believe they are always in demand, they heal so much better than healer mercs do, healer mercs cast long lasting spells on you, then idle till they wear off or you die, have yet to have that happen with a real cleric.
Real clerics heal better, conserve mana better making it so you can exp longer without med breaks, have more buttons to save your tank (merc will just let you die and laugh at your corpse), can res during a fight, pop spires and other things to help the tank survive and get heals that nuke as well as being able to DPS if they aren't having to heal a ton. Yeah, clerics > mercs all day.
I have played a cleric since 2000, the only time I had difficulty finding a group was when mercs first came out on live. I dont know anyone who would choose to use a merc over an actual cleric nowadays. Clerics are and always will be one of the most sought after classes...in raid as well as group setting.
Since everyone else is giving you BS, I will be real with you. Raid clerics will still be desired for raids. Raid-geared high-skill clerics will still be desired for high-end groups. Anything below that, a casual cleric is a waste of a group slot and will have no place in this world of mercs.
I kinda second this...some. A real cleric that cares about their class, reputation, and their group..will always be amazing but there are some downsides you just cant look past (only for grouping..not raiding). If you invite a cleric to the group...they will bring out a merc DPS. If you use a cleric merc...and invite a real dps that is geared...way faster killing going on (less need for heals). Also a merc doesnt take smoke breaks..fall asleep at the keyboard..have to take the dog out...get distracted by kids ect. So if you only have a legit hour to play and you just wanna burn your lesson...merc is the "safe" choice.
That depends on how well that player knows its class, but that can be said of all classes played in EQ. A casual group cleric is still superior, we have many combat utilities that benefit a casual group. I have never seen a merc cast mark, save a group with the use of DA or Shield epic. Rez in battle..ect ect. We also make half-arsed pullers with our soothe line. There are 3 lines of spells that add dps, none of which the merc would cast. Sure our dps is nothing to write home about but still beats a heal merc. Gone is the era where a cleric sits on the side lines and just heals ( as a merc would) The question is- why would a group choose a merc over an actual cleric? Only one answer comes to mind and on behalf of all clerics in Norrath I feel saddened that you have had such bad experiences with actual clerics that you choose to use a mediocre version of us.
If you have 2 group spots and a cleric and DPS are both LFG why wouldn't you just take both? This doesn't even make sense. So if you take the cleric they HAVE to use their DPS merc? And if you take the DPS the healer merc is better? Also if you only have a hour to burn for XP or whatever you can easily make that clear tot eh cleric before you invite them /tell Clericperson "hey I only have a hour, you want to take the merc spot? But if you do then we are going to go hard for a hour, minimal breaks and all that, that ok with you?"
We are giving BS because you don't agree? I have played for the last 11 months on TLP with mercs, and any time groups were forming up clerics were always welcome over mercs. Please explain how a casual cleric is a waste of a group spot compared to a merc? Assuming the cleric is competent I see no difference in a merc healing me or a cleric player healing me, both are splitting the EXP, both are keeping the group alive so whats the uselessness in your eyes?
Clerics in a post 85 environment have a vastly different toolkit than those in traditional TLP. You aren’t simply casting superior heals or CH’s on rotation in this era. You’re gonna experience plenty of sub par clerics simply because many people only know how to box a cleric and not main one. They may not be as complicated as someone picking up, say a necro for the first time, but it’s far reach from a classic TLP cleric. And plugging in clerics for pickups is going to get a lot more complicated because not all kit choices are equal going forward such that clerics from raid guilds typically will have similar kits (assuming they know how to gear). That won’t be the case for a while simply because guilds aren’t gonna be “farming” content for BiS that you can easily rely on a tag to establish a gear equivalency expectation. Buyer beware.
That's why we have chat channels. I can only assume people choosing a particular class will eventually seek out advice. Our class is generally a cohesive unit and for the majority never fail to answer even the most noobish question about our class when asked. As far as being new to clerics- I will always have time to answer any question I see in cleric chat on Miraguls. The original OP asked whether clerics would be replaced with mercs; Being a new heroic cleric v.s. merc- I imagine it will be about the same...but that will go for many if the players opting to play something completely new. If anyone is thinking about playing a cleric dont let that fear of being replaced by mercs stop you. We will never be replaced.
You will be in high demand for raids because mercs aren't allowed and box Clerics typically don't cut the mustard. In groups it will be hit and miss and depend on your ability to network and make friends etc. While a merc is considered inferior to a well played character Cleric they do offer the advantages of never going AFK or rolling on loot which will make them appealing to some. If you are incompetent, inattentive or annoying to be around then expect to be replaced by a Merc or box.
I don't see Clerics LFG simply because as soon as they log in they generally have someone already wanting them, or an established group. They are preferable to a merc in all situations the only advantage mercs have is you don't need to wait for them to log in, you can get your group rolling with a Merc healer & rep them right away for a Cleric (a similar situation to Tank Mercs, but Tank players are almost a luxury to find for your group as so many box now), that situation is a little different if the Cleric is not at the level cap though, an under-level Cleric is a carry, but most will happily help a cleric level in the hope they stick around because most appreciate how much they are valued to raiding. To give an example, a group geared 95 Cleric can heal on VoA nameds as well or better than 2 Merc Healers can when both merc healers are having zero issues (this is uncommon, oftentimes one will just stop working altogether, sometimes both due to issues with Mercs & geometry affecting their performance).
Cleric mercs don't use any emergency tool. period! They won't use 2.0 or divine arb, DI or Shinning Armor. They won't use quick heals like remedy or Interventions. (remember that Light era was long gone, any cleric that have Light as their most casted heal isn't playing at its full potential. This era is about cycling 2 remedies, using HoT Interventions and Renewals cycled with Pre ToT interventions and renwals). They'll basically cast splash to heal 3 targets or group heal to heal the MT and a pet that took 1 dmg. They'll spam promised and unneedded hots unless you block them. One cleric merc won't be enough to face some situations you'll find on the higher tiers of HoT or the hardest nameds. TL;DR A cleric mercenary will never replace a real cleric that is using all his tools.
clerics were nerfed indirectly by letting other classes have big heals and rez years ago. while clerics didn't get any of the nukes or melee perks. we are free loaders, needing groups to level and most groups are not needing heals so we just sit and refresh DA. maybe we shine in raids but you have to know someone to get to that point. this is how clerics have been for 15 years. at the start we would log in and receive invites for groups, now it's maybe 2 cleric mercs will be enough for the dungeon. i'm sure they will be just as worthless here too.
Healer mercs will get utilized alot for grinding lessons but anything progression related will need high skill levels and luck or a real cleric player. Cleric mercs don't cure the right and cleric players have aa's and skills that make fights trivial.
And I doubt they nuke. In VoA my cleric nukes way more than he heals. That's with a fully-AAd SK tank.
