Soloing Cleric - Companion Help

gineeva · August 2013

Hi guys,

So I've been leveling my DC quite happily the past few weeks. Nothing so far has posed major challenges battle-wise to my cleric and her white quality man-at-arms. Until last night. Now I get a little laggy occasionally, and last night was one of those nights. But well placed healing and potion button spamming will always get me out of a jam. That and my companion will usually defend me enough to pick up the slack.
But last night I ended up in the Underscar to fight the Shepherd of the Damned. That boss beat my poor companion to the floor before she hit half health despite my healing. I think I died more times on that boss than in my whole Neverwinter experience. I only beat her by leaving my poor guy on the ground and kiting her around the room for 10 minutes like a crazy lady.

Now I know part of my issue was due to lag, but it was the first fight where my tank companion had really been almost totally useless. As a cleric, I'm wondering if I should be looking into a higher quality companion to get me to 60? I'm hoping the shepherd was just a one-off boss of horribleness, but if that tough of a fight becomes norm in the normal content dungeons, I'm worried my DC won't be able to make it. (I was one level above the recommended for the quest)

What kind of companion did you guys use while leveling your clerics? I'm willing to consider any companion that makes my journey to max level enjoyable again. (Most of my leveling is solo). Any thoughts or opinions are greatly appreciated.

xunxan · August 2013

I used basic man-at-arms. Stacked HP on him, but he still died a lot, and pretty quickly; especially anywhere with a lot of AoE going on. Any of the companions are like that.
Maybe try cleric? at least she will cast healing word on you from time to time, even between battles. Used her for my fighter alts, and she definitely saved some potion usage for them.

fondlez · August 2013

All standard companions die fast.

Make sure you use level 60 or high level items, which can be of any class, in their slots to toughen them up. Best stats are Defense and HP.

I used a Cleric Disciple while levelling my Cleric. This was so I could save on potions between fights, which worked quite well until the 50s.

I think I could have used a Man At Arms or tanking companion though in two of the later solo instances because those are the only two instances I never managed to complete on my characters, both on my Cleric.

If "money" were not an option, I think a levelling Cleric for a first character is probably the one situation where the tanky companions available from the Zen shop work best, e.g. Galeb Duhr, Neverember Guard and Honey Badger.

However, if I were levelling a character again, I either wouldn't need a companion or I would be using an augment-class pet like Ioun Stone of Allure or Cat stacked with defensive and offensive sets, switching where appropriate. But then I would also know all the solo instances inside out and any/all the tricks to easily complete them, so this does not count for a first timer.

claransa · August 2013

I used the honey badger on my DC, bought it some level 60 gear (companions are not restricted by level for gear choices) and using the foundry I made sure I was always at level or even a level or two over for the storyline quests I was on. Press J to check your journal to see what level the quests are.

gineeva · August 2013

Thanks for all the input guys, it's really appreciated.

I didn't realize I could use higher level gear for him. I'll buy him some green quality lvl 60 stuff from the AH for now (stuffs' pretty cheap

). If that doesn't help him, I'll invest in a Zen tanky pet. Thanks again!

morsitans · August 2013

In all honesty, don't feel you need to get "a tank which you heal" as a companion. In terms of damage output, you're going to be putting out more damage (and more sensibly-applied damage) than they are, and this will only get more obvious as you level (at 60 the man-at-arms pretty much just rushes forwards and falls over dead unless you really, really watch out for him, and he usually does so by aggroing some monsters you weren't even thinking of engaging yet).

Maybe even try without a pet for a bit, because they should be more of a bonus than a necessity. Kiting like a crazy lady is actually a very useful thing to practice.

(mind you, I can recommend the doggy: his anklebiting knockdown is great for interrupting bosses, and also: he's a dog. What's not to love?)

digesthisickness · August 2013

I used the common man-at-arms while leveling, and he did pretty well even with dying fast a given. He gave me the room I needed at times and good practice keeping someone else alive with my healing. It wasn't until I hit the wolf-den dungeon that he gave me serious trouble. From then on, it got worse as far as the dungeons go. I didn't beat the wolf-den until I let him stay dead and fought on my own. His pathetic green glowing body, all bent over, smack in the middle of the battle. I felt kind of crappy doing that, but it had to happen.

I made it to 60 with no other companion but him though. I also didn't know about their being able to use 60 gear! OMG, wish I had! If I bought a companion now for the epic dungeons, it'll be stone or cat. If they're working now, that is. I'm not sure about that.

fondlez · August 2013

digesthisickness wrote: »

If I bought a companion now for the epic dungeons, it'll be stone or cat. If they're working now, that is. I'm not sure about that.

