Best feat for a Tempest Cleric

[JDanton]

So, I'm building a Tempest Cleric and I'm trying to decide whether to take an ability score improvement or a feat at level 4 and which feat to take;

Air Genasi Tempest Cleric
STR 18 DEX 14 CON 16 INT 9 WIS 18 CHA 12
I'm mostly going to fill a support/healing role but I want to be able to hold my own in combat and have some solid melee and blasting damage.

Since I rolled some pretty decent stats I'm considering taking a feat at level 4 but I can't decide between war caster and magic initiate (for booming blade), both seem to have benefits but I'm not sure which is more important/essential, especially at early levels or if I should just max out wisdom straight away. Also any general advice for building a tempest cleric or what spells are useful would also be appriciated.

[CTurbo]

So, I'm building a Tempest Cleric and I'm trying to decide whether to take an ability score improvement or a feat at level 4 and which feat to take;

Air Genasi Tempest Cleric
STR 18 DEX 14 CON 16 INT 9 WIS 18 CHA 12
I'm mostly going to fill a support/healing role but I want to be able to hold my own in combat and have some solid melee and blasting damage.

Since I rolled some pretty decent stats I'm considering taking a feat at level 4 but I can't decide between war caster and magic initiate (for booming blade), both seem to have benefits but I'm not sure which is more important/essential, especially at early levels or if I should just max out wisdom straight away. Also any general advice for building a tempest cleric or what spells are useful would also be appriciated.


With those stats, I'd go for Warcaster without hesitation. When I first read the title Res(Con) came to mind, but with an even Con score, I'd go Warcaster.


Maxing Wis is ALWAYS a smart choice.

Magic Initiate for Booming Blade and Find Familiar is really good too.

I also like Sentinel later on for Tempest Clerics since you're likely to be in melee and Divine Strike works again with any reaction attack.

[JakOfAllTirades]

So, I'm building a Tempest Cleric and I'm trying to decide whether to take an ability score improvement or a feat at level 4 and which feat to take;

Air Genasi Tempest Cleric
STR 18 DEX 14 CON 16 INT 9 WIS 18 CHA 12
I'm mostly going to fill a support/healing role but I want to be able to hold my own in combat and have some solid melee and blasting damage.

Since I rolled some pretty decent stats I'm considering taking a feat at level 4 but I can't decide between war caster and magic initiate (for booming blade), both seem to have benefits but I'm not sure which is more important/essential, especially at early levels or if I should just max out wisdom straight away. Also any general advice for building a tempest cleric or what spells are useful would also be appriciated.

Aside from Booming Blade, you can also grab Absorb Elements as your 1st level spell with Magic Initiate. Damage resistance on a reaction is good. If you get hit with lightning damage you can use you next attack to trigger your 6th level thunderbolt strike; if you use Absorb Elements on thunder damage, it'll stack with Booming Blade on your next turn.

[Arkhios]

To add a bit different point of view, you could also grab Spell Sniper feat, and with it, pick Booming Blade. As Tempest Cleric a hafted reach weapon could be flavorful.
Since Booming Blade is a cantrip that requires an attack roll, its' range would double (from 5 ft. to 10 ft.) making it possible to cast booming blade with a 10 ft. reach!

[Laserlight]

I'm playing a Tempest right now, and our current paladin was a Tempest in our previous campaign. So...

The "right" answer depends on how you want to play. I'm going into melee a lot but I also have AC22 so I don't get hit a lot, and I'm not casting a lot of concentration spells; warcaster isn't that important to me. If you prefer to stay back and blast/buff from the rear, that's another situation where warcaster comes in second to +2WIS.

On the other hand, if you have AC16, you're in melee and you start every fight by throwing Bless or Spiritual Weapon, warcaster looks better.

I have to say, though, that if I were rebuilding my cleric from scratch, I'd be really tempted by using a whip (she's a DEX build) and taking Spell Sniper for BB-at-range.

[BoxANT]

Spell Sniper (Booming Blade) is a great choice. Even better if you eventually pick up Polearm Master & War Caster, but unless you are a variant human, that takes a while.

Being able to hit enemies with BB at 10', then hit them with Spiritual Weapon, while they're taking Spirit Guardian damage, really adds up.

