Cleric Leveling Guide | AoE Grinding | Builds | Macros | Step by Step

[Melkrow]

Lately I've been experiment with other classes and found myself struggling to understand and/or find the best way to utilize those classes. Few people along the way helped answer some questions, so I thought I would write a little guide for those individuals that want to start out as a Cleric but don't necessarily want to devote too much time to researching everything there is to know about the class.

I will try to keep it simple and organized.

AoE GRINDING

Before we go any further, let me say that if you want to AoE grind, find 'melee' only mobs for optimal results. Animal/beasts are most often melee only, but there are a lot of humanoids as well. What mobs and the locations of where to grind is outside the scope of this guide.

AoE Grinding: CASTER

Level 10

The earliest build that you can do for AoE grinding is level 10 Cabalist/Druid/Sentinel(or Purifier if you prefer the shield)
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00aoj.c.Vp

Now, this is a very fragile early build, I would say don't push it with more than 3 mobs at the time. Utilize Shield Of Oak (and Shield of Ancestors if you took Purifier). The faerie will do solid healing this early in the game.

Rotation:
The usual OPENING rotation depends on the mobs and how they are bunched up/spread out. As a general thing you want to try and do TWO Shadow Touch on two DIFFERENT mobs, and use Decay on the 3rd mob. This is ideal when they are spread apart. Rule of the thumb, you don't cast Shadow Touch if you have mobs hitting you in melee. Generic rotation would look like this:

-Shield Of Oak, Shadow Touch mob1, Shadow touch mob2(if possible), Decay mob 3, Obliterate, Decay mob 3 again, Tyranny x3. Repeat Decay & Tyranny x3 until all mobs are dead.

Bring a lot of drinks.

Always Replace Tyranny with Obliterate whenever possible. Likewise, if Obliterate is on cooldown, use Tyranny instead in the rotation.


Level 18 - Inquisitor/Cabalist/Purifier(or Sentinel)

Once you get to level 18, then you can do a real AoE spec:
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00doG.Vxkb.Vp

I honestly prefer Purifier shield over sentinel heal with this build, as it makes it easier to cast Soul Drain with the shield up. This is a very powerful AoE build. I prefer 4 mobs at the time at this level.

Rotation:
If Obliterate is up:
-Vex Vex Vex Vex, Decay on last mob, Soul Drain, Obliterate, Decay, Shield Of Ancestors, Soul Drain, Tyranny x3, Soul Drain again if necessary.

If Obliterate is on cooldown:
-Vex Vex Vex Vex, Decay on last mob, Soul Drain, Tyranny x3, Shield Of Ancestors, Soul Drain, Decay, Tyranny x3, Soul Drain again if necessary.

The difference between two rotations is when the obliterate is up, you use Decay right after it, since Soul Drain will be on cooldown because Obliterate is instant.

You don't want to use Shield Of Ancestors early on, you want to use it in the middle of the rotation, that is because Vex will be healing you during the first half of the rotation, you don't want to waste the heals from Vex by throwing a shield on too early.

This build will take you into your early 30s, at which point a more effective build opens up.

- LEVEL 21 this build should look like this http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00doG.VtkbMz.Vp so that you can get Clinging Souls from Inquisitor. Rotation remains the same. Continue working on your Inquisitor, or optionally, you can get a heal from Purifier at level 24 that will prove to be useful up to level 27.

Use Aggressive Renewal and/or Harsh Discipline to finish off the last mob whenever possible.

- LEVEL 24 http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00doG.VtkbMz.Vp.m that's with the heal, OR simply continue working on Inquisitor tree.

- LEVEL 27
This will be a important level. This is when you can get Fanaticism while keeping 10 points in Cabalist.
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00doG.VekbMt0o.Vp

Rotation is the same as above, except you will use Fanaticism right before soul drain. I would suggest simply making a macro at this point that looks like this and just double tap it.

#show Soul Drain
suppressmacrofailures
cast Fanaticism
cast Soul Drain


LEVEL 31 - Inquisitor/Justicar/x

You made it. This build can take you to level 50. Every ability that you pickup from here on is just a bonus, everything you really 'need' you have in this build: http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00drG.VekbMt0az.Vuz

Aside from Salvation from Justicar that will keep healing you as you do damage, Doctrine of Biliss can heal you when you really need it (requires one conviction). You have 3 instant cast 'light' spells to build convictions quickly, Sanction Heretic, Bolt Of Radiance, Excommunicate (knockback). Macro all of them up like this:

#show bolt of radiance
suppressmacrofailures
cast bolt of radiance
cast sanction heretic
cast excommunicate

Rotation:
Vex Vex Vex Vex Vex, Fanaticism+Soul Drain, Circle Of Oblivion, Shield Of Ancestors, Soul Drain, Circle Of Oblivion, Circle Of Oblivion/Soul Drain if necessary. Use your single target macro above to finish off the last mob or two and/or use Aggressive Renewal/Harsh Discipline if they are up.

