(This guide was created by Moses007, All credit goes to him)
Be warned that the guide is a bit lengthy but I am trying to cover the complete gamut.
Update: 8/13/2009
Separated Stigmas into its own psalm and added an external link to Kawaii's post RE 1.5 updates
Update: 8/6/2009
Added a Macro section as well as a link to the source.
Update: 8/5/2009
Updated the Title section with more information and an external link to the source.
Update: 8/4/2009
I have copied over SuperFox's 1v1 class breakdown updates as well as added a caveat in the Leveling section in regards to early level PvE combat, which weren't mentioned previously.
Update: 7/31/2009
I have removed some jokes that were viewed as "distasteful." I figured since I am putting the time into it to expand, format and link spells and abilities I would generalize and make it more friendly. Sorry Superfox.
Updated on 07/19/2009
Based off the content of Aion Version 1.1
Psalms:
Psalm 1: Leveling
Psalm 2: Manastones
Psalm 3: Equipment/Godstone
Psalm 4: Skills/Stigmas
Psalm 5: Stigmas
Psalm 6: Party Healing
Psalm 7: PVP
Psalm 8: Titles
Psalm 9: Crafting
Psalm 10: Macros
Psalm 11: Endgame
Psalm 12: Closing Statement
Psalm 1: Leveling
Leveling as a cleric is pretty easy. No downtime, just heal yourself, pop a MP Pot and you're good to go. Only thing that pretty much sucks is it is mind numbing slow at the start. Lots of people roll a cleric not realizing how slow it is. You got to look at the end game for cleric. At about lvl 35 is when you start to level just as fast as the other classes. Everyone needs a cleric. This is the level when grouping is a very important part of the game. You start to do group grinds like, for Elyos, Kaiden HQ, Fire Temple, and later on, Kishar. To sum it up, Quest then group later on and you will level fast.
CAVEAT: My findings in Beta aren't as extensive as Superfox's as he is max level playing KAion. I will share what i have found during the leveling process that isn't reflected in this guide. You do not receive Divine Slash/Chastisement until level 42. This is a nice combo but you won't see it for a long time. There is no mention of one of our best offensive moves while leveling up...
Chain Skill 1: Slows targets attack speed by 10% and inflicts marginal damage
Chain Skill 2: Does a good bit more damage and has a chance to stun the target
I basically started pulls with a rejuv, Smite, Thunderbolt, Smite, Hallowed Strike, Heaven's Judgement. After that sequence most mobs will be nearly dead should you not get any resists. I will drop a Holy Servant from time to time but for the most part that isn't going to be necessary unless you are killing things a few levels above you. I was able to take down level 27 mobs at level 22 but this does require lots of healing and regular melee. You will get lots of spell resists but no so many misses with the mace. From my experience in beta you will be doing lots of melee while leveling up. Scroll down just a tiny bit if you wish to see the tooltip for Smite and Thunderbolt. These are core spells you get at a very early level. It is your only ranged attack until a good bit later in the game and you will become very familiar with it.
When you turn 22 you will dump about 70,000 Kinah on new spells and ranks. One to note is Divine Touch
This spell you will rotate with Heaven's Judgement. Both are chain 2 skills triggered by Hallowed Strike. Divine Touch does significantly more damage than HJ and it only has a 16 second cool time. I would recommend using Hallowed Strike every time it is off CD to keep the attack speed debuff on the mob, and alternate between Divine Touch and Heaven's Judgement.
At 22 my rotation became Rejuv, Smite, Thunderbolt, Smite, Hallowed Strike, Divine Touch, standard melee until I could use Hallowed Strike again, then follow it with the Chain Skill 2 that isn't on cooldown, Heaven's Judgement. If you use Divine Touch first, between the 2 different chain 2 skills, by the time you get around to using Hallowed Strike the 3rd time Divine Touch is ready to use again.
Some say Rejuv is useless and it pretty much is, but when I am solo grinding I like to start with that as the small ticks (collectively) will counter a few mob attacks without me worrying about healing. I do not even use it all the time, but if I am about to pull something 3 levels above me, I definitely am.
