PDA

View Full Version : Critique: ranged Cleric, 4th ed.



Brigham
2008-08-26, 09:05 PM
I'm looking for some help in fine tuning this cleric build. Some of the powers seem redundant or out of place, but I can't really come up with alternatives. So far we have a ranger, paladin, and cleric (me), and we should be picking up two more players (defender and magic users, most likely).

Dwarf Cleric 2
This is part of a storyline that another player introduced. The cleric and paladin are twins adventuring together. We hope to build a good synergy off of the two. The roll of this Cleric is pretty much straight buff, no real damage.

Ability Scores: str 12, con 14, dex 10, int 10, wis 19, cha 11
Originally, the str and cha scores were switched, but this cleric really has no use for cha, at least not a Cha bonus of 1. The Dwarf bonuses are added in already. These stats are rolled.

Attack: +6 wisdom based, +5 melee
Defense: AC 18, Fort 14, Ref 12, Will 18
The AC 18 seems the best I can do (+1 curseforged). I also have an amulet of protection +1 which boosts each of the remaining defenses. For Monsters, reflex based attacks are the most common after AC -- anyway I can improved that Ref 12?

Feats: Skill Focus (heal), Skill Training: Perception
Skills: Heal +13, Insight +10, Perception +10, Diplomacy +7, Dungeoneering +7, Religion +6
I could definitely use help with feats. Feats were difficult mainly because I didn't qualify for anything.
The Skill Focus makes heal checks viable in combat situations (stabilizing the dying-- I only need to roll a 2). Skill Train: Perception is kind of a place holder unless I can't find anything better.

At-will: Lance of Faith, Sacred Flame
Lance of Faith to administer a +2 to attack (usually goes to the Paladin). Sacred Flame to allow a saving throw.

Encounter: Divine Glow
Again with the buffing attacks.

Daily: Beacon of Hope, Bless
Beacon of Hope coupled with my implement ability (Symbol of Life) and a Healing Word should reset everyone's hp late in the encounter.

Equipment: Symbol of Life, Curseforged Armor, Amulet of Protection, Warhammer
All +1 items. Symbol of Life has a daily that adds to each healing for the duration of an encounter. Curseforged administers to one creature a penalty to attacks (save ends, must save twice- think "persist" from MtG). Warhammer is simple +1 Magic.

I think that's everything. Basic mechanical idea is do just a little damage while buffing the other characters. Avoids melee for the most part, but helps out with flanking occasionally. Any constructive thoughts are welcome.

Oracle_Hunter
2008-08-26, 09:15 PM
Find space for a 13 STR. That'll make you available for both Light Shield proficiency (+1 AC and +1 Reflex) and for Scale Mail proficiency (AC +7 and no Armor Check Penalty!). If you can't afford it now, you will just have to wait until level 4.

Reconsider Beacon of Hope. It gives +5 HP for all healing keyword abilities for the rest of the encounter - that's a lot of health.

Oh, and Quick Draw requires DEX 13. Swap it out for Light Shield Proficiency.

Note also that Heal is used for Healing Rituals - and those checks count.

That's just some initial impressions

Ashdate
2008-08-26, 09:17 PM
*edit: Ninja'd*

The easiest way to up Reflex at low levels is to use a shield. If you spent a feat on Shield Proficiency (Light) you could add a +1 to AC and Reflex. You'd need to bump your str to a 13 tho. Maybe at level 4?

- Eddie

Brigham
2008-08-26, 09:35 PM
Oracle_hunter, Ashdate:

Thanks. Sometimes I get to thinking too much about a character and it helps to have a neutral mind take a look at things.

Applying my Dwarf bonuses differently I could get Wis 14, Con 14, str 17, but that really won't do me very well as a cleric (though Scale is so very attractive). I'll have to wait until level 4, I think.

I really am on the fence about Beacon of Hope. It'd be a +9 total to heals (wis mod), perhaps even on top of Symbol of Hope (+1d6), so it could definitely score big. My question is "how much healing will I be doing under these circumstances?". Healing Word is really all I have at this point (with max bonuses it would do "healing surge + 2d6 + 9) and that's a twice per encounter. hmm...

Thanks for the advice I'll be mulling this over.

Oracle_Hunter
2008-08-26, 09:46 PM
Ah, I see. Well, if you're wedded to being a lazor cleric, then you're not going to get that shield till 4, which is fine.

You might want to look at Guardians of Faith as your Daily. They were errata'd to only strike Allies, and you'll probably get more mileage out of them than with Cascade, particularly if you don't have smite-y powers to take advantage of that Vulnerability.

For your Utility, look at CLW. That's a free heal without spending a surge - nice :smallbiggrin:

Hmmm... you need something to replace Quick Draw. How about Skill Training (Perception)? With your high WIS, you'll be a trap-spotting machine!

Vortling
2008-08-26, 10:08 PM
I'd suggest Bless instead of Shield of faith, especially if you're going to have that much healing available. Attacks in 4e are spread out much more against all the defenses so that +2 to ac can get ignored fairly quickly by the right monsters. A +1 to hit simply can't be ignored and you can't give everyone a +2 from lance of faith every round.

Brigham
2008-08-26, 10:18 PM
I'll probably hang on to Shield of Faith. Not getting hit is better than fixing things later. I'll definitely go with Beacon of Hope, too. It'll weaken my damage output, but a full buff character might be fun.

If I do Symbol of Life's daily followed by Beacon of Hope I'll heal "everyone" for 1d6 + 9, followed with Healing Word in the same round for surge + 2d6 +9 healing to a single character (assuming I hit, and assuming I don't move in the round). I'd still have room for an action point after this, also.

Skill Training (Perc) doesn't look bad.

vortling:- good point.

Thanks throwing these ideas out there.

Mando Knight
2008-08-27, 12:28 PM
Actually, with "Method 2" PHB point-buy (I'm assuming that's what you're using), you could increase your STR to 13 (qualifying for Light Shield Proficiency) by dropping your CHA to 10 (you already said you didn't need it, right?). You can also drop your CHA, DEX, or INT a bit to raise either DEX or INT to increase your Reflex defense. Heavy shield proficiency would be nice, but you only get one feat per level, and you're trying to be LAZOR cleric.

You seem to have a larger number of magic items than usually allowed... if you're spending the "gp = Magic Item of Level - 1" on a level 1 magic item and that's OK with your DM, then that's fine... just don't try to get this build into the RPGA (they only allow a number of magic items equal to your level, according to the downloadable rules... Even though a Level 2 hero should have 3 items, he's apparently only allowed 2.)

Yakk
2008-08-27, 12:34 PM
Barring feats, you want one of each pair of defense stats high, and the other is a dump-stat.

Granting an attack bonus to a paladin is inefficient. Do you not have strikers?

Brigham
2008-08-27, 04:56 PM
Mando Knight:
Sorry, I should have stated in the OP that These are rolled stats. I am using the gp = lvl1 magic item rule. Thanks for the RPGA info, though. I haven't read a lot about it, but that bit of info piques my interest.

Yakk:
The party is incomplete at this time. We are waiting for the other members in the group to submit builds/commit. For this reason, the only character I can reflect on is the Paladin. You are quite right about efficiency, though, and things will change once the party fills out.

I've updated the OP to reflect changes I've made thus far. Thanks to everyone for your attention and aide.