Cayeon's Guide on Full Attack Clerics

Metraze - Sanctuary

Envy - Lost City wrote: »

np

I appreciate you making the majority of low lvl clerics useless in PvE and laughable in PvP

Having played both a Wizard and Archer before this, I can tell you that I've found a FAC is much easier to solo PvE.

Couple examples from today, just had to share

While going solo, taking on one lvl 38 mob, had two lvl 39 mobs go aggro on me ... I killed all three

While in a squad, taking on Krixxix, I stole aggro away from a level 55 Bladesmaster

Note that this is at level 39, with no heiro/charm/potion. I do have good equipment (all 2* or quest reward), but no soulgems or refining

So I have to say a FAC is quite effective as a DD, and does very well in PvE (don't play PvP so can't comment on that).

Elrond - Heavens Tear

I take out catapult pulling barbarians in TW, by my self. I think a non-full attack cleric would have some problems doing this.

No class is much of a problem for me to take down, I only die if someone gets the jump on me or i get teamed up on.

FAC are certainly fragile, but if you play half decently they are very hard to kill.

Stonesmagi - Lost City

Metraze - Sanctuary wrote: »

Having played both a Wizard and Archer before this, I can tell you that I've found a FAC is much easier to solo PvE.

Couple examples from today, just had to share

While going solo, taking on one lvl 38 mob, had two lvl 39 mobs go aggro on me ... I killed all three

While in a squad, taking on Krixxix, I stole aggro away from a level 55 Bladesmaster

Note that this is at level 39, with no heiro/charm/potion. I do have good equipment (all 2* or quest reward), but no soulgems or refining

So I have to say a FAC is quite effective as a DD, and does very well in PvE (don't play PvP so can't comment on that).

Yeah, you have to be careful not to pull aggro because we do significant damage. Got myself killed doing that with a mini boss once, and I couldn't kite him long enough for anyone else in the party to get aggro off me. Too slow. Now I make sure to make apothecary speed pills for emergencies like that. At least I can run back into the party and have a chance for someone to pull aggro off me.

lacedcandy

Metraze - Sanctuary wrote: »

Having played both a Wizard and Archer before this, I can tell you that I've found a FAC is much easier to solo PvE.

It's just a pity we can't get rid of some skills we don't need anymore [or can we?]

tankhunter

lacedcandy wrote: »

It's just a pity we can't get rid of some skills we don't need anymore [or can we?]

No, you cannot get rid of them, but you can stop leveling them, which lower level skills will be very cheap to mass level to where you need them if you do not constantly level the skills you no longer require all the time.

killers10333

ok i made a cleric (lvl 10 but soon 2 be 11 cause i can lvl it pretty fast) and ye i was reading and...what are the best stats for cleric?i get my mage,dex,and str up..is that good?i get dex up for plume shot...mage for everything else and then str for armors and weps...is that smart?

Metraze - Sanctuary

killers10333 wrote: »

ok i made a cleric (lvl 10 but soon 2 be 11 cause i can lvl it pretty fast) and ye i was reading and...what are the best stats for cleric?i get my mage,dex,and str up..is that good?i get dex up for plume shot...mage for everything else and then str for armors and weps...is that smart?

Sorry, DEX isn't needed for Plume Shot - it does do Physical Damage, but it's still Magic, hence relies on MAG.

For any Cleric, you need:

6 MAG
1 STR

every 2 levels for equipment requirements.

You don't need any more STR or any DEX (unless you opt for Light Armour, which I wouldn't recommend). That leaves MAG or VIT for the remaining 3 points

MAG will increase your damage/healing (as well as MP, MP regen, and magic resistance). VIT will increase your HP (as well as HP regen and physical resistance).

It's up to you where you put - if you're going with the FAC build though (which, after all, is what this thread is about ...), you put it all into MAG.

The_Unnamed - Lost City

Envy - Lost City wrote: »

np

I appreciate you making the majority of low lvl clerics useless in PvE and laughable in PvP

Are you kidding me?

I totally rock at PvE, I can take out anything my lvl [aside from bosses] and even mobs ten levels up if I need to. I certainly do well in pvp, I dueled some guild mates and won against all of them once I got the strategy right, with massive damage, massive magic resistance, massive MP and the plume shield I see no weakness aside from the players own shortcomings. Infact, one time I killed two people my level at the same time, a BM and a Mage, they tried to kill a poor little Cleric, and got owned. Then, the mage wanted revenge, and got two shotted again.

Get your head out of your ****, Envy :P

rawlsku

CONTENT REMOVED, wrong thread

Yukiko - Lost City

The_Unnamed - Lost City wrote: »

Are you kidding me?

I totally rock at PvE, I can take out anything my lvl [aside from bosses] and even mobs ten levels up if I need to. I certainly do well in pvp, I dueled some guild mates and won against all of them once I got the strategy right, with massive damage, massive magic resistance, massive MP and the plume shield I see no weakness aside from the players own shortcomings. Infact, one time I killed two people my level at the same time, a BM and a Mage, they tried to kill a poor little Cleric, and got owned. Then, the mage wanted revenge, and got two shotted again.

