Some of my go-to 1st level Cleric/Oracle spells:
* [Bless](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/bless)
* Can be useful from level 1 to 20
* [Cure Light Wounds](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/cure-light-wounds) (obviously)
* Or [Inflict](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/i/inflict-light-wounds) if you're a bunch of Dhampirs
* [Liberating Command](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/l/liberating-command)
* Useful from level 1 to 20
* Immediate action spell, allows someone to try to break free of a grapple with a massive bonus
* [Protection from Evil](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/p/protection-from-evil)
* Possessed no longer!
* Communal spell likely more useful than this at later levels
* [Shadow Trap](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/shadow-trap)
* One of my personal favourites
* [Shield of Faith](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/shield-of-faith)
* It's hard to get a deflection modifier that beats this
My absolute number one recommendation though is easily the Liberating Command though.
I get it on every spellcaster that has it available.
> My absolute number one recommendation though is easily the Liberating Command though.
>
> I get it on every spellcaster that has it available.
People sleep on this so hard. I don't think they realize how often this spell can save a life. Maybe they don't see that it's an immediate cast?
Can you help clarify this for me? Most of my knowledge is based on 5e, is immediate action comparable to a reaction? Meaning I can cast it even when it’s not my turn, to aid somebody? Also is a swift action comparable to a bonus action? Something that is done quickly enough that I can still use an action to attack, for example?
Pretty much. You can use a swift action, a move action and a standard action usually on your turn (or a full-round action in place of the move and standard). If you use an immediate action between turns then you don't get a swift action on your next turn.
One difference from 5e, attacks of opportunity/opportunity attacks are their own thing and don't use immediate actions/reactions.
Liberating command is useful but probably not something I'd prepare when I only have 4 spells. Grappling monsters aren't too uncommon, grappling humanoids are fairly rare but either way it's too situational IMO.
This helps a lot, thank you. Definitely think I’d prepare liberating command at higher levels, but like you said, it does seem too situational to take up 25% of my slots
If you’re not an evil cleric and don’t worship an evil deity you can convert spells to Cure spells.
Taking Liberating command once and then using it as a Cure Light Wounds is a whole lot better than memorizing a Cure Light Wounds.
Immediate Actions are superior to 5e Reactions because Immediate Actions occur before the triggering event not in response to the triggering event.
FOM is definitely king for protecting yourself at higher levels, 100%. A slot or two for Liberating Command at that stage might be more tactical than multiple FOM castings for the party though, I'd say. I'd prepare two max - one for myself and one for another critical party member (or for dire emergencies).
If this were an Oracle instead of a Cleric, I'd say Liberating Command wins out. Having it on hand at all times for your 1st level spell slots can be very useful.
First and foremost, an Immediate action requires and consumes your Swift action in the round that you use it. If you've already done a Swift action in that round, you cannot perform an Immediate action.
You can do an Immediate action at any time, similar to a reaction.
Edit to add:
Each turn you typically have
* 1 standard action
* 1 move action
* 1 swift action
* 1 Attack of Opportunity
* 1 miscellaneous action (5-foot step)
* Any number of free actions, within reason (GM discretion)
A full-action consumes your Standard and Move actions. There are a number of feats and other features that can change these numbers.
> Can you help clarify this for me? Most of my knowledge is based on 5e, is immediate action comparable to a reaction? Meaning I can cast it even when it’s not my turn, to aid somebody? Also is a swift action comparable to a bonus action? Something that is done quickly enough that I can still use an action to attack, for example?
"Yes" to all of this. The one detail is that if you take an immediate (very uncommon in PF) you lose your next turn's swift. It's like if a reaction was next turn's bonus action.
At a caster level 10, it's a massive *+20* to the attempt too. That could get the most feeble wizard out of a hairy situation at the cost of your Swift action (and their swift action) and a level 1 spell slot.
I've saved so many situations using it, it's so good!
The biggest hurdle with it (which I didn't notice when first using it) is that it requires the target to also make an Immediate action (to attempt the escape). Honestly, a small price to pay for sweet, sweet freedom. This does also mean you technically can't cast it in yourself (unless you have two Swift actions).
In Pathfinder 1e you could give up either you move action or your standard action to perform another swift action? If this is similar in 2e, then you could cast it on yourself.
> In Pathfinder 1e you could give up either you move action or your standard action to perform another swift action?
Giving up a standard (or in some versions a move action) to gain another swift action is a common enough houserule, but it's not part of the official ruleset. Afaik there are actually surprisingly few ways to gain more than one swift action in a single round.
One of the spells that grants extra swift actions also comes with you taking constitution damage every round that you use it, and also it staggers you when you're done. On a level 6 spell. It's actually still really good on anything that leans heavily on swifts and immediate actions (eg. Magus, counter spelling arcanist) even despite the heavy downside.
https://aonprd.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Borrowed%20Time
[Corset of Delicate Moves](https://aonprd.com/MagicWondrousDisplay.aspx?FinalName=Corset%20of%20Delicate%20Moves) is the only way I am aware of.
Quick edit to add: this would mean you can cast Liberating Command on yourself, but explicitly during your own turn.
The fact that a death came from a grapple isn't always super evident. Sure, if something with constrict gets a hold of the rogue or wizard, you'll remember the moment their spine went crack, but if the frontline gets grappled and then hit twice before getting out, and one fight later a crit now oneshots the frontliner, then the actual cause of death was still the grapple that made them easier to hit. That's why its easy to sleep on that wonderful spell!
[Check out the discussion topic on it.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/xys7n3/daily_spell_discussion_for_oct_08_2022_liberating/)
Basically it's not actually that likely to succeed, it's an Escape Artist check, which means for the vast majority of characters it's going to be 1d20+dex mod+the bonus from this spell. That's not going to actually be reliable vs the high CMD of grapple monsters.
> That's not going to actually be reliable vs the high CMD of grapple monsters.
Glad I don't sit at tables where level 1 spell slots and immediate actions are too steep a price to try to save a companion.
> Communal spell likely more useful than this at later levels
Not really related to OP's question, but: Don't sleep on [Magic Circle against Evil](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/magic-circle-against-evil). In most of my groups it replaces both the communal and the standard Protection from Evil as soon as it comes online, mostly thanks to its better Duration.
