Cleric
Creation
Guide
by Fallconn
Archetype:
Healer
Primary Attributes:
WIS,
VIT, INT
Continents:
Qalia, Thestra
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What is a Cleric?
The Cleric is Vanguard: Saga of Heroes healer class that is very
often
found on the front lines of battle. The Cleric may not dish out huge
amounts of
damage but certainly makes up for it with his tremendous defensive
capability
and healing potential. Able to wear plate armor and arguably one of the
best
buffing classes, the Cleric is a great stand-in tank.
Once you add all of his abilities together,
you end up with a class that is certainly an asset to any group.
Since Clerics are used in many roles, choosing your race and which
stats to build can be difficult. If you plan on using your Cleric
primarily for
healing, youll want to work on vitality and wisdom with any remaining
points
spent on intelligence. If you are more prone to getting your hands
dirty, you
may consider building up strength and dexterity with extra points spent
in
constitution or possibly wisdom to bump up your energy pool. See the
Ten Ton
Hammer
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472">statistics
guide to get a better understanding of how stats affect your
character.
Building a good Cleric takes some careful planning at the
character
creation screen and requires you to learn a handful of tactics in the
lower levels.
Selecting
the Right Race
Clerics of all races start with the same attributes, but the
choice
of race can affect how many points the Cleric automatically gets placed
into its prime attributes.
Starting
attributes:
Each character
gets 20 attribute
points
(AP) per level, starting at level 10. 6 of your AP are placed
for you automatically--one per attribute (STR, CON, DEX, VIT, INT,
WIS). 4 points are assigned to attributes based on your race if you are
not a human (humans are kojani, mordebi, qaliathari, and thestran).
You can
place 10 (14 for humans) wherever you want to within soft caps of 5 per
level.
Additionally,
characters get
racial bonuses to their soft caps. These
are called preferred stats and allow characters of a race to flesh out
in a way that reflects the traits of the race. Non-human races get 4
bonus points to soft caps (usually two or three attributes only) while
human
races get 6, 1 for each attribute. Thus, a human can be more balanced,
while a non-human becomes more specialized.
The table below shows the attribute scores at level 50 before
gear
and buffs for
the Cleric based on the race selected. We've highlighted the best
results for each of the primary attributes for you. It is possible to
reach the soft cap for three attributes as a human, but those soft caps
may be lower than those attainable by other races.
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album32/Cleric.jpg">
Racial
Abilities
The other important factor to consider when picking the race for your
Cleric is racial abilities. With their short durations and long
recasts,
racial abilities are less important than attributes in the selection
process, but they can be used to pick between races that are otherwise
equal. The racial abilities are listed below.
Thestran: Inspirational
Commands
You will have 3 inspirational commands at your disposal:
Inspirational Presence, Inspirational Wisdom, and Inspirational
Tactics. Each command is a group buff that will add either 2% to
mitigation, a 3% reduction to mana cost of all spells, or a 2% increase
in damage. You may only maintain one command at a time, however you may
have all 3 effects active at the same time. Recast is instant.
Human Ingenuity: + 10 bonus to all weapon skills, and dodge.
Crafting: +10 Ingenuity
Harvesting: +5 Lumberjacking
Dwarf:
Earthen Embrace
For 60 seconds, this ability will turn your body to stone. Along with
removing all poison effects, you will mitigate 25% damage and become
immune to movement impairing spells such as knock back, stun, and
snare. Recast is 30 minutes.
Small Race: 2% bonus to evasion
Crafting: +10 Finesse
Harvesting: +5 Mining
style="font-weight: bold;">Halfling: Pride of the Vael (WAR
only) or Shroud of the Vael (all but WAR)
Pride of the Vael: This ability will add a vast
amount of hate to a single target, and apply a buff on the halfling for
30 seconds. All attacks during this time period will count for double
aggro. Recast is 15 minutes.
Shroud of the Vael: This ability will remove 99%
of aggro from a single target but keep the halfling in combat.
Additionally, for 30 seconds afterwards, any spell cast or attack made
will have its aggro reduced to 1% of normal as well. Recast is 15
minutes.
Small Race: 2% bonus to evasion
Crafting: +10 Reasoning
Harvesting: +5 Reaping
style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">High
Elf: Arcane Balance
This ability will take the cumulative amount of mana in a group, add
25% to that number, and evenly redistribute it to all members. Recast
is 15 minutes.
Elven Wisdom: 2% reduction in mana cost
Crafting: +10 Reasoning
Harvesting: +5 Reaping
style="font-weight: bold;">Qaliathari:
Swiftness of the Sands
For this next 10 seconds, you will evade all melee attacks and spells.
Recast is 30 minutes.
