(cleric) I'm new to the game and need a lot of advices

[D0ppiaP]

Here's my only and beloved character, started 2 days ago, playing on normal because casual is for pussies



Since I started the game my holy Bible was this,
viewtopic.php?t=14373 , and everything went fine for a while, but what I need is a step by step guide for skills and traits allocations and some advice about where to find great items, both for me and Grissenda, my loyal companion. If there are some of you that played cleric please can you share some tips/advices for a noob like meee :cry:
(I'm ready to reset all my skills and traits if needed)
Thanks in advance!
Edit: whoopss didn't add skills list
Heal wounds II Sacred fire II Arbenos might II
Nivarias barrier II Thelume wisdom II Precision strike I
Massive criticals II

 

[p4ran0id]

Yeah I know (and love) that guide (but it's not correct anymore, there was a few changes since then, but still an awesome orientation), that was my "interpretation" of that guide

That character finished ark and soh without any problems (ignore my weapon, it was because of the last update and it was for Adaon quest)

About gris equipment, grind a bit in Mercian Royal Crypt (Freetown), it gives you legion set, that's awesome (before reaching the sunken citadel +)

As supporter, better skill your companion tanky, shield and agi build.
But gris is not really the best option, as soon as you can finish hirge sidequest to unlock her advanced skills, use her. With Duell and healing she is quite a beast and more useful then gris

 

[Argarath]

I have just currently completing my Cleric run through so can have a fair amount of input but has to be later today. However the biggest decision was to choose Warrior guild or Cleric guild. There are pros and cons to both. Personally I chose Cleric guild but probably prefer Warrior guild for better passive DPS (sometimes I am lazy with using active skills)

 

[D0ppiaP]

But gris is not really the best option, as soon as you can finish hirge sidequest to unlock her advanced skills, use her. With Duell and healing she is quite a beast and more useful then gris

Well this is very disappointing because I spent a lot of big gold to equip griss properly with that New Garand merchant armor set :shock: but will give a chance to hirge. Also are there any special armor sets or weapons for clerics and where to grind/buy them?

 

[Argarath]

Well this is very disappointing because I spent a lot of big gold to equip griss properly with that New Garand merchant armor set :shock: but will give a chance to hirge. Also are there any special armor sets or weapons for clerics and where to grind/buy them?

Don't be too disappointed, gold are easily obtained in this game, and a cleric is best at obtaining these. I will explain this later. I have played both Griss and Hirge with my Cleric and I cannot say which is better. There are times Griss is better and others Hirge is better, because as a Cleric you already cover the heal department. Hirge only makes your super long journey a bit longer.
And it is because of COGNAC. Or to be more precised DEEPFROST COGNAC. If your character was not an alcoholic Cleric, he soon will be. Cognac is life, literally. You will drink and drink and drink, and instead of getting drunk, will get deeper into dungeons, like the Energizer Bunny. You will get into places dreamt about by other classes at lower level because of your HEAL synergize with Cognac. Combined with Bag of Holding, it is godsend.
Enough joking around, at mid level your Cleric will run into DPS problem. So consider getting Arbernos' Might III asap. With a 2-Handed weapon, 16 extra damage and 4 Fire damage is no joke. Body Development II asap to cover your drop of the shield.
Apart from that, you have to decide right now to choose Warrior Guild or Cleric Guild. Warrior guild Cleric is like a Paladin, a Warrior of Faith, higher DPS with passive Duel and Heavyhand Vs Cleric Guild Cleric, a more supportive role with Battle Prayer and Flames of Faith. Because the build you requested will depend on your choice.
Armor-wise, there are not that many good stuff at low level, so build yourself up asap to be able to get Ashen gears in Sunken Citadel. You will need to collect and complete Shards of Fate to do that. Before that, you can try to get Ironfoot Boots for the Stability attribute. You will need high poison resistance gear and be able to kill Iron Golems to attempt these. However if you are extremely lucky, Iron Golems drop Golem Fist which is a nice weapon early on. Thuramiam pieces can be bought which is ok at mid level. Lionskin Cuirass is very easily obtained too.
End game 2 Handed weapon is Pneumatic Mallet, but before that you can obtain Maul of Desecration fairly early on. For 1-Handed choice, if you are lucky enough to get Golem Fist then great, otherwise GhostBane is nice and can be obtained fairly early as well.

