Rift classes

So, looking at their website I am leaning towards Cleric.
Question is if i want to be able to heal, toss out some good buffs, and have decent solo capability, what should i choose?
Leaning towards Purifier, Sentinel, Warlock, or Ranger.
Purifier seems nice for the healing, Sentinel for grouping and great solo capability, Warlock for solo and PVP, and ranger for solo and pvp(dont like the pet though)

Im not in the rift beta so i wouldnt know but based on this, what do you think id enjoy?

» Edited on: 2010-12-20 14:11:34

I think the first thing you have to decided is if you want to be melee or ranged. I basically wanted to play a "holy" mage-type character, and so I made an Inquisitor with a side of Sentinel for group heals. (The only healing capacity I don't suck at, heh.) That character is a soloing monster. Druid is a melee Cleric, and so is a Shaman, but I don't know how well they heal. I've also seen people soloing quite well with that combination.

I like ranged combat better so I picked Inquisitor/Purifier and she is pretty powerful. I think that combo is mostly for solo play though. I tried Shaman and didn't like it.

Indeed, i am looking for a ranged healer who is capable of either dealing decent ranged damage or having incredible defensive ability. Like a ranged WP in warhammer or a healing SW. :)(aka dps AM)

» Edited on: 2010-12-20 19:17:47

A good soloer who is often desired in groups is what im leaning towards. Or a great pvp'er.(If Rift pvp looks decent)

can't say more but the website doesn't have all the souls for every calling.

Got in beta event 2 and tried 2 classes : Rogue with Nightblade/Assassin combo and a Mage with Pyromancer/Elementalist I only played both to lvl 10 but the mage seemed better at solo pve because you could use your Elemental pet to aggro/tank mobs. I would like to see how the rogue performs in pvp, though. I played on Sunset server with is a PVP-RP server but wasnt sure where to find pvp....maybe need higher level?

I'm in Rift Alpha so I can't really go into too much detail without violating the NDA. But I've levelled 2 different clerics now. Warlock and Ranger are not in the Cleric subclasses. The cleric subclasses can basically be broken into 3 roles. Healing, Melee DPS/Tanking, and Magic DPS. I can't name the subclasses because I'm not sure if they've all been revealed yet. Some of those subclasses don't even have a heal skill so it's best to mix in a dps soul with a healing soul. Remember that you also get access to multi-spec. What I did was make a healing spec and a dps/levelling spec. I'm not sure how that will work when it goes live though, they may not allow access to the extra specs until you hit higher levels. By the time you get to level 50 though, you can have your cake and eat it too. With 4 multispec options available, you can have a PvP spec, a healing PvE spec, and a DPS Pve spec. That's how I am with my second cleric. One thing is for sure, the Cleric in Rift is not your boring support class like in other traditional MMO's. Lol.

Im thinking ill go straight healinhg/buffs as one set and then my other spec will be a solo thing. Thanks!

@Fal, go check the beta forums they posted the Beta 2 wrap up post. Should like some of the things in store for beta 3 (hint they cover this concern in it)

Fal, I'm not sure which part of my long winded post you're referring to. ;0 You are right, it's not very effective to spread your points on a bunch of souls. I don't think I ever said to do that either. Rift's soul system is very similar to WoW's talent trees. Now what I did say is that if you're using a dps spec, then you should pick 1 or 2 healing souls as the 'other' souls in your soul trio. That's because the basic skills for those souls allow you a healing spell that some of the dps specs don't have. What I think you're responding to though is my comment about having your cake and eating it too. I think you misunderstand me at that point. When I say you can have a PvE and a PvP spec, I don't mean that you put different points in within one spec. In Rift, you can multi-spec much like WoW's dual spec option. Meaning that you can pick 3 souls with one spec and then pick an entirely different 3 souls for another spec. In Rift, you're allowed 4 different specs. Within each spec, I advise to concentrate mainly on one soul and then use the extra points to complement that soul. Anyways sorry if I confused you the first time.

Beta NDA lifted so I'll post about the souls for those you haven't gotten into a beta yet. I'll also be in the vent in the RIFT beta channel if anyone has any questions.

Warrior Beastmaster - focus DPS - pet class Champion - focus DPS - 2h Paladin - focus TANK Paragon - focus DPS - dual wield Reaver - focus TANK Riftblade - focus DPS Voidknight - focus TANK - anti magic Warlord - focus TANK Cleric Cabalist - focus DPS - DOTs Druid - focus DPS - pet class, melee Inquisitor - focus DPS - magic (ranged) Justicar - focus TANK - melee heals (different then WP from WAR) Purifier - focus HEAL Sentinel - focus HEAL Shaman - focus DPS - melee Warden - focus HEAL - HOTs Rogue Assassin - focus DPS - has stealth Bard - focus SUPPORT Bladedancer - focus DPS - no stealth, high dodge Marksman - focus DPS - ranged Nightblade - focus DPS - has stealth and magic spells Ranger - focus DPS - pet class, ranged Riftstalker - focus TANK - teleport Saboteur - focus DPS - explosions, traps Mage Archon - focus SUPPORT Chrolomancer - focus HEAL Dominator - focus SUPPORT Elementalist - focus DPS - pet class Pyromancer - focus DPS Stormcaller - focus DPS Warlock - focus DPS - pet class

» Edited on: 2010-12-22 13:24:37

Just to clarify for those of us in Alpha. The NDA lift is only for Beta participants and not for Alpha. I'm not sure what the difference is, but I'll err on the side of caution and keep my mouth shut until they lift our NDA too. ;0

NDA being lifted I can tell you I prefer the Champion(Wanted Paragon but Champs crits are OP)/Riftblade/Void Knight. For Cleric I liked Inquistor/Sentinel/ Druid. That lame lookin little fairy gets the job done for when I'm feelin lazy or multi-taskin.