Don't forget you have Trepidation from Inquisitor, your AoE fear. Use it as a 'oh ****' button, and heal up while the mobs are running around.

From this point on, spend your points as you see fit and experiment on your own. I will however give few OPTIONAL and equally viable build variations.

- OPTIONAL LEVEL 39 - Inquisitor/Warden/Purifier
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00deG.VekbMt0az.tEbzo
The strength of this build lies in amazing Heal Over Time(HoT) effects that go so well together with AoE grinding. Two spells in particular are very important, Soothing Stream and Orbs Of The Stream.

Rotation:
Pre HoT with 4 Soothing Stream, and renew the stack before it counts down to zero, meanwhile do the exact same rotation as the one above (remember to insert soothing stream into rotation).

Alternatively, use Orbs Of Stream somewhere in the middle of the rotation (especially if you use them with tidal surge). Sometimes I only use orbs and don't even bother with soothing stream. Orbs heal for A LOT. Just in case anybody is lost, here is a sample rotation:

Soothing Stream x 4, vex vex vex vex vex, soothing stream, Fanaticism+Soul Drain, Circle Of Oblivion, Orbs Of The Stream, Soul Drain, Circle Of Oblivion.

This might seem like it takes away from your effective DPS, too much healing, but in reality this can translate into faster grinding as you can pull a lot more mobs at the same time, as well as higher level mobs, your heals will keep you up amazingly well.


- OPTIONAL lvl 46 - Inquisitor/Warden/Justicar
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...t0az.tEbzo.Vuz

Ridiculous. Between HoTs from Warden and passive heals from Justicar, you can do mass murder on mobs. Rotation is exactly the same as the one above.

[Melkrow]

AoE Grinding: MELEE

(ps. I always use 2 Hand Mace, with spellpower on it)

LEVEL 18 - Justicar/Druid/Inquisitor(or warden)
Well, it's sad but true, you can't really do any reliable AoE grinding until you hit 18. And even at level 18 it's very rough around the edges.
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00rad.Euz00d.Vz

With this build, you can hit up to 3 enemies with Even Justice. You will have plenty of healing through Doctrine Of Bliss and Salvation. Your biggest problem will be mana. With this build you can only get 1 mana regen ability, and that's Purpose from Justicar.

Mana: This will be a problem for a while. User 'Purpose' Once you are down to about 30% mana. If you hit purpose while your Even Justice is in the middle of the swing, it is possible to get 70% of your mana back.

This build also requires a 3rd soul that has instant cast spell(s) for pulling mobs. Inquisitor is an excellent choice to get Vex. Warden also is a good choice for Waterjet, especially since Waterjet can be used to finish off the last mob (as well as an extra heal over time spell).

Rotation:
Shield Of Oak, vex or waterjet 3 mobs, use Even Justice until all are dead. Use Bolt Of Radiance and/or Waterjet to finish off the last mob.

From my experience, I found Mien Of Leadership to work out better than Mien of Honor. Both are viable.
================================================== ==

LEVEL 21 - Justicar/Druid/Inquistor(or Warden)
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00rad.Euz00d.VV

Continue spending points into your Druid tree so that you can get Fae Hammer. Once you get Fae Hammer, you mana issues are more or less over if you time both Fae Hammer and Purpose right. However, don't be afraid to use drinks when necessary after pulls.

Rotation is the same as with your level 18 build.
================================================== ==

LEVEL 27 - Justicar/Druid/Inquisitor
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00rad.Euz00ec.VV
There are 3 important abilities that you need to get from the Justicar tree. In the order of Importance: Devout Deflection, Shield Of Faith, Vengeful Justice. At level 27 you got all 3 maxed. At this point you got a very nice AoE grinding build. But there are still improvements to be made.

Rotations is the same as with your level 18 build.
================================================== ==

OPTINAL LEVEL 29 - Justicar/Inquisitor/Purifier
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00rdG.Euz00ec.Vx0b

This build works incredibly well. Synergy is amazing. It can take you to level 50 withe ease. With Justicar's salvation, your Vex will heal you for ~105% of the damage done.

Rotation:
vex everything, Even Justice until dead. Profit and lol.

You can improve this build further at level 30 by putting 2 more points into Inquisitor to unlock Soul Drain, then you could do: Vex everything, soul drain, even justice until everything is dead. My level 50 main tank and farmer uses a variation of Justicar/Inquisitor.

