Cleric spells

Levitamancer - Raging Tide
Levitamancer - Raging Tide Posts: 6 Arc User
edited May 2011 in Cleric
I've been playing Cleric for about a month now and I really like it. There is a problem though, some of the spells are a bit....off?

First, Wield Thunder. I love this spell. It's superb when I'm alone and it's a nice boost when I'm in a group. Although it's nice, the animation when I'm on the ground bugs me. While I'm in the air and under water, I love the lightning that shoots out of the orb before the spell is cast. Why does it not do it on the ground? It would be a welcomed change if PWI could, perhaps, make the hand motion faster so I could see some lightning when I cast the spell.

Next, Thunderball. The spell is nice when it's level 10 from the looks of it, but it continues to be optimal only at level 10 and decreases in use as I would level up. If the spell is to have any real use later on, I would suggest adding base magic attack to the duration of the spell, instead of only having basic magic attack for the initial cast. Because I'm curious, I am wondering if anyone actually uses this spell at end-game.

Finally, Siren's Kiss vs Razor Feathers. Siren's Kiss is a very nice spell. Low casting time, high AoE damage, and has a chance to immobilize enemies. The problem is that is costs a spark, which I can live with. Razor Feathers, on the other hand, give physical damage, don't cost a spark, and deals 200% weapon damage along with base magic attack. The latter choice, from what I can tell, appears to be Razor Feather's optimal use in combat from range. Although Siren's Kiss is only a one second cast, the 15 second cooldown is pretty harsh, and Razor Feather still deals some really nice damage in a small area. I guess I'm asking what people think is better: Razor Feathers or Siren's Kiss for solo PvM?

Also, Sage vs Demon.

I've noticed a lot of people saying that Sage is best for group PvM and Demon is best for PvP. After looking at the spells, I am curious which is more popular, Sage or Demon? Sage appears to give control over solo PvM (killing weak things before they get to you) and having superior healing in the process, while Demon appears to give bursts of power that give the player an edge for a stort time. Can I get some feedback as to which would be better for someone that prefers group combat, but would also like to maximize solo combat potential?
Post edited by Levitamancer - Raging Tide on

Comments

  • Flickerfae - Sanctuary
    Flickerfae - Sanctuary Posts: 351 Arc User
    edited May 2011
    I can't give any feedback on the Sage/Demon question, since I'm not there yet (though I do plan on going Sage, because I'm defense-oriented carebear).

    However, your analysis of the various attack skills seems... overly particular to me. Every class has some skills that are more useful than others. And as for Wield Thunder's animation... it's one of the coolest channeling animations in the game; I don't understand why you're concerned about it at all, honestly.

    Yes, Razor Feathers is more useful than Siren's Kiss, imo, because of the lower cost. Razor Feathers is easier to spam, and in aoe I'd rather save 2 sparks for a Tempest than burn one on Siren's Kiss.

    No, I never use Thunderball. It's widely opined that Thunderball is one of our least useful skills (again, so what? Every class has more useful and less useful skills. It's logically impossible for all skills to be the best). Some clerics swear by Thunderball, and use it often on bosses and whatnot. Me? Haven't found it necessary. I'm just starting to level it now, since the rest of my skills are maxed.

    The bottom line is that we're the game's healers, and that means our attack skills are not as powerful as, say, a Wizard's or an Archer's. We can DD.... but we're not strictly DDers. Worrying about the fact that one of our DD skills 'looks off' or that Siren's Kiss costs a spark when Razor Feathers does not is not really going to go anywhere. Especially when you'll spend most of your time in squads healing. So just pick whichever skills you think you'll get the most use out of, and go from there.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

    -Ignoring my main for alts since early '09
  • Sakubatou - Sanctuary
    Sakubatou - Sanctuary Posts: 4,001 Arc User
    edited May 2011
    We only have 3 aoes, and I rarely use Tempest. Too many instances of doing enough dmg to pull aggro on a group of mobs to make them chase me, but not enough dmg to kill them. So our remaining two I use much more often. I actually like Siren's Kiss because its a 2 second cast instead of a 4 (before channeling). Its not as spammable but the times I use aoe's are usually in zhenning instances in between heals, so taking 2 seconds away instead of 4 means I can still do my primary job.

    I think the idea behind Thunderball was the added dmg was huge back before most people had weapons above level 90 and refined above +7. It was a skill that slowly added cleric aggro while your squad dmg'd too, that way you didn't pull aggro with 1 big attack. So you would cast it, then heal and be doing dmg while you focused on other things. Nowaday, that damage amount is considered small and the skill isn't worth the time.



    Sage vs. Demon. Erm, there's about a million of these threads so I'd suggest looking there. Clerics are lucky enough to actually have a real option for their culti.

