Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Character Builds & Optimization
Best in-combat healer
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="kalani" data-source="post: 7038121" data-attributes="member: 88085"><p>Wasn't trying to derail the thread. My apologies. I was simply saying that heavy in-combat healing isn't the only option. Now as far as healing goes, there aren't many options available at low levels unfortunately. <em>Mass Healing Word</em>, and <em>Aura of Vitality</em> are the two strongest at lower level (not counting <em>goodberry</em>), and it really isn't until you hit 5th level+ spells that better options come along such as <em>Mass Cure Wounds,</em> <em>Regenerate,</em> and <em>Heal</em></p><p></p><p>An alternative option to the Life Cleric 1/Lore Bard X, is <strong>Sorcerer (any) 3/Life Cleric X</strong>. If UA is an option, Favored Soul would be my preferred choice, but failing that - I would probably go with Dragon Sorcerer for the extra hit points. While the drawback of this build is delayed access to healing spells, being able to Twin cast <em>Heal</em> or an upcast <em>Cure Wounds</em> has its advantages, as does a Quickened Cure Wounds combined with a Cantrip, or an attack. </p><p></p><p>Another alternative which will help take some of the strain off your spell slots is to take <strong>Thief Rogue 3/Life Cleric X with the <em>Healer</em> feat</strong>. This option grants you a reliable healing effect as a bonus action (1d6+4+Lvl) while avoiding the drawback that <em>healing word</em> has, in that it still allows you to cast a non-cantrip spell with your action (such as an upcast <em>cure wounds</em>). If you were to take this route, I would start as a Variant Human Rogue, and then multiclass into Cleric at 4th level. This will grant you reliable healing at a point when your spell slots are at a premium, while still allowing you to have the big healing effects come online at a point when the party needs them. Delaying access to higher level spells by 3 levels would hurt most spellcasters, but if your primary goal is healing support, this becomes less of an issue as your best healing spells are 3rd level (<em>Beacon of Hope</em> and <em>Mass Healing Word</em>), and waiting until 12th level to pick up <em>Mass Cure Wounds</em> isn't as bad as it sounds. </p><p></p><p>If your goal is to be a primary support character, I would also strongly consider using <em>Sanctuary</em> as your primary defensive spell since you will be casting few spells that will affect a hostile target.</p><p></p><p>Even if you choose the role of dedicated support healer, the party should still do their best to be self-sufficient. Barbarians, Druids, GWM Fighters, Sorcadins, Control Wizards, and High AC Sentinel characters can all make your job of support healer that much easier. If all of the burden of sustaining the party falls to you, you will find your spell slots exhausted quickly, and there will be times when two or more characters are in dire need of healing at the same time, and you will need to choose which one to heal.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="kalani, post: 7038121, member: 88085"] Wasn't trying to derail the thread. My apologies. I was simply saying that heavy in-combat healing isn't the only option. Now as far as healing goes, there aren't many options available at low levels unfortunately. [I]Mass Healing Word[/I], and [I]Aura of Vitality[/I] are the two strongest at lower level (not counting [I]goodberry[/I]), and it really isn't until you hit 5th level+ spells that better options come along such as [I]Mass Cure Wounds,[/I] [I]Regenerate,[/I] and [I]Heal[/I] An alternative option to the Life Cleric 1/Lore Bard X, is [B]Sorcerer (any) 3/Life Cleric X[/B]. If UA is an option, Favored Soul would be my preferred choice, but failing that - I would probably go with Dragon Sorcerer for the extra hit points. While the drawback of this build is delayed access to healing spells, being able to Twin cast [I]Heal[/I] or an upcast [I]Cure Wounds[/I] has its advantages, as does a Quickened Cure Wounds combined with a Cantrip, or an attack. Another alternative which will help take some of the strain off your spell slots is to take [B]Thief Rogue 3/Life Cleric X with the [I]Healer[/I] feat[/B]. This option grants you a reliable healing effect as a bonus action (1d6+4+Lvl) while avoiding the drawback that [I]healing word[/I] has, in that it still allows you to cast a non-cantrip spell with your action (such as an upcast [I]cure wounds[/I]). If you were to take this route, I would start as a Variant Human Rogue, and then multiclass into Cleric at 4th level. This will grant you reliable healing at a point when your spell slots are at a premium, while still allowing you to have the big healing effects come online at a point when the party needs them. Delaying access to higher level spells by 3 levels would hurt most spellcasters, but if your primary goal is healing support, this becomes less of an issue as your best healing spells are 3rd level ([I]Beacon of Hope[/I] and [I]Mass Healing Word[/I]), and waiting until 12th level to pick up [I]Mass Cure Wounds[/I] isn't as bad as it sounds. If your goal is to be a primary support character, I would also strongly consider using [I]Sanctuary[/I] as your primary defensive spell since you will be casting few spells that will affect a hostile target. Even if you choose the role of dedicated support healer, the party should still do their best to be self-sufficient. Barbarians, Druids, GWM Fighters, Sorcadins, Control Wizards, and High AC Sentinel characters can all make your job of support healer that much easier. If all of the burden of sustaining the party falls to you, you will find your spell slots exhausted quickly, and there will be times when two or more characters are in dire need of healing at the same time, and you will need to choose which one to heal. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Character Builds & Optimization
Best in-combat healer
Top