Cleric sucks, is it a good idea to change classes

[Kinfyr]

My party is around level 5 or 6 now and I'm finding my cleric is becoming useless pretty quick. I'm thinking about changing classes for him but not sure if it will be worth it in the long run. So if anyone has a suggestion or ideas of what my best options are please post them here as I'm sure there are a few people in the same boat.

Thanks

[Shadazar]

I play with a priest and combo classes. Being a priest, my character gains priest spells a lot sooner than the combo classes. Thats the advantage your priest has. I'm surprised your not using your priest to his/her full potential. I would equip him with the best available armor and give him a extended staff and stick him in the middle. He can then do spells and attack with melee. Speaking of spells, don't you realize that priests get Whirling Wind? Its a cone attack that hurts all the critters in front of you. Your priest also can get web and armorplate. But more important of all, he can heal while your tanks beat up the bad guys. So priests shouldn't have to just sit around waiting for someone to get hurt, you should utilize more of their offensive spells too.

Hope that helps

P.S. You can also give the priest potions, dust bags, and scrolls to help compliment his arsenal.

[vesselle]

well, you know that dumping a character and replacing her is a big step. your one advantage here is that you are making your decision early on (relatively).

the character you replace her with will start from the bottom, level 1, just like any new char. you don't keep any of the special items for the old class (her weapons and armor). instead, you get all the newbie equippage like any new char.

while i find priests to be absolutely necessary, everyone is different. you should consider your playing style and the kind of chars that make you happy and smile when they do their thing. then make one of those. ultimately the best team is the gonna be the one you are best at controlling and happiest playing.

V***V

[Sazerac]

Main thing you have to remember is that in this game, a Priest is not going to be much for "killing" as s/he will be for maintaining the party..which is vital as well. Rather than concentrating on having them "kill, kill, kill", stock up on the vital spells like "Heal", "Bless", "Armorplate", "Web", "Stamina", "Rest All"...it really does make a diff...ESPECIALLY with a bard or gadgeteer in the party, or a dracon that blows acid every other round. That "Rest All" spell is a lifesaver!

-Sazerac

I started a game with all basic roles for my characters and the Priest is invaluable to the cast. Get yours a sling and keep using those spells...the more you use, the more powerful you become.
If you want to change roles, consider a Lord...they can weild swords and you would retain the Priest spell casting abilities you have already accumulated, of course it will take you a few levels to start earning more spells, so think about a change around level 10 or so.
Lords aren't the best in the beginning levels, but since the one I have in a game of Elite characters hit level 10, he's starting to look pretty good.

[Superchicken]

I made 2 bishops and a lord... thats all the offence/healing/buffing I need

[Kinfyr]

I understand what everyone is saying and while I agree with everything, I find him to be lacking the necessary spell points. When it comes down to the tougher fights I could really use a second cleric to do all the healing. I guess it just seems to me that they are underpowered compared to all the other classes I've tried. I will probably end up keeping him and hope he gets better as the game goes on.

Thanks

[vesselle]

~~kynfyr~~

with all the options available to you, i don't think you should have to "settle" for anything and hope that he will get better. change his class and make him something that you don't think is quite so "underpowered". or replace him with a new build.

you haven't said what race he is and what you have put points into. it can't be stressed enough that races make a HUGE difference.

did you know that if you make him a dwarven cleric, for instance, you get 50 points to allocate into his primary attributes?
plus you can put as much as 17 into each of his main attributes. that's a really BIG help at the beginning.

what kind of spells have you been choosing? sure, he is mostly there to heal people. but one of your starting spells could easily be "Make Wounds"... a very nice offensive spell. and you know those magic spells - they always hit! LOL.

which skills are you punching up? i allocate those 3 sets of 5 points each: Close Combat, Mace/Flail and Divinity.

also, alternate the previous allocation with a second one. 5 sets of 3 points each: Divinity, Fire, Water, Mental and Divine.

Divinity is a must tho. it ups your spell points in all your magic houses. that's why i always put as much as i can into it. each and every level up.

pretend practice your spells before resting. i cast everything i can at the highest level several times, resting just long enough to fill up the mana bar. even if it fizzles, it seems to count towards your learning ability.

for practicing combat spells, just initiate combat even tho there's nothing to fight and cast them a few times. practicing this way helps your spell skills and hastens the learning experience.

be consistent, focus on a few places to put the most number of points in at every level up. this way they go up hard and fast from the beginning. of course, using them does that, too. ::smiles::

if you haven't guessed, this is how i have done my priestess. she is currently Level 5, is the 2nd for initiative, and has the HIGHEST combat damage: +48%. she also is 4th in kills. not bad for someone who has been concentrating mostly on defensive spells. but i haven't been stingy on her STR either.

good luck!!

V***V


::edit:: added a few things about spell practicing. ::smiles::

[Kinfyr]

Thanks for the info....it will be very usefull.

I guess I should update my opinions since they have changed since last time. My characters were actually level 6 when I wrote this post and as soon as I played got him up to level 7 . I picked up the spell whirlwind and that subsequently changed everything. Its amazing how one spell can make such a huge difference.... like getting that last piece of the puzzle. Needless to say it made a huge difference to my party's ability to survive and I'm very happy with him now.

I will post back with my party's stats and you can tell me where I screwed up with my point allocation so I can do things better the next time through.

[Sazerac]

Ah, when it comes to race...I always use a Rawulf for a cleric..they're the best! Yep, it *does* matter where you put your spellpoints. Check the "Best Tips" thread at the top of the page. Within the first few posts is a post about how to allocate your spellpoints.

Cheers,
-Saz