Help needed on cleric optimisation

[TheGodOfSmallThings]

Hi,

I m going to TR soon and i m excited to play cleric, as i never played it before.
I have gone from one life to another the lazy way without paying so much attention on gear, just enjoying pugs. In my last 2 lives i started to enjoy soloing too and it s something i d like to keep on doing.

For that new life i d like to think better of my build and my gear, instead of going there eyes closed.

So here is the data...

I have 2 sorc, 2 wiz and 1 fvs past lives.
I have +1,2,3 and 4 stat tomes on all characteristics.
My gear includes :
- blue dragonhide armor
- torc
- GS goggles conc opp
- GS helmet (hp and will save)
- Glacier set
- vibrant purple ioun stone unsuppressed
- tharak bracers
- stormreaver napkin
- cloak on night 16
- cannith boots of propulsion
- skyvault shield
- various basic quaterstaves
- +2 evoc (or necro i don t remember) crafted bracers
-etc...

As i like my blue dragonhide (i even wore it on my helf PM), going monk might not be an efficient way to go.

1 - I loved my insta kills when i was a wizzy, so i d like to build towards honest DC and maybe get a reaaaaal good BB.

2 - Besides spells i was thinking of getting a good hp pool, going helf with paladin dilettante for saves or barb dil for hp, but i don t know about that, all suggestions are welcomed there.

3 - Melee or not melee ? I m opened, if i melee it s to save sp, because i don t want to be a pure healbot, i like the CC and offensive aspect of a build, so can i build a big enough sp pool or should i use a melee weapon or xbow too... ????

4 - I was thinking of farming a beacon of tira but that implies i have to recraft my GS helmet....

Any advice towards a build (pure, splash : wiz, druid, pal ??) AND gear i should get before i TR ?

A billion thanks in advance for your helpful insights and guidance.

[firemedium_jt]

If your current life is a fav I would just keep him for epic. Cleric healing is better and more buffs but if u almozt have a fav capped I would not bother. Cleric life is not much. U can get really good spell pen with those lives. Have u done much epic?

[Enoach]

What will your primary focus be?

Caster or Melee?

Either case keep in mind that to qualify for the current Cleric PrE you will need Empower Healing

As a cleric you will have fewer Spell Points then your FvS life, but you will also only have Wisdom as your primary casting stat (DC and SP) where FvS had to strike some balance between Wisdom and Charisma.

Don't neglect charisma on your cleric, I would take time to determine which Turn based Abilities you are planning on using, such as the Aura/Burst of the PrE as well as Divine Healing/Vitality/Cleansing/Might. The more of them you plan on using means a bit more of an investment in charisma for extra turns.

Don't forget you can right click and set Metamagic feats on each hotbar'd spell.

True Neutral alignment will allow you to use All Alignment based spells and switch them out to better handle Lawful/Chaotic/Good/Evil mobs. But will require a 20+ UMD if attempting to use a weapon with Alignment restriction.

A little bit of UMD can help you be proficient with any single handed martial weapon or tower shield.

Heavy armor can help you out early on where DR and AC will reduce significant amounts of damage.

[TheGodOfSmallThings]

My current life is WF sorc, i did it just for the 2nd past life feat... and i haven't played epic content, except a bit eveningstar...

I thought of going more caster but as i never meleed on a caster it s something i consider to explore.


Don't neglect charisma on your cleric : yeah ty, i ve seen comments on the forum telling to start at 12... but i think i ll use a lot of aura and burst... to save sp.

[TheGodOfSmallThings]

Would it be wort farming meridia for 2 GS weapons with +2 wis and +2 con, + extra stuff... ?

I havnt crafted alchemical gear, is that a must for my caster cleric ? Any other gear suggestions ?

[SirValentine]

Would it be wort farming meridia for 2 GS weapons with +2 wis and +2 con, + extra stuff... ?

