Too late to take fighter 1?

[Seladon]

hi

My cleric is level 11 and i was thinking of taking fighter 1 next level up.

Is that too late or will it mess up my cleric leveling?

or is there a better idea?

Thanks.

[Bilger]

hi

My cleric is level 11 and i was thinking of taking fighter 1 next level up.

Is that too late or will it mess up my cleric leveling?

or is there a better idea?

Thanks.

Depends on why and what for? It is always better to plan Multiclassing from start but a fighter lvl here shouldn't hurt depending on what ya want it for?

[Lorien_the_First_One]

Giving up 1 level of cleric is giving up a lot when you get to L20. Why the splash fighter?

[Seladon]

hi

Oh i was thinking that might help to contribute to the fight other than just healing and crowd control.

Was just a thought.

Cheers.

[Irinis]

Depends on your stats, if melee fighting is even a good idea past level 10. As a caster cleric you can use blade barrier/destruction to solo and cometfall to help the party kill things.

[unbongwah]

Fighter-splashed cleric = battle cleric, IMHO. It can work if you've got the stats & feats to support melee (and some decent weapons, of course) without being a liability. Nobody likes it when the healers get themselves killed by wading into a fight. What's the rest of your char build like?

[azrael4h]

You should build for melee from the start if you wish to melee. Tossing in a level of Fighter won't make you a good melee character, or even a tolerable one. As pointed out, many view Fighter-splashed Clerics as Battle-Clerics, and gimp. So you might find yourself having troubles finding groups unless you prove you can pull off both casting and fighting in melee. Blade Barrier is probably your most viable means of DPS right now.

[Seladon]

hi

thanks for the replies.

was just a thought in passing from reading so much about battle clerics.

I'll stay pure cleric.

Thanks.

[Adrian99]

I'm personally a huge fan of the fighter 1 splash, but as all above said, it depends on the rest of your build. If you maxed STR and CON and gimped DEX, CHR, and INT, then you've got a possible THF melee-capable cleric. If you have Toughness and your race is Human, Dwarf, WF, or Half-Orc, then you have a good case for it. And you definitely are wearing armor/robes with either Adamantine or Invulnerability, and switch to Full Plate of Giants as soon as you can. Quicken Spell is also assumed here.

But you will need Divine Power, Divine Favor, and Heroism/GH running at all times you intend to melee. Where it shines is at low levels, armed with Carnifex. And while the 1 fighter lvl will get you the THF feat, a cleric likely can't spare a feat for IC Slashing, so you won't do better than Carnifex until you have Paralyze or Vorpal great axe.

That said, since you're already level 11, take 12 cleric first for Radiant Aura, then a fighter splash after that if you like. Lvl 19 of cleric will max your aura, and I never cared for the capstone, so it's a good synergy in my experience for those who like to melee.

[PopeJual]

I won't say whether you should do this or shouldn't do this, but I will reccomend checking your feats if you decide to take a level of Fighter.

Make sure you didn't take any Martial Weapon Proficiencies BEFORE you take your level of Fighter. Fighter gives you those proficiencies for free and it would stink to lose any proficiencies to something like that.

[PNellesen]

Make sure you didn't take any Martial Weapon Proficiencies BEFORE you take your level of Fighter. Fighter gives you those proficiencies for free and it would stink to lose any proficiencies to something like that.

If you're primarily healing/casting specced, you probably won't have these anyway (my Cleric didn't, at least.) I went ahead and took 1 level of Fighter on the 13->14 level up, primarily just to be able to start using all the nice longbows/greatswords/axes/falchions I was finding. My cleric is still going to be a healer/caster in a party, but he'll have more options now than just "simple" weapons (and longswords via the enhancement) when soloing.

[FuzzyDuck81]

It can be pretty handy to get the weapon proficiencies & will allow you to squeeze a few extra HP from the fighter toughness enhancement.

Your DPS wont be great, but contributing in melee is still contributing (and its easier for parties to benefit from RS aura if you're in the frontlines with them, as well as being much simpler to just cast a self-centered mass cure, healing burst etc. than target the party remotely), and you dont need high DPS when wielding a vorpal, weakening of enfeebling, paralysing or stunning weapon to be useful

Just make sure you know how to avoid aggro, flank enemies to be out of the danger area etc.... oh, and have decent HP for when you DO get hurt. A few nice guard effects like earthgrab etc. wont hurt either

[Falith12]

If you have the specs for it. i did at level 10, got the weapon proficieancies. i now have a buffer warpriest caster mix. 21 str, 20 wiz, 16 con. Kicks but in combat, does well in support as well. very few quests that i can't wade in a kill many baddies. really love the build, especially with create undead and summon monster 6

[Natashaelle]

hi

thanks for the replies.

was just a thought in passing from reading so much about battle clerics.

You can't really improvise yourself as a battle cleric just by grabbing a fighter level halfway through

Having said that, the fighter level gets you martial weapons proficiency, tower shield, and an extra feat (from the special fighter list). This is what you need to compare to the capstone to see which is more attractive to you, and useful for your toon and play style.

[Rasczak]

hi

thanks for the replies.

was just a thought in passing from reading so much about battle clerics.

I'll stay pure cleric.

Thanks.

Try using Divine Favour and Power before multiclassing.

Another question would be, are you using Radiant Servant PrE? The next tier is at level 12.

Another thing is one level of fighter might not be enough, what was your starting STR?

EDIT: This is not saying take a level of fighter. But before you consider doing it you need to look at the options and how viable it is. If you built a nannybot then taking levels in fighter won't make you melee competent.

[EKKM]

You are getting to the point where battle clerics stgart rapidly losing the their melee effectiveness. You will contribute more DPS using cometfall and bladebarrier. I personally prefer cometfall in groups rather than BB as it also has a knockdown component. Soloing, BB is essential.

Also, if you didnt build in a decent 14-16 strength from the start you will not be able to hit anything for worthwhile damage.

[Natashaelle]

Also, if you didnt build in a decent 14-16 strength from the start you will not be able to hit anything for worthwhile damage.

All of my own Battle Clerics have maxed out STR, but then again I'd never play one with more than 13/14 cleric levels (and usually 12) at the current level cap -- beyond that point, clerics get simply far too good at healing and etc for it to be justified according to my own play style for them not to be healers primarily. YMMV

Also IMO the BB maniacs in the crowd aren't really battle clerics at all -- not that I'm complaining in any way, the well-played ones are wonderfully useful to have in a group

[Swimms]

The fighter splash can be fun too when you use Greater Command and then wade in with your melee weapon while the critters are resting

[donfilibuster]

Fighter splash on battle cleric works fine in the low-mid lvs, specially with all the buffs, and crowd control with enough DC.

But once past gianthold levels it is instakill time, with slay, destruction, banishment, and of course bb and cmf.
Since you are already this far in levels try pure cleric if your wis and DC allows, you can still do secondary melee with the right weapons and divine power.

[Dr.Strangeturd]

This brings back memories of the VoD run where the cleric showed up with 2 heavy maces and said "Is it cool if I am a battle cleric?"

I don't like the Fighter splash in a Cleric, just me personally, DI is a pretty useful ability when you hit 20. Giving up a couple of the high level spells costs a good amount too.

You should check out Favored Soul, they're kinda like fighters that can heal.