OK, this one is really tough for me, I hate playing Clerics and a guild mate wants a build.

She's going to TR an old Dwarf cleric from like 10 years ago, from back when Dwarf had enhancements to spell points. She'd like to stay dwarf because she has a bunch of Dwarven Axes that are decent, and likes having a lot of hit points.

The party role will be mostly healing and buffing, with some melee combat to alleviate the boredom between heals.

Not much in the way of tomes, I think +2 or +3 on Wis and Con. No significant raid gear. No paid enhancements. Little heroic greensteel - conc op & a DR breaker dwarven axe, I think.

The good news is reaper isn't even on the table, we'll be playing mostly hard or elite, and always in a party, usually with a rogue and a fighter type.

I'm thinking maybe 18 Cleric with 2 Barb for fast movement, sprint boost, and Martial Weapon proficiency. Going T5 in RS for Reactive Heal, and Earth domain for Stoneskin, Melf's, and Earthquake (a real crowd pleaser in our runs).

But I'm also wondering if maybe I should get martial weapon proficiency from another class, like 2 Fighter for the feats, or just spend a feat on it to keep Cleric 20?

Or a deeper splash?

Any must-have enhancements for the splash? I'd hate to miss a good synergy just because I can't follow the latest bugs and overperforming features.

Or maybe I should try to talk her out of Dwarf entirely, it seems like the advantages Dwarven Clerics had have been nerfed?

We're not planning to do reaper, but would this build be OK in a party on Elite?

Thanks for any advice you can offer, I'll pass it all on.

UnknownBuilder wrote on Jul 15^th, 2019 at 7:36pm:


But it's not your fucking build, you found it on another site and posted it here. This is the inconsistent shit you spew that ensures folk won't have the opportunity to think you're anything other than more retarded than your photorealistic profile picture would suggest.

I had a pretty solid Dwarf cleric build for one of my alts. 15 cleric/4 paladin/1 fighter. It relied on maximizing Constitution for extra HP and damage (Throw your weight around), with enough STR to hit, Wis to cast buffs, and and some cha for saves and turn attempts (healing bursts).

Still used Radiant Servant for the main class, but you also want Sacred Defender for the +6 CON, +20% HP while in defender stance. (Throw Your Weight Around also requires 18 AP).

I used a great axe, so feats were:
Power attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical: Slash, Quicken, Maximize, Empowered Healing, and Empower Spell.

If you have the Dex tomes you could go TWF (I'd drop cleave, great cleave, and empower).

Dwarven axes are good, but another good option would be Warhammers (follower of Onatar + Knights training is great).

The result was a very durable healer that is more than capable of soloing (or keeping the party alive).

Thanks all, a few questions about your replies:

UB: Do you mean http://www.ddovault.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1557901034 ? If so, she doesn't have (and isn't buying) paid trees, would this build work without them? What would you take instead of Falconer?

BCS: I really like the sound of this, she's got a +2 Dex tome and I might have an unbound +2 -> +3 I could give her, what would that be enough for the TWF variant with a 34 point build, or would it be too gimped in other areas? She barely plays anymore so I'm sure buying a tome is not an option, but she's one of my few guild members that plays at all anymore so it's worth giving her the upgrade if I have it. If she went TWF, what feats would you suggest?

5FS: You mentioned a melee domain, suggestions for the top contender(s) and why?

Anyway, thanks again and I'll pass the info on and be back with any questions she has. I appreciate the tips!

Because 5's can't read, I'll suggest the Destruction Domain because it's bonuses seem in line with benefitting Dwarven Axes the most.

20 Dwarf Cleric War Domain
14 all starting stats +/- racial mods, + levels Charisma

33 Warpriest
41 Radiant Servant
6 VKF

Feats SWFx3, Precision, IC:S, Quicken, Maximize, OC, Imp. Shield Bash, PSWF, Haste, PTWF, Dire Charge, Arborea, Epic DR

ED: LD w/ Confront Any Foe

Please don't ever builds melee clerics. Why are people obsessed with such completely useless concept/build/role in ddo ?

Because even though we all end up as dust, its utterly fucking imperative to get as much shit accumulated as possible before then.

Especially virtual shit.

By making anything other than their meta, power gamers feel like you are effectively stealing some of the shit they would otherwise be able to accumulate faster.

Wipe wrote on Jul 20^th, 2019 at 12:29pm:


People want healers, but a character that can only heal is boring and a waste of a party slot.

5 Foot Step wrote on Jul 22^nd, 2019 at 9:24am:

If the healers in your groups are bored, that means one of two things:
1) You're not running content difficult enough for the party members to consistently take damage
2) You're not going fast enough

Solution:  Increase the difficulty to take advantage of having the healer and make them earn their keep.  If you're already running high skulls and they're still bored, you're not clearing fast enough.

If anything, in appropriately challenging content, a dedicated healbot is one of the busiest and most intense, challenging builds to play well and is anything but boring. 

Granted, running a healbot takes a particular type of person and it's definitely not for everyone.  We've burned out more healer players than virtually any other class in our groups.  Most cite a need to do something a bit easier and mindless as the reason for taking a break, playing an alt or TRing to a different build.

Meursault wrote on Jul 22^nd, 2019 at 7:32am:

Soundburst, Destruction, Command, Comet or neg levels serves every party much much better than really weak melee damage addition. From newb party to r10 speedgods. Plus the range is bit of advantage too.

And as for healing boring ? Even the best r10 party requires full attention,if you REALLY try to keep people from not dying. Know champs, bosses, pulls, clickies. Knowing how your party will react helps immensely too.
Expect who and when takes damage, not just react.
I have always liked playing hjealer but it can get exhausting after one or two hours.

Favoured Soul