Cleric - joined yesterday looking for guild to level / raid with

[Tmantrex]

Greetings all,

Well I took the plunge and bought RIFT got to level 10 last night and still just getting used to the differences and the mechanics. Long time WoW player but decided I wanted to check RIFT out. Looking for a guild to provide some advice and help as I level up to max. Right now I'm a warrior/cleric going done the Justicar and Shaman soul trees. I'm online around 8pm - midnight PST almost every night and online during the weekends.

Tmantrex

[Intravax]

Welcome to Rift. Before you get too much into your class decide what you want to do.

Clerics are amazing healers, both single target and AoE. If you plan on healing this is a great class to play. Only chloro mages will come close to matching the healing output but you will still have more control over where your heals go.

Clerics can tank pretty well, athough Rogues and Warriors are generally preferred due to the class mechanics which make them easier to heal and/or mitigate incoming damage. In certain situations a cleric can excel but those aren't as numerous. Clerics "can" tank all the content but warriors and rogues just seem to do it better.

DPS - Clerics have long been the ugly stepchild for DPS numbers and usually were at the bottom. The last couple patches have made some improvements but I still believe they are at the low end compared to rogues, warriors and mages. They can do great AoE DPS but single target still falls behind a bit. I could be wrong tho since I stopped playing my cleric a few months ago.

Best I can tell you is melee or casting, tanking or healing, cleric can do it all but for that flexibility you wont see the numbers that the other classes can pull unless you plan on running as a healer.

[Tmantrex]

Thanks Intravax that is what I'm learning and appreciate your breakdown. Right now just trying to get to 50 and then decide but I'm guessing I might try healing. Just for something different since I've played other MMO's as a tank or DPS.

[Laorne]

Welcome to Rift.

I have been a cleric since pre-launch and primarily have always played DPS. It has been an uphill road over the past year but it is my opinion you should play what you enjoy.

Clerics are in a decent place atm but balance is a never ending issue it seems. A good cleric can parse pretty well and be competative with similar gear and planar attunments. Will you be first place on the meters? Probably not

-Inquisitor is our best option for ST ranged DPS with ok aoe.
-Cabalist is our bread and butter AOE ranged spec. ST is not very good so it's a niche spec for trash and some boss fights.
-Shaman is our best melee ST DPS spec. It was recently tweaked in 1.7 and can parse slightly better than Inquisitor. It is very RNG dependant so can do either really well or fall behind.
-Druid was decent at lower gear levels but is never used atm for high end raiding. This is being tweaked in 1.8 and based on current feedback we may start seeing more in raids. This is still being worked on so it's not a definate.

I myself prefer ranged Inquisitor DPS and don't feel i'm ever a liability to my raid as far as damage goes. Inquisitor/Shaman are also the top choices for Justicar aoe heal specs as well. The icar specs provide good dps and very good burst aoe healing. I highly suggest checking out the Cleric Guides section as there are some excellent information for building your spec and tweaking rotations.

Cleric Guides

I won't comment on our ST healing specs and tanking as this is not something I play. Many guilds will look for clerics who can do it all so if you aren't looking to heal primarily or tank I will tell you first hand it can be tough to find guilds. I am fortunate that I have a fantastic guild who accomodates my playstyle

Best of luck with your journey and hope you enjoy the game. There is lots to do once you get to 50!!!