As far as playstyle is concerned at these early levels, I suppose you could try to range mobs 100% with your root, and kite them like a sorcerer, but wearing mail and having a shield definitely leads me to believe we were supposed to melee in the early levels. As we get higher you will have more ranged and instant cast spells, but that just isn't the case early on. One of the two major dps spells in your arsenal is melee (Hallowed Strike) and I am thinking it is the intended style of play. I stand corrected if someone can provide any information that contradicts.
Psalm 2: Manastones
Oh **** its about to get hot up in here with debates. Good old manastones. The stones that decide whether the person is an idiot or not. The stones that decide whether you will get 2 shot by the person or kill him, his family and all his guildmates. The one stone, to rule them all. HP. Ya I went there. Many many many clerics can agree that HP Manastones is the way to go lvl 35+. Some people find it cute to put Magic Boosting for dps. Those idiots should roll a Sorcerer. Remember your a cleric. Survivability is a must. Whats the point to have a little better dps when you can't survive a Rangers burst or a Sorcerer 3 hitting you. Magic boosting is good up to the point you start grouping to level. Magic Boosting DOES NOT increase healing. Being a cleric that has over 7k HP is amazing. I have killed every class 1v1.
Psalm 3: Equipment/Godstone
Chain Mail with HP stones. Ya I know, unheard of. Use a Mace and shield. You can use a shield after level 10 if i remember right. Clerics that use a staff in pvp deserve to have rocks thrown at them. As for Jewelry, MP is probably going to be the main stat on any piece of jewerly in the game. Your going to want to get the "Caster Type" Jewelry. HP is godly for a cleric but its better to at least get a few useful stats then 1 useful stat and 4 useless stats. So try to aim for caster type jewelry. If its HP with caster stats take it, if its mp with caster take it as well till you find a HP caster one that's better.
As far as godstones go. You want something with a high percent of proc rate. Since we don't do multiple attacks really quick when we dps, we need something with a higher proc rate. Anyone else agree they should add some healing godstones? What kinda BS is this. Just dps? How about a godstone with like 20% chance to put a group heal that heals 100dmg on everyone every 2 secs for 10secs.... Just a idea that i think NCSoft should do. WHOS WITH ME?!?! *starts to sing Three Days Grace - Riot* Sorry getting off topic.
Psalm 4: Skills
I'll give you a brief description of the MAIN type of heals and dps skills Clerics get at endgame I did not include buffs and reses, just the main skills.
Damage:
Chain 1:
Just a basic 2 sec ranged casting skill that does damage. Starts your most powerful chain.
Another basic instant ranged attack after smite in chain.
This is the 3rd ranged instant skill in the Smite chain. It has a certain probability to proc. When it does, you pretty much won the duel. It does massive damage.
Chain 2:
(Elyos) This spell is not purchased from your trainer, it is a drop from an instance in Interdiktah
(Asmodian)This spell is a drop from an instance in Beluslan
A ranged instant skill that does more damage than Smite. Starts chain.
A melee skill that does crap damage but lowers attack speed on person for 10 secs. Starts chain.
Either one starts chain. Most Clerics use Divine Slash.
Instant ranged skill that stuns target. 2nd skill in chain. Great to use for assassins that like to run away... Or any class for that matter but god most assassins are pansys.
Instant ranged skill that does a decent amount of damage. Second chain.
Choose which skill in 2nd part of 2nd chain that suits you best for the situation.
A Blue... like... I don't even know how to describe what it looks like.. It looks like a retarded blue shell that Bowser would wear. Does damage every like 3 seconds until it consumes its hp until it dies. Damage is about 350dmg. Good in duels.
DoT, Don't know what a DoT is then quit now.
Every time you get hit the attacker takes 80-100 dmg. Great for duels
DP Skills:
2000 DP- Restores HP and MP
3000 DP- Group heal. No one will die while this is on for 10 secs. Unless they are a mage, but mages deserve to die. 30min cooldown.
4000 DP- Group Heal. Pretty much an I WIN button usable once every hour.
4000 DP- COCOCOCOMBO BREAKER SKILL!!! Find a group of people afk and you watch them die and watch your abyss points rise. Does a instant damage of about 1k+. Then does 1k+ damage to up to 12 people within a 25m radius of the main target every 3 secs for 57 secs. Can be dispelled... I know if your a cleric this ticks you off =(. 1 Hour cooldown. (Note- Use with caution. Nothing is worst then when the skills aoe hits 6 lvl 45 elite town npcs and luring them on your party and killing them all. >_> Good times haha good times)
Basically when you are healing a tank you switch between 2 of your main heals. Healing Light and Light of Recovery.
