dps/heals...mage or cleric?

[riftthewave]

Hi,
I'm trying to decide between a cleric or a mage as my first toon for Rift and would like some help. I have zero experience with the game at level 50. I've tried mage (lvl 15), cleric (lvl 19), and warrior (lvl 25). Also tried rogue but it really isn't my cup of tea.

I'd like to roll a main that can do both heals and dps. I really like melee dps and cleric seems like a clear winner...but leveling druid or shaman has been very slow so far (slower than my Pal/RB tank spec) and I'm a little worried about what they are like at level cap in both PvE and PvP.

For rDPS the mage is more fun so far, but I have no idea how either class is for healing.

[Ernbrecht]

Mages have only one soul for healing, clerics have three and a half. This doesn't mean mages are weak healers, they are in fact quite powerful, however clerics are way more versatile. A cleric has more options and thus the possibility to design a build specific to their needs. There are different versions of mage healing builds, too, of course, but those differences are mostly quite minor. In the end they're all Chloromancers.

Most of mage healing is reactive healing from damage you deal. That is, if you don't have a target that you can hit, you can't heal properly (mages have some direct heals, too, but those alone won't get you far). Some cleric healing builds function similarly (anything with a Justicar in it), but as said: There are other options. You got your regular direct heals, absorbtion shields, heal-over-times...

On top of that, clerics can also tank, making them the only class who can do everything. This may all sound like a praise to clerics now, but when all is said and done it's a matter of taste. The question which play style fits you most is something you have to answer for yourself. Keep in mind that play style at low levels can vastly differ from end game content. It is something you really have to try out.

I personally enjoy playing my mage much more than my cleric alt.

[Magrothen]

Short version: Mages for DPS, Clerics for Healing.

Longer version:

Mages only have a single soul for healing while the Cleric has three. This means that the Cleric has many more tools and styles of healing possible while the mage has to have everything in a single soul making it less versatile but it isn't so much a direct healing soul as much as it work on converting damage to healing output. Justicar can also function as a nice support healer converting damage to healing as does the mages healing soul. The Cleric may have four DPS souls but they are all going to struggle to match mage numbers other than Cabalist which is very centred around AoE damage. Mage DPS is much more versatile and you have a lot more options, all which will be fairly competitive.

The only other thing to remember is that the Cleric also has a nice Tanking soul, so it is the only class who can cover all four roles for groups. I am levelling a mage right now and it is proving good fun with regards to big numbers but I just feel way too squishy and the healing mechanics feel slightly weird to me, while levelling my Cleric was a breeze (and in places boring) as you can run a Shamicar grind spec and literally never stop and take down down large groups in a whirl of AoE glory as fast as you can take a single mob down. Cleric healign is very much a traditional healing mechanic too so if you have your heart set on healing and have healed in other MMO's then it will feel familiar, if you just want DPS with something to do as a way of stopping boredom them opt for Mage.

[ururu]

limiting the choices to mage & cleric:

if you want to dps in pvp then I'd pick mage
if you want to heal in pvp then I'd pick cleric

if you intend to do more pve - mage is more in demand at the moment because it's a harder class to do well in.
if you want to dps in pve then mage

[Nefelia]

Having a level 50 mage as well as a level 50 cleric, I would recommend you get both.

If you are looking to heal and DPS at the same time, you would have to choose between melee (cleric justicar) and ranged (mage chloromancer). Both do well enough, though the chloro has steadier heals and is better suited for keeping a single target up when needed.

If you are looking to switch between healing and DPS roles, cleric has a wider variety of healing specs to play around with and a decent amount of DPS roles. Cleric also tends to be the better healer for PvP.

[BrownsMageNerfDelivery]

Having a level 50 mage as well as a level 50 cleric, I would recommend you get both.

If you are looking to heal and DPS at the same time, you would have to choose between melee (cleric justicar) and ranged (mage chloromancer). Both do well enough, though the chloro has steadier heals and is better suited for keeping a single target up when needed.

If you are looking to switch between healing and DPS roles, cleric has a wider variety of healing specs to play around with and a decent amount of DPS roles. Cleric also tends to be the better healer for PvP.

A bit off, but generally the case.

Chloro PvP heals are generally either splash AoE heals with limited efficacy at keeping both yourself and a focused teammate alive through sustained pressure (you unfortunately can't spam Natural Healing on multiple people with the same GCD ).

Clerics are generally more versatile, though the trade-off is that their DPS is not quite as good (even at the high end of gear and skill). They can get up there, but most of the top parses will not be from clerics. However, they have the most effective means of dealing with burst AoE damage (DoL and Communion spam) and provide mitigation heals (puri shielding) that are vital for progression (increasing tank's effective health).

Chloro provides the highest constant healing throughput in the game (though again, you have to consider effective healing when considering what sort of healer is necessary). You also have excellent ST DPS and AoE (at least on trash that doesn't die in under 10 seconds) and have a vital support soul in Archon.

Really depends on your playstyle though. I enjoy playing my cleric, but my mage is always going to be my go-to choice.

[wayne62682]

One other thing to consider is the complexity of the class; as far as DPS goes Mages seem very complex (and I have not tried one to any great length so that is all hearsay and opinion) with a lot of DoT watching; if you have played WoW a Rift Mage is like a Shadow Priest or an Affliction Warlock - you spend most of your time with very complex priority systems and watching timers to make sure you refresh X ability at Y interval. That alone made me NOT want to play one, as I have trouble with complicated DPS systems.

In contrast, a Cleric (Inquisitor specifically as it's the pure ranged Cleric DPS spec and thus the most similar to Mage DPS) has a pretty simple rotation/priority system - basically you spam one ability, keep up two DoTs, and watch for a single proc; this lets you actually focus on boss mechanics and not watching your debuffs, but the cost is a significant DPS gap between even a well-played Cleric and a Mage of any skill.