Human Ingenuity + 10 bonus to all weapon skills, and dodge.
Crafting: +10 Ingenuity
Harvesting: +5 Lumberjacking
Dark Elf: Spawn of Haelufir
This ability allows you to summon forth a small drake for a short
duration. The type of drake you summon will be based on class and
level. Each type of drake will have a variety of effects at their
disposal, ranging from group auras, to breath attacks. The
higher
level drakes will also learn spells that are sympathetic with their
associated class. Recast is 30 minutes.
Elven Wisdom: 2% reduction in mana cost
Crafting: +10 Finesse
Harvesting: +5 Skinning
style="font-weight: bold;">Gnome: Forge Crystal
This ability allows you to operate a variety of devices, only
available to gnomes, which are able to materialize a energy crystals.
Crystals will have several common effects, ranging from percentage
based mana, health, and endurance heals to several uncommon, rare, and
even ultra rare effects such as prismatic group resist buffs, rune and
damage shields, minion summons, and more.
Small Race: 2% bonus to evasion
Crafting: +10 Problem Solving
Harvesting: +5 Mining
Mordebi:
Curse of the
Ancients
This ability stuns the target for 8 seconds,
and reduces the aggro range to 0. The target will not assist/aggro
while
stunned, and the effect does not generate any aggro. Recast is 30
minutes.
Human Ingenuity + 10 bonus to all weapon skills, and dodge.
Crafting: +10 Finesse
Harvesting: +5 Reaping
Stances:
Clerics have two main stances to
choose from:
-
style="">Healers Focus Healing
done by spells increases, but
avoidance ability decreases. -
style="">Castigators Fury
Damage done by spells and melee attacks
increases, but casting time and endurance cost is increased. style="">
Level 1-10 Tactics
As with most classes, understanding your preferred game style and
knowing if
you plan on primarily playing in a guild, solo, or with pick-up groups
is your
first step towards having a great gaming experience. It is important to
understand the role that each class plays and their strengths and
weaknesses. Make sure to review each of
the
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=413">class
guides before starting your character rather than spending numerous
hours
working on a character only to find that this is not the right one for
you.
Okay, youve read the class guides, decided on the Cleric, picked a
race,
customized your appearance, and determined your playstyle. Now what?
style=""> As you log in, you will enter the world at
your chosen race's starting area. Youll immediately notice that there
are NPCs
with starting quests. Gather all of the quests that you can find and
start
working on them. Theres one sure fast
way to level 10 and that is quests, quests, quests. The important part
of
questing is to gather as many as possible and complete the quests for
the area
you are in. Typically, once you have completed the local area quests,
another
quest will lead you in the right direction for the next location
containing
more level appropriate content. I highly recommend finding a friend to
help you
with these since some of them require a group. Most of the lower level
group
quests can be done with just two or three people and youll each get
decent
experience just by hunting or finding the object required for your
quests.
Another quick way of leveling is to group with a higher level
character.
Although you wont get experience for the kills, your quests will be
done
quicker and youll gain plenty of experience just for turning in
completed
quests. There are many areas with repeatable quests which are a great
way to
gain experience quickly albeit with some repetition.
Ill quickly go through each level where new abilities are given
below. For
a more detailed explanation of each visit the Ten Ton Hammer Cleric
spell list
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=603">here.
Level 1
Youll start with 2 spells,
Anathema
which is a direct damage spell and Healing Touch which is your first
heal. Typically you can pull a mob using
Anathema
and get off a couple casts before the mob is at your feet.
Use your Hand of Censure when available to
add to your damage. Heal yourself as needed with Healing Touch and
after
killing just a few mobs youll reach lvl 2. Make sure to collect any
loot that
drops and sell whatever you cant use.
Level 2
Its time to find your trainer
(this is usually one of the quests youll receive).
Pick up your next two spells from the
trainer. Youll receive Resolution which adds to HP and AC and Gift of
Ardor
which increases accuracy and damage. Make sure to buff yourself and any
lucky
stranger around.
Level 4
At level 4 youll get another buff
for yourself and friends called Endowment of Fervor which raises
Dexterity,
Strength and Constitution. Youll also get a self only buff called
Power of
Reprisal which gives you a chance to deal additional damage on a
successful
attack. Last but not least youll get Ward Shield which protects you
from the
next 2 attacks. Ward shield is handy to have when you need to get off a
heal
and are getting interupted by the mobs constantly hitting you.
Level 6
Anathema gets its first damage
increase at this level which will help you start each fight by pulling
with
more damage. Use your auto attack
combined with Hand of Censure during the battle and throw in another
cast of
Anathema if your endurance gets low. Youll bring the mobs down quick
but if
your health gets below 50% be sure to heal yourself.