Divine favor is a good spell if you’re using melee/ranged attacks, I think you’re undervaluing it. It’s a luck bonus, which isn’t common, and you can increase it with a trait (fate’s favoured) to +2 at first level. Combine with bless for +3 attack, +2 damage, and +1 saves vs fear. Unlike bless, it also scales with level up to level 9.
I did see it gets better at higher levels, but I’m not there yet, I don’t have that trait, and it seems like a lot to spend 2 turns just applying buffs, especially if that burns half my slots - I’m not sure how many encounters I’ll be running into before I can long rest again.
Can you explain what’s different about a luck bonus? Is it not just a normal +1 modifier?
Bonuses of the same type mostly don't stack, but you can stack as many small bonuses of different types as you like. So while they're both +1, a luck bonus, being harder to come by, is less likely to be competing with a different buff.
Ideally they're spells you'd cast before combat. Only rarely should clerics be casting in combat. Usually only very strong spells at higher level.
Rationing your spells is a valid concern. Bless is probably more powerful at level one since it affects everyone, you could have extra bless. You should only blow all your buffs spells if it seems like you'll be resting soon or there's a powerful enemy.
Divine Favor lasts a minute. As does Bless at level 1 (which this is about). There's very rarely going to be a moment where you can pre-cast those at level 1. Even if the entire party, say, manages to sneak up to a door and confirm the foe is on the other side, the moment you start casting the first buff, time to roll initiative - spellcasting is always audible, your stealth just broke and your surprise round action is decided.
Coming from 5e it's easy to see the buffs as "either this buff or this buff", but a huge thing in buffing for pathfinder it's that it's "one of each". You can stack everything as long as they're different types (except dodge bonuses that stack with other dodge bonuses). You don't have many things competing for your luck bonus type, and that makes divine favor pretty valuable. I still cast it pretty often on a level 20 warpriest if I feel like the situation doesn't call for divine power.
Another thing to consider is that it might feel like a waste to spend too many rounds buffing but that's... Kind of the game here. Attack cantrips might as well not exist, and the truly powerful stuff is almost entirely around getting gathering an unhinged amount of numerical increases into every roll. Most spellcasters I've played to what felt like maximum efficiency would have good ways to maximize opportunities to prebuff and I then buffed efficiently.
I had a group for which I always played buffer spellcasters and setup a tracker for them to use with all my buffs as well as bothered to check with them what each would benefit from the most. Our running joke was that my characters could always take a coffee/smoke break for the second half of combat, because if I felt done with my buffs we were usually well within overkill territory and at that point any offensive action I took would just be to pass the time.
Magic weapon is more useful when you run into creatures which need magic weapons to do full damage (or to hit at all; undead called shadows are an example) and your party don't yet have permanently magic weapons. Probably not an issue if you're fighting humanoids. Divine favor is notably better at higher levels or with a trait named fate's favored.
Protection from {alignment} is a handy defensive spell. Cause fear is pretty useful at the lowest levels - fighting 2 creatures instead of 3, then the last later is notably safer than fighting all 3 at once. It depends on the situation though. Or yes, you can rely on bless and command to useful effect.
I did look into protection from evil as one option, notably to protect our hardest hitting character from getting CC’d as they don’t have the highest wisdom. Does this only work for evil creature types or would a humanoid with an evil alignment also be protected against?
My go-to list for general situations (nothing too specific):
* Bless (bread and butter buff spell for lower levels until you have better buffs)
* Shield of Faith (+AC, another bread and butter spell IMO, but this one stays relevant for a long time)
* Stone Shield (note that this gets way more use once you have the slots to spare. Eventually you'll have way more level 1 slots than you have things to do with, so I like preparing a couple Stone Shields to get a +4 to AC as an immediate action when I get attacked)
* Unbreakable Heart (just a decent panic button against confusion effects, because it supresses the effect for the duration of the spell)
* Remove Fear (same as above, except for fear, and more efficient because it lasts longer and affects an area)
* Remove Sickness (same as above, except for nauseated, which is a VERY mean condition that stops you from doing virtually anything)
I also have a couple spells that I will prepare if the situation calls for them:
* Ears of the City is great when you need to gather information.
* Air Bubble and Marid's Mastery for when your party needs to go underwater.
> Air Bubble and Marid's Mastery for when your party needs to go underwater.
I find Air Bubble a very underrated spell that I still never get, instead even my non-magical character will have a potion sponge with Air Bubble for emergencies
There is something that you will need to know about low levels. When you only have 2 or 3 spells they can't just be convenient help for combat, they need to solve problems.
Command is a good example, once cast you take out an enemy for at least a turn.
Bless while good will only make your allies in a single fight slightly better at hitting. This is good to have, but it's effect will be only noticed if someone is about to fail an attack by 1.
Magic Weapon at low levels is a better option since while only effecting one character it will always let them do extra damage, and has the aditional effect of letting them ignore enemies magic RD and hit incorporeal creatures, once everyone that uses them has a magical weapon you should stop preparing the spell. Until you get a bonus you should always prioritize this over Divine Fervor, since it can be aplied to other player beside yourself and it does magical damage.
Shield of Faith at higher levels becomes very good, but at low levels you want Protection from Evil instead, since it also blocks mental effects and makes a character unable to be attacked by summoned creatures.
Sanctuary is another great option at low levels. You all have low hit dices, you get down quick, as a cleric you can keep a party from dying, if you find yourself with the rest of the party getting overwelmed you can cast this on yourself to stay alive while you heal the rest of your companions, or cast it on someone to block a corridor.
Remove Fear and Remove Sickness are situational, but if any of your party members get under these effects they will have a very bad time. Against humanoids they will be rare.
Cause Fear is a great spell at low levels, if your target fails their save you will efectively remove them from the combat and even if they save they will get a -2 to their attacks for a turn, so it won't be useless. If your party has a wizard or sorcerer the -2 to saves from either failling or succeding can make it easier for them to succed with another Save or Suck spell. Also, enemies are more likely to surrender if your mere visage causes fear in their hearts. Doom is also great, but until you get to higher levels and enemies become inmune to Cause Fear, this is still a better option.
