WANTED: Your opinions of what the role of a Cleric should be.

[Sarisa]

What I feel my role is depends on the quest/raid. Granted, this is mostly end-game related.

Shroud: Put up Aura, pull out portal beaters, and swing with the group in part 1. Cast Recitation and Prayer as needed. Implosion trash if the arcanes are busy elsewhere. Sure, I might not do much damage but if my damage saves 5 seconds over the whole of part 1, it's that much sooner we get past that boring part of the raid. The rest of the raid I'm pretty much a healbot. In a really good group, I'll pull out an upgraded Dreamspitter and help beat down lieutenants or even Harry while healing. On weaker/squishier groups, I need to toss too many cures among my other heals to warrant contributing damage.

VoD: Amrath clickie powered aura, burst and scroll spot heal as needed for the trash, pull out the upgraded Dreamspitter (norm) or +5 Met of Pure Good Quarterstaff and beat on Sully's tail when I'm not needed for healing. Switch to pure healbot mode for both rounds of Orthons, except in really good groups where I can beat on the painted one too. Put up max/empowered/extended/heightened BB's along with an arcane's Cloudkill for the final round of bats.

Hound: Scroll heal tank, cast heal if needed; buff dogs with Bulls/Bears, heal dogs. Scroll invisibility on myself and the other healer(s) as needed.

ToD: Purely healbot most of the time, backup kite if absolutely necessary. Scroll heal when possible to save SP.

Epic Trash: Scroll or cast heal as needed, otherwise hit each stunned or held mob with a Dreamspitter to keep them held/stunned longer.

Epic Melee Bosses: Melee bosses hit with a Rahl's Might until I get improved destruction to stick, then use whichever weapon does the most to help kill it faster. Use Prayer/Recitation as needed, mass heal, cast heal, or pull back to scroll heal as needed.

Epic Caster Bosses: I'm not evasive so some spells are brutally nasty. Casters of those I stay back and just heal. Otherwise, the same as epic melee bosses and surround and beat.

Normal Quests: Depends on what I feel the situation demands. It mostly depends on the strength of the group. Sometimes it's staying back to heal. Sometimes it means leave them behind and BB trash (Sins). Sometimes it's swinging Vorpals and spot healing as needed. Sometimes it means working with the arcane to kite trash while the melees take out a boss/crystal (Mindsunder). In guild groups we know each others strengths and weaknesses, so knowing each others role is easy. In PUG's, it demands a lot of observation to know what the best role for me is.

Leveling Up: Same as normal quests, except I'm more likely to need to heal more than contribute in other ways. One reason I prefer guild groups over pugs when leveling. If someone shows any sort of self sufficiency or care for other people's resource usage, I'm more likely to party with them again. Sponges (especially ones who CAN cast Resists/FoM/etc and won't or don't even carry them) I'm likely to avoid from now on. Low level WF melees are a problem, however, the good ones pass out repair wands to the arcanes. I will use my strongest heal on them if they are contributing.

If a player show no survival instincts, and drain over half my SP just trying to keep them alive (whether WF or not), they're more useful as a stone in my backpack. If they give me any hassle, into the lava pit they go.

Knowing when you use Greater Command, Cometfall, Paralyzers, Vorpals, Holy Aura, and the like to save SP is a huge help.