Ask Fatal - Cleric Edition

Since I dodged a bullet and you all mercifully spared me from leveling up another Cleric, I decided to just do an "Ask Fatal" Question and Answer session in regards to that often underappreciated class, the Cleric.

It takes a special, different kind of person to play the Cleric class and enjoy it.  While some players may enjoy it as a change-of-pace, even I'll admit that occasionally it's a little humorous seeing life through Cleric-eyes, they're not necessarily dedicated Clerics.  These are not the types of people I'm talking about.  As a full-time class, I sure as heck couldn't do it.  So much love and respect from me to all full-time dedicated Clerics.  So let's get started, shall we?

Q: Fatal, if you don't like playing the Cleric class so much, errr, why do you have a Holy Knight?
A: A little bit of backstory on my HK: AutumnsVeil (originally FatylLace) was leveled up as a duoing counterpart to my in-game husband's Mage (OOJiraiyaOO).  Yes, I hate the "OO"s as much as you do.  But anyway, as part of a duo with my hubby, I can stand the Clericing.  It was more about us and the time we spent together in-game than achieving a certain level, it just so happens that we stopped at 100.  Playing the Cleric role in an AOE party is not at all my idea of a fun time.

There was to be an epic role-playing storyline involving my Cleric and his Mage, documented three frames at a time in comic-form.  There was even a thread about it on the OutSpark forums.  Here are a few strips from it:

 

 
But sadly, I got too busy to continue on with the comic and my own interest in that project faded.  It was well-received by those who actually read it, but I cut it short anyway.  The comic wasn't the labor of love I had wanted it to be.

So while I'm a capable Cleric, I'm by no means an elite one.  I can manage a party fine in most any situation, but it's something I don't enjoy doing so it's not at all something I do often.  Again, thank you to the readers who spared me from leveling up another!  <3 !!

Q:  So what, in your opinion, makes a good Cleric?
A:  Before anything else, the most important thing about being a Cleric is focus.  No other class or role, aside from possibly Tanking, does one player need to have as much focus as the Cleric.  While yes, there are times when a Cleric's mind (and chat) can wander a bit, when the battle is on and it's heated, the Cleric needs to move a bit closer to her monitor and be ready to spam some heals.

Q: So are stat builds of no consequence?
A:  To a certain extent, no, they're not.  One of my best friends in Fiesta was a HolyKnight named SenzaMisura.  She was a PvP, Battle-Cleric build with full empowerments on her attack skills, yet by playing with her, you would never know that.  She was perfectly capable in handling either role and truly excelling.  There are tons of people that will tell you that a "Battle Cleric" is fail, but it really isn't.  Just a Cleric needs to know the time and place to revert back to healing.

Battle Clerics really do make people nervous in parties, but only because of bad experiences with those that try and fail miserably to fill that dual role.  Most parties are much happier and more harmonious when the Cleric maintains the backline, tossing Heals at the party.  Once that Cleric starts engaging the mobs, chaos can ensue.  Take Dragon's Tomb for example.  If a Battle Cleric insists on joining the fight, the chances are pretty high that she will generate aggro at some point if she's both attacking and spamming AOE Heals.  Several of the DT Mobs have nasty status effects like Stun and Fear, if these strike your Cleric, you put your party's safety at risk.

So again, the build isn't an issue, it's just a matter of how you play and how you react to the situations you are put in.

Q:  Well what would you suggest as a stat build?
A:  Again, a lot depends on what you want to do as a Cleric.  If you're straight-line support, then I would suggest a END/DEX build.  Where to draw that line, honestly, I'm not sure.  More seasoned, full-time Clerics could probably answer that question better.  I'm going to not answer skill/stat build questions from here, thanks.

Q:  Darn, alright, what about weapons?  Hammer or Mace?
A:  If you're a support-type, it really doesn't matter, go with whatever has the better stats or whatever you think looks better.  My opinion?  I tend to like the style of Maces more.  That level 20 Hammer was just comical and forever scarred me from Hammers.  That's not to say that I haven't used them, but given the choice, I'd go with the Mace.

Q:  Is there a marked difference in the weapons though?  I solo a lot so what's better for me?
A:  (More to come, will update during maintenance)