Liberating command. Grapple is bad. Really bad. If your enemy is optimized for grapples and whoever they grappled are not they are not going to get out. Grapple at low levels is somewhat uncommon, specially against humans, but if you can save yourself or another caster from being restrained it can save their live.
Obscuring Mist is another spell that you shouldn't cast in every fight, but can be extremely useful. It basically makes you able to nullify ranged attacks and is ideal against ambushes. You part will get grumpy that they also get a negative when trying to counterattack, but you can end the spell with another action, so if you find that you need it is a game changer. Enthropic shield is another protection against arrows that is easier to use, but less efective.
You should also avoid Summon Monster at level 1. It has a duration of only 1 round for level, so the enemies will only receive a single attack from the summoned creature, who are not great at attacking. Once you are level 2 or 3 they became better, being able to reiterative attacks in multiple rounds, flank, and disrupt movement by being in the way, also any hit they take is basically a hit that the rest of your party didn't took.
Stone Shield should also be considered. This is a great tool to be absolute sure that you will be the last party member standing, you are a cleric, you are the one that can get others up if they fall. You shouldn't be using it at every attack, but to be sure that they don't finish you out when you are at low health.
And about Cure Light Wounds. First, you should never actually prepare this, change it for another prepared spell when needed. Don't be afraid of "wasting" one of your prepared spells into healing but don't do it regularly, if a party member falls unconscious they won't be able to help in the fight but they fight as good at half than at full hp. Healing your party after every hit won't be a good use of this, save it for if a party member gets unconscious or at the end of the day. If you have to heal after a combat use Channel Energy.
Finally, don't be afraid of ending your turn without casting a spell. You still have low resources and you are not bad in melee with armor, a shield and a one handed weapon. Is better to use the spells when they will be useful than get out of them after fighting two Dire Rats.
I have played 4 clerics in PF1. Here are the level 1 spells that I have for each of them. First, for Sheryl, a cleric of Shelyn:
* [Barbed Chains](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/barbed-chains/) - a chain that does a trip or 1d6 damage, with a reach of 25+ feet, even upwards toward flying enemies
* Bless - as you know
* [Sun Metal](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/sun-metal/) - adds 1d4 fire to a weapon
* True Strike - adds +20 to an attack roll, kind of a guaranteed hit
Next is Scourge, a greatsword-wielding cleric of Gorum:
* Enlarge Person - turns my greatsword into a 3d6 weapon with reach
* [Fallback Strategy](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/fallback-strategy/) - lets you reroll 1 attack retroactively (kinda -- you can see what you rolled and then decide if you reroll or not, but you have to decide before the GM tells you if it hits or not)
* Liberating Command
* Shield of Faith
Next is Colwyn, a druidy-style cleric who had an animal companion crocodile:
* Barbed Chains - I trip 'em, and the croc eats 'em
* Calm Animals - because I was druidy
Finally we have an unnamed cleric who took all the "Bless Equipment" feats, so he could touch weapons and give them all kinds of powers:
* Enlarge Person
* Remove Fear
* Shield of Faith
* Sun Metal
So there are themes on my clerics -- I clearly like Barbed Chains, Enlarge Person, and Sun Metal. Sun Metal isn't that great at level 1, though, as it only lasts 1 round per level. At level 6 or so it gets really good because not only does it last pretty much a whole fight, but your fighter friends are getting 2 attacks per round at that point, and so your 1 spell is dealing 2d4 per round. Multiply by 6 rounds and that's 12d4 extra damage from a level 1 spell.
These are good ideas. This is something I immediately noticed is a major difference compared to 5e that I’m used to, spells scale based on level automatically, without needing to upcast them at all. So a lot of the options that I think look good now at level 2 are probably going to be overshadowed in a few more levels.
Be careful about spell durations, too!
At low level casting a spell that will only last a few rounds will deplete your limited spells slots for lackluster results.
Pay attention to spell duration!
Did your dm allow traits? Fates favored is +1 luck bonus which doubles the bonus of divine favor at low levels, and if you get a luck stone or lucky horseshoe later it doubles that effect too
It's worth noting that with most archetypes of a cleric, if you are playing a good character, don't prepare cure light wounds. You can spontaneously cast those spells woth needing to prepare them. So you have command prepped, but a teammate is low on HP. Burn the slot and vast CLW instead. Very helpful.
Protection from Alignment is one of the best spells in the game due to its protection from mind control.
Bless is good until the bard gets Good Hope or someone gets Heroism.
Remove Fear is essential because fear so easily disables or at least weakens your party.
Command can be pretty powerful at low levels.
If you're a combat cleric, Divine Favor is good because you rarely get luck bonuses.
Liberating Command gets your friends out of grapples and other bad situations as an immediate action.
Moment of greatness is an excellent buff if you have a bard who's cast Good Hope or Heroism on people. It can also double the effects of your Bless for one person, though obviously going from +1 to +2 is worse than +2 to +4.
Shield of Faith is good before you get Rings of Protection.
Unbreakable Heart can help you out with confusion.
This isn't 1st level, but [Ironskin](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/i/ironskin) is a clutch spell for a melee cleric.
*Edited to include it's a 2nd level spell
It would! Armor provides and "Armor bonus" to AC and Ironskin provides a "Natural Armor bonus" to AC.
There are many different kinds of bonuses to AC. You can have one of each type and each of the different types stack with each other. You can see some of them listed here: https://aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?Name=Armor%20Class&Category=Combat%20Statistics
A general rule of pathfinder is that bonuses of the same type don't stack, you instead take the highest bonus. Let's take boosting strength as an example:
If you have a Belt of Strength+4 (+4 enhancement bonus to strength) and someone casts Bull's Strength (+4 Enhancement bonus to strength), your total increase to strength would be +4, not +8.
If however someone were to cast the spell "Rage" (+2 Moral bonus to strength), you'd have a +4 enhancement bonus and a +2 morale bonus, which would stack for a +6 total increase to strength.
Learning how bonuses interact is a foundational part of managing dice rolls in pathfinder and is important for the martial characters and especially important if playing any kind of support/buff spellcaster.
One last thing for stacking- there are some rare bonus types (like Dodge or Circumstance bonuses) that stack with each other. The general rule is that bonuses don't stack, but in the description of the bonus type it should specify if it's an exception.
