Hi. I 've been gone a while and was recently playing around with my 2 handed cleric. I wasn't sure with all the changes that have happened if this is still a viable path, or if I'd be better off just re-rolling into a paladin(though I'd rather stay a cleric)? So far, my skills/stats look like this:

(at level 15), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:

| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use...............................| 78 17
Combat Maneuvers.................| 35 7
Two-Handed Weapons.................| 78 17
Physical Fitness...................| 78 17
Arcane Symbols.....................| 45 9
Magic Item Use.....................| 40 8
Harness Power......................| 78 17
Spirit Mana Control................| 78 17
Spiritual Lore - Blessings.........| 78 17
Perception...........................| 70 15
Climbing.............................| 5 1
Swimming...........................| 5 1
First Aid..........................| 40 8

Spell Lists
Major Spiritual....................| 15

Spell Lists
Minor Spiritual....................| 5

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 15


Race: Dark Elf
Level: 15

STR: 83 (16) ... 83 (16)
CON: 65 (2) ... 65 (2)
DEX: 73 (21) ... 73 (21)
AGI: 70 (15) ... 70 (15)
DIS: 72 (1) ... 72 (1)
AUR: 92 (31) ... 92 (31)
LOG: 67 (8) ... 67 (8)
INT: 77 (18) ... 77 (18)
WIS: 67 (13) ... 67 (13)
INF: 47 (-6) ... 47 (-6)
Mana: 52

I'm not exactly sure what skills or spell circles are important to have going this route, so any advice in regard to that as well as stat placement would be really helpful. Thank you!

I capped as a THW using cleric. Giantkin with 100 Str and Con, plenty of white crystals and a 7x perfect maul. Not the most efficient means of combat, but with decent religion lore and Cleric circle CS, you can freeze a lot of foes with 316, then bash their heads in. Disarm and Feint are useful CMans to learn.


THW weapon use is mostly a style thing; it looks cool. Post cap I converted to brawling/shield and pumped my CS up to 510. Basically I now just use CS spells to kill things. Empaths are actually better at weapon combat, as their spells yield a higher AS boost. I have a warpath with 30 ranks of MOC and a weapon AS of 470, which isn't bad.

Ya, empaths are op. Them and wizards

As I gaze over the horizon, the wind tugs at my cloak and whispers, "Adventure" in my ear.

AIM: Kaight (Matt) GS4

>Ya, empaths are op.

I don't know if I'd go as far as OP, but if I could only play one profession and RP wasn't a concern, it would definitely be an empath. Amazing with CS spells one-on-one, amazing with CS spells in swarms, great at bolting, great at swinging, exceptional in two societies and still great in the third, amazing at skinning, amazing at foraging, amazing at rescuing, the most opportunities to gain exp without hunting, can cast with injuries...

It's the entire Gemstone experience in a single profession, minus a few things that people would be happy to do without anyway, like carrying twenty pounds of herbs.

Which brings me to the original question!



>if this is still a viable path, or if I'd be better off just re-rolling into a paladin(though I'd rather stay a cleric)?

Actually, I'd recommend an empath unless there's something exclusive to clerics that draws you to them. Unlike paladins, empaths share almost all of a cleric's characteristics both in flavor and mechanics, so it's not a huge change--and wherever they do vary in mechanics, it's usually in favor of the empath. IMO they're a far more flexible and fun profession than clerics or paladins.

That's my perspective, at least, but everyone's different. You could always add an extra character slot and give an empath a try, then decide from there whether to keep or deactivate the empath. Early levels go super quick now because of gifts of Lumnis.



Last things:

You haven't really tried a cleric until you can cast 319/Soul Ward at level 19. They're among the best in the game defensively because of that spell and you might find it appealing. I wouldn't recommend deciding anything until you've at least gotten that far!


For solo hunting purposes, when comparing clerics and empaths, I'd actually say that a cleric's low AS isn't really a big deal, since 316/Censure can severely drop enemy DS, making up any difference and keeping the path viable. The empath can still cast 214/Bind or 118/Web, but many things are immune to Web, Bind is extremely mana heavy, and neither of them hit multiple enemies like Censure does. Clerics also have 301/Prayer of Holding for the undead, which is far better than Bind.

However, what does make the warpath better in my eyes is 1117/Empathic Link, the spell that basically turns attacks into mstrikes and turns mstrikes into--well, super mstrikes, I guess. :P It also lets you obliterate the highest DS enemy by targeting the lowest DS enemy, which can get interesting! Probably my favorite spell in the game for a balance of power and how it changes the dynamic of the hunt.

As for medium sized or larger groups (say 5+ characters) that will make creatures die real quick, empaths' better AS does have an impact since being able to hit hard without casting setup spells first is a big advantage.

---

https://gswiki.play.net/Leafiara - last update: Rise of Rone events and aftermath