Cleric questions for next life

[akiraproject24]

Hi, I havent played a cleric since way before PrEs were released. Back then I simply maxed wisdom and con and did what I could to up my terrible reflex save. Now with bursts and aura...Im thinking there are different ways to do it. This will be my 8th life on the toon (hes my pale master final build) I am in a guild by myself basically and solo 90% of my lvling. Trying to figure out a good build to get the cleeric past lives in, that isnt gonna slow me down at early lvls too much but not gimp me at the higher ones. For example cha will effect my number of bursts? Is it customary to put more in cha nowadays? I was planning on basically playing him like my evoker fvs's for the long haul and probably human again. Any tips?

[Sarisa]

A casting spec'ed Cleric would play exactly the same as your Evoker. Same build will work, with just a bit more variety in spells, and the lack of capstone DR and Wings.

Every 2 points of CHA grants you an extra Turn. Some Clerics heavily invest in Turns, but 8-12 at cap is enough for general questing and raiding for most people. 10-12 starting CHA is enough, and will still allow you to max WIS, have high CON, and enough STR to do some melee at low levels.

At low levels, undead quests are extremely easy for an RS Cleric. Remember that the RS Bursts are affected by metamagics for free. My caster finished off a Cleric past life last life, and is now FvS, and I really noticed the difference in levelling speed, which was attributed solely to the power of bursts in Deleras/Necro/houses.

[akiraproject24]

Thanks Sarisa, I think Im going to splash 1 lvl of fighter then play it out as I would my fvs later on...was reading about the wizard splash in another thread and that was interesting as well. Prolly go 10 cha...maybe 12 but will have to play with the points a bit see what I like.

[Mubjon]

I would recommend a splash of wizard and fighter for a leveling cleric. I took the fighter level early (level 2) and then took the wizard level after I got blade barrier and radiant servant 2 (level 13 if I remember right). At level 15 (13 cleric/1 fighter/1 wiz) she was doing as much damage with her blade barrier as my level 15 pure. And surpassed the level 15 once I hit level 15 cleric (max damage level for blade barrier).

Talk about making Necro IV a breeze, me and a FvS solo'd all the quests on elite

The amount of Charisma depends on what i want that cleric life to be like. If I am going caster focus I increase the charisma after I max out Wisdom, Con to 16. I found that if I have a modest investment in Charisma that I can obliterate undead prior to RS with a turn attempt and the spell seek eternal rest with a item to boost myself too, hallowed or sacred work here. A charisma of 14 to 16 is needed for that though so not sure if you want to spend that much to boost it.

Another decent cleric build is 2 monk and take zen archery for a bonus feat, along with being an elf and taking the range damage and attack enhancements. You can even be AA if you want to give up some casting feats for the feats you need. Helf works great there as you can take ranger dilly for a bit of bow strength to add to damage.

But, if all you want is a typical cleric life where you cast spells, melee when needed and keep a party up. 18/1/1 cleric, fighter, wiz will give you a lot of extra goodies for very little loss.

[akiraproject24]

I would recommend a splash of wizard and fighter for a leveling cleric. I took the fighter level early (level 2) and then took the wizard level after I got blade barrier and radiant servant 2 (level 13 if I remember right). At level 15 (13 cleric/1 fighter/1 wiz) she was doing as much damage with her blade barrier as my level 15 pure. And surpassed the level 15 once I hit level 15 cleric (max damage level for blade barrier).

Talk about making Necro IV a breeze, me and a FvS solo'd all the quests on elite

The amount of Charisma depends on what i want that cleric life to be like. If I am going caster focus I increase the charisma after I max out Wisdom, Con to 16. I found that if I have a modest investment in Charisma that I can obliterate undead prior to RS with a turn attempt and the spell seek eternal rest with a item to boost myself too, hallowed or sacred work here. A charisma of 14 to 16 is needed for that though so not sure if you want to spend that much to boost it.

Another decent cleric build is 2 monk and take zen archery for a bonus feat, along with being an elf and taking the range damage and attack enhancements. You can even be AA if you want to give up some casting feats for the feats you need. Helf works great there as you can take ranger dilly for a bit of bow strength to add to damage.

But, if all you want is a typical cleric life where you cast spells, melee when needed and keep a party up. 18/1/1 cleric, fighter, wiz will give you a lot of extra goodies for very little loss.

I like the 18/1/1 gonna try it I think. This toon is basically gettin turned around the same day as cap but its nice to finally play with the cleric PrE

[axel15810]

I'd go battlecleric or clonk. Especially since you're soloing. You'll have a much easier time at low and early mid levels being able to do melee. Pure caster clerics are much tougher to solo at low levels...you can't melee that well and you don't have any good offensive spells yet.

[akiraproject24]

So just a follow up...currently 13 cleric/1 fighter. The toon kicked butt at low lvls....necropolis and deleras did some owning as well. Now im up to wk farms and its capable...but heres some cons....compared to fvs which im used to playing a lot its weak...reflex save and saves in general are weak, spell pool weak. Definately decent class but not something Id enjoy playing. I think FVS way out do a cleric in many categories. Yes I think a cleric can heal more to an extent but a FVS is just as viable a healer imo with so many more bonuses saves spell pool mainly. I will continue with my cleric lives for the past lives but just my two cents.