[JDanton]

Seems like spell sniper > Magic initiate for booming blade but I still can't decide between it, war caster and +2 wisdom.

[Galadhrim]

Seems like spell sniper > Magic initiate for booming blade but I still can't decide between it, war caster and +2 wisdom.

You said in your OP that you want to play a support/healer role first and have melee/blasting as a back up. I think that makes Warcaster your prime pick at level 4. Bless is one of the best support spells in the game, and warcaster helps you keep it up while you are in the middle of the fun (I'm assuming you are wearing heavy armor and standing the fray with 18 str and 16 con). Later, Spirit Guardians will also be great for both damage and support (creates difficult terrain and damage enemies while sparing friends), and warcaster also helps with that. Not to mention, you have the always wonderful Call Lightning coming up next level for when you do want to blast.

To add to that, it becomes even more beneficial if you take Magic Initiate to get booming blade as your next feat. (I still like MI better than spell sniper as the level 1 spell can be very useful, and you can get a second cantrip for great flavor)

[JDanton]

You said in your OP that you want to play a support/healer role first and have melee/blasting as a back up. I think that makes Warcaster your prime pick at level 4. Bless is one of the best support spells in the game, and warcaster helps you keep it up while you are in the middle of the fun (I'm assuming you are wearing heavy armor and standing the fray with 18 str and 16 con). Later, Spirit Guardians will also be great for both damage and support (creates difficult terrain and damage enemies while sparing friends), and warcaster also helps with that. Not to mention, you have the always wonderful Call Lightning coming up next level for when you do want to blast.

To add to that, it becomes even more beneficial if you take Magic Initiate to get booming blade as your next feat. (I still like MI better than spell sniper as the level 1 spell can be very useful, and you can get a second cantrip for great flavor)

You've made a lot of good points, the main reason I want to take booming blade is because its the only melee cantrip the cleric can learn and it combos really well with the level 6 thunderbolt strike, getting booming blade at level 8 kind of forces me into a backline position since I don't have any good melee option up until that point, although since I'm mostly going to be supporting warcaster will almost definitely be more beneficial in the long run so its probably the smarter choice.


Which spells and cantrips would you suggest if I take magic intiate as my next feat?!

[CTurbo]

You can be a successful Tempest Cleric while staying on the frontlines, and never attacking with your weapon all at the same time.

Spiritual Weapon + Spirit Guardians is an excellent combo and it leaves your action open for whatever you need at the time. Even taking the Dodge action is great.

[Galadhrim]

You've made a lot of good points, the main reason I want to take booming blade is because its the only melee cantrip the cleric can learn and it combos really well with the level 6 thunderbolt strike, getting booming blade at level 8 kind of forces me into a backline position since I don't have any good melee option up until that point, although since I'm mostly going to be supporting warcaster will almost definitely be more beneficial in the long run so its probably the smarter choice.


Which spells and cantrips would you suggest if I take magic intiate as my next feat?!

As Turbo says below, I don't think you are hampered just because you don't have booming blade in the early levels. In fact at level 4 if you are front lining booming blade does not really help you that much. It isn't until it starts to get its upgrade at level 5 that it is helpful, and then particularly for tempest cleric you get your divine strike at 8 so that works really well. adding booming blade at that time will feel very significant to you. Front lining for cleric is all about placement of your spirit guardians. This also allows you to get off some good aoe with thunder wave which can control the battlefield some and you can maximize which is great.

For Magic Initiate, there are a few good options to consider. I would suggest MI: Wizard. Booming blade I think is a must, just because it accomplishes your goals and is very thematic for tempest cleric. For the second cantrip you have some wiggle room and I think this is where you consider your RP more than straight optimization. Minor Illusion I think is great any time you can get it, and would probably be my choice in a vacuum. In my game that I played a tempest and took MI, we had a wizard that was illusion focused so I didn't take it just to leave that space for his character to shine. Prestidigitation is also really fun, but you do have access to thaumaturgy from cleric so there is likely at least some overlap there. If you are trying to go off of the tempest theme, either shape water or mold earth are both excellent and have some fun out of combat uses. I find message to be much more useful in game than it gets credit for in most ratings, because it allows characters to communicate without npc's knowing what they are saying. Very good for any social encounters. You could also consider shocking grasp for the lightning theme to push someone and reduce their reactions. Likely you will have a poor attack with it though since it is based off of int (but at least you'll get to roll at advantage if they are wearing armor). The same can be said for lightning lure.

