Defense at High Levels on Cleric

[MaSQue]

First time playing a Cleric, got it close to 40 now and my Defense skill is almost nothing since all i do is sit and med and heal. Should I be working my def skill up or is this something for me not to worry about?

If I need to get my DEF up, whats the best way to do it because I have sat and let blues beat on me and it is soooooo slow. need some suggestions. Do I even worry about it or is this something that needs to be worked up and if so whats the best way?

[Swish]

I wouldn't worry too much. At later levels you should be root parking when the enchanter is struggling or when there's no CC.... root breaks will probably get you a few hits so it is still possible to skill it up ;)

Failing that, on live during Velious there was a floor trap in Tower of Frozen Shadow you could skill defense up on... if it works here it'll be popular ;)

[Velerin]

I'd level it up now while exp giving mobs won't kill you fast. Find the lowest mobs you can that still give exp (high green), pull 2-3 of them and just let them hit you and repeat. Much easier as a cleric that can heal. Wear your best AC gear to help.
Another possibility is if a high level healer can help you then you can pull more and raise faster while you both heal.
Also not positive if this works but worth a try. Pull a giant train of high greens then DA. I think you will still get raises while invulnerable.
Actually a lot easier here on p99 than live. On live (definitely now but not sure about in classic otherwise I'd put in a bug report) you only get raises on misses, where here you get raises on hits or misses.

[Manifex]

I had this same issue with my 60 cleric on live back before Luclin. I just duel'd a mage friend. He let his pet beat on me and called it off when my health was around 10%. I would CH and he would send the pet pack on me.

Rinse and repeat.

[gobbosnobbo]

Raise it now.

And sitting and medding then healing is horribly inefficient cleric play, and totally wrong. There is never a group ive ever been in except juggs/reets where i cant be more efficient stunning, root parking, calm and atone sticking etc. if a mob breaks and hits a chanter thats 400 mana you waste healing him. 30 mana calm and click atone stick means you just saved all that mana youd waste healing by being proactive and removing mez/tash/slow/heal aggro.

TLDR be better. Active offensive play in aggro management and damage reduction is so overpowered as a cleric compared to healing random unnecessary damage.

Just because you can do those things, doesn't mean you should.

Its based on situation, and if it doesnt call for it, don't use the spells.

I can't stand people who think that being busy is the same as being useful. Too many bards have screwed over enchanters by mezzing or charming when they shouldn't, dispelled or removed buffs when they shouldn't, off tanked or feared when they shouldn't. Too many people who have rooted mobs that were either the wrong one, or not properly positioned which caused problems.

Theres no reason to be calming and atoning unless you dont have an enchanter, or he specifically calls for it.

Agro management is the tank's job, not yours. Root/atone in emergencies, otherwise you're not being efficient with your mana regeneration and long-term mana/xp management. Good chanters manage their agro and their cc, its their job. Don't step on their toes unless they call for it.

Long of it is, medding and healing is fine if you can get away with it. When you need to use abilities, use them, but only appropriately.

Don't buy into the bs that if you're not currently "doing something", you're not doing it right. More like, if your group is allowing you or other members to sit in excess mana, then they're not pulling and killing efficiently.