12 Cleric/8X RSII builds. Opinions on those last 8 levels and the impact of heal amp?

[Steveohio]

Ok so, more and more recently since the prior update, there have been a few different 12 cleric/8X builds that have come out. Focusing on the radiant servant 2 PrC, These builds mostly fall into the "Battle Healer" niche. Some are made for soloing, while others can achieve good group support roles.

The main advantages alot of people are getting out of these builds are, single target heal spell, blade barrier, radiant servant 2 aura, but people are forgetting about the divine favor/aura, as well as the other great single target buffs you gain from these levels, Deathward, FoM, true seeing, spell resistance, elemental resistance, heroes feast, etc.

Its a very potent cutoff point and adds quite abit to any toon aimed at being completely self sufficient while as the same time not requiring huge amounts of resource costs.

So aside from a less than max BB, you have lots of buffs, and a heal spell. This assumes that generally your group role is going to be DPS/support.

What are peoples opinions on the various splits you can achieve with the last 8 levels or builds such as these?
What class combinations will yield better group functionality, which will give the best dps potential, which give the best survivability/soloability? How much more effective will healing amp provide your lvl 12 radiant aura with.

A few of the possible combinations include:

7 monk/1 something - Can go human for maximum healing amp for powered aura + light finishers. excellent healing over time. Can fill in light monk in ToD.

6 Fighter/2 something - Adds DPS, more feats allowing you to both heal and melee dps effectively in a group setting. possible intimitank role.

7 Rogue/1 something - Ultimate group specialist, can fill in for both traps and healer spots, also has UMD and possibility of 5d6 +29 sneak attack if halfling.

6 Barb/2something - Adds dps, bit more hp, and rage(although wasted as you want to cast)

6 Paladin/2something - Unaware if turning attempts and lvl checks stack between cleric and paladin.

6 Ranger/2something - feats, favored enemies

Bards, wizards, sorcs, fvs, all left out due to the fact that there aren't enough lvls left over to make any builds viable.

If given a choice as a group/raid leader, which would you select if any?

If playing yourself which would you deem to offer the most benefits?

I'm heavily wavering on going with a 7 light monk/1rog human, or 6ftr/2monk dwarf.
These 2 seem to me, to offer the greatest benefits, one going more towards healing/survivability and the other more towards straight DPS.

Whats the general consensus on these 12 cleric split multiclasses?
I think they offer alot of a group and soloist and seem to be having alot of people trying different combinations.

[Viciouspika]

Bards, wizards, sorcs, fvs, all left out due to the fact that there aren't enough lvls left over to make any builds viable.

Not completely true, I think a warchanter I might work in this area since there is no warchanter II. You would add to your buff ability though songs and spells. At lvl 8 bard, u could get Dispalcement, haste, good hope which would help. Warchanters song offers a DR 5/-, inspire courage, facinate(if you can keep your perform skill high enough), and inspire competence. Bonuses would stack with your cleric spells. Since the number of undead turning is cha based, I think bard would be a good addition to a Radiant servant(ie. increased SP, ref and will saves, CC).

I have been looking at this build for a couple of days. Don't know how it would perform in end game or if a similiar build has been done and found lacking. I think it would be interesting to play and getting the leveling sequence right would be difficult if you try a different class path with the remaining 8 lvls.

I was also thinking of a Radiant Servant I/ Warchanter I (cleric lvl 6/bard lvl 14) since the bard threads suggest a cut off of lvl 14 or lvl 15 for bard multiclassing.

Looking forward to replies on this thread.

[Bacab]

double post

[Bacab]

the 12Cleric/8Cleric build probably brings the most to a party/raid setting...

But personally I like your Golden Cockroach build if you are'nt gonna stay pure (16FVS/2PLD/2MNK) for those that done know. Its kinda like a Divine Tukaw

[Steveohio]

eh, the short time amount that a 6-8 bard's buffs last, doesnt really do much IMO. Most people will tell you that you need 14 levels to make it worthwhile. Also, in my opinion if another bard is present, your abilities there are rendered useless. DPS is the one constant that never becomes redundant, and also something that isn't hampered through multiclassing. A bard/cleric multiclass I could just see being relegated to a complete buffbot, and a piker when someone of a higher level is present.

