Empath or Cleric

[Astray]

So I'm attempting to settle on the next class I roll up. As cleric and empath are the only classes I haven't played, I decided to seek (moar) information on them.

So, what's the dealio? What do they excel at?

[Tgo01]

Playing as an empath:

Play female
Wear as much fluff as possible
Giggle/bounce at everyone
Heal your way to cap while collecting billions in tips

[Astray]

Playing as an empath:

Play female
Wear as much fluff as possible
Giggle/bounce at everyone
Heal your way to cap while collecting billions in tips

No! Bad Tgo, bad.

[Tgo01]

No! Bad Tgo, bad.

You too good to work a mangina? Huh?!

[Versin]

CS-based casters excel at staying alive.

[Maerit]

Do you plan to swing a weapon long term? Empath. They definitely are not the best with weapons in the game, but they are better than any other "pure" save for Warmages.

Do you plan to cast mostly CS based spells? Cleric. Their spells are slightly more versatile than Empath's CS spells, and pure Clerics can be incredibly hard to kill. Bane vs Smite is up to your RP preferences. Though Empath's are very powerful CS users, a lot of their offensive spells have painful / annoying restrictions.

Do you plan to spend most of your time in town? Empath. They will have a more consistent source of in-town experience to earn.

Do you wish to have a class with supplemental income? Cleric. They can sell Chrisms, which isn't amazing, but it is some method of additional income. While Empaths can earn income from healing (and Clerics from raising the dead), I would argue that you can easily make more money hunting than sitting in town healing..

Which society are you most interested in joining? This is more of an RP decision, but some societies have a strong mechanical advantage for each class. Voln is probably equal between the two, but it is easier to excel within Voln for a Smite Cleric because they will prefer to hunt undead, while a pure Empath with Bone Shatter will find non-corp undead immune to their primary attack spell. GoS definitely favors the Empath with access to 1107 for stamina regeneration, 3x in PT for massive stamina reserves and regeneration, and better able to hunt with physical weaponry. COL probably favors the pure Cleric mechanically. Wracking for full mana with a class that regenerates spirit better than any other (meditation and mana bread benefits).

How about durability? Both classes are incredibly durable. Empaths with their passive healing (1125) and strong PT for big health pools and combat defenses along with the ability to heal themselves in the field. Clerics with their incredibly high DS, powerful disablers, and the mighty 319 (which is super great).

Lots of reasons to choose. I found Clerics to be one of the easiest classes to level with, while my Empath took a bit more work because of the higher mana costs for spells.

[Astray]

My issue is that Clerics appear to be entirely based around what deity you worship. I'm not 500% up to date on the Gods and all that and it feels like that might be a big factor in RP.

[Tgo01]

My issue is that Clerics appear to be entirely based around what deity you worship. I'm not 500% up to date on the Gods and all that and it feels like that might be a big factor in RP.

Role play an atheist cleric.

[Astray]

Role play an atheist cleric.

I did some reading and Clerics with Smite/Bane just get Smite. So I may go with that option.

[Luscinia]

For me the main draw of empaths is that they are unique to the setting. The other professions are well represented in every other RPG out there, and if you want to play a warrior, cleric, or wizard you can play them in any number of other games, ones that don't take years to get a competent character.

If you want to roleplay a cleric I would recommend picking a conversion at some point though, GS lore isn't very deep to catch up on and it's at least an RP hook for people who are interested, whereas they'll probably assume an unaligned cleric is only playing for the mechanics.

[Velfi]

Since picking up a weapon, I've never regretted choosing an empath. I think it can be a great hybrid, allowing you to swing very effectively even if you can't take a square or paladin straight up, and saving your mana for setup spells or healing allows you to hunt for a much longer time than if you're just blasting away with spells. Mechanically, they are very strong if you put some thought into it.

RP wise, that's a pretty subjective question.

[Aluvius]

Of course the downside of going empath is that they're the #2 played class behind wizards now. The game could actually use a few more clerics.

[Lady Sylvan]

That's why I made my cleric. Plenty of healers and not enough clerics.

If you want caster, then got either.

If you want to swing a weapon, then go empathy.

[Maerit]

My issue is that Clerics appear to be entirely based around what deity you worship. I'm not 500% up to date on the Gods and all that and it feels like that might be a big factor in RP.

Meh, I just picked a deity for the mechanics because I wasn't going to be RPing a ton with the character. Similar to how I picked one for my Paladin - just in case I felt like casting 1615 and wanted it to flare appropriately. It is a big decision to pick Bane or Smite, but mechanically you have more tools in your arsenal to handle undead that Bane seems to be the most popular choice.

Unless, of course, you plan to master Voln early on in the character's career, at which point being a Smite cleric is a bit easier going. Though you can easily swing with a self-blessed weapon for the first 20 trains and master Voln by then, before switching back to Pure.

My "logic" behind the value of Bane over Smite is that a Cleric has 312 for non-corp undead, 317 for crit killing power. Then, of course, at some point you'll want to pick up Spell Aiming (mostly for 118 web bolt). With 301 in your arsenal that only works against undead, 2x spell aim 306 can be quite deadly against the undead.

[Astray]

Thanks for the input, folks! I went for both.