New player

[Arthas1228]

I am very new to DDO. I have only been playing a week. I have no experience in PNP and I am coming from WOW where I have a quite bit of experience. I have created bout every class except wizard and have decided I really prefer the cleric. I have read a lot of forum post and suggested builds but most of them seemed to be geared for the more experienced players or players that have past lives as well as geared for epic levels. I am not really concerned with that. I am trying to decide whether to go 17/3 cleric pally or just a straight build. I initially choose one of the pre builds but finding that i would rather start a build from scratch. Btw I am vip but again with little to no resources.

[axel15810]

Could you explain what kind of cleric you want to play? melee? spellcaster? Any other special qualities you're looking for? You can build a cleric in a lot of different ways in DDO. One major difference from WOW is there really is no pure healer in DDO, nowadays all good character builds are built to kill stuff first, support abilities come second.

If you want a caster cleric check out this thread, I posted my ideas there recently: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...y-First-Cleric

If you want a melee cleric I'd recommend my battle cleric build in this thread, it's very first life friendly: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...e-Cleric-Build

Also you can check out my youtube channel by clicking on the banner in my signature. I have a cleric healing guide and lots of other cleric related discussion videos on there.

Good luck and have fun.

[cdbd3rd]

...I initially choose one of the pre builds but finding that i would rather start a build from scratch. ....

This one learns quickly.

(Welcome to the neighborhood, Arthas.)

[Arthas1228]

Thank you for the replies. I would rather be melee, but still good enough for command (love that spell) or sonic burst to actually "work". Then again I am used to the pure healer/cast but those are apples and oranges when talking bout the differences in MMOs. Is there a way to balance the two or (as I am inclined to think) you end up being poor at both. So yea melee but still cast in a pinch. Sorry If I confused it more there is a definate learning curve to this game.

[JOTMON]

I am very new to DDO. I have only been playing a week. I have no experience in PNP and I am coming from WOW where I have a quite bit of experience. I have created bout every class except wizard and have decided I really prefer the cleric. I have read a lot of forum post and suggested builds but most of them seemed to be geared for the more experienced players or players that have past lives as well as geared for epic levels. I am not really concerned with that. I am trying to decide whether to go 17/3 cleric pally or just a straight build. I initially choose one of the pre builds but finding that i would rather start a build from scratch. Btw I am vip but again with little to no resources.

Both are viable.

Pure Cleric will get access to the better spells faster, and overall have more spells.
Cleric/Paladin will lose a few top end spells,(not a big loss) better saves which are more useful later in the game, Paladin has access to better range of weapons.
A level of paladin in the beginning kills stuff quick with a big two hander weapon.

There are even racial factors to consider...
Each choice has it s trade offs.

as a new player.. tough call..
The great thing with DDO is the ability to TR and start over from scratch with all your stuff you collected through the levelling lives.


I would tend towards the Cleric18/Paladin2. Human w/Sovereign Host line.
it is a fun build, and for the most part will hurdle all the challenges well.
but you can adjust as you go with this build to cleric 17/Paladin3 if you are so inclined.

Start simple, then as time goes on you can plan out a more complicated build or try different things.
I personally migrated towards a more uncommon build.. Cleric17/rogue2/Monk1 build.. more of a jack of trades build.. a healing trapper. very self survivable, but gear dependant and a build that takes a bit more work to bring together.

[elg582]

Hi, and welcome!

First of all, let me congratulate you on your choice of class. The first character that I really leveled up in this game was a cleric, and I recommend it to all new players, if for no other reason than you will get more groups!

It will also let you watch others and learn about the game while being the person in, usually, the least danger in the party. You may have noticed by now, but this ain't WoW

Second, clerics can be viable in several different variations, but groups will generally expect you to be able to heal. You literally have no choice but to take the entire Cure line of spells, so you can see where that kind of makes sense. In fact, if you do nothing but follow the group around and heal, no one will care.

Which brings us to one consideration about caster clerics; if you are using your spell points for both attack and healing, you run the risk of running out and not being able to do either.

My only note about a battle cleric is that the 3 Paladin split is to be preferred, for access to Sacred Defense Stance.


