The Duracell Cleric: A Build for Most Seasons (videos)

[Saving for posterity, original here]
This is an update of a build I posted before, in which I'll answer some questions people had and demonstrate the versatility of the spec. It also has a catchy name now.

Here's the build: http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...Ved0t0shk.Vxkb

Here's the old thread: http://forums.riftgame.com/showthrea...g-build-(video)

The concept behind this build is to maximise AE damage while also pumping out a large amount of healing, and with an effectively infinite mana pool. (Hence the name; it just keeps going and going) Also, although it is most effect in ae fights, it does do decent single target damage and healing. It is desgined to be versatile - an excellent soloing spec as well as a great support dps/healer in experts and able to hold its own in pvp. It is also extremely easy to use due to the viability of macroing so if, like me, you're a terrible player, you can still do well simply by mashing buttons.

The duracell cleric also takes great advantage of gear procs. Every hit of Vengeance of the Winter Storm counts as a separate damaging attack, and, through salvation/reparation, a separate chance to heal. This means that frozen deep one tear, crystal vines etc will proc constantly. I don't have SHoE yet, but I imagine it would be insane with this build.

Macros

Single Target:

jolt
glory of the chosen
fated blow
sanction heretic
strike of the maelstrom
lightning hammer
massive blow
sovereignty
bolt of radiance
strike of judgement [used over crushing blow for convictions]

Multi Target

rage of the north
jolt
glory of the chosen
fated blow
soul drain
strike of the maelstrom
even justice

You can also make single target and ae life skills macros, for use when you need fast convictions, by simply removing the non-life based gcd skills from the above lists.

Farming

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRY_fgGZtSo

With my level of gear (t2, frozen deep one tear, crystal vine but no SHoE) you are essentially invulnerable with this spec. You are only limited by the number of mobs you can pull before they start leashing and you can kill them insanely fast. Even if you have crap gear it's still perfectly possible to kill 10-12 melee mobs at once.

Method

Tag as many targets as possible with vex. Vex should be macroed with glory of the chosen to give you additional healing if you get crit as you are pulling. Use battle charge if possible when you get snared. Gather the mobs up and try to have them all face you. Mash AE macro until all dead; use ST macro if there's a straggler or two. If you get really low on health use doctrine of bliss a few times. When low on mana, hit purpose/ageless ice immediately after a soul drain for quick mana recharge. If they are on CD use aggressive renewal. You should not ever have to drink with this build.

Advantages over Inq/Just/Sent builds

1) Zero downtime. Can keep going forever.

2) Higher survivability from sham/just dmg reduction/parry/healing bonus means more mobs at once

3) Only 1 casted spell means less vulnerability to pushback and silences

4) Battle charge is great for mobility

5) Rage of the north gives 6 sec of huge dmg/heals. Fanaticism only affects one spell.

6) Single target damage is slightly higher

7) Macros make things very convenient.

The same things basically apply for rifts/invasions. In my gear, I can solo 5-7 normal invasions at once and can easily take down one elite invasion. (Two is doable but dicey) In a PuG invasion raid is also where the group healing from this build begins to shine. Often, a lot of people are taking hits, which can easily be healed with reparation for light damage, or Doctrine of Loyalty for heavier damage.

5 Man Groups

Video of Expert CC trash with just me and bard healing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF6UkpF7dDE
Video of 2 FC bosses with same setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8vMaOz11yA

The Duracell Cleric is an excellent support healer/dps. It speeds up trash clearing a LOT. I have done 200dps and 700hps on some trash fights. With bard support, I can heal all the trash in every instance bar DSM (plus a few goblin pulls in DD). With the same setup I have healed:

- Every boss in FC (Valinara is very tricky though)
- Every boss in LH except the last guy
-Spider in IT
-First 2 in KB
-Tree dude in RotF
-First guy in DD
-Tree and warden in RD

Basically this build owns on any fight where there is low tank damage or adds or high ae damage or anything needs purging. Using this with a cholro makes Scarn, Gronik and Caelia in CC and the last guy in AP trivial.

