Fu/smiter

[Atkins]

So i'm thinking of an undead whuppin warrior of god (Koar).

How viable is singling brawling for fu for a cleric? How long could i viably kick the stuffing out of things?

Also, i'm thinking dwarf. Should i think of something with a higher dex? Dwarf is perfect for RP purposes.

I also would want to be a bolter. atleast for as long as its viable.

Any stat placements and skill training plans would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance yo!

[Dyslexia]

Thanks for telling me its ok to eat lobster drenched in butter and prime rib all day

[Atkins]

I fully endorse the Bacon Weave(tm).

[JDDZ]

I have a 2hw weapon cleric, he kicks ass. I'm sure a voln fu cleric would kick ass as well.

[Atkins]

i just haven't played a cleric in years. They've gone through a lot of changes, and i'm just hesitant to start one with the build i have in mind without a little bit of input. I think fu would be awesome, but with just 1x in brawling i'm wondering how other people have done. I always figure later on down the road i could just smite stuff and fu when neccesary.

[dott]

I play a cleric with 1x brawl, .4xish shield, optimized for pretty high CS.

I switched to brawl around level 55 or 60, when I realized that runestaff DS in offensive stance blew. I was pleasantly surprised that low MBs on Stronghold critters made Fu a valid way of saving mana, especially on high HP, fire resistant/immune living critters (as Koar you'll get lightning, which runs into the same problem in the Stronghold but less so elsewhere).

At 84, Fu is less useful than it was then, but I still bust it out regularly. Its tendency to crit-kill low MB things makes it often faster and more mana-effective to 301/fu than channeling 302 repeatedly (n'ecares are a perfect victim of this). However, it's not viable against many critters. Defensive spells raise MB enough that it's utterly useless against caster-types, and even against most warrior types you'll have trouble unless you disable them first (with a few exceptions - both types of earth elementals in the Stronghold basement are perfect fu targets). That said, Fu is definitely more of a mana saver than a staple at high levels.

Anyway, I'd definitely recommend the brawl/shield route even if you aren't planning to use fu, as it adds a good amount of survivability in the form of higher DS and block chance while in offensive stance, where you'll find yourself a lot as 302, 312, and 317 are all far more effective when channeled from offensive with an open hand (or two for even better effect). I hunt very effectively in the Rift on plane 3, in the Stronghold basement (sticking to the krynches/earth elemental area with 204 to keep the Illoke off my ass), and the OTF aqueducts and west woods.

Here's my skills/stats:

Subarashi (at level 84), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 150 50
Shield Use.........................| 126 33
Brawling...........................| 185 85
Physical Fitness...................| 102 24
Arcane Symbols.....................| 186 86
Magic Item Use.....................| 186 86
Harness Power......................| 203 103
Spirit Mana Control................| 200 100
Spiritual Lore - Blessings.........| 70 15
Spiritual Lore - Religion..........| 152 52
Spiritual Lore - Summoning.........| 120 30
Survival...........................| 120 30
Perception.........................| 120 30
Climbing...........................| 120 30
Swimming...........................| 140 40
First Aid..........................| 186 86

Spell Lists
Major Spirit.......................| 44

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 44

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 127

Name: Subarashi Corleine Race: Half-Elf Profession: Cleric (shown as: Matriarch of Oleani)
Gender: Female Age: 49 Expr: 5882494 Level: 84
Normal (Bonus) ... Enhanced (Bonus)
Strength (STR): 91 (20) ... 95 (22)
Constitution (CON): 83 (16) ... 83 (16)
Dexterity (DEX): 76 (18) ... 76 (18)
Agility (AGI): 85 (27) ... 85 (27)
Discipline (DIS): 100 (20) ... 100 (20)
Aura (AUR): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Logic (LOG): 95 (22) ... 95 (22)
Intuition (INT): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Wisdom (WIS): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Influence (INF): 78 (19) ... 78 (19)

Level 0 Stats for Subarashi, Half-Elf Cleric

Strength (STR): 62
Constitution (CON): 53
Dexterity (DEX): 58
Agility (AGI): 63
Discipline (DIS): 79
Aura (AUR): 88
Logic (LOG): 62
Intuition (INT): 77
Wisdom (WIS): 80
Influence (INF): 38

Race was a total RP decision for me, and I'd recommend the same.
I ended up dropping bolting when I picked up shield/brawl in favor of bumping a lot more points into cleric circle, but I'm wishing I had it back with the more recent changes (all we had was 306 and 111 before. So, lowish DFs against anything but undead, for whom 302 is a better choice, plus low AS compared to the wizards that critter bolt defense is balanced against).

Hope this helps!

-mark

[JDDZ]

So I've completely rerolled(my stats were messed up, I had to) from THW to OHE and shield for the time being but I plan to brawl once I finish my first 30. Any brawlers use bolt spells, or a katar?

EDIT: I just read the part about bolting, anyone making good use of a katar though as a brawling cleric?

[Axhinde]

Dwarf is perfect for RP purposes.

That settles that.

[Asrial]

EDIT: I just read the part about bolting, anyone making good use of a katar though as a brawling cleric?For mechanical reasons, a katar is one of the worst weapons to ever use.

Use a falchion/axe for the damage.

[mrjrd222]

To add to what dott said, I was a fu/smite cleric from about 10-60 and I can vouch that it's completely doable that entire stretch.