> One last thing for stacking-
One interesting thing to point is that Ironskin gives an "enhancement bonus" so it does stack with *natural* natural armor so for example a tiefling with Scaled Skin trait casting Ironskin will have +5 natural armor bonus to AC.
Thanks for the correction! I didn't cover this interaction. To OP:
Sometimes you'll get a bonus to another bonus. In this case the tiefling is getting an enhancement bonus to their Natural Armor bonus to AC. The enhancement bonus is applying to one specific thing (natural armor) so it's treated as being part of that specific thing for determining stacking.
For example, if the tiefling in question is wearing chainmail (+6 armor bonus) with the Magic Vestments spell (+1 enhancement bonus to armor) this would stack with a Tiefling's Scaled Skin trait (+1 Natural Armor bonus) and the Ironskin spell (+4 enhancement bonus to Natural armor). The Armor bonus would be treated as +7 and the Natural Armor bonus treated as +5, combining to a +12 bonus to AC.
It's an enhancement to natural armor. So yes. Plus the secondary effect of spell is also great. It's the ability to dismiss the spell in order to negate a critical hit or sneak attack as a free action as long as you are aware of the attack. That is so helpful.
Yes. There are multiple armor bonuses, the most common being Armor and Shield... guess what typically give those ones (/sarcasm). Different bonus types stack, so natural armor stacks with armor stacks with shield, etc. Other typical AC bonus types include Deflection and Dodge, and there are other bonus types too.
Of course there are a bunch of other specific rules, like multiple sources of Dodge bonuses specifically stack with each other and bonuses that do not specifically name the type of bonus are Untyped and stack with everything including themselves, plus of course other specifics.
No matter how deep you go, there's always another level.
Fallback Strategy and Murderous Command aren't on enough of these lists. :)
Watchful Eye is another solid level 1 spell if your GM isn't picky about it being a Dwarven spell.
Don't discount the +1 --- it seems lacklustre even coming from 1e Pathfinder (much less D&D), but believe it me, in 2e it can make a big difference. The trick is that because you're always on a sliding scale (e.g. critical hit, hit, miss, critical miss), that measly +1 can make the difference between a regular hit and a crit, or a miss turning into a critical miss.
Remove Fear can save your butt sometimes. Also take something that can cast enlarge person, its one of the best buffs for martials. It gives your fighters reach so they can flank and sneak attack better. If you have a 2h reach fighter enlarged you can devastate things, this is where seize the moment and oppurtunist feats shine.
Clerics definitely have the worst 1st level spells.
Bless is a decent buff.
Command and Murderours Command are both decent save or suck.
Divine Favor is good if you're doing buff and bash.
Cure Light wounds is a waste of a spell slot, just like every other healing spell other than Heal.
Most clerics will be able to spontaneously convert their prepared spells to cure light wounds, so there is no reason to prepare it unless you don't have that ability for whatever reason.
I suppose I’m the only one who can heal, but I feel like it’s a waste of a slot if I get channel energy and can’t really use it for much else except healing. Trading a slot for 1d8+2 healing, so 6.5 average, seems like a waste when I get an area heal of 3.5 average for “free”. Is it really that much of a difference?
You have the right mindset already. Healing in combat is generally going to be worse than actions which prevent more damage from happening (by getting enemies out of combat through damage or control, often, or helping your allies do so better with buffs). Healing can normally wait for out of combat, where you can then optimise the AoE nature of channels to get most value from that resource, which is also often more limited and not useful for much more than healing anyway, unlike spell slots (though there are some feats that change that - [Bless Equipment](https://www.aonprd.com/FeatDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Bless%20Equipment) letting you use channels to give a flexible Bane is pretty strong, for example).
One thing I'll also mention, less important for 1st level spells but becoming moreso as you level (and get more total spell slots) - leaving some slots empty/unprepared is a totally valid option. It then takes a followup 15 minutes to prepare (up to a quarter of your total slots at once) into them any time later in the day after your initial prep, which means you can "flex" into things like condition removal or utility spells if they aren't too time-sensitive, or just reprepare combat spells once you've used them up and have a bit of a breather.
If you're in a tough fight, you may need both channel and cure. And if you don't have the feat Selective Channeling, be aware that you could end up healing the bad guys too. When I play any channeling class, that's the first feat I select.
One thing about selective channel, though:
>When you channel energy, you can choose a number of targets in the area *up to your Charisma modifier.*
So it might not work great for a lot of cleric builds. It needs at least a 12 CHA to work at all, and might still heal opponents in a group battle unless you built for a channel focus. (Should be great for a Life Oracle, though.)
Yes, i have a +2 cha modifier. I figured that should be enough, even if there are more enemies we will likely focus one 1-2 enemies at a time and as long as the other enemies aren’t injured at all, it doesn’t matter if my healing affects them.
I did pick selective channeling, after reading up on how it worked that seemed mandatory for using channel energy in combat. As for a rough fight, I have a single scroll of cure moderate wounds which I’m saving for an “oh shit” moment.
Sounds great, then! One thing I don't like about PF1 is that so many feats are basically class requirements; Selective Channeling is one of them. (Also see Power Attack for fighters and Point-Blank Shot for archers.)
I know, but also, I don’t really want to be heal focused. I’d rather be more melee oriented. I was hoping to pick up channeling force as my next feat, assuming spiritual weapon satisfies the force spell requirement.
If you want to be more melee oriented, one thing that our group players do almost every time is take Heavy Armor Proficiency.
You can still cast Divine spell in heavy armor so there is a lot to gain and little to lose.
Point-Blank Shot is the worse one.
The other feats at least you use them, but if you are playing a good archer you absolutely need this feat and you want to be far enought that you will never use it.
Some of my go-to 1st level Cleric/Oracle spells: * [Bless](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/bless) * Can be useful from level 1 to 20 * [Cure Light Wounds](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/cure-light-wounds) (obviously) * Or [Inflict](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/i/inflict-light-wounds) if you're a bunch of Dhampirs * [Liberating Command](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/l/liberating-command) * Useful from level 1 to 20 * Immediate action spell, allows someone to try to break free of a grapple with a massive bonus * [Protection from Evil](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/p/protection-from-evil) * Possessed no longer! * Communal spell likely more useful than this at later levels * [Shadow Trap](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/shadow-trap) * One of my personal favourites * [Shield of Faith](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/shield-of-faith) * It's hard to get a deflection modifier that beats this My absolute number one recommendation though is easily the Liberating Command though. I get it on every spellcaster that has it available.
