Cleric is an excellent class for leading and participating in groups, and the 'groupcasting' skill is essential for managing large groups. The cleric class proffers a wide selection of spells designed to keep your group healthy and safe. For example, the 'area refresh' spell keeps the group moving, and 'area heal' keeps the group alive. Other cleric spells designed for group management include 'group recall', 'group waypoint', 'haven', and 'hallowed ground'. Even if an ally does fall in battle, a cleric can use the 'resurrect' spell and bring him back to life!

If the idea of leading a group appeals to you, and you would like to learn more, try this article: A Field Guide to Leading.

The cleric class is great for helping other players by healing them when they're hurt. You can cure them if they are cursed using 'remove curse' or poisoned using 'remove poison' or 'cure poison'. At higher level, the 'purge blood' can remove a number of harmful ailments in addition to poison. In Alter Aeon, the words "cleric" and "healer" are pretty much synonymous. Clerics do it well and they do it better than any other class.

An excellent article that covers the basics of cleric healing would be An Introduction to Healing in Groups.

The cleric's defensive spells like 'sanctuary' and 'faith shield' are great because they can protect you no matter what you're fighting, and you can groupcast them! You can also help protect yourself and others with spells like 'armor', 'bless', 'prayer for the dying' and 'curse ward'.

For a more in-depth overview of cleric defensive and healing spells, try these articles: Basic Utility Spells for Clerics, Defensive Spells in Alter Aeon, and Experience and Utility Spells.

The cleric class can deliver some awesome offense, too.

Hitting

The 'spirit hammer' and 'holy weapon' spells allow a cleric to conjure up their own weapons. Spirit hammers can be made with any of the elemental damage types (fire/cold/zap), and, at higher casting levels, spirit hammers and holy weapons can have huge dierolls and deal tremendous amounts of damage. In addition to providing spellsave, the 'bless' spell increases your hitroll and your ability to overcome your opponent's armor class.

Blasting

A cleric can dish out damage by using 'flamestrike' or, should all else fail, one can always rely on the trusty 'harm' spell. While the cause wounds spellgroup may not be the most powerful offensive spells on the game, they are the most versatile. They do nonorm damage and bypass magic resistance, so they work against everything.

Versus the Undead

Special mention should be made about the cleric's abilities to dominate undead monsters. For information about the 'turn undead' skill and associated spells, see the article: A Cleric's Guide to the Undead.

Clerics have a plethora of debilitating curses they can inflict on their foes to hurry along their defeat, such as 'faerie fire', 'famine', 'confusion', and 'lethargy', to name a few. These spells are well-covered in the "Curses" section of the Ailments and Curses article.

The cleric class is rounded out with a number of utility spells, such as 'presence' for boosting your charisma, 'sense life' for improved sensory functions, and 'charm' for recruiting obedient minions.

The 'peace' and 'solace' spells assist a cleric in managing enemy aggression.

The 'detect evil' and 'know alignment' spells let a cleric know the alignment of their foes. This is important so that they know how to properly employ alignment-specific spells such as 'protection from evil', 'ward evil', 'ward good', and 'conceal alignment.

Multiple clerics within a group is great, too. Between their ability to heal others, curse foes and cast offensive spells, you can never have too many clerics.

If you want to play a powerful and popular character, try the cleric class! Be generous with your mana and learn your class well, and you'll have lots of fun!