In a broader sense, though, don't worry about it; this probably won't be the only character you will play. You can't do anything like all of the quests on a first life, unless you intentionally delay taking levels and do quests for no experience, so you can always roll up a new character or reincarnate your old one when you get to 20/28, and play through a different set of quests in a different class. Rogue, for example, is much easier after you have played through the game as another class, and while I haven't played WoW in many years, I don't recall hearing anything about them implementing anything like the trap system in DDO.

[axel15810]

Thank you for the replies. I would rather be melee, but still good enough for command (love that spell) or sonic burst to actually "work". Then again I am used to the pure healer/cast but those are apples and oranges when talking bout the differences in MMOs. Is there a way to balance the two or (as I am inclined to think) you end up being poor at both. So yea melee but still cast in a pinch. Sorry If I confused it more there is a definate learning curve to this game.

You end up being poor at both unfortunately. Just not enough gear slots and feat slots to go around to be both a good caster and a good melee. You'll stretch yourself too thin. I've tried it, the DPS is just not good.

Now if you want to run on heroic normal or hard and have no interest in elite content you might be able to make it work. But the vast majority of DDO players play on elite in heroic content, so unless you have a static group that doesn't or intend on soloing you have to build for elite in heroics. So as far as min/maxing yes you'll be a stronger character specializing.

[Sehenry03]

I would either pick melee OR caster. The problem with a melee cleric casting command or similar spells is your DC is gonna be low. It will work early but will suffer later.

Pick one and find a good build for it on the forums. Axel has a great 2h melee cleric build I would tell you to look up if you want cleric. I plan on trying that build next life on my paladin and see how it goes. If you want caster they are easy to build for and just need a little more help in the early levels then the melee clerics do. Get to the teens in levels though and life gets a lot easier.

[EllisDee37]

The necro cleric link in my signature is a caster cleric build for new players.

[Sehenry03]

The necro cleric link in my signature is a caster cleric build for new players.

There ya go.

Axel for a 2h melee cleric build
EllisDee for a caster build

Just pick one and go with it. If you don't like it just TR at 20 and you will already have a good PL to go with your next cleric life.

[firemedium_jt]

Thank you for the replies. I would rather be melee, but still good enough for command (love that spell) or sonic burst to actually "work". Then again I am used to the pure healer/cast but those are apples and oranges when talking bout the differences in MMOs. Is there a way to balance the two or (as I am inclined to think) you end up being poor at both. So yea melee but still cast in a pinch. Sorry If I confused it more there is a definate learning curve to this game.

Sounds like you want a Melee Cleric. Lots of advice on gear on these threads and some under my name for newbies. You tend to get umber elitest gear advice on here when people post their builds.

If you want some crowd control you can take around a 12 wisdom at start and up it with gear. You spell will be Soundburst not for damage but for stun. As this becomes weak at mid lvls you can arm yourself with a Paralyzer Min Lvl10.

Some other newbie gear:

best Fortification for lvl
Divine Power items to get you BAB up to Char lvl like a Pure Melee and also increases your attack speed.
Everbright for slime and rust

Lots of builds posted to the forums.
You prob do not need Pal2 or 3 till later. I like to take FTR1 early like Char lvl1 or lvl2 instead to melee with FTR Haste that rocks and also an extra feat. I try to get to CLR11 quick for Heal spell then after that PAL2 or 3. Depends weather u want lvl9 cleric spells. Lots of builds on here. CLR is easy self healing that is popular right now. Mass Heal is gimp now, but the Devs always change things.

Melee Clerics tend to have more mana than caster clerics, so you can use Divine Punishment on Bosses that does around 3000 pts damage every 20 seconds when your triple stack it and reset the timer. Works well in Heroic lvls 1-20, but gets gimp in Epic.

