What are the clerics for?

[Simonenm]

Well, I know that from time to time we come back around the same issue. But I cant really understand how some people still think that clerics are heal/buff slaves. Yesterday I had a discussion with a person who trully believes clerics duties are heal and buff anyone around, only this. At a certain point, it was really funny because the person used some arguments like:

1. Some people doesn't have money to buy scroll;
2. Clerics are obliged to buff everybody who asks a buff;
3. Clerics have to stop whatever they are doing whenever someone asks for a buff;
4. Clerics are obliged to be nice and kind with everyone in the game.

Funny thing is that this person stop lvling a cleric at lvl 82, and started another class... ^^
What I tried to explain is that anyone has the right to use it's char as it thinks is more convenient. And buff is a cleric skill, the cleric has the right to choose to buff or not someone.

I understand this is a polemic topic, people has different oppinion here, but also yesterday, 2 guys approached me for a buff saying: "buff me" and jumping on their hobbies in front of me. I reserve me the right not to buff people like this, and I am getting more and more restrictive with my endure skill, just because I hate when I think someone is just trying to get advantage on me. A "please" is always welcome.

So, clerics fellows, can you share your thoughts about this with me? Am I so wrong and imature as I was told yesterday?:rolleyes:

Holy greetings :P

[radjah]

Hi Simonenm ^^

First of all, don't take it personally, whatever they said yesterday. It is not immature at all. It is you're choise if you buff someone or not. I personally think it is great that you buff other people at all.

It is a integral polite thing what a lot of clerics do in Fiesta :D It's not an obligation at all. This is a game, we don't get payed. If a Cleric makes the choice not to buff, just respect his/her choice and look for another cleric who will give you a buff.

If I see them standing there for example at Shutians, helping out other Fiesta citizen.. they have my respect ;) They are standing there, not questing, just making time off to buff other people, that's just great!

I personally buff everyone who asks me for a buff, I don't look at it how they ask me. Everyone is different.. I always think: maybe they just have a bad day or something. I can't look into his/her mind. There is a big chance that they don't know what it is to be buffing everyone because they have no cleric. They didn't experience it so they don't know it and it is not on purpuse. There may be exceptions but I don't want to put people in boxes and tend to believe they just didn't mean it badly.

Then again I really appreciate it if someone asks me friendly and says thanks, that's always welcome :D

[Simonenm]

Hi Radjah,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think the whole thing yesterday was not only about buff or not, it was about the whole cleric profile, the cleric "job description" according to that person's view.
From time to time I also shout that I am buffing in front of Shutian, sometimes I go to Sand Hill and in Roumen just to buff people. And what I think when I do this is that many times the person I buff is totally new in the game, so I take the chance to explain what is a buff and if the person allows me, give some hints about the game as well.

What I really don't like is the obligation part of the story. As you said, this is a game, we don't get payed for it.
I have a mage lvl 83, so I do understand how important a buff is. But I also don't see it as a cleric obligation to buff me. Sometimes I ask, sometimes I don't even have to ask and people buff me spontaneously. But I would never say or think something like: "hey cleric, I dont have money to buy vitality scroll, than you are obliged to buff me cuz I am poor". Honestly, I think this would be the end of the world!:D

Once again, thanks for your kind message, and keep the spirit. :)

[ahtai]

Well here are my own set of rules:

1. people who KS me or any of my alt will never get a buff from me ever. If I happen to be in KQ with that person and unfortunately in party whom I am not leader of them team and the rest of team member are nice. I will only heal that person when the HP bar is below half way point.
2. When my SP is zero and I am not in area where I can shoom, I will ignore.
3. People who say buff me or buff will be ignored. I have a big authority issue, anybody attempt to order me around will be treated as non-existance.
4. People who say buff please but on hobbie, will have endure and resistance but no heal
5. people who say buff please on the ground, will have endure, resistance and heal
6. People are my guilie, academy or my friend will get auto endure, resistance and heal without asking.
7. when I am in a good mood every rule above goes and all will be buffed full.

[onkrack]

3. People who say buff me or buff will be ignored. I have a big authority issue, anybody attempt to order me around will be treated as non-existance.
4. People who say buff please but on hobbie, will have endure and resistance but no heal
5. people who say buff please on the ground, will have endure, resistance and heal


I was thinking about putting T1 endure in a quick slot too. If I get a rude buff request then thats all they get. No heal, no Immune. But it hasnt come to that yet.


