Cleric

Cleric — summary

Game version: 4.1.1 (Patch 8) · Last updated: 3 August 2026

• Hit die — d8
• Main ability — Wisdom
• Saving throws — Wisdom, Charisma
• Armour — Light and medium armour + shields, and heavy armour in some domains
• Weapons — Simple weapons
• Resource — Spell slots plus Channel Divinity, refreshed on a long rest
• Feat levels — 4, 8, 12
• Ability scores — Strength 10, Dexterity 10, Constitution 16, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 16, Charisma 10
• Party role — In a party this class covers: Healing, Buffs, Area control, Frontline.

Two ready-made builds

• Easy path: Life Domain — The Party's Shield — One class. Wear heavy armour, hold the front and pick your friends back up.
• Strong path: Light Domain — Holy Artillery — Still one class, but a different role: instead of healing you set the field on fire, and Warding Flare still keeps you hard to kill.

Subclasses

• Life Domain — Unlocks at level 1. Grants heavy armour and boosts every heal you cast: the best healer in the game.
• Light Domain — Unlocks at level 1. Deals damage with fire and light, and Warding Flare makes incoming attacks miss.
• War Domain — Unlocks at level 1. Heavy armour and martial weapons, for someone who would rather swing than cast.
• Trickery Domain — Unlocks at level 1. Invisibility and illusory duplicates, useful in a party built around stealth.
• Death Domain — Unlocks at level 1. Necrotic damage and undead minions: the domain that walks away from healing entirely.
• Tempest Domain — Unlocks at level 1. Boosts lightning and thunder damage and knocks enemies prone; also grants heavy armour.
• Knowledge Domain — Unlocks at level 1. Expertise in two skills and extra dialogue reach: more use out of combat than in it.
• Nature Domain — Unlocks at level 1. Adds a Druid cantrip and heavy armour to the Cleric list, and talks to animals.

Recommended races

• Gold Dwarf — +2 Constitution, +1 Wisdom and extra health: ideal for a Cleric who stands at the front.
• Wood Elf — +1 Wisdom and extra movement: pick this if you would rather cast from the back.
• Half-Orc — Relentless Endurance stops your healer dying once, which can save the whole party.

Recommended backgrounds

• Acolyte (Insight, Religion) — Insight runs off Wisdom, the Cleric's main ability, making you the party's best at catching a lie.
• Guild Artisan (Insight, Persuasion) — Insight from Wisdom again; Persuasion runs off Charisma and covers the gap when nobody else in the party has it.

Companions who play this class

• Shadowheart — Trickery Domain

Resource rhythm

• Channel Divinity returns on a short rest, spell slots on a long one. Let Channel Divinity clear rooms and keep your slots for healing.
• Your prepared spells can be SWAPPED at every long rest: retune the list per area — one set for undead, another for devils.

In Honour Mode

• The Life Domain build should be your Honour Mode default: picking allies up and mass healing are the party's insurance when you cannot reload.
• Legendary Actions break concentration, so prefer instantaneous spells over single-target concentration ones like Spirit Guardians.

Level by level: Life Domain — The Party's Shield

• Level 1 — Domain: Life · Cantrips: Guidance, Sacred Flame, Resistance · Gain: Disciple of Life
  • Sacred Flame — Hits even an enemy behind cover, though a miss deals nothing.
  • Guidance — Adds a bonus to any ability check outside combat: cast it before you talk.
  • Resistance — Gives an ally a bonus on their saving throw.
  Tip: The Cleric picks its domain at level 1, not level 3.
• Level 2 — No permanent pick: refresh what you prepare · Gain: Channel Divinity
• Level 3 — Spells: Spiritual Weapon, Aid · Gain: Spell Slots
• Level 4 — Feat: War Caster · Gain: War Caster
  • War Caster — Damage no longer breaks your spell, essential for anything needing concentration.
  • Light — Lets you see in dark caves, where you would otherwise miss more.
  Tip: Spirit Guardians needs concentration, and this feat protects it.
• Level 5 — Spell: Spirit Guardians · Gain: Spirit Guardians Tip: One of the strongest spells in the game: cast it and walk into the enemy.
• Level 6 — No permanent pick: refresh what you prepare · Gain: Blessed Healer
• Level 7 — Spell: Death Ward · Gain: Spell Slots
• Level 8 — Ability Improvement: Wisdom +2 (16 → 18) · Gain: Ability Improvement
  • Ability Improvement (Wisdom +2)
• Level 9 — Spell: Mass Cure Wounds · Gain: Spell Slots
• Level 10 — Pick 1 cantrip · Gain: Divine Intervention
  • Toll the Dead — Hits wounded enemies far harder than any of your other cantrips. Most ghost- and shadow-type undead are immune to this damage.
  Tip: Usable once per playthrough. Do not fall into saving it for later: use it in the first fight where the party genuinely falls apart.
• Level 11 — Spell: Mass Healing Word · Gain: Destroy Undead Tip: Instantly scatters weaker undead. In the Shadow-Cursed Lands and crypts it can end half a fight in one action: keep it ready in those areas.
• Level 12 — Ability Improvement: Wisdom +1, Constitution +1 · Gain: Ability Improvement
  • Ability Improvement (Wisdom +1, Constitution +1)

