Just started playing and really liking the game so far. My question is regarding Cleric Affinities. I play with a very small group which have also started to enjoy the game. However, we end up playing solo from time to time because of real life priorities. Which affinity would work for a Cleric that can heal and deal damage when needed? I know that what I asking will not result in top of the line healer or damage dealer. I just want/need a set up that can "get the job done". I did test out the Disciple since folks said it was a well rounded class. But I kept getting smashed by mobs on the starter island. Yet I was doing a lot better with the Cleric. I went with a Wood Elf for the stats matching with the Disciple's stats. Should I have picked a different race? Would that have made any kind of difference? I do want to play a Disciple just because I have never seen a healer like it in any game. So any advice would be appreciated.
War cleric is generally the highest DPS of all the affinities. If you gear it to the total detriment of healing then it's a lot of fun to punch stuff hard in the face, but groups will hate you for it because they expect you to heal. Raids will hate you even more until they finally see the funny side of a cleric that can't heal but parses like a badly geared DPS class. You don't have to go all the way to that extreme though. You can be a decent healer while retaining the ability to punch things slightly less hard in the face. You will likely care quite a lot about DPS if you intend to solo at all. It can take a level 55 fully end game geared cleric with all the best gear 6 hours to kill a 2 dot level 10 mob. This is only a slight exaggeration. You'll also want to befriend a bear shaman that you can get buffs from, because you'll spend more time waiting for endurance to regen than actually hitting the mob. If you are anti-social or can't find a friendly bear shaman, get a second account and level one up just to buff your cleric. This may sound stupid, but the endurance cost on cleric abilities is really high and it's slow to regen. I think the same is probably true for all melee classes, but it seems particularly harsh on a cleric.
The starter island alone is not really a good taste of what each class brings to the table. You really need to actually play a class into the late 20s to get a feel for all their abilities. Race isn't going to matter much when talking about the effectiveness of your class. It's more about class knowledge and game knowledge. As Lavy said you may be able to punch mobs in the face with a fully specced War cleric, but its still going to be laugable compared to an actual DPS class. If you like the disicple because its a different flavor of healer then I would also check out the Bloodmage. They are a very fun clsas to play. A bloodmage or perhaps a Disciple are the only healers that can do dps without sacrificing heals.
Agree with that. I play two because I wanted to get a feeling of how different they could be. The pure healer has got to be the most defensive thing there is. It can solo dungeons of its level, but it does not move much faster than the respawn rate. It does damage pretty much 1% at a time to stuff, and a good bit of the time is waiting for some endurance in order to do anything. Tried a death cleric and it turned out to be one of my favorite classes. It's healing is slightly less but it does damage to the point where it can waltz around Magi Hold just a little slower than a monk of the same level. The other thing about clerics that no one really tinkers with is the fact they can wear any kind of armor. This would destroy their soloability, but when paired with a tank, I can well imagine that the higher stats on a lot of weaker armor could place them in a different light.
I've been casually soloing my Cleric (currently level 34) with the Death affinity path, as a hybrid caster/melee in the standard offensive/defensive Cleric stances, and soloing 3 or 4 dots mobs have been a breeze. Even multiple ones are doable. I prefer my Cleric to my Disciple - which I find really boring/linear, even if they do have crazy solo survivability. I enjoy my Shaman about as much as my Cleric, and she has similar solo ability (as wolf or bear specs).
First off, welcome to Telon! Just to add a tiny bit to what others have told you, since you noted just starting the game, I would highly recommend starting to collect a set of solo gear and a set of group gear - being that you will not begin your affinity quest until level 20, this could aid in fulfilling the role of healer in the group and allow you to solo without it taking (55/6)*current level hours to kill that 2 dot mob. *couldn't help but chuckle at your post, Lav!* And at the point that you decide upon your affinity, if play times change, group needs change, etc., you will have a good feel for the difference that changing gear can make for you.
Thank you very much for all of your comments. I will probably give the disciple another try and keep for when I am soloing and make my Cleric dedicated support. I have already noticed just how quickly melee attacks drain my endurance pool. Is it possible to change affinities? Would very much like to "test drive" Peace, Preservation maybe even give war a try.
I am not sure about changing affinities, as I made my choice with my Cleric as a Preservation path and have absolutely loved my choice. That grouping seems to be the least vocal about the respective affinity line, so if you have any questions and would like to speak with someone about that choice, feel free to give me a shout.
