I find solo grinding in Fiesta with any class boring. I fail to see how having an extra stun or an intermittent AoE (let's remember you're soloing, AoEing is not always the smartest idea) could help at all in getting past that boredom factor. I think quests, not class, are the saving grace for soloing.
I think it's important to know/note that Fiesta has changed A LOT in terms of how quickly you level over the past few months. Levelling by yourself (regardless of your class) is no longer as hard as it used to be, especially when you have Karls, Kenton, Shutian, Nus, Nina, and all the class NPC's showering you with experience and coppahs.
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And this will veer off topic but it's in response to those who believe full strength clerics are less capable supporters.
I'm a full strength cleric and am fully capable of supporting my party. IMO endurance just buys you a small amount of time (more HP, block and defense). I'm aware this extra time can be invaluable when supporting at times of absolute crisis or for those who are slightly slow, but otherwise I've found it an unnecessary luxury. I do think it's unfair and offensive when people put down a full strength cleric as less capable of supporting a party simply because they don't have the bonus HP you'd get from an end build (which is like +250).
The reality is that a cleric's ability to support is not based on that extra health, but these factors:
- They need to understand who deserves top priority with healing. Someone may be half health and someone else near full, but if the person with near full health is receiving damage much more rapidly and dangerously than that person is top priority for healing. It's also important they understand that mobs shift aggression all the time, so healing priorities shift too.
- A good cleric will monitor more than just health. It's easy for any cleric to look at the health bars and use that to judge who needs heals, but looking at what's happening on screen is also important. The skills being cast and the direction your party is running is a major indicator of when trouble is afoot. A mage casting nova? Expect aggro change. A fighter running to collect mobs? Be prepared to invinci. Another cleric rejuvenating lots? Let's hope they don't get aggro. The list goes on.
- A good cleric isn't afraid of being cruel in order to keep their party alive. Getting yourself killed to save the party is hardly noble if it leaves your party clericless. It's better to let someone else in your party bite a bullet if mobs are too numerous or powerful - you can always revive them later.
- A good cleric will revive at the appropriate times. With two minutes to wait for the right oppurtunities to appear, a good cleric will wait for them.
- A good cleric isn't afraid of getting mob aggro. They know it's a blessing in disguise when healing allies, particuarly in number heavy places like the abyss.
Of course there are other points but hopefully the above covers the essentials. Basically what I'm trying to say is that it's not the stats, but the mindset that counts when supporting as a cleric. No amount of endurance on any cleric will educate them better about appropriate supporting, only a true desire and willingness to learn the best method of supporting matters.
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Clerics in PvP/PvE points
I think clerics aren't major killers in pvp simply because they lack a disable. I find all classes can have a good offensive with full strength (int for mages), but it's the classes that are capable of immobilizing an enemy that really shine in pvp, simply because stuns/disables are always going to the dominating factor in a duel.
Against PvE, I found my cleric on par with my fighter from 1-30. Afterwards my fighter's plethora of skills did lead a clear distinction in power. However the gap is immensely minimized, as others have noted, when using a full strength build. Reason's probably because free stat strength is piercing.
Hybrid Mode
