How do you build your cleric up to level 18?

[0rion79]

Hi all, probably this is a common topic but I would like to know your up-to-date opinion considering how much the game has been developed since its early stages.

I am playing with the cleric and I have calculated that, with the ordinary quests, I can progress till level 18 (no will to farm monsters to grow stronger), which means that I have 35 skill points to spend so far. 1 at level 1 + (2 x 17 levels).

So far, it is how I like and plan to develop the character. Numbers mean the cost per level of abilities. If there is no number, it means they find no place for investments.

I like Sacred Fire a lot but I find it to be too inaccurate (it misses so many enemies that are or too distant or too close to my cleric) and useful only at the earliest stages, then Arbenos Might proves to be more effective.
Also, the Summon Wolf ability looks really nice but too ineffective for its cost in skill points: a White Wolf will die so easily at high levels, making the investment not worthy of the cost.

I would like to spend in Death/Spiritual Ward too but I really cannot find space for it.
From the list, Heal is missing since it is a must-have taking 6 points in total (1+2+3)
Let me know what you think about!

Arbenos Might 1 2 3
Bloodlust 1
Crusader 1 2 3
Death Ward
Duel 1 2
Gossip 1 1 1
Guardian Wolf
Heavy Hand
Holy Shield 1 2 4
Nivaria's Barrier 1 1
Retribution
Sacred Fire
Spiritual Ward
Thelume's Wisdom 1 1
Turn Undead 1 2
TOT 33 points
Total skill points the character will have at level 18: 35

 

[Roukan]

I'd like to help, but I'd need to know which guild your cleric would be joining; Warrior's guild, or the Three? To my knowledge, Duel and Heavyhand are exclusive to Warrior guild members, while Retribution and Turn Undead are exclusive to members of the Three.

 

[0rion79]

I did job the Tree but it is irrelevant since you may still learn skills from other guilds as long as you meet the requirements. Some skills are limited to certain classes, others only by attributes

 

[Roukan]

Yeah, but you can't know both Duel and Turn Undead at the same time. That'd require being a member of two different guilds, since those skills are only accessible after you sign the magical oath on joining their respective guilds.

 

[0rion79]

Yes I can. Trainers offer me to learn both. Just check it, you have to complete the quests and you get friendly with the guild without making the oath

 

[Roukan]

Okay, here's my Cleric who's a member of the Warrior guild.

When speaking with Mada, the general (available to allies and members) trainer for the Three, this is the result.





For member-exclusive skills for the Three, the trainer is Arandir. This is what he says to non-members who want to learn skills from him.



Basically, he just keeps talking about joining the Three, and that it's impossible since I'm already a member of the Warrior's guild. No options to ask him to teach skills.

In comparison, here's the trainer for member-exclusive skills in the Warrior's guild, Daukar. Notice how she immediately offers to train the player?





The fact is that Turn undead and Retribution are exclusive to members of the Three, while Duel and Heavyhand are for Warrior guild members.

 

[0rion79]

Yes, I see your point: some skills are available from guilds even if you are not a member but just friendly, while some others are just reserved if you made the oath.
So I have to get rid of Duel and Heavy Hand.
That somehow narrows down my option, yet I would like to know if you recommend some skills but not others: for instance, Summon Wolf doesn't look good to me on the long run, as well as Sacred Fire or whatever.

 

[Roukan]

Alright, so you're is a cleric of the Three. The way I see it, you've got pretty straightforward options. Namely, a mana-intensive caster build (Arbenos' Might and Heal Wounds, with Sacred Fire and Turn Undead as optional skills), or a minimal mana build (Arbenos' Might and Intervention).

So far, your initial skill build, sans Duel, looks pretty good in terms of returns per investment. The only ones you might want to spec out of as you finalize your build would be Gossip and Thelume's Wisdom; those utilities can be covered by companions. Maybe even some points out of Holy Shield if you're really starved for points, since the duration remains unchanged throughout all four skill levels. It depends on your playstyle, I guess.

In any case, I'd strongly recommend a maxed out Spiritual Ward. It's cheap for what it does.

Agree with you about the other skills. About Guardian Wolves, yeah it doesn't scale well at the moment. I personally love Sacred Fire, but that skill is really a matter of personal taste. Simple fact is that it's a dps loss in most situations, and taking the time to position well to aim it might be more trouble than it's worth, so...you won't be missing much if you skip it.

So, tallying up the skill points, you'd get
Arbenos Might: 1 + 2 + 3
Bloodlust: 1
Crusader: 1 + 2 + 3
Death Ward:
Gossip:
Guardian Wolf:
Holy Shield: 1 + (2 to 6)
Nivaria's Barrier: 1 + 1
Retribution:
Sacred Fire:
Spiritual Ward: 1 + 1 + 1
Thelume's Wisdom
Turn Undead: 1 + 2
That's 22 to 28 out of 35, plenty of points to spare.

About Heal Wounds, I noticed that you consider it a must-have. Here's some discussion about the skill that you might want to look up. http://www.exiledkingdoms.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10162 and http://www.exiledkingdoms.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10170

To put it briefly, there's a rather common opinion that Heal Wounds, at it's current state, lacks the reliability of potions and doesn't scale too well. In the harder battles, relying solely on a 125 HP heal every 10 seconds is a recipe for disaster. You'd need potion heals between Heal Wounds cool downs, there's no avoiding that.

So here's an alternative for you to consider. As suggested by Unknown in the first link, you could take advantage of your membership to the Three, and stock up on mana potions for healing via the Intervention skill. At 120 HP per potion, it's extremely cost effective; just slightly more HP restored per mana than Heal Wounds. And it's not limited by a 10 second cool down.

By taking Intervention instead of Heal Wounds, you free up 3 skill points and become an immortal who resurrects endlessly. Personally, I still prefer Heal Wounds to keep within the "theme" of a healer. Anyway, that's just an alternative to consider. Other than that. Your skill build looks great, really efficient use of points.

Edit* Totally forgot about Massive Crits and Precision Strikes. You'd do well to get those regardless of build. Hmm, I guess you'd really be starved for points then.

 

[0rion79]

Well, my character is level 12 already, so...
And, well, you confirmed some of my doubts: btw, Heal Wounds isn't that bad because it allows me to heal my companions too and to make a more strategical use of my mana points, while the other option would drain my mana pool off.

Sounds like I am doing well, anyway. I just would like my cleric to do a bit more damage.
PS: why max out spiritual ward? The only moment I really needed it was in the mine with spiders and paralyzing monsters, that now is over. Death ward sounds more useful on the long run considering how many monsters - among undeads and Vannari witches - use it!

 

[Roukan]

It's a matter of personal preference. While Death Ward is a great skill, I'd rank it lower in the priority list; I'd still max both by 25 though. It's just that stun and paralysis are a lot more punishing in general, since they interrupt spells. That aside, for paralysis, there's still the unweakened Undermother for you to test your mettle.

You're right that Heal Wounds is useful for healing companion characters. But personally, if I ever needed my companion healed urgently, I'd use Scroll: Circle of Restoration. But that's true, if you went with an Intervention build, the only thing you'd have mana for is Arbenos' Might.

Why not keep a backup save first and try both builds, you'd either find a new favorite, or reaffirm your preference for your current build.