As far as RS1 multi. I don't think there is enough there to make it worth 6 levels, at least now with healing aura at tier2.

edit: well the cockroach is an amazing battlehealer no doubt, but I need something abit different.

But I am one to push builds abit beyond the norm, with both group/raid and solo ability.

I have a human monk 7, cleric 12, rog 1 I've rolled up, and currently running through some tests and number crunching currently. Seems to be the most effective split possible on these RS2 multi's. With Jiz Bracers, 60% Healing amp, 30% human, 20% monk, finger necklace, you have the ability to pulse 35-40 hp non-crit on healing aura on yourself. Light finishers for even more self/group healing over time, grasp of the earth as well as the other group light monk benefits, including being the monk in ToD. Enough skill points for max UMD and traps, haste boost.

DPS would be nothing to write home about, but in stance, you should be able to easily hit 36 str.
16 base+1human+5lvls+6item+3excep+3stance+2tome

Feat selection:
TWF
ITWF
GTWF
Power attack
Toughness
imp crit
extend
empower healing
maximize
empower
quicken

That gets you blade barriers in the 250 dmg range, descent group healing with 2 mass cures, descent enough DPS, a TR from monk would really help out. MAX SP pool is the one thing lacking I see in this build, but with enough pots, it should be able to not only suffice in a group/raid situation, but actually be one of those dirty multiclasses that can contribute to groups. Via healing, buffing, dps, traps, and ultimate flexibility.

[Tobril]

I've got a 12/6/2 cleric/ranger/thief in the works. It is a good cross of solo and grouping ability.

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=271368


As far as raid buffs go, these things aren't really built for it. Not having the mass versions of spells means you need to either spend forever and a day buffing people or have a real cleric do so.

I've seen a similar build heal just fine in shroud and ToD before the radiant servant enhancement. Recent changes to the game should allow these builds to perform pretty well in the "main healer" role. (see my build post for more details on this)

The real problem is that people gravitate to "cool" builds like these without realizing how to play them. It's a lot harder to run these things than a "traditional" healer and as such I would be hesitant to accept one into a raid unless I knew the player.

99% of people I know can't take their healer and melee harry while healing the party. If the player can do this then they should be able to play this build.

If the player is not up for a challenge, these things really aren't the type of build they should play.

[Kriogen]

Capstone or Evasion. If I can't get Capstone then only Evasion is a good replacement.

That means /monk2 or /rogue2. Those two classes are very splash-friendly. And you don't get just evasion, but a couple of other nice perks.

Barbarian? No. Rage and blue bar don't mix. The key to barbs power is rage, pointless to have none-raging barb (go fighter if you don't rage). But when you rage, you can't cast. And you can cast some spells. So no Barb. Fighter much, much better as splash.

[MrCow]

I have a human monk 7, cleric 12, rog 1 I've rolled up, and currently running through some tests and number crunching currently. Seems to be the most effective split possible on these RS2 multi's. With Jiz Bracers, 60% Healing amp, 30% human, 20% monk, finger necklace, you have the ability to pulse 35-40 hp non-crit on healing aura on yourself.

If your aura is a consideration, then a 13 cleric/6 monk/1 rogue will yield better overall self-healing and group-healing, as it bumps the Positive Energy Aura up from a base tick of 4 to a base tick of 5 (as you are effective caster level 15 for positive energy spells with 13 cleric levels and Radiant Servant II) at the cost of Monk Improved Recovery II. This also brings the Heal spell up to maximum healing, nets Cure Serious Wounds, Mass, a couple more spell slots and SP, and frees up 4 Action Points. The things you lose include 2 skill points, a lowering of Fists of Light from 3-7 personal healing to 3-6 personal healing, healing ki doing a bit less on you, and -1 BAB when Divine Power isn't going.

