The Cleric is the stalwart protector and the heart of every Dark and Darker party. The Cleric has the association of being the easiest class and is often referred to as the “heal bot,” but Dark and Darker doesn’t make it easy to keep your friends topped off with heals. Without the Cleric’s restoration magic and powerful buffs, most parties would struggle to survive or falter after a few combat encounters.
Our protective Cleric build focuses on being the guardian angel your team needs in Dark and Darker. At the same time, this kit will give you a few offensive tools to protect yourself against flanking Rogues or anyone who slips past your frontline.
Cleric Class Overview
Positive Reasons to Choose a Cleric in Dark and Darker
- Provides heals and buffs to your team to protect and support them.
- Cleric builds be somewhat tanky in Dark and Darker since they can wield plate armor and shields for added defense
- Bonus damage towards the undead.
- Provides unparalleled utility.
Cons to Playing with a Cleric Build
- Low damage towards players.
- Lacks movement speed, especially when wearing plate armor.
- Typically the most important class to take down, so players will target you first.
- Clerics are exceptionally weak in solo but great in groups.
- Extremely weak in melee, typically dies once a Rogue or a Barbarian gets too close if they can’t block.
- They can’t regenerate spells naturally, thus requiring a campfire to restore spent spells.
All Cleric Perks
| Advanced Healer | Increase your base magical heal by 5. |
| Blunt Weapon Mastery | Increases physical attack power by 5% when attacking with a blunt weapon. |
| Brewmaster | You do not exhibit the detrimental drunk effects when you drink alcohol. |
| Kindness | Heal yourself for 15% of the spell’s total heal amount when healing another target. |
| Perseverance | Reduces all types of incoming damage by 3. |
| Protection from Evil | The duration of all harmful effects is reduced by -50% |
| Requiem | Resurrecting an ally revives them with 50% HP instead of a sliver of life. When reviving an ally at the Alter of Sacrifice, you do not need to sacrifice any of your own health. For more insights, check out our guide on how to revive in Dark and Darker. |
| Undead Slaying | Increase your physical damage bonus by 20% when attacking undead monsters. |
All Cleric Abilities
| Holy Purification | Cooldown: 45 seconds | Inflicts 100 base magical damage to all undead monsters within 7.5 meters. |
| Spell Memory 1 & 2 | Cooldown: Zero | Allows additional spells to be memorized. |
| Smite | Cooldown: 16 seconds | Deals an additional +10 magic damage to all enemies you hit within 7 seconds. |
| Judgment | Cooldown: 32 seconds. | After focusing for 0.5 seconds, they immediately deal 35 magic damage to a target and reduce their movement speed bonus by 20% for 2 seconds. The spell can only be cast when the crosshair targets an enemy within 4.5 meters. Once Judgement starts casting on a target, you will no longer need to continue targeting with the crosshair. If the target goes out of range during casting, the spell fails. |
Best Cleric Perks and Abilities for Your Build in Dark and Darker
For our guardian build, we take the following Perks and Abilities:
- Judgment
- Spell Memory 2
- Kindness
- Advanced Healer
- Perseverance
- Blunt Weapon Mastery or Undead Slaying
At the time of writing this, our best Dark and Darker Cleric build is a well-balanced protector build. For this build, we take Judgement since the damage and slow help clear undead monsters and slow down players. Moreover, Judgement’s damage cannot be blocked.
We also use the Spell Memory 2 slot since you don’t need additional memory slots, and there’s no point in taking an extra spell wheel unless you have lots of gear and you’re trying to defeat bosses in the Inferno.
For Perks, we start with Kindness because healing yourself for a fraction of your spell’s total amount is a great way to save resources and patch up any chip damage you might take during a fight. Next is Advanced Healer because buffing the amount of health your spells restore by any number is always beneficial, plus this also buffs Kindness by a tiny amount.
Then we take Perseverance in our Dark and Darker Cleric build for the damage reduction. You will be the main focus for enemy players, so buffing your defenses in any way is a plus. Lastly, pick either Blunt Weapon Mastery or Undead Slaying.
We think Blunt Weapon Mastery is best overall once you have a high-stated weapon, and it’s better for PvP, but Undead Slaying is somewhat better for the early game or for PvE.
