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By Sigmar's Hammer: Clerical Errors

So, I've had a hankering to build a cleric in Champions recently, what with the upcoming auras, but I'm at somewhat of a conundrum as to how to do that. You seem my dilemma originates with the character I have in mind:



This is Felix Heller, or as close an approximation of how he could look, that I can create at this time. He was my scribe turned priest character from a Warhammer Fantasy RPG I was involved with. It was great and brutal fun, and I quite enjoyed it. So, I'm interested in importing that character after a fashion into Champions. So here's my question, how can I best do that?

Priests in Warhammer aren't really the dainty, magic wielding spell casters they are in some games. They are warriors, fighting against chaos and corruption, and that brutality tends to come across in combat. Felix is a particularly challenging case, as though he didn't start out a terribly great fighter (hence the lost arm,) he was anointed as a priest of Sigmar, and was working his way through the career path towards battle priest, which are pretty much as close to Warhammer gets to Paladins.

So, what I'm looking for is a strong support character, who can use single blade attacks(I have the old Warhammer2 skin for his hammer) but mostly works with support healing and buffs. Here's a very a rough outline for what I had in mind.

PowerHouse   (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Presence (Primary)
Level 10: Strength (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Radiant
Level 6: Discipline Training
Level 9: Shrug It Off
Level 12: Impressive Physique
Level 15: Diplomatic
Level 18: Body and Mind
Level 21: Healthy Mind

Powers:
Level 1: Radiance (Convergence)
Level 1: Reaper's Caress (Rank 2, Cleaving Strikes)
Level 6: Thunderbolt Lunge
Level 8: Aura of Primal Majesty (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Celestial Conduit (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Compassion
Level 17: Illumination (Rank 2, Brilliance)
Level 20: Reaper's Embrace (Rank 2, No Mercy)
Level 23: Circle of Arcane Power
Level 26: Sigils of Radiant Sanctuary
Level 29: Redirected Force (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Ascension (Rank 2, Judgment)
Level 35: Eldritch Shield
Level 38: Planar Fracture (Rank 2, Rank 3)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Flight (Rank 2)
Level 35: Teleportation

Specializations:
Presence: Repurpose (3/3)
Presence: Grandeur (2/3)
Presence: Brilliance (2/3)
Presence: Moment of Glory (3/3)
Sentinel: Eternal Spring (1/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (2/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (1/3)
Sentinel: Rejuvenated (1/3)
Sentinel: Genesis (2/2)
Arbiter: Enforcer (2/3)
Arbiter: Arbiter Aura (3/3)
Arbiter: Preservation (2/2)
Arbiter: Enhanced Gear (3/3)
Mastery: Presence Mastery (1/1)

Some notes: Planar Fracture is a stand-in for Crashing Incantation. I'm also curious if Pillar of Poz/Expulse would be worthwhile for the sigils they're going to have soonish. I'm not really happy with this build at all, but I'd like some input on where it needs to go. The current plan is to run him primarily in support, switching over to hybrid for solo play. Oh, and here's a listing of Sigmarite spells for the curious:

http://warhammerfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Warrior_Priest_of_Sigmar

Thanks in advance for your imput :) I really appreciate it.

Comments

  • flowcytoflowcyto Posts: 12,740 Arc User
    I dun have much knowledge of 40k, but from what I'd have to guess, their idea of a battle-priest would still involve some amount of melee combat? An SB healer can work, but wouldn't HW be more appropriate? SB in CO is more befitting of a nimble, acrobatic fighter, imo.

    The current build can work alright for an SB healer, though CoAP may not be practical in many cases for a melee unit w/ a 50ft heal. In that case, taking something like the new Pillar of Poz or Vala's Light may be good anyways since it'll also give you more short cds to work w/ MSA as the EU (and I'd prob then take Int SS over Str SS).

    Also, iirc, the Brilliance adv on the re-worked Illumination causes it to help detect stealth, which may not be as useful for a PvE build. The new Illumination is a 15ft sphere baseline now. I'd also prob get r3 on Reaper's Embrace if ur not gonna be spamming it.

    I guess to help brainstorm a somewhat diff approach, here's a HW healer build incorporating a few of the newer changes:

    PowerHouse (Link to this build)

    Archetype: Freeform

    Super Stats:
    Level 6: Intelligence (Primary)
    Level 10: Presence (Secondary)
    Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)

    Talents:
    Level 1: The Hero
    Level 6: Healthy Mind
    Level 9: Shrug It Off
    Level 12: Diplomatic
    Level 15: Acrobat
    Level 18: Finesse
    Level 21: Coordinated

    Powers:
    Level 1: Radiance
    Level 1: Cleave (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 6: Celestial Conduit (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 8: Aura of Primal Majesty (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 11: Illumination (Rank 2)
    Level 14: Compassion
    Level 17: Arc of Ruin (Rank 2, No Quarter)
    Level 20: Vala's Light (Rank 2, Light Everlasting)
    Level 23: Molecular Self-Assembly
    Level 26: Decimate
    Level 29: Redemption (Rank 2, Salvation)
    Level 32: Ascension (Rank 2, Judgment)
    Level 35: Eldritch Shield (Rank 2)
    Level 38: Rebirth

    Travel Powers:
    Level 6:
    Level 35:

    Specializations:
    Intelligence: Preparation (2/2)
    Intelligence: Enlightened (3/3)
    Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
    Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
    Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
    Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
    Sentinel: Moment of Need (3/3)
    Sentinel: Genesis (1/2)
    Warden: Fortified Gear (2/3)
    Warden: Slaughter (3/3)
    Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
    Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
    Mastery: Warden Mastery (1/1)

    Can still focus gearing on Pres and Con, since AoPM boosts everything anyways. Some of the powers can ofc be changed around, and I left some adv points free.
    <CO stuff> .: Petco :. // A basic FF building guide (see 1st reply) // PSA on Power Activation Delay // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (misc stat data)
    - Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
  • thelastsonofzodthelastsonofzod Posts: 658 Arc User
    edited October 2016
    Thanks for the fast response Flowcyto, I really appreciate your input. A couple of thoughts relating to your revised build.

