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Lvl 35 and having a hard time in ebon downs

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    zepheazephea Member Posts: 120 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    I'm used to a combat advantage type mechanic in another MMO so I naturally play so as not to let mobs flank me. I can see that I'm going to have to get a ton better at circle strafing in this game - something I am not that good at and one of the reasons FPSes don't interest me. We'll see how we go.

    @didactor thank for you tip on defense and by damage resistence do you mean deflection? I had been chatting and have heard that my main things to concentrate on should be defence, crits, recovery, power so I was already looking at gearing and building for those. It's probably about the only way I'm going to get to cap :( IF I get there.

    @OP, cesmode8 - thank you for the thread. hope if you come back to this game it's less frustrating.
    ~*~ Sparkles! ~*~



    The MMO may change but the inventory tetris stays the same.
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    malaclypsmalaclyps Member Posts: 38
    edited May 2013
    zephea wrote: »
    I'm used to a combat advantage type mechanic in another MMO so I naturally play so as not to let mobs flank me. I can see that I'm going to have to get a ton better at circle strafing in this game - something I am not that good at and one of the reasons FPSes don't interest me. We'll see how we go.

    @didactor thank for you tip on defense and by damage resistence do you mean deflection? I had been chatting and have heard that my main things to concentrate on should be defence, crits, recovery, power so I was already looking at gearing and building for those. It's probably about the only way I'm going to get to cap :( IF I get there.

    @OP, cesmode8 - thank you for the thread. hope if you come back to this game it's less frustrating.

    thanks to sticky targetting circle strafing really isn't the issue that it is in some others, you've got to go pretty far off target sometimes to get it to switch (which sucks when your trying to heal on guy in a melee)
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    deistikdeistik Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 658 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2013
    This thread is yet another reason I feel clerics should get access to Astral Shield much earlier. I've proposed level 25 in other threads. Throwing down Divinity AS makes you feel like an actual healer.
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    merrybellemerrybelle Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 5 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    I've been skipping dungeons because of aggro issues. But in the regular zones I do okay. I only really die due to my own mistakes and that isn't very often. I'm level 46 at the moment. Defense is my top priority when buying armor and always has been. We can wear mail, so I take advantage of that. I use the same powers as some of the other posters, which is Forgemaster's Flame, Healing Word, and Daunting Light. The at will that grants temporary hit points, and astral seal. I do drink potions and do not have the cleric companion. I rely on the cash shop golem for boss fights, and I try my best to keep it healed up. Sometimes it does die, particularly if I have adds to fight, but I will revive him and heal him up to take the boss, and it is working fairly well now that I have it leveled up. It's the best purchase I've made so far. But outside of boss fights, I alternate companions just to keep them leveled.
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    zepheazephea Member Posts: 120 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    malaclyps wrote: »
    thanks to sticky targetting circle strafing really isn't the issue that it is in some others, you've got to go pretty far off target sometimes to get it to switch (which sucks when your trying to heal on guy in a melee)

    Ahhhh... What is that. I've kind of noticed it but thought I'd accidently hit ctrl or something. When does it stick and when does it let go?
    ~*~ Sparkles! ~*~



    The MMO may change but the inventory tetris stays the same.
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    cesmode8cesmode8 Member Posts: 384 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2013
    All good responses. I HAVE been keeping up with my gear, but as I logged in this morning/afternoon I got a few upgrades from drops/rewards, and that seems to have done the trick. I still need to pot, but not as much. Maybe changing things up will fix even that. And hopefully I'll have an easier time in groups with forgemasters, etc.

    @cwiyk13: Thank you, nice write up.
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    cesmode8cesmode8 Member Posts: 384 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2013
    Hi,
    Anyone that was following this thread looking to get some valuable insight into success with the DC...

    I took some advice from here and purchased, for 2g, the cleric companion. As someone stated, yes funny a cleric using a cleric companion. Her heals are 100x better than anything the man at arms does. For the first few battles she went down quick, and still does..but she is training up. However, I have a far easier time with her than I do with the man at arms. I sit there, throwing astral seals on mobs, forgemasters, sunbursting, and daunting light...I leave the battle with full HP because my own heals and hers are enough, most of the time. And if I have half or 3/4..she tops me off. No need to pot between hard fights.

    She is still training and I sent her again to train. I notice how much more difficult it is with man at arms. What a waste he is. Everytime I need to pull him out I know its going to be a pain in the a$$.
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    zepheazephea Member Posts: 120 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Yeah I got the cleric hireling too - but like others it's not so much her heals as that she acts as a better aggro magnet (well at least for a few seconds)- so that I can do dps. I've now made it past 50 (53 now..) but I also massively upped my defense... and now I'm really able to take a few hits.