Radiant Cure- Your big Heal, 3 Sec cast time, huge heal.
For group heals you get 2. One has a 3 sec cast time 6 second cool time. Other has a 2 sec cast time, 1min cool time. Use wisely
HoT- Useless, heals 65 hp every 2secs for 30 secs. Throw on the retard in the group that is missing a little hp.
Flash of Recovery- Instant cast stigma heal that does almost as much healing as a Radiant Cure heal.
Other notable heals/spells that may have their own time and place outside of your normal regiment:
Psalm 5: Stigmas
WARNING: This information was written in regards to v1.0. I will bring some updated information yo this section, but for the time being, click here for an excellent guide on Stigmas in v1.5. Thanks to Kawaii for pooling this info together.
Basically in my opinion, and so far my opinion has been right, you use 4 basic stigmas.
Flash of Recovery- Instant cast stigma heal that does almost as much healing as a Radiant Cure heal.
Splendor of Purification- Group dispell
Splendor of Recovery- Group Heal
Festering Wound- Debuff, target receives 50% less healing. Great for 1 on 1.
Psalm 6: Party Healing
To compare healing to other games like WoW, Single Target heals of a Pally, Group Heals of a Priest and a retarded HoT that is pretty useless. Healing is pretty straight forward. You get fast casting single target heals to heal tank. The group heals is all about timing. One of the group heals has a 3 sec cast time with a 6 sec cooldown. The other has a 2 sec cast time with a 1min cooldown. So use your group heals wisely. Most 6 man groups need 1 healer when grinding unless that healer was hit in face by a shovel when they were a child and are horrible at healing. I have healed a lvl 47 Boss with a chanter as backup heals with 14 people in alliance. Clerics group heals only effect the people in your group, so the retards in the other group are screwed unless they got a cleric. SO healing is pretty intensive during boss fights if your the only healer. In group PVP its wise to have 2 clerics in party so if 1 cleric gets single targeted by all the enemies he can help heal while the dps rapes face.
Psalm 7: PVP
Ok I'm going to break this section up into two parts, PVP Healing and PVP 1v1.
PVP Healing:
Lets me start off by saying it is hard to heal your group in group pvp. Let me give you some reasons why:
Reason 1: Retards like to stray away from the group chasing a lvl 40 bot that gives 1 ap, then they cry like a 10yr old girl when they get ganked and are too far away for you to heal.
Reason 2: Everyone targets you first. It is hard to heal when you are being constantly stun locked and silenced.
PVP 1v1:
This is when skill comes into place. Basically, against melee, you root and kill them slowly. Against Ranged, survive burst damage and they are dead. Also remember, you can Line of sight Ranged classes. Its harder when your getting ganked but it is possible. You wont use LoS much in this game as compared to WoW PVP but it still exsist. Against Clerics, just dont bother, you will have better luck finding killing Osama Bin Ladan then trying to kill a cleric of the same lvl 1 on 1. Everyone has a different pvp play style so just experiment with different ones but follow those important rules and you are good to go.
Sorcerer: Basically save your Blessed Shield Skill for when the Sorcerer does Aerial Thrust. Always have Abnormal Potions on you so you can break the Tree Curse. If you can survive a Sorcerers Aerial Thrust it is Cake to kill them. Once their Stone Skin is down the die in a few hits. Also, USE LINE OF SIGHT!!! If you see the Sorcerer casting a big skill, run behind a tree. =)
Spiritmaster: Try and get your DoT and your Divine energy up before the first fear goes off. When you get feared, Abnormal Pot out of it, Use your Blessing Shield and your HoT on yourself and start the Divine Slash Chain with Heavens Judgement as the finisher so you can get a stun. This is Probably the second hardest class to kill as a Cleric. Its all about surviving through the fears.
