TIPs and HINTs for noobs and beyond

[TerraSkye]

I've tested out other classes and i find the only one i realy enjoy is the cleric. My toon is now on her third cleric life and is prepairing for her fourth, so i know a thing or two from playing the class...i dont know jack about the game mechanics and i dont care thinking too much on it gives me a headache. any how moving on.

warning cleric is probably one of the most expensive classes to play.

1. it is in no way a bad thing to demand that other players have thier own pots for ailments they are not immune too. on any quest you have more important things to do than to waste sp, wands or potions on something they can do themselves. In some of the higher level quests if they dont de-curse themselves...they die cant stop healing to remove curses. however you should always have pots just incase you need them or they are needed to complete the quest....BUT BUT in the quests Vision of Destruction and Tower of Dispair tell them all before the quest starts.

2. all clerics reguardless of build type should have a healthy stock of scrolls: Heal, raise dead (highest level one you can use) restoration and having heroes feast and some high end summon scrolls are good too. reason...in the event you run out of sp or to alternate to reduce sp consumed. I find that in high level quests or during bossfights its good to cast heal scrolls on main tank or fighter and use the sp for mass cures/heals or to alternate scroll heal with heal spell cuts down on sp use and gets the heals out fasters.

3. when doing mass healing know your target, they need to be someone who isn't going to run away from the group and cause people to die. its fair enough to say that after fights to gather up and mass cure/heal, aura blast or sit in a aura to heal up there is no reason for them to rush off unless the quest is timed and even then its better to take a sec to group heal than to run out of sp trying to get everyone individually. if you find your group has a chronic zerger who cant handle him/her self and dies often or brings unwanted trouble....um...let them die and stay that way... let um know your not going to waste time and sp for someone whos not a team player.

4. buffs buffs the magical spells cast them well before every deal. Get to know the quests or ask those in the group who have done it before what type of buffs are needed. not every quest needs resist or protection from evil, some buffs may not be needed untill after a shrine later on or you may encounter casters or beholders that de-buff you. try not to waste spell points or materials when you dont need them. if you know that enemy units aren't blur'd/deplaced then you dont need true seeing and you can tell the player crying for it to suck it up. I've done a shroud that when you enter they all want all these buffs your fighting portals that dont fight back and most mobs are killed off by the casters wail of the banshee all you need for round one from the cleric is maybe mass protection form elements in case the trogs cast acid or lightning. other wise you heal, and hit the portals too, everything else isn't a NEED. try to think along the lines of buffing triage pass out whats a must have and see if you have the sp to spare for bonus buffs depending on the difficulty of the comming fights and the heals needed.
((oh and also know when and where the shrines are so you dont waste mana pots or stuff either))

5.Turn Undead is your bestest friend. Granted for some it can be very tricky to destroy undead or even stun them if your charisma is too low and high end undeads are epic warded so you cant turn them (which is crazy stupid), but if spec'd right for turning in low and mid level quests that have undead you will totaly own in there. If you are more battle spec'd you probably dont have the points for the extra charisma...i know i've done battle cleric too, but your turn undead abilities are still very usefull. Third level divine cleansing i find to be priceless gets rid of mummy rot and curse in one shot and costs zero sp (good for other stuff too). Divine vitality even at level one can come in handy for other magic users in your group, i find it nice to get buffs from the casters and then refill thier mana bar they love it and normaly wont hesitate to give me whatever spell i want when i ask for it, that and i've seen the difference a few sp can make they come in very very very handy if your casters or fellow healers are out of sp. the gradual healing one...thing....is ok to have at low levels when you have very little sp and even less money its quite handy but you'll want to get rid of it later on, once you can get the healing blast and aura its useless. Hey and then there's the aura cant get enough of that sweet healing action...the blast heals a bit, kicks the undeads butt and removes neg levels so cool then the standing aura gives a wonderful regen effect in close quarter combat, after fights and for toping of hp bars at shrines....saves sooooo much sp dont know how i managed without it...and of course the aura line makes your turns rechargeable so like hell yeah. i pitty the fool who dont have the aura.


6. Feats...oh boy...da'feats. well toughness should be taken by every one reguardless of class. Empower healing...must have this for the aura enhancement line so take it or you'll be sorry, that and it helps plenty to boost heal and mass heal...you may not want to leave it on all the time...its up to you.you'll probably want extend spell in some places it feels like a must have in some you dont need extended spells at all i say take it...there are a few realy great spells you can get whos duration is like 1 1/2 -2 mins so doubling that to save the sp is great. and even if its not true, cuz im not sure but if feels like extend also makes you aura last longer....could just be me. Quicken....at about level 12 or so you'll want this making sure those heals and mass heals go off fast and unstopable its important but dont leave it on all the time its a huge mana hog save it for boss fights or areas where the mobs alway make you fail your concentration checks. After those it depends on your build..you can take maximize for more damage on your blade barrier or more healing power. if your going battle cleric and spashing another class you may want feats like two weapon or two handed fighting or attack bonus something or other. But it never hurts to have more spell points or spell pen but it depends on your build and past lives and so on.