    I thought that AS was meant to be the be all and end all ... but that's really only for party stuff yes? As I'm mostly soloing I've ended up with Sunburst, Forgemaster's Flame and Daunting, with Brand of the Sun (hit once and leave) and Sacred Flame (go constantly) and flamestriking every so often. D-mode versions good. Well this seems to work for me. Sunburst is good not only for dps and loading action points but the D-mode knockback effect is good for interruptions when you see a mob starting to cast something (although that interrupt effect is working less and less I've noticed on more mobs).

    More and more I think it's just me getting used to the different ways of moving and controlling stuff and aggro mechanics and moving around this space.
    ~*~ Sparkles! ~*~



    The MMO may change but the inventory tetris stays the same.
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    kerlaakerlaa Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    zephea wrote: »
    Yeah I got the cleric hireling too - but like others it's not so much her heals as that she acts as a better aggro magnet (well at least for a few seconds)- so that I can do dps. I've now made it past 50 (53 now..) but I also massively upped my defense... and now I'm really able to take a few hits.

    I thought that AS was meant to be the be all and end all ... but that's really only for party stuff yes? As I'm mostly soloing I've ended up with Sunburst, Forgemaster's Flame and Daunting, with Brand of the Sun (hit once and leave) and Sacred Flame (go constantly) and flamestriking every so often. D-mode versions good. Well this seems to work for me. Sunburst is good not only for dps and loading action points but the D-mode knockback effect is good for interruptions when you see a mob starting to cast something (although that interrupt effect is working less and less I've noticed on more mobs).

    More and more I think it's just me getting used to the different ways of moving and controlling stuff and aggro mechanics and moving around this space.

    Even soloing (now at 55) I never start a fight without a D-AS ready. The Damage Resist from AS is the key (note that the heal is a bonus) your looking for. With Invigorated Healing the heal side of AS is even better.
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    kshoksho Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 85
    edited May 2013
    When i lvl-ing cleric i got problems only in whispering caverns and upper vault, my companion(tank) died in 90% cases only in quest's bosses, on other mobs i heal them and do dmg....so for me there are no problems in lvl'ing process, maybe simply because i use dodge and heals and "wsad" on my keyboard...
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    mutelunaticmutelunatic Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Here's how I have been doing it. I have the man at arms companions. I cast Astral Seal on the biggest guy in the bunch. The man at arms charges in and for a moment has agro on everything. I then cast daunting light, Divine Powered Forgemasters Flame on the biggest guy left, and finally sunburst. Mop up whatever is left over. I found it important to have 2 aoe damaging abilities rather than healing word. It made the pulls much smoother, faster and my DP/AP gain much higher. Its annoying not to be able to top yourself up between fights but as long as you stand near the guy with Forgemasters Flame you will get healed up a reasonable amount.
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    vampiregoatvampiregoat Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    I could not keep up on healing and felt like a worthless cleric as I was drinking healing pots like an alcoholic.
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    deistikdeistik Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 658 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2013
    I could not keep up on healing and felt like a worthless cleric as I was drinking healing pots like an alcoholic.

    That would be Righteousness. The worst "class feature" ever.
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    zepheazephea Member Posts: 120 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Here's how I have been doing it. I have the man at arms companions. I cast Astral Seal on the biggest guy in the bunch. The man at arms charges in and for a moment has agro on everything. I then cast daunting light, Divine Powered Forgemasters Flame on the biggest guy left, and finally sunburst. Mop up whatever is left over. I found it important to have 2 aoe damaging abilities rather than healing word. It made the pulls much smoother, faster and my DP/AP gain much higher. Its annoying not to be able to top yourself up between fights but as long as you stand near the guy with Forgemasters Flame you will get healed up a reasonable amount.

    Thank you. :) I've just started working this out for myself and you're seeing/doing roughly what I've started to realise works for me also.

    This thread has been really helpful. :) All the other bits and pieces I've seen about "DO DC THIS WAY" are not so much practical playing tips.
    ~*~ Sparkles! ~*~



    The MMO may change but the inventory tetris stays the same.
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    goswsergoswser Member Posts: 10 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    I found it important to have 2 aoe damaging abilities rather than healing word. It made the pulls much smoother, faster and my DP/AP gain much higher.

    This. And I even use 3 dmg encounter as I go for a dps cleric. Sunburst, Daunting and Blazing Chains soloing, and Searing Light in dungeons/skirmishes. I have man-at-arms as companion. My normal "rotation" would be, blazing chains->daunting->attack toughest guy so my companion tanks him->if they aren't dead(95% of the time they are), use sunburst. On the toughter guys I just use daunting+blazing as they come of cooldown. Stuff just dies so fast there rarely are reasons to use pots.

