Curious to get input on two feat choices for a Light Cleric. Already have Resilient CON. Need two WIS feats. Am looking at 2 out of these 3:
1. Fey Touched: Misty Step so useful - imagining it with Spirit Guardians seems filthy. Spell: likely Gift of Alacrity to help some of my lower-initiative allies. Long duration.
2. Spellfire Adept: Uses mostly untapped resource for decent dmg. boost (avg. 9 per use) on primary damage type. Running Spirit Guardians most of the time, so applying this to AoE seems crazy good. Likely main build where I'd take this.
3. War Caster: Overkill or no? Running Spirit Guardians most of the time. Currently +7 to my concentration saves is workin. But as dmg. increases, this would be the best way to bolster that. However, don't really need other two parts of this: I have one hand free, and my Reaction is almost always taken up by Warding Flare.
Ideally would like to get by with 1 & 2, but I am often on the front lines. Thoughts?
Is there a reason you are looking for two and not one or even all three? Most builds max out their primary stat with 17, pick a feat to round it up to 18 and then either take a +2 ASI or two more +1 feats. Or are you doing manual/rolled stats?
As a Warlock main, I say War Caster/Eldritch Mind is never overkill, but with multiple spell slots I’d say War Caster is the odd one out.
I'm making a Light Cleric right now as well. I took Warcaster at level 4.
Since Light domain gets a lot of always-known Fire damage spells, I'm strongly considering (at level 8) taking Energy Mastery (Fire) at level 8 to change 1's into 2's and ignore resistance to Fire damage. The DM has also suggested that we'll be facing a bunch of Undead in the campaign.
My PC's Species is Tiefling, so I was also thinking about Flames of Phlegethos (XGtE) if I could get the DM to allow that feat to also work with Wisdom (RAW it only allows you to choose between INT and CHA instead of INT, WIS, and CHA like many caster half-feats). But I decided that ignoring Resistance would be better than rerolling 1's on damage dice.
Good ideas, thanks. Some context, as there is some homebrew here:
Level 7. CON: 18. WIS 18. Have special opportunity to take an extra feat now and then my regular at level 8. Definitely want to max out my WIS at 8, hence two WIS feats.
Other minor aids to my concentration checks: 1) Warding Flare imposes disadvantage on incoming attacks (AC: 20); 2) Spellfire Spark origin feat allows d4 dmg reduction from spells once per turn; Harengon's Lucky Footwork allows +d4 to failed DEX saves. So between those + Resilient CON, I had hoped to get by without War Caster. But I am seeing how amazing having Spirit Guardians up all the time is. Re-casting it would be a blow to action economy and lose another spell slot.
Considered Elemental Adept, but the boost to Fire dmg. is only +1 versus rolling one or two d8s to a Radiant spell. Also, my fire spells have been much less frequent than Spirit Guardians. Down the road, both feat work with Flame Strike.
Elemental Adept would be almost a necessity to avoid problems with damage resistant creatures. Warcaster is somewhat better than Resilient but only if one can take advantage of the attack of opportunity feature, but if maintaining concentration is your only intent, Lucky is better than either. If you want to be a solely ranged caster, select Spell Sniper.
Good call on Lucky, will consider that for lvl. 12 once my stats are evened out.
Elemental Adept won't help me with my most common dmg. type though: Radiant. And Warcaster's reaction spell attack likely won't get much use since my reaction is using Warding Flare almost every time. But I like it in theory. Just not sure how badly I need the advantage on concentration checks in addition to my Resilient CON. So far I think the only time I've lost concentration is when I dropped to 0 HP.
Also think about Telekinetic . The ability to move enemy (into your Spirit Guardians ) or friend ( they can fail at will )5' each turn when you have nothing else to so with your bonuses action is very helpful. Since this is force movement it will not trigger attack of opportunity.
Lucky is a decent origin feat but the options among general feats are a lot better.
At level 12 Lucky will get you 4 rolls at advantage per day, Warcaster will get you advantage on all your saves for concentration. If you are running spirit guardians and are therefore in among the enemy you should be getting attacked and hit a lot (unless your DM is dong odd things). Though if you have only lost concentration when you have gone to zero something odd could be happening, with a +7 to hit you odds of loses concentration is at least 10% (more if you take more than 21 damage), I would expect that to happen every couple of combats.
For Wizards who can hide behind the front lines taking both resilient con and warcaster is possibly overkill but if you are in the heat of battle I would take both.
When I played a light cleric I was somewhat underwhelmed by warding flare, in combat you might have 5 enemies within 30 feet of you each making 2 attacks so which one do you impose disadvantage on, if there is one obvious big hitter with a single attack then yes it is good but I found that was rarely the case. It depends on the DM but I unless you get a rest after every combat being limited to Wis modifier times means you can't use it every round.
Getting an op attack might not happen that often but you can usually predict when it will and that can be worth keeping hold or your reaction. Melee characters are likely to stay in you SG and keep attacking you but if you can get next to the enemy spellcaster happy days. Not only do they not have the HP to cope with constant damage but they don't want to have to take constant con saves against concentration (monsters generally are not as optimised as PC to maintain concentration). As they try to run away hit them with a blindness and suddenly there are very few spells they can cast because nearly all of them require sight. Or you can command it to approach so it uses its action on its next turn to some straight back to you like a boomerang.