Purge is awesome. That is all.

However, on any encounter where there is no ae damage and no adds, or melee is hard, you're probably better off using something else because while the single target dps/healing is certainly decent there are better options.

For single target dungeon fights you may well want to replace strike o judgement with crushing blow, because it does more damage and takes advantage of lust for blood. On ae fights with less than 5 targets you may want to use avalanche strike instead of even justice for the same reason.

I am aware there are some wasted points in just here, but since I use it for solo farming/rifts etc I'm not going to make a whole new build just to move 3 points.

PvP

Unfortunately despite playing on a PvP server I am absolutely appalling at it and thus don't have a decent video. However, I will say that I have managed to survive being ganked 90% of the time. Battle Charge is a great gap-closer and Doctrine of Bliss is awesome instant healing. Rage of the North gives you decent burst damage as well. The CC changes in 1.2 ought to make this even better because the build's lack of CC/CC breakers won't matter as much.

Raiding

I haven't done much raiding, but from what I have done I can say that this build is extremely good at dealing with ae damage. Reparation is good constant ae healing and mandate can help a bit with the tank) 4x DoL will bring 10 players up to full health very quickly, in a similar fashion to the Senticar build. Although the Duracell is not as good at healing as the Senticar, it does much higher dps.

Levelling

I levelled from 48-50 in 2 hours ae grinding with this build. In my opinion it's hands down the best spec for levelling 42-50. Get 14 inq and 18 just then just fill up Shaman from there.

Prior to about level 30 (when you get the second mana return from shaman) I'd say Inq/Just/Sent is better.

Once you get things like 5/5 stormborn, battle charge and strike of the maelstrom, however, the Duracell Cleric pulls ahead for AE grinding.

Level 30 build: http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=10rdn.Vuz.Vxkb.Vjd0z Use avalanche strike in place of even justice. Make sure you use glacial shield every time it's up. It owns at low levels

Level 40: http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...c.Vxkb.Vjd0p0o

Gear

Crit is very important for this build because of the 40% crit bonus and jolt. I try to stack as much as possible within reason. This can mean cloth int gear, and crit over sp runes. Obviously you should not neglect SP either.

However, the most important pieces of gear for this build are proc items, the best being SHoE (which I don't have). Instead I use the 60sp on heal trinket, which is ALWAYS up. Also great are the frozen deep one tear and crystal vine from the planar goods vendors. They should be reasonably easy to get now that massive invasions occur more often than 'never'.

You should always use a 2 hander with this spec as all your melee skills are based on weapon damage. The best non-raid weapon is mace of frozen power from the final boss of AP.


Thanks for reading and hope you guys found this useful and will have as much fun with this as I have!

An Ode to Warfront Warriors, sung to "One," by Metallica

An Ode to Warfront Warriors, sung to "One," by Metallica

I can't remember anything
just charged ahead and used my fear
Deep down inside I tried to scream
/raid Why won't anyone heal me?

I'm just a war that's specced to kill
I lack in survivability
Can't find a friend to pocket heal
/raid We're losing cause I'm dying!

Hold my breath as I wait to spawn
Oh please God, heal me...

Back in our base it's much too real
just checked my spec and all my gear
don't they know I need heals to kill?
I'll hide in the back till I can fear

DPS Clerics dance around me
just like a warfront novelty
and the ones that heal, I always outreach
/raid I DIED AGAIN O. M. G!

Hold my breath as I wait to spawn
Oh please God, heal me...

Now the warfronts over and I'm just One
Oh God, hopefully noone notices my death to kill ratio


Damage imprisoning me
all that I see
red numbers flying
I cannot heal
I cannot cure
trapped in this soul
this build's my holding cell

Clerics have taken my kills
taken my damage
taken my favor
taken my wins
taken my heals
taken my prestige

Introducing the Purifent - Professional Healing for all

[Keeping for posterity, original post here]
NOTE: I am NOT claiming the "invention" of any build (I was shown this by Froster, a guildmate), merely introducing what I did not see on the forums. My only intent is to offer a build with a LOT of utility and GREAT healing, in hopes that others will enjoy it as much as I do. It is also extremely useful for healers new to 50.