» Edited on: 2010-12-22 13:32:40 Oh and thank you to Kintrik for puttin that together... Nicely done.

» Edited on: 2010-12-22 13:34:04

I think anything available in the beta is fair game, anything not in the beta keep the lip closed. So Freemarch/Silverwood zones and Iron Tomb/Realm of Fae dungeons. Souls Tier 1 crafting basic Rifts @Reclis no problem, if me or my brother didn't play a soul I didn't touch on it. I spent most of my time on a shaman, druid, warden souls. The rank 0 fairy pet is kind of crap compared to other rank 0 pet looks. I am guessing the greate fae pet at rank 26 looks like the fae you actually fight. THe big ass fae with the gaint flower clubs. Then there is the jaguar pet as a soul point investment, loose the heal from pet but gain more DPS and it isn't a damn fairy :D.

» Edited on: 2010-12-22 13:38:24

I role-played a lot of domestic violence with that damn fairy.

I didn't know there was a warrior Pet Class. Maybe I should go re-make a RIFT version of Aethenbrior with an Elven Champion/Beastmaster.

throw on some warlord to for some shouts

My advice for a DPS caster cleric build is that you should always always take the Purifier soul. It's basic skill is a shield/dmg absorb spell. With that spell, you'll hardly take damage and more importantly, no spell interrupt. The fairy pet works pretty well with the self heals of the Justicar. Alone they don't amount to much, but combined it's pretty substantial. Also some souls synergize well. For example, I paired the Inquisitor with the Sentinel so I could get a Heal spell. But also because Inquisitors do Life damage (along with Death) and the Sentinel tree has bonuses to crit % for Life spells. Anyways, I could go on and on but the most fun for Rift for me is experimenting and mix and matching souls. I don't want to ruin it for you guys :)

Fal, My advice to you is to pick the best 3 souls for levelling first. My first two souls were Inquisitor and Purifier. Again, at low levels, your shield spell from Purifier will not disappear before you kil the mob. The third soul is really up to you, there are alot of possibilities. As for healing, what you need to do is save 30g as soon as possible. Sell things, gather like a crazy person, etc. When you get that 30g, you can buy another 'role'. Think of it as another spec. Use this spec to go full healing. This will be the one you use to group with. You can switch between roles fairly quickly, just as long as you're out of combat. Oh and don't forget to train the spells and skill for both specs. I'd always forget half the time to train my heal spec lol. Again, this is just me messing around. You should have fun picking and choosing. I like to compare it to being able to put whatever toppings you want on a pizza. It's kinda fun doing all the combinations. :)

Also don't go for str/dex as a cleric, also go for wis/int and spell crit etc. If you are melee cleric each one gets a buff that converts your spell stats into melee stats, and your abilities all scale based on the cleric stats (wis/int). This makes it so you really can switch your role anywhere, with only having to switch out your main/off hand if you want a shield.

Riftblades are pretty nice, my brother played one the last beta. The riftblade isn't like the riftstalker. It doesn't teleport, it imbues the power from the rifts into its blade thus the name. :D If i remember right the class has a lot of proc damage.

Rift class specialization is pretty much like the Burger King Whopper, you can have it your way. lol.

as long as it doesn't taste like a Whooper we are good.

So far tested Riftstalker/nightblade/Bard combo and was a bit disappointed with the first one - early teleport (straight line) is annoying and confusing, but the finisher with extra armor is nice, I know that later on you can get self heals and better organised teleports (like to behind your target or to "home spot") Nightblade is fun pure offensive build with nice buffs and stealth (so far out of stealth attack was rather weak tho). Bard was my 3rd soul so I couldn't say much about it, but group buff looks nice, and the channelled attack generating combo points per second is surprisingly effective on pulls.

I didn't see anywhere that this was mentioned, but I might have missed it. They changed the 51 points total to 66. Every third level, you get an additional point. The caveat is that you can't spend more points on a single soul than your current level. The other thing is that many souls you take aren't meant to have more than a few points, if any. You take them for their 0 point abilities. In the future, they've mentioned they want to implement novelty souls that might let you make fireworks, or whatever. As far as cleric classes go, I'm a Justicar/Sentinel/Inquisitor. 6 points in Inquis for the armor buffs, and the rest in Justicar. I have ranged instant cast DOTs, melee attacks, healing buffs, etc. It's really nice for soloing. It would probably be considered an offtank/offheal spec.

They're also giving you all the souls to pick from initially instead of just 3. And you'll get your 2nd and 3rd souls by the time you're past the starter area. This is pretty interesting shift in philosophy. I thought the idea to restrict the number of available souls and slots for souls was precisely to keep players from spreading their talent points too thin. Perhaps with the 16 extra points, they're allowing for mistakes in point allocation. This also may be only for beta testing. Since you're only allowed to go to level 20, they may be making this change to allow for greater testing of souls and specs.