[Bacab]

Well barb splash does give you sprint boost and movement speed.

And martial weapon prof...anda Toughness Enhancement and a chance to increase CON.

But yeah, generally I agree...

rage+blue=bad news

but you do not have to rage.

[Steveohio]

Oh nice pickup there Cow.

I completely missed out on RS's positive energy channeling counting 1 lvl higher per tier.

So with that in mind. Is there any reason to opt to go for 6 monk, seeing as how your missing out on that next healing amp at 7 anyways. The feat is there at 6, but even with rogue level there, you need to put int at 14, and dump concentration and wisdom for the most part to get those trap skills/umd. Which after some # crunching didnt seem too good of an idea. UMD is nice, however human + skill boost, should suffice for not needing that rogue level in the first place.

Perhaps a mix between say 3 monk, and 4 fighter, 13 cleric would be better overall. Things that you gain there, the better healing aura/heal spell, but also the possibility to go use (gasp, one of the few builds to make use of) Whirling steel strike and weapon focus slashing to go along with weapon specialization. That would bump up the personal dps abit going from bad handwrap 1d6 to longswords 1d10 +2, as well as increasing your bab from a 14 to 15(somewhat irrelevant with divine buffs) but +1 focus.

Hmm, but then you might as well to go cleric 15/3monk/2ftr then. Those lvl 8 spells are very tasty. But then you keep going more towards a primarly healing toon.

[Steveohio]

Tobril: I've taken a look at your build some, as well as the bear shaman and last elf standing and stryde.
I've just been ultra math boy, while trying to figure out what to do with those last 8 levels.

Any reason in particular you went ranger/rogue, was it mostly a skill points thing? Or do you find range combat somewhat more enjoyable with those extra feats, which to me, effectively nullifies the aura from a group.
I notice you didn't pickup any PrC's from ranger either.

Aside the skill points, id think a 6ftr/2monk or rogue may yield similiar results, but slightly higher dps. You could just forgo the human healing amp (doesnt help the party, just you) and just go dwarf. Get the fancy axes, and the ability to have that 550+ unbuffed frontline melee HP.

I'm familiar enough with running a battle healer myself, in regards to playstyle, and I more than overcome the bad stigma of not having mass heal. Which in my opinion is a detriment to any good battle healer, as opposed to an advantage. I currently run 2 different 16/2/2 FVS's.

However id like to give a RS2 build a shot, while at the same time not going with the generic(but effective) Valiance 17/2/1 clones I see everywhere.

[redraider]

Mine is a 12/6/2 Clr/Ftr/Mnk and I absolutely love her. Not much shr can't solo that can be solo'd.

[Tobril]

Tobril: I've taken a look at your build some, as well as the bear shaman and last elf standing and stryde.
I've just been ultra math boy, while trying to figure out what to do with those last 8 levels.

Any reason in particular you went ranger/rogue, was it mostly a skill points thing? Or do you find range combat somewhat more enjoyable with those extra feats, which to me, effectively nullifies the aura from a group.
I notice you didn't pickup any PrC's from ranger either.

Aside the skill points, id think a 6ftr/2monk or rogue may yield similiar results, but slightly higher dps. You could just forgo the human healing amp (doesnt help the party, just you) and just go dwarf. Get the fancy axes, and the ability to have that 550+ unbuffed frontline melee HP.

I'm familiar enough with running a battle healer myself, in regards to playstyle, and I more than overcome the bad stigma of not having mass heal. Which in my opinion is a detriment to any good battle healer, as opposed to an advantage. I currently run 2 different 16/2/2 FVS's.

However id like to give a RS2 build a shot, while at the same time not going with the generic(but effective) Valiance 17/2/1 clones I see everywhere.

UMD/Intimidate are the primary reasons for the thief level. 39+ standing is my magic number so I can land waves of exhaustion scrolls without having to remember to activate a boost or swap into a different item. (usually a deadly mistake when soloing)

I toyed with the idea of a monk version but it was missing features I wanted (open locks) and required some additional grind to make the AC portion useful. Even with gaining AC I didn’t think I could get it high enough while maintaining other permanent equipment slots.