You might have some mana issues with this build. But nothing too bad.
================================================== ==


LEVEL 33
You got couple of options now if you want to stick with the melee souls primarily. You can either do Justicar/Shaman or Justicar/Druid. I prefer Justicar/Shaman, but both have their strengths.

Justicar/Shaman/Inquisitor(or Warden) - http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00rnd.Euz00ec.Vgd0zM

Justicar/Shaman combo have amazing synergy because of the Shaman's off-global cooldown abilities and other passives. This build will take you to level 50, very very easily.

First of all you need to make a macro. Let's call this one AoE Macro:

#show Even Justice
suppressmacrofailures
cast Jolt
cast Fated Blow
cast Glory Of The Chosen
cast Even Justice

Let's create another macro, let's call it Single Target Macro

#show Massive Blow
suppressmacrofailures
cast Jolt
cast Fated Blow
cast Glory Of The Chosen
cast Massive Blow
cast Sovereignty
cast Bolt Of Radiance
cast Lightning Hammer
cast Strike Of Judgment
cast Waterjet
cast Vex

(feel free to remove vex or waterjet, whichever one you don't have)

The above macro is...well awesome. It will use highest damaging abilities first, and works for both melee and ranged. Just use it, you will love it. If mob is in melee range, it will loop Strike of Judgment until other abilities before it get off cooldown, and if you are not in melee range, it will spam waterjet/vex. Works very well, hassle free.

Rotation:
Glacial Shield, Pull 5 mobs with your Single Target Macro, AoE Macro until they are all dead. Use single target macro to finish off the last mob or two.

Don't forget to use Purpose and Ageless Ice (from Shaman) to replenish your mana when you need to. Ageless Ice and Purpose do the same thing. Use them liberally once you get below 50% mana. With Endless Winter as you passive mana regen, you will never run into mana issues again.
===============================================

Justicar/Druid/Inquisitor(or Warden) - http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00rad.Euz00ec.VV0Vh

This is another great combo. It provides more 'steady' DPS that dosn't rely on procs like Shaman does.

Aside from the passive abilities, the boost to DPS comes from two Druid abilities in particular. Crag Hammer and Eruption Of Life. Crag Hammer is a 1 hour buff that adds dmg to all of your melee attacks (including Even Justice).

Let's do the macros again, AoE Macro:

#show Even Justice
suppressmacrofailures
cast Eruption Of Life
cast Even Justice

Single Target Macro: (imprtant to add bombard, it does very good dmg and crits a lot)
#show Strike of Judgment
suppressmacrofailures
cast Sovereignty
cast Bolt Of Radiance
cast Bombard
cast Eruption Of Life
cast Censure
cast Strike Of Judgment
cast Waterjet
cast Vex

Rotation:
Shield Of Oak, pull 5 mobs with Single Target Macro above, use AoE Macro until everything is dead. Use Single target macro to finish of the last mob or two.

Use Fae Hammer and Purpose to replenish mana when needed.
================================================== ==

LEVEL 40 - Justicar/Druid
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...00ec0o.VVhVh0V

If you decide to stick with the Druid line, this is as far as I would take the Druid tree. I would not recommend putting any more points into Druid. With this build you get the greater faerie, which is a good healer, and you get a crit chance passive through your Crag hammer. We also added Reprieve from Justicar which is a massive heal on a 5 minute cooldown. Macros/rotation is pretty much the same as it was for the level 33 build.

After this it doesn't really matter. You can do this build at 48 http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...00ec0o.VVhVh0V basically for the 38 points in Justicar so that you can get Just Defense, which is awesome 'oh **** button'.

Alternatively, you can add more point to Inquisitor to get Vex healing as well. You will be indestructible in this build. LEVEL 50 Justicar/Druid/Inquisitor http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...o.VVhVh0V.VLzb

================================================== ==


LEVEL 41- JUSTICAR/Inquisitor
If you kept with Justicar/Inquisitor line, your build should look something like this at level 41:
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...0ec0o.VvkbMx0o

Rotation:
vex everything, Fanaticism+Soul Drain, Even Justice until everything is dead
================================================== ==

LEVEL 44 Shaman/Justicar (yes, actually more points in Shaman than Justi)
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...ec0o.VedztMohk

Now, that's what asskicking build. My personal favorite. Drop Rage Of The North before you start your AoE macro and watch masses fall before you. I would usually drop Rage Of The North when I pull stupid amount of mobs and my HP keeps going down slowly. In the middle of the fight I drop Rage Of The North and my HP shoots to full, and everything magically dies . Love it.

As usual, let's do macros:

AoE Macro;

#show Even Justice
suppressmacrofailures
cast Jolt
cast Fated Blow
cast Glory Of The Chosen
cast Strike of The Maelstrom
cast Even Justice


Single target macro is the same as it was for level 33 build.