    And avoid spell etc, and all the other common sense stufff.
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    zepheazephea Member Posts: 120 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    goswser wrote: »
    This. And I even use 3 dmg encounter as I go for a dps cleric. Sunburst, Daunting and Blazing Chains soloing, and Searing Light in dungeons/skirmishes. I have man-at-arms as companion. My normal "rotation" would be, blazing chains->daunting->attack toughest guy so my companion tanks him->if they aren't dead(95% of the time they are), use sunburst. On the toughter guys I just use daunting+blazing as they come of cooldown. Stuff just dies so fast there rarely are reasons to use pots.

    And avoid spell etc, and all the other common sense stufff.

    Another one for chains :)

    Up until around about now (level 53) I've been able to D mode daunting light attack a group of non aggroed mobs from a distance and they all get dead and I don't have to deal with them any more.... weaker mobs anyway. I suspect that this is not going to be possible later but it's been good enough to manage. Problem for me with daunting light is the soft targetting - my aim ain't that great :D
    ~*~ Sparkles! ~*~



    The MMO may change but the inventory tetris stays the same.
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    goswsergoswser Member Posts: 10 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Good to hear daunting light still is good. How are you handeling tougher mobs? Do you really need to run astral shield? I'd like not to because that would take away from my damage. And I'm also afraid of people not accepting me into groups because I run dps instead of the usual astral shield spam, killing ads in dungeons is my thing(and pop dailies fast).
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    insomniacgluttoninsomniacglutton Member Posts: 63 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    I'm level 54 atm and didn't really have any problems soloing up to this point. I don't really use pots while soloing (but god I ate them up so fast in dungeons up until I got my astral shield).

    Normally I run sun burst, healing word, & daunting light. I tried forgemaster's in place of sunburst but didn't like how much it slowed down my action point buildup since I use flamestrike a LOT. I grabbed wayward wizard impulsively at lv 16, and it's worked out okay for me. Usually, it'll slow the enemies down for me, and I hit the targets while they're making their ways towards me then blast them back again with sunburst. Ranged targets get tricky for me though. If I were to replace one of my encounters for another heal (astral shield or FF), it'd be sunburst though. I find that I can't live without HW on my bar xD....
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    legatusseraphlegatusseraph Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    zephea wrote: »
    Another one for chains :)

    Up until around about now (level 53) I've been able to D mode daunting light attack a group of non aggroed mobs from a distance and they all get dead and I don't have to deal with them any more.... weaker mobs anyway. I suspect that this is not going to be possible later but it's been good enough to manage. Problem for me with daunting light is the soft targetting - my aim ain't that great :D

    Once I hit 53 (for 3point AS) I switched to running: Astral Shield, Divine Glow, Daunting Light.

    Target the DL and instantly cast the DG right after it. Because of the slight delay on DL it hits right after everything is debuffed by DG. i.e. it still kills minions instantly and put a major hurt on most mobs (hits for around 6k non-crit with a level 50 blue symbol). Using two AoE attacks builds divinity and AP's pretty fast and with d-AS you can really heal through a lot of incoming.
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    aphasiaaphasia Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Just a query , how many mobs were you guys taking on, when you died? I dont remeber having much trouble there.
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    bagladykillerbagladykiller Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    I didn't have a lot of trouble. Be aware of surrounding groups of mobs when you pull. Combat Advantage helps a great deal with the tougher mobs as well. The only time I died in groups was when the DPS couldn't stay out of the red paint on the floor. I don't really have specific abilities that I used, I had a loadout for groups of mobs and a loadout for bosses. 60 now, doing just fine.
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    teemoorteemoor Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 82
    edited May 2013
    When you have Astral Shield - just throw it, stand in it and AOE away. Before AS - AOE from afar, sunburst when they get close, put D-mode Forgemasters on toughest enemy and stand near him. Never used pots while leveling (well I did when I accidentally pulled like 5-6 tough mobs + adds). Also, stack crit over anything else (power is useless until epic 60 gear). And don't be afraid to socket enchantments lvl 3-4, they are cheap anyway.
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    dexadrin3dexadrin3 Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 3 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Before i get into it, i mainly soloed to 60. Also, this is how i was leveling, so i have skipped over the end tier powers, coz u will want both Astral shield for groups, sometimes solo & Hammer of fate for anything with 10k hp or more.

    Leveling:
    I had no prob leveling my cleric most of the time, but there are a few zones where some of the mobs will destroy you unless you understand their movesets. Some of the bosses can near one shot you if you arent careful. I stacked power>recovery>defence most of the time and was contiuously on the lookout for new mainhands. I did not play like a healer who nurses their companion, and would try and divinity nuke as much as possible from afar. Just remember that there is a 5 cap max on all cleric radial aoe powers. The only power we have that is not 5 capped is searing light, and that is very situational, especially lv 30+.