For the level one spell, I think the clear winner is find familiar. It lasts forever (until it is killed), it is thematic for a tempest cleric, and it is endlessly useful. I liked using a raven on mine just for the RP. Owl is the strongest in combat no question. If you want to be the tankiest tank that ever tanked, you can add shield instead. Your AC is already really good in heavy armor with a shield, but being able to pop off a shield spell as a reaction if you get surrounded can be life saving. Some people also like to take feather fall as an always prepared safety net for the party. If someone else has it, skip it.

TLDR: Overall most bang for your buck, level 8 MI: wizard -->booming blade, minor illusion, find familiar.

[Laserlight]

Even taking the Dodge action is great.

As a different view on Dodge: a tempest cleric probably has one of the best ACs in the party. Rather than dodge (which will have smart monsters say "I'm not even going to try" and go after other party member instead), cast Word of Radiance, Sacred Flame, whatever. If they swing at you and miss, that's fine; if they hit you, apply Wrath.

[samcifer]

Seems like spell sniper > Magic initiate for booming blade but I still can't decide between it, war caster and +2 wisdom.

The +2 WIS adds a +1 to hit with spells, increases your spell save DC by 1 and lets you prepare one more spell, so keep all of that in mind. It sounds dull, but will help you on everything involving spellcasting.

[JDanton]

The +2 WIS adds a +1 to hit with spells, increases your spell save DC by 1 and lets you prepare one more spell, so keep all of that in mind. It sounds dull, but will help you on everything involving spellcasting.

My stats are quite a bit higher than the rest of my party so I'd rather let them close that gap a bit before boosting my own stats, or maybe that's dumb I dunno. I mostly want to have fun playing the character and additional spells or casting spells as a reaction/better concentration spells seem like more fun than straight increases, but again maybe I'm just being stupid ;P is +5 wisdom's completely mandatory or will +4 get me through until later levels?!

[Galadhrim]

My stats are quite a bit higher than the rest of my party so I'd rather let them close that gap a bit before boosting my own stats, or maybe that's dumb I dunno. I mostly want to have fun playing the character and additional spells or casting spells as a reaction/better concentration spells seem like more fun than straight increases, but again maybe I'm just being stupid ;P is +5 wisdom's completely mandatory or will +4 get me through until later levels?!

You will be fine with +4. It is an incremental increase that over the averages helps but you will not "feel" it on a day to day basis. For prepared spells, cleric gets more than any other class, so I don't think you will feel that too much. at level 9 you have 10 freely prepared spells from domain, +9 from cleric level +4 from wisdom modifier. that puts you at a total of 23 prepared spells. that is a lot of spells to choose from. One more will not effect you significantly. Of course it can't hurt as the more prepared you can be the better, but you aren't taking some terrible hit. I agree with you that the feats make your choices more interesting and therefore the game overall more fun.

[Finger6842]

Depending on your campaign you might also consider Alert, going first more often makes a significant difference.

You might also consider removing your negative Intelligence saves by taking Resilient (Intelligence) to get 10 Int and proficiency bonus on Int Saves.

Keen Mind, Linguist, Arcanist, Historian, Investigator, Naturalist, Theologian, and Alchemist also provide a +1 Int and other benefits that may be useful.

[CTurbo]

I would probably take

Warcaster at 4
Magic Initiate at 8
+2 Wis at 12
Sentinel at 16
Alert at 19

[Citan]

So, I'm building a Tempest Cleric and I'm trying to decide whether to take an ability score improvement or a feat at level 4 and which feat to take;

Air Genasi Tempest Cleric
STR 18 DEX 14 CON 16 INT 9 WIS 18 CHA 12
I'm mostly going to fill a support/healing role but I want to be able to hold my own in combat and have some solid melee and blasting damage.