6. People are my guilie, academy or my friend will get auto endure, resistance and heal without asking.


Add me!!!!!!!!

[Kyo_Sama]

Cleric are to this game what hookers are to the real world.

used, abused, thrown away when not needed, but they always come back for more.

[globule]

Each clerics probably have his own rules of behavior (I know I do :)].
And that is pretty fine as well, as everyone plays the game as they see fit.
As long as the game remains fun for you, you are probably doing fine.

Whatever other thinks your mandate as a cleric is, follow what YOU think your mandate is.
You are the one playing the character after all, not them :)

[twizlled]

Well i am a level 74 cleric
I also have many other chars
On Cleric level.....
I have things i am in middle of doing alot of the time...like looking at quests, getting items from storage...talking to my online hubby, or a guildie for that matter. it isnt MY JOB to buff u cuz u IN MY FACE, now if we are in a party...yes it IS MY JOB to heal u to the BEST of my abilities
On other levels (fighter,mage,archer)
I will ask for a buff...only to be ignored..oks they may be busy...sooooooooo time to scroll or find a diff cleric that will buff, me personally I dont waste time looking for a buff..if i get great if not ...its not END of the WORLD.
But in a party...I should NOT have to ask to be healed...this is new thing w/ clerics..they wanna be tanks...now again I have a cleric that likes to tank ..BUT I WATCH MY PARTY, they count on me to keep them safe..is why im there.
anyhow my 2 cents

[alecalle]

When someone asked me to buff them I did! Lol
So I decided to buff some people around him (this was at the healer in eldy) and a fighter got angry because I buffed him, he didn’t want a buff >.< he called it spam buffing! (Is there such a thing?)
Even if you don't want a buff you could still thank that person for spending a few seconds and sp -.-'
I was really confused anyone else had an encounter like this?

off topic, I was in a party with another cleric who was in his 50's, I told him that I was a support cleric and then I asked what build he had... he asked what a support cleric was -.-'
Is it me or has the new generation of clerics really got this bad >.<

[FrostFruit]

When I buff many people around...I like it when they all say, "Thanks!!". I usually go by Shutain and buff everyone around me. It is a great feeling to see others excited just for a buff.:p

On my mage, people think of it only as an AoE class. So if I were to just whack a mob with my weapon...will it not be my choice? It will, but others will think...Use your AoE dangit... So I think a cleric should have a responsibility in a party as a mage has in one too. Or just get kicked out.

Clerics have their own decisions and so do mages, but when we are really needed, we should use our own abilities to help one another.

Sorry for bringing up mages, but it is only an example.

[piepiepiepie]

I don't think they were talking about parties. In parties you are right, clerics should heal their party. However if they aren't in a party it's up to them how to play their characters.

[FrostFruit]

I do agree that clerics can play however they want outside of parties. Though, since partying is part of gameplay, this should be the only exception where the cleric should use their skills into work. Outside of parties, I like to buff anytime I want. Yes, I agree with your post.

[Celtic_Princess]

Excuse me if this gets a little bit long winded. Its nearing the end of my work shift and my brain is starting to shut off so I go into ramble mode.

In the time that I have been here, just over a year now, I've had so many different encounters on my cleric. My personal favorite (note...sarcasm) was when, instead of asking for a buff, a player just said "Girl buff". To me, this seemed incredibly rude...and I wasn't about to endure the player. However, another cleric at the time pointed out that there are language and cultural barriers in this game that may make an innocent remark seem rude to another. After that, I just started buffing everyone.

I will admit however, that it annoys the heck out of me when they do circles around me on a mover while asking for a buff. If I'm mobbed, its a pain to target them....in that case, yes, I do tend to just ignore it. I'll buff them if they stop or if I kill off the mob and manage to click on them.

As for a Clerics "job" description...well there isn't one. If you look at the descriptions for characters it even says that a cleric has the ability to bless their friends and party members with buffs. Bless being a gift, not an obligation. However, in a party situation certain attributes unique only to the cleric class are expected of you. Healing, buffing, reviving if needed...its what the majority of our skills are for. This doesn't mean that you are obligated to be an angel to everyone around you, and this doesn't mean that you are obligated to heal, rev, and buff anyone you happen to see on your screen.