 

[D0ppiaP]

Wow thanks so MUCH for all those precious tips. Looks like ~5 hours of playing aren't enough to catch not even close the real depth of this game. :shock:

 

[p4ran0id]

End game 2 Handed weapon is Pneumatic Mallet, but before that you can obtain Maul of Desecration fairly early on. For 1-Handed choice, if you are lucky enough to get Golem Fist then great, otherwise GhostBane is nice and can be obtained fairly early as well.

That's not necessarily a 2h or 1h decision. I prefer to be a bit more flexible and change the weapon depending on the enemy.

As long as you prefer STR over AGI you can use both. Just equip a shield and take 2h and 1h weapon with you, that way you can switch during a fight. At ark it's better to use one hand and shield (hard). A supporter build should better stay a bit in background, you don't need to make much damage, with a summoner and battle pray your companions will do the most fighting, you keep them alive and help them (with battle prayer) to do more damage, or use AOE.

For example heal: you always heal yourself first, if you take a lot of damage, you won't be able to heal your companion or summon, and if they die, you'll loose a bunch of additional dps, more than you'll get with a 2h weapon

 

[123Klutz]

I'd like to share my 2 cents

Use 1h weapons instead of 2h
In this game, 2h weapon doesn't provide more dps, meanwhile cleric doesn't have skills to boost 2H dps. (forget about Arbenos's Might)

Join Cleric's guild instead of Warrior's
The advanced skills of Cleric's guild make your journey way easier. Joining warrior's guild is doable, it's true, but you can never get the dps of a warrior either way,finally you'll find that you should had played warrior+Hirge since it is way more fun than playing a "Paladin Cleric"

Use Griss or Adaon
Don't use Hirge, you need dps, not recovery.


Arbenos's Might
I is enough, II or III are waste.




Skills
I have some different opinions regarding your "holy bible"

Intervention III or 0
it only costs you 3 skill points in total.

Thelume's Wisdom I
I is enough

Crusader II
4% stun!

Bloodlust 0
imo it's useless,
When fighting mobs ----- killing the first enemy is the hardest part ----- bloodlust does nothing.
When fighting bosses ------ bloodlust does nothing


Spiritual Ward 0
You have a wolf, which means you are not that afraid of paralysis.

Precision Strikes III
you need dps

Massive Criticals III
you need dps

Summoner III
enhance your wolf

 

[D0ppiaP]

you need dps

yeah sure I do, arbenos might III boost my dps a lot, and for such few Mana cost is very useful.

Don't use Hirge, use Grissenda or Adaon

Had no doubt with the companion, hirge is a great healer, probably choosing her if I'll create a warrior one day, but Grissenda has more armor and dps and grant more survivability in general.

 

[Argarath]

This is why I love this game. You can approach the same character from so many different ways and still be successful.
I can only relate my own experience with my Cleric HARD level in ARK. I used 2 Handed Pneumatic Mallet and Arbenos' Might III. It was a breeze really. I cleared the whole upper level relying on Cognac only, and did not even use 1 Recovery.
In ARK, there are no companion. Spirit Wolf is useless in Reactor Level, and marginally useful elsewhere that I did not bother using it, just a drain on mana for me. I just muscled my way through, and I believe DPS from 2 Handed (remember Arbenos' Might gives 16 damage with 2 Handed) is better than using a shield which would reduce about 7 damage per hit from the droids. It is better to kill them faster and receive a bit more damage, especially when you are in a situation of being ganged up by 2 or 3 of them. Yes I do try to draw them out 1 by 1, but sometimes it is impossible, or just bad luck that you are being ganged up. I will pop Battle Prayer as well in these situations.
I don't have issues with other areas using 2 Handed as well. I am near complete now, have nearly 400k coins out of 425 needed then I will move to my next character.
PS. all these are in no way saying I am ready for unweakended Undermother. I will have to try this eventually to get the Achievement, no idea how yet