Tempest Cleric Level 8 Choice (ASI or Feat)

[Kinfo67]

I'm currently playing a Kuo-Toa (Homebrewed PC race) Tempest Cleric and have just reached level 8. I am unsure if I should take an ASI (likely for +2 WIS) or the Magic Initiate feat to get the Booming Blade cantrip. As a quick rundown of my character:

Str: 19 (From Gauntlets of Ogre Power) (Base strength is 14)
Dex: 10
Con: 15
Int: 8
Wis: 16
Cha: 11
AC: 20 (Plate Armor + Shield)
I took Warcaster as a feat at level 4 and use a flail with a shield. Warcaster does also make Booming Blade usable for an opportunity attack.
I have both the Sacred Flame and Toll the Dead cantrips as my current "resource-free" damage options.
While I like the idea of using my melee focused domain features more (Wrath of the Storm/Divine Strike), I am unsure about the choice between this and the benefits of an increased Wisdom ability score.
I have done very basic calculations about comparing damage from Booming Blade (with current stats) and Toll the Dead (with an ASI). These calculations came out that Booming Blade would be higher damage against an enemy with a Wisdom save of +4 and an AC of 17. I have no idea how accurate/realistic these values are (Fairly new player and have never been a dm).

Other Info:
- I could also take the spell sniper feat to gain access to Booming Blade, however not many of my spells are attack rolls (e.g. Call Lightning) so the range increase my be somewhat irrelevant.
- If I was to take magic initiate I am leaning towards taking Booming Blade from the Wizard spell list and therefore being able to take find familiar (As a note on find familiar, I would likely use a reskinned crab from the list as a lobster as this is the sacred animal of my God).
- Unsure how relevant this is, but for most combat that is outside/with 100ft+ high ceiling, Call lightning is my go-to. This would mean that a am 'worse' in outside combat (Spell save is one point lower when taking Booming Blade).

Sorry for any weird formatting etc, this is my first post to these forums.
Thanks for any responses!

 

[FrogReaver]

I personally would go with Wisdom just for more prepared spells and higher Spell Save DC's. However Booming blade is a solid option and has nice interactions with Spirit Guardians etc.

 

[Blue]

At higher levels I find that clerics are using more and more spells offensively. Especially higher level and area effect spells. Of course, this can go two ways - get booming blade now while it's useful if you enjoy melee, or improve your spell DC save.

Not knowing your party makeup, I can't say about how important it is that you remain front line. Booming blade, a familiar to give you advantage, your Tempest domain Divine Strike, and something like Spiritual Weapon is a mighty effective combo at 8th. That's a melee attack for 3d8+4 with a chance for 2d8 more if they move, at advantage, plus 3d8 in an area from spiritual weapon.

Not so much at 18th.

How high do you expect the campaign to go? Do you advance levels quickly? If you expect to soon get up to "the teens" in terms of levels, I'd go Wisdom. If you expect slower advancement, or the campaign to top off by say 11-12, then your front-liner focus is viable and go for it if you enjoy it.

 

[Kinfo67]

Thanks for the detailed response!
I'm not super sure about how quickly we are levelling (my first campaign) or how long the campaign will last but I would expect it to go fairly high in levels. Our current tankiest member is making a second character (a Wizard) so I will likely be the tankiest member when he plays that character.

Edit: just messaged the DM and he thinks it will go to mid to late teens in levels

 

[CTurbo]

I'd probably take the +2 Wis to get your DC up. I wouldn't want to be stuck with 16 Wis all the way until level 12.

 

[Blue]

Thanks for the detailed response!
I'm not super sure about how quickly we are levelling (my first campaign) or how long the campaign will last but I would expect it to go fairly high in levels. Our current tankiest member is making a second character (a Wizard) so I will likely be the tankiest member when he plays that character.

Edit: just messaged the DM and he thinks it will go to mid to late teens in levels

Hmm, the fact that you are the only front-liner and that the campaign will go long are a bit at odds.

Just to talk out what this means to me, hopefully you can zero in on what's important to you:

As the only (or 1 of 2) front-liner, your concentration spells will have a greater chance to be disrupted. This will make concentration spells like debuffs have a bit less utility, reducing slightly the value of higher DCs from +WIS.

This isn't just +2 WIS at 8th vs. 12th, it's potentially +2 WIS at 8th AND at 12th to go to 20. With going to the mid to high teens that really is a place where spells will do more good then cleric melee.

Along those lines, if there is another feat you want, it might be +2 WIS at NEITHER 8th nor 12th (and 16th is only possible and also very near the end of play if it does). So is there another feat/ASI you really want? Resiliant (CON) would give you more HPs and would improve those Concentration saves a great deal +1 + Proficiency.

Hmm, I take it back, I think I convinced myself. I really wanted melee to end up the most viable since clerical melee usually isn't, but +2 WIS and Resilient (CON) (in whatever order) seem to be a better combination of feats at 8th and 12th considering the longevity of the campaign.

EDIT: The DM seems to be willing to support the concept of you in melee, perhaps they would be amendable to a request for an item which lets you cast Booming Blade a certain number of times per day. It's not overpowered - it is competitive with an at-will cantrip you already have - and it gives your character a unique feel.

 

[blargney the second]

I'm currently playing a Tempest Cleric 6/Storm Sorcerer 1. The sorc level massively helped me fill the tank role for my party: Booming Blade (with War Caster), Shield, and Absorb Elements added a lot of resilience and stickiness, and I'm having a blast.
-blarg

 

[Kinfo67]

I am heavily leaning towards +2 WIS at 8 now. I have been thinking about resilient (con) so I am glad that you mentioned it. I also recruited a new player for our campaign just recently, so I don't know what role he will fill yet (could be a front-liner). It's a shame that the Tempest Cleric knockback domain ability doesn't affect thunder damage (Only lightening) or else the movement part of booming blade may come into play more often and potentially make it more viable. Thanks for the help!

 

[Kinfo67]

I'm currently playing a Tempest Cleric 6/Storm Sorcerer 1. The sorc level massively helped me fill the tank role for my party: Booming Blade (with War Caster), Shield, and Absorb Elements added a lot of resilience and stickiness, and I'm having a blast.
-blarg

Yeah, I'm really enjoying tempest cleric!

 

[blargney the second]

If you want to put some storm in your tempest so you can storm while you tempest: ASI +2 Cha this level, then take sorc at level 9.