Related Article: How to Defeat the Lich Boss in Dark and Darker
Spells You Can Use as a Cleric
| Tier | Spell | Cost | Cast | Description |
| 1 | Protection | 1 | 5 | Creates a shield that blocks 20 physical damage for 20 seconds. |
| 1 | Bless | 1 | 5 | Target gains +3 to Strength, Agility, and WIll attributes for 30 seconds. Casts to self if no target is found. |
| 2 | Divine Strike | 2 | 5 | Increases weapon damage by 10 for 20 seconds. |
| 2 | Lesser Heal | 2 | 4 | Heals a target for 15 HP. Casts to self if no target is found. |
| 2 | Cleanse | 2 | 5 | Removes all harmful magic effects from the target. |
| 3 | Bind | 3 | 4 | Binds the target for 0.75 seconds. |
| 5 | Holy Light | 5 | 4 | Heals an ally for 30 HP or does 100 base magical damage to an undead target. |
| 6 | Sanctuary | 6 | 2 | Concentrates on a specific area for a certain period of time, healing friendly beings within the area by 5 per second and dealing 14 spell damage to undead per second. |
| 8 | Resurrection | 8 | 1 | Target an ally to resurrect them from the dead. The corpse must have a soul heart. |
The Best Dark and Darker Cleric Spells for Your Build
For our guardian build, we take the following spells:
- Protection
- Bless or Divine Strike
- Lesser Heal
- Holy Light
- Sanctuary
1. Protection
Protection is one of the best low-cost spells you can bring as a cleric. This spell is helpful against Fighters, Barbarians, Rogues, Rangers, and most undead monsters. This spell is fantastic for protecting your allies from physical attacks, which is over half of Dark and Darker’s damage.
Protection also stacks with the Potion of Protection, which blends the Potion’s blue shield with your yellow Protection spell to form a nice white barrier.
2. Bless or Divine Strike
Next, we have Bless. Bless grants +3 to all the main damaging attributes, increasing all classes’ effectiveness in combat. This spell is a tremendous all-around spell and fits some classes more than others.
That being said, Bless is one of the cornerstones of a Cleric’s pre-buffing for a fight by providing your allies with additional Strength for Fighters and Barbarians, Agility for Rogues and Rangers, or Will for Wizards.
Alternatively, there is Divine Strike, which buffs weapon damage by 10. Divine Strike is amazing for Rangers, Barbarians, Fighters, and Rogues, but it doesn’t impact Cleric much or aid Wizards.
Choose the spell that fits your team’s composition more or whichever your group prefers more. With our build, we can only fit one of these buffs into our spell memory, which comes between Divine Strike and Bless. In the early game, it’s okay to use both, but one later entry will replace one of these buffs once your character has enough Knowledge gear.
3. Lesser Heal
Lesser Heal is the bread-and-butter spell of the Cleric. A short and small heal, great for patching yourself or allies. Lesser Heal is simple and effective, but like all spells, you can accidentally heal your enemies if you misfire.
If two players are engaged in melee combat, be careful when aiming since Lesser Heal and all Cleric spells on this list can target all friendly and enemy players. Unlike Holy Light, Lesser Heal can also heal undead monsters, so be careful.
4. Holy Light
Next is Holy Light. This spell can save your allies in a matter of moments with its sheer high amount of healing, which only improves with gear. A Holy Light can fully heal a Wizard with two casts, and in combination with the Kindness Perk, you also heal yourself for a lesser amount.
The only major downside to using Holy Light is it cannot be used on yourself, so this spell is strictly for use on your allies only. It does have the additional function of dealing a lot of damage to undead monsters, but since Clerics lack efficient ways to recharge their spells, unlike Wizards, you should only use Holy Light to heal.
5. Sanctuary
Sanctuary is the strongest spell a Cleric has in Dark and Darker. After performing a long cast, you channel an immense healing AOE that heals ALL players and damages any mobs. Sanctuary is fantastic for clearing entire rooms, patching multiple teammates with one spell, or negating against certain boss mechanics.
However, Sanctuary does heal enemy players, so use it to keep your allies topped off. At the same time, they are engaged in melee is ill-advised since your opponents can sit inside your Sanctuary and benefit from your healing.
This spell is extremely powerful, and you can only cast it twice before requiring a recharge, so use it wisely. It also takes some knowledge to equip this stat, so make sure you unequip this spell if you die and don’t have the gear to boost your Knowledge back up.
If you are struggling with casting, check out our guide on how to cast spells in Dark and Darker.
The Armor and Weapons We Recommend for Clerics
Clerics can equip the following armor and weapons:
- Frocks
- Oracle Robes
- Templar Armor
- Spellbooks
- Morning Stars
- Shields
- War Mauls
- Quarterstaffs
In regards to armor, Clerics have the option to wear lighter cloth/ leather or heavy plate armor.