The next time your friend tells you that you are only there to heal others, ask them why you have attack skills to begin with. If you are only meant to heal, an attack skill would be completely unnecessary.

[saint_attila]

Cleric are to this game what hookers are to the real world.

used, abused, thrown away when not needed, but they always come back for more.

You know, that is really one of the most idiotic things I've ever seen posted on this forum.


When someone asked me to buff them I did! Lol
So I decided to buff some people around him (this was at the healer in eldy) and a fighter got angry because I buffed him, he didn’t want a buff >.< he called it spam buffing! (Is there such a thing?)
Even if you don't want a buff you could still thank that person for spending a few seconds and sp -.-'
I was really confused anyone else had an encounter like this?

off topic, I was in a party with another cleric who was in his 50's, I told him that I was a support cleric and then I asked what build he had... he asked what a support cleric was -.-'
Is it me or has the new generation of clerics really got this bad >.<

I have encountered someone who chewed me out for giving them a buff. Low-level mage, just standing around. I buffed her and she starts screaming bloody murder. Something akin to me walking up to someone and saying "Here, have fifty dollars."
"I DON'T WANT FIFTY DOLLARS!" *starts harrassing*

-__- And I have yet to encounter someone who does not know what a support cleric is........but the ability to go from 1-60 in a week or so really has an effect. For me, it took me to go from level 1 to level 60, June 08 to about November 08. *slow leveler* And plus, four or five levels were solid grinding levels. I HAD to party during those levels in order to get exp, and I HAD to learn to heal to be able to stay in parties. Compounding on top of this, we now have apprentices and Guild Academy. I've stopped looking at the Academy, and refused Apprentices. Why? Because it is a way for new players to get power-leveled all the way. Some guilds even make it a job for their guild to do nothing but power-level the nublets in the Academy so they get an amazing long guild buff. This makes a bunch of high level noobs who don't know what the heck they are doing.

And....well....I hate to say this......but some people are just too stupid to be Clerics. They are better off being fighters. After all, all fighters are is "I h4z 4n 4x3!!!111 Nao I sp4m teh skeelz!!" (Really, not all fighters are like this but face it. What fighter DOESN'T follow this strategy?)

[FrostFruit]

Great post Celtic. I guess I will start to ask people why we have attack skills.:p If I could +rep you, I would.

I was actually in a debate with my closest friend about how I should build my cleric. My cleric is full strength and she is full endurance. She kept ignoring how I can still heal and think that I am bad at healing.(though, I'm decent when it comes to healing) I could still heal regardless of build and I also wanted versatality in game. Why should we be ignored in one of the aspects of the game? It would be unfair.

I have a few high level cleric friends that are 70+. They all say it is boring. I just wanted a PvP build to solo and have fun in PvP. Also, I still have the ability to heal when I want.

[Celtic_Princess]

Great post Celtic. I guess I will start to ask people why we have attack skills.:p If I could +rep you, I would.


^^ Thanks..I've been through this debate a few times in game haha


I was actually in a debate with my closest friend about how I should build my cleric. My cleric is full strength and she is full endurance. She kept ignoring how I can still heal and think that I am bad at healing.(though, I'm decent when it comes to healing) I could still heal regardless of build and I also wanted versatality in game. Why should we be ignored in one of the aspects of the game? It would be unfair.


Where you put your stat points doesn't affect what skills you have...where you put your skill points may have an affect on how you heal (mostly what heal combinations are most affective for you...), but putting everything in end/spr means that a.you will survive a few hits and b. you'll use a few less stones

I have no issue with STR clerics...they have the same heal I do and the same ability to empower those heals. After all, even with my bash fully empowered, my heal is empowered, and so are a few other important skills. I myself am an end/str build. Not as common but its served me well so far.

Stats are important to other classes skills. Str/end to a fighter, int to a mage, and str/dex to archers. Those all have some affect on their performance and how they play...for a cleric...its not as big of a deal. I could put my stat points in INT and still be able to heal. People just tend to get too hung up on builds to realize that when it comes to healing, its more about empowerments and knowing how to use the skills.


