is there a complete guide to playing a cleric? that shows everything such as group healing and raid healing. how to set up keys. why to use what in certain situations. i found a guide on here made by nylrem that deals with raid healing but that was when the max level was 100 . looking for a current set up for both the group game and raid game. thanks
There isn't, because the spectrum of choices, while narrow-ish, is dense and highly conditional. This contrasts significantly with dps casters or knights or especially the other two priests, whose spell sets have highly distinct "modes". The big thing that's changed since 100 is the addition of a second good 0.5 cast time heal, Spiritual Remedy, to use with Graceful Remedy. You can see in this thread the pair of them are the top of the cleric linup. For all variations a multibinding setup as described in this thread will be important. Group setups will (hopefully) feature a bunch of Contraventions that don't get to play as much in raids.
We all do things a bit differently and it is going to vary on what your role in the raid is (warrior/MT, knight healer, etc.) Unless you have CoF tier 2 raid focii, I'd dare to say most of your same techniques at level 100 will be used at level 105 with one major exception - you want to use both remedies (spiritual and graceful). THIS thread may help in some things and it is updated for TDS I believe.
You would probably be better off just asking questions one at a time for each aspect of being a cleric. Ask people to list their group set ups, or raid set ups, maybe their key set ups, what gear/augs they use etc etc. Then try them out. Like Crystilla said, we all do it different. Do what I did, and take little bits from everyone and find your own path.
thanks for the responses. if its not too much trouble could one of you guys that is 105 screen shot your spell bar set up for raids and then groups? thanks so much
I doubt too much has changed from THIS thread (which asks the same question), but will take a photo next time I'm on of both lineups. All of us are going to have very different group lineups because our roles can be so different. Similarly, don't be surprised to see different raid lineups (since it also depends upon the team and who else is casting what).
Gyrospire Relocation Device can port you even while you're DA. You should mem more DAs and use that as your gate option.
and a real dps cleric would have yaulp up (it is better then the aa yaulp). Increases proc rates! I would also have at least 2 AOEs up! never know when you gotta help the enchanter out by aoeing to "get threat". Back when I was a raid leader in the Omen, Demi plane, Don eras. On vish attempts I was the main threat holder of the knock back mobs. A group heals and AoE stuns were wicked awesome for that!
Borrowing the picture I used in the Issuance discussion thread: I'm in a main tank group on raids with warriors/a paladin/cleric, so I load up on single target and group heals. My raid lineup is: 1. Utility (Splash, Shining Bulwark, Buffs, etc. are swapped here as needed) 2. Ward of Surety 3. Divine Indemnification 4. Mystical Intervention (Intervention 1) 5. Virtuous Intervention (Intervention 2) 6. Spiritual Remedy (Remedy 1) 7. Graceful Remedy (Remedy 2) 8. Fervid Renewal (Renewal 1) 9. Fraught Renewal (Renewal 2) 10. Fervent Renewal (Renewal 3) 11. Syllable of Convalescence (Fast Group Heal/No Cure) 12. Word of Greater Reformation (Slightly Slower Group Heal/Cures) Remedies are 0.5 sec cast heals that heal for a small amount. These have a short (but not instant) recast. Interventions are 1.5 sec cast heals that heal for a larger amount and have the longest recast. They cast a nuke on whatever the target is targeting (so if my target is targeting a mob, it will cast a nuke on the mob as the heal lands on him -- if my target is targeting himself, nothing, or another player, the nuke won't land on anything but the heal will still go through). You have to use discretion with these, as the nuke will land on whatever the target is targeting. So if you're in an off-tank group and the knight is targeting adds that are mezzed, you'll end up nuking the adds and probably getting aggro or breaking mez. If you're in a main tank group, though, they are generally safe to use as long as you've established that the tank is actually tanking something (and not just staring at a mob he's going to aggro). They are always safe to use on yourself and (generally) on other healers. Renewals are 1.8 sec cast heals (with max spell haste gear, but they will always be slower than Interventions regardless) that heal for the largest amount and cure the target (but not of corruption effects). They have a shorter recast than Interventions once you get all the Hastened AAs for them, but have a significantly longer recast than Remedies. The idea is to cast multiple versions of these heals (they don't share recast timers with each other, so you can use Remedy 2 while waiting for Remedy 1's recast timer). The