Level by level: Light Domain — Holy Artillery

• Level 1 — Domain: Light · Cantrips: Guidance, Sacred Flame, Produce Flame · Gain: Warding Flare
  • Sacred Flame — Hits even an enemy behind cover, though a miss deals nothing.
  • Guidance — Adds a bonus to any ability check outside combat: cast it before you talk.
  • Produce Flame — Both your ranged attack and your torch, doing two jobs in a dark cave.
  Tip: Light Domain gives no heavy armour, so take medium armour and a shield.
• Level 2 — No permanent pick: refresh what you prepare · Gain: Radiance of the Dawn
• Level 3 — Spells: Spiritual Weapon, Flaming Sphere · Gain: Spell Slots
• Level 4 — Feat: War Caster · Gain: War Caster
  • War Caster — Damage no longer breaks your spell, essential for anything needing concentration.
  • Toll the Dead — Hits wounded enemies far harder than any of your other cantrips. Most ghost- and shadow-type undead are immune to this damage.
  Tip: Advantage on concentration saving throws. If your build leans on a concentration spell, take this before any damage feat.
• Level 5 — Spell: Spirit Guardians · Gain: Spirit Guardians
• Level 6 — No permanent pick: refresh what you prepare · Gain: Improved Warding Flare
• Level 7 — Spell: Wall of Fire · Gain: Spell Slots
• Level 8 — Ability Improvement: Wisdom +2 (16 → 18) · Gain: Ability Improvement
  • Ability Improvement (Wisdom +2)
• Level 9 — Spell: Flame Strike · Gain: Flame Strike
• Level 10 — Pick 1 cantrip · Gain: Divine Intervention
  • Light — Lets you see in dark caves, where you would otherwise miss more.
  Tip: Usable once per playthrough. Do not fall into saving it for later: use it in the first fight where the party genuinely falls apart.
• Level 11 — Spell: Mass Healing Word · Gain: Destroy Undead Tip: Instantly scatters weaker undead. In the Shadow-Cursed Lands and crypts it can end half a fight in one action: keep it ready in those areas.
• Level 12 — Ability Improvement: Wisdom +1, Constitution +1 · Gain: Ability Improvement
  • Ability Improvement (Wisdom +1, Constitution +1)

Key equipment

• Adamantine Splint Armour (Act 1) — Turns critical hits into ordinary hits, for the Life and War domains. Where: Act 1, forged at the Adamantine Forge in Grymforge (needs a Mithral Ore and a mould).
• Amulet of Greater Health (Act 3) — Raises Constitution to 23, making concentration far easier to hold. Where: House of Hope, in the Archive — on one of the pedestals.
• Hellrider's Pride (Act 1) — Grants extra protection to everyone you heal. Where: The Secluded Chamber — from Zevlor (a quest reward, or take it by theft or by force).
• Helldusk Armour (Act 3) — The best heavy armour in the game. Where: Act 3, House of Hope — worn by Raphael at all times.

Combat tips

• Cast Spirit Guardians and walk into the enemy: it deals free damage every round.
• The Guidance cantrip also works outside combat: use it before every skill check.
• Do not heal mid-fight for chip damage: save it for picking someone back up.
• You cannot hold two concentration spells at the same time.

Common mistakes

• Do not play as a pure healer: the Cleric's damage spells are as strong as its healing.
• Do not pick Light Domain and then look for heavy armour: only Life and War domains grant it.
• Do not spend points on Dexterity: your armour ignores the Dexterity bonus anyway.

All twelve classes and the party picker