Cleric DPS specs

I've been asked to describe some Cleric DPS specs so in the interest of getting some discussion going, here goes nothing!

I currently have three non-healing specs that I use

1. Melee Farming / DPS with Offheals / Support (31 Shaman / 21 Justicar / 14 Inquisitor)

This is a durable, reasonable melee-oriented DPS build. The key to this build is having the Justicar ability Reparation on and generating lots of small heals. Because Reparation causes you and your groupmates to get healed when you deal damage, this generates a fair bit of self- and group-healing.

Whether soloing or in a dungeon group the basic technique is this: Vex any mobs you want to, then use one of the two macros, depending on how many mobs you are facing:

single target:
#show Strike of Judgment
suppressmacrofailures
cast jolt
cast glory of the chosen
cast fated blow
cast sanction heretic
cast strike of the maelstrom
cast lightning hammer
cast massive blow
cast sovereignty
cast bolt of radiance
cast Strike of Judgment

AOE:
#show Even Justice
suppressmacrofailures
cast rage of the north
cast jolt
cast glory of the chosen
cast fated blow
cast soul drain
cast strike of the maelstrom
cast even justice

The key facet of this build is using the proper essences: Crystal Vine and Frozen Deep One Tear (get Crystal Vine first!). Each of them can proc for a heal/shield on any heal you generate, and since you're constantly generating heals with Reparation, you can easily fight 8 to 10 normal mobs, or an elite and a couple of mobs and live. You'll see a stream of red numbers on the right and a stream of green numbers on the left which will all cancel out. The mobs will all be dead and you'll collect loot and move on.

In case of emergency, you have Glacial Shield from the Shaman tree and the Justicar self-heal. But for the most part you don't need any of that (though I throw the Shield on just from force of habit - plus it does do a teeny bit of damage).

This build provides you with 3 mana regens: two that are melee based (Ageless Ice and Purpose) and one ranged one (Aggressive Renewal). When you get to 50% mana pop Ageless Ice and Purpose and you will be full around 10 seconds later. You will never run out of mana using this spec. Never. Never! Honest!

Single target DPS (as a T1/borderline T2 geared player) is only 500ish DPS, so you want to AOE things as much as possible. AOE DPS is maybe 650 to 800 (but again, you're generating tons of heals so you have more utility than simply DPS). You also have the Justicar self and group heals, and you can put Righteous Mandate on the tank and heal him with your Convictions. You generate a lot of Convictions as long as you're meleeing.

You might not kill especially fast with this build, but you are amazingly difficult to bring down.

2. Ranged Farming / DPS with Offheals / Support (12 Justicar / 44 Inquisitor / 10 Sentinel)


This spec works the same way as the prior (generate heals -> essences generate lots of healing). The difference is that it's ranged as opposed to melee. Personally, this spec feels a bit more fragile than the other one (but it's still very good, and many have claimed it's actually *better* than the first once you take into consideration the heals you generate - see below).

The key to this spec (when soloing) is to use Shroud of Agony, the Inquisitor 44 point ability. Read Shroud's tooltip. When you're hit, it has a chance to deal damage to ALL enemies around you. Think about how that interacts with Reparation (remember? Damage you deal has a chance to heal you, which has a chance to make your essences produce bigger heals and/or shields). So when you're soloing this is what typically happens:

Vex a bunch of mobs
They start hitting you
Each time one of them hits you, Shroud of Agony (potentially) causes ALL of the mobs around you to take damage. You potentially generate a bazillion small heals *per hit*.

Single target rotation (I don't use macros for these):
Vex
pop Fanaticism
Sanction Heretic
spam Bolt of Judgement
When Life and Death Concord procs -> pop Fanaticism if it's up, then instant Bolt of Depravity. Return to BoJ spam. When Vex and Sanction Heretic wear off, reapply.

AOE:
Vex a couple of the mobs
pop Fanaticism
Soul Drain
Circle of Oblivion until Soul Drain is up again
Soul Drain -> Circle of Oblivion until all are dead
(this is typically Soul Drain -> Circle of Oblivion 2x -> if only 1 mob is left Vex/SH, otherwise Soul Drain)

One word of warning: Do not use Shroud of Agony in a dungeon group, as you don't want the mobs to get mad at you when they hit you - you'll die!