The build:
34 Purifier / 32 Sentinel
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...zzqz.E0Eobszco

Summary:
One of the strongest, if not THE strongest tank healing build that I've found in the game. I dinged 50 and was still in quest greens / blues and went straight into T2 dungeons with no problem. I even healed through pulls that were accidental, and had any other healer been in there (especially so new) would have died. It's AoE healing is sufficient, but mana intensive, so used best only when necessary.

Advantages:
10minute Battle rez
5 minute duration (45sec CD) GS effect [Latent Blaze], easily maintainable on 3 targets
2minute CD 5 charges of 10% crit a piece, reduced by 1 charge everytime you crit [Fiery Blessing] (also off the GCD)
2minute CD for 5 spells with 30% reduced casting time, off the GCD, lasts 30 seconds [Healer's Haste]
2minute PS effect [Healer's Covenant] 40% reduced damage on target 10sec duration
1minute 25% increase in targets health, also healing them for that amount, 10sec duration
1minute [Divine Call] INSTANT AoE heal, 20meter range
45sec GUARANTEED next spell critical [Flashover], off the GCD, lasts 30sec
45sec CD to make your next spell an instant cast [Touch of Light]
45sec CD [Sterilize] to cleanse ALL effects on your target
10sec CD [Empowering Light] for AoE cleanse
[Cleansing Prayer] or [Cauterize] to single target cleanse without having a CD
[Surging Flames] allows for overheal on the target splashes to members within 15meters
[Healing Breath] INSTANT heal will also heal 2 targets within 15m for 60% effectiveness
Your AoE heals reduce incoming damage by 5% for 6sec

Drawbacks:
No mana return ability like the Warden or Druid/Shaman builds
Mana intensive when using AoE healing

Here are two similar builds:

http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=10...zzqz.E0Eobszco

This first one, I dropped one point from Light Efficiency and picked up Healing Invocation. This allows for a bigger heal when the tank needs a quick top off. Because Restorative Flame does not heal for that much less than Healing Invocation and still provides a shield, I much prefer that when I am bombing heals on the tank. However, combined with Flashover and Touch the Light, Healing Invocation will provide you with a bigger heal and a better wipe saver.

http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=10...zzqz.E0xobstco

This build, I went ahead and took points from Light Concentration, as in a raid environment mana is not an issue. This allowed me to pick up Lasting Invocation for the HoT portion of HI. The best way I found to use this build is 1) preferably in a raid, although I'm sure it can manage t1/t2... and 2) use HI to put the HoT up and then spam Restorative Flame in between. This will give you the biggest bang for your buck when healing a single target, obviously making sure to keep up Healing Spray as well.

How it works:
This build is strong enough to heal any T1 solo, and could easily do single target T2 bosses without the help of a bard/chloro. AoE fights, due to the mana intensity, it is MUCH more preferable to have a bard or chloro with you.

Your main spells will be Restorative Flame, Ward of the Ancestors, Healing Spray, and Healing Breath. Healing Flare is good for quickly topping someone off. Healing Breath is much more effective in "Oh ****" moments, however I find it useful as a filler, especially if its on the main tank while the melee are missing a few hundred HP.

Those who use this build will define themselves however, by the exquisite use of their CDs. I'm going to give a brief outline on my own playstyle, but it will really come down to circumstance.

I usually combine my [Flashover] + [Touch of Light] when the tank is getting behind on heals and needs to be topped as quickly as possible. [Healer's Haste] and [Healing Covenant] are 2 of the bigger cooldowns available to this build, and I use them sparingly, because I never know when I'll have need of them. I find large pulls (accidental for instance....) or spike damage is where these cooldowns truly shine. I also try and maintain [Latent Blaze] on at least 3 targets at all times, so when my group ends up in the "oh ****" moments, I've got a little leeway.