fastest heal is preferred, so Remedy (0.5 sec) > Intervention (1.5 sec) > Renewal (1.8 sec). You can cast Remedy 1 then Remedy 2 over and over again without using the other heals, but there will be a 1 second gap or so between castings... so you'll be casting Remedy 1 then Remedy 2, waiting a second or so, then cast Remedy 1 and Remedy 2 again. Remedies also don't heal for that much, so unless you have a lot of healers on your target, you might end up under-healing your target. This is why I use more types of heals. I don't use a multibind setup, so the arrangement of the spells to the right of my spell bar is important since I want to limit the amount of space I need to move the mouse pointer between gems. I'd recommend using a multibind setup as it's easier for most people, but I'm proof that you don't really need to if you get a UI you're comfortable with and know what you're doing. I usually cast spells in a cycle, beginning with the first spell and continuing in a loop until I have to cast something else (like a DI, Group Heal, Ward, etc.). That cycle is: Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Intervention 1 --> Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Intervention 2 --> Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Renewal 1 --> Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Renewal 2 (begin cycle again) If a tank is using their spell haste reduction aura, or I'm using Celestial Rapidity (which reduces cast times to their lowest), I have to add Renewal 3 to the cycle before beginning again to avoid a gap: Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Intervention 1 --> Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Intervention 2 --> Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Renewal 1 --> Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Renewal 2 --> Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Renewal 3 (begin cycle again) If it's not safe to use Interventions, I use: Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Renewal 1 --> Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Renewal 2 --> Remedy 1 --> Remedy 2 --> Renewal 3 (begin cycle again) These cycles ensure that I'm casting the fastest heal available at the time with no gaps in between (other than the ones created by the global recast timer, which is when everything is greyed out). I can use healing-based AA's and Yaulp AA when everything is greyed out, so I'm not wasting any time when I can't use spells. I also use a cycle for group heals when I have to go into group heal spam mode: Syllable --> Word --> Word (begin cycle again) Syllable casts only slightly faster than Word and has a short recast timer (Word does not), so most Clerics don't use both... but I value speed over everything, so I do even if it means my group heal gets to the group just a few tenths of a second earlier than the other Cleric's. As Brohg mentioned, there is a lot of variation and conditions which affect which lineups are used, and I doubt many Clerics heal exactly like I do or use the same spell lineup. I can afford to have a lot of direct heals memorized because my guild's roster is highly optimized and events generally don't last too long, so I can ditch certain spells other Clerics may have to use to maintain healing over a longer duration. The general idea, though, is to: 1. Use fast casting heals (Remedies > Interventions > Renewals) more often and consider using Light less (unless you're really hurting for mana or a specific event calls for extreme mana conservation) 2. Use multiple versions of heals to get around recast timers of those fast casting heals (2 Remedies, 2 Interventions, 3 Renewals -- various combinations of those will ensure you always have something to cast) 3. Don't be afraid to use Interventions (just learn when it's safe to use them). There will be more times when it's safe to use them than not unless you're spending the entire event watching an Enchanter CC or a tank aggroing mobs to be mezzed. 4. Don't stop casting and heal proactively. Use Glyph of Lost Secrets, Quiet Miracle, VP, Mage Rod proactively. When your mana drops to a certain level, use QM/VP/Rod, or use Glyph off the bat if it's an event you tend to run out of mana on, don't wait until you're out of mana to use them. You can try to time heals between rounds of mob damage, but damage on current content raids comes fast and hard, so you need to heal the target before the damage gets there rather than wait for the right time (also, never duck out of heals -- you can never count on the other person's heal landing, and even if it does, it may not be enough to get the target out of the danger zone). If other healers aren't backing you up, you likely won't be able to keep your target up for that long yourself, anyway, as the gap will get larger once you start missing criticals or get interrupted. There's a lot more to healing, so definitely see what others have to say before settling on a lineup and method that works for you.