Single target DPS on this spec is a bit lower than the first one but AOE DPS probably higher. Single target is probably in the 400 to 500 range until you get geared up. You could probably AOE in the 800 to 1100 range.

Couple points in favor of this build: Spiritual Deficiency is a great debuff to put on bosses (they take 7% more magic damage), Clinging Spirit (which you put on the mobs when you use Soul Drain) is a very good debuff, and you also have Purge, which is an incredibly useful spell to use on raid bosses and in dungeons. While Purge doesn't show up in the DPS charts, it's almost always worth casting. You have the Justicar group heal, but you are generating fewer Convictions than the first spec (typically only Bolt of Judgement is generating Convictions here).

Mana regen is available by using Aggressive Renewal, since the Justicar regen is melee-based and you don't melee here. Mana usage can be a slight problem, so bring pots.

In addition you have the Sentinel heals Healing Breath and Healing Grace (plus the Justicar group heal), so in an emergency you can jump in and help keep your dungeon group alive if the healer goes down unexpectedly.

These first two builds were taken out of the "Duracell Cleric" thread on the Cleric class boards.

3. Melee maximum DPS (31 Druid / 24 Shaman / 11 Inquisitor)

This is widely considered the best Cleric DPS spec. Unfortunately, it's melee. If you've done any reading on the Cleric class forums you'll have seen it discussed endlessly.

Single target:
#show Fervent Strike
suppressmacrofailures
cast Combined Effort
cast Lightning Hammer
cast Eruption of Life
cast Bombard
cast Sanction Heretic
cast Massive Blow
cast Fervent Strike
petcast Enraged Assault
petcast Satyr Sweep
cast Jolt
cast Fae Hammer
cast Fated Blow
cast Glory of the Chosen
cast Rage of the Fae
cast Vex

I made the AOE rotation by replacing Fervent Strike with Avalanche Strike. I'm sure this can be improved, since everything else is a single target spell/attack.

AOE:
#show Avalanche Strike
suppressmacrofailures
cast Combined Effort
cast Lightning Hammer
cast Eruption of Life
cast Bombard
cast Sanction Heretic
cast Avalanche Strike
petcast Enraged Assault
petcast Satyr Sweep
cast Jolt
cast Fae Hammer
cast Fated Blow
cast Glory of the Chosen
cast Rage of the Fae
cast Vex

When you look at these macros you'll likely say "wut! You'll never cast Jolt, because Fervent Strike or Avalanche Strike will always cast first!" That's true *except for the fact that you spam these macros much faster than the global cooldown* (making this a very "clicky" build). It's a slight DPS increase to put the non-GCD abilities at the end of the macro, so abilities like Jolt, Fated Blow, and the like don't "steal" GCDs from your main abilities. For the macro to work you hit the macro key like a madman and eventually you will hit it when your skills are on cooldown, which leads to all the abilities from Jolt on down getting their chances. If that macro organization makes you uncomfortable you can put the lines from Jolt through Rage of the Fae at the top, then the 2 petcast lines next, then the Combined Effort through Fervent Strike/Avalanche Strike below them. Do keep Vex at the bottom though (putting Vex down there at the bottom ensures you can use this macro when you're ranged, as Vex will fire off. If that's not important to you, or if you have Vex keyed somewhere else, you don't have to put it here).

The petcast abilities are part of the macro because testing has shown they don't use their abilities quite as much as they can, and this forces them to use the abilities more often.

Since Fae Hammer (mana regen) is part of the macro, you should never have to worry about running low on mana. However, if you need it, you can manually pop Ageless Ice for additional mana regen while meleeing. Again, between the two abilities you should never have a problem with running out of mana.

Since this is a "pure DPS" spec, I use different essences. The essences I use here are the Spellpower one from the Kain questline (I think it's the reward from completing the IPP portion) and another one that can buff Spell Critical hit by 28 - nothing special for the second.

This is the spec you should get used to if you want to do maximum DPS as a Cleric. At least that's the current thought.


I've spent some time researching and fiddling with these specs and macros, but there is always room for improvement and refinement. Plus there's always a discussion on where you spend those last 3 to 5 talent points, so feel free to post your thoughts.


» Edited on: 2011-05-25 14:06:58

Bumping this for Mijjah and for some poeple in guild who were asking for a good 3rd soul for Inq/Just.