[Arthas1228]

Again thanks to everyone that responded. I decided to try out Axel's build. I was not sure when to take the pally or fighter levels but I am now 3 cleric 2 pally 1 fighter. Im on Thelanis cleric's name is Numpette. If anyone would like to help teach a noob the ropes. On a side note kudos to the DDO community so far. I logged into wow was in 10 mins and logged out ...had enough of trolling and rudeness. Much better community over here. And axel hats off to ya good channel keep up the good work. Later

[axel15810]

Again thanks to everyone that responded. I decided to try out Axel's build. I was not sure when to take the pally or fighter levels but I am now 3 cleric 2 pally 1 fighter. Im on Thelanis cleric's name is Numpette. If anyone would like to help teach a noob the ropes. On a side note kudos to the DDO community so far. I logged into wow was in 10 mins and logged out ...had enough of trolling and rudeness. Much better community over here. And axel hats off to ya good channel keep up the good work. Later

I'm on Thelanis as well, main character name is Akksol. Feel free to message me in game if you have any questions.

[Hobgoblin]

This may be a while - but if you have have questions or want to try a different server, come to G-land and look me up

toons are in sig.

also if you have questions you can pm me.

hob

[Loromir]

Again thanks to everyone that responded. I decided to try out Axel's build. I was not sure when to take the pally or fighter levels but I am now 3 cleric 2 pally 1 fighter. Im on Thelanis cleric's name is Numpette. If anyone would like to help teach a noob the ropes. On a side note kudos to the DDO community so far. I logged into wow was in 10 mins and logged out ...had enough of trolling and rudeness. Much better community over here. And axel hats off to ya good channel keep up the good work. Later

Beware Arthas....there are trolls here in DDO too. Fortunately, even the trolls try to be nice to the newbs.

[firemedium_jt]

Again thanks to everyone that responded. I decided to try out Axel's build. I was not sure when to take the pally or fighter levels but I am now 3 cleric 2 pally 1 fighter. Im on Thelanis cleric's name is Numpette. If anyone would like to help teach a noob the ropes. On a side note kudos to the DDO community so far. I logged into wow was in 10 mins and logged out ...had enough of trolling and rudeness. Much better community over here. And axel hats off to ya good channel keep up the good work. Later

What do you own in the game?

Vet Status 1 or 2 by chance?

I think it might be a struggle with the Pal2 so early, but just keep plugging away at it. No big deal. If you own Vet Status 1 to create lvl4 toons or Vet 2 to create lvl7 toons (u need to get to lvl7 on your account first and this is a better buy than Vet1). You can create a new character and go CLR11/FTR1 initially taking the fTR1 at lvl1 or lvl2. At mid lvls taking Pal2 delays Raise Dead for lvl8+ content and Heal for lvl 11+ content. You are also delaying Radiant Burst till lvl9 and Aura. Burst req CLR6 and Aura req CLR5. The Pal2 saves are not needed early and the enhancement points are better spent on Cleric enhancements.

Clerics still need to heal in Heroic lvl1-20 and you might not get some invites as a Healer and they may think without the Burst and Aura that your melee is not worth it either when they can fill the slot with a Regular Melee toon.

It is typical.

By lvl10 on my first toon I re did him like 2 times. Once at lvl 4 I deleted him and started a new one with same name using Vet Status I. At lvl 10 bought a Lesser Reincarnation (need a +3 to change lvls). I am a casual player, and you might be going nuts and be at lvl15 already. If you think you are going to hit lvl15 in a couple weeks then plug away with it, lol

How is your gear.

You may want to get some Keen Falchions and get Icy Burst on them for low lvl toons. It also reduces the Min Lvl of the weapon.

Some other gear you need as a Melee Cleric are,

Accuracy item to allow you to leave Power Attack on all the time.
Deadly to raise your damage output.
STR item
Devotion or Potency item helps early.

I also think early Empower Healing is expensive with Cure spells. Better to stack the cures without it. At mid lvls leave it on all the time. The Pal2 also delays your Heal Scrolls and Raise Dead Scrolls. Your main healing at mid lvls is Heal Spell and maybe a Cure or Heal Scroll stacked with it for Raid healing. For melee healing at the same time like with 6 man groups Burst and Aura is usually enough.

Some of the Expansions have Vet Status included and adventure packs. They also include Iconic toons that allow you to make lvl15 iconic toons and get to Epic content quicker.