empower Healing I
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Empower Healing II
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Empower Healing III
Enhancement: Way of the Clever Monkey I
Enhancement: Disciple of Breezes
Enhancement: Disciple of Puddles
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Spell Penetration I
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Spell Penetration II
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom III
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery I
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery II
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery III
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery IV

Needs +1 Dex tome for Improved/Greater TWF, but not at start. +1 tome is available in eStore or for cheap on AH (not expensive). You should be able to find something (tome, gold or grind enough favor TPs).

Fights good, casts good, solid defense from Wis AC bonus and Evasion. Not the best around, but also not the worse.

Use rapier/shortsword combo for general combat, kama for vorpal, handwraps for slimes/skeletons.

Good for solo and raids.

[ArloOne]

Have you thought about making a ranger? Fairly simple to make, good survivability, nice DPS, generally an asset to a party.

A battle cleric, also fairly simple. Although can be a bit tough through mid level (8-12). After that your spells will be doing most of your offensive damage and melee will fade. At this point, IMO, you will question why you didn't focus more on casting. From experience, watching your Blade Barrier chop mobs into pieces while you jump around and heal yourself is quite enjoyable.

My first character, a dwarven ranger, was a perfect character for my playstyle. And helped me to understand the greatness of survivabilty and self reliance, while still be able to fill a DPS roll in any party.

Go Strength based Tempest Ranger. I feel you will find it very fulfilling and a blast to play.

I hope i was able to help a bit. Good Luck and have fun!

[Tumarek]

I live in Japan so I cannot buy the 32 point character builds :'(.

http://www.paypal.jp


Oh and here http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=223253 is the build catalog from sirgog. read it, lot of good advice on what you can do with clerics.

[ClutchMethod]

http://www.paypal.jp


Oh and here http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=223253 is the build catalog from sirgog. read it, lot of good advice on what you can do with clerics.

I've got paypal but when i use it in the DDO store it still gives me the unauthorized region error...

[redraider]

If you have WF and FVS it's a no brainer. Build a Str/Con focused WF FVS. If your going to solo alot, do it S&B.

You only need a 12 Cha and Wis on an FVS to get all the SP's you'll ever need and taking the Addy Plating Feat and wearing a max + docent with a max plus shield (at lvl 8 that means a +5 Docent with a +5 shield) makes you near untouchable as you wade through the masses.

Mine is only lvl 10 right now but has yet to die a single death and has been a blast. I can't say if it will be great at end game, but it's been a blast so far!

I went:

Str 16
Dex 8
Con 18
Int 8
Wis 12
Cha 12

[Iaga]

I recommend not making a "battle" cleric, but instead making a cleric who just happens to have a high str and can swing a melee weapon if he wants to do so.

Dwarf Pure Cleric
Str14 (16 if you have 32 pt builds)
Dex8
Con16
Int8
Wis 18
Cha 6

Put your leveling points into wisdom.

Blade barrier will make your battle cleric pointless at higher levels, so you only need to melee until you get the BB spell.

Feats = toughness, extend spell, empower spell, maximize spell, quicken

Taken at 1,3,6,9,12 in that order or jumbled. it will set you up to be able to solo most quests at lvl 12

This is the build i've been using (although i took MT early on). It's a durable build. It' doesn't die easily. It heals well. It's easy to get into PUGs with. It contributes with cc via command, sound burst and greater command. It can solo (although having played a sorc to lvl 10 and abusing firewall, i find solo'ing with the cleric to be a little slow - which will change tonite when i hit 11th and get BB).

I considered a battle cleric, but with only 28 build points, being a premium (and new) player, un-guilded and not having access to good gear, i thought OCC was a better way to go.

[Kage72]

I've playing mostly battle clerics since i started. But, as much as it makes for a nice easy solo start ability... Your gonna moreless be expected to be more of a healer in parties. As good as you think you attack will be, or as good as your AC is... people expect a cleric to heal. :/ I'm a lev.10 cleric/1 fighter. But, i'm wishing I had just gone pure cleric at this point. Clerics make such sweet party supporters. Everyone wants a cleric or 2. As much as you might wanna be that dual role battle cleric, your only hurting a cleric's main power. It's a different role for sure. But, when you get used to it, it's actually quite fun. You become almost like the party Gaurdian, lol. It's also alot easier to find those superior devotion on weapons(clubs) to make your heals awesome.

So, i'd suggest making a more pure cleric based character. You can still get a good weapon/armor and solo thru most of the lower level stuff. Who cares if your weapon does 1-2 pts less damage if you get an elemental of pure good, lol. Your focus on your wisdom and consider some charisma instead of going too heavy str. You can use those extra turn undead turns on other enhancements.

But, choice is ultimately yours. I'm just telling my feelings from perspective of person that tried to force a battle cleric build myself. If you truly wanna be the guy up front doing the damage, really should play a class that's better at that... and let the party cleric heal you. As much as you can solo almost everything under lev.7-9, there are too many upper level quests that require a party.

[biggin]

As to what the OP said, you mention many are "narrow-minded". Now roll through all the battle cleric threads. You think people are close minded now, wait until you tell them you are a BC. Even though I've done nothing but cap clerics in 3+ years, I got denied for a raid with my 16/2 cleric/monk. Why? "I only want pure healers...." Now, anyone who knows anything about DDO would see this as ridiculous, it will happen. A clonk build is very widely accepted as a great build, and I still get "discriminated" against, and most people on the server know me (for better or worse ). Play the toon you want, the way you want, and have fun doing it. But if you're looking to be in the mainstream of players, it's going to be an uphill battle, never mind the difficulties you may have playing that build.

[sirgog]

A battle cleric, also fairly simple. Although can be a bit tough through mid level (8-12). After that your spells will be doing most of your offensive damage and melee will fade. At this point, IMO, you will question why you didn't focus more on casting. From experience, watching your Blade Barrier chop mobs into pieces while you jump around and heal yourself is quite enjoyable.

Battle clerics are behind offensive caster cleric builds from levels 11 through about 18, but once you get out to Amrath and particularly to Epics, the offensive caster falls behind again. Their best spells (Destruction, Implosion) stop working (they are unreliable in Amrath and everything is immune in Epics), and bosses just have too many HP to kill with Bladebarriers except on Normal, and in the places BB shines (such as Sins of Attrition), save DC isn't critical for it to work well.

Melee clerics don't get to tromp through levels 11 to 18 as easily as caster clerics (although they are very powerful builds still from 12 to 18). But the fact that they can contribute as more than just a healer in Epics makes up for that.