For the Inq/Just/Sent build, I'd recommend putting the Unholy Tutelage point (which isn't really doing anything) into Harsh Discipline. It isn't because you want the heals, rather that once you get your Bolty of Depravity proc, if you have the time available to you, you want to be using one of the 3s channel spells - simply because they are more DPS than your filler/build conviction spell. Most of the time, you won't need it - you'll be lucky if you can get BoD procs in time - but it's always good for a few casts in a long fight (this is a very good spec for doing rifts with). For the Inq spec, for max DPS use Fanatacism with Sanction Heretic (I was doing BoD when I started with the spec, but found that SH is the better spell for it - especially as it always lines up with the cooldown). Priority I try to use, when DPS matters, is Sanction Heretic > Instant Bolt of Depravity > refresh Vex if expired > Aggressive Renewal if there is an Instant Bolt of Depravity queued but unavailable for 3s > Harsh Justice if there is an Instant Bolt of Depravity queued but unavailable for 3s > Bolt of Judgement. I know that's a lot of "if's" to watch out for, that's just the optimum for maximising the dps from the spec. Most times you are monitoring health to see if heals are needed and in that case, keeping it simple and not monitoring timers (Appropriate Heal > Aggressive Renewal (if at 1/2 mana) > Sanction Heretic > Instant Bolt of Depravity > Bolt of Judgement). Note, I recommend the macro: #show Bolt of Judgement suppressmacrofailures cast Sanction Heretic cast Bolt of Judgement in place of a simple Bolt of Judgement button. It just means if you miss SH coming off cooldown, you'll cast it in place of Bolt of Judgement (your stock spell) which is what you always want to do if it is off CD. The tragedy of the Shaman spec is that it is an excellent support spec, especially with healing essences, but you can't queue in support as Cleric without 22 Justicar (unless they've changed it) and that 31st Shaman point and 14th Inquisitor point are too vital.

» Edited on: 2011-06-23 06:21:09

» Edited on: 2011-06-23 06:22:39

Thanks for the original posting, and for the bump. I was one of the folks asking about the Inq/Justi build and a 3rd soul. A very well-layed out explanation of points, rotations, and the "why" of it all. Bravo Zulu (Navy-ese for Great Job)!

Aodhwyn, I take very little credit for these, I just scour the Rift boards and am really good at copying stuff. :D Lumenbarba: Good points all. In practice I usually *do* use Fanaticism with Sanction Heretic if I don't have a handy BoD proc. I don't have it macroed, and that's a good suggestion. Most of the time I try to keep an eye on Vex, because typically I cast Vex, then SH, then spam BoJ. So when Vex is almost out I typically refresh it, then cast SH. But it is certainly better to have it in a macro, as this guarantees more uptime (and there are certainly fights where because of mobility issues you're just spamming Vex now and then, which gets the timing off). I have seen discussions as to what alternate DPS spell to use when BoD is not available, and I have to admit I've just been too lazy to worry about it. I leveled a cleric to 50 using Inquisitor/Cabalist so this build above still feels a little "unnatural" to me (also because I don't use it very much). But your suggestions are undoubtedly good ones. As for point allocation, after I first started using the Justicar/Shaman/Inquisitor build I tried to figure out how I could move points around to juice it up a little, but I have to agree that the final points in each soul are pretty much required, which leaves almost no freedom in the build. Though last night in Greenscale I thought it might be a good idea to move the last Justicar point from Devout Deflection to Interdict - as having an interrupt can be super useful, and giving up some Parry for that seems like a decent trade off (with all the healing this build generates I hardly ever have to worry about dying, so if I take a teeny bit more damage, big deal!). Updates to DPS and play experience: For the Justicar/Shaman/Inquisitor: T2/Greenscale level gear, I can do approximately 750 DPS on single targets, and anywhere from 1100 to 1300 DPS when AOEing. In addition, the build does maybe 350 heals per second - so you see the combination of pretty good DPS and pretty good HPS makes this a quite useful build. You put your Righteous Mandate on the tank and as long as you're not taking damage, he's getting healed like crazy (because any self-heals that would take you over 100% go directly to your Righteous Mandate recipient). The group heal is also very useful in places like xCC or xAP at the last bosses when the whole group is taking damage - save 4 convictions and pop them when this occurs and the group is in fine shape. Druid/Shaman/Inq build: I just realized I forgot to mention that for this build, I have an entirely different Sigil that does not have the healing greater essences listed above. It doesn't make any sense to have them, as you won't be generating the heals since there's no Justicar in this build. So get a Sigil and put some DPS oriented stuff in it. I have 5 lesser essences and the greater essence from the Kain storyline (the "caster" version). I use this "pure DPS" Sigil in the Inquisitor build too. Single target DPS is between 950 and 1100, with AOE being maybe 1300. At this level the single target DPS is very competetive (Rogues are easily higher, and Mages are sometimes - but not always - higher!) At this gear level Rogues and Mages are typically doing more AOE damage (Mages will often do a TON more, while we are competitive - but often behind - rogues). Pet management is a VERY BIG DEAL for the Druid build, as there are no points in the insta-resummon. I have a macro which calls my pet to me (I think the macro is pretty much just "/petfollow") and I have it bound to one of my extra mouse keys - so when I have to run away from something, I can bring my Satyr with me. That said, it often dies in Greenscale's Blight as it tends go get cleaved if you're sloppy at all.