Ultimately you should pick whatever gives you the best stats. Still, we prefer the heavy plate armor since you will be a priority target for players to eliminate first, and having more defensive gear helps when having a target on your back.
When it comes to weapons, things get a little more complicated. Here are the best weapons for Clerics:
1. Spellbook
The Spellbook is the best option for all spellcasters. The Spellbook offers the most movement speed and casting speed. If you can use a Spellbook instead of a Staff, always take the Spellbook.
The increase in movement speed is what’s mainly important since you need to constantly reposition after casting a spell, plus the increased casting speed is also an incredible blessing.
The Spellbook offers no melee alternative like the staff, but you want to avoid being in melee when spell casting as a Cleric.
2. Mace & Shields
The Cleric is one of the few classes in Dark and Darker that can equip shields. Clerics start with the tiny Buckler but can upgrade to the Round Shield or the amazing Heater Shield, which provides so much protection. Typically your best weapon is a Flanged MAce or Morning Star since you can pair them with a shield.
Clerics aren’t the most offensive class, so giving them any boosts to their defense is highly preferred when wandering down in the dungeons. Plus, using a mace also synergizes with the Blunt Weapon Mastery perk, but these weapons don’t have a high swing speed.
3. War Maul
Despite us saying Clerics aren’t the most offensive class, if you enjoy having a weapon that lets you deal with anyone who slips past your team, take the War Maul. This gigantic two-handed hammer does pack a punch but takes a long time to swing.
We also enjoy using the Quarterstaff occasionally, yet the War Maul feels more impactful with its more significant damage.
Related Guide: How to Defeat the Cave Troll in Dark and Darker
Cleric’s Best Stats in Dark and Darker
Every class in Dark and Darker prefers specific additional stats found on weapons and gear. These random enchantments make some items worthless or highly sought after by certain groups.
Here are the Cleric’s best stats:
- All Attributes: Increases all stats of your character.
- Additional Magic Damage: Increases the bonus magic damage dealt by your spells.
- Knowledge: Increases spell casting speed + spell Count + Item Identification Speed.
- Magical Power: Increases your overall spell power.
- Max Health: Increases your character’s maximum health.
- Will: Increases spell power, increases Buff/Curse duration, and increases your Magic Resistance.
- Spell Capacity Bonus: Determines how many or the level of spells you can memorize and take into a run.
- Agility: Increases Base Move Speed, Action/Attack Speed, and Equip/Interaction Speed.
These are the best stats for Clerics, and specific items with any of the aforementioned enhancements will sell a lot on the market. It’s your decision if you wish to keep any well-statedgear for yourself or sell it on the market, but these are the stats Clerics will be looking for.
Dark and Darker Cleric Tips
Ultimately all classes in Dark and Darker will take time to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Here are some tips to help you avoid some early mistakes that can save a few of your runs.
- Have Proper Positioning: A Cleric thrives and suffers based on their positioning. Positioning at the proper range for a spell to connect is what you’re looking for, but not so close to where someone can close the distance and get into melee range.
- Aim Carefully with your Healing and Buff Spells: Holy Light, Protection, Bless, and much more can affect enemies and players if you mistarget them. So if a Rogue is stabbing your Barbarian, and you think it’s worth casting a Protection spell on them, be careful knowing you can hit the Rogue instead.
- Remember to Block: Having a shield is one of the perks of playing a as a Cleric in Dark and Darker. It’s difficult to block many attacks when you start with a Buckler, but it’s significantly easier to defend yourself once you upgrade to the Round or Heater shield. Watch the direction where your opponent is starting their swing and aim your shield in that direction to catch their blade. For more insights, check out our guide on how to block in Dark and Darker.
- Cook your spells: Pre-casting or cooking your spells is when you prepare a healing spell in case your teammates take damage. This can save many of your allies when they take a lot of damage quickly, but it’s good to have spells ready to be used immediately. However, note that holding a spell does make you move slower so be mindful of your positioning.
Wrap Up for our Dark and Darker Cleric Build and Guide.
That’s our Cleric Build and Guide for Dark and Darker. The Cleric is the heart of the party, and having one in your group allows you to recover from so many mistakes or saves you money instead of hoarding healing potions and bandages. Be sure to be nice to whoever in your group is playing Cleric, and maybe bring a campfire to help replenish their spells.
Still, don’t underestimate a Cleric, they aren’t the best in melee combat, but they certainly hold their own better than a Ranger or Wizard could.
If you enjoyed our look into the Cleric class and want to learn more about the game, check out our Dark and Darker beginners guide or our Ranger build guide if you want to play a more damaging ranged player.
For now, good hunting!
