You are experiencing the reason why I became a cleric in the first place. I
played one throughout 3 phases of beta and decided that in final I wanted to
do something different, so I started a Troll SK and joined my friends. At
level 20 we discovered that clerics that knew the meaning of the word are
*very* hard to find, so I started Astur.
Now at level 40, I *still* see clerics in their mid-40s that do NOT heal or
buff, not even when asked! There are several on Sol Ro that people avoid
like the plague. I do not understand how they ever get that high in levels,
because as soon as most people realize how deadly they are for the group,
the groups either break up or kick out the bad cleric.
This last weekend some friends of mine were with a group that had a level 35
cleric and a level 44 cleric. The first thing the level 44 cleric did upon
joining the group was buff herself (no one else) and state "you have heals"
to the level 35 cleric. They were in the priest room and during a
particularly bad fight the level 35 cleric said (repeatedly) "OOM - YOU HAVE
HEALS" and the level 44 cleric sat there and WATCHED while the group died,
all the while with FM! Needless to say that group immediately broke up.
BTW, I left the group when she joined because I *knew* her and tried to warn
the others. I later got tells from everyone in that group saying they
wished they had listened to my warning.
As to your question of "why" it is this way, I can only speculate. I think
some of it has to do with the fact that our description on Verant's web site
states, "The Cleric is a holy man endowed by his patron deity with the power
to heal, and, to a lesser extent, call upon the wrath of his deity to smite
his foes" so they assume we are plate-wearing mages.
Astur il'Ayan, Cleric of Brell
SCARAB on Solusek Ro
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin Dailey [mailto:Kevin_Dailey@...]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 1999 11:48 AM
> To: 'EQ-Clerics@onelist.com'
> Subject: [EQ-Clerics] Why do so many clerics think they're wizards?
>
>
> From: Kevin Dailey <Kevin_Dailey@...>
>
> Hi all :)
>
> I've played clerics in the past, and when I was grouped, I knew my job,
> and did it very well. I buffed the tanks before battle, watched their
> health bars carefully during battle, and (at levels before 25) engaged
> in a bit of melee if things were going well. No one had to ask me for a
> heal. I mean, come on. When you go to the doctor, should it be necesary
> for you to ask him to heal you? Hell, no. That's his job, for pete's
> sake.
>
> Anyway, I have recently been playing a barbarian warrior, because I knew
> that I wanted to continue to melee, which would be a no-no for my cleric
> at higher levels. Now, however, I'm finding it very difficult to find
> good clerics to group with. My warrior is level 19 now, and I can
> honestly say that I've yet to find a cleric who knows what the hell he's
> supposed to do in a group. Is this just a problem with lower level
> clerics? I certainly hope so, because if I EVER see a cleric not buffing
> or healing in my groups at higher levels, I'll kick that person out of
> my group faster than you can say "Bob's your uncle!" I won't even bother
> to try explaining to them what they're supposed to do, because by that
> time, they will have already perfected their bad habits. And I have made
> it my solemn duty to NOT get myself or my group killed because of
> someone else's arrogant stupidity/ignorance.
>
> That being said, I want to ask a question. Why are there (seemingly) so
> many clerics out there who nuke? For pete's sake! There's a pefectly
> good nuking class--wizard! Why didn't they choose that class?
>
> I remember when I first got smite, I wanted to show everyone how
> powerful I was. But I quickly got over it, because people much preferred
> my healing and buffing capabilities over a smite or two during battle.
>
> It just irritates the hell out of me when I have to fight side by side
> with a cleric who's at full health and who won't get beat on because he
> can't melee worth a damn AND he won't heal me, even when I'm down to my
> last bubble of health. GRRR!
>
> Anyway, thanks for reading my--somewhat--rant on clerics. If you have
> any advice for me to give these people, I'd be happy to hear it. Any
> time I've tried to offer them advice, they've either ignored me, or gave
> me some lame reason why they do what they do. Sigh.
>
> Maybe I should resurrect my clerics....
>
> Llewellen Iowerth
> Karana server