I would recommend you consider taking Fey Touched and choosing Silvery Barbs for your first level spell choice. Even if you only ever use it as a way to counteract critical hits against your party, it will be a clutch spell in the times that it matters.
As far as War Caster goes, I have always felt that you can never protect your Concentration too much. Having the spell you are using drop out because you rolled a 1 on your check is always a feels-bad moment.
Spellfire Adept is a decent pickup for a Cleric to weaponize their bonus action, which most Clerics don't have an easy way to do (especially with the changes to Spiritual Weapon for 5.5e). And assuming you take Potent Spellcasting as your option for Blessed Strikes feature at level 7, it will do some decent damage for a bonus action (2d8 + WIS mod at level 7).
Telekinetic can also be a decent pickup. The bonus action push/pull can be very useful if you want to lean more into support rather than damage. Plus, Mage Hand is incredibly useful outside of combat, and even better when you can make it invisible.
I will argue against the suggestion to pick up Spell Sniper. Very few Cleric spells are ranged attack rolls (Guiding Bolt being the only one I see commonly used), so you likely won't get a lot out of it. You would be better off with any of the other choices.
Thanks all. Yeah, already took Resilient CON at lvl. 4 and appreciating that greatly.
For Origin Feat, I did take Spellfire Spark for the Sacred Flame BA, which has delivered solid damage & flexibility. Being a cantrip, I can cast a leveled spell with my action: Spirit Guardians first round, later Cure Wounds instead of Healing Word for more healing if I'm near someone, etc. Having that makes me less inclined to pick up Telekinetic because that's all BA. Though it's unlimited use is very tempting. Probably between that and Spellfire Adept for the burst damage, for the 2nd WIS feat.
I did end up taking Fey Touched for my first WIS feat, Gift of Alacrity for the spell. It's been good to shore up some lower initiatives in our group. Casting it on two allies only uses 1 slot, since you get 1 free use, and it lasts multiple combats. Silvery Barbs would have been a great pickup for sure, but Warding Flare has been a defensive powerhouse for us. I use it almost every turn now, just to dish out temp HP.
Agree on no need for Spell Sniper. I don't even prepare Guilding Bolt now (nor do I use Light Cleric's Scorching Ray) because with Potent Spellcasting, my cantrips are pretty comparable. The spell slots remain for utility/support/healing spells, which has we've needed. And my big damage comes more from my AoEs like Spirit Guardians & Radiance of the Dawn.
Curious to get input on two feat choices for a Light Cleric. Already have Resilient CON. Need two WIS feats. Am looking at 2 out of these 3:
1. Fey Touched: Misty Step so useful - imagining it with Spirit Guardians seems filthy. Spell: likely Gift of Alacrity to help some of my lower-initiative allies. Long duration.
2. Spellfire Adept: Uses mostly untapped resource for decent dmg. boost (avg. 9 per use) on primary damage type. Running Spirit Guardians most of the time, so applying this to AoE seems crazy good. Likely main build where I'd take this.
3. War Caster: Overkill or no? Running Spirit Guardians most of the time. Currently +7 to my concentration saves is workin. But as dmg. increases, this would be the best way to bolster that. However, don't really need other two parts of this: I have one hand free, and my Reaction is almost always taken up by Warding Flare.
Ideally would like to get by with 1 & 2, but I am often on the front lines. Thoughts?
Is there a reason you are looking for two and not one or even all three? Most builds max out their primary stat with 17, pick a feat to round it up to 18 and then either take a +2 ASI or two more +1 feats. Or are you doing manual/rolled stats?
As a Warlock main, I say War Caster/Eldritch Mind is never overkill, but with multiple spell slots I’d say War Caster is the odd one out.
I'm making a Light Cleric right now as well. I took Warcaster at level 4.
Since Light domain gets a lot of always-known Fire damage spells, I'm strongly considering (at level 8) taking Energy Mastery (Fire) at level 8 to change 1's into 2's and ignore resistance to Fire damage. The DM has also suggested that we'll be facing a bunch of Undead in the campaign.
My PC's Species is Tiefling, so I was also thinking about Flames of Phlegethos (XGtE) if I could get the DM to allow that feat to also work with Wisdom (RAW it only allows you to choose between INT and CHA instead of INT, WIS, and CHA like many caster half-feats). But I decided that ignoring Resistance would be better than rerolling 1's on damage dice.
Good ideas, thanks. Some context, as there is some homebrew here:
Level 7. CON: 18. WIS 18. Have special opportunity to take an extra feat now and then my regular at level 8. Definitely want to max out my WIS at 8, hence two WIS feats.
Other minor aids to my concentration checks: 1) Warding Flare imposes disadvantage on incoming attacks (AC: 20); 2) Spellfire Spark origin feat allows d4 dmg reduction from spells once per turn; Harengon's Lucky Footwork allows +d4 to failed DEX saves. So between those + Resilient CON, I had hoped to get by without War Caster. But I am seeing how amazing having Spirit Guardians up all the time is. Re-casting it would be a blow to action economy and lose another spell slot.