I can't speak to heals at all as I haven't done any healing outside of occasionally tossing a heal out in a 5-man or using the Inquisicar spec with an undergeared tank on a heavy AOE boss.

[Phaelen]

DPS:

Mage can have a complex rotation if you use a defilemancer spec. Otherwise it can be a simple spec with the standard 36/30 pyrolock, you won't top dps charts compared to a well played defilemancer, but you won't be subpar either compared to a poorly played defilemancer.

Cleric's have pretty standard builds and simple rotations for dps. They also probably won't be topping many dps charts if you care about min/max.

Both classes have issues with limited builds when it comes to dps.

Healing:

Mage has one healing soul and while you can play around with various specs. Mage does do solid tank or raid healing and will rarely ever have mp problems. The problems mage healing have is dealing with heavy spike damage and movement heavy fights since mage generally has to do damage to heal.

Clerics have far more healing options and builds, but most will just run some form of senticar. Cleric healing is solid, can suffer from mana issues, but is far more involved than mage healing.

Levelling:

Mage is far easier to level with necrolock albeit can be a little boring throughout the journey to 50. Instance healing can be difficult early on for mages.

Cleric levelling can be kind of slow until you get into the mid levels, but from their when you unlock more abilities its fairly easy sailing. Instance healing for a cleric is easy throughout.

Soloing @cap:

Both solo well, but I found cleric to do it better and faster than mage.

Mage used to be my main but I play it less and less now. One thing you will find at cap in general is there is a shortage of tanks. Having a tank soul even if you don't like to tank is a nice option. Cleric may not top any dps charts but it does provide alot of options.

[Valarion]

Hi,
I'm trying to decide between a cleric or a mage as my first toon for Rift and would like some help. I have zero experience with the game at level 50. I've tried mage (lvl 15), cleric (lvl 19), and warrior (lvl 25). Also tried rogue but it really isn't my cup of tea.

I'd like to roll a main that can do both heals and dps. I really like melee dps and cleric seems like a clear winner...but leveling druid or shaman has been very slow so far (slower than my Pal/RB tank spec) and I'm a little worried about what they are like at level cap in both PvE and PvP.

For rDPS the mage is more fun so far, but I have no idea how either class is for healing.

I would personally go Mage. While chloro is not as versatile, its also not going to receive the nerf bat to the point where you do not even want to log in anymore.

Chloro can also be combined with better dps and utility souls, giving it ALOT more potential survival in the hands of a good player. When things are going really bad, you can always disengage, flicker, run like the wind, which is something you CANNOT do as a cleric.

[Iri]

Here's my short version: If you like complex heals and boring dps go cleric. If you like complex dps and boring heals go mage.

[wayne62682]

Here's my short version: If you like complex heals and boring dps go cleric. If you like complex dps and boring heals go mage.

To expand on this: If you want to do lower DPS but with a simple rotation, go Cleric. If you want to do high DPS but wrack your brain playing a concert on your keyboard to do the priorities, go Mage.

[Valarion]

To expand on this: If you want to do lower DPS but with a simple rotation, go Cleric. If you want to do high DPS but wrack your brain playing a concert on your keyboard to do the priorities, go Mage.

This is strange, because I found the chloro heal combinations to be vastly more complex than my cleric main. So much so I much rather enjoy playing the chloro.

Skills like Radiant Spores, Synthesis, Withering Vine, Empathic Bond, Wild Growth, Corrosion etc can be tough to time and use correctly. Also, keeping track of Life-giving vs Lifebound Veils is also enough to give you a micro-managing heart attack.

When you combine chloro with dps specs (like Pyro, Dom, Warlock, things become even more complex is you ask me).

[xBehemothx]

ughh, dont get a mage, i leveled one to lvl 40 and almost freaked out becouse of the low survivability :S

[Malvolio]

Everyone seems to have different experiences.

If you want to be competitive DPS and solo Healing capability but not the best heals in the game its Mage.

If you want to be best heals with mediocre (viable if you don't parse I suppose but I just cringe) dps you go cleric. Clerics can get up there in deeps but the gear check is significant whereas my fresh 50 mage can easily outdps my cleric in T2 expert gear.

As for complex rotations some of the DPS specs for Mage can be fun but the Chloromancer is a pretty simple rotation.

My experiences are only from experts though I don't have the connections for raiding. So take the advice with a grain of salt.

[TheGrinnz]

Everyone seems to have different experiences.

If you want to be competitive DPS and solo Healing capability but not the best heals in the game its Mage.

If you want to be best heals with mediocre (viable if you don't parse I suppose but I just cringe) dps you go cleric. Clerics can get up there in deeps but the gear check is significant whereas my fresh 50 mage can easily outdps my cleric in T2 expert gear.

As for complex rotations some of the DPS specs for Mage can be fun but the Chloromancer is a pretty simple rotation.

My experiences are only from experts though I don't have the connections for raiding. So take the advice with a grain of salt.

In raiding, Chloromancer is the best healing in the game, and so is Senticar and Purifier. They all excel at different aspects and are best when combined.

In expert dungeons Chloro and Senticar can both easily heal an undergeared tank and group through any of them when played properly. So the comparison is really unnecessary there.

For DPS you want to go Mage. Cleric DPS cannot compete in high tier raids, and is mostly used for the unique Clinging Spirits debuff and their ability to do high DPS and raid healing at the same time (Inquisicar). The latter being a reason I actually like Cleric DPS but if you want to go pure DPS you'll be disappointed.