Battle clerics for new players (cleric 18 / ftr 2)

[unbongwah]

Since I keep posting these builds in other threads, I figure I should just put them in their own thread and save myself the trouble of reposting them. They're basically just my own variants on tihocan's Warpriest, hopefully laid out in a manner which makes them easy for newcomers to follow.

What's a battle cleric? Essentially it's just a cleric who sacrifices spellcasting for melee (or ranged) DPS. With the addition of Radiant Servant in U5, playing a battle cleric became more viable (and fun!) because you can heal & fight at the same time. The trick is finding the right balance in your build so you don't end up gimped at everything. Playing a battle cleric takes some practice: you need to learn when to switch between spellcasting and fighting; when to wade into a fight vs when to back off and support the party; and so forth. Properly built & equipped, they work well as solo-ers and in groups.

The goal of these builds is to be good healers / buffers with decent melee DPS & offensive spellcasting w/out requiring tomes or special gear. I went with cleric 18 so Radiant Servant III can be taken if & when it gets added.

The first build is a caster-focused human:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Good Human Female
(2 Fighter \ 18 Cleric) 
Hit Points: 306
Spell Points: 1199 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 17
Reflex: 5
Will: 18

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    18
Dexterity             8                     8
Constitution         15                    16
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               16                    24
Charisma              8                     8

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Human Bonus) Augment Summoning
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 2 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Two Handed Fighting (swap for Power Attack at higher lvls)


Level 3 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell


Level 4 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS


Level 5 (Cleric)


Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell


Level 7 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Fighter Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Cleric Radiant Servant I
Enhancement: Unyielding Sovereignty
Enhancement: Follower of the Sovereign Host
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Constitution I
Enhancement: Human Improved Recovery I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Cleric Heal I
Enhancement: Cleric Heal II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Cleansing I
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Turning I


Level 8 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS


Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell


Level 10 (Cleric)


Level 11 (Cleric)


Level 12 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell


Level 13 (Cleric)


Level 14 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Cleric Radiant Servant II
Enhancement: Human Greater Adaptability Strength I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV
Enhancement: Fighter Strength I
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom III


Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Spell


Level 16 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS


Level 17 (Cleric)


Level 18 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell


Level 19 (Cleric)


Level 20 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: WIS
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Smiting I
Enhancement: Cleric Smiting I
Enhancement: Cleric Smiting II
Enhancement: Cleric Smiting III
Enhancement: Cleric Smiting IV
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery I
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery II
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery III
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery IV

A few comments:

• For skills take max ranks of Concentration and either Balance, Diplomacy, or UMD.
• Augment Summoning can be swapped for another metamagic (e.g., Spell Penetration), a second Toughness, or to have both THF & PA. It's mostly there to help out while soloing or in small groups and using summons & hirelings as decoys - errr, valiant companions who are in no way expendable.
• ftr 2 & Imp Crit Slash can be taken as early as lvl 10. I delayed it until after she has lvl 6 spells (Heal & Blade Barrier FTW!) and Radiant Servant II. Also, lvl 13 is when you can take Greater Adaptability STR, which meshes with ftr STR enh for +2 STR. But it's up to you if you want the DPS boost from Imp Crit sooner rather than later.
• There's room for tweaking enhs. E.g., dropping the Smiting line or Wand Mastery enhs to take Spell Pen enhs instead if you like using spells such as Greater Command or Destruction which have Spell Resistance checks. I also would've liked to squeeze in human Versatility or more Imp Recovery, but it's a tough call as to what to drop.
• I would probably swap THF for PA after you get to cleric 7 (lvl 4 spells). Hopefully Divine Power + Divine Favor + Recitation + (Mass) Aid (or Inspire Courage or Greater Heroism) means you'll be able to leave PA switched on all the time.

Coming up: a melee-focused dwarf using greataxes.