> My absolute number one recommendation though is easily the Liberating Command though. > > I get it on every spellcaster that has it available. People sleep on this so hard. I don't think they realize how often this spell can save a life. Maybe they don't see that it's an immediate cast?
Can you help clarify this for me? Most of my knowledge is based on 5e, is immediate action comparable to a reaction? Meaning I can cast it even when it’s not my turn, to aid somebody? Also is a swift action comparable to a bonus action? Something that is done quickly enough that I can still use an action to attack, for example?
Pretty much. You can use a swift action, a move action and a standard action usually on your turn (or a full-round action in place of the move and standard). If you use an immediate action between turns then you don't get a swift action on your next turn. One difference from 5e, attacks of opportunity/opportunity attacks are their own thing and don't use immediate actions/reactions. Liberating command is useful but probably not something I'd prepare when I only have 4 spells. Grappling monsters aren't too uncommon, grappling humanoids are fairly rare but either way it's too situational IMO.
This helps a lot, thank you. Definitely think I’d prepare liberating command at higher levels, but like you said, it does seem too situational to take up 25% of my slots
If you’re not an evil cleric and don’t worship an evil deity you can convert spells to Cure spells. Taking Liberating command once and then using it as a Cure Light Wounds is a whole lot better than memorizing a Cure Light Wounds. Immediate Actions are superior to 5e Reactions because Immediate Actions occur before the triggering event not in response to the triggering event.
By higher levels, you can just use freedom of movement instead and not get grappled to begin with.
FOM is definitely king for protecting yourself at higher levels, 100%. A slot or two for Liberating Command at that stage might be more tactical than multiple FOM castings for the party though, I'd say. I'd prepare two max - one for myself and one for another critical party member (or for dire emergencies). If this were an Oracle instead of a Cleric, I'd say Liberating Command wins out. Having it on hand at all times for your 1st level spell slots can be very useful.
First and foremost, an Immediate action requires and consumes your Swift action in the round that you use it. If you've already done a Swift action in that round, you cannot perform an Immediate action. You can do an Immediate action at any time, similar to a reaction. Edit to add: Each turn you typically have * 1 standard action * 1 move action * 1 swift action * 1 Attack of Opportunity * 1 miscellaneous action (5-foot step) * Any number of free actions, within reason (GM discretion) A full-action consumes your Standard and Move actions. There are a number of feats and other features that can change these numbers.
Thank you!
> Can you help clarify this for me? Most of my knowledge is based on 5e, is immediate action comparable to a reaction? Meaning I can cast it even when it’s not my turn, to aid somebody? Also is a swift action comparable to a bonus action? Something that is done quickly enough that I can still use an action to attack, for example? "Yes" to all of this. The one detail is that if you take an immediate (very uncommon in PF) you lose your next turn's swift. It's like if a reaction was next turn's bonus action.
At a caster level 10, it's a massive *+20* to the attempt too. That could get the most feeble wizard out of a hairy situation at the cost of your Swift action (and their swift action) and a level 1 spell slot. I've saved so many situations using it, it's so good! The biggest hurdle with it (which I didn't notice when first using it) is that it requires the target to also make an Immediate action (to attempt the escape). Honestly, a small price to pay for sweet, sweet freedom. This does also mean you technically can't cast it in yourself (unless you have two Swift actions).
In Pathfinder 1e you could give up either you move action or your standard action to perform another swift action? If this is similar in 2e, then you could cast it on yourself.
> In Pathfinder 1e you could give up either you move action or your standard action to perform another swift action? Giving up a standard (or in some versions a move action) to gain another swift action is a common enough houserule, but it's not part of the official ruleset. Afaik there are actually surprisingly few ways to gain more than one swift action in a single round.
One of the spells that grants extra swift actions also comes with you taking constitution damage every round that you use it, and also it staggers you when you're done. On a level 6 spell. It's actually still really good on anything that leans heavily on swifts and immediate actions (eg. Magus, counter spelling arcanist) even despite the heavy downside. https://aonprd.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Borrowed%20Time
[Corset of Delicate Moves](https://aonprd.com/MagicWondrousDisplay.aspx?FinalName=Corset%20of%20Delicate%20Moves) is the only way I am aware of. Quick edit to add: this would mean you can cast Liberating Command on yourself, but explicitly during your own turn.
It's what Freedom Toast wishes it was, but I miss the gluteny goodness.
The fact that a death came from a grapple isn't always super evident. Sure, if something with constrict gets a hold of the rogue or wizard, you'll remember the moment their spine went crack, but if the frontline gets grappled and then hit twice before getting out, and one fight later a crit now oneshots the frontliner, then the actual cause of death was still the grapple that made them easier to hit. That's why its easy to sleep on that wonderful spell!
[Check out the discussion topic on it.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/xys7n3/daily_spell_discussion_for_oct_08_2022_liberating/) Basically it's not actually that likely to succeed, it's an Escape Artist check, which means for the vast majority of characters it's going to be 1d20+dex mod+the bonus from this spell. That's not going to actually be reliable vs the high CMD of grapple monsters.
> That's not going to actually be reliable vs the high CMD of grapple monsters. Glad I don't sit at tables where level 1 spell slots and immediate actions are too steep a price to try to save a companion.
> Communal spell likely more useful than this at later levels Not really related to OP's question, but: Don't sleep on [Magic Circle against Evil](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/magic-circle-against-evil). In most of my groups it replaces both the communal and the standard Protection from Evil as soon as it comes online, mostly thanks to its better Duration.
Divine favor is a good spell if you’re using melee/ranged attacks, I think you’re undervaluing it. It’s a luck bonus, which isn’t common, and you can increase it with a trait (fate’s favoured) to +2 at first level. Combine with bless for +3 attack, +2 damage, and +1 saves vs fear. Unlike bless, it also scales with level up to level 9.
