I’ve tanked Cleric in Rift for years, and I write this as someone who raids and tweaks builds weekly. Honest advice: the 8 Shaman / 51 Justicar / 7 Purifier split works; it’s practical, not theorycraft fluff. By the way, I’m speaking from raids on November 12, 2025 updates and live testing (yes, I patch-check every tier).
Short version: put the bulk in Justicar and play to Conviction’s strengths. Practice the rotation, learn boss tells, and use your shields before the room explodes. Got questions? Ask — I’ll answer plainly.
Why this distribution
In my experience, 51 points in Justicar make the Cleric a durable frontliner. The 8 Shaman points add a useful interrupt and a defensive cooldown, and 7 Purifier points supply emergency shields. I’ve noticed groups that skip Purifier often regret it during one-shot mechanics.
Here’s the practical reason behind each choice: Justicar gives sustained mitigation and steady threat through Conviction healing. Shaman boosts physical damage and gives an extra interrupt that prevents wipes. Purifier grants a quick shield that can save a pull when the healer’s hands are tied (this doesn’t always work—there are exceptions depending on your group comp).
| Soul | Points | Main Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Justicar | 51 | Block, Conviction scaling, core tanking tools |
| Shaman | 8 | Massive Blow interrupt, Glacial Shield cooldown |
| Purifier | 7 | Symbol of the Torch, instant shields |
Rotation and threat (simple)
Start every pull to grab aggro fast. Bolt of Radiance first. Precept of Refuge next. Keep Righteous Mandate active. We found that weaving high-damage hits keeps Conviction up and heals you passively.
// single-target loop (short form)
Bolt of Radiance (pull)
Precept of Refuge
Strike of Judgment
Sovereignty
Doctrine of Bliss
Reckoning
repeat
For AoE, spread Even Justice and tab through targets with Precept. Watch this: if you don’t maintain Even Justice uptime, threat falls off fast—so don’t skip it. Seriously, don’t.
Defense: timing beats stacking
Use cooldowns proactively. Learn the boss, then pre-save Glacial Shield and Flashover for predictable spikes. Honest truth: you’ll survive more by spacing cooldowns than by mashing everything at once. Sometimes players stack all defenses and then get melted when another big hit arrives—don’t be that person!
Priority checklist:
- Keep Mien of Leadership and Cavalier up for sustained mitigation.
- Rebuke on cooldown for steady damage reduction.
- Glacial Shield for emergency halves (50% reduction).
- Flashover for instant absorb on spikes.
- Use Doctrine of Loyalty when the raid needs group reduction.
Tip: rotate defensives before telegraphed hits. You’re not a mannequin—predict and act.
Gear and stats — be specific
Toughness first. Endurance second. Wisdom helps Conviction, so don’t ignore it. Aim for 35–40% block unbuffed if you can; that number feels comfortable in my raid logs (and matchups on 2025-11-12 confirmed it). Socket runes: Endurance or Toughness most times. Consider a hybrid trinket if your group lacks ranged threat.
Controversial take: maxing block is overrated if your Conviction healing and cooldown timing are excellent. Some tanks obsess over avoidance; I’ve seen smarter play beat bigger numbers. Others will disagree loudly — and that’s fine!
Practical tips, quick
- Practice pulls on trash. Your Conviction uptime improves faster than you think.
- Swap to a DPS set for world content; keep a tank set for raids.
- Use Lustrous Whetstones for weapon rolls when you can; they still matter.
Here’s a small routine I use weekly:
- Log raid logs each Tuesday.
- Adjust talents Wednesday after reading patch notes.
- Test in raids Friday and Saturday.
Oddly enough, repeating basic pulls improves decision-making more than fancy theorycrafting—practice beats spreadsheets sometimes. (Yes, I said it.)
Final, quick realities
Some groups will prefer a different spread — depends on your niche. To be fair, gear limits and player skill change outcomes. If you want a tweak, tell me your role and I’ll suggest specific talent swaps. Honestly, this build is sturdy, versatile, and forgiving. It’s like a lighthouse: steady, visible, and built to take storms.
“If you learn the rhythm, the tanking part gets calm — the rest is communication.” — me
One last counterintuitive insight: sometimes reducing your raw avoidance and leaning into Conviction healing yields smoother threat and fewer panic cooldowns. Try it on a few pulls; if it doesn’t work, switch back. We found that small experiments win more than massive rerolls.
Want a config file or macro? Here’s a sample macro I tweak often:
/targetenemy [noharm][dead]
/cast Bolt of Radiance
/cast Precept of Refuge
Questions? Tell me your raid size and gear level; I’ll respond with a short tweak. Between us, I love tuning builds — sometimes I stumble over wording, but the results are solid!
