What is the primary role of the Cleric Archetype?

The Cleric is the dedicated healer archetype, focusing on restoring health and applying defensive and supportive buffs to allies in both PvE and PvP combat.

What secondary class works best with Cleric?

The best secondary class depends on the desired playstyle. For pure healing, combining it with Mage (Acolyte) or Bard (Shaman) is common; for survivability, Tank or Fighter secondaries are popular.

Does the Cleric have any offensive capabilities?

Yes, Clerics possess offensive abilities, often light-based damage over time or burst spells, allowing them to contribute to damage and solo play when not actively healing a group.

Ashes of Creation Cleric Guide

The Cleric is the heart of every group in Ashes of Creation, keeping teammates alive through heavy damage and long fights. If you’re planning to start as a healer or support class in early access, this guide explains what makes the Cleric special and how to level it smoothly from the start.

How the Cleric Works

The Cleric is focused on healing, shielding, and cleansing allies. It’s the main support archetype, built to keep parties alive during PvE and group PvP. The Cleric restores health, removes debuffs, and can deal modest holy damage when soloing.

Clerics rely on mana, positioning, and awareness. Most of their skills scale with weapon power from staves or maces, and they benefit heavily from stamina and intellect upgrades.

Cleric Playstyle Overview

In solo play, the Cleric uses light attacks and small damage spells to stay alive while dealing steady damage. In group play, your job is simple; keep the team standing, maintain buffs, and cleanse status effects.

Position behind your frontliners, keep your eyes on enemy cast bars, and pre-cast heals when damage spikes are coming. You’ll spend more time watching health bars than enemies, but that’s what makes it rewarding.

Best Skills to Focus Early

Direct Heal recovers single target health quickly
Group Heal provides area healing around allies
Cleanse removes poison, burn, and other status effects
Divine Shield gives temporary damage absorption
Smite allows light solo damage when no healing is needed

Upgrading heals early helps smooth out dungeons and group quests. Once you’re comfortable managing mana, start investing in damage or buffs for faster leveling.

Gear and Stats

Use light armor early for maximum mana regeneration. Later, switch to medium armor if you want extra defense in open world PvP.

Weapons that work best:

Staff for stronger healing output
Mace for balance between healing and physical defense
Off-hand focus for extra mana and cooldown reduction

Prioritize stats that boost mana efficiency and healing power. Stamina is always worth investing in to survive AoE hits.

Cleric Leveling Tips

Leveling alone can feel slower than combat classes, but it’s still smooth if you play smart.

Keep Smite upgraded to finish enemies quickly
Join public groups whenever possible for faster XP
Complete Destiny challenges for early glint and healing gear
Always stock rations or potions to save mana between fights
Don’t forget to rest at Embersprings often to shorten travel time

Party Synergy

The Cleric pairs well with Fighters, Tanks, and Bards. Your shields and group heals keep them alive while they draw aggro or deal damage.

If you’re in a group, coordinate cooldowns with other healers. Overlapping major heals wastes mana, and smart timing keeps fights efficient.

Final Blurb

The Cleric is one of the most reliable and essential archetypes in Ashes of Creation. It’s slower to level but shines once parties and node battles become active. If you like supporting allies and keeping everyone alive through chaos, this is the perfect class to start with in early access.