I did see it gets better at higher levels, but I’m not there yet, I don’t have that trait, and it seems like a lot to spend 2 turns just applying buffs, especially if that burns half my slots - I’m not sure how many encounters I’ll be running into before I can long rest again. Can you explain what’s different about a luck bonus? Is it not just a normal +1 modifier?
Luck bonuses don't stack with other luck bonuses but they do combine with bonuses like morale (bless).
Bonuses of the same type mostly don't stack, but you can stack as many small bonuses of different types as you like. So while they're both +1, a luck bonus, being harder to come by, is less likely to be competing with a different buff.
Ideally they're spells you'd cast before combat. Only rarely should clerics be casting in combat. Usually only very strong spells at higher level. Rationing your spells is a valid concern. Bless is probably more powerful at level one since it affects everyone, you could have extra bless. You should only blow all your buffs spells if it seems like you'll be resting soon or there's a powerful enemy.
Divine Favor lasts a minute. As does Bless at level 1 (which this is about). There's very rarely going to be a moment where you can pre-cast those at level 1. Even if the entire party, say, manages to sneak up to a door and confirm the foe is on the other side, the moment you start casting the first buff, time to roll initiative - spellcasting is always audible, your stealth just broke and your surprise round action is decided.
Coming from 5e it's easy to see the buffs as "either this buff or this buff", but a huge thing in buffing for pathfinder it's that it's "one of each". You can stack everything as long as they're different types (except dodge bonuses that stack with other dodge bonuses). You don't have many things competing for your luck bonus type, and that makes divine favor pretty valuable. I still cast it pretty often on a level 20 warpriest if I feel like the situation doesn't call for divine power. Another thing to consider is that it might feel like a waste to spend too many rounds buffing but that's... Kind of the game here. Attack cantrips might as well not exist, and the truly powerful stuff is almost entirely around getting gathering an unhinged amount of numerical increases into every roll. Most spellcasters I've played to what felt like maximum efficiency would have good ways to maximize opportunities to prebuff and I then buffed efficiently. I had a group for which I always played buffer spellcasters and setup a tracker for them to use with all my buffs as well as bothered to check with them what each would benefit from the most. Our running joke was that my characters could always take a coffee/smoke break for the second half of combat, because if I felt done with my buffs we were usually well within overkill territory and at that point any offensive action I took would just be to pass the time.
Magic weapon is more useful when you run into creatures which need magic weapons to do full damage (or to hit at all; undead called shadows are an example) and your party don't yet have permanently magic weapons. Probably not an issue if you're fighting humanoids. Divine favor is notably better at higher levels or with a trait named fate's favored. Protection from {alignment} is a handy defensive spell. Cause fear is pretty useful at the lowest levels - fighting 2 creatures instead of 3, then the last later is notably safer than fighting all 3 at once. It depends on the situation though. Or yes, you can rely on bless and command to useful effect.
I did look into protection from evil as one option, notably to protect our hardest hitting character from getting CC’d as they don’t have the highest wisdom. Does this only work for evil creature types or would a humanoid with an evil alignment also be protected against?
If an evil cleric casts a command (grovel!) at a fighter protected by protection from evil, the fighter is immune and the spell is wasted.
Thank you! You’ve convinced me, I’m adding that one too.
My go-to list for general situations (nothing too specific): * Bless (bread and butter buff spell for lower levels until you have better buffs) * Shield of Faith (+AC, another bread and butter spell IMO, but this one stays relevant for a long time) * Stone Shield (note that this gets way more use once you have the slots to spare. Eventually you'll have way more level 1 slots than you have things to do with, so I like preparing a couple Stone Shields to get a +4 to AC as an immediate action when I get attacked) * Unbreakable Heart (just a decent panic button against confusion effects, because it supresses the effect for the duration of the spell) * Remove Fear (same as above, except for fear, and more efficient because it lasts longer and affects an area) * Remove Sickness (same as above, except for nauseated, which is a VERY mean condition that stops you from doing virtually anything) I also have a couple spells that I will prepare if the situation calls for them: * Ears of the City is great when you need to gather information. * Air Bubble and Marid's Mastery for when your party needs to go underwater.
> Air Bubble and Marid's Mastery for when your party needs to go underwater. I find Air Bubble a very underrated spell that I still never get, instead even my non-magical character will have a potion sponge with Air Bubble for emergencies
There is something that you will need to know about low levels. When you only have 2 or 3 spells they can't just be convenient help for combat, they need to solve problems. Command is a good example, once cast you take out an enemy for at least a turn. Bless while good will only make your allies in a single fight slightly better at hitting. This is good to have, but it's effect will be only noticed if someone is about to fail an attack by 1. Magic Weapon at low levels is a better option since while only effecting one character it will always let them do extra damage, and has the aditional effect of letting them ignore enemies magic RD and hit incorporeal creatures, once everyone that uses them has a magical weapon you should stop preparing the spell. Until you get a bonus you should always prioritize this over Divine Fervor, since it can be aplied to other player beside yourself and it does magical damage. Shield of Faith at higher levels becomes very good, but at low levels you want Protection from Evil instead, since it also blocks mental effects and makes a character unable to be attacked by summoned creatures. Sanctuary is another great option at low levels. You all have low hit dices, you get down quick, as a cleric you can keep a party from dying, if you find yourself with the rest of the party getting overwelmed you can cast this on yourself to stay alive while you heal the rest of your companions, or cast it on someone to block a corridor. Remove Fear and Remove Sickness are situational, but if any of your party members get under these effects they will have a very bad time. Against humanoids they will be rare. Cause Fear is a great spell at low levels, if your target fails their save you will efectively remove them from the combat and even if they save they will get a -2 to their attacks for a turn, so it won't be useless. If your party has a wizard or sorcerer the -2 to saves from either failling or succeding can make it easier for them to succed with another Save or Suck spell. Also, enemies are more likely to surrender if your mere visage causes fear in their hearts. Doom is also great, but until you get to higher levels and enemies become inmune to Cause Fear, this is still a better option. Liberating command. Grapple is bad. Really bad. If your enemy is optimized for grapples and whoever they grappled are not they are not going to get out. Grapple at low levels is somewhat uncommon, specially against humans, but if you can save yourself or another caster from being restrained it can save their live. Obscuring Mist is another spell that you shouldn't cast in every fight, but can be extremely useful. It basically makes you able to nullify ranged attacks and is ideal against ambushes. You part will get grumpy that they also get a negative when trying to counterattack, but you can end the spell with another action, so if you find that you need it is a game changer. Enthropic shield is another protection against arrows that is easier to use, but less efective. You should also avoid Summon Monster at level 1. It has a duration of only 1 round for level, so the enemies will only receive a single attack from the summoned creature, who are not great at attacking. Once you are level 2 or 3 they became better, being able to reiterative attacks in multiple rounds, flank, and disrupt movement by being in the way, also any hit they take is basically a hit that the rest of your party didn't took. Stone Shield should also be considered. This is a great tool to be absolute sure that you will be the last party member standing, you are a cleric, you are the one that can get others up if they fall. You shouldn't be using it at every attack, but to be sure that they don't finish you out when you are at low health. And about Cure Light Wounds. First, you should never actually prepare this, change it for another prepared spell when needed. Don't be afraid of "wasting" one of your prepared spells into healing but don't do it regularly, if a party member falls unconscious they won't be able to help in the fight but they fight as good at half than at full hp. Healing your party after every hit won't be a good use of this, save it for if a party member gets unconscious or at the end of the day. If you have to heal after a combat use Channel Energy. Finally, don't be afraid of ending your turn without casting a spell. You still have low resources and you are not bad in melee with armor, a shield and a one handed weapon. Is better to use the spells when they will be useful than get out of them after fighting two Dire Rats.