I was in voln, hunted mainly the undead things around the Landing from 10-25 or so (vereri, anwyn etc) then I moved to River's Rest and did the whole progression there. When I was about 45 and nearly ready to leave RR the Marsh Keep/Citadel opened up. Flesh Golems were a great target because they wouldn't break bind and they can be death crit via fu (but not by normal means). My basic strategy from 10-45 was either bind and fu the undead, or smite/fu the living even though smite wasn't that powerful. A stun would drop their MB considerably.

The Citadel was a bit trickier, but after binding anything there, they were all susceptible to fu. It was very useful against the non corporeal stuff for the same reason as the flesh golems.

I've kept my brawling ranks (although I've left it at 50, since I don't get too much DS from training more) and I've never trained in shield use. At 93 my DS is still great and I don't struggle in OTF proper unless I'm on the floor, and even then there are times I survive large amounts of RT just because offensive DS with a brawl/shield build is so much better then runestaff.

Edited to add my training:

Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 40 8
Brawling...........................| 150 50
Physical Fitness...................| 105 25
Arcane Symbols.....................| 140 40
Magic Item Use.....................| 120 30
Harness Power......................| 192 92
Spirit Mana Control................| 170 70
Spiritual Lore - Blessings.........| 165 65
Spiritual Lore - Religion..........| 140 40
Spiritual Lore - Summoning.........| 120 30
Survival...........................| 74 16
Perception.........................| 150 50
Climbing...........................| 140 40
Swimming...........................| 160 60
First Aid..........................| 200 100
Trading............................| 130 35

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

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 61

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 153

[JDDZ]

So you use a shield but you don't have any shield ranks? Or did I misread that?

[mrjrd222]

I've always used a shield, I've never had a rank of shield use.

[JDDZ]

Very interesting.

I think it is funny, after the AOL days, I never used a shield. Now all three of my characters that get reasonable playing time use one.

[Asrial]

I've always used a shield, I've never had a rank of shield use.If you want to get your STRENGTH and DEXTERITY bonus involved, you need 1 rank to activate the full formula.

Given that this should give you a couple of DS points in offensive, it's well worth that 1 rank.

The enchant and natural +20 require 0 ranks to activate.

[mrjrd222]

If you want to get your STRENGTH and DEXTERITY bonus involved, you need 1 rank to activate the full formula.

Given that this should give you a couple of DS points in offensive, it's well worth that 1 rank.

The enchant and natural +20 require 0 ranks to activate.

Ok I lied a little. I heard someone tell me this and I got 1 rank just to test it. It's not true, 1 rank did nothing.

[Asrial]

You're right. I just tested it again.

I have a document I made from 2007 where I indicated you get the full formula with 0 ranks, so I wonder why I made my 'official' document (2010) say you needed 1 rank.

*shrug*

Thanks for replying so I could fix my stuff :)

[Danical]

For mechanical reasons, a katar is one of the worst weapons to ever use.

Use a falchion/axe for the damage.

lulwut?

[Asrial]

lulwut?You honestly feel that the katar is worth being fully trained in edged and brawling, especially as a cleric? That's a lulwut right there.

We aren't talking post-cap here.

Any cleric training in brawling AND edged is not 'doing it right' when it comes to mechanics.

Personal preference? Sure.

RP? Sure.

Path of best mechanical advantage? No.

[EDIT: ..and to clarify..

You're in Voln? Drop edged and use those TP's to up your mana/CS so you can keep things stunned/bound as you pick them apart with a fist-scythe.

You're in CoL/Sunfist? Drop brawling and use those TP's to up your mana/CS so you can keep things stunned/bound as you crush them with the high damage of a falchion/axe.

I guarantee any 'benefit' of the speed/damage of a katar will be outweighed by the superior benefit of not double dipping weapon styles and being able to power other abilities.]

[Danical]

You honestly feel that the katar is worth being fully trained in edged and brawling, especially as a cleric? That's a lulwut right there.

We aren't talking post-cap here.

Any cleric training in brawling AND edged is not 'doing it right' when it comes to mechanics.

Personal preference? Sure.

RP? Sure.

Path of best mechanical advantage? No.

The return on investment (AS return for TPs), of which you refer, is poor, but the mechanics (AvD/DF) of it is awesome. That's where my lulwut confusion lies.

I think we can all agree that clerics swinging in GS today is more of a lulwut! IZIRITE?!

Go paladin if you want to be a physical warrior of <deity>!

[Asrial]

The return on investment (AS return for TPs), of which you refer, is poor, but the mechanics (AvD/DF) of it is awesome. That's where my lulwut confusion lies.Oh, so you mean more about the katar itself and not the requirements to use it?

The katar is a nice weapon to fill the gap between speed/power.

The problem I have with it is that it's too.. generic.. for the cost.

"I want the speed, because I'm going to plink stuff to death." -- there's lots of things you can use without needing to double dip

"I want the power, because I'm going to crush things to death." -- there's lots of things you can use without needing to double dip

People that can easily afford to double dip are also usually in the category of not needing to plink something to death (strong enough AS to get into crit ranges).

THE WEAPON ITSELF is powerful, the design of it.. not so much.

[Asrial]

I think we can all agree that clerics swinging in GS today is more of a lulwut! IZIRITE?!

Go paladin if you want to be a physical warrior of <deity>!..and yes, I agree completely.

If you're [generic] coming here looking for expert advice.. we're going to give you the cold hard facts.

Can you make it to 100 swinging a weapon as a cleric? Yes.

Can you have fun swinging a weapon as a cleric? Yes.

Will you advance as fast as someone who focuses on killing things with spells? No.

The best I can tell people is that you can pretty much get into the high 60's with any training plan without too much grinding required.