D&D 5E (2014) Life cleric archery

[Vilitas]

So I'll be a life cleric because I really enjoy the support utility, I'm hung up on what weapon to use. I will mostly be back line but would a bow be worth while or should I just stick with a melee weapon?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Can you use a bow?
Are you going to have decent enough attack cantrips?

You should definitely have some form of at-will capability. If you're going to be in the back line, that means ranged or thrown weapon or cantrips.
Which is better is probably going to depend on your Str, Dex and Wis scores.

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

Light crossbow is a good choice with d8+dex damage and since you won't be getting multiple attacks in a round the reloading isn't much of a drawback for you (unless you plan on multiclassing).
Sacred flame is also a good choice since it's accuracy will scale with your main stat. Early on however cantrip damage is very underwhelming as it's damage isn't affected by modifers.

 

[Vilitas]

My dm let's us roll the six scores and then assign them. My wisdom is 17 So if its a decent idea my dex would be 15 and str 13. It's a wood elf

 

[Willie the Duck]

<All of this ignores flavor concerns. If something doesn't feel right, pick something else.>

At first level, you should use a light crossbow to save money. By 2nd or third, picking a longbow makes sense. You are attacking with a +4 to do 1d8+2, whereas sacred flame would do 1d8 with dc 13 and a longsword would be +3 to hit and 1d8+1 (short sword +4 and 1d6+2). The 2 points extra damage trump SF's slightly better chances to fully connect (save DC vs. AC*).

At 5th level, switch to sacred flame. You are doing 2d8 now, and it has a better chance of connecting.

At 8th level, your bow damage increases to 2d8+2. Keep using that.

All of this advice changes if you increase your stats.


*comparing Dex save DCs to ACs for opponents is always going to be a rough estimate, since every DM throws differing opponents at you.

 

[Vilitas]

<All of this ignores flavor concerns. If something doesn't feel right, pick something else.>

At first level, you should use a light crossbow to save money. By 2nd or third, picking a longbow makes sense. You are attacking with a +4 to do 1d8+2, whereas sacred flame would do 1d8 with dc 13 and a longsword would be +3 to hit and 1d8+1 (short sword +4 and 1d6+2). The 2 points extra damage trump SF's slightly better chances to fully connect (save DC vs. AC*).

At 5th level, switch to sacred flame. You are doing 2d8 now, and it has a better chance of connecting.

At 8th level, your bow damage increases to 2d8+2. Keep using that.

All of this advice changes if you increase your stats.


*comparing Dex save DCs to ACs for opponents is always going to be a rough estimate, since every DM throws differing opponents at you.

Sorry im sort of new to dnd in general. Why does the damage of the weapon increase?

 

[KahlessNestor]

At 8th the cleric starts dealing an additional 1d8 radiant damage with their attacks, that's why.

Sent from my SM-G900P using EN World mobile app

 

[Willie the Duck]

Life Domain Cleric level 8 special ability: "Divine Strike: At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8."

 

[Vilitas]

Life Domain Cleric level 8 special ability: "Divine Strike: At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8."

Ah okay thank you. I thought the weapon itself scaled up. Thank you so.much

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

My dm let's us roll the six scores and then assign them. My wisdom is 17 So if its a decent idea my dex would be 15 and str 13. It's a wood elf

If you're sure you're doing to stay on the back lines. If you want to mix it up in melee more, bear in mind that Life Clerics get Heavy armour proficiency, so you might want a better STR score to be able to wear that.