If you are lucky and hit for a critical
strike, your new finishing attack called Fist of Rebuke will light up
giving
you some extra melee damage capability. Youll hear a distinct sound
letting
you know that youve activated the ability so be sure to keep the sound
up for
the best reaction time.
Level 8
By level 8 you are getting a good
idea of your fighting capabilities. At this point youve probably
collected
some additional armor and learned the perfect timing for throwing in a
heal
while fighting. At this level you upgrade your Healing Touch and Hand
of
Censure abilities to level II. Youll also gain a new helpful ability
called
Replenishing Strike. Replenishing Strike allows you to restore some
energy(mana) back to you. This is especially helpful if you are in a
group and
your heals have left you low on energy. Even if you are the primary
healer,
using Repleneshing Strike each time that it refreshes will help to keep
you
from emptying your energy pool. In addition to those abilities youll
also
receive a helpful Intelligence and Wisdom buff called Bestowal of
Brilliance, a
great heal-over-time(HoT) spell called Alleviate and a very important
ability
called Divine Barrier. Divine Barrier is your get out of jail free
card which
protects you from all incoming damage for 18 seconds. I often use
Divine
Barrier to shield me long enough to run from a deadly battle or at
least give
my teammates time to rescue me if I am low on health.
Level 10
Youve made it to level 10 and
have
learned a good set of the basic cleric abilities. Starting at this
level youll
begin placing attributes points in different stat areas (see
href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Danny/Desktop/Cleric%20Class%20Guide.htm#_Selecting_the_Right">Selecting
the Right Race above). At level 10
your Resolution buff will be upgraded for increased hitpoints and AC.
There are
quite a few abilities added at this level such as Spiritual Guardian
which will
allow you to force the next incoming attack on your defensive target to
be
directed on yourself as well as forcing that mob to target you for 2
seconds.
It will also give your defensive target additional spiritual resistance
in
addition to giving them 50% damage absorption on the next hit. Youll
get the
Turn Undead ability which causes high amounts of damage to undead
targets. Save
this ability for the close calls when fighting undead mobs that you
might need
that little extra help with. Turn undead
uses ability points which can be found right near your energy bar
meter, it also
has a somewhat lengthy refresh timer so use it sparingly. Youll also
get one
of the most group friendly abilities, Resurrection. On top of being
able to
Resurrect fallen comrades, youll have the ability to Summon a Gem of
Life which can be given to groupmates to
resurrect
you if you happen to meet an untimely death. Last but not least, youll
receive
Rejuvenate which has a slightly longer cast time but heals for more
total
hitpoints.
All-in-all getting to level 10 shouldnt take more than just a few
hours unless
youre still taking time to learn the game. Remember to look for new
quests
everywhere you head, even on some items that drop.
There is a decent dungeon list
href="http://mmostrategyguides.com/dungeon_list_by_level_-_vanguard.html#more">here
which will help you find some of the more challenging but rewarding
areas in
Vanguard.
Affinities
Another note to mention are affinities. Affinities will allow the
cleric to
choose a line of specialty giving the cleric added benefits in certain
situations.
Although cleric affinities are currently not implemented in Vanguard,
recent
developer posts lead us to believe that they are planned for the near
future.
style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; color: black;">Here
is some very preliminary info on Affinities:
style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; color: black;">Originally
Posted by maeglir
From: target="_blank">http://www.silkyvenom.com/forums/sho...864#post260864
style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">
Some more affinities info:
There are 5 affinities planned.
Purity (anti undead)
War (melee, new stance, etc)
Death (necromantic flavored,dot,fear,lifetaps)
Preservation (Better buffs)
Peace (Increased lull and pacify power, memwipe etc)
style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">After
these are outlined and worked on, he will go over main abilities again.
Conclusions
All-in-all the Cleric is a great class to play, especially in
groups. There
has been some chatter about the amount of damage (or lack thereof) that
a
cleric can dish out, but this might be corrected with further class
updates. If
you manage to form groups with higher DPS classes, youll find that you
add a
great balance to the group. The solo player might find the class
slightly more
challenging to level, but at the same time hell find that it takes a
LOT to
kill a Cleric. With that being said, the Cleric is probably one of the
hardest classes
to kill on the PvP servers.
Hopefully this guide has given you some insight to the Cleric class
and
youll be able to determine if it sounds like the best class to fit
your style
of play.
Other
Cleric Resources at Ten Ton
Hammer
-
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&file=index&func=display&ceid=443&meid=139">Cleric
Class Guide -
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=603">Cleric
Spells -
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472">Guide
to Vanguard Statistics
this Vanguard Guide in our forums!
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Game Page.
