How important is the Priest?

[Razorchain]

I'm just wondering now that I am on my second potd run is how important is the priest.  On both runs I've taken a priest but this time around I have a druid as well and find the priest most useful in the early game to buff Accuracy and DR and for healing.

 

Else he mostly shines on the tough encounters where his buffs are invaluable but else I find myself saving (hoarding ) his spells for tough encounters whereas I have no reservation blasting with my ciphers, wizards or druids.

 

This might be because I take with me a priests of maghran and they do a decent damage with their Arquebus.  Also with one talent they get +10 acc to arquebus.  But then again I might be better of with a rogue or ranger.

 

So the question is will I notice if I replace my priest with something else?

[Odd Hermit]

Priests are great and I think every fully party is best having one.

 

You can certainly still get away with not having one though.

[Slapstick87]

For me a priest is ranged 2. in necessity, right after a tank. They're great for saving my group when something hits the fan. I do use the priest as an offensive caster as well though. I think of it as "preemptive healing". If I can trap an enemy to prone, blast him with some divine wrath, hold him and then maybe shoot him in the face and kill him, that's a lot more manageable and protective of poor Aloth than trying to simply heal him while he's getting his ribcage turned into a birdcage.

[Zwiebelchen]

There is a level 4 priest spell that greatly buffs your might and accuracy while reducing the same stats for enemies in a large AoE. In total, it offsets your accuracy from your enemies' accurancy by 40. This is a total game-changer.

 

I wouldn't play PotD without a priest, tbh. Priests are basicly "frustration-be-gone" units that have all those awesome tools to prevent you from reloading the game constantly:

Taking a critically wounded ally out of combat, Prayers against status effects, Accuracy and DR buffs, AoE knockdowns, endurance heals...

 

Druids don't hold a candle against this in terms of utility.

Edited May 12, 2015 by Zwiebelchen

[abaris]

 

This might be because I take with me a priests of maghran and they do a decent damage with their Arquebus.  Also with one talent they get +10 acc to arquebus.  But then again I might be better of with a rogue or ranger.

 

 

I always give Durance a decent pistol. For the times when his more important faculties aren't needed. But he's invaluable as a party member. Since I'm not into playing a priest myself and don't want to create some bot to replace him, Durance is always with my party and the priest class is absolutely vital for those more difficult encounters.

Edited May 12, 2015 by abaris

[Meisterhobbit]

I also felt like the priest is one of the most important members of the party... sent him away once for a few hours, instantly missed him. His buffs are just great, no one heals better and if he wants he can also be pretty aggressive. If you can live without all this support, you really must be looking for some challenge, as the hard fights will be quite a lot harder I guess.

[Razorchain]

I might try a Potd run without a priest.  If people can solo this darn game I guess I should manage without a priest.

[Zwiebelchen]

I might try a Potd run without a priest.  If people can solo this darn game I guess I should manage without a priest.

 

It's absolutely possible to solo this game or go without a priest. But that wasn't my point. Rather, a priest in your party removes a lot of frustration on several encounters, as it offers many "oh ****!" spells.

[Kaigen42]

My first PotD run had no priest in the party. Most of the time, you probably won't even miss the Priest, but there are a few types of enemies where it's definitely useful to have one around. The big thing I missed was those "Prayer Against X" spells for defending against confusion, charm, dominate, etc.

 

A Druid can easily supply any healing you might feel you need, or else you can keep a few healing potions/scrolls handy for emergencies. Spamming Winter Wind trivialized a lot of encounters, though that was pre-1.05's damage nerf.

[JONNIN]

The priest has a lot of really good spells but to be honest you do not need him in about 90% of the combat.   That can be increased to 100% of the combat if you burn potions and scrolls instead, or if you  have alternative healers like a druid or paladin.    I don't recommend anyone who does not understand the game very well to face the major boss fights without a priest (does not have to be durance, you can roll your own, but durance is pretty good). 

 

You can always swap party members.  Try it!

[Crucis]

 

 

This might be because I take with me a priests of maghran and they do a decent damage with their Arquebus.  Also with one talent they get +10 acc to arquebus.  But then again I might be better of with a rogue or ranger.

 

 

I always give Durance a decent pistol. For the times when his more important faculties aren't needed. But he's invaluable as a party member. Since I'm not into playing a priest myself and don't want to create some bot to replace him, Durance is always with my party and the priest class is absolutely vital for those more difficult encounters.

 

 

Honestly, I'd give Durance an Arquebus so that he can get the benefit of that Priest of Magran class Talent that gives a +1 accuracy bonus to Sword and Arquebus.  That's just too good a talent to let go to waste.

 

 

[Crucis]

The priest has a lot of really good spells but to be honest you do not need him in about 90% of the combat.   That can be increased to 100% of the combat if you burn potions and scrolls instead, or if you  have alternative healers like a druid or paladin.    I don't recommend anyone who does not understand the game very well to face the major boss fights without a priest (does not have to be durance, you can roll your own, but durance is pretty good). 

 

You can always swap party members.  Try it!

 

Also, while I can't speak for PotD, in Normal and Hard mode, starting off difficult battles with a Fire Seal spell always seems to work wonders at weakening the enemy right from the start, particularly if you can get them crowded together.  And the fact that you can cast Seal spells before the battle even starts is a big plus, IMO.