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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Doug McCrae" data-source="post: 4888172" data-attributes="member: 21169">I think it depends on a whole bunch of factors - party level, splat books available, errata in use, the other PC's builds, etc. 3e can be very variable. Imo healing isn't viable until 11th level when you can cast heal. Before then, the cleric's better off dealing damage. If the frontline PCs have buffed their ACs through the roof so opponents regularly need 20s to hit then combat healing may seldom be necessary. If one of the PCs is a raging barbarian with a 2-handed weapon then the cleric's whole job might be to keep him up.The first time I played 3.5 was in a 3-man party of wizard (me), fighter and cleric. The cleric was a rocking combat god. He wouldn't enter the fight until he'd spent at least two rounds self-buffing with stuff like divine power and righteous might (I don't think we knew about the errata). Me and the fighter player figured out tactics to cope with this. The fighter would use defensive fighting and combat expertise to stay alive until the cleric was ready to join in. I'd cast ray of enfeeblement (we were often up against a single big monster) on the first round to help him. Later I hit on the tactic of starting with web, which was very effective as the campaign was set in a city. The cleric would go buff-buff-buff-buff then I'd cast haste and dispel the web. It was often an auto-win. I think the only time that cleric cast healing spells was once the fight was over.</blockquote>

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