A friend at my table is playing one, which got me looking at my hypothetical build. I’m not one to play a bunch of feats; I just play one to even out my ability scores. These seem to be the top choices. I can either make my Wisdom 17 and go with War Caster or my Constitution a 17 and go with Resilient. Both do similar things for my concentration, but if I want to max out both stats I need to just pick one.
My secondary question is whether or not a priest can function without War Caster and use a shield? Does it just drop it when it needs to heal? Is it more of a melee/tank build without War Caster? Let me know!
One of the types of Holy Symbol that a Cleric can use as a spellcasting focus is an "Emblem", which can be part of a shield, so as long as you use one of those you don't need to drop your shield to cast spells that have a material component, War Caster or not. Where War Caster makes a difference is spells that have a somatic component but don't have a material component. Cure Wounds falls into this category but Healing Word doesn't, so your mileage may vary.
That said, War Caster provides advantage on Concentration saves while Resilient provides proficiency on them; advantage is, on average, a little better than +3, so until you get to level 9 it's better on average than proficiency. Plus, the ability to cast a spell as an opportunity attack can help you out a lot, especially if you are not using weapons much.
All in all, I feel like War Caster is the better choice if you're planning to be on the front lines a lot.
I usually suggest resilient con. Warcaster is great when it happens, but resilient helps with all of your con saves, not just concentration saves. Though it can be campaign dependent. Are you casting a lot of concentration spells, and are you getting attacked when you do? Are you in melee enough to get much benefit from the reaction cantrip? And the big one, do you really bother with spell components? From your question, it seems like maybe you do, but I know a lot of tables just kind of hand wave them.
So if you’re a melee type, especially in a component campaign then warcaster makes more sense. But for the more caster-style cleric, I think resilient can be better.
i mean, the only main concentration spell is Spiritual Weapon, but I’m usually casting Toll of the Dead more than fighting in melee, and I’ve taken Potent Spellcasting accordingly. Granted, my strength is still 15 in case I want to wear heavy armor, but still…
I guess I’ll have to think about it even longer. Lol. Still, thank you all the same!
In general, I would suggest keeping your Wisdom as the highest stat you have. You seem to be playing as mostly a caster, so keeping the high Wisdom will make your spell save DC higher, which leads to better mileage out of your spells. War Caster bumps your Wisdom, so I would probably prioritize that one.
If you are really wanting to nail those concentration saving throws, you could consider taking both War Caster and Resilient. You could start with your stats at 15/10/14(+1)/8/15(+2)/8, then for your feat choices take War Caster (Wisdom), ASI (+2 Wisdom), and Resilient (+1 Constitution). With proficiency and advantage on your concentration checks, you will rarely lose concentration on your spells.
In general, I would suggest keeping your Wisdom as the highest stat you have. You seem to be playing as mostly a caster, so keeping the high Wisdom will make your spell save DC higher, which leads to better mileage out of your spells. War Caster bumps your Wisdom, so I would probably prioritize that one.
If you are really wanting to nail those concentration saving throws, you could consider taking both War Caster and Resilient. You could start with your stats at 15/10/14(+1)/8/15(+2)/8, then for your feat choices take War Caster (Wisdom), ASI (+2 Wisdom), and Resilient (+1 Constitution). With proficiency and advantage on your concentration checks, you will rarely lose concentration on your spells.
Well, it would keep my Con from getting to 20, but at least it keeps it even and my saves will be good. I might consider going this route instead! Thank you for the suggestion!
I usually recommend resilient con over war caster for anyone going beyond level 9 especially in the 2024 rules for the reasons people have said above. It does better at keeping concentration in the higher levels, it helps with con save, you don't really benefit from the reaction spell that often. I've only had that come up twice in 15 years of playing DND. I'd like to add something often overlooked that makes a huge difference. The 2024 counterspell causes the target to make a con save or have their spell dissipate. Resilient con helps with that while war caster does not. If you don't need war caster to perform somatic components resilient con is generally better.
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A friend at my table is playing one, which got me looking at my hypothetical build. I’m not one to play a bunch of feats; I just play one to even out my ability scores. These seem to be the top choices. I can either make my Wisdom 17 and go with War Caster or my Constitution a 17 and go with Resilient. Both do similar things for my concentration, but if I want to max out both stats I need to just pick one.
My secondary question is whether or not a priest can function without War Caster and use a shield? Does it just drop it when it needs to heal? Is it more of a melee/tank build without War Caster? Let me know!
One of the types of Holy Symbol that a Cleric can use as a spellcasting focus is an "Emblem", which can be part of a shield, so as long as you use one of those you don't need to drop your shield to cast spells that have a material component, War Caster or not. Where War Caster makes a difference is spells that have a somatic component but don't have a material component. Cure Wounds falls into this category but Healing Word doesn't, so your mileage may vary.
That said, War Caster provides advantage on Concentration saves while Resilient provides proficiency on them; advantage is, on average, a little better than +3, so until you get to level 9 it's better on average than proficiency. Plus, the ability to cast a spell as an opportunity attack can help you out a lot, especially if you are not using weapons much.
All in all, I feel like War Caster is the better choice if you're planning to be on the front lines a lot.
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Interesting. Okay, I’ll take it under advisement. Thanks!
I usually suggest resilient con. Warcaster is great when it happens, but resilient helps with all of your con saves, not just concentration saves. Though it can be campaign dependent. Are you casting a lot of concentration spells, and are you getting attacked when you do? Are you in melee enough to get much benefit from the reaction cantrip? And the big one, do you really bother with spell components? From your question, it seems like maybe you do, but I know a lot of tables just kind of hand wave them.
So if you’re a melee type, especially in a component campaign then warcaster makes more sense. But for the more caster-style cleric, I think resilient can be better.
Oh wow! I hadn’t considered all of that!
i mean, the only main concentration spell is Spiritual Weapon, but I’m usually casting Toll of the Dead more than fighting in melee, and I’ve taken Potent Spellcasting accordingly. Granted, my strength is still 15 in case I want to wear heavy armor, but still…
I guess I’ll have to think about it even longer. Lol. Still, thank you all the same!
In general, I would suggest keeping your Wisdom as the highest stat you have. You seem to be playing as mostly a caster, so keeping the high Wisdom will make your spell save DC higher, which leads to better mileage out of your spells. War Caster bumps your Wisdom, so I would probably prioritize that one.
If you are really wanting to nail those concentration saving throws, you could consider taking both War Caster and Resilient. You could start with your stats at 15/10/14(+1)/8/15(+2)/8, then for your feat choices take War Caster (Wisdom), ASI (+2 Wisdom), and Resilient (+1 Constitution). With proficiency and advantage on your concentration checks, you will rarely lose concentration on your spells.
Well, it would keep my Con from getting to 20, but at least it keeps it even and my saves will be good. I might consider going this route instead! Thank you for the suggestion!
I usually recommend resilient con over war caster for anyone going beyond level 9 especially in the 2024 rules for the reasons people have said above. It does better at keeping concentration in the higher levels, it helps with con save, you don't really benefit from the reaction spell that often. I've only had that come up twice in 15 years of playing DND. I'd like to add something often overlooked that makes a huge difference. The 2024 counterspell causes the target to make a con save or have their spell dissipate. Resilient con helps with that while war caster does not. If you don't need war caster to perform somatic components resilient con is generally better.