Those times where I've said that there's one person I believe when I hear the "multibinds heal worse than I do" line. This is that person.
Clarisa explains it all. That was an excellent post. I am still not a fan of the interventions because of the possibility wiping a raid because a cleric awakened a mezzed mob or got agro when not supposed too. But, the faster cast times.. Valbjork P.S. Love the GATE spell icon on the bar, exactly where I kept if for years in game...loved ability of cleric to GATE out at the end of a long night of raiding or grinding experience. Especially like a long grind deep in the Mines of Nurga. P.P.S. Thanks Krichton for starting the post. And for everyone reading and replying. That name of yours reminds me of FARSCAPE. I always wonder why people choose their in game avatar names. I know RNG, but many names are KEY. Was I even close? Farscape just just hit pop culture at virtually same instant as EQ...both of which I am huge fans of.
Krichton: These fellow clerics have given some great advice on playing a cleric, but what you really need to do is to get on your cleric and play him/her. Even with all the best advice in the world if you don't know the class you will still be subpar. I am not saying you are, b/c I don't know you, but I have played with many people that, although they have the gear, it is obvious they couldn't heal their way out of a paper bag. If you plan on using your cleric as a box healer then most of this advice will be useless to you. The best advice I can give you, whether you will be a box, group healer or raid healer is know the abilities of the classes you will be healing. I've had times where it was easier for me to heal a ranger tank than a warrior tank. (It was a gear issue, the warrior wasn't a bad player) If you enter a situation knowing approximately how hard the mobs will be hitting your tank or off tank or anyone else for that matter, you will be in a much better position to keep that person alive. My one contribution to this topic would be to recommend getting and using Gina. If only I could convince the other healers in my guild to use it on raids we would stop overwritting DI all the time. /points at Crystilla. If you are going to be a raider, then I welcome you to the wonderful world of having to concentrate for long periods of time (healing on a 45 min fight w/o gift of mana procs is so nail biting) Smederick Needskei
LOL. It's not my fault that even with your Gina triggers, I still beat you to the punch most DI casts even though I use the natural audio triggers? Got to remember, you can lead a horse to water (aka have a trigger go off) but you can't make them drink (aka act quickly)
Ok so I still don't get what multibinding is. Is that where I set a macro to fire multiple spells so that the best available goes each time I cast? (ie cast 1 pause 1, cast 2 pause 2, cast 3) To be honest I'm not even sure if my question is intelligible.
http://www.eqmagetower.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=100 http://www.goberserker.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6538 Read these threads, it shows how multibinding works for both casters and melee (and you can do it for both at once for Ranger/BL etc etc). Multibinds are set up per computer. So ALL of your characters will have the same multibind system set up. So if you play several characters, make sure you adjust your spells/abilities and their locations to take advantage of the inherent built-in awesomeness that is binding.
Here's a cleric example of multibinding: I have a hotbar I normally don't see on my screen (Hotbar 9), and I've assigned hotbuttons 1-5 to the `~ key. I then drag spellgems onto this hotbar in whatever order I'd like to cast them in (in my case, Spiritual Remedy & Graceful Remedy). So when I press `, each spell will go off, in order. I recommend placing spell gems on a hotbar, and using that to multibind instead of assigning cast gem 1, 2, 3.. to the same key (the mage's tower thread shows this as their example). This way, you can flip pages on the hotbar to a different spell order. It also helps keep things from getting unorganized if you play different characters on the same PC. You can put whatever spells/abilities you want on this hotbar for any character.
A bit of clarity to add here: when you hit the button, one spell will cast. Whichever is at the top of the order and ready to go. If the first spell isn't ready, the second will cast instead, and the third one instead if the first two aren't ready. Just one spell though. The advantage is you don't have to manually track all the cooldowns and navigate your UI in a high pressure situation to find the best heal that's ready. Sirene_Fippy's best heal is always the ` button, because the multibind will go down the hotbar till it finds a ready one. She gets to concern herself as a player with where that heal should go, and managing her other abilities like mana stuff and booster AAs.
