Looking to give Devoted Cleric a try.

sharpfangjr

I'm a returning player. I main a CW but want to level a DC not only for the sigil but also to have an alt for a change of pace in the game. All the guides and builds I find address endgame mostly. Is there any out there for beginning clerics to aid with leveling and transitioning into endgame? I'll focus on pve and only do pvp for the dailies and the like. Pvp won't be my focus, but I'd like to survive and contribute.

pitshade

There are a number of things that are relevant in this thread:

https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter#/discussion/1233725/new-player-with-some-basic-questions/p1

You will mostly want a DPS build while leveling. It will help for quests and do ok for any skirmishes if you do them. Generally for the 1 to 60 leveling maps, Power and Hit Points are what you want to stack but often gear won't matter so much. If you need ro upgrade gear, finding power and armor pen will help the most.

The big thing is playing with the powers to see how they work, effects in divinity, effects when empowered. Managing Divinity and Empowered stacks are the core to playing the class effectively.

Divine Glow should almost never leave your bar. Other good DPS powers are Chains and Daunting Light. Forgemasters Flame is a good damage power when you need to hit a mob and not the ground. Break the Spirit is much the same and those two powers are the prime Buff encounters in group play.

Searing Light and Sunburst are ok at low levels but not so great as you level up. Sunburst was ruined in mod 5 and throws mobs which will make a DC very unpopular.

For healing as you level up, Astral Seal at will and Healing Word are mainstays. Bastion of Health is also useful. Divine Searing Light has an AoE heal that is useful in some situations.

Put points into Astral Shield when it becomes available. The latter zones can be rough in a DC but AShield can let you take some hits while you pummel mobs with Divine Chains and Empowered Chains (or Daunting when you get the hang of aiming it)

Concentrate first at mastering the class so when you get the inevitable whiners, you can judge your own performance and not just accept blame (or argue ineffectually)

sharpfangjr

Thanks. I'll check it out. I do remember a guide from a long time ago that was pretty thorough. I can't remember the platform, but it pretty much covered everything from initial stat roll and leveling to endgame. I think it was a few mods back.

dupeks

I'd also read through the discussion here:

https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter#/discussion/1231761/looking-for-advice

pitshade

A lot of guides aren't going into leveling because power leveling or purchased level 70 chars are popular.

Starting rolls generally max Wisdom (damage and healing) and either of the secondary stats. STR gives crit chance for dps or heals. CHA gives Recharge Speed and AP gain. Both choices have their adherents but ultimately you can get 100% crit and enough RSI/AP gain with gear enchants, boons, etc... I tend to agree with Jarek that STR gives 400 points of Crit per point of stat over CHA giving 200pts of Recovery. The very asute Sharpedge believes CHA is better. As I said, neither path excludes achieving both crit and recovery.

Jarek's Guide is updated for mod 12 as it was on Preview. Havent looked over any changes but it is a well thought of piece of work

http://mmominds.com/2016/07/20/jareks-ac-righteous-pve-mod-12-guide-updated/

putzboy's build is useful as well. Historically focused on DO, like most endgame DC I believe he has differing loadouts now.

https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter/#/discussion/1219868/amber-gristle-omaul-do-righteous-build-mod-9/p1

sharpfangjr

Thanks again.

putzboy78

trendor77 said:

Thanks. I'll check it out. I do remember a guide from a long time ago that was pretty thorough. I can't remember the platform, but it pretty much covered everything from initial stat roll and leveling to endgame. I think it was a few mods back.

Probably kaelics guide, you can still google it, but he left the game in Module 5.

As for the strength vs charisma argument. There are a lot of ways to look at it. Yes the 1% recovery = 200 stats vs 1% crit = 400 stats is a consideration. Another consideration is if you are going to stack crit at all as some prefer to avoid it in favor of owlbear. Also recovery has a bit of a diminishing return (not a true diminishing return but it does become less effective the more you acquire) but no hard cap, in contrast crit chance has a hard cap but no diminishing return.

onodrain

Another note....you can put level 70 gear on your companion when they are companion level 1. It makes them very powerful as you level. The companion only +3 gear from illusionist gambit is relatively cheap on the AH. You can also use higher rank runestones and enchants for yourself and your companion. I don't believe these are scaled, so you can get alot of stats from them.

putzboy78

onodrain said:

Another note....you can put level 70 gear on your companion when they are companion level 1. It makes them very powerful as you level. The companion only +3 gear from illusionist gambit is relatively cheap on the AH. You can also use higher rank runestones and enchants for yourself and your companion. I don't believe these are scaled, so you can get alot of stats from them.

They aren't scaled, that's why you see all those dbags in pvp trolling with high rank enchants and trans weapons trolling new players at low level.