Regarding groups:

I plan to run as a standard melee.

When things go a little crazy the idea is to do one of a few things:

The group is decent but just needs a little help: turtle and intimidate, aura+MCMW keeps everyone up
The group is awful and I’m carrying the day: BB+manyshot, everyone else is dead weight so screw ‘em


Regarding ranged:

Bows are dumb. Unfortunately they are handy sometimes. The main focus of this build is melee, with BB+arrows as an occasional helper.


Regarding healing amp:

I’m not building a healing amp build. The amp enhancements just happen to fit in nicely as I have a lot of spare AP to spend. As far as healing amp helping me and not the party…screw those guys.

Bodyfeeding of Puncturing rapiers do about the same thing as fists of light.


Regarding dwarves and DPS:

I ran a 17/2/1 dwarf TWF with axes that strongly resembles the enygma build. It performed pretty well as a melee without AC, but it would have been nice to have better item/scroll usage and the ability to pull monsters away from the party.

Time for something different.

Dwarves are also short, fat, and smelly. I had troubles seeing over peoples heads in the movie theater and so decided on human to overcome this disadvantage.

I’m hoping divine might II will help shore up the DPS aspect.


Regarding ranger PrE:

Why? The benefit of Tempest I really sucks now compared to the cost. The increase off-hand attack chance is nowhere close to 10% speed increase. If you’ve played with bodyfeeding weapons of fists of light you’ll know what I mean.

I could, however, see someone going pointy-eared and working arcane archer into the mix.




BTW, I kinda like your 13/3/4 and 15/3/2 cleric/monk/fighter ideas. Would you care to elaborate on them?

[Steveohio]

Well, I am for the most part looking to run a battle healer/self sufficient melee toon. Its what I enjoy playing the most, and I have a couple different variations than whats out there currently. However all 3 are FVS multis.

Looking at trying to build up a cleric, melee, dps focus, using radiant servant 2, obviously while at the same time augmenting that with other sources of healing and or group functionality. I really don't like to solo that much, however I also make all toons to be able to to solo, as well as have something to contribute to the group.

the 3 monk is there for the feats, as well as the light finishers. extra group healing, and buffing, being able to fill in on ToD when a real light monk isn't present would be semi nice. Plus 10% more healing amp, 10% more run speed.

The fighter levels are there for basically just more DPS/feats.

In my eyes, there are a very few specific feats these RS2 builds have to have to contribute to not only melee DPS, but healing and soloing aspects. Otherwise roll up a paladin IMO.

Feats required:
TWF
ITWF
GTWF
Power attack
Imp Crit
Toughness
Empower Heal
Empower
Maximize
Quicken
Extend

Thats a fairly big laundry list of feats required, 11 total. However in order to allow this toon to basically not suck, you need the DPS feats to actually fill a spot. Make it 10 if you plan on using Min2's.

Quicken and Empower heal are a no brainer on any melee/healer. Thats 8 right there.

Empower and Maximize would boost blade barriers to "not a waste of sp" levels and allow viable kiting. Plus, those 2 are really, really needed if you ever plan on mass curing while in a raid.

Extend is there, well because who really wants to recast divine melee buffs all the time.

So figure 9 to melee dps/heal yourself, and 11 to actually have a viable all-around Toon.
So 7 base feats. You need to find 4 feats somewhere else.

Monk/fighter,ranger(to an extent) are really the only choices. You can do human race for 1 more + the healing amplification, which is ultra yummy on a RS build. So figure on going human, Dwarf if you want to be a better frontline tank, but take less advantage of the aura.

Personally, I think human + healing amp stacking including monk stances is whats really going to take this build over the top. So figure on that. Getting 35+ HP per tick from Aura, is just too awsome for a battle cleric IMO.

