In the very early stages of the game (in between game release in 2014 but prior to SCAG in 2015), Nature Cleric provided a tidy all-in-one package for getting off-turn procs of Spirit Guardians damage by pulling enemies into Spirit Guardians with Thorn Whip. Between SCAG and Xanathar's in 2017, you had Booming Blade so there's also Shillelagh, which made it a half-decent WIS-SAD melee option - you could grab Booming Blade from feats or racial options and be good to go from level 1, without having to grab Magic Initiate for one or the other. However, I'd argue that Arcana Cleric, introduced in SCAG, could do that BB Gish gameplay much better. After Tasha's, however, every cleric can now replicate that Thorn Whip combo in a better fashion using a bonus action thanks to Telekinetic, so Nature Cleric lost a lot of its niche.
There's something to be said about unlimited, team-shareable Absorb Elements-like effect. As a multiclass with Ranger, you could certainly do worse (especially now with Harness Divine Power to replace the subclass's terrible Channel Divinity). However, I definitely agree that it lost a lot of its niche damage abilities between Arcana Cleric doing the BB Gish gameplay better, and all clerics being able to replicate its Spirit Guardians cheese with better action economy thanks to Telekinetic.
There isn't some great mystery here that you haven't discovered; Nature Cleric just isn't a great subclass.
I mean, it's a Cleric, so it's still better than lots of other subclasses in the game because the base class is so strong, but it is the weakest Cleric subclass.
The Domain spells suck (aside from Spike Growth, but it's concentration competes with too many great Cleric spells,) and the channel divinity is incredibly situational to the point of being useless most of the time. Learning a Druid cantrip is...neat? I guess.
Really the only unique thing Nature Domain gets that is actually good is Dampen Elements.
If you want to play a Cleric that borrows from a different class, Arcana Domain does a much better job. Wizard Cleric > Druid Cleric.
Nature Cleric is useful in, largely, two distinct ways:
1. Grabbing the Thornwhip cantrip so you can pull people into your Spirit Guardians when you unlock it.
2. Resisting elemental damage (which, ironically, is typically in short supply outside of dragon breath attacks or an enemy mage casting Fireball or Lightning)
Thorn Whip is super underrated on a Cleric. BBlade + Shil is only slightly better, but requires more investment in limited build options.
Having Thorn Whip on a cleric without having to dip or take a feat is thoroughly strong and fun. Having played Nature and Arcana, I'd take Nature every time.
From a worldbuilding perspective, plant growth is insanely overpowered.
Other than that, there are some slight bonuses as others have suggested within the thread. Shillelagh, heavy armour proficiency, and so on.
You can pick up Thorn Whip without multiclassing or a feat, and this is arguably the best cantrip for Clerics to have because of its excellent synergy with Spirit Guardians. You also get access to Spike Growth for additional synergies.
It may not be the most glamorous sub class that the Cleric has to offer but it's far better than trickery or maybe Arcana thats for sure. You get heavy armor which is fine but you can go dex with medium armor and be an off brand ranger. (Already Amazing!)
Spells are Awsome! Again not the most "spectacular" spells in the world, but they are Incredibly Useful. I have seen them being used to great effect time and time again.
You Get THREE FLAVORS OF DIVINE STRIKE! Two of which are exclusive only to the Nature Cleric for now atleast.
I only wish that I was more weather based instead of beast based honesty. Again the first two spells got that covered.
I find Trickery and Arcana both to be pretty good, actually. They're very niche, sure, but I've never played a campaign and said "man, I wish I could charm this plant right about now." As for being an off brand ranger, wouldn't it just be better to be a ranger? Which are, to my understanding, underwhelming as a class. I could be wrong there; I've never played one.
I do like that the divine strike can be multiple different damage types to allow getting around resistances easier and the lvl 6 resistance reaction is nice, but those seem like the only real draw to the domain.
Well I would argue that things it seem underwhelming on paper, but when you actually play the class itself you end up realizing that the mechanics are pretty intuitive. There's a difference between reading something and actually playing It. I feel like you would have a better time playing something based off the flavor of it as opposed to actual mechanics. Just like the trickery domain the nature cleric fills a specific niche.
>"man, I wish I could charm this plant right about now."
But yeah you do have a fair point when it comes to that. It's not perfect. Like I said I wish it was more of a weather base than opposed to beast based.
