Need more help with my cleric please..

[Rune]

With fixskills coming up, I've been considering a change as it has been getting progressively harder and harder to hunt. Looking for some advice.

Normal (Bonus) ... Enhanced (Bonus)
Strength (STR): 99 (29) ... 99 (29)
Constitution (CON): 59 (4) ... 59 (4)
Dexterity (DEX): 57 (3) ... 57 (3)
Agility (AGI): 87 (18) ... 87 (18)
Discipline (DIS): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Aura (AUR): 98 (24) ... 98 (24)
Logic (LOG): 53 (6) ... 53 (6)
Intuition (INT): 93 (26) ... 93 (26)
Wisdom (WIS): 96 (23) ... 96 (23)
Influence (INF): 59 (4) ... 59 (4)
Mana: 120 Silver: 3

(at level 37), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 130 35
Shield Use.........................| 138 39
Brawling...........................| 138 39
Physical Fitness...................| 102 24
Arcane Symbols.....................| 86 19
Magic Item Use.....................| 86 19
Harness Power......................| 138 39
Spirit Mana Control................| 138 39
Spiritual Lore - Religion..........| 138 39
Perception.........................| 54 11
Climbing...........................| 74 16
Swimming...........................| 50 10
First Aid..........................| 54 11

Spell Lists
Major Spirit.......................| 25

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 30

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 40
(Use SKILLS BASE to display unmodified ranks and goals)

2.5x in spells, with 6x shield and 6x brig. Even in full defensive, self cast my DS is only around 390-400 or so. If I drop stance to cast for the better crits, I get my ass kicked in 2-3 hits. Because I'm smite, I don't really have the mana to hunt living. I live in Icemule and so when I can't learn adequately from farmhands anymore, I'm basically screwed.

I can't ward giants or glacei often enough to kill them mana efficiently with 317, and they both swarm to the point where I can't hunt the frozen corpses without getting stomped by 2-3 glacei that I can't calm (because they break it) or 2-3 giants that I can't calm (because they break it). I even tried seekers, which aren't all that hard for their level, except they still ward too high for me to hit them.

So things just swing at me until my DS drops from the multi-opps system. Then one of them will spirit strike and hit me for a stun (this is in full defensive by the way), then I'll get hit by a shard and it's all over.

Do clerics just become impossible to hunt at a certain level? I guess I can became a fog/raise bot.. but meh. So, yeah.. help please =)

[Xaerve]

I'd drop your 200's and 100's, and up that cleric CS, I didn't get 225 till ~40, and then worked on 130.

Here is my training at 61, I have no problem drastically up-hunting...

Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 40 8
Shield Use.........................| 163 63
Brawling...........................| 163 63
Physical Fitness...................| 102 24
Harness Power......................| 163 63
Spirit Mana Control................| 158 58
Spiritual Lore - Religion..........| 162 62
Climbing...........................| 105 25
Swimming...........................| 90 20

Spell Lists
Major Spirit.......................| 40

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 40

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 91


Edit: I also hunt in offensive fine, 6x hcp leathers and 10x shield.

[StrayRogue]

Your DS is fine. My level 60 empath hunts with a 420 DS. You're problem is being caught in offensive stance, which as a pure is something you don't want to be doing.

[Celephais]

Your DS is fine. My level 60 empath hunts with a 420 DS. You're problem is being caught in offensive stance, which as a pure is something you don't want to be doing.

I was going to say, her DS seemed really well... So it's either tactics or creature selection

Might want to set up a macro that is "stance off\rinc302\rstance def\r", in good latency conditions you wont' hit the typeahead and it'll work great.

If swarms cause you trouble and it starts swarming... leave the room, and peer into it a bunch, they'll spread out.

You can also try hit and run tactics (set up a ctrl and alt keypad macros, one being "peer direction\r" and the other being "direction\rinc 302\rreverseDirection\r") for manuevering creatures or for thining a swarm. It's cheesy as hell but... it works really well, and the more people do it, the more the GMs will be encouraged to make an engagement system.

Edit to add: Obviously the hit/run tactic should be used with care if there are other adventurers about, as you don't want to piss them off by running into their room and attacking.

[Things2Come]

Go down to the landing and hunt pookas/miners. Your training looks good, just alter what you're hunting.

[Orp]

You failed to state what kind of armor you are wearing, am assuming you do not use a runestaff as you have shield ranks maxed

[Celephais]

You failed to state what kind of armor you are wearing, am assuming you do not use a runestaff as you have shield ranks maxed

No she didn't, she said 6x brig and 6x shield. She didn't mention if it was padded or anything, but it's safe to assume it's not in that she didn't.

She could also potentially carry an enchanted weapon for extra parry DS, but it's safe to assume she just goes open handed.