Considered Elemental Adept, but the boost to Fire dmg. is only +1 versus rolling one or two d8s to a Radiant spell. Also, my fire spells have been much less frequent than Spirit Guardians. Down the road, both feat work with Flame Strike.
Good call on Lucky, will consider that for lvl. 12 once my stats are evened out.
Elemental Adept won't help me with my most common dmg. type though: Radiant. And Warcaster's reaction spell attack likely won't get much use since my reaction is using Warding Flare almost every time. But I like it in theory. Just not sure how badly I need the advantage on concentration checks in addition to my Resilient CON. So far I think the only time I've lost concentration is when I dropped to 0 HP.
Also think about Telekinetic . The ability to move enemy (into your Spirit Guardians ) or friend ( they can fail at will )5' each turn when you have nothing else to so with your bonuses action is very helpful. Since this is force movement it will not trigger attack of opportunity.
I spell Goodly.
Lucky is a decent origin feat but the options among general feats are a lot better.
At level 12 Lucky will get you 4 rolls at advantage per day, Warcaster will get you advantage on all your saves for concentration. If you are running spirit guardians and are therefore in among the enemy you should be getting attacked and hit a lot (unless your DM is dong odd things). Though if you have only lost concentration when you have gone to zero something odd could be happening, with a +7 to hit you odds of loses concentration is at least 10% (more if you take more than 21 damage), I would expect that to happen every couple of combats.
For Wizards who can hide behind the front lines taking both resilient con and warcaster is possibly overkill but if you are in the heat of battle I would take both.
When I played a light cleric I was somewhat underwhelmed by warding flare, in combat you might have 5 enemies within 30 feet of you each making 2 attacks so which one do you impose disadvantage on, if there is one obvious big hitter with a single attack then yes it is good but I found that was rarely the case. It depends on the DM but I unless you get a rest after every combat being limited to Wis modifier times means you can't use it every round.
Getting an op attack might not happen that often but you can usually predict when it will and that can be worth keeping hold or your reaction. Melee characters are likely to stay in you SG and keep attacking you but if you can get next to the enemy spellcaster happy days. Not only do they not have the HP to cope with constant damage but they don't want to have to take constant con saves against concentration (monsters generally are not as optimised as PC to maintain concentration). As they try to run away hit them with a blindness and suddenly there are very few spells they can cast because nearly all of them require sight. Or you can command it to approach so it uses its action on its next turn to some straight back to you like a boomerang.
Res Con and Warcaster are standards. Telekinetic, Fey Touched, Lucky are all fine as well.
I would recommend you consider taking Fey Touched and choosing Silvery Barbs for your first level spell choice. Even if you only ever use it as a way to counteract critical hits against your party, it will be a clutch spell in the times that it matters.
As far as War Caster goes, I have always felt that you can never protect your Concentration too much. Having the spell you are using drop out because you rolled a 1 on your check is always a feels-bad moment.
Spellfire Adept is a decent pickup for a Cleric to weaponize their bonus action, which most Clerics don't have an easy way to do (especially with the changes to Spiritual Weapon for 5.5e). And assuming you take Potent Spellcasting as your option for Blessed Strikes feature at level 7, it will do some decent damage for a bonus action (2d8 + WIS mod at level 7).
Telekinetic can also be a decent pickup. The bonus action push/pull can be very useful if you want to lean more into support rather than damage. Plus, Mage Hand is incredibly useful outside of combat, and even better when you can make it invisible.
I will argue against the suggestion to pick up Spell Sniper. Very few Cleric spells are ranged attack rolls (Guiding Bolt being the only one I see commonly used), so you likely won't get a lot out of it. You would be better off with any of the other choices.
Thanks all. Yeah, already took Resilient CON at lvl. 4 and appreciating that greatly.
For Origin Feat, I did take Spellfire Spark for the Sacred Flame BA, which has delivered solid damage & flexibility. Being a cantrip, I can cast a leveled spell with my action: Spirit Guardians first round, later Cure Wounds instead of Healing Word for more healing if I'm near someone, etc. Having that makes me less inclined to pick up Telekinetic because that's all BA. Though it's unlimited use is very tempting. Probably between that and Spellfire Adept for the burst damage, for the 2nd WIS feat.
I did end up taking Fey Touched for my first WIS feat, Gift of Alacrity for the spell. It's been good to shore up some lower initiatives in our group. Casting it on two allies only uses 1 slot, since you get 1 free use, and it lasts multiple combats. Silvery Barbs would have been a great pickup for sure, but Warding Flare has been a defensive powerhouse for us. I use it almost every turn now, just to dish out temp HP.
Agree on no need for Spell Sniper. I don't even prepare Guilding Bolt now (nor do I use Light Cleric's Scorching Ray) because with Potent Spellcasting, my cantrips are pretty comparable. The spell slots remain for utility/support/healing spells, which has we've needed. And my big damage comes more from my AoEs like Spirit Guardians & Radiance of the Dawn.