Tree of Savior Forum

Hybrid damage clerics, redux

A couple of years ago, I created a thread regarding hybrid-styled clerics. After yet another break from ToS, I’m back again to take another shot at the same concept. From my current skill lists, it seems that several classes (Cleric, Krivis, and Paladin at least) have an attribute for toggling their damage types. As I understand, this lets you deal magical damage with Conviction, for instance. I assume this also means that for Krivis, you can have Zaibas deal physical damage. As such, I’m curious about the implications for my old builds.

I ended up heading toward option 2, which meant Paladin / Zealot / Krivis and Inquisitor / Exorcist / Plague Doctor. The former build could, in theory, would benefit from Conviction and singular Strength stat. However, I don’t know that Divine Stigma, Zaibas, and Aukuras are nearly enough damage, given that Zealot isn’t abusing the old Oracle synergy. I’d like to hear opinions nevertheless. The latter build is likely dead by now, as it was mostly focused on all 3 classes being individually strong.

Based on the changes, I would hazard a guess that a Paladin / Crusader / Exorcist or Paladin / Crusader / Plague Doctor would likely be a viable build. Paladin can buff magic damage while dealing magic damage, and it is quite durable. I don’t see Holy on the list of elements buffed by Conviction, however, so perhaps it is somewhat more limited? Also, if I don’t reroll the Paladin / Zealot / Krivis, I’d have two Paladin builds.

I mentioned Monk / Krivis / Zealot in my previous thread. Still seems to be a logical possibility, especially now that Monk benefits even more from crit boosts and Krivis is more appropriate for physical damage. Beady Eyed, Daino, and Zalciai could mean incredibly high critical rates for Double Strike to proc out more Energy Blast. However, it would require a great deal of setup to actually get anything out of such a build, and the risk is pretty high. Has anyone attempted that? Alternatively, would a more a more straightforward Inquisitor / Krivis / Zealot build work instead, relying more on straight damage then crit buffs?

Any other ideas on the general theme? Sadhu changes looked like they might have potential, but I am lead to believe that they are quite underpowered at the moment.

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i was eyeballing something like this, as i really like the hybrid cleric playstyle of being just an all rounder. i however am a bit unsure of the best way to balance my skills out.
This is what i’m thinking of going for

Okay, some notes re: old build, now that I’ve had some time to fiddle:

Paladin / Zealot / Krivis is okay. Paladin and Krivis can both be set to all physical damage, and buffs generally apply as you’d expect. Smite, Barrier: Might, and Demolition: Madness all affect Zaibas damage as it becomes Physical/Strike/Holy when you flip to physical stat. Resist Elements affects all of Krivis and Zealot damage, since all are Fire, Lightning, or Holy property. It all fits together fairly nicely. Zealot’s damage also enjoys one of the only buffs from Conviction.

Unfortunately, Conviction has basically been reduced to a party buff skill. There are only 3 cleric classes with 6 skills total which are affected: Zealot’s Immolation and Fanatic Illusion; Druid’s Chorasmata and Thorns; and Plague Doctor’s Black Death Spray and Incinerate. Every other Cleric skill across 18 classes are physical, non-property, or holy. The damage is also mediocre – it’s less than, say, God Smash against non-demons, and much weaker than against demons. You’ll still take Conviction because you kinda need something on hand, but it’s not great.

Ultimately, you could replace Paladin with Inquisitor or Monk to get a more potent damage build. Resist Elements is 45% additive to all properties the build has (Holy, Fire, Lightning) with 50% uptime; Madness is 30% additive with ~35% uptime; Barrier is <40% additive with 66% uptime, Conviction is 20% additive with 80% uptime that only affects Illusion and Immolation. Meanwhile, Inquisitor gets 10% additive to Holy and 20% crit (final damage multipliers!) from Judgment with 100% uptime. The crit bonus alone is more than enough to outdo two or three of Paladin’s buffs. Add in Breaking Wheel and Ripper and you have easily more damage. However, some of Paladin’s skills do affect other teammates (Conviction, Resist/Enhanced Elements, Madness, Barrier, Sanctuary in a pinch), so you may have some benefit to it anyway.