In the 15c/3m/2f or 13c/3m/4f versions, your getting a few more things I think than the traditional 12/6/2's that are out there. As pointed out above, better heal spell and aura. But with those 2 splashes, you are leveraging your build to take advantage of the feats listed above. You have 12-13 total feats now. This would allow you to pickup the generally sucky, whirling steel, which requires weapon focus slashing, this allows for you to use something besides 1dsuck(6) x2 on 20 while maintaining your centered stance. GS longswords are 1d10 x2 17-20 on min2.

You now have a choice to make. 2 cleric or 2 fighter:
Either 8th level spells. Death Pact, Holy Aura, Cure Crit mass, and Mass death ward, all are nice spells.
Or take 2 more fighter and go for weapon specialization for 2 more dmg and 10 more hp from enhancments.

I personally think the 15/3/2 is a better mix of melee/healing/casting/buffing. You WILL be able to take a place as a healer in raids with that many levels, if you want to, anything less than that, consider yourself a melee/filler.

I run a few 16/2/2's right now, and those 8th level spells are very nice, much better than the 9th levels ones actually. However you need 9 feats to both DPS and Heal at a minimum.

Mass Heal is the best and worst spell in the game. Personally I don't like it, aside from SP efficiency, its not that good. Fully buffed out mass cure hit from 230-950+ depending on amp, and I generally roll with 18% critical chance on my battle healers because of the lack of Mass Heal.

[Tobril]

Well, I am for the most part looking to run a battle healer/self sufficient melee toon. Its what I enjoy playing the most, and I have a couple different variations than whats out there currently. However all 3 are FVS multis.

Looking at trying to build up a cleric, melee, dps focus, using radiant servant 2, obviously while at the same time augmenting that with other sources of healing and or group functionality. I really don't like to solo that much, however I also make all toons to be able to to solo, as well as have something to contribute to the group.

the 3 monk is there for the feats, as well as the light finishers. extra group healing, and buffing, being able to fill in on ToD when a real light monk isn't present would be semi nice. Plus 10% more healing amp, 10% more run speed.

The fighter levels are there for basically just more DPS/feats.

In my eyes, there are a very few specific feats these RS2 builds have to have to contribute to not only melee DPS, but healing and soloing aspects. Otherwise roll up a paladin IMO.

Feats required:
TWF
ITWF
GTWF
Power attack
Imp Crit
Toughness
Empower Heal
Empower
Maximize
Quicken
Extend

Thats a fairly big laundry list of feats required, 11 total. However in order to allow this toon to basically not suck, you need the DPS feats to actually fill a spot. Make it 10 if you plan on using Min2's.

Quicken and Empower heal are a no brainer on any melee/healer. Thats 8 right there.

Empower and Maximize would boost blade barriers to "not a waste of sp" levels and allow viable kiting. Plus, those 2 are really, really needed if you ever plan on mass curing while in a raid.

Extend is there, well because who really wants to recast divine melee buffs all the time.

So figure 9 to melee dps/heal yourself, and 11 to actually have a viable all-around Toon.
So 7 base feats. You need to find 4 feats somewhere else.

Monk/fighter,ranger(to an extent) are really the only choices. You can do human race for 1 more + the healing amplification, which is ultra yummy on a RS build. So figure on going human, Dwarf if you want to be a better frontline tank, but take less advantage of the aura.

Personally, I think human + healing amp stacking including monk stances is whats really going to take this build over the top. So figure on that. Getting 35+ HP per tick from Aura, is just too awsome for a battle cleric IMO.

In the 15c/3m/2f or 13c/3m/4f versions, your getting a few more things I think than the traditional 12/6/2's that are out there. As pointed out above, better heal spell and aura. But with those 2 splashes, you are leveraging your build to take advantage of the feats listed above. You have 12-13 total feats now. This would allow you to pickup the generally sucky, whirling steel, which requires weapon focus slashing, this allows for you to use something besides 1dsuck(6) x2 on 20 while maintaining your centered stance. GS longswords are 1d10 x2 17-20 on min2.

