help for F2P character

[sataricon]

Ok so i'll start this game today and i'm familiar with D&D "played everything D&D related".
But i'm new to this game.
So i will not be able to play my favorite class the Monk because i will not be able to buy it this month it will have to wait but i want to familiarize myself with the game.

I was thinking about making a 28 points pure battle cleric or even a cleric/rogue "to open chests and disable traps
"
Will this be viable in the game for now tell next month when i'm able to buy the a monk class and a half orc race for my barbarian?

If no then can someone be kind enough to me and point me to a good build?

Also what a good server to start on...i want a server with alot of people so it won't be solo gameplay all along.

Thanx in advance for your help.



Now i've posted this one the general classes forums and some very good people advised me with an 18clr/2ftr or 19clr/1barb.

I thought that maybe someone can give me a build with 28 character points because most of what see here is 32 char point.

Thank you again

[Kinryu]

Welcome to the game.

If you're looking for a 28-point "battle cleric", try this (http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p...1&postcount=75) this should be a good one to get you started. It's very new player friendly.

As for server, I think any server will be fine. You really can't go wrong with the server choice IMO.

Good luck!

[jaegarnel]

If you only have access to 28 point builds, you might be better off with a pure cleric, since you'll have 1 less stat (strength) to boost. And you won't get affected by the bad rep battle clerics often have.

Still, every class is viable to play provided you're a decent player. Since you already know the D&D rules, you're one step ahead of most new players, and you just need to learn the quests and the way classes play (DDO makes significant changes to them, notably with enhancements).

If you're set on a battle cleric, I'd say a 19 clr/1ftr is probably best. You'd only get one extra feat and 1 strength from that extra level of fighter. As for barb, I think raging prevents you from casting spells, which is really bad for a cleric. I may be wrong about that, though.

You have a whole thread debating battle clerics, full of possible builds here: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=330306

[The_Brave2]

Now, i know you post looking for a battle cleric build, but quite honestly withought gear and a couple TR's they really arent viable endgame, clerics are a casting class and mostly go for healbots or a evoker builds, multiclassing them ends up with low DPS, low SP, and low spell DC's.

Quite frankly you should try something like a pure fighter, I think this would be a good start for you, something ambious like a battle cleric is proably better left to experienced players.

If you are really dead-set on cleric dont expect to be top teir DPS at anything past lv.4, Something easier to play/build would proably be more up your ally.

In any case, heres a cleric build, (the clr/barb i sugested)

16STR
14Con
rest in Wis
Dwarf - High HP/survivability
other alternative for Race: Human - Extra Feat, higher healing amp

Enhancments: Sprint Boost
Life Magic
Toughness Enhancments

Feats:
Empower Healing
Toughness
Maximise
Quicken
((power attack)) Might cause to-hit issues, but increases DPS significantly

Uses a Greatsword/axe

Spells:
Make sure you get Divine Favor/Power when you gain acess to them

Just a baisic build i havent thought though past lv.12ish

Fighter Build:

Dwarf:
Uses a : Greataxe
18STR
14CON (16? dont have the character planner on this comp)

Feats:
Power Attack
Toughness
Imp Crit Slashing
Toughness
Two handed Fighting
Imp Two handed Fighting
Greater Two Handed Fighting

Enhancments:
Fighter Haste Boost
Toughness
Fighter STR
Dwarf CON
Fighter Kensai Presteige

Hope this Helps a little bit

[sataricon]

I've no problem playing any class.
So what is the best 28 Char class that i can play at the moment?

I can leave clerics alone no problem with that.

[Jiirix]

Do you want to play more solo or in groups? If you want to play a good toon that can heal, fight and do traps a bard or ranger may be what you are looking for. Wizzard and rogue have a great synergie too.

- pure Paladin: can heal himself, give some nice buffs and is good in melee, Palas are the better Battleclerics for me (but no traps or locks, needs not to much gear)
- 18 Wiz pale master(=undead from)/ 2 rogue: Can cast deadly spells, can selfheal, can buff and does all the locks and traps (needs some gear, but not to much)
- Tempest Ranger (= two weapon fighting) with rogue: Can do all the traps, fights good, has some nice buffs and can use some self healing with SP, wands and srolls. (You may be short on plat on the first levels but gets better later) One of my personal favorites
- Pure Cleric or Cleric with trap skills and focus on casting: Gets groups very easy but can be frustrating when grouping with the wrong people
- Pure Rogue: Can get very high dps even with a spoon, can do all the traps and locks and will be able to selfheal at higher levels with UMD. (Makes more fun to play those in groups then solo)
- Warchanter Bard: Jack of all trades, can be built to do good melee, has great buffs and songs, can heal self and sometimes others too. There are Builds with Bards that can do traps and locks too, but that may be gear dependent. Havent tried one with traps yet, mine can only do locks. Gets groups very easy.

