I’m still working on ranking up my Warrior in PVP – currently about halfway through Prestige Rank 3 to Rank 4.
Prior to the announcement of the 1.2 Alpha Patch notes, I was considering rolling a Marksman Rogue for an alt, because I thought it would be fun to roll a kiting spec after playing melee the past two games and players have said MM is underpowered. Now that Marksman is getting buffed a bit in 1.2, I’m less motivated to play it. On top of that, there seems to be a shortage of healers in PVP, so rolling another DPS won’t help that issue.
My only alt to date is a level 14 Justicar Cleric, who I shelved to finish leveling my Warrior from 40 to 50. I have played melee healers in multiple games (LOTRO Captain, WAR Warrior Priest, Aion Chanter, Allods Online Melee Healer, WoW Prot Pally) and I tend to love melee healer mechanics. Therefore, Justicar is an appealing spec to me. However, Clerics are very strong in Rift, and I generally have more fun playing specs that are viewed as underpowered – it tends to be challenging and I like to debunk myths and inaccurate perceptions.
I am interested in playing an alt, so I have some thinking to do about what to roll.
Taugrim's MMO Blog 
Saboteur…not as many around since the nerf, but they have a unique mechanic to them.
Charge x 5, then Detonate?
I’m not sure that would really hold my interest :)
Dominator mage. Never see them outside Pyros Transmoging. Actually go through the tree and see if there is life outside of Transmogrify.
There’s a skilled Mage (Noodle) in my battlegroup who is spec’d Pyro/Dominator. Although she seems to be the only one.
I’m not sure why to be honest, seems like a good pairing given that Dom has strong CC capability.
Sabs are fun for controlling group of players in PvP. The combat really isn’t anything special though. Even after the changes, MM will still be a good choice. When I leveled my Rogue as one, it was pretty boring. Only time I had fun was kiting elites around. Cleric is a pretty solid melee leveler. Mage was alot of fun to level. I never even played Pyro and it was entertaining. In the end play what you like. =p
In the end play what you like. =p
Yep, this is the advice I always give to people. It’s fine to roll a spec because it’s needed by the guild, but it has to be something you enjoy or you’ll get bored/burned out/unmotivated.
I’d be interested to see your take on a Bard of some sort (not a proper healer but good support), or maybe a non-stealth based melee e.g. Bladedancer/Rifstalker high mobility good survivability spec. As the above poster mentioned a dominator would be interesting, also chloromancer and archon don’t seem all that widely used in PvP. I’m somewhat biased towards a Rogue as I’d love to see your take on the calling (as I play one myself).
I’d be interested to see your take on a Bard of some sort (not a proper healer but good support), or maybe a non-stealth based melee e.g. Bladedancer/Rifstalker high mobility good survivability spec
Bard has high value as support, but I’m not sure how complex the rotation is – what I see a lot of is Cadence Cadence Cadence.
That being said, I do wonder if a lot of Bards do not rotate in the motif/anthems as often as they should, or maybe I simply it being cast since it is instant. I do see a ton of Cadence spam though.
or maybe a non-stealth based melee e.g. Bladedancer/Rifstalker high mobility good survivability spec
Bladedancer/Riftstalker IMO might feel a bit too similar to my Riftblade/Pally.
As the above poster mentioned a dominator would be interesting, also chloromancer and archon don’t seem all that widely used in PvP
Chloro’s healing capability seems very solid.
I don’t remember offhand what Archon can do honestly, let me look at spec trees…OK Archon is a utility debuff/decurse/buff/offheal tree built around Fire damage. It seems like it would be a secondary tree to some main trees (e.g. Pyro)
Highly suggest you go ahead and get on cleric for an alt – you have that melee healer in you ;) or ranged if you prefer a WoW shaman type. I wouldn’t worry about what is boosted or not in 1.2 and beyond. There are in reality only 4 classes – and really 1-2 in each archetype that is viable for pvp – play what makes you happy – my 2 cents! Because things will change all over as time progresses.
Because things will change all over as time progresses.
This is very true. I do think Clerics are currently the strongest class, and my guess is that Trion will be careful about nerfing healing output.
Although I as many other players are a bit concerned with the proposed increases to Valor in 1.2 as it will make killing Clerics even harder than it is now. Sure, Valor will make everyone durable, but in the end that may be bad for DPS specs.
Now – if you really wanna feel beat down – go roll a rogue and stick with a traditional 31-32 pt build in assassin (slip away)..and support it with Riftstalker/Nightblade or such. MM is going to be nice – but ranged really is the easiest route in a pvp right?
Just a thought ;)
ranged really is the easiest route in a pvp right?
It can be. Lowest risk, and in some contexts, RDPS can just obliterate people.
I haven’t seen too many really skilled MM Rogues but a woman on my server, Ravenwhite, really showed me what a competent MM can do in warfronts. She was racking killing blows and damage left and right.
MM has great kiting mechanics and mobility.
Hi. My Main is a warri and i rolled a cleric twink as new char because he is strong, very versatile and the leak of pvp healers in battlegrounds. I Lost many of them because most ppl prefers todo damage instead of healing.
