War Cleric

Firstly before I get into the cleric I want to announce that Grousemot has reach 28.... levels that is. Okay only a first lifer but that makes two I have maxed out and they will be able to create funds to buy the items to make my multi lifers able to do it more easily. And now on to the third first lifer that is my rogue acrobat Grousesly. I will write more about him another time. And as usual the title is taken from the heavy metal track by the Magma Dragons.

So Gamer Geoff pointed out on my piece about fighters being a good place to start in game that a cleric has advantages that would help a new player particularly when you consider the shortage of coin when you first start playing, now I personally preferred the fighter to start but I realise that people are different and prefer all sorts of things. So the basics of the cleric, a healer and caster that tends to operate in support to the heavy hitters later in the game but at the start of the game for a new player guess we need to cover the key things to making a cleric work at the first couple of levels.

Healing is an art, and I paint with my mace

When we first start out we need to make sure the Cleric will work at his best so Wisdom and Constitution are good points to invest in if you are building from scratch. My cleric is human in this life but I have a great love of scimitars so will go Elf next life for the religion bonus. Depending on race you will get bonuses based on that race if you select the preferred weapon. You don't have to stick to the weapon type as I am currently using maces because of the lore in Dragon Lance that a cleric cannot draw blood so a mace is a better choice than a blade. Roleplaying over the weapon advantage is a personal choice and next time round as much as I want to choose to use mace the advantages of an elf with a scimitar are driving me to game choice over role choice.

So you have choices when starting a cleric in terms of feats and I know one person who would choose eschew materials at the first chance she got simply because managing the different spell components is a pain. What are spell components? Well some spells need materials to make them happen and as a caster you will need to know which material is what level spell and if you choose spells that need components you should ensure you regularly update your stock. Add to this your feat that you choose when you build your character assuming you are not selecting eschew then the obvious choice is empower healing which will help you in terms of the amount of healing you can do. I am aware that certain feats such as maximise will burn through your spell points at a rapid rate, so worth looking at the cost of casting your spell under the feat.

Wise? Then why do I run out of spell points?

So your spell selection is 3 spells at level one and another at level two. First time round I would choose Cure Light Wounds, Summon Monster I and Nightshield although I am sure that some people will go shield of faith. At level 2 I personally choose command but nimbus of light or inflict light wounds are good options to provide a more aggressive option for dealing with enemies. Fortunately, is you are soloing, the cost of a cleric for an hour at level 1 is not that expensive and you should be able to even the 1 plat or so required if you do one of the first quests on Kothos, once again I find the storehouse is the least threatening of the starter quests and with plenty of crates to smash for some extra funds. Having a cure spell you can heal yourself of any damage you incur in the combat but you will need to keep an eye on the hit points. I will write a guide to the first 5 quests in the near future.

One of the greatest advantages of a cleric is you get invited to all the best parties, many times you hear people say they wont run a quest without a healer. You can be ignorant of a quest because your role is to keep the guy who knows it alive. Support roles are vital and you will never lack for someone to run with I am just not a great support player and I tend to get caught up in the combat and I throw masses of offensive spells and don't watch what is around me and what they are doing... well apart from one player who I try to ensure she get the absolute best protection. I would point out that clerics can use scroll and wands to make up for the speed you get through mana, my perosnal nightmare is a roleplaying Barbarian who has watched Arnie in a Conan film. You just know that you are going to be running behind him casting cure spells as fast as you can. However the advantage of being a cleric is everyone is your best friend while you are healing. Run out of wands or mana and that love dies... very quickly.

The term servant gets my back up but if you supply the butlers outfit

In terms of prestige enhancements I have only played through a couple of times as a cleric but I love the radiant servant path mainly as it encourages me to take on the undead, I can't comment on the other two enhancements as I haven't chosen to operate that way. However which ever you choose they will not make a massive impact on you at the start of your ddo playing. There are plenty of cleric experts who can maximise your build and help you in the ddo forums.

Now this will probably upset lovers of cleric but for a first character the advantages of healing and being popular do not make up for being a support player. It is an often thankless task and the people around you may not appreciate the time and effort you put in to keeping them alive when their own stupidity should have killed them 5 minutes into the dungeon, You will get to learn many dungeons as people will want you to learn to better fulfill your role. Now I was told as a Leo I will automatically prefer to have a leading role that fits the fighter/sorcerer role playing better than the team player. And to be frank people are right my mentality is not suited to running round after people clearing up their stupidity.

All in all choices are made based on who you are and if you enjoy the team play a cleric will not only suit you it will make you many friends around the same level who will want you to attend as many parties as you can. So good luck and heal away.

And yes I have nowhere near covered everything a cleric needs to know but that would require a chapter from the old players handbook.

Grousehel aka TonyN