Whose Role Is It Anyway?

Based on my Twitter feed, my Cleric has leveled as:

• 1-14: Justicar/Druid/Sentinel (self-healing melee, theoretically tank-capable)
• 15: Warden (healing over time build for rifts)
• 16-21: Shaman/Druid/0 pt Warden (melee DPS with a focus on reactive attacks and healing pet)
• 22: Inquisitor/10 pt Justicar (caster DPS with passive self healing)
• 23-33: Druid/10+ Justicar (melee DPS with ranged abilities and either a healing or a melee pet)
• 31-33: Purifier/2+ pt Sentinel/8 pt Cabalist (single target healer with damage wards, cabalist splash gives a quick damage combo that regenerates a nice chunk of mana)

You'll note some overlap at the end of that chart.  I didn't do much healing for a while because I simply wasn't fond of how the healing soul I'd picked (Warden) played.  When I finally got around to speccing out a different option that I liked (the Purifier - at 31, you get a buff for the tank that shares all the overhealing you do to them with the rest of the group), it suddenly made a lot more sense to actually switch on a regular basis.  Now I'll pop over into healing mode if a larger rift or a zone invasion happens while I'm questing (and possibly for dungeons, the durable druid can become squishy when dungeon mobs are involved).

As Ferrel and Starseeker discuss, this type of role-switching is the defining feature of Rift's soul system.  It has its cons as well as its pros, but you have only yourself to blame if you get bored with your first character.