Best regards
I Lost many of them because most ppl prefers todo damage instead of healing.
This time a thousand :)
A side with a lot of healers is often very strong, but with too few a side is very vulnerable in PVP. Same with every game.
I dusted off my level 14 Justicar, which I haven’t played in exactly a month, and while we did not win every warfront having a person outputting significant healing (even as a melee healer) helped to dictate outcomes in those matches.
It would be awesome to see you do Cleric, in that it would allow you to show your take/spec on healing in PvP as well as a secondary spec breakdown for leveling the efficiently. I think it would lend itself to a very thorough robust guide for the Soul, which I’ve found to be something you do very well. Either way I’m sure whatever you decide it will be a great asset to that Souls player base. (Crosses fingers for Cleric). Cheers
Please, play a Justicar, it’s an awesome class, and I love melee healer classes :P
Started playing a cleric once I got my warrior to 50. Build will be: http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00jnr.V0h.Ved0tMo0z.EuMo0eckM. Currently level 43.
Burst is proc based from off GCD instants in Shaman so you can go a long stretch wacking away for 200 a hit then suddenly get four 400-600 hits in a few seconds. What the build does really well is passive healing and surviving. I’m almost always most damage taken (90-110k dmg taken when the next highest on my team is 30-50k) and I’m usually top 2-4 in dmg and healing too. I feel like I contribute to the team. Righteous Mandate also allows me to select one team member (flag carrier; front-line melee) and stream heals to that person.
In open world PvP I’ve dominated so far. I’ve had battles where I’ve taken 4 equal level enemies at once (in the mid-30s). It’s just fun. The only build I lose to 100% of the time is Warlock/–/– (assuming decent player). Anything else is meat for the grinder.
As far as the build, the instant ranged attacks in Sentinel and Justicar allow me to build convictions at range. The charge in Shaman allows me to close the gap. The shield allows me to cap flags while under fire. The snare and stun in Justicar on low cooldowns give me some control. Looking forward to the 32 pt interrupt on a 10 sec cooldown.
Haven’t experimented too much with the build so probably room for improvement. Shards of Light might be a good ranged conviction builder worth 4% less +crit dmg. Also thinking about switching out some talents in Shaman so I can use Crushing Blow as the main attack. This will trade burst and overall damage for a little less passive healing and fewer convictions.
Curious what your thoughts on Cleric melee is when you level up (and hey, if it sucks you can always go heavy Inq or healer!).
Posting my thoughts as a reply to Boston, cuz I think it’s the right idea.
I’m personally leveling a Cleric with the plan of playing heavy Shaman — at least enough for their Rage of the North blowup button — because I think a well-played melee Cleric is a rare and under-appreciated thing to see. I’m considering 51 points in Shaman, but haven’t done a lot of research on Vengeance of the Primal North.
Personal opinion though, I don’t think any of the 51 points spent in the Shaman branches are throw-away or PVE-only. We’ll see @50 though. I have trouble wanting to put more than 11-ish points in Justicar without wanting to go sword-and-board, as my intentions are to go 2H with Shaman. I’m assuming Boston’s build is 2H as well (as it skips the block rating talents). I’m also not ruling out swapping the team-heals of even lightly spec’ing Justicar for the self-healing of Warden, but waiting on in-game results versus on-paper theory to decide.
But more importantly, as mentioned at the end of Boston’s reply, the diversity of playing a Cleric is really what appeals to me. I like Inquisitor more than I like any of the Mage souls, and I like the option to heal in WFs when I’m feeling like there are no heals queuing up on my side.
As far as the build, the instant ranged attacks in Sentinel and Justicar allow me to build convictions at range. The charge in Shaman allows me to close the gap. The shield allows me to cap flags while under fire. The snare and stun in Justicar on low cooldowns give me some control. Looking forward to the 32 pt interrupt on a 10 sec cooldown.
Curious what your thoughts on Cleric melee is when you level up (and hey, if it sucks you can always go heavy Inq or healer!).
Melee Cleric right now is very powerful. It’s basically as you said – you can build Convictions even from range, and these can and should be spent frequently to keep your HP (and your team’s) up.
The Shaman charge ability is what makes it almost impossible for any class 1v1 to take a Shaman/Justicar down.
My other character is a mage, I have specced into Dominator main soul purely for the mayhem:) Currently not using archmage, gone Dom/war/chloro. Basically use cc aggressively depending on type of opponent, then light them up with dots and try to kite as much as possible. As long as you are careful with DR then you can really mess someone’s day up^^
I’m going to say that after playing a warrior for so long, I can’t personally get into the mage class, but your mileage may very! I was debating on the a rogue and testing out fun stuff with Bladedancer or that one tree with the photographic memory that lets you take pictures and then bounce back. It looks amazing!
LOL coincidentally i am lvling a Justicar/Shaman besides my RB/pally.
Just some comparisons after playing both of them.