[Rune]

6x brig, 6x shield, no padding, can't afford it. I hunt with one open hand. I generally have a 320-330ish DS in offensive stance with a statue (which I always have). Not sure why people think I'm a she =p

The problem is really only when I get swarmed and nicked to death by glacei maneuver attacks, and then an ice wraith walks in and boils me. Or else a corpse gets a lucky crit. And it's not like I just stand there and let myself get swarmed.

Just running through a room I could get hit by a glacei ice rock and take a 5 round stun, and before I get unstunned.. all of a sudden there can be 4-5 more glacei in the room or a wraith/corpse, and I get hit with more ice rocks and by the time I'm out of stun, I'm either dead or close enough to the point where I have to stop my hunt early.

[Rathain]

Just a quick questiion. Are you in a society ? If so, are you using all the defensive signs/symbols ? Are you using outside elemental spells ? Try moor wights and vourkha in EN. I think you'll do pretty well there as a smite cleric. I remember hunting there and didn't have a problem. I didn't use a shield most of the time, had 1 rank in brawling, exclusively channeled in offensive, and did just fine. I'm not sure exactly why you're having DS problems, because your gear now was better than my standard issue 4x doubles. To die in the black moor, you'll have to accidentally 317 yourself and score a high roll.

Since your soliciting advice, I would recommend dropping your shield ranks to 1, and brawling to 1. Also, I would drop SMC to 24, and stop religion lore at 40. Also, I would just use double leather, and drop armor ranks to 8. I would pump the rest of the TP's to max CS. (2/3 level for MnS and MjS, and 35+ over level for cleric circle.) Fast and tlight has been my strategy for hunting, and continues to work well as my cleric approaches the endgame.

[Celephais]

I'm sorry Rune, I thought you were Rue, the "journal of a priestess" individual (just had to check that thread, figure out how I was wrong). I actually typed he and then was like, wait, didn't he do the priestess thing and corrected myself... I was kind of wondering why your text wasn't red.

[Necromancer]

Some suggestions:

1. You're overtraining in shield use. You only need to be .5x. The DS difference is minimal, and those TPs can be going elsewhere to bolster your spells. The big difference is in your blocking rate, but a .5x difference isn't significant. That's more for semis and squares.

2. You're blowing a lot of TPs in armor use for that brig. You're also introducing a higher spell failure rate, which sucks more mana that you can't afford when your CS hasn't quite outpaced what you're hunting. I'd consider whether or not you need brig. Yes it's great if you're hit, but the point should be not getting hit to begin with.

3. Do you need 130? I mean that...do you *need* 130? Those are 10 spell ranks (and 10 DS, to be fair) that you could be putting into your clerical circle for 8 additional CS points. You should be freeing up TPs to overtrain in clerical. Try to hit 20 ranks over your level as soon as possible.

4. You need at least one more rank of religion lore to your 319 will have 3 damage cycles. 319 can be a great spell because it buys you time. While the cycles are hitting you're keeping creatures stunned and/or knocked over (assuming you're not hunting noncorporeal undead). And you can keep casting while it's going.

5. Do you *need* 10 ranks of swimming? Are you hunting in RR? Too often players end up building up skills like swimming many, many levels before they need them. Why not use those TPs for something you can use now and pick up those other skills right before you need them? 11 ranks of FA? What is that buying you? Shave it off.

6. Your tactics need adjusting, as has been noted. Are you making use of 316? It's a great room disabler. 217? People don't use mass interference nearly enough; it's amazing. It's lowering AS, DS, and TD plus it's creating spell failure. Are you making use of 311? It'll put a creature out of comission long enough, and if they kneel you buy more time since their next action will almost always be to stand (If they're BCS).

See if that helps any. Also, joining COL for wracking can be a vital way to get the mana you need. It's not cheap to hunt as a cleric. But they're a highly effective hunting class when done correctly.

[cronuss]

I would try coming to the Landing area and goto Castle Varunar.

There are Skeletar Warhorses and Skeletal Lords there that are high 30s or low 40s. My 39 Sorcerer has been hunting them lately and they are great... and I will be taking my Cleric there when he's old enough.

The only thing you have to worry about are the manuevers... which aren't very often and you can usually dodge them easily. My sorcerer dodges them, so a Cleric shouldn't have ANY problems.

Their AS doesn't get that high, either... mid-high 200's I believe.

Give em a try.

There is also a good script to get from Wehnimer North Gate to Varunar.

Once there, just go over the drawbridge, head around east then north a tad (through Rotting Corpses and Roa'ters) and go ramp.

There's also a node right in there, on the western side of the square... just go doors.

Last but not least, you can goto the door in the northeast of the square and search and go passage... go stair... and you have Phantasms and more Lords. I think the Phantasms are even higher than lords.