Tronko
Well-known member
Hello everyone. This time I'm sharing a cleric support build that I've been playing in the past few months. It's very simple but solid and effective. 
Tbh I've always looked at tank-healer builds (like Cleric/FVS + Fighter, Cleric/FVS + Paladin) with a bit of disgust… so I tried a pure cleric.
The cleric is a somewhat meh class, but it has some very strong unique abilities. In this specific case, three in particular: Protection Domain, the Warpriest tree, and Positive Energy Burst.
Let's start with the domain: at level 20, Protection Domain gives 25 PRR, 5 MRR, 25 AC, a nice Radiant Forcefield (currently only self), and above all 40 divine PRR and 40 divine MRR for everyone. This buff is huge (compared, for example, to the defensive buffs provided by a bard) and is also triggered by Positive Energy Burst.
Positive Energy Burst is an extraordinary ability at zero cost. It takes metamagics, and with Quicken, its casting animation is way smoother than the clumsy Turn Undead.
Now, starting from these basics, the race I chose is Beasthide Shifter. Rage (+4 Rage bonus to Armor Class and Constitution, +3 Constitution from Hardy Rage), 22 PRR, 30 Hamp, 5% Quality HP. And then Howl: -14 Attack for 20 seconds, and +14 PRR and MRR to allies.
In summary, a Beasthide Cleric 20 results in an excellent support for tanks and melee, offering buffs up to 54 PRR and MRR, up to +13 AC (Sacred Touch, Inflame, Holy Aura, Recitation in addition to -14 Attack debuff), 15% Energy absorption (for 30 seconds every 90). For melees, there are obviously Prayer, the +4 attack/damage from Inflame, and of course, Implacable Foe (+10% Damage). With Positive Energy Burst, Mass Cure spells, and 8 Lay on Hands in addition, it's very unlikely that those near you will die.
Of course, this build is perfectly capable of tanking anything in r10 quests and even low-skull raids. The defenses are solid, and naturally, you can rely on Forcefield (SLA and clickies) and Dark Discorporation.
Here's a brief overview of my stats in Reaper (self-buffed)
Beasthide Shifter Cleric 20 Protection Domain, US (40) EA (22) DI (13)
Positive spell power is around 1000, with 55% Positive Spell Critical Chance and 86% Positive Spell Critical Damage.
Healing Amp is 319 standing, I have a weapon swap set for self healing with 415.
Intimidate is 112, you can drink Steel’s Coffee for 122, and if needed swap necklace to Glib Tongue for 135.
Prepared Spells
I chose to invest a little in Light and Fire spell power to be able to complete quests at least in r1. Obviously, it's not a farming build, but you can rush with Sprint boost and wings, aggro everything, and then clean up with Celestial Bombardment, Firestorm, and Divine Wrath.
Enhancements
The Warpriest is a support tree, but it has many phenomenal features. Let's start from the end. The capstone, Implacable Foe, offers a nice unique buff (+10% damage), and tier 5 has Divine Intervention. Divine Bastion gives +10 PRR, +10 MRR, +10 AC in heavy armor, and +20% Competence bonus to maximum hit points (only 5% less than paladin or fighter stances, but you can use rage). Core 4 gives 10% sacred bonus to HP, the tree offers AC, PRR, Inflame which is a nice buff (it has a long cooldown but lasts 30 seconds), and Greater Inflame adds Energy Absorption on top. Ameliorating Strike is good, as well as Magic Backlash. Sacred Touch gives +3 AC and +3 PRR to all healed allies.
Feats
Quicken, Empower, Maximize, Shield Mastery, Improved Shield Mastery, Greater Shield Mastery, Toughness, Epic Toughness, Perfect Shield Mastery, Intensify, Epic Spell Power Positive, Empower Heal, Fount of Life, Epic DR, Scion of Celestia, Legendary Toughness.
Enlarge should be taken especially for some raids that have large spaces and for those ranged/casters who as soon as they take damage start running away like headless chickens. I didn't take it because I hate ranged toons (and want them dead) and I only care about my loved melees.
Epic Destinies
Draconic Incarnation is necessary if you want to be a Beasthide and cast in rage. It's not a bad tree at all for a tanky build. Besides rage casting, it gives no fail on fortitude and Scales of the Dragon (choose the color based on what you need, fire is probably the standard choice).
You want EA mainly for wings and extra turns + regeneration. I use EA Mantle. Optionally, you can use the Sentinel's Mantle (+10% hp), but I personally prefer EA's as I'm solid enough and I’m not a pure tank.
From Sentinel, however, I take the t5 for 10% hp, free Deific Warding, Undying Vanguard, Light the Dark.
Currently, EA's t5 sucks hard, but if Chain Cure becomes juicy as it seems with U66, EA t5 will be a valid alternative.
Gear Setup
The goal was to be tanky and include as much positive healing gear as possible.