I havnt crafted alchemical gear, is that a must for my caster cleric ? Any other gear suggestions ?

A GS can get you +1 exceptional & +2 insightful at level 12 instead of level 18 (ToD rings), which is nice, but not strictly needed.

+2 Alchemical Wisdom can't be had permanently anywhere else. (There's some very short-duration House D pots; it's hard to get a good supply of those.) If you're going to play end game for a while on this guy, and care about your DCs, it's a great option. For my Alchemical, I have 90 Devotion on Tier 1, +2 Alchemical Wisdom on Tier 2, and Greater Spell Pen 9 on Tier 3. It's a nice combination.

[Lonnbeimnech]

Melee focus would make getting from level 1-11 easier, but those are the easy levels anyway.

Make a caster focused cleric, max wisdom, give yourself a good starting cha, 14 or so, make use of the bursts and auras as your primary source of healing, having maximize, empower, empower healing and quicken is worth is just for the auras/bursts. try to stay with the melee. the sp pool on a cleric is small, making use of the aura saves your sp for killing stuff. when it comes time to healbot, break out the heal scrolls.

If you plan on soloing a lot, splash 2 monk and 1 artificer, 2 extra feats from monk, water stance gives you a +2 to wisdom and evasion, but your reflex save will not be great. arti for umd trap skills and a dog to pull levers

[TheGodOfSmallThings]

ty m8,

i ll focus on melee till lvl 11 and reroll after, good idea yep

[Lonnbeimnech]

ty m8,

i ll focus on melee till lvl 11 and reroll after, good idea yep

Well you do get a free lesser reincarnate once per life, so that is an option.

[SirValentine]

Well you do get a free lesser reincarnate once per life, so that is an option.

Is it once per life? I thought it was once per character, ever.

[Lonnbeimnech]

Is it once per life? I thought it was once per character, ever.

Once per life. I've used it 3 times on my main, so yeah, unless it's some wacky bug I've stumbled onto.

[jbleargh]

Pure clerics pre-blade barrier are very annoying to solo. Everything takes a long time to kill.

My suggestion: one lvl of monk that can be exchanged when your offensive casting is powerful enough.

Ofc, You may enjoy the clonk way and take a second lvl for evasion... or a third...

[SirValentine]

1 - I loved my insta kills when i was a wizzy, so i d like to build towards honest DC and maybe get a reaaaaal good BB.

2 - Besides spells i was thinking of getting a good hp pool, going helf with paladin dilettante for saves or barb dil for hp, but i don t know about that, all suggestions are welcomed there.

Feats can be really tight, depending on what you're trying to do. That gives a huge advantage to going Human. Also, healing amp has very nice synergy with your aura; if you are not splashing Monk, and are going helf, Monk dil is nice that way to open up an extra 20%.

3 - Melee or not melee ? I m opened, if i melee it s to save sp, because i don t want to be a pure healbot, i like the CC and offensive aspect of a build, so can i build a big enough sp pool or should i use a melee weapon or xbow too... ????

It's tough to be very good at both casting and melee (feats!), but you can do some decent melee, especially at low levels, without spending any feats on it. Just put a bit into Str, use your self-buff spells, and have a decent weapon.

Any advice towards a build (pure, splash : wiz, druid, pal ??) AND gear i should get before i TR ?

There's nothing wrong with going pure, but this gets into preference.

Also, destination: are you going to 25 and staying there for a while, or just to 20 and TR again? For a caster divine who's hitting 20 and TRing, I feel Spell Pen isn't that important, which frees up some feat slots, and makes splashing not hurt as much. I intend to go pure when I get back to Cleric, mainly for more Spell Pen.

Some folks swear by a Monk1/2/3 splash (Toughness, Stunning Fist, Evasion, water stance for +2 Wis, light monk buffs if you take 3 levels). Wiz1 is an extra casting feat. If you want a more melee focused build, something that gives Martial proficiency (Ftr, or Pal) is nice.