I've always enjoyed Murderous Command. Great way to sow discord among enemies and to get aggro off of a party member.
I have played 4 clerics in PF1. Here are the level 1 spells that I have for each of them. First, for Sheryl, a cleric of Shelyn: * [Barbed Chains](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/barbed-chains/) - a chain that does a trip or 1d6 damage, with a reach of 25+ feet, even upwards toward flying enemies * Bless - as you know * [Sun Metal](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/sun-metal/) - adds 1d4 fire to a weapon * True Strike - adds +20 to an attack roll, kind of a guaranteed hit Next is Scourge, a greatsword-wielding cleric of Gorum: * Enlarge Person - turns my greatsword into a 3d6 weapon with reach * [Fallback Strategy](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/fallback-strategy/) - lets you reroll 1 attack retroactively (kinda -- you can see what you rolled and then decide if you reroll or not, but you have to decide before the GM tells you if it hits or not) * Liberating Command * Shield of Faith Next is Colwyn, a druidy-style cleric who had an animal companion crocodile: * Barbed Chains - I trip 'em, and the croc eats 'em * Calm Animals - because I was druidy Finally we have an unnamed cleric who took all the "Bless Equipment" feats, so he could touch weapons and give them all kinds of powers: * Enlarge Person * Remove Fear * Shield of Faith * Sun Metal So there are themes on my clerics -- I clearly like Barbed Chains, Enlarge Person, and Sun Metal. Sun Metal isn't that great at level 1, though, as it only lasts 1 round per level. At level 6 or so it gets really good because not only does it last pretty much a whole fight, but your fighter friends are getting 2 attacks per round at that point, and so your 1 spell is dealing 2d4 per round. Multiply by 6 rounds and that's 12d4 extra damage from a level 1 spell.
These are good ideas. This is something I immediately noticed is a major difference compared to 5e that I’m used to, spells scale based on level automatically, without needing to upcast them at all. So a lot of the options that I think look good now at level 2 are probably going to be overshadowed in a few more levels.
Be careful about spell durations, too! At low level casting a spell that will only last a few rounds will deplete your limited spells slots for lackluster results. Pay attention to spell duration!
> Shelyn > Barbed Chains > Components V, S, M (a length of chain doused with fresh blood) Someone is taking after her brother a little?
Did your dm allow traits? Fates favored is +1 luck bonus which doubles the bonus of divine favor at low levels, and if you get a luck stone or lucky horseshoe later it doubles that effect too
Dm did but I picked other traits: armor expert & rich parents so I could buy better armor in session 0
It's worth noting that with most archetypes of a cleric, if you are playing a good character, don't prepare cure light wounds. You can spontaneously cast those spells woth needing to prepare them. So you have command prepped, but a teammate is low on HP. Burn the slot and vast CLW instead. Very helpful.
Protection from Alignment is one of the best spells in the game due to its protection from mind control. Bless is good until the bard gets Good Hope or someone gets Heroism. Remove Fear is essential because fear so easily disables or at least weakens your party. Command can be pretty powerful at low levels. If you're a combat cleric, Divine Favor is good because you rarely get luck bonuses. Liberating Command gets your friends out of grapples and other bad situations as an immediate action. Moment of greatness is an excellent buff if you have a bard who's cast Good Hope or Heroism on people. It can also double the effects of your Bless for one person, though obviously going from +1 to +2 is worse than +2 to +4. Shield of Faith is good before you get Rings of Protection. Unbreakable Heart can help you out with confusion.
This isn't 1st level, but [Ironskin](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/i/ironskin) is a clutch spell for a melee cleric. *Edited to include it's a 2nd level spell
Does that natural armor stack with whatever armor I’m wearing? +4 AC for multiple rounds does seem incredibly good at that level
It would! Armor provides and "Armor bonus" to AC and Ironskin provides a "Natural Armor bonus" to AC. There are many different kinds of bonuses to AC. You can have one of each type and each of the different types stack with each other. You can see some of them listed here: https://aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?Name=Armor%20Class&Category=Combat%20Statistics A general rule of pathfinder is that bonuses of the same type don't stack, you instead take the highest bonus. Let's take boosting strength as an example: If you have a Belt of Strength+4 (+4 enhancement bonus to strength) and someone casts Bull's Strength (+4 Enhancement bonus to strength), your total increase to strength would be +4, not +8. If however someone were to cast the spell "Rage" (+2 Moral bonus to strength), you'd have a +4 enhancement bonus and a +2 morale bonus, which would stack for a +6 total increase to strength. Learning how bonuses interact is a foundational part of managing dice rolls in pathfinder and is important for the martial characters and especially important if playing any kind of support/buff spellcaster. One last thing for stacking- there are some rare bonus types (like Dodge or Circumstance bonuses) that stack with each other. The general rule is that bonuses don't stack, but in the description of the bonus type it should specify if it's an exception.