I started with the Forbidden set's goggles and gloves, which give respectively +20 Quality PRR and +20 Quality MRR. Then I chose the Defender of Tanaroa Set, which gives +30 Artifact bonus to Positive, Negative, and Repair amplification, +6% Artifact bonus to Universal Spell Critical Chance, +25 Artifact bonus to Universal Spellpower, +30 Artifact bonus to Magical Resistance Rating. I slotted exceptional spell critical chance and spell power in dino armor, 30-20-10 positive spell critical damage in dino helm, and the cloak has Equipped Healing Amplification +28 in addition to other useful things.
So, what's missing? 10% HP, PRR, 15% AC, and preferably positive critical chance and spell power. I chose to use a gem with Wards of House Kundarak (+15% Artifact bonus Armor Class, +30 Artifact bonus to Physical Resistance Rating) and Vulkor Chosen (+30 Artifact bonus to Poison Resistance, +3 Sneak Dice, +3 Artifact bonus to Saving Throws, +3 Artifact bonus to Dexterity and Constitution). 10% Hp is slotted as an augment set.
At this point, there was only one option left, and I put two Sacred Bands for the Legendary Divine Blessing set (+6% Artifact bonus to Light, Alignment, and Positive Spell Critical Chance, +30 Artifact bonus to Light, Alignment, and Positive Spellpower).
If you don't feel like farming the right gem, using the dual sets of Champions of the Twins is an option. In any case, farming a double gem is a walk compared to the damn cards that in my opinion are a real cancer that the game (which already has a loot system to bang your head against the wall) really didn't need.
I have no good card in my gear set, so the stats you see could be better. In particular, I lack Curse of the Unstoppable One (+2% Fortune Bonus to Maximum Hit Points, +3% Fortune Bonus to Armor Class), +2 Con, etc. I don't even have the reaper bonus on my armor. Not that the cards make a real difference for a support build. Unfortunately, they do for DPS.
As for the filigrees, I use a basic all-around setup featuring: Sneak Bite / Grandfather’s Shield x2, Soulweaver / Splendid Cacophony x2, Purity / Touch of grace x2, Elemental Avatar Constitution x2, Touch of Grace Positive Spellpower, Splendid Cacophony Constitution, Nystul’s / Electrocution, Nystul’s Constitution, Nystul’s MRR, Nystul’s Fire Absorb.
Pros:
Tbh I've always looked at tank-healer builds (like Cleric/FVS + Fighter, Cleric/FVS + Paladin) with a bit of disgust… so I tried a pure cleric.
The cleric is a somewhat meh class, but it has some very strong unique abilities. In this specific case, three in particular: Protection Domain, the Warpriest tree, and Positive Energy Burst.
Let's start with the domain: at level 20, Protection Domain gives 25 PRR, 5 MRR, 25 AC, a nice Radiant Forcefield (currently only self), and above all 40 divine PRR and 40 divine MRR for everyone. This buff is huge (compared, for example, to the defensive buffs provided by a bard) and is also triggered by Positive Energy Burst.
Positive Energy Burst is an extraordinary ability at zero cost. It takes metamagics, and with Quicken, its casting animation is way smoother than the clumsy Turn Undead.
Now, starting from these basics, the race I chose is Beasthide Shifter. Rage (+4 Rage bonus to Armor Class and Constitution, +3 Constitution from Hardy Rage), 22 PRR, 30 Hamp, 5% Quality HP. And then Howl: -14 Attack for 20 seconds, and +14 PRR and MRR to allies.
In summary, a Beasthide Cleric 20 results in an excellent support for tanks and melee, offering buffs up to 54 PRR and MRR, up to +13 AC (Sacred Touch, Inflame, Holy Aura, Recitation in addition to -14 Attack debuff), 15% Energy absorption (for 30 seconds every 90). For melees, there are obviously Prayer, the +4 attack/damage from Inflame, and of course, Implacable Foe (+10% Damage). With Positive Energy Burst, Mass Cure spells, and 8 Lay on Hands in addition, it's very unlikely that those near you will die.
Of course, this build is perfectly capable of tanking anything in r10 quests and even low-skull raids. The defenses are solid, and naturally, you can rely on Forcefield (SLA and clickies) and Dark Discorporation.
Here's a brief overview of my stats in Reaper (self-buffed)
Beasthide Shifter Cleric 20 Protection Domain, US (40) EA (22) DI (13)
Positive spell power is around 1000, with 55% Positive Spell Critical Chance and 86% Positive Spell Critical Damage.
Healing Amp is 319 standing, I have a weapon swap set for self healing with 415.
Intimidate is 112, you can drink Steel’s Coffee for 122, and if needed swap necklace to Glib Tongue for 135.
Prepared Spells
I chose to invest a little in Light and Fire spell power to be able to complete quests at least in r1. Obviously, it's not a farming build, but you can rush with Sprint boost and wings, aggro everything, and then clean up with Celestial Bombardment, Firestorm, and Divine Wrath.