[AbyssalMage]

I've no problem playing any class.
So what is the best 28 Char class that i can play at the moment?

I can leave clerics alone no problem with that.

If you want to go battle cleric, go for it. All a battle cleric is, is the cheap mans Favored Soul. 18/2 Cleric/Fighter or 19/1 Cleric/Fighter would be the best. At higher levels your going to be a healer, not a DPS but that should be obvious with 18+ levels into a caster class. But you will be able to mix it up, when not healing. Just make sure to keep an eye on everyone's HP bar. Human or Dwarf would be your best bet. Human for the extra feat or Dwarf for Daxes and resists.

[wax_on_wax_off]

I've no problem playing any class.
So what is the best 28 Char class that i can play at the moment?

I can leave clerics alone no problem with that.

If you like the concept of clerics then I'd say go for it. Just realise that there is a fair bit of stigma associated with playing clerics and the class is probably one of the most challenging in the game while at the same time one of the easiest to start with.

I would use that resource that was provided above but instead direct you to the "Font of Healing" build. The advantage of this build is that it focuses on the casting/healing aspects of the class; I'd definitely suggest to settle with this as you'll still be able to swing a sword ok (up to level 8 or so, 9-12 is a transition period). Trying to balance melee combat with casting and healing is an advanced skill which not many players can handle or enjoy.

As far as the build goes, I would suggest to go human and follow the build to the letter. If you want to tweak a couple of things and don't mind a slightly steeper learning curve you can optimise the build a little more for end game play. This would make sure that you will never feel the need to reroll or resurrect the character even as your skill changes or more equipment is acquired;

1. Drop strength to 8 and raise charisma to 14 (more charisma is great for free healing and offensive blasts from the Prestige Enhancement (PrE) and provides a decent turn undead option).

2. Consider fitting in max ranks in UMD (probably by getting UMD instead of balance and buying a +2 int tome at level 7 to put points in balance. UMD is great for many uses and I'd never build a character without it as I enjoy being self sufficient and not having to rely on an inventory full of clickies (invisibility, displacement, fireshield, teleport scrolls, arcane wands, race-restricted items etc).

3. Rework feats.
Maximize (1): Maximise is taken sooner to combine with radiant servant blast for easy annihilation of undead to level up quickly and easily.
Toughness (1): Toughness is possibly optional once gear is acquired depending on playstyle and could be swapped later for (greater) spell focus: evocation.
Empower (3): Empower is taken to boost up radiant servant blast and blade barrier primarily but could be swapped for spell focus: evocation or extend.
Empower Healing (6)
Heighten (9): Heighten is taken to maximise the use of the clerics high wisdom and give many spells a DC boost, this is an amazing feat but can be tricky to use as when it is active cure spells cost more which is a waste.
Spell Penetration (12)
Quicken (15): Quicken is deferred as it is no longer required for blade barrier and is now only required for raid healing with mass heal which is acquired at level 17.
Greater Spell Penetration (18)

Extend in my opinion is superfluous and I have never been upset not to have it on any of my casting characters.

Enhancements are pretty flexible and you shouldn't pay too much attention to them, just get what is needed to take the Prestige Enhancement and then get whatever else fits well for you.

For tips on playing a cleric and to get a good idea of what you're in for check out this thread.

Good luck.

[sataricon]

why does cleric have a stigma associated with them?

you are not the first on to tell me this BTW so there must be something hidden

[BuyTiles]

why does cleric have a stigma associated with them?

you are not the first on to tell me this BTW so there must be something hidden

Mostly because groups aren't very self sufficient and need a nanny to look after them, and when they see a cleric they assume nanny. Unfortunately for them many players play clerics to the full extent the class offers, rather than being a hireling.

Clerics can really be fun to play, but not always fun to group with others. You'll find plenty of people that are great to group with as a cleric, and others that expect to you do the impossible.

[unbongwah]

Also have a look at sirgog's cleric build catalog and the battle clerics in my sig.