[unbongwah]

Next up is a STR-based dwarf battle cleric. Compared to the human version, she sacrifices metamagic feats for the THF feat chain - essentially trading spellcasting for extra melee DPS w/greataxes. To be honest, I prefer caster-focused battle clerics like my first build - I don't think the extra DPS is worth the sacrifice in spellcasting - but I present it for those who might prefer a more melee-oriented BC. It would also serve as a reasonable template for a half-orc BC.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Good Dwarf Female
(2 Fighter \ 18 Cleric) 
Hit Points: 326
Spell Points: 1118 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 18
Reflex: 5
Will: 15

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    22
Dexterity             8                     8
Constitution         16                    18
Intelligence         10                    10
Wisdom               16                    18
Charisma              6                     6

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 2 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Two Handed Fighting


Level 3 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell


Level 4 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 5 (Cleric)


Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack


Level 7 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Fighter Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Cleric Radiant Servant I
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Attack I
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Damage I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Cleric Heal I
Enhancement: Cleric Heal II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Cleansing I
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Turning I


Level 8 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Handed Fighting


Level 10 (Cleric)


Level 11 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons


Level 12 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell


Level 13 (Cleric)


Level 14 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Radiant Servant II
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Attack II
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Damage II
Enhancement: Unyielding Sovereignty
Enhancement: Follower of the Sovereign Host
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV
Enhancement: Fighter Strength I


Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Handed Fighting


Level 16 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 17 (Cleric)


Level 18 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell


Level 19 (Cleric)


Level 20 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR
Enhancement: Dwarven Constitution I
Enhancement: Dwarven Constitution II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life III
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life II
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery I
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery II
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery III
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery IV

Alternatively, you could split the difference between this build and my first one: follow the class & feat progression from the human version (i.e., drop Augment Summoning & THF chain & stick w/metamagics); but put lvl-ups into STR and use the enhs from this build. So you would still be +4 to-hit & dmg w/greataxes over the first build, but your spellcasting wouldn't suffer as much, though your glancing blows go way down.

You could also take a wizard splash for one more metamagic feat; getting to use arcane wands would be a nice bonus. But you'd be sacrificing RS III unless you LR / GR +1 to cleric 18.

[unbongwah]

28-pt TWF elf w/scimitars: solid DPS, good heals & buffs, weak-ish offensive casting but can still lay down a Blade Barrier. It requires a +1 DEX tome before lvl 9 for ITWF & GTWF, but hopefully anyone can save up enough plat by then to buy one off the Auction House. Worst case scenario, you take Quicken at lvl 9 and delay ITWF to lvl 12. I got lazy and only listed the enhs at lvl 20; but you can presume they'll look pretty similar to the dwarf version posted earlier.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Good Elf Female
(2 Fighter \ 18 Cleric) 
Hit Points: 256
Spell Points: 1091 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 15
Reflex: 10
Will: 14

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    22
Dexterity            16                    18
Constitution         12                    12
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               14                    16
Charisma              8                     8

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Dexterity used at level 8

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 2 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Two Weapon Fighting


Level 3 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell


Level 4 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 5 (Cleric)


Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell


Level 7 (Cleric)


Level 8 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting


Level 10 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons


Level 11 (Cleric)


Level 12 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell


Level 13 (Cleric)


Level 14 (Cleric)


Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting


Level 16 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 17 (Cleric)


Level 18 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack


Level 19 (Cleric)


Level 20 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR
Enhancement: Fighter Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Cleric Radiant Servant I
Enhancement: Cleric Radiant Servant II
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance I
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance II
Enhancement: Valenar Elf Melee Attack I
Enhancement: Valenar Elf Melee Attack II
Enhancement: Valenar Elf Melee Damage I
Enhancement: Valenar Elf Melee Damage II
Enhancement: Undying Call
Enhancement: Follower of the Undying Court
Enhancement: Fighter Item Defense I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Cleric Heal I
Enhancement: Cleric Heal II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life III
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life III
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV
Enhancement: Fighter Strength I
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Cleansing I
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Turning I
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery I
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery II
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery III
Enhancement: Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery IV

32-pt build: put extra pts into CON (14) or WIS (16). EDIT: or start 18 / 16 / 12 / 8 / 12 / 8 if you want max STR.
Skill: max Concentration.
Alignment: since this build won't have UMD, I went LG to use Lawful-aligned equipment & Pure Good weapons. CG is an option too, as are the neutral alignments if you want to be able to use Evil-tainted items without incurring a negative level and be immune to Unholy dmg.
Feats: Extend Spell can be swapped at higher lvls for a different metamagic: e.g., Empower, Maximize. You can also swap PA for another metamagic: melee DPS vs better spellcasting, it's your call.