Enhancements
The Warpriest is a support tree, but it has many phenomenal features. Let's start from the end. The capstone, Implacable Foe, offers a nice unique buff (+10% damage), and tier 5 has Divine Intervention. Divine Bastion gives +10 PRR, +10 MRR, +10 AC in heavy armor, and +20% Competence bonus to maximum hit points (only 5% less than paladin or fighter stances, but you can use rage). Core 4 gives 10% sacred bonus to HP, the tree offers AC, PRR, Inflame which is a nice buff (it has a long cooldown but lasts 30 seconds), and Greater Inflame adds Energy Absorption on top. Ameliorating Strike is good, as well as Magic Backlash. Sacred Touch gives +3 AC and +3 PRR to all healed allies.
Feats
Quicken, Empower, Maximize, Shield Mastery, Improved Shield Mastery, Greater Shield Mastery, Toughness, Epic Toughness, Perfect Shield Mastery, Intensify, Epic Spell Power Positive, Empower Heal, Fount of Life, Epic DR, Scion of Celestia, Legendary Toughness.
Enlarge should be taken especially for some raids that have large spaces and for those ranged/casters who as soon as they take damage start running away like headless chickens. I didn't take it because I hate ranged toons (and want them dead) and I only care about my loved melees.
Epic Destinies
Draconic Incarnation is necessary if you want to be a Beasthide and cast in rage. It's not a bad tree at all for a tanky build. Besides rage casting, it gives no fail on fortitude and Scales of the Dragon (choose the color based on what you need, fire is probably the standard choice).
You want EA mainly for wings and extra turns + regeneration. I use EA Mantle. Optionally, you can use the Sentinel's Mantle (+10% hp), but I personally prefer EA's as I'm solid enough and I’m not a pure tank.
From Sentinel, however, I take the t5 for 10% hp, free Deific Warding, Undying Vanguard, Light the Dark.
Currently, EA's t5 sucks hard, but if Chain Cure becomes juicy as it seems with U66, EA t5 will be a valid alternative.
Gear Setup
The goal was to be tanky and include as much positive healing gear as possible.
I started with the Forbidden set's goggles and gloves, which give respectively +20 Quality PRR and +20 Quality MRR. Then I chose the Defender of Tanaroa Set, which gives +30 Artifact bonus to Positive, Negative, and Repair amplification, +6% Artifact bonus to Universal Spell Critical Chance, +25 Artifact bonus to Universal Spellpower, +30 Artifact bonus to Magical Resistance Rating. I slotted exceptional spell critical chance and spell power in dino armor, 30-20-10 positive spell critical damage in dino helm, and the cloak has Equipped Healing Amplification +28 in addition to other useful things.
So, what's missing? 10% HP, PRR, 15% AC, and preferably positive critical chance and spell power. I chose to use a gem with Wards of House Kundarak (+15% Artifact bonus Armor Class, +30 Artifact bonus to Physical Resistance Rating) and Vulkor Chosen (+30 Artifact bonus to Poison Resistance, +3 Sneak Dice, +3 Artifact bonus to Saving Throws, +3 Artifact bonus to Dexterity and Constitution). 10% Hp is slotted as an augment set.
At this point, there was only one option left, and I put two Sacred Bands for the Legendary Divine Blessing set (+6% Artifact bonus to Light, Alignment, and Positive Spell Critical Chance, +30 Artifact bonus to Light, Alignment, and Positive Spellpower).
If you don't feel like farming the right gem, using the dual sets of Champions of the Twins is an option. In any case, farming a double gem is a walk compared to the damn cards that in my opinion are a real cancer that the game (which already has a loot system to bang your head against the wall) really didn't need.
I have no good card in my gear set, so the stats you see could be better. In particular, I lack Curse of the Unstoppable One (+2% Fortune Bonus to Maximum Hit Points, +3% Fortune Bonus to Armor Class), +2 Con, etc. I don't even have the reaper bonus on my armor. Not that the cards make a real difference for a support build. Unfortunately, they do for DPS.
As for the filigrees, I use a basic all-around setup featuring: Sneak Bite / Grandfather’s Shield x2, Soulweaver / Splendid Cacophony x2, Purity / Touch of grace x2, Elemental Avatar Constitution x2, Touch of Grace Positive Spellpower, Splendid Cacophony Constitution, Nystul’s / Electrocution, Nystul’s Constitution, Nystul’s MRR, Nystul’s Fire Absorb.
Pros:
- With all the buffs and heals you have, melee DPS and tanks will adore you.
- If there are no tanks, you can tank yourself. Anything in r10 quests, and even raids, of course, without exaggeration.
- PRR is great, even for tank standards.
- Good mobility: wings and Sprint boost.
- With Divine Might e Throw the Boom, you have an effective area CC.
- You can make the scene with Celestial Bombardment, Divine Wrath, Positive Energy Burst, not to mention Inflame and Implacable foe. Very flashy!
- You need friends to play with. You can solo farm r1, with suffering.
- Almost zero threat, so for tanking you just rely on Intimidate and Knight's Challenge.
- 10% dodge.