Rotation is the same as for your level 33 build.

This pretty much concludes Justicar/Shaman build. The rest of the points (8) you can spend as you see fit, it doesn't really matter. I usually grab Warden for some extra survivability with hots.

================================================== ==


LEVEL 50 Justicar/Inquisitor/Shaman

This is my dungeon Tank as well as a AoE Farmer build at 50. Because I don't have any free roles left I have to farm with my tank.
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00...cooo.Vxkb.Vfdz

Rotation:
Vex 10+ mobs, Soul Drain, Even Justice until dead. Profit.

=======================================
LEVEL 50 - Justicar(26)/Inquisitor(26)/Shaman(14)
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00....VvkbMx0o.Vxdz

If I had more roles, I would make this build for AoE farming specifically.



P.S. Sorry for any typos or messed up links. I know Trion won't let me edit these posts anymore.

[DinMamma]

this is probably the best guide i have read so far about leveling, and i have used ur justi/sent build since i saw ur aoe farming on youtube. now il try all of your speccs and see wich one is the most fun! 5/5 points mate!

[wrajjt]

Nice guide. I bet it will be viable for roughly a week, before Trion nerfs cleric aoe :P

[DinMamma]

is there any confirmation that they will nerf us? since its like the only good attacks we can do, we kinda suck 1v1

[Kolobos]

nice post dude, 1 question though....what, from personal experience, do you think is faster for levelling; melee or caster? i cant seem to get to grips with a melee cleric for levelling but if it works i'll give it a try

Cheers

[Melkrow]

nice post dude, 1 question though....what, from personal experience, do you think is faster for levelling; melee or caster? i cant seem to get to grips with a melee cleric for levelling but if it works i'll give it a try

Cheers

From my experience, melee, but only after you get into level 33 build, or at the very least level 27 build. It might be my playstyle perhaps. Before level 33, I would strongly suggest using inquisitor/cabalist tho. Again, personal preferences.

I never measured exp per hour or gold per hour or anything like that. I just went with what felt smooth and fun and profitable at the same time.

[InfusionOfFear]

I felt the melee setup was VERY boring, hitting one button over and over and over. I like the Inq/Just/cab build it gives you more buttons to push and you can still survive a rift even a elite one.

@ the people saying they will nerf aoe, you can still die very easily if you are going up against casters then you are screwed. Sometimes you can use all of your mana and have to either drink or aggressive renewal which only gets back some of your mana.

This is a VERY fun build to play and lvl with, I couldn't see them nerfing it cause you are taken risks and most of the time if you have 2 casts and or bows shooting at you and only 2 mobs on you it can make it rough.

[Rowanze]

Really well done mate. Good guide, great in fact. I have played extensively with several of the roles you mentioned and I admit that you had some good tricks in there I had not thought of.

My biggest issue with a lot of these build was mana consumption. I presently (@42) am using a Justicar/Shaman/Driud build. It give me three mana replenishment options and 2 shields. I basically use one macro for AoE, one for Single Targer, one for shield (I have both shields on a single macro) and one for mana replenishment (I have all three on one button).

Some will find the build boring, but I really had too much of a mana issue with Inq builds and I found having to constantly drink to be really really annoying. I am really happy with my present build and find that I can grind faster than questing, as long as there are no casters/marksman mobs. Those are a pain. Guys with guns especially are a pain.

One thing to consider in your macro priority, that I don't think you did, is that you get significantly more life back from Justicar Abilities than you do form Shaman/Druid abilities, so you might even make 2 macros, one that does max DPS and one that does slightly less DPS and has more healing. This is an issue in groups where others are receiving your healing.

[Vodecca]

Great post....Love your videos too!

I had been running modifications of what you have in your videos since I am only level 21 (was only level 12 when I came across your videos)....Interesting to see this breakdown....gonna try the caster version (have been doing a melee variation of your single target spec)

[Riftrox]

Why no Avalanche Strike?

[Riftrox]

Why no Avalanche Strike?

Sorry dumb question :/

I just tried this spec -though I moved points from parry deeper into shaman for the passive boost- and I could not believe my eyes!

Unstoppable full mana and full hp....If I pull too much I just pop the crit thing and all are dead..did not need a single pot wow lol

[sketch404]

Why would you choose Entropy over Death's Grasp?

Just wondering why it wouldn't be better to take the one that covers all spells instead of just channeled and DoTs.

They both seem to be 5%

[Seumas]

Taggage for laters

Nicely done. +1

[Tobruk]

Great guide, really appreciate all the work you put into the guide and the video's.

Where would you recommend the best place to grind exp at level 18?
I'm guess a place that doesn't have a lot of casters.

Thanks,