    Sage: Sage spark is nice for immunity, then dmg reduction until aggro is pulled back away. Criticism is 25% dmg reduction on a squishy class isn't much. The sage chi skill is nice, but also replacable by cloud eruption on your genie for 3 times the chi gain. Sage IH heals about 18% stronger than demon IH. Spirits Gift is free mp. I really liked the long Phys and Magic Seals. Vanguard is a nice mid battle buff for extra defense and quicker to cast than demon SoR. Overall, Sage seems to provide better defense for the cleric and stronger heals, highlighting a clerics already strong points.

    Demon: Demon spark will allow you to stack more heals, or attack/heal combo. Squads, love having their mana healed by IH and will remember you. Sirens Kiss becomes spammable. Free mana from Celestial Guardians Seal. IH stack + SoR for full stack and defense buff. Sleep and paralyze seal become more useful in pve/pvp. Faster Revive means less time spent not healing your tank (can be a real squad wipe saver). Overall, Demon adds versatility, allowing a cleric to seal/sleep/attack while keep up their healing.

    I chose Demon, my Wife chose Sage. Its really pretty evenly split. I think Demon is becoming slightly more popular because huge heals are needed less because of better gear/bigger HPs and the defensive prospects of sage are somewhat canceled out by clerics being able to have 10k hp endgame but it's still 55/45 one way or the other. Reason I went Demon is as a barb/bm I love having a demon cleric in squad for IH and fast rez, they're the two most noticable aspects. Plus I have Cloud Eruption on my genie so the chi skill would have been useless.
    Seven 100+ characters leveled the hard way. Free to play. Mystic, Psychic, and Wizard left to level. b:victory
  • Levitamancer - Raging Tide
    Levitamancer - Raging Tide Posts: 6 Arc User
    edited May 2011
    I appreciate the feedback. You answered a lot of questions which weren't answered in other posts but a few are still a bit odd in my mind. Keep in mind that I'm getting this from Ecatomb, so I'm making my assumptions based on that.


    Again, Wield Thunder. I love the animation, I'm just confused why it doesn't do the same thing on the ground and in the air (for me, at least). When I'm on the ground, my hands move slowly and I bring up the ball in just enough time for small bits of lightning to shoot out for 1/10 of a second. When I'm underwater or in the air, on the other hand, my hands move quickly and it looks like lightning bolts charge on the ball in the same way it does with Tempest; it just doesn't last for 1/10 of a second, it's more like 8/10 of a second. I was just curious why it did that and if it was a bug, that's all.

    Thunderball is more or less what I expected to get a response from. It is comforting to know that someone else believe in a flaw within the spell's mechanics, though. It isn't too comforting to see that there is someone who thinks Cleric are healers and optimal damage-dealers with emphasis on optimal, but that's not for me to judge.

    The sage/demon arguments on other threads didn't answer what I wanted answered, so I asked here. I guess I'll just need to use the spells more often to make more conclusive guesses to which I would want, but I'm leaning towards Sage because Demon doesn't look to be very good unless I'm ambushed or fighting something I shouldn't be fighting in the first place.

    At any rate, thanks again for the feedback. I appreciate the help.
  • LongWushi - Heavens Tear
    LongWushi - Heavens Tear Posts: 138 Arc User
    edited May 2011
    Levitamancer - Raging Tide wrote: »
    The sage/demon arguments on other threads didn't answer what I wanted answered, so I asked here. I guess I'll just need to use the spells more often to make more conclusive guesses to which I would want, but I'm leaning towards Sage because Demon doesn't look to be very good unless I'm ambushed or fighting something I shouldn't be fighting in the first place.

    At any rate, thanks again for the feedback. I appreciate the help.

    I am a Demon cleric and I don't PvP, I don't have the time for it right now. Most of the demon skills I have are the attack skills and I'm working on snatching IH at some point. It's almost funny. When I was leveling my veno the way to go was demon but now most of the venos I see are sage. It was the opposite with clerics, sage was the way to go but I have seen an increase in demon clerics recently. I squad for BHs or dungeons I need (TT/FF/etc), but for the most part I do things solo.

    It really depends on the skills you like best. I honestly only made a cleric for the Tempest skill. Sure, I looked at all of the skills when I made my choice, but Tempest is still my favorite skill. So, just look at the skills you use the most and decide which way you wanna roll based off of them. I also asked some of my friends for their opinion on certain skills when I was conflicted (especially with Ress). I love, love, love my Magic Shell. It's the easiest way for me to gain chi and give it (works well right after ressing someone).

    As to your aoes, I like Feathers. Kiss requires you to get pretty close. It might not always be within striking range, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
  • Helr - Raging Tide
    Helr - Raging Tide Posts: 33 Arc User
    edited May 2011
    I find level 1 thunderball to be extremely useful. The perfect spell for when something has that tiny sliver of hp left and just needs a good smack to kill it. b:laugh

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