[unbongwah]

Reserved again (just in case)

[Legohaiden]

best way to play a battle cleric.


Log in, Reroll your toon to a FvS if you want to fight, or a Cleric if you want to heal.



battle clerics fail 9 times out of 10. (Seen from experiance... very VERY few know how to actually do a real "Battle cleric")

[Kriogen]

Stats for caster cleric (28 point, Human):
Strength 14
Dexterity 8
Constitution 14
Intelligence 8
Wisdom 18
Charisma 8
All levelup points into WIS. Max WIS for casting but can still do some melee.

Stats for melee cleric (28 point, Human):
Strength 16 (or 15)
Dexterity 8
Constitution 14
Intelligence 8
Wisdom 14
Charisma 14 (or 15)
All levelup points into STR. Some CHA is for Divine Might. Enough WIS to cast spells (with items, tomes, enhanc). With CHA 15 and +3 CHA tome (i know not common) you can get DM3. Full melee with buffs/heals and lots of Turn charges for RS cures/regen and DMs. In general, you build melee oriented Cleric almost like you'd build a Paladin. Same stats, but cleric takes less combat feats and more meta-magic feats.

Pick one "profession", melee or magic, or you'll suck in both.

[unbongwah]

My qualm about putting points into CHA for Divine Might & extra TUs - especially on a 28-pt build - is clerics don't get as much mileage from CHA as paladins do (Divine Grace, LoH, etc.). It strains what's already a stat-constrained build. But I appreciate the feedback.

[FlyingTurtle]

My qualm about putting points into CHA for Divine Might & extra TUs - especially on a 28-pt build - is clerics don't get as much mileage from CHA as paladins do (Divine Grace, LoH, etc.). It strains what's already a stat-constrained build. But I appreciate the feedback.

Also, it runs off the same batteries as your healing burst, unlike on a Paladin where it's clearly the most useful use of the TUs.

Is there any way to make the caster-focused human more casterly? As in, 20 cleric levels but still melee-capable.

Keep same stats; Feats:
Toughness/
Extend/Emp Heal/Maximize/Empower/Quicken/Heighten
Proficiency:Falchion (swap at level 8 for) Power Attack

Gimp, or feasible?

[unbongwah]

I've read some folks claim that you can play a pure battlecleric without any 2H weapon proficiency and still be able to hit things at endgame, despite the -4 non-prof penalty and -5 from PA. The trouble is it's dependent on gear which a new player isn't going to have for a long while, so the early days can be tough. There's so much focus on endgame in the forums that it's discouraging to most newcomers, IMHO. The goal was to come up with something a little different from tihocan's build which starts out good with minimal gear and gets better as it levels. It's most likely not ideal for endgame / epic content, but to be honest I don't expect any 28-pt build to be; my expectation is once someone gets to 20, they'll either GR into a "true" epic build or TR and start over on their "real" char.

[FlyingTurtle]

My interest is because I've always wanted to make a caster-focused cleric that is melee-capable.

Dwarf / Cleric 20 / 28pt, Str 16 / Dex 8 / Con 16 / Int 10 / Wis 16 / Cha 8, level-ups in Wis;

Prof: Greataxe
Toughness
Extend
Emp Heal
Maximize
Quicken
Empower

Compared with Human 20 pure caster Cleric, it has two less feats (probably Heighten + Spell Pen)
But it has probably 20-30% higher melee DPS. Would be great if you could Unbongwah-ize it. Or just say it's gimp, I'm sure it is kindof nonoptimal.

Another build I'd like to see in the lineup would be a Elf/Drow TWF battle-cleric.

[unbongwah]

Would be great if you could Unbongwah-ize it.