    Single blade is more thematically appropriate to my character, as he can't wield heavy weapons such as what that power set offers. Losing a hand sort of cuts into that. Preferably, what he'd carry would be a light Warhammer or maul, more akin to what Marvel's Thor carries in the comics. There's a specific weapon skin called Warhammer 2 from the single blade set that matches up with that design aesthetic, despite being larger than what he could realistically carry. In the PnP he uses a sword and board technique, with a shield mounted on his stump and a maul in his primary hand, but CO doesn't really offer that design aesthetic, so I elected for single blade as a best alternative.

    Felix is probably not going to be a terribly viable melee fighter. I mostly just like the thematic element of having a cleric with a hammer, and figured he could DoT enemies up with bleeds, rupture, and repeat in small skirmishes, or fall back and provide healing and buffs in more heated conflicts. I do think focusing on intelligence over strength is a good idea though. I imagine I'll be able to hit the strength soft cap fairly easily. Are there any other single blade attacks that would be viable to use for this sort of concept?

    How does Vala's light benefit the user in light of its new changes? I've been tracking the recent PTS threads, and I'll admit to beign a bit confused as to some of its changes.

    Also a small point of clarification. Warhammer 40k is a miniatures game with science fiction and fantasy elements tied together in an epic meta plot. Warhammer Fantasy, from whence Felix comes, is a much more grounded fantasy setting, which emphasizes brutality and grittiness over epic fantasy. The two settings are connected, but Felix is not part of the former, only the latter.

  • flowcytoflowcyto Posts: 12,740 Arc User
    edited October 2016
    Alright; you can tell I don't follow or care much for the lore/IP :p Thanks for the clarification.

    I will say that most HW attacks are done w/ one hand in CO, though. I guess another issue (aside form not having sheild-centric stuff in CO) is that there's not much middle-ground between SB's ninja-styled athleticism and HW's slow/heavy aesthetic for weapon users. Slash may be more fitting as the basic bleed builder than Caress, esp if the build isn't using a Focus toggle anyways. It shares its base anim w/ the more basic/mundane one of the Laser Sword combo.

    AoPM will already put Str to its soft-cap (70) w/o need of further gearing by max lvl. Str can be nice for extra knock resist, but good blocking and/or CoPD can also help there, and ofc knocks are still chance-based anyways.

    Vala's is now a short-cd heal that can also be charged, and has a shorter max charge time, and a much larger radius (think its 25ft now, vs. 10ft). Its good, esp for a healer clumped up w/ melee/tanks, but its no longer spammable either, so it could be clunky for some playstyles.
    <CO stuff> .: Petco :. // A basic FF building guide (see 1st reply) // PSA on Power Activation Delay // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (misc stat data)
    - Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
  • thelastsonofzodthelastsonofzod Posts: 658 Arc User
    edited October 2016
    Okay, so I took a bit and tweaked things.

    I decided to trade out STR for INT as per your suggestion (though I elected to keep PRE as primary for healing effectiveness.) I reintegrated Single blade into the build, though when I build this on live, I do plan to follow your suggestion and use Slash and Cut Down in place of Caress and Thunderbolt Lunge. The slash attack does work a lot better for a light Warhammer.

    Expulse also got dropped in, though at the cost of losing Vala's Light. Planar Fracture is a stand in for Crashing Incantation.

    I'm not a huge fan of MSA builds in general, as short cooldown abilities grate on my nerves, so I kept CoAP, energy management isn't much of a problem for him though, between his new stat outlay, and running him in support. Debating if I should just drop the circle in place of another healing spell.

    PowerHouse   (Link to this build)

    Name:

    Archetype: Freeform

    Super Stats:
    Level 6: Presence (Primary)
    Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
    Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)

    Talents:
    Level 1: The Grimoire
    Level 6: Discipline Training
    Level 9: Shrug It Off
    Level 12: Impressive Physique
    Level 15: Diplomatic
    Level 18: Body and Mind
    Level 21: Healthy Mind

    Powers:
    Level 1: Radiance
    Level 1: Reaper's Caress (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 6: Thunderbolt Lunge
    Level 8: Aura of Primal Majesty (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 11: Compassion
    Level 14: Celestial Conduit (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 17: Expulse (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 20: Reaper's Embrace (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 23: Illumination (Rank 2)
    Level 26: Ascension (Rank 2, Judgment)
    Level 29: Circle of Arcane Power
    Level 32: Eldritch Shield (Rank 2)
    Level 35: Planar Fracture (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 38: Redemption (Salvation)

    Travel Powers:
    Level 6: Mystic Flight
    Level 35: Teleportation

    Specializations:
    Presence: Repurpose (3/3)
    Presence: Grandeur (2/3)
    Presence: Brilliance (2/3)
    Presence: Moment of Glory (3/3)
    Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
    Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
    Sentinel: Moment of Need (3/3)
    Sentinel: Genesis (1/2)
    Warden: Fortified Gear (2/3)
    Warden: Slaughter (3/3)
    Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
    Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
    Mastery: Warden Mastery (1/1)

    I tested this build out on the Battle Station, it seems to work very well. I think It'll do for my Cleric fix :)
    Post edited by thelastsonofzod on
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