The good thing about battle clerics is they're versatile & very self-sufficient. The downside is there's a lot you have to learn how to manage (melee, aggro, heals, buffs, etc.) to be good at it, so it's more challenging for a newbie than, say, a pure barb who just runs around hitting things. Also there are a lot of bad BC players out there, so they get a bad rap. But on the flip side, there are a lot of rude PUGgers who assume that just because you have a cleric icon next to your name, your sole job is to keep them alive - no matter how stupid they play. "Cure Idiocy" is not a divine spell, apparently.

[Habreno]

While I would not recommend going BattleCleric, I do recommend you learn this one saying:

"I can't heal stupid."

[sataricon]

Thank you all for being so polite and answering my questions.
I did make a cleric using the fountain of healing build...
I teamed up with a guy today and was doing the quest sacrifice on normal and when we were trying to kill the skeleton mage we died like 2 times.
Simply my healing wasn't enough as i was healing with max of 8 HP per cast or the guy didn't have enough HP to begin with.
He was a warrior i think...aside from that i did all the quests before that one solo on normal with no problem.

[Luckness]

When you've saved up some coin look for one of these weapons on the AH:

Devotion (best is Superior - 50% improvement)
Potency (best is Superior - 50% improvement)
Efficacy (best is Superior - 50% improvement)
Ardor (best is Superior for 75% improvement and Greater for 60% improvement)

Devotion and Potency are things you must keep on all the time, Efficacy and Ardor are "clickies" for a buff (look for the buffs with a 3minute duration).

Devotion and Ardor affect only healing spells, while Efficacy and Potency affect everything.

They will also have a suffix of I, II, III, etc. I means it works only on Cure Light Wounds, II works on CMW, III works on Cure Serious wounds, etc.

Once you have at least 50% improvement for your level 2 healing spells from one of these weapons, along with the Life Magic II enhancement (around levels 3 to 4) to increase healing by 20% multiplicatively, you will be healing for a much more substantial amount... one 8 Spell Point heal will be enough to top off most players.

[CanuckWisdom]

They will also have a suffix of I, II, III, etc. I means it works only on Cure Light Wounds and lower, II works on CMW and lower, III works on Cure Serious wounds and lower, etc.

the I, II, III etc means spell level.

[Luckness]

Right...

[wax_on_wax_off]

Thank you all for being so polite and answering my questions.
I did make a cleric using the fountain of healing build...
I teamed up with a guy today and was doing the quest sacrifice on normal and when we were trying to kill the skeleton mage we died like 2 times.
Simply my healing wasn't enough as i was healing with max of 8 HP per cast or the guy didn't have enough HP to begin with.
He was a warrior i think...aside from that i did all the quests before that one solo on normal with no problem.

The skeletal mage is an optional that can be a bit of a challenge depending on your situation (equipment, level, skill).

Some ideas:
If level 3+ it should be easy, divine vengeance, cure moderate wounds, seek eternal rest are all good options.
If level 1-2:
- nimbus of light augmented with some combination of metamagic feats (maximise/empower)/potency/efficacy/brilliance. You can jump around and should be able to dodge a majority of the skeletons attacks using this spell, if you get hurt then retreat to the shrine to heal before going in again.
- blunt weapons. Skeletons have resistance to slashing and piercing weapons.

This is D&D remember, many enemies have specific strengths and weaknesses and there will be multiple possible approaches to every situation.

Good luck,
Wowo.

[stille_nacht]

why does cleric have a stigma associated with them?

you are not the first on to tell me this BTW so there must be something hidden

unfortunately, many parties want/need a healer. and more than often, a battle cleric doesnt want to heal and instead rushes into the melee, ignoring party members (and then they die/hate on you)

Compounded onto this, battle cleric seems to be more common to "newbs" (no direct offense meant, it is just a tendency). As a result, you see some improperly built battle clerics running around (it doesnt help that it is always VERY memorable). The type who have no healing spells and/or low constitution and/or no mana to even keep themselves alive.


now, back to the thread, for a new player, id recommend a ranger. rangers get access to decent self healing (cure wounds wands). Id recommend an 18/1/1 build or an 18/2 build (rgr/ftr/rog and rgr/rog respectively)

or, alternatively, a decent melee capable cleric is possible, for this id recommend just going straight cleric. Remember, your most often WILL perform the role of "healbot", but with more multitasking practice, you will be able to enter the melee/ bladebarrier/comet fall while still keeping the party alive

or, alternatively, you could build a straight barbarian (pure 20), this has the benefit of being very simple to play/ build, and being relatively cheap (only need one weapon ftw).

i can post a more detailed build for any one of these.