D&D 5E [Poll] Cleric Satisfaction Survey

[Sacrosanct]

Yesterday was the Bard, today is the Cleric.

Once a year or so, I think it would be interesting to get a pulse on the satisfaction of the various classes. The game's been out for a few years now, and that's plenty of time to get a good experience on how each plays out.

For the purpose of this poll, I am keeping the answers to a minimum intentionally. When you have too many options, it's harder to really evaluate the results. And for the purposes of this, a general feeling is more than adequate.

Long term goal: Have a survey of each class, then compiled results to be easily referenced for future discussions that may want said information.


Current previous results:
Barbarian (93% satisfied, 4% dissatisfied)
Bard (84% satisfied, 12% dissatisfied)

 

[Sacrosanct]

I suspect this thread may have more responses than the bard, simply because I think it's a more common class that is played, and more people have experience seeing it in play.


I think for the most part it's a well designed class. Light and tempest clerics seem to be running the show for the most part, and I've heard rumblings of who war cleric falls a bit flat. Although, I did play a war cleric early on (only got to level 5, so no big sample there). And I did have one of my more memorable encounters. Playing Blingdinstone, just defeated some orcs. But was out of spells and we were all low on HP. A new band of orcs was coming around the corner having heard the battle. I slammed my war hammer on the ground (using Thaumaturgy to enhance the effect) and shouted "More fodder to meet the same fate their brethren lying dead around me now!"

They fled in fright. Saved our butt long enough for us to flee back to the gnome area

 

[Mercule]

My main complaints about the Cleric are as they have been since 3E and losing the 2E Priest class:
1) Too much access to heavy armor -- I get that the Cleric is supposed to be militant, and I appreciate that WotC removed heavy armor as default for Clerics in 5E. I still would have limited access to heavy armor to the War domain. I would even have considered the base class only having light armor, with a good number of domains getting medium (I don't see knowledge, especially, having more than light)

1a) Why the heck does the Life domain get access to heavy armor? With my above change, I question whether they should even have medium armor. Next to Knowledge or Tempest/Weather/Sea (whoops, fell overboard), I can't think of any domain that less deserves military training than Life.

2) Everyone turns undead -- This ability has its roots in the OD&D/AD&D patterning the Cleric off the Knights Templar; undead recoil from the cross, so they recoil from the Cleric's holy symbol. Having broken that mold, I see no reason for "turn undead" to be a universal ability. It makes sense for, say, the Life domain, but not Knowledge, War, or Trickery (haha, fooled you, Strahd, now run away). Keep Channel Divinity, but replace turn undead with more flavorful abilities, that better fit the domains. Also, this allows for another lever to flip in balancing the domains. Maybe the Knowledge domain has limited access to martial capability and only baseline healing, but their Channel ability lets them grant an auto-critical or max damage to an attack because they gain guidance about a weakness (shooting from the hip, it could be non-combat).

3) Too many damaging spells -- Wizards don't get healing. Everyone knows that. Well, Clerics don't need as many damaging spells. Yes, they've always had a few. I'm not saying to completely remove them. They just don't need any damaging cantrips and could afford to have the runt's pick on the others, excepting a few signature spells.

Bonus) This is probably more a bone with the Paladin, but where, exactly, is the line between a Cleric of War and a Paladin? In 5E, both have access to the same weapons and armor. They're both very martial characters with a battery of divine abilities. One has more spell slots. The other has more granted abilities. Also, one has (on average) one more hit point per level.

Hmm.... Maybe I should have voted "Dissatisfied" instead of "Somewhat Satisfied".

 

[Raunalyn]

I teetered between mostly satisfied and dissatisfied on this one. For the most part, I'm okay with the features and such for a majority of the cleric domains. I have one very major complaint, however.

Spells...they need more spells.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Maybe the Knowledge domain has limited access to martial capability and only baseline healing, but their Channel ability lets them grant an auto-critical or max damage to an attack because they gain guidance about a weakness (shooting from the hip, it could be non-combat).

I know! Knowledge clerics could expend a Channel Divinity to cast True Strike!

;-)

(More seriously: they could expend a Channel Divinity and touch a monster to gain access to the monster's stat block. For example, the player gets to look at the stat block for thirty real-time seconds. Wouldn't work for all players or all tables, but you get the idea.)

 

[Sacrosanct]

I really do miss the specialty priests though. With opposing spheres.

 

[Zardnaar]

Specialty priests did not have opposing spheres generally.

I like clerics in 5E can usually find a domain I like.

Things like war clerics are a bit MAD. We use 4d6 and next time I roll well I will pick one as I iften get stuck with the healer.

I think a good melee cleric needs warcaster and resilient con and spirutual guardians precast to be good at melee.

Its kind of a side effect of the default array, medium armor being meh for most casters due to MAD.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I feel like some of the domain abilities are pretty weak compared to other similar options, and as such they lost a bit of flavor, leaving most clerics seeming very similar to one another compared to other classes. But other than that, I like the fundamental design of the class and I think that domains are something that can be expanded with time, or tweaked if necessary.

Overall, I'm satisfied.

 

[Blue]

I don't feel like domains differentiate clerics enough. I'd prefer a much trimmed general spell list (including many "staples") and then much expanded domain lists. Right now I feel like over half of cleric play is the same regardless of cleric. If this one does d8+STR with a mace once a turn and this one does similar damage with a cantrip, but both cast the same spells most of the time, they are mostly the same in play. And yes, some spells are good enough that they always get picked for a particular style of cleric.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I don't feel like domains differentiate clerics enough. I'd prefer a much trimmed general spell list (including many "staples") and then much expanded domain lists. Right now I feel like over half of cleric play is the same regardless of cleric. If this one does d8+STR with a mace once a turn and this one does similar damage with a cantrip, but both cast the same spells most of the time, they are mostly the same in play. And yes, some spells are good enough that they always get picked for a particular style of cleric.

Yes, exactly right on the seeming lack of variety among the different types of clerics. I don't know if that's as big a problem for this class as it would be for others, but it's definitely a criticism.

And I agree on the spells, too....If I had a dollar for every time any clerics cast Spiritual Guardians, I'd be a happy lad.