You now have a choice to make. 2 cleric or 2 fighter:
Either 8th level spells. Death Pact, Holy Aura, Cure Crit mass, and Mass death ward, all are nice spells.
Or take 2 more fighter and go for weapon specialization for 2 more dmg and 10 more hp from enhancments.

I personally think the 15/3/2 is a better mix of melee/healing/casting/buffing. You WILL be able to take a place as a healer in raids with that many levels, if you want to, anything less than that, consider yourself a melee/filler.

I run a few 16/2/2's right now, and those 8th level spells are very nice, much better than the 9th levels ones actually. However you need 9 feats to both DPS and Heal at a minimum.

Mass Heal is the best and worst spell in the game. Personally I don't like it, aside from SP efficiency, its not that good. Fully buffed out mass cure hit from 230-950+ depending on amp, and I generally roll with 18% critical chance on my battle healers because of the lack of Mass Heal.

ToD: Don’t need a light monk, but it is pretty handy. The problem is that you may encounter issues with trying to maintain sufficient Ki while still healing the raid. Healing on the Sulu group would work OK. Healing the Horoth tank(s) will require trust in the tank(s) and serious balls on you part. Sounds like fun!

Monk 3: fists of light is spiffy “free” healing. The finisher goes a surprisingly long way to keeping a group alive. The movement speed is also a seriously underrated bonus. The only problem is that to access fists of light and the finishers you have to use pretty sub-par weapons.

Raid Healing: Sounds stronger due to the addition of MCSW and MCCW. I still like mass heal for the sp efficiency on my cleric, you just have to have melee that can live long enough between casts. Yet another advantage is that 15 cleric looks like enough where you can switch into all the mass buffs.

Empower: I’ve done OK with just maximize and empower healing, but being able to work this one in as well would be nice for certain situations.

Roll a paladin: Oddly enough, my cleric build is partly inspired by group-related deficiencies in my 15/3/2 paladin/monk/thief – http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=270442



Overall I think the 15/3/2 is better for you as per your playstyle description. It sounds like you are more of a raider that occasionally needs to solo-farm.

The thief levels work a little better for me due to a more solo-oriented style with group/raid capability. If people have the audacity to think they need a buff they can drink a pot.


I still like your build, however, and might just have to steal it for another character.

[Steveohio]

Yea I think so also. The previous 12c/7m/1r I was debating I think would have issues pug'in it up without a defined spot, plus the trap skills took too much away. I can deal without UMD on this toon, sadly.

Just rolled up a 15c/3m/2f human. Starting stats 16/15/14/10/14/8

Im thinking between the fists of light, and RS2 aura, I should have good healing over time always for free. DPS should be descent with 36 str attainable, and GS longswords.

Too bad I won't be able to get the charisma any higher for DM3 and more turns, without sacrificing dps or HP. Id almost wonder if wis dumping to get a better charsima would be worth it. 8 base+2enh+2tome+6item = 18

Dam dnd and the variety and balance of multiclassing, I spend too much time thinking about yee!

[MeToo]

...13 cleric ...bumps the Positive Energy Aura up from a base tick of 4 to a base tick of 5...

That's a good point but only holds if they fix it. Since Update 5.1, the RS caster level bump hasn't applied to the positive energy aura on live and I don't see it mentioned yet in MadFloyd's Update 7 fix list.

My level 16 cleric with Life Magic IV, Superior Potency VI and Empower Healing active only gets 14 per tick:
trunc(16/3) * 1.9 * 1.5

instead of the 19 he should be:
trunc((16+2)/3) * 1.9 * 1.75

I'd love them to fix that and the empowered healing back to they way they were calculated with update 5 but until they confirm those are not WAI and fix them, the extra level won't improve the aura at all.

I think Eladrin stated that at least Empowered Healing was boosting the aura by 75% in the dev build. I don't log into Lammania but could somebody who does tell us if they've pushed those fixes up?

[Tobril]

Yea I think so also. The previous 12c/7m/1r I was debating I think would have issues pug'in it up without a defined spot, plus the trap skills took too much away. I can deal without UMD on this toon, sadly.

