Some cleric questions

[delsoboss]

I'm planning to TR into a cleric and i have some questions:
1) What metas work on the RS healing aura and burst?
2) Does the smiting line improve the damage of cometfall/bladebarrier (i think not but asking doesn't hurt)?
3) How important is extend on a cleric? Can i skip it and take the wizard active past life feat without regretting it too much?
4) What's the most indicated level to take quicken?
5) How many turn undead attempts are enough to liberally use auras and bursts in long quests (mainly thinking about VoD here)?
6) What's a reasonable amount of hp to heal in melee range in Shroud part 4 and part 5?

Right now (and in the near future) my "endgame" is (and will be) made of Shroud/HoX/VoD and house P and K epics, so nothing impressive and no need to take the big guys like ToD or LoB in consideration.

Thanks for the replies.

[SirValentine]

1) What metas work on the RS healing aura and burst?

Aura: Only Empower Healing
Burst: Maximize, Empower, Empower Healing

Actually, I think Quicken might apply to both, too.

2) Does the smiting line improve the damage of cometfall/bladebarrier (i think not but asking doesn't hurt)?

No, only Light and alignment-based spell.

3) How important is extend on a cleric? Can i skip it and take the wizard active past life feat without regretting it too much?

Before the Extend nerf way back, it was critical for Blade Barrier. Now, at cap, it's a mere convenience for a few short-term buffs. Still useful at very low levels for the 1-min-per-level buffs, but swapping it out later makes sense. More DC on all your spells is a way better option, in my opinion.

4) What's the most indicated level to take quicken?

Opinions differ. I'd say at 15 maybe, so you have it when you get Mass Heal at 17. But at 18 instead could be fine too.

5) How many turn undead attempts are enough to liberally use auras and bursts in long quests (mainly thinking about VoD here)?

Well, since turns regenerate every 2 minutes, and an aura lasts 1.5 minutes, you can have your aura up continuously for 6 minutes while only using up 1 turn use. So really, very few turns are needed to keep the aura running.

For every burst you want to use, you need another turn. Or...for every extra turn, you have an extra burst.

It's hard to give you any exact number. However, even if you dumped Cha completely, it shouldn't be hard to have, say, 7 or 8 turns. I wouldn't worry about trying to get some specific number, just learn to ration out the ones you have.

6) What's a reasonable amount of hp to heal in melee range in Shroud part 4 and part 5?

Hmmm...450? That would be pretty solid. Depending on various factors, you could get away with less. (E.g., evasion due to a Monk splash, high reflex saves, high DR, etc..)

[delsoboss]

Thanks for the reply SirValentine.

[Sarisa]

Quicken does affect the burst, but not the aura. Neither has concentration checks, so it's just for speed.

Extend is for Divine Power, Divine Favor, Recitation, and for using Prayer and Holy Aura as buffs. Using Prayer and Holy Aura as debuffs should be non-extended to save SP. If you melee, Extend is useful. If you don't, you don't really need it. It's definitely useful at low levels but no longer essential at cap.

On my current Clonk life, I took Quicken at 12 so that I could effectively heal elite VoN6. 15 is a good level if you don't plan on healing a streak VoN6.

My Clonk TR runs with 10 turns, and my capped Cleric runs with 11. I rarely run out of turns, only in very long drawn out resource limited quests like Epic Chains, or when I have to use bursts extensively (VoN3 Beholder room, path to HoX, Invaders at level, DQ raid).

I agree with the 450 HP number. Try to raise your saves as high as possible to reduce Delayed Blast Fireball and Meteor Swarm fire damage (bludgeon damage can't be avoided), and have some way to cast or proc Fire Shield (Cold). Fire Shield (Cold) makes an enormous difference in survival in that fight. Frozen Tunic, Bracers of the Glacier, UMD'ing scrolls, and the Cloak of Ice are all good ways to cast the spell. Firestorm Greaves add on some fire damage absorption to also help mitigate the damage.