[Divine Call] is another "Oh ****" when the group takes massive spike damage and need a quick top off, especially if I'm healing a raid rift... this allows the mainly AoE healers to maintain a little breathing room without forcing me to expend too much mana. Potentially you could combine [Flashover] + [Divine Call] for a MASSIVE AoE heal effect, which will also provide the receivers with 5% damage reduction for 6 seconds, hopefully giving you some extra time to keep them alive.
[Fiery Blessing] is great for when you know you might need a series of crits (when the tank is taking a dragon breath for instance).

Final Notes:
-I chose to skip Blessing of the Flame for a few reasons. A 4% chance is simply too hard to plan for and as I have no mana problems, it's not something thats worthwhile. 2% extra crit in Flame Speaker overpowers it.
-I chose 1 point in Light Efficiency because I needed 1 more point in the Sent tree for the battle rez, and for one point there is nothing clearly superior. I chose Light Efficiency because you WILL use AoE heals at some point, and 1 point is better than no points when effectiveness is concerned.

This build is as strong as they come. The single-target healing it provides is top-notch, and the utility it comes with is second to none. It's only drawback is on AoE intensive fights where your mana will be drained and you have no way to replenish it outside of potion use or bard/chloro help.

Fiery vs. Caregiver’s:
Caregiver's shields for 337 at Rank 7.

337 x 3 = 1011

Unbuffed Non crit RF: 1837
Unbuffed Crit RF: 3131

3131-1837= 1294

One crit heal is worth more than ALL the shields Caregiver's could apply UNLESS you go more points into Caregiver's.

Fiery Blessing > Caregiver's in this case. The more buffs you have (i.e. raid environment) the more your crit heals are going to do, making the difference between Cg's shields and FB greater.

Buffed (Wisdom of the Era) Non crit RF: 1878
Buffed (Wisdom of the Era) Crit RF: 3204

3204 - 1878 = 1326


Unless you spend more than 1 point in Caregiver's, 1 crit will outweigh ALL of the shields it puts up. However, given the fact it places shields ONLY when the target is healed by the Cleric, the only spell that would make Caregiver's useful would be Healing Flare, so you can stack shields instantly and move at the same time. However, many people argue against HF... personally I like it.


Unbuffed Healing Flare: 515
Unbuffed crit Healing Flare: 878

Take a look

The spell only gets better with buffs, and with crits it makes it extremely nice for a spell that can be casted while moving.

Restorative Flame vs. Healing Invocation:

I also spend 1 point into HI simply to have a larger heal when using TtL + Flashover combo. However, the higher your SP, the more effective RF becomes over HI.

HI has a baseline of 3-400hp more than RF correct? Let's assume 1200 spellpower for both. Let's assume RF's baseline is 2000, making HI's 2350 (splitting the difference between 300 and 400).

RF + Ancestral shield = 2000+(1200*.60) = 2000+ 720 = 2720 total healing
HI + HoT = 2350+(2350*.30) =2350 + 705 = 3055 total healing. So on paper, HI is better, but consider this:

Lasting Invocation is an 8second duration, and only heals for 30% of the amount actually healed (which does NOT count overhealing). I'm going to assume the HoT will tick once every 2 seconds (making it 176.5hp per tick).

If you're in a situation where HI is being spammed, you will get LESS effective healing than RF spam.

HI = 3second cast (you DO have Serendipity, but this will actually HURT you when considering your HoT ticks because you refresh them faster, a loss in healing)

8 second duration allows for 2 full casts non-Serendipity, however the HoT refreshes. If you cast HI, apply the HoT, it will tick ONCE for a total of [2350+176.5] = 2526hp, before your second cast lands.

If you were to time it out and allow for 2 casts (which is rough because when it comes to spamming large heals, you don't have time to do this usually)
[2350 + (176.5*2)] = 2703... you're still slightly under RF spam.

If HI's LI were to tick every second for 8 seconds:
705/8=88.125 * 3 = 264.375, offering you a total of 2350 + 264.375 = 2614.375, still putting you under RF spam at 1200 sp.

RF spam is clearly superior when higher amount of spellpower (essentially geared and raid buffed) are considered, and keep in mind, if HI does goes into overhealing, that amount does not count toward the 30% healing worth of LI.