    Powers:
    This is where it gets a bit tricky as everyone has their idea of what a cleric is, and how often they group vs solo. The way I looked at it, I wanted to hit 60 fairly quickly, and enjoy leveling without sitting in dungeons healing all day. I mixed up power combinations back and forth until I found what suited my playstyle.
    At wills: Astral & BotS: All those ticks from Astral add up. BotS is set and forget. Throw these on those squishys that dont get killed by ur initial nuke and forget about them. The heal ticks from astral will handle most, if not all, their damage till they die from BotS.
    Encounters: Forgemasters flame, Daunting light & Chains/Sunburst: FF is ur main self heal here, so use it in divinity - it's also ur single target damage for anything tougher than the minions. Daunting light is ur nuke which i normally use in divinity, but sometimes use in normal - u want to be hitting at least 3 mobs to warrant wasting the d-charge. Most groups of minions are less than 5, which makes this perfect for 1 shoting them all, leaving the tougher stuff for FF. Chains and sunburst i would swap when required. Do i need CC and have to kite in this area? => Chains. Do i need a secondary nuke? => Chains. Are there minions that have slivers of health left after the nuke? => sunburst. Am i chugging pots? => sunburst(/get better gear). Is there a ledge i can punt everyone off and not have to worry bout fighting them? => sunburst.
    Dailies: Flame strike & it doesnt matter coz u wont use it: Flame strike is ur other nuke. I was a bit too sparing with it and prob should have used it more, but it is great for those times u dont line up ur daunting light properly - and dont say you dont do that more than u want to admit. I found this to be a great panic power when things go wrong. Sure u could pop down hallowed ground, but i found that the aoe damage boost far more effective than the bonuses for HG when soloing. If u are in a group, ignore this and go HG all the way.
    The only passive that is a must while leveling is holy fervor for the AP gain - use whatever u like for the 2nd.
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    mageofsinmageofsin Member Posts: 3 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    My cleric is 60 and doing tier 2 runs now. All I can say is stick with it!! :D

    I had the same probs as you, there seems to be a dip between 30-40 but it works out in the end. Use forgemasters flame in divinity on the biggest enemy and kill the small ones first they are a walking health potion :)

    Not going to lie some parts will dip and dive as you gop through now but as soon as you get Astral shield you are invincible in solo
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    koralis7koralis7 Member Posts: 15 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    cesmode8 wrote: »
    Hi,
    My cleric is lvl 35 and having a hard time in ebon down. My companion dies every chance he gets, and I am stuck dealing with 2 or 3 little guys, and 2 big guys just pounding the snot out of me.

    Any advice around this level range?


    People talk down on Healing Word, but without good reason. Healing Word for soloing is actually quite good. It starts off with a small heal, but eventually builds up to some pretty huge heals. I was using Healing Word + Sunburst to keep my Man at Arms alive up until about level 54 when I decided to try Astral Shield again (I was initially underwhelmed... mostly because I didn't have enough defense to stay under the bubble and not get squashed, also some fights had the Man running all over the place, not staying under the bubble where he can get the healing... HW doesn't care about positioning.)

    Divinity + Healing Word = instant biggish heal + HoT and pretty sure it doesn't use a countdown timer.

    I also went down the Righteous path for additional divinity regen (regen when encounters come off cooldown.... sunburst is great for that, so is Healing Word.)

    So before attacking at all, I'd put a regular Healing Word on my Man at Arms, hit the weak targets with Daunting Light (either kills or makes them weak enough that a sunburst will probably finish them), put Astral Seal on the big guy that the Man is fighting, then start juking around.

    When Healing word is back to 3 charges, fire it off again (non-divinity unless he's really hurting). You're probably down to just the 1-2 stronger guys. If two, do Divinity Daunting on them (slide close together and let er rip), if just one, you might want to use non-divinity Daunting to build up divinity. Once it was down to a controllable fight, I'd just start flinging the splash-healing At Will at the guy the Man was fighting for additional resilience.

    Had little problem with normal content, really, and mainly saved my dailies for getting swarmed by adds. For bosses under this scenario, I'd often have to chug a potion or two (probably related to not having enough defense, as mentioned earlier.)



    Things changed a bit when I swapped to Astral Shield. Moved to Hallowed Ground and Hammer for my dailies... Hallowed ground if I'm getting overwhelmed, Hammer if I just want to speed things up. Current solo encounters are Daunting, Sunburst, Astral Shield. At wills are BotS and Seal. works just fine.
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