[PNellesen]

I'm planning to TR into a cleric and i have some questions:
...
3) How important is extend on a cleric? Can i skip it and take the wizard active past life feat without regretting it too much?
4) What's the most indicated level to take quicken?
5) How many turn undead attempts are enough to liberally use auras and bursts in long quests (mainly thinking about VoD here)?
6) What's a reasonable amount of hp to heal in melee range in Shroud part 4 and part 5?

Right now (and in the near future) my "endgame" is (and will be) made of Shroud/HoX/VoD and house P and K epics, so nothing impressive and no need to take the big guys like ToD or LoB in consideration.

Thanks for the replies.

My own observations:

3 - If I take extend, I'll take it around level 3, then swap it out for some other feat later with the free feat swap (depending on the build.)
4 - I usually take Quicken at level 15, so I'll have it for Mass Heal
5 - I usually have between 10 and 12, which for almost every situation has been enough (even for VoD).
6 - ~400 HP is ok (for Normal, at least) but 500 is my own personal sweet spot.

If you can heal a Shroud, HoX, or VoD, you can heal a ToD, and you REALLY want to do ToDs for the rings.

[Sarisa]

With a good AC tank, and there are a lot more of those around with the changes to Stalwart and DoS, the end fight of ToD is easier than VoD. With the average Barbarian tank, it can be stressful and resource intensive. With AC tanks, part 1 becomes the dangerous part, especially on higher difficulty levels.

When doing ToD, you probably don't want to worry much about the sets (Cleric sets are HORRID), but concentrate on getting a couple rings that fill stat requirements, that you can slot one of 20% Heal Amp, +2 Exceptional WIS, and +2 Exceptional CON. A Rahkir's Set is also a good choice, due to the boost in spell crit damage if you also have a Major Arcane Lore item.

[Chette]

Great replies by SirValentine, I'll add a few of my own thoughts.

3. You absolutely want wizard past life if you are going to offensively cast (and why woulnd't you?). If you have to give up extend to take it (not sure your build) then do it.

4. I usually take it at either 12 or 15, taking heighten at 18. But again, it depends on your build and what other feats you are taking.

5. VoD you should be able to heal using only your aura, except when the orthons are up, so you wouldn't need that many. I usually aim for around 12 Cha. Every burst is IMO equivalent to about 50 sp worth of healing, so if you want to be more heal focused, increase Cha, but a smart playing can use the bursts effectively even with dumped Cha.

6. As Valentine said, around 450 is good.

[Meat-Head]

Good replies so far.

Unless you're melee-focused, ditch extend (can swap it out at later levels if you want). Wiz past life is much better use of feat for caster cleric.

Smiting DOES work on divine punishment. You didn't mention that one.. but you should have.

Quicken at 15 is what I would do (be ready for mass heal) BUT if you went for casting clonk, then take it at 18 since you won't have mass heal till 18 or 19 depending on splash.

Cleric's weakspot is really reflex save as some have noted. So, IMO, find fire mitigation GEAR instead. Use armor with DR on it for the bludgeon stuff too. Actually, question: would hammerblock armor work against the blud. damage? Might be worth checking. If not, then get some adam. full plate or like FP of the giants or something with dr 3 or 5 respectively.

IF you go monk splash, you probably could focus more on reflex save and mitigate a lot of the damage. Still, a robe of hammerblock might help. (if it works against the DBF.. not sure)

[Matuse]

Cleric's weakspot is really reflex save as some have noted. So, IMO, find fire mitigation GEAR instead. Use armor with DR on it for the bludgeon stuff too. Actually, question: would hammerblock armor work against the blud. damage? Might be worth checking. If not, then get some adam. full plate or like FP of the giants or something with dr 3 or 5 respectively.

IF you go monk splash, you probably could focus more on reflex save and mitigate a lot of the damage. Still, a robe of hammerblock might help. (if it works against the DBF.. not sure)

Hammer/Axe/Spearblock do nothing to reduce the damage from spells of any kind, even the ones like Meteor Swarm or Blade Barrier that claim to be doing blunt/slash damage. That's just window dressing. The "physical" damage on those kinds of spells is actually untyped and cannot be reduced by any means (ignoring saving throws, obviously).