Want to respec Shadowheart

[mighty martin]

There are a lot of recommendations saying her trickster domain is meeh and she should be respecced. And most of those point to light domain which I find quite compelling from an ability point of view.
But really... Shadowheart... light? For me there is nothing that would fit her backstory worse. A light cleric devoted to the lady of darkness doesn't really work for me.
So any ideas from your side to convince me that it's a fit nevertheless? Maybe she's always been longing for the light in spite of her upbringing? Or anything else?
I can't make me go down that path. Any help?

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by mighty martin:

Want to respec Shadowheart
There are a lot of recommendations saying her trickster domain is meeh and she should be respecced. And most of those point to light domain which I find quite compelling from an ability point of view.
But really... Shadowheart... light? For me there is nothing that would fit her backstory worse. A light cleric devoted to the lady of darkness doesn't really work for me.
So any ideas from your side to convince me that it's a fit nevertheless? Maybe she's always been longing for the light in spite of her upbringing? Or anything else?
I can't make me go down that path. Any help?

Depending on your story choices light makes sense later on.

[Mike Garrison]

Try life.

If you need an excuse, there is a document you can find in the game that says that she was the designated healer for the team that captured the prism. Life is the most obvious healer domain.

[Raï 𓆣]

Although you're looking to be convinced to respec her to Light, I didn't respec her at all in my game (1st playthrough, normal) and she was doing just fine. I do think trickery suits her best. Later in the game you could, perhaps, argue that she rejects Shar's teachings and then allow her to respec. It would still be lore friendly I think.

[belgix]

I didn't respec Shadowheart and she is now a disciple of Selune. That's better than a disciple of Shar, no?

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by belgix:

I didn't respec Shadowheart and she is now a disciple of Selune. That's better than a disciple of Shar, no?

Depends on one's choices.

I also like to respec her to life domain for having a healer. Only then a dedicated healer seems powerful enough to make it worth having one.

[Mike Garrison]

Originally posted by Raï 𓆣:

Although you're looking to be convinced to respec her to Light, I didn't respec her at all in my game (1st playthrough, normal) and she was doing just fine. I do think trickery suits her best. Later in the game you could, perhaps, argue that she rejects Shar's teachings and then allow her to respec. It would still be lore friendly I think.

Trickery is just fine, thematically. The thing is, it's one of the weakest classes in terms of mechanics.

I didn't respec anybody at first, but now I pretty much always move her into life as soon as I get Withers in game. Life clerics have so much bonus healing.

Trickery would be pretty interesting if this were a stealth game, but it's not.

[killedinaction47]

I re-specd her as a pure fighter and it's going great
I also find the healing in the game to be very weak and the availability of high end potions lessens their importance even more. Of course I'm not doing Honor runs so...

[元心]

I will not respec her before chapter 3. But after she depart from Shar's teachings, Many things must change.
Don't let religious piety become an obstacle in life, I choose to let her practice the power of thunder and lightning. Through the multi-class priest, sorcerer and 1st level wizard, she can master an extremely efficient combat style.

[Mike Garrison]

Originally posted by killedinaction47:

I also find the healing in the game to be very weak...

That's because you don't have a life cleric.

I mean, no, this isn't Warcraft, and you don't have the people who do nothing except keep the tanks topped off with health. You don't have tanks in this game, and you ideally don't rely on dedicated constant healing. It's far better to "alpha strike" and just kill your enemies than it is to try to get into a battle of attrition with them.

But still, especially if you have a life cleric, you can seriously change the outcome of the tougher fights by healing some massive amounts mid-battle.

[アンジェル]

Recommendation to Respec Shadowheart in case you want a healer

Life Domain Cleric
STR: 8
DEX: 15
CON: 16
INT: 8
WIS: 17
CHA: 8

One of the level up feats to be used to round up DEX + WIS unless you are fine with taking items into consideration, then it might suffice just to max up WIS. Alternative STR instead of DEX. I like the latter more for flexibility.

That put aside: play the way you want. If you feel her default stats are no fun, then that is reason enough to change it as well as it is reason enough to keep them for a challenge. Both are legits decisions.

[Mithrandir]

I agree that life fits and that's what Shadowheart is in all my games. I'm old school 2nd edition so the main role of a cleric in my group have to be healing and buffs to keep the group fighting. Everyone can use a healer, no matter if they're good, neutral or evil. I always consider real healers as prime targets in almost all games because of their ability to negate all your previous offensive results.

[Mike Garrison]

Originally posted by アンジェル:

Recommendation to Respec Shadowheart in case you want a healer

Life Domain Cleric
STR: 8
DEX: 15
CON: 16
INT: 8
WIS: 17
CHA: 8

One of the level up feats to be used to round up DEX + WIS unless you are fine with taking items into consideration, then it might suffice just to max up WIS. Alternative STR instead of DEX. I like the latter more for flexibility.

That put aside: play the way you want. If you feel her default stats are no fun, then that is reason enough to change it as well as it is reason enough to keep them for a challenge. Both are legits decisions.

Except ... Life clerics can wear heavy armor. So you can dump DEX, pump STR, and wear heavy armor for your AC. Play how you like, of course, but I find giving Shadowheart WIS, STR, and CON as a heavy armor life cleric works very well. She gets a shield an a one-handed weapon. She's kind of a little healer/tank, and once she gets spirit guardians she can just be an angel of death *and* healing while walking around in the melee.

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by Mike Garrison:

Originally posted by アンジェル:

Recommendation to Respec Shadowheart in case you want a healer

Life Domain Cleric
STR: 8
DEX: 15
CON: 16
INT: 8
WIS: 17
CHA: 8

One of the level up feats to be used to round up DEX + WIS unless you are fine with taking items into consideration, then it might suffice just to max up WIS. Alternative STR instead of DEX. I like the latter more for flexibility.

That put aside: play the way you want. If you feel her default stats are no fun, then that is reason enough to change it as well as it is reason enough to keep them for a challenge. Both are legits decisions.

Except ... Life clerics can wear heavy armor. So you can dump DEX, pump STR, and wear heavy armor for your AC. Play how you like, of course, but I find giving Shadowheart WIS, STR, and CON as a heavy armor life cleric works very well. She gets a shield an a one-handed weapon. She's kind of a little healer/tank, and once she gets spirit guardians she can just be an angel of death *and* healing while walking around in the melee.

Indeed. Personally I keep using DEX with the thought that it allows you to use melee (dex weapons) and ranged weapons equally good while also giving you an initiative bonus.

On the other hand, a healer who is last in turn in combat has also advantage to make better use of the healing after the others have taken hits.

Plus high strength comes with extra baggage capacity, something Shadowheart has a lot of...

[wtiger27]

Like any companion, you can respec her. In my current run, she is a Fighter/Wizard. Does as well as any char with that multi-class.

[mighty martin]

Thanks for all the input. Of course I know I bought the game and can do whatever I want. Still I'm trying to RP in some way. Finally decided that she was pulled towards the light all her life but because of her upbringing she always fought the urge. Still she received the light domain spells (love that fireball).