» Edited on: 2011-06-23 10:19:52

» Edited on: 2011-06-23 10:22:59

» Edited on: 2011-06-23 10:23:27

I'm working on the third build, the all melee one and I have a couple questions. Since I am doing all melee, should I be stacking str/dex instead of wis? Which would be more useful to me spell power or spell crit? Does type of weapon made a difference in this build? thanks! Cinder

All the melee Cleric builds have a level 0 power that converts spell power and spell crit into attack power and crit, so there is no need to get strength, dexterity or physical characteristics. This allows the odd straight spell such as Sanction Heretic to be used with maximum bonus where appropriate (so you can mash your button while at range). It also means that you benefit from both melee and spell buffs, and the rune for two handers (two handers are compulsory with non-tanking melee builds) that has a chance to give 50 Spell Crit and 50 Crit is doubly good for melee Clerics.

In addition to what Lumenbarba said, as a Shaman I run the Eagle buff instead of the Jaguar one, because the Eagle one (which adds Wis) converts to the appropriate melee-based stats, while the Jaguar buff(which adds Dex) does not give your spells any help. For runes: Concensus is (was?) that the Invigorating Runeshard is the best rune to use on your weapon. Since it gives both spell and melee criticl hit, you don't have to worry about which is better. It does seem to proc a lot. Also, as far as temporary enhancements go, in patch 1.3 they changed Burning Witchstone to be the same as the high end Whetstone (I forget its name) - both of them give your critical strikes 300-some extra damage (I think this is a nerf to them but that's the way things go). So if you have a Staff you want to use a Burning Witchstone and if you have a Hammer you want to use a Whetstone (I don't see a need to worry about this if you're not raiding). And before you ask, it doesn't matter if you use a Staff or a Hammer to whack stuff as a melee Cleric. Just use the one with the best stats. :D

just to chime in, there is currently a known bug in 1.3 that causes both Reparation and Righteous Mandate to ONLY proc from Justicar abilities. This means that if you are depending on either of these abilities to proc for Shaman then your build won't work.

Clerics with 6 in Inquisitor should remember that they have an armor that greatly increases endurance. This can be a huge help on some fights where there is a lot of raid damage, such as Hylas and even Greenscale's air phases. Since Natural Dedication does not stack with the Archon buff (5% damage for 10s every 15s), many shaman drop it for 5/5 Spirit of the Wood. There are reports of some clerics finding that a 50 druid/16 shaman build is superior DPS if you are stacking near pure spellpower and have low crit. I have not tested this and since I am primarily crit geared it would be difficult for me to do so. As a note, inquisitors have good reason to be in melee, even if they are inquisicars and/or offhealing. Both the 'traditional' (if you can call it that...) melee inquisitor with 40 inq/21 shaman/5 warden and the modified off-healer version (32/20/14) bring the Soul Drain Debuff to the party, which is a gigantic DPS gain for all magic DPS (via Soul Drain's 7% debuff). Even if you are a more traditional inquisitor spec that doesn't pick up Jolt, you would be best served by keeping up the Soul Drain Debuff when you can... but obviously not at a cost of your life :)

» Edited on: 2011-06-24 16:11:11

awesome. thanks all! this helps a LOT Cinder