Now for inbetween, applying HI for the Hot and THEN RF spamming, is the most effective way to do things, if you go that far into Sentinel.

[Guide to Healing] The 3x/3x/x builds

[Keeping for posterity, original post here]

[Healing Guide Overview:] The 3x/3x/x builds

Author’s Notes
First off, this is a huge undertaking and I apologize ahead of time for the lengthy post. However, I find that many of the builds people suggest are not posted in any guides section, and people have so many preferences/arguments for one way or another, that I figured the best way to write this guide, was to include them all (at least the popular ones I could find) and let the reader decide which suits them best.

Similar to my Inquisitor guide, I will point out the Pros and Cons of each build. Some of these points will be referenced in posts below this original thread, most of it concerning data based on the numbers/ratios/capabilities of spells/abilities.

With these notes in mind, I hope you find my post useful and informative despite these terms. I will also try to update this guide concerning specific uses where I can.

Why These Builds?

• They offer a great deal of versatility
• They each provide similar but differing playstyles
• They each have their own pros/cons which leaves it up to the player to decide which is best
• If you use a 33/33 or 34/32 build, picking up Templar for the third soul offers a little more mobility

Stat Priority

Each build will favor its own stat priority, but I will do my best to give a worthwhile overview.
Spell Power- Useful for all healing spells. Favors Purifer builds with Ancestral Flame.
Crit Rating- Useful for all builds. Favors builds with Sentinel (Serendipity) or Warden (Overflow).
Wisdom- 1 : .033mp10 / .76sp
Intelligence- Usable in all builds, favoring none.

The Builds

34/32 Puri/Sent
Pros

• Excellent tank healing
• It's use of Restorative Flame scales extremely well with Spellpower
• Provides a variety of cooldowns to use for emergency situations
• Benefits from crit as well due to -Serendipity-, every critical heal lowers the cast time of the next by 1.5sec
• Offers a battle rez
• AoE heals using overheal from Surging Flames and Healing Communion
• AoE healing provides a 5% damage reduction for 6seconds for those effected
• Healing Flare and Healing Breath provide heals that can be applied on the move, HF being spammable

Cons

• No mana return like Cascade provided by Warden, or melee builds
• AoE heal spam is mana intensive
• Slightly less mobility than a Warden build

33/33 Puri/Sent
Pros

• Healing Invocation now applies a HoT based on 30% of the healing done
• All other pros of the 34/32 Puri/Sent with the following exceptions (see Cons):

Cons

• Less moblility than 34/32 No longer has Healing Flare. Only movement heal is Healing Breath.
• Loses out on 2% mana reduction on healing spells
• AoE heals no longer provide 5% reduced damage taken over X seconds
• Suffers from the same Cons as 34/32 Puri/Sent

34/32 Sent/Puri
Pros

• Healing Invocation now becomes the main source heal, providing a 30% HoT based on amount healed
• Provides an extra cooldown the 34/32 puri/sent didn't have, Caregiver's Blessing
• All of the pros of the 34/32 Puri/Sent with the following exceptions (see Cons)

Cons

• Because of talents, Restorative Flame heals for 5% less and no longer applies a SP based shield to the target, making Healing Invocation your main heal
• No Healing Flare. Only movement spell is Healing Breath
• Loses a total of 4% mana cost reduction to healing spells
• Suffers from the cons of the 34/32 Puri/Sent

33/33 Puri/Ward
Pros

• Provides more consistent less bursty AoE healing via Healing Flood (513 health over 12seconds to 5 party/raid members) , and appropriate use of Ripple
• 2min CD Cascade: Returns 15% of the casters base mana over 3sec
• [Healing Breath] instant cast heal, 8sec cd
• Consistent tank-healing provided by Healing Current, Healing Spray, Soothing Stream
• Provides some of the stronger Purifier cooldowns as well as its own
• Benefits about equally from SP or Crit (Overflow talent for crit)
• More mobility than Sent/Puri build

