Bring back the need for Clerics

[ahitcher]

While over the last two updates some improvements hand been made, so much more could and should be done to bring back the need for Clerics.

I feel the champions were a great step in the right direction. You might add more elements that remove buffs or negates them thus bringing in a need to refresh buff after this event. I am though not saying we need this event at every crossroads. If some mobs that have harder hits, traps that only clerics could resolve....

After all Clerics are a MAJOR part in the D&D world and without them its kind of boring

[Enderoc]

A high intelligence cleric that maxes their spell casting capability not only in feats but in skills while invested in Harper Agent is a force to be reckoned with. A Cleric Bard 19/1 for maximum performance, heal, and spellcraft for sonic damage on top of all the other fire/light/and blade barriers is as competent as a forged caster if not more so in my opinion.

[fmalfeas]

While over the last two updates some improvements hand been made, so much more could and should be done to bring back the need for Clerics.

I feel the champions were a great step in the right direction. You might add more elements that remove buffs or negates them thus bringing in a need to refresh buff after this event. I am though not saying we need this event at every crossroads. If some mobs that have harder hits, traps that only clerics could resolve....

After all Clerics are a MAJOR part in the D&D world and without them its kind of boring

In D&D, unlike most MMOs, a cleric is not a 'healer' or 'buffbot'. They're simply powerful servants of a divine (or sometimes infernal) being. Yes, they /can/ heal, and fairly easily, which is a major thing that sets them apart from wizards (who can in theory figure out ways to do it, but it's always higher spell level than a clerical equivalent, and always has a downside, unlike the clerical equivalent, because there's no god donating energy to fuel the spell...and that life force has to come from /somewhere/.)

In fact, in tabletop, clerics are terrifying forces on the battlefield. Not because they'll heal all the damage away, but because they can turn into engines of destruction that make all the other classes weep with shame. But only for a little while, and only if they prepared to do so. Divine Power + Righteous Might in tabletop will make a cleric able to go toe-to-talon with a Great Wyrm dragon in melee. But for 20 rounds, max. Once those buffs fade, they're second string melees (unlike the poor wizard, in the 'fifth string' melee position, aka - 'I can hit something with this? Really?') And in tabletop, flamestrike is a very powerful spell, not the 'meh' it gets in DDO.

But, trying to make them 'needed' in a game like DDO is asking for unhappiness. That usually means that 'dedicated healers' are needed, and the number of players who enjoy that playstyle isn't really that large, /and/ theres a sizable portion of players who treat the healers like dirt if anything goes wrong, or like lackeys or servants if things are going right...which further reduces the number of players who desire to fill that role.

[EllisDee37]

You might add more elements that remove buffs or negates them thus bringing in a need to refresh buff after this event.

That would make me less likely to play my cleric.

[Keladon]

But, trying to make them 'needed' in a game like DDO is asking for unhappiness. That usually means that 'dedicated healers' are needed, and the number of players who enjoy that playstyle isn't really that large, /and/ theres a sizable portion of players who treat the healers like dirt if anything goes wrong, or like lackeys or servants if things are going right...which further reduces the number of players who desire to fill that role.

This.

You might add more elements that remove buffs or negates them thus bringing in a need to refresh buff after this event.

Buffbots instead of healbots
At least healing CAN be fun, buffing.. not so much.

Don't forget that games are about having fun.