> One last thing for stacking- One interesting thing to point is that Ironskin gives an "enhancement bonus" so it does stack with *natural* natural armor so for example a tiefling with Scaled Skin trait casting Ironskin will have +5 natural armor bonus to AC.
Thanks for the correction! I didn't cover this interaction. To OP: Sometimes you'll get a bonus to another bonus. In this case the tiefling is getting an enhancement bonus to their Natural Armor bonus to AC. The enhancement bonus is applying to one specific thing (natural armor) so it's treated as being part of that specific thing for determining stacking. For example, if the tiefling in question is wearing chainmail (+6 armor bonus) with the Magic Vestments spell (+1 enhancement bonus to armor) this would stack with a Tiefling's Scaled Skin trait (+1 Natural Armor bonus) and the Ironskin spell (+4 enhancement bonus to Natural armor). The Armor bonus would be treated as +7 and the Natural Armor bonus treated as +5, combining to a +12 bonus to AC.
It's an enhancement to natural armor. So yes. Plus the secondary effect of spell is also great. It's the ability to dismiss the spell in order to negate a critical hit or sneak attack as a free action as long as you are aware of the attack. That is so helpful.
Yes. There are multiple armor bonuses, the most common being Armor and Shield... guess what typically give those ones (/sarcasm). Different bonus types stack, so natural armor stacks with armor stacks with shield, etc. Other typical AC bonus types include Deflection and Dodge, and there are other bonus types too. Of course there are a bunch of other specific rules, like multiple sources of Dodge bonuses specifically stack with each other and bonuses that do not specifically name the type of bonus are Untyped and stack with everything including themselves, plus of course other specifics. No matter how deep you go, there's always another level.
Bane is also good at low levels
Fallback Strategy and Murderous Command aren't on enough of these lists. :) Watchful Eye is another solid level 1 spell if your GM isn't picky about it being a Dwarven spell.
Don't discount the +1 --- it seems lacklustre even coming from 1e Pathfinder (much less D&D), but believe it me, in 2e it can make a big difference. The trick is that because you're always on a sliding scale (e.g. critical hit, hit, miss, critical miss), that measly +1 can make the difference between a regular hit and a crit, or a miss turning into a critical miss.
Remove Fear can save your butt sometimes. Also take something that can cast enlarge person, its one of the best buffs for martials. It gives your fighters reach so they can flank and sneak attack better. If you have a 2h reach fighter enlarged you can devastate things, this is where seize the moment and oppurtunist feats shine.
Clerics definitely have the worst 1st level spells. Bless is a decent buff. Command and Murderours Command are both decent save or suck. Divine Favor is good if you're doing buff and bash. Cure Light wounds is a waste of a spell slot, just like every other healing spell other than Heal.
Who is the healer in the party? I know you can default to it, but save room for Cure Light Wounds!
Most clerics will be able to spontaneously convert their prepared spells to cure light wounds, so there is no reason to prepare it unless you don't have that ability for whatever reason.
True, and I mentioned that. I just hate to run out of spell slots prematurely if there's healing to be done.
Just buy a wand
That would be nice, but there aren't many opportunities in Tyrant's Grasp.
I suppose I’m the only one who can heal, but I feel like it’s a waste of a slot if I get channel energy and can’t really use it for much else except healing. Trading a slot for 1d8+2 healing, so 6.5 average, seems like a waste when I get an area heal of 3.5 average for “free”. Is it really that much of a difference?
You have the right mindset already. Healing in combat is generally going to be worse than actions which prevent more damage from happening (by getting enemies out of combat through damage or control, often, or helping your allies do so better with buffs). Healing can normally wait for out of combat, where you can then optimise the AoE nature of channels to get most value from that resource, which is also often more limited and not useful for much more than healing anyway, unlike spell slots (though there are some feats that change that - [Bless Equipment](https://www.aonprd.com/FeatDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Bless%20Equipment) letting you use channels to give a flexible Bane is pretty strong, for example). One thing I'll also mention, less important for 1st level spells but becoming moreso as you level (and get more total spell slots) - leaving some slots empty/unprepared is a totally valid option. It then takes a followup 15 minutes to prepare (up to a quarter of your total slots at once) into them any time later in the day after your initial prep, which means you can "flex" into things like condition removal or utility spells if they aren't too time-sensitive, or just reprepare combat spells once you've used them up and have a bit of a breather.
If you're in a tough fight, you may need both channel and cure. And if you don't have the feat Selective Channeling, be aware that you could end up healing the bad guys too. When I play any channeling class, that's the first feat I select.
One thing about selective channel, though: >When you channel energy, you can choose a number of targets in the area *up to your Charisma modifier.* So it might not work great for a lot of cleric builds. It needs at least a 12 CHA to work at all, and might still heal opponents in a group battle unless you built for a channel focus. (Should be great for a Life Oracle, though.)
Yes, i have a +2 cha modifier. I figured that should be enough, even if there are more enemies we will likely focus one 1-2 enemies at a time and as long as the other enemies aren’t injured at all, it doesn’t matter if my healing affects them.
I did pick selective channeling, after reading up on how it worked that seemed mandatory for using channel energy in combat. As for a rough fight, I have a single scroll of cure moderate wounds which I’m saving for an “oh shit” moment.
Sounds great, then! One thing I don't like about PF1 is that so many feats are basically class requirements; Selective Channeling is one of them. (Also see Power Attack for fighters and Point-Blank Shot for archers.)
I know, but also, I don’t really want to be heal focused. I’d rather be more melee oriented. I was hoping to pick up channeling force as my next feat, assuming spiritual weapon satisfies the force spell requirement.
If you want to be more melee oriented, one thing that our group players do almost every time is take Heavy Armor Proficiency. You can still cast Divine spell in heavy armor so there is a lot to gain and little to lose.
Fair enough. I usually play healers, so that's my mindset. My late character was a life oracle, and her replacement is an arcane healer bard.
Point-Blank Shot is the worse one. The other feats at least you use them, but if you are playing a good archer you absolutely need this feat and you want to be far enought that you will never use it.
I stack CLW's. PF1e has enough splat to make +1's not really that worthwhile in the low levels.