Ranger: Keep your DoT and Divine Energy up at all times!!! Rangers can CC like no tomorrow. If you can survive their 15-20 Secs of CC then they are easy. When you take your first big burst of damage and are able to heal, use your Blessing Shield and HoT. Once all their CD's are gone use your Divine Slash Chain. Let the DoT and Divine Energy finish them off while you wait for Divine Slash to recharge. This is Probably one of the strongest PVP classes and hardest to kill in PVP due to the amount of CC a Ranger has.
Assassin, Templar and Gladiator: Start off with your DoT and Divine Energy. NEVER STOP RUNNING when fighting these classes. Just run around in circles casting your Divine Slash chain, DoT and Divine Energy. Also use your restraint everytime its off CD. If restraint roots him, use your Smite Chain. As soon as you cast Smite start running again since every skill in chain after is Instant Cast and your Smite will break the root. These are the easiest classes to kill in PVP for a Cleric.
Cleric: Whoever gets Discharge off first, Wins. Its a stalemate till then.
Chanter: Keep festering Wound on them and destroy them. Easy class to kill.
Heres a video I made of some Cleric PVP
Psalm 8: Titles
Superfox uses hp and def titles. This is strictly preference. Use whatever suits your play style. He suggests Armorsmithing for the title but you may want to explore some of the options before sinking your time into a crafting profession strictly for a title, as you can have an armorsmith craft items for you if you choose another craft to master.
Some notable titles:
(Elyos)
Expert Armorsmith HP +36, Physical Def +4, Block +8 You reached the highest level in Armorsmithing
Kobald Chef HP +57, MP +57 You can cook Kobold-style food
Krall Slaughterer HP +44, MP +44, Flight Time +2 You annihilated Krall in Eltnen
Love Cynic HP +36, Physical Def +4, Block +8 You took revenge on Kromede on behalf of Hagne
Obstinate Herdsman HP +48, MP +48 You Stopped the massive conspiracy of Lepharist Revolutionaries
Savior of Eiron Forest HP +36, MP +36, Speed +5% You defeated the Three Kures Brothers in the Eiron Desert
(Asmodian)
As You Wish HP +36, Physical Def +4, Block +8 Adventurer who is competent enough to realize his big dream
Cooking Expert HP +36, MP +36, Speed +5% You reached the highest level in Cooking
Expert Armorsmith HP +36, Physical Def +4, Block +8 You reached the highest level in Armorsmithing
True Friend of Silver Mane HP +44, MP +44, Flight Time +2 You defeated the enemy of the Silver Mane Tribe
Heroic HP +52, Flight Time +3, Flight Speed +3%, Speed +6% You defeated Elyos in the Abyss and enhanced the reputation of the Asmodians
Note: You may want to focus on obtaining a few different titles to alternate between your different play styles, such as one for solo grinding, one for healing in a PvE raid environment and one for PvP. Obviously some are going to be much easier to obtain than others, and a lot of them are impossible to obtain until you are the appropriate level to obtain the required quest chains.
I have gathered this information from a non-official source and could be off a little. You can click here to see a more extensive list of the titles available. I doubt it is complete, it looks like it is a work in progress. However, it is one of the most complete guides I have been able to locate in regards to titles.
Psalm 9: Crafting
I recommend going Armor as a main and Alchemy as a Sub Profession. MP Pots get quite expensive at cap and you go through 200-300 on a good grind day =).
EDIT: (added by me) I have researched cooking quite a bit and having never played anything but NA CB's I think Cooking Master with an Alchemy minor may be the way to go. The stat bonus from cooking mastery is HP + MP and you will also have easy access to the +HP + Res +Flight time foods not to mention the 4000DP foods.
It is a matter of personal preference as to which you choose, but there are a couple you probably want to STAY AWAY FROM. Those being Sewing and Weapon Smith. You don't wear cloth and you only have 1 weapon slot.
Alchemy, from what I can tell, does not have a lot to offer to Clerics beyond 399, so getting it to 399 should be adequate.
Armor Smith will give you a head start on gearing, but once you have played a bit and have accumulated superior gear from endgame content and abyss points, you sit with a mastered profession that really gives you nothing but a title with a defensive stat. As a Cleric, I am of the opinion that you will make many armor smith friends along the way that would be more than happy to craft should you provide materials. The crafted items do not bind to the crafter upon creation. This would allow you to reap the benefits of the crafted items the same as if you were an armor smith.
