DoomRabbit
New Member
So I purchase the game after falling in love with it, and flounce around with the Cleric for quite awhile. Threw a ton of stuff into my vault for my companions, but I've noticed some issues with the cleric as a class as a whole.:
Mana -
Seriously rare methods to regen mana. Without simply using my restores, my mana dives down fast enough that it is more beneficial for me to skip healing myself in favor of using my other skills, and relying on potions to heal myself just like I would on any other class. For 'Mages' I see this as a fairly major detriment, however I assume they do vastly more damage than the cleric (just like other classes already do... yes I'm lazy and wait to see new things when they are released instead of watching constantly shifting forums.)
That said, I do less damage than the other classes to even Undead... the only true benefit I've got as a cleric.
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Items -
Both the Rogue and the Warrior have class specific items (or in the warrior's case can simply use all of yours save one or two), but the Cleric has one that is ALMOST class specific... and it drops off of The Abbot. You know, the horrid demon lich demigod thing... that Warriors can use too. Neat that there is a sword for the Cleric, but really it's a status symbol. If you can beat your way through the Abbey, you don't need it.
Armor is the same way. Warriors are intensely tough (even considering the Cleric passive, the active has the same issue listed under Mana), Rogues are heavy on special armor abilities. The Blessed Platemail ultimately gives you another heal, or a couple of more spells... while not being as tough as armor a warrior can Buy, and not as utilitarian as rogues can simply buy... and you can only buy two pieces of Blessed Plate, the rest you dredge from the Mausoleum (The Abbey is not the place to try to farm pieces.) Basically your End Game armor for the cleric is a middle ground armor, mildly tailored to a caster, but vastly under balanced.
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Spell Synergy -
'Get slightly tougher, kill skeletons' Best summary I've got to summarize the overall synergy of the current cleric skill set. An almost Undead specific Nuke, a damage boost that's outclassed by both other classes, a very expensive heal that requires you to either stat focus for casting and not melee or abandon it, and a neat trick that postpones death by one hit (sometimes saves you for time to pop a potion). However - a wizard like detection, and advanced skills that makes no sense for them right now (bloodlust and duel), etc leaves you choosing a path with the cleric - melee half-tank or Tanky Caster. The first option is fairly viable, the second is basically worthless. Sadly the first option is out shined by a Warrior in every respect... except once again against Undead. Other advanced skills aid your troubles, but not enough to truly change the fact that the other classes simply out perform you.
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Conclusion -
With a lack of an Alignment System (there is room for one, 90% of the interactions with NPCs leave viable Good, Neutral, and Evil choices), the Cleric is an Undead Killing Bot. Without the ability to share items cross characters, the Cleric can farm for the Cleric, and the rest of the game is a punishing wasteland devoid of anything for them to bother with. They perform against undead exceptionally well, but lack in every other aspect of the world. Looking at the still closed parts of the map, the ports - ice lands - etc, one assumes that most expansionary content is not going to be undead focused (especially as the opening story leans a different direction) and the cleric will become obsolete completely. An alignment system would allow a toning down on the absolute Undead focus, and grant the ability to perform a bit better against, say Evil or Good (depending on character alignment), which then broadens their capabilities in the game as a whole.
(Sorry for the lack of formatting - on my phone. Will format the post when I get home.)
Mana -
Seriously rare methods to regen mana. Without simply using my restores, my mana dives down fast enough that it is more beneficial for me to skip healing myself in favor of using my other skills, and relying on potions to heal myself just like I would on any other class. For 'Mages' I see this as a fairly major detriment, however I assume they do vastly more damage than the cleric (just like other classes already do... yes I'm lazy and wait to see new things when they are released instead of watching constantly shifting forums.)
That said, I do less damage than the other classes to even Undead... the only true benefit I've got as a cleric.
---------------------
Items -
Both the Rogue and the Warrior have class specific items (or in the warrior's case can simply use all of yours save one or two), but the Cleric has one that is ALMOST class specific... and it drops off of The Abbot. You know, the horrid demon lich demigod thing... that Warriors can use too. Neat that there is a sword for the Cleric, but really it's a status symbol. If you can beat your way through the Abbey, you don't need it.
Armor is the same way. Warriors are intensely tough (even considering the Cleric passive, the active has the same issue listed under Mana), Rogues are heavy on special armor abilities. The Blessed Platemail ultimately gives you another heal, or a couple of more spells... while not being as tough as armor a warrior can Buy, and not as utilitarian as rogues can simply buy... and you can only buy two pieces of Blessed Plate, the rest you dredge from the Mausoleum (The Abbey is not the place to try to farm pieces.) Basically your End Game armor for the cleric is a middle ground armor, mildly tailored to a caster, but vastly under balanced.
------------------
Spell Synergy -
'Get slightly tougher, kill skeletons' Best summary I've got to summarize the overall synergy of the current cleric skill set. An almost Undead specific Nuke, a damage boost that's outclassed by both other classes, a very expensive heal that requires you to either stat focus for casting and not melee or abandon it, and a neat trick that postpones death by one hit (sometimes saves you for time to pop a potion). However - a wizard like detection, and advanced skills that makes no sense for them right now (bloodlust and duel), etc leaves you choosing a path with the cleric - melee half-tank or Tanky Caster. The first option is fairly viable, the second is basically worthless. Sadly the first option is out shined by a Warrior in every respect... except once again against Undead. Other advanced skills aid your troubles, but not enough to truly change the fact that the other classes simply out perform you.
-------------------
Conclusion -
With a lack of an Alignment System (there is room for one, 90% of the interactions with NPCs leave viable Good, Neutral, and Evil choices), the Cleric is an Undead Killing Bot. Without the ability to share items cross characters, the Cleric can farm for the Cleric, and the rest of the game is a punishing wasteland devoid of anything for them to bother with. They perform against undead exceptionally well, but lack in every other aspect of the world. Looking at the still closed parts of the map, the ports - ice lands - etc, one assumes that most expansionary content is not going to be undead focused (especially as the opening story leans a different direction) and the cleric will become obsolete completely. An alignment system would allow a toning down on the absolute Undead focus, and grant the ability to perform a bit better against, say Evil or Good (depending on character alignment), which then broadens their capabilities in the game as a whole.
(Sorry for the lack of formatting - on my phone. Will format the post when I get home.)