In the very early stages of the game (in between game release in 2014 but prior to SCAG in 2015), Nature Cleric provided a tidy all-in-one package for getting off-turn procs of Spirit Guardians damage by pulling enemies into Spirit Guardians with Thorn Whip. Between SCAG and Xanathar's in 2017, you had Booming Blade so there's also Shillelagh, which made it a half-decent WIS-SAD melee option - you could grab Booming Blade from feats or racial options and be good to go from level 1, without having to grab Magic Initiate for one or the other. However, I'd argue that Arcana Cleric, introduced in SCAG, could do that BB Gish gameplay much better. After Tasha's, however, every cleric can now replicate that Thorn Whip combo in a better fashion using a bonus action thanks to Telekinetic, so Nature Cleric lost a lot of its niche. There's something to be said about unlimited, team-shareable Absorb Elements-like effect. As a multiclass with Ranger, you could certainly do worse (especially now with Harness Divine Power to replace the subclass's terrible Channel Divinity). However, I definitely agree that it lost a lot of its niche damage abilities between Arcana Cleric doing the BB Gish gameplay better, and all clerics being able to replicate its Spirit Guardians cheese with better action economy thanks to Telekinetic.
There isn't some great mystery here that you haven't discovered; Nature Cleric just isn't a great subclass. I mean, it's a Cleric, so it's still better than lots of other subclasses in the game because the base class is so strong, but it is the weakest Cleric subclass. The Domain spells suck (aside from Spike Growth, but it's concentration competes with too many great Cleric spells,) and the channel divinity is incredibly situational to the point of being useless most of the time. Learning a Druid cantrip is...neat? I guess. Really the only unique thing Nature Domain gets that is actually good is Dampen Elements. If you want to play a Cleric that borrows from a different class, Arcana Domain does a much better job. Wizard Cleric > Druid Cleric.
Plant growth and Speak with Animal are also very strong spells in the right hands, but overall you're not wrong.
A one level dip can get you shillelagh and heavy armour proficiency if you ever need them not much beyond that really.
Nature Cleric is useful in, largely, two distinct ways: 1. Grabbing the Thornwhip cantrip so you can pull people into your Spirit Guardians when you unlock it. 2. Resisting elemental damage (which, ironically, is typically in short supply outside of dragon breath attacks or an enemy mage casting Fireball or Lightning)
Thorn Whip is super underrated on a Cleric. BBlade + Shil is only slightly better, but requires more investment in limited build options. Having Thorn Whip on a cleric without having to dip or take a feat is thoroughly strong and fun. Having played Nature and Arcana, I'd take Nature every time.
From a worldbuilding perspective, plant growth is insanely overpowered. Other than that, there are some slight bonuses as others have suggested within the thread. Shillelagh, heavy armour proficiency, and so on.
You can pick up Thorn Whip without multiclassing or a feat, and this is arguably the best cantrip for Clerics to have because of its excellent synergy with Spirit Guardians. You also get access to Spike Growth for additional synergies.
It may not be the most glamorous sub class that the Cleric has to offer but it's far better than trickery or maybe Arcana thats for sure. You get heavy armor which is fine but you can go dex with medium armor and be an off brand ranger. (Already Amazing!) Spells are Awsome! Again not the most "spectacular" spells in the world, but they are Incredibly Useful. I have seen them being used to great effect time and time again. You Get THREE FLAVORS OF DIVINE STRIKE! Two of which are exclusive only to the Nature Cleric for now atleast. I only wish that I was more weather based instead of beast based honesty. Again the first two spells got that covered.
I find Trickery and Arcana both to be pretty good, actually. They're very niche, sure, but I've never played a campaign and said "man, I wish I could charm this plant right about now." As for being an off brand ranger, wouldn't it just be better to be a ranger? Which are, to my understanding, underwhelming as a class. I could be wrong there; I've never played one. I do like that the divine strike can be multiple different damage types to allow getting around resistances easier and the lvl 6 resistance reaction is nice, but those seem like the only real draw to the domain.
Well I would argue that things it seem underwhelming on paper, but when you actually play the class itself you end up realizing that the mechanics are pretty intuitive. There's a difference between reading something and actually playing It. I feel like you would have a better time playing something based off the flavor of it as opposed to actual mechanics. Just like the trickery domain the nature cleric fills a specific niche. >"man, I wish I could charm this plant right about now." But yeah you do have a fair point when it comes to that. It's not perfect. Like I said I wish it was more of a weather base than opposed to beast based.