Since I rolled some pretty decent stats I'm considering taking a feat at level 4 but I can't decide between war caster and magic initiate (for booming blade), both seem to have benefits but I'm not sure which is more important/essential, especially at early levels or if I should just max out wisdom straight away. Also any general advice for building a tempest cleric or what spells are useful would also be appriciated.
Hi!
Answer is easy: Warcaster.
Booming Blade is not worth grabbing a feat. Not yet at least. You can consider it for level 8, although imo the best moment is level 12. At that time just the weapon attack gets enough bonus damage to make it worth using, whether or not you think the rider will be triggered or not.

Besides that, Booming Blade is basically just an alternative attack.
Warcaster brings much more to the table: as a Cleric, you'll basically spend every encounter concentrating on any kind of spell. AND if you wade into melee (which is clearly your goal), you'll suffer more concentration saves than you'd like. So improving your chances of passing them is crucial.
Besides that, Warcaster also immediately gives you the power to use a spell in place of OA: as a Cleric, you have at least Command, Sacred Flame and Guiding Bolt (at disadvantage unless you wield a reach weapon ;)) that can be efficient.
Finally Warcaster means you can cast spell while wielding your favorite weapon and shield, without going the hassle of finding a way to engrave a focus. :)

So Magic Initiate <<<<<< Warcaster.

[JDanton]

Depending on your campaign you might also consider Alert, going first more often makes a significant difference.

You might also consider removing your negative Intelligence saves by taking Resilient (Intelligence) to get 10 Int and proficiency bonus on Int Saves.

Keen Mind, Linguist, Arcanist, Historian, Investigator, Naturalist, Theologian, and Alchemist also provide a +1 Int and other benefits that may be useful.

No way in hell am I getting rid of the low intelligence, its important to how I'm going to roleplay the character xD but seriously though we have like three high intelligence characters in our party and they've got most of the knowledge skills covered. Alert might be something to be considered after some of the more important feats.

[samcifer]

If you plan on being in melee, I'd suggest War Caster. It'll help when using spells like Bless or Shield of Faith.

[JakOfAllTirades]

Depending on your campaign you might also consider Alert, going first more often makes a significant difference.

You might also consider removing your negative Intelligence saves by taking Resilient (Intelligence) to get 10 Int and proficiency bonus on Int Saves.

Keen Mind, Linguist, Arcanist, Historian, Investigator, Naturalist, Theologian, and Alchemist also provide a +1 Int and other benefits that may be useful.


Alert is extremely useful for avoiding "friendly fire" with your blasting spells. It's not so simple to fire off a maximized upcast shatter if your frontline fighters rush in ahead of you to melee with the hordes. So get the initiative and blow the enemies away before they're all mixed in together!

[Keravath]

I'd lean towards warcaster since without it you can't cast a spell requiring a somatic component while holding both a weapon and a shield.

You can't cast the following spells with weapon and shield in hand:
- spiritual weapon
- spirit guardians
- cure wounds
- bless
... and more

To cast these you have to use an object interaction (one per round) to put away your weapon or you can drop it. Either of these will leave you not holding your weapon if you want to take a reaction.

In addition, war caster will let you cast a spell for op attacks.

Advantage on concentration checks is only one of the benefits but that is very useful if you like to cast bless or another support spell and jump into melee.

[Laserlight]

Alert is extremely useful for avoiding "friendly fire" with your blasting spells. It's not so simple to fire off a maximized upcast shatter if your frontline fighters rush in ahead of you to melee with the hordes. So get the initiative and blow the enemies away before they're all mixed in together!

Last campaign, my wizard told the rest of the party "If you rush in where a fireball ought to go, I will assume you don't mind being hit by a fireball." Never had a problem after that.

[Citan]

Alert is extremely useful for avoiding "friendly fire" with your blasting spells. It's not so simple to fire off a maximized upcast shatter if your frontline fighters rush in ahead of you to melee with the hordes. So get the initiative and blow the enemies away before they're all mixed in together!


Last campaign, my wizard told the rest of the party "If you rush in where a fireball ought to go, I will assume you don't mind being hit by a fireball." Never had a problem after that.
I'd like to award the two coins of "daily great wisdom bit award" to those two points.
First for the "camaradery and friendship" side.
Second for the "educating through example" side.

XD

(Also, being first in general is good for a Cleric. When nothing special is expected, you can at least Bless people before they go to frontline. ;))