Cons

• The upfront healing is less than a Sentinel build, but it can sustain high HPS
• Gives up some strong cooldowns for consistent healing
• No battle rez
• Burst AoE can be hard to deal with
• No AoE cleanse
• No damage reduction when using AoE spells

32/32/2 Ward/Sent/Puri
Pros

• 10min Battle Rez
• Benefits from some of the Sentinel's stronger cooldowns
• Provides consistent AoE healing and provides better burst AoE healing with Healing Communion
• Consistent single-target healing provided by Healing Current, Healing Spray, Soothing Stream
• 2min CD Cascade: Returns 15% of the casters base mana over 3sec
• Empowering Light - AoE cleanse
• Benefits even more from crit due to Overflow and Serendipity
• AoE heals provide 5% damage reduction
• Talents from Sentinel tree allow the HPS to be higher than Puri/Ward
• More mobility than a Sent/Puri build

Cons

• Sacrifices cooldowns from Puri build for the consistency of Warden
• Has to heal more upfront than a build with Puri due to loss of RF/AF synergy and Ward of the Ancients, so it can be slightly more mana intensive

Tips and Hints

• Every build has its own pros and cons, choose what works best for you or your environment
• Don’t play something you don’t like playing. There are some people who can do things they hate excellently, however most people tend to make more mistakes if they are doing something they don’t like
• Adapt to the build. If you do a lot of moving, you will most likely favor Warden based builds. If you tend to find your place and stand still, you’ll favor Puri/Sent builds.
• There is no right or wrong way to heal. I personally will argue for specific encounters that there are more efficient/effective ways to heal, but in the end, if it gets the job done, it gets the job done.
• Be aware of your cooldowns at all times and any debuffs they play place on the target. A healer is only made stronger by his cooldowns, know when to use them.
• If you use a Warden build, be sure to keep your HoTs up (Soothing Stream, Healing Current, Healing Spray) up on your main target at all times, filling the big heal intervals with Healing Invocation or Restorative Flame

Useful Macros

There are plenty of ways to build macros. I am simply offering some common ones you may see, but you can add/remove/edit anything you wish to customize it for your preference.

Purifier/Sent builds:
#show Touch the Light
suppressmacrofailures
cast Touch the Light
cast Flashover
cast Healing Invocation / Restorative Flame (or Healing Communion / Divine Call for AoE)

#show Touch the Light
suppressmacrofailures
cast Touch the Light
cast Flashover
cast Latent Blaze

Purifier/Warden builds:
#show Flashover
suppressmacrofailures
cast Flashover
cast Tidal Surge
cast Restorative Flame

#show Latent Blaze
suppressmacrofailures
cast Flashover
cast Latent Blaze

Sent/Warden builds:
#show Touch the Light
suppressmacrofailures
Cast Touch the Light
Cast Tidal Surge
Cast Healing Invocation (or Healing Communion / Divine call for AoE)

Simple Mouseover macros:
#show spellname
Cast @mouseover spellname

Final Notes

• This post does not encompass all of the possibilities for these builds, but I hope this has provided enough information to allow any player, new or old, to make informed decisions on what spec to use/how they should heal, etc
• These builds in no way represent anything final. They only offer some of the more common variations you will find. Alter the builds as you see fit, as that is what the purpose of these are.
• For data concerning specific spells/ability uses, please refer to the post below

I hope you all have enjoyed this writeup.

Gamerati Tour

So my friend @LazarusReturns came to visit as part of the Gamerati Tour. I was stoked as I hadn't seen Erik in a few years. We stopped by Asher's agility class and then headed to Flights of Fantasy for an afternoon of gaming. We played Castle Raveloft board game with @ephealy and Aaron & Jeannine while the shop cats of Flights of Fantasy looked on. I also managed to snag a *signed* copy of Laurell K Hamilton's latest book, Hit List - on sale no less!

I have no officially found a place to get rid of some old books that I no longer need, the store has a huge used Fantasy/Sci-fi collection.

Lightshow

Deadmau5 - Professional Griefers from POSSIBLE on Vimeo.