Just rolled up a 15c/3m/2f human. Starting stats 16/15/14/10/14/8

Im thinking between the fists of light, and RS2 aura, I should have good healing over time always for free. DPS should be descent with 36 str attainable, and GS longswords.

Too bad I won't be able to get the charisma any higher for DM3 and more turns, without sacrificing dps or HP. Id almost wonder if wis dumping to get a better charsima would be worth it. 8 base+2enh+2tome+6item = 18

Dam dnd and the variety and balance of multiclassing, I spend too much time thinking about yee!

Dropping str to 14 gives you 6 points for cha. (presuming human)

That should allow to start with 14 cha and boost it with an easily acquired +2 tome to qualify for DM II.

You lose 1 to-hit and damage all the time, but gain three turns and more damage than you lose as long as DM is running.


The builds with 6-8 monk are really dumb. People have become obsessed with goofy healing amp builds that can’t DPS, heal others, range, or do much of anything useful at all.


Longswords are better than kama’s, but if your ToD ring situation is flexible I’m wondering if playing like a straight monk with handwraps and lots of burst effects would be better.

Seeing as I wear shoes without laces so as not to hurt my little brain, I’ll leave those kinds of DPS calculations to others.

[Azuarc]

Noob alert. But do I dare ask if there's any sense in trying to bring a benefit with the multi other than just raw DPS? All the fighter and most monk variants are ways of trying to argue for that, but is it preposterous to look for other qualities? Yes, I did read the comment from someone earlier about how DPS is the only role that is never redundant, but what about building an intimi-tank or a character with a few levels of rogue for traps or some such? Are those completely out of the equation at this point?

I'm not a fan of dwarves, but I would think at the very least, a dwarven stalwart defender I could be useful. A bevy of enhancements become available at FTR-7. Take a 13/7 split, and you can still get Armor Mastery 2 plus dwarven AM, etc. Axe and board, primarily. Before they switched the aura and the burst, there were people on the cleric boards proposing such a build, but they seem to have fallen mute now that the aura requires level 12.

Personally, I like to have a couple rogue levels on my characters for when I'm solo so I can actually get at things I wouldn't otherwise. Obviously, that doesn't synergize with an armored character as you'd lose evasion. You could go monk as a third class, but we've done that to death, and I'd probably sooner do a 17/2/1 for that anyway. You could go 12C-6RNG-2ROG for a free TWF and ITWF without the dex requirement, although I'm not sure this helps you too much otherwise. (You could go AA, but meh.) You could get those benefits with fighter as well, or select others, which might not be bad either. That's for fighting. If you're very clever, you might make a wizard variant work, but I know nothing of arcane casters, so I'm not even gonna try explaining a 13c-5w-2r build. Or just do two classes with cleric and rogue, but again, that isn't lending itself to a ton of rogue levels in all likelihood. This paragraph is really just thinking out loud...

[Steveohio]

Rogue would be a viable choice, adding rogue skills to a toon that can heal would be a nice combo for groups.
The wizard 5 mix, likely wouldn't do much besides add potion/scroll level buffs, and 2 meta feats.

In regards to DM2, Im not so sure a build would have enough turns to keep aura going, divine vitality, and DM running. You could skip DV, but I think its a nice thing to have, just incase.

And yea, i agree with you on the healing amp builds using 6-7monk. Most of them don't offer enough to make them worthwhile toons. The solar phoenix, while descent solo, doesn't really DPS or do too much for a group. You really need 9 monk to have a positive dps gain. And by that point, you cant get any tier2 PrC's, So youd be better off just going up to 12 monk. Then you completely change the whole build philosophy.

Initial build testing, on the 15/3/2, good dps at low levels, should be a soloing champ. I am putting it on hold until I get a few more items and I will TR my 28 pt rogue into it. It really doesn't come into is own until lvl 15 or so when you have 12 cleric/2monk, and the massive heal amp stacking with aura. At that point, it will just rock the house with 35 hp per tick non crit, so long as you have the required heal amp items. Otherwise its just gonna be the everything clonk.