7.for some it can be hard to find or get mana pots they cost a lot i cant ever aford to buy them or spend real money on them in the ddo store so what to do. A. ask for pots from other players after the quest or if its a tricky quest ask for them up front...good luck with this though...those blue-bar-less jerks seldom just give them away unless you beg ( granted there are some very nice people out there who wont hesitate to hand them over add them to your friends list stat). B. do like i said in tip #2 use scrolls and even wands to help you get the job done. C. come right out and tell people that if they dont want to give up pots or cash to help you heal them and buff them and cure them of ailments then they are on thier own you should not have to go broke and spend your whole toons life poor cuz they are too cheep to help out, you have repairs costs and armor to buy and upgrades to make as well. (this one can make people kinda upset...but tuff stuff). D. try to get your hands on small and medium ebberon fragments (they look like little redish hearts like as in the ones that pump blood) they can be traded for rest shrines that give you back all your mana or for a trinket that gives you 20 major sp charges. you can some times find them in the A. House and even though they cost a lot cuz people be greedy its still cheeper than buying pots.

8. other stuff. dont only heal or buff yourself even as a battle cleric share the love or people will not want to group with you. try to let people know in advance your play style and your mana needs..and other needs most clerics wont have a good jump score if theres a caster or ranger around and you need the jump spell remind them at the start same goes for tumble, blur haste/longstrider or whatever if you "NEED" it ask for it or they may not pass it out to you. If your not the leader try to do as he/she says if you know that person is outrightly wrong try and explain if they dont listen just leave and find another group...it will end up being you with the highest bill if you group up with zergers, selfish jerks, and idiots who dont know anything about the quest or the roles of the people in it. Play your strengths if you aren't built for battle dont waste too much time trying to melee...i know i know i get caught up in the action myself smack'n stuff feels good...but dont let it distract you from your mission to heal...in many cases you'll be the only healer and if some one dies they'll blame you so dont give um too many reasons to think it was all your fault. you will take lots of heat from others who will have messed up and got themselves killed they'll try to pin it on you ignore them if it isnt your fault and if it is just try to do better.
Remember its a game it's ment to be fun...if your not having fun try another group or another class...

9. dont do nothing if you have the sp for damage spells use them sound burst, hold person, banish, bladebarrier, destruction, emplosion, harm your spells can be so usefull if you can kill or slow mobs you'll have less healing to do, but dont use up more sp on attacks then you can spare. use scrolls wand or spare cookies or use your weapon to attack when you aren't needed to heal the more you do the more people will want to group with you and the more likely it is they'll give you pots or scrolls or cash for your efforts.

10. skills clerics dont get many skill points you want concentaration unless you plan to use quicken for every thing. diplomecy comes easy and is sometimes a must ...heal is useless dont put a single point in that skill... if you find for some reason that you have extra skillpoints i say jump, balance, tumble haggle, and umd are good choices but it cost 2 pts per level and unless your part rogue or bard you can only place half a point each level.

11. cleric reflex is almost nothing unless your part rogue or monk and have evasion...traps will chew you up and spit out your mangled soul stone. i dont like trap filled quests without a good rogue...so clerics should in most cases not go first unless you know where traps are...in some cases jump and haste can get you past a trap before it springs..norm dif quests aren't always that bad but hard and elite....oh do they hurt. best you can do is give your self some resists if its an element trap and get a jump haste and maybe tumble from another party member. if you dont have a rogue or they blew the trap just try your best. at high levels if your pure cleric Divine intervention can some times save you and if not that death pact...you may die but you can auto res on the other side...you know if you have too.


12. OH...playing a pure cleric can be great for big heals and turn undead....but its not always as much fun i've seen people play cleric/rogues to get your own traps thats nice....i've seen the battle cleric mixes with a 1/19, 2/18 or 3/17 split monk, palidan, fighter, barb, and ranger all can work out just fine your toon doesnt have to be pure to work in fact being a splash of something else can be of big help. it does take careful planing know what your going to gain and what your going to lose and place your stats accordingly. those small time splits are still good in epics other builds can be very iffy....if your not worried about epics and just want a build thats fun and unique GO FOR IT and tell the purists to stick it. ((though splits with other caster classes...they dont work so well))