help a newb build a devoted cleric

[coreyk67]

Hello

I've been invited to play my first game soon (a LFR campaign) and im seeking help building the best cleric that I can. I was thinking a dwarf or elf devoted cleric. I will be starting at lvl 1 so really not to many selections to make just a little overwhelmimg the first time. I have been told some of the veterans of the game will pick apart your char if they think you made "bad" choices. I guess i should say screw those guys but i digress.

Thanks in advance

 

[AngryMojo]

First, welcome to the boards and welcome to the wonderful hobby, I hope you have fun!

Second, if anyone ever tells you "yer doin' it wrong!", promptly ignore them. As long as you're having fun with the game, you're doing it right.

On to your actual question. Both dwarves and elves make good devoted clerics. When you're making your character, I'd say don't split your ability scores between Strength and Wisdom. Go with Wisdom, and just take implement powers instead of weapon powers.

 

[tuxgeo]

First, welcome to the boards and welcome to the wonderful hobby, I hope you have fun!

< snip >

On to your actual question. Both dwarves and elves make good devoted clerics. When you're making your character, I'd say don't split your ability scores between Strength and Wisdom. Go with Wisdom, and just take implement powers instead of weapon powers.

What AngryMojo said.

Also, expect your enemies to hit you: your Ranged powers will be limited to a range of 5 squares, just like your Healing Word, so you will need to position yourself in the middle of it all in order to make your powers reach their targets; but when you are in the middle of it all, you are going to be that much easier for the enemies to target.

An AC of 17 is going to be hard to get, so have high CON instead: they'll hit you, but you might be able to stay standing. Also, consider taking the Toughness feat.
For an Elf, consider starting (pre-racial) ability values of WIS 16, CON 15, INT 14, STR 11, CHA 10, DEX 8, so the Toughness will raise your starting HP to 12+15+5 = 32 HP, for a Healing Surge value of 8 HP. (Without Toughness, you would only get 6 HP per surge, so Toughness improves that by a third.)
For a Dwarf, so high a CON isn't needed, as a 13 (before racial) will do the same thing.

At-Will powers: I would suggest a mix of powers to target different defenses, so you'll be more effective in more situations. (If you face enemies with 15 REF defense and 12 WIL defense, an attack that targets WIL would be just like getting a +3 bonus to hit.) "Gaze of Defiance" (from PH Heroes, Series 1) does attack WIL; for REF, there are "Astral Seal," "Lance of Faith," and "Sacred Flame," so you get lots of choices against that defense.

For your REF defense, I would boost INT instead of DEX, for roleplaying purposes--because INT helps your Religion skill.

 

[Mengu]

Dwarf has the potential to being more defensive. Elf has the potential for being more offensive. There are actually many paths you could take from aggresive to healing focused builds and anything in between, though I'm sure that's not what you want to hear. At level 1, your at-wills will primarily determine what you do most of the time.

A Dwarf with Sonnlinor's Hammer and Sacred Flame can be reducing damage, handing out temporary hit points and saves. Or instead of Sonnlinor's Hammer, you could go with Astral Seal if you don't want to be in melee, and want to add a slight bit of offensive buffing to your allies. With second wind as a minor you'll rarely need to heal yourself, and can focus on keeping your allies up.

An Elf with Silvery Arrow and Gaze of Defiance can switch between attack and damage bonus. Elven accuracy helps that offensive punch. And a Longbow is good range. Or if you want slightly more balance, instead of Gaze of Defiance, you can pick Sacred Flame for when someone needs a save.

For encounter powers, my favorite is easily Divine Glow, but Cause Fear can be used quite aggressively too.

For Daily powers, Moment of Glory is hard to beat, but you would do fine with Beacon of Hope or Font of Tears also.

For feats again lots of options. In LFR I tend to start out with Toughness as my first feat and trade it out later. But Versatile Expertise would be a good pick if you go with one of the weapon and holy symbol builds. If you go with the elf and want another way to trigger a surge, Corellon's Blessing is nice, if not reliable. It's also not bad to start out of the gate with a multiclass feat like Bardic Dilettante, establishing a missing skill in the party such as Dungeoneering for the Dwarf, or Nature or Perception for the Elf, and it gives you an emergency heal option should you run out of healing words.

For stats, regardless of race, I'd go with a conservative pre-racial 16 Wisdom and 16 charisma, then Con and Dex would be the next two with a pair of 12's. In the case of the dwarf you end up with decent surges and hit points. In the case of the Elf, you end up with decent initiative and potential for Astral Fire.

In general for LFR, I'd say too much focus on healing is not necessary unless you run around with something like 5 strikers who are bleeding all the time. So I'd either go with an aggressive or balanced approach.

 

[coreyk67]

I am using the char builder i downloaded and noticed that i am not able to select healing word. It is not listed anywhere and i know i saw it in the PHB. Is there some type of prerequisite that i dont know about?

 

[coreyk67]

I am using the char builder i downloaded and noticed that i am not able to select healing word. It is not listed anywhere and i know i saw it in the PHB. Is there some type of prerequisite that i dont know about?

 

[tuxgeo]

I am using the char builder i downloaded and noticed that i am not able to select healing word. It is not listed anywhere and i know i saw it in the PHB. Is there some type of prerequisite that i dont know about?

It should auto-fill as a Class Feature. You can't select it because you can't un-select it.
Check the "Summary" page of your new character; Healing Word should already be listed on there, even though you never selected it.

 

[coreyk67]

Ah ok ... so i dont need to select it. Thanks for the help.