Sounds like you already know what you want to do with it. One suggestion I might make is switch out greataxe prof. for another meta or PA once your to-hit is high enough to take the -4 penalty.

Another build I'd like to see in the lineup would be a Elf/Drow TWF battle-cleric.

That will actually go into one of the reserved slots once I make up my mind how I want to build it. Probably not far off from the dwarf STR build, though.

[unbongwah]

As promised, have updated with TWF elf battle cleric build.

[FlyingTurtle]

Noob question: When to put level ups in Wis, when in Str?

Is it something like, "if you dont have feats X,Y,Z, better to put in Str since your offensive casting is blah anyway"

[FaSo]

So my main is a battle cleirc atm and i love him, thow he is very hard to play when it gets to high lvls, here are a few tips:

-Rember once u get to raids you are a HEALER not a mele, only mele if your grp is not taking damage due to a good intimatank or good agro pulling
-Try to hav 1 highest + wep u can get(ex +5) this is because as a cleirc unless you have devine power on you will not hav full BAB as other classes, aswell as you will just hav less to-hit.
- THen make sure you hav a good dps wep(atm mine is epic sos) but i would try to keep a reg flaming for like lvls 2-4, then a flaming of pure good for 4-6, then an flaming burst of pure good for the rest of the way and keep trying to get a higher + on it(btw that flaming on those weps can be any thing, from icy, to shcoking, flaming)


and the thing i can not stress enough is rember to hel, that was my main problem when i first rolled my guy is i would mele more htne heal and lesting my grp die so rember to heal is the bigest thing.


Good luck and hopw u like it

faso

[AcesWylde]

battle clerics fail 9 times out of 10.

Wow, thanks, I didn't know I was a 10.

I have a TWF (dual dwarven axes) Dwarven Battlecleric that's a blast to play, though battleclerics don't really begin to shine until at least midlevel (divine power), and I wouldn't recommend one until you get 32 point build.

[unbongwah]

Noob question: When to put level ups in Wis, when in Str?

Basically it depends on whether you focus on melee or spellcasting. If it's melee, then put your lvl-ups into STR and focus on melee feats (i.e., THF / TWF, Imp Crit, PA); if it's spellcasting, then put your lvl-ups into WIS and focus on taking metamagics (Emp, Emp Heal, Maximize, and Quicken are the key ones IMHO, I also like having Extend and Heighten if I can squeeze them in). My human build is caster-focused; my dwarf & elf builds are melee-focused.

[SavvyGabby]

I am actually going with this as a second character to play solo when my bf is unavailable to duo with me, but I kinda changed its start stats I am mixing it with another battle cleric set up just a little to see what happens, trial and error basses. I used this below for starting stats so I'd have a little more in with cha.
in

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    23
Dexterity             8                     8
Constitution         14                    14
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               15                    17
Charisma             12                    14

and so far soloing I am lol a killing machine accept on a spawn. I gotta get hirelings for it but I did max concentration in skills and went with the UMD ,summoning a dog helps out too in the spawn. Is this okay that I am mixing 2 battle cleric builds?

[r3dl4nce]

I I'd have some magic defense with cha.

CHA has nothing to do with "defense" and btw there is no kind of "magic defense" in DDO. The best "magic defense" is having evasion

[SavvyGabby]

CHA has nothing to do with "defense" and btw there is no kind of "magic defense" in DDO. The best "magic defense" is having evasion

, yea I know I worded it wrong sorry lol. I meant to say for divine might not defense. I just woke up still half out of it. I am mixing this one with the build you gave me. So I can learn and see if what the outcome is out of curiosity and trial and error by mixing to see what I get. I'm having fun with it so far. The build you gave me with a little mix of this is so far rock solid lol. I just wanted a opinion if its okay to mix 2 battle cleric builds to change out something if I want something else along the lines in feats. But I am going with your skill point build accept I used UMD instead of jump, and Augment Summoning. I love it though this is a great learning experience to me and I'm loving it.

[SavvyGabby]

LOL I don't know what divine might is yet but sounds good lol. Still waking up need my soda fix lol.