I have a few high level cleric friends that are 70+. They all say it is boring. I just wanted a PvP build to solo and have fun in PvP. Also, I still have the ability to heal when I want.


I'm at 74 right now, with about 16% left tnl...I grinded most of this level solo in TR. That does get boring. However, the 74-76 levels are the most boring for any class from what I've heard. There are few quests and no great places to go for exp except TR.

[xena99]

I see fewer requests for buffs, but the requests I see are more demanding.
I now have a reason for never buffing people I don't know--abyss. Before, it was very uncommon for people to kill you while in abyss. After returning I bought TEVA because of being killed in abyss by buffed mages while I was beating off a mob---because I refused to party. If I had known, I would have partied, then left just when the mobs collapsed on the mage.
Still folks around who think you should join their party cause you owe it to them to givem party buff and endure. More solo clerics around now,too.

[Simonenm]

Wow, very nice! Thanks for everybody who contributed. Somehow you helped me and I think I am not alone on this :D

And Xeena, yes, the game changed a lot. In Bijou we see many clerics soloing/guildless, I dont know how is this in other servers at the moment, but it's quite impressive.

[Luke.mc]

Clerics are for supporting others. Period.

[xavier_swift]

Clerics are for supporting others. Period.



You, sir, are UBER WRONG!!!

[kklobos]

clerics are essential in parties, they are to support, but they can also solo but it takes hours to complete quests >.>
but when it comes to buffing, its the decision of the cleric, we are NOT slaves. period.

[MiSqWeRtY]

Clerics like to hit monsters also. I do! Nothing better after a crummy day to log into Fiesta and hit something.

But as with all characters, in parties we all SHOULD have responsibilities. A cleric's job then is to keep their party alive. The parties job should be also to protect their cleric (dead clerics don't heal) and respect their clerics healing abilities. Don't pull too many monsters and get hit to a point even with every heal and ability a cleric has they just can not heal you, you die and then tell the cleric they are a bad cleric. :( Just like some characters are RANGE characters for a reason, stand back please so the cleric CAN heal the tank and not worry about you. Some clerics are full end and can stand there, take the hit, heal themselves as others attack. Some clerics like to solo and have STR in their build, protect them, they are protecting you by keeping them alive.

There is no right or wrong way to build a cleric. Each person has their own goals and that is their choice. I like to solo. It's a long, time consuming task, but as I said, sometimes I just like to hit stuff! Why not go build a fighter then? Well I could ask the same of those who want a buff, why not go build your own cleric? The idea of being able to heal myself is appealing. The idea of buffing myself is appealing.

This argument has been had in town, clerics are not slaves, we are not obligated to buff, heal, etc. You don't hear other players being demanding of other classes. I have never read in chat, in town, "FIGHTER! TANK!" "Mage! Dispell!" "Archer poison!" I mean in parties, yes, we will ask that certain people use their skills..... hence the reason we are in a party to be able to have other people to help us with their own skill set.

I honestly think that clerics do not get the respect they deserve. It's sad that we are used for our skill, expected and DEMANDED to share them, but then are told we are mean, horrible at our job, so & so is better, etc. Even during KQ's I hear the tank being told what a wonderful job they did. Yes they did a great job, but what about that cleric that kept them alive? What about the archer that poisoned the boss? What about the mage that dealt damage and made the fighter's fight a shorter one? We are a team, and we all deserve recognition.

I think just like in real life, in game we all need to be more respectful of each other and what we have to offer. I appreciate a character that can help me level, finish a quest faster, etc. I thank them and show my appreciation. On alternates, I reassure my cleric that they are doing fine. I have pots and stones, and know how to use them. If I die cause I chose not to use them and rely solely on my cleric, then that's shame on me, not them. Their skills at a lower level may not be as developed as much as my high level cleric's. They are human and can be distracted and make mistakes.

I have put this out there for all of you to read, hopefully for the clerics that feel neglected, understand there are others out there who feel the same as you do. For the other classes who read this, I am not hating on you, I am not demanding anything, I am ASKING that you please understand we are human too and do not like to feel like second class citizens. I probably won't come back to this post again, but if you have anything you would like to share, say, comment to me, please feel free to PM.

Remember there is so much bad in the world, we come to Fiesta to have some fun, so be kind to each other and show everyone a bit of love.