Get your head out of your ****, Envy :P

Low level, you're going to find its really easy to do what you have described. Higher levels, you will have rendered yourself utterly useless. You will be 1 shot by other players, and you'll eventually find PvE just isnt what it used to be.

I don't understand why people think a Full Attack Cleric is something worth making, in my mind, they just don't exist. You get heal, buffs, purify and res and your attack skills. AND YOU SUPPORT. If you wanted to do mass damage, roll a mage.

cayeon

I have noticed that since a few people came to this forum and spread some rumors about Full Attack Clerics, almost every topic has turned into pure arguing about how bad this build is. Now this topic looks like it's digressing more and more as well.

Although some points that were made are certainly valid (for example, a Pure MAG build tends to die more often), as an experienced Full Attack Cleric I can assure you that most statements were pulled out of thin air. High level players generally do have more knowledge of the game, but this does absolutely not give them the right to discredit lower levels or distort the facts to suit their hate for Full Attack Clerics.

Moving on. Let me try to dispel some of these rumors.

Yukiko, although I appreciate your input, it appears that you have not fully understood the concept of a Full Attack Cleric. From your post, I got the impression that you implied that Pure MAG is the only way to go for Full Attack. I am not sure how this misunderstanding came to be; in no way does my guide state that everything other than Pure MAG is impossible. Although I strongly recommend Pure MAG to maximize your damage output, I give people the freedom to choose the build they like best. For those who wish to play more defensively, high VIT or light armor is definitely an option.

To clear up this rumor once and for all: Full Attack is only about the mindset. Your mindset determines everything: your build, your skills, your playing style. Full Attack just means drawing away all the focus from healing and emphasizing damage instead. That is all. The rest is up to you.

Higher levels, you will have rendered yourself utterly useless.

I hear this a lot. But well, I am the living proof that in higher levels, Full Attack Clerics are not useless in parties at all. In fact, apart from a few people who did not fully understand my real role, most people really appreciated me, and would choose me over a wizard anytime.

I assume the misconception that my build is useless comes from the sheer fact that it totally diverts from its original supporter role, but then I have to ask myself: what really is the definition of ''useful''? Everyone seems to have very different opinions on this. If a damage dealer such as the Full Attack Cleric is ''utterly useless'', how come another damage dealer such as the blademaster is not useless at all? If healing equals helping, why make an ''useless'' damage dealer as your character? Please ask yourselves these questions.

You will be 1 shot by other players, and you'll eventually find PvE just isnt what it used to be.

Even though I am Pure INT, I had 3.2k HP at level 83 with my HP equip. Mind you, my equipment was only 2-3 stars and not upgraded at that time at all. Any player willing to spend some money on equipment will have no survivability problems at all.

PvE is fantastic at the higher levels as a Full Attack Cleric. You kill mobs in no time due to the ever increasing effect of MAG. Although zhen AoE, one of the fastest ways of leveling, is not an option for if you are truly Full Attack, most people cannot afford to do zhen for a prolonged time anyway, because of the inflation of the economy. This puts them in exactly the same situation as Full Attack Clerics, and there are plenty other ways to level. For example, at level 8x, you can join a butterfly or fish party (butterflies near Dream Weaver Port and fish at the Sea of Isolation), or solo AoE on the poison mobs east of Thousand Streams.

AND YOU SUPPORT.

Not really in the sense of a cleric. Refer to section 5 in my guide for more information. As I stated before, the difference between Full Attack and Support is the difference in mindset, which affects your whole character.

If you wanted to do mass damage, roll a mage.

If you look at the raw damage of the mage's and the cleric's best spell used under ideal conditions (furied, debuffed, etc), then yes, a mage does slightly higher damage than a cleric, assuming they are both the same build. Under normal fighting conditions and everyday PvE/PvP however, this difference in damage is close to nonexistent. Plus, not every mage is Pure MAG, which makes Pure MAG clerics outdamage them.

The reason people choose Full Attack Clerics is not necessarily to deal the highest damage in the game. It is to live a role different from the normal cleric, and be useful in their own way as a damage dealer. Just like a blademaster does not get dismissed for lower damage than an archer, please do not dismiss a Full Attack Cleric for the rare cases where wizards can outdamage them.

Staying with my example of the blademaster: they can do so much more than just deal plain damage, and this is the reason why people like them; just like a Full Attack Cleric has capabilities beyond damage that a wizard has not. And this is why they will always be special and never replaced by the simplicity of a wizard.

Lastly, let me once again thank you all for reading my guide and contributing to many interesting discussions about this build. I am very happy that it got so popular with over 30.000 views - more than I ever expected. However, since the discussion in this topic has digressed so much from its original purpose to give feedback and discuss questions about my guide, I feel it might be better to close this topic to avoid any further nonfactual Anti-Full Attack postings at least temporarily until these arguments have settled.

To Yukiko or anyone who opposes Full Attack Clerics: you are more than welcome to PM me, but this topic is not the place for it.

aryannamage

Closed by request of OP.