What do you mean if they are working now? Since when have the augment pets not worked, out of interest?

adroore · August 2013

Try using Wayward Wizard and equip him with gear that have life steal, level 60 gear preferably. I am level 39 and so far, my Wayward Wizard rarely die. I tank the quest boss myself and let him dps the boss down. From my experience, it is better for the player to tank instead companion since players know to dodge red circle while companions does not.

echokazul · August 2013

I'm Level 56, and I love my little Wererat Thief. She seems to do a pretty good job of distracting bad guys, has a nice knockback attack that seems to have a knack for stopping enemies from casting red attacks, and is surprisingly hardy, as long as you're a cleric. She's survived some boss fights better then some pug party members. And yes, I was a shocked as you to discover that she's female.

In my opinion, the dumbest companion is the cleric companion. For those other, lesser noncleric classes, those heals are nice, yes, but if there's a trap in the room, it's like a moth to a flame. She apparently is compelled to trigger every single one. I named mine Lydia. And even though she has a long distance attack, she's apparently very insecure about her aim, because she likes to run up and cling to the enemy, ensuring that she's going to be caught in any swing, even if it's not aimed at her.

Of course, when partying, the cat or stone is better, but when running solo, it is nice to have a distraction out there.

faeriestorm · August 2013

Or you could wait until the companions can be upgraded in quality. rank 15 companion = level 30 player level. So one reason you are having trouble is your tank companion is underlevelled because you can't upgrade them yet.

THough as others have mentioned wererat thief and the cleric companion are also pretty good for free ones.

abell39 · August 2013

I play a solo DC, and I switch between my rank 15 doggy and my rank 26 phoera while questing. The phoera seems to work better for me in dungeons with a party, because she'll go target whatever I'm not targeting and save other party members in the process. The dog still is great while I'm level 53 in Icespire -- somehow he never dies, and he has an amazing habit of knocking big bads prone right as they're charging at me. Neither of my companions has level 60 equipment, but I give them whatever I can find as I level so they're at least equipped with level 35+ gear. Aside from dying a couple of times in Pirates' Skyhold (stupid mobs) and hitting near-death repeatedly every now and then with certain bosses, I get along well enough to be happy.

icyclass · August 2013

I went all the way with Man at Arms.
You will start having to kite bosses after he dies. I just started changing my powers to damage-over-time before going into the boss fights. And it was practice for before the Big Patch changed threat generation and you had to kite everything in dungeons.
Actually he dies some in non-boss fights too, but usually lasts long enough that there's only one guy left and I can go toe-to-toe with that. The nice thing about letting him die is that after the fight he will instantly come back with full health; if you save him he'll take a long time to heal back up from almost dead.

adinosii · August 2013

I bought the Galeb Duhr and used it all the time while leveling and got the stone when I hit level 60.

I always use stone when in a group, but when soloing (Foundries or Feywild), I still use the Galeb Duhr - I find it useful in keeping a bit of aggro off me, and when properly equipped with LifeSteal/regen items, it practically never dies.

Of course, when walking around PE or when invoking, I just use any companion that I am trying to level up for fun - currently the blue skeletal dog..

digesthisickness · August 2013

fondlez wrote: »

What do you mean if they are working now? Since when have the augment pets not worked, out of interest?

The augment ones probably do work as it was just a rumor/random talk that had me wondering about that one. The cat though, I'm pretty sure I've seen that mentioned on the forum, but can't remember where. Which is why I added the "not sure" part. I hope they both work.

pwniexpress · August 2013

I started with the wayward wizard and used him up until about level 40. I was pretty happy with his AOEs, and since he tended to hang back in fights, i didn't have to worry about him too much. WW started dying on me, though, and because he was behind me it was difficult to notice and heal him. I switched to the sellsword, mostly because she's a plucky little scrapper, and found her much easier to heal since she's front and center right next to whichever boss I'm fighting. Her damage output was terrible though and she died constantly. Around level 55 or so I bought a phoera, and once I leveled it up to something decent it has provent a solid, durable companion. I recommend the high-level skins as the low-level phoera is a bit small and difficult to target.

You'll notice I lean towards the DPS companions. My thought is that I don't need a healer, since I am one, and don't need a tank, because, again, I can heal my own self. But what I can't do is put out much DPS, and for that I turned to the companion. Phoera's alright, but frankly none of the companions produces decent DPS.

Soloing Cleric - Companion Help

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