[wax_on_wax_off]

If you're getting 3 try a couple of things:
Firstly, pure cleric. Splashing makes lower levels slower on a cleric who can turn from level 1 with a decent charisma score and buffs. I remember before PrE came out I could clear bloody crypt faster than an arcane with my turn ability. Eagles splendor, 14+ base charisma, seek eternal rest spell, sacred item at least. I see in Cannith crafting you can get all of the unique abilities that would take turning tithe next level (mostly replaced by burst but turn has a bigger AoE which can be handy for spread out casters and archers).

Secondly, clonk. Monk helps saves and there's nothing like a high wisdom to get a ridiculous stunning fist DC. I'd grab 17 cleric/2 monk/1 fighter or wizard. Halfelf with rogue dilettante is a nice choice as stun and holy aura give plenty of SA.

As far as saves go you could try helf with paladin dilettante, halfling or dwarf. Gear/buffs helps a lot with saves so just bring some planar girds, haste clickies, nightshield/boots of the innocent, head of good fortune and keep versatility: saves handy for traps and things.

One of the advantages of cleric is getting blade barrier a level earlier but you splash fighter ...

[axel15810]

So just a follow up...currently 13 cleric/1 fighter. The toon kicked butt at low lvls....necropolis and deleras did some owning as well. Now im up to wk farms and its capable...but heres some cons....compared to fvs which im used to playing a lot its weak...reflex save and saves in general are weak, spell pool weak. Definately decent class but not something Id enjoy playing. I think FVS way out do a cleric in many categories. Yes I think a cleric can heal more to an extent but a FVS is just as viable a healer imo with so many more bonuses saves spell pool mainly. I will continue with my cleric lives for the past lives but just my two cents.

I had trouble at this point as well with my battle cleric's 1st life. This is the point where you really start to get left behind melee wise by the true melee classes since at lvl 12 they are getting their tier 2 PrEs. Green steel weapons can make all the difference if you've got it. A strong boosted aura should make up for the damage you aren't dodging with reflex. Get all the hp you can. Smaller SP pool can be mitigated by using bursts/aura effectively. If you aren't hitting turn off PA. If you find yourself not doing much damage a paralyzer or cursespewer can really help the party. Good luck.

[Kinerd]

So just a follow up...currently 13 cleric/1 fighter. The toon kicked butt at low lvls....necropolis and deleras did some owning as well. Now im up to wk farms and its capable...but heres some cons....compared to fvs which im used to playing a lot its weak...reflex save and saves in general are weak, spell pool weak. Definately decent class but not something Id enjoy playing. I think FVS way out do a cleric in many categories. Yes I think a cleric can heal more to an extent but a FVS is just as viable a healer imo with so many more bonuses saves spell pool mainly. I will continue with my cleric lives for the past lives but just my two cents.

The saves issues is probably more due to gear than anything else. A 13 cleric / 1 fighter has base 8/4/8 + 2/0/0 = 10/4/8 saves, a 14 FvS has base 9/9/9. 5 reflex save is nothing to laugh about, but especially without Evasion it's not a dramatic difference either, and the 13/1 actually has a better Fort save. It could also be psychosomatic.

Personally, I would never play a FvS because I just couldn't tolerate the spell slot constriction. Between less slots and no free ones from the faux-domain, FvS frequently have to ignore buffing entirely. Ship buffs have ameliorated this to some degree, but not enough. Another way it's more severe than sorcerers' troubles is arcane buffs are frequently a matter of convenience, while divine buffs are literally a matter of life and death.

[Mubjon]

So just a follow up...currently 13 cleric/1 fighter. The toon kicked butt at low lvls....necropolis and deleras did some owning as well. Now im up to wk farms and its capable...but heres some cons....compared to fvs which im used to playing a lot its weak...reflex save and saves in general are weak, spell pool weak. Definately decent class but not something Id enjoy playing. I think FVS way out do a cleric in many categories. Yes I think a cleric can heal more to an extent but a FVS is just as viable a healer imo with so many more bonuses saves spell pool mainly. I will continue with my cleric lives for the past lives but just my two cents.

I could not play FvS because of the spell slot restriction. So I can understand if you loved the FvS why you might not enjoy the cleric as much.

This is a TR I take it? Or did you start the character from fresh?

[Sarisa]

My caster is doing a FvS TR (previous life 17/3 Clonk, and a 20 Cleric main) right now, and I miss Cleric. The RS Aura and Bursts are just so much more powerful at the low to mid levels than the Aura of Menace and Archon. The spell selection is also quite annoying, even with the delay from the Monk levels, I still ended up with more spell slots in all but level 9 spells than the FvS will at cap.

I'm still at the point where my saves are not that much different from my main Cleric at that level (the Clonk had better saves). I have the experience to hit 17, but still need to run a guildee through Fleshmaker's before I can level and get my Wings.

I feel that the power level at cap will be a lot higher, and the survival will be much better; but I also definitely feel that Cleric is better during the TR levelling process.