Food, however, will be used by everyone, all the time, no matter the situation. The passive buff of +HP, +MP and + Flight Speed is also an attractive attribute to mastering as well. I have a feeling when players start reaching the Abyss and endgame content there will be a huge demand for a lot of the buff foods that require 400+ skill. Only cooking masters can craft food that gives 2 buffs alongside added flight time. The add flight time, in and of itself, could be a the difference between winning and losing in the Abyss and will probably be highly sought after. If you are left to purchase them through the broker, you may find yourself perpetually broke. If you make them, on the other hand, you may be quite the opposite. Should you be making all your own potions as well, up to skill 399, you stand to save and make quite a bit as well.
Items such as these are going to be a staple in both PvE and PvP and will be very expensive if you have to purchase them. Crafting routes are certianly preference but this is the main reason I believe Cooking trumps all
Psalm 10: Macros
I have located a few Cleric Macros on the Armory site and thought it may be a good idea to bring them over here so we have this all in one place. Thanks to KallenKouzuki for bringing them to light. Click this to head over to his original post.
Buffing multiple groups with blessings
- /Variable 1 Blessing of Health "Rank"
/Select [%Group1]
/Skill [%Variable1]
/Delay 2
/Select [%Group2]
/Skill [%Variable1]
/Delay 2
/Select [%Group3]
/Skill [%Variable1]
Repeat this pattern, replacing the group number, for more groups.
Create multiple versions of this macro for your different Blessings by replacing the "Number" of the Variable.
Healing an enemy's target and re-select the enemy:
- /Select [%Target'sTarget]
/Skill "Heal Name" "Rank"
/Delay 2
/Select [%PreviousTarget]
This macro is very useful if you have 2 off-tanks or find yourself in a group with people who pull aggro off the tank/s frequently. Furthermore, you can still heal yourself along with the tank if you happen to take damage.
Healing a group member and then re-targeting your previous target:
- /Select [%Group"Number"]
/Skill "Name"
/Delay 2
/Select [%PreviousTarget]
Alternatively, you can also /Select "Player Name" This is probably one of the better cleric macros out there.
Faster resting/Mana regen
- /Skill Light of Rejuvenation "Rank"
/Delay 2
/Skill Mana Treatment "Rank"
/Delay 2
/Skill Refresh Mind "Rank"
/Delay 2
/Skill Toggle Rest
I use this quite a lot for leveling when my mana gets low. Of course you can take out Mana Treatment if you don't have powder.
Simple assist target and announce target:
- /Select [%Group"Number"]
/Yell DPS [%Target'sTarget] selected by [%Group"number]!
/Select [%Target'sTarget]
/Delay 2
/Attack
Alternatively, you can replace [%Group"Number"] with the name of your group's main assist.
Cast Holy Servant and cast HoT on it:
- /Skill Summon: Holy Servant "Rank"
/Delay 2
/Select Divine Energy
/Skill Light of Rejuvenation "Rank"
/Delay 2
/Select [%PreviousTarget]
HoT'ing up your summon makes it stay around for one extra attack (4 instead of 3 hits), which is quite good, especially if simplified by a macro. As stated above, currently I have not found a way to target a previous hostile target, but you can just hit TAB to do this quite easily.
If you have any Macros of your own, please do share. Same goes if you find a problem with the macros I have listed here, please let me know. I have no way to test at this time as I am a lowly NA CB participant and can't play the game right this moment, but I will be configuring these macros and testing when CB6 starts.
Psalm 11: Endgame
Endgame for Cleric is basically Group PVP, Group Grinds and Bosses. Everyone loves you in the party.
Psalm 12: Closing Statement
All my sections were based on what I have experienced so far in Aion as a Cleric. If you got questions feel free to leave a reply and it will be answered.Think I need to add another section? Post and I'll add it.. Unless its a stupid question or section then you wont get answered. I will try to update this guide as patches are released and new content is added. Hope you enjoyed it and it helps you in 1 way or another. If you use this review on another website just give me a little credit =p.
Indeed, Credit for this whole guide goes to Moses007.