Classes/Friar
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Description
The Friar is a hybrid class with access to melee and healing skills. They gain access to Albion Acolyte baseline enhancement and healing spells, while their specialization lines are mostly geared toward melee combat. Their Rejuvenation specialization line provides access to a number of key healing abilities, but does not provide nearly as much healing ability as a "true" healing class. In addition to Rejuvenation and Enhancement lines, Friars may also specialize in Staff and Parry.
Friars are distinctive in a number of ways:
- Only class able to specialize in Staff and staff styles
- Only class able to wear Leather robes
- One of few classes with access to melee styles and Perfector ML abilities
Their robes and staffs often give them the appearance of a cloth caster.
On Gaheris, Friars are regarded as one of the most capable solo characters in endgame play. Although limited to Leather armor, their defensive self-buffs and high Evade (Evade V) give them excellent defense against high-level opponents, which can be vastly augmented by Sphere of Rejuvenation from the Perfector ML line. In addition, their Staff (two-handed weapon) styles and endurance regeneration provide them with good offense against even high-level opponents.
While solo Deathsight Necromancers can often chain-pull yellow to low-red mobs at a faster rate, Friars (especially with Sphere of Rejuvenation) are capable of soloing higher level opponents, sometimes even as high as level 65, with low risk and no downtime. Prior to the release of Darkness Rising, Friars were perhaps the most common class to be seen regularly soloing the Darkness Falls loop.
Their excellent soloing ability comes at a cost, however, as groups assembled for endgame encounters generally do not actively seek Friars.
Character Creation
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Class Comparison
As hybrids, Friars have no true analogue in other realms. However, they have access to number of key, complementary abilities that are shared by a number of other classes:
- Melee styles - Heals - Baseline buffs - Perfector abilities
Significantly, Friars are one of only four classes with access to both Perfector ML abilities and melee weapon specializations. Brief comparisons with the other three classes are presented below:
Warden: Defensively, Friars and Wardens used to be considered relatively equal, however with the addition of Shield Spec and Large Shields the Warden's defense is vastly superior. Melee Friars typically inflict noticeably more damage than Wardens, attributable partly to the fact that Wardens are limited to one-handed weapons while Wardens with self Haste buffs and Celerity chant can swing a lot faster. Friars also use a higher weaponskill table than Wardens and Bards, although this advantage is somewhat lessened by the fact that the Friar's melee attribute (DEX) does not rise with levels, while the Warden's (STR) does. However, the Warden's PBT chant and Shield makes him extremely valuable in groups. Both receive an endurance-usage-reduction buff and a self-endurance regeneration chant, making them capable of using styles without losing endurance.
Heretic: [Need content here] [Potentially better offense AND defense AND group utility than Friars?]
Suggested Specalizations
Previously suggested specializations included
45 Enhancements, 39/44 Staff, XX Rejuvenation, XX Parry
Most melee Friars spec'd at least 45 Enhancements (for the final AF and DEX/QUI buffs) and at least 39 Staff, with remainders split between Rejuvenation and Parry. Common cutoff points for Rejuvenation were 7 (for Cure Poison/Cure Disease), 15 (specline Resurrection), 18 (172 delve Major Heal), and 25 (small group HoT, 235 delve Major Heal).
However, everything has changed with the improvements made to Friars in patches from 1.82 onwards.
With 1.82, Heal procs off of the Staff styles were introduced. These Heal procs range in value from 15, 25, 50, up to 125 (off of Excommunicate), Holy Staff now procs a group HoT. So add two Friars to you group and the Cleric have there healing duties cut nicely.
With 1.87, Friars now get 1.8 pts per level instead of 1.5 pts and changes were made to the Rejuvenation and Enhancements lines. In Rejuvenation, the Cure Disease/Poison spells were moved to the baseline spell list, the HoT spells became castable in combat or while moving and 30 second group offensive proc heal. In Enhancements, fatigue reduction self-buff became a group buff, the cost of the Absorption and AF buffs were reduced (the top ones are now available at 33 and 34 respectively) and 30 second PBAoE offensive proc heal.
As a result of all of these changes, especially the increase in spec pts, suggested specializations have naturally changed too and there are a lot more possibilities.
You can now go 50 Staff, 50 Enhance, 14 Rejuv, 3 Parry. If you want a Friar that parries more, go 44 Staff, 50 Enhance, 23 Parry, 15 Rejuv or (for Group HoT) either 44 Staff, 50 Enhance, 13 Parry, 24 Rejuv or 50 Staff, 42 Enhance, 24 Rejuv, 18 Parry.
Effects of Specialization and Attributes
The only attributes of any use to a Friar are:
Dexterity. Dexterity affects Staff weaponskill and damage, Parry ability, Evade ability, and casting speed. For these reasons, most players consider DEX by far the most important attribute for a Friar. Unfortunately, DEX for Friars does not automatically rise while leveling.
Quickness. Quickness affects melee attack speed and Evade ability. Since Evade makes up the most important aspect of a Friar's defense, most players attempt to raise this as high as possible. However, most of the DAoC community appears to agree that additional QUI above 250 has no effect.
Constitution. Affects hit points. Secondary attribute for Friars.
Piety." The only apparent effect Piety has on Friars is to expand the size of their power pool. Unfortunately, this is the Primary attribute for Friars.
The Friar's Tertiary attribute is Strength, which has no effect beyond increasing carrying capacity.
As with most melee skills, Staff skill affects a Friar's weaponskill, base damage variance, and style damage, in addition to giving the Friar access to Staff styles. Staff Friars use the higher of the two hybrid weaponskill tables (along with Paladins, Reavers, Skalds, Hunters, and Champions).
PvE Utility
Unfortunately, the Gaheris community generally considers the Friar's group utility extremely limited. Optimal PvE groups generally seek characters specialized in defense, damage, healing, or buffing, or with "unique" abilities such as group endurance regeneration, PBT, or petspam. As a hybrid with no unique abilities beyond Staff styles, the Friar is usually passed over for characters that are optimized to perform one of the above roles. As a general rule, Friars are sought only when "pure" classes cannot be found to fill a particular role - although, on the positive side, there are many roles for which a Friar can substitute (base buffer, secondary healer, secondary damage tank).
That said, a well-played Friar can be a tremendous boon to a group, with a wide array of abilities to contribute to fluid situations. They can switch quickly from a melee to healing role, cure the poisons and DoTs that have become dangerous in recent expansions, provide emergency resurrections, and provide healing and power fonts.
Everything above has changed with the introduction of the Heal procs off of the Staff styles. The Heal procs range in value from 15, 25, 50, up to 125 (off of Excommunicate), Holystaff now procs a very nice group HoT. Their group utility has also been improved further with the recent increase in spec pts and making HoT spells in this line castable in combat or on the move. So add two Friars to your group and the Cleric have their healing duties cut nicely.