*Lvling-wise, Just/Sha takes foreverrrrr to kill a mob, ok not that slow but significantly slower than a Rb/pally, even if i switch to a Shaman/druid role, it still is slower and doesn’t feel as fun. Ya it’s so hard for you to die, but it just doesn’t feel fun.
*Warfront wise, I would say most of the time when i pvp with my RB/pally, there wouldn’t be any healers and we get thrashed. But when i pvp with my Just/sha, if i sit back n build up my convictions and mass aoe heal, it really helps the team and boost up the win-rate.
So sad to say, although i really like the play style of RB/pally, if i really wanna pvp seriously, Just/sha seems more viable. Even though its boring as hell.
So sad to say, although i really like the play style of RB/pally, if i really wanna pvp seriously, Just/sha seems more viable. Even though its boring as hell.
That’s my take as well. I find RB/Pally to be more dynamic (probably because there are more separate keybinds, CC, and CC counters); Melee Cleric is very strong but just feels not quite as dynamic.
Yes and as you pointed out in your latest post, the lack of survivability is really a major factor in considering which class to pvp as.
The way i see RIFT pvp now, it’s starting to look like the familiar healers-decide-win-or-lose again.
Riftstalker / Bladedancer mobility is so crazy and over-the-top I feel it is probably one of the most interesting specs out there and might hold the highest skill-cap for the Rogue Class.
I’m 26 and I literally have about 15 ways to zip across the battlefield.
Rift/BD is my second favourite spec on my Rogue, it doesn’t have the obvious tactical advantages of stealth and packs a bit less punch than my Sin/BD/Sab spec, but it is such fun! With 4 charges and 2 blinks the mobility is incredible, and you can do some really clever stuff with right use of memory capture. Nothing better than watching a mage wind up a fireball only to find you’ve teleported to a tree behind them, priceless!
BD/RS will struggle against healers, but it has all the tools to go toe to toe with most other classes/specs. The speed at which you can enter/exit a fight gives a nice boost to your survivability too.
Also Shadowblitz —> Rift Disturbance —> Dancing Steel —-> Flashback behind a tree out the way to rest is a guaranteed laugh.
Potent, you got my interest now…that does sound ace, what sort of build are you using fella?
I’d say something like this: Bladedancer (29) / Riftstalker (28) / Ranger (0) as a minimum spend. The last points are up to you. Sab and ranger are pretty much interchangeable, but 6 points in ranger nets you an AP buff and a ranged snare (bit of a CD on it though). Or you can take Ranger/Sab at zero points and pick up both Dancing Steel and Memory capture. Just tweak it a bit and see what you like. You can also get 12% reduction in all damage from exceptional resilience in RS and bolster in Ranger. I could go on about the possibilities but in the end just go for whatever works best for you :). This spec also makes for a pretty good flag carrier.
In terms of what to do in combat, your damage will come from BD abilities. Make a macro for Keen Strike spamming, this will be your bread and butter combo builder:
#show Keen Strike
suppressmacrofailures
cast Disengage
cast Reprisal
cast Precision Strike
cast Quick Strike
cast Keen Strike
(cast Quick Shot/Blast Charge)
The reason for putting Disengage in the spam macro is because I’ve found its hard to use reactively, especially if you have Reprisal in your spam macro as they share a cooldown. Imo Disengage is pretty much a bonus CC, and you shouldn’t rely on it to be usable at useful times, so I just use it whenever its up.
You’ll want to get Dauntless Strike and Annihilate buffs up. If you’re fighting melee you might want False Blade and Guarded steel running. Otherwise Deadly Strike is your finisher. You can macro Head Shot/Detonate to your finishers as well if you want.
Keep your targets snared with Maim/Crippling shot (if you have it). Interrupt casters with Weapon Barrage (can be used at range). Against melee, wait till your Disengage stun has landed and worn off before using Disassemble (if they are attacking you) so you can chain the 4s stun followed by a 5s disarm. If they aren’t attacking you, just use dissasmble to stop them smashing your friends faces in. If it all gets a bit hairy Guardian Phase —> Planar Refuge —> port the hell out.
Theres also plenty of other fun tricks to do with this spec, but I’ll let you work them out for yourself :D
Enjoy :)
So Taug, still as high on Rift as you once were? Reading through the comments here from both yourself and other readers, is (as I have said before) just plain discouraging.
I’m sick and tired of games that coddle healers. I had enough of that for six years in wow. While I am sure to be flamed for this, I don’t like any class design in any game revolving around COMBAT to be “sit in the back and spam heals” Or “Someone is beating on me, STAND IN ONE PLACE AND HEAL” Absurd.
Even healers, in my perfect game world, should have to get into the thick of things in order to heal most effectively. Which is why I like the idea of melee-healers. But not if they are unkillable.
Short answer: I’m stil enjoying Rift.
There are some tweaks needed for balance in PVP.
How about a Rogue healer/tank (Bard/Riftstalker)? U can get another role as Ranger/Sabatour (really fun)
Roll a mage its the exact opposite of a melee tank ;)
Would love to see a melee cleric guide. A kiting ranged class has always been very meh for me. I prefer to mix it up.