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The Official Children of Tunare’s Shaman’s guide to Norrath Chapter 1 Written by : Cymrick Ravenfoot I finally decided that I would write a shaman strategy/fact finding guide for the use of my guild. Following my preferred modus operandi, I'm going to cover the topic in nauseating detail. Enjoy. CONCEPT and REALIZATION When creating a shaman there are certain questions you should first find the answers to. The first and most important question is, of course, do I really want to play a shaman? The second, which race? Why play a shaman? What does the shaman have going for him/her? * Very versatile, you'll rarely lack something to contribute * Self sufficient * Durable, hard character to kill -- decent armor and spirit of wolf -- you'll get chewed on but rarely swallowed * Viable solo character, at later levels the shaman is the #2 solo character * Excellent grouping class, despite suffering from 'enchanter-itis', good players will recognize you as a powerful ally (btw, pure evil is a shaman, enchanter, necromancer team up) * Powerful at later levels, arguably #2 in raw potency, certainly in PvP * Strategic flexability, shamans can employ numerous strategies effectively -- even switching between tactics in the middle of battle -- moreover, shaman strategies evolve consideribly with every spell tier * The shaman class is very different, take my word for it Why not a shaman? * #1 reason: the druid also enjoys most of the above benefits while being a more exciting class to play -- actually, I could write a guide on how to choose between playing a shaman and a druid * Shaman are not generally capable of soloing even con opponents, unlike pre-20s druids are... as a consequence our level advancement tends to be a bit slower than other solo classes * Small race selection, small mana pool (low base wisdom) * Like a cleric, your role in group is servile -- if you like being a prime damage dealer during group combat, druid is prolly the better choice for you * Buffing, you are a buff puppy and it can get tedious sometimes * Life is hard until later levels, playing a shaman is really a labour of love The Bottom Line If you like mobility and freedom, want to add alot to a group and want to try something different, you might just like the shaman class. Many high level shaman have played druids also (and shadow knights strangely). The shaman class is demanding but rewarding, so it's not for everyone. RACE Only one of the shaman races is good-aligned, so your decision may be made already, depending upon what kind of shaman you want to play. The shaman races are barbarian, ogre, troll and iksar. Barbarians are the most well recieved, possibly due to our outstanding good looks. Barbarian * Good factions, you are welcome in every good aligned city in Norrath, you are also KOS to every evil NPC * #2 base wisdom, 80 base -- in relative terms, not bad * Good physical stats * Bash/Slam * You can use pretty much any armor/weaponry you want and hunt anywhere you please * Starting location remote but a good building ground for lowbies * You are large, you get shrink at level 19 * No night vision, you get serpent sight at level 14 and ultravison at 29 Ogre * Poor factions, you are KOS everywhere, including some places in Grobb and Neriak * #3 base wisdom (77) * Excellent physical stats * Bash/Slam * You cannot be stunned by frontal attacks (little known fact about ogres) * Infravision * Damned sexy, use this power for good * You cannot hunt in some places in Kunark due to factions and cannot use certain Kunark shaman armor * You are really big, they can show movies on your backside, you get shrink at level 19 -- it takes 2 casts to make you fit into most places Troll * Poor factions, you are KOS everywhere, including some places in Grobb and Neriak * Worst base wisdom (70) * Excellent physical stats, second only to ogre * Bash/Slam * Natural Regeneration * Infravision * Slow level advancement * You cannot hunt in some places in Kunark due to factions and cannot use certain Kunark shaman armor * You are really big and you look like a cupie doll when shrunk, you get shrink at level 19 Iksar * Poor factions but you don't care, Cabilis is the only city you need * #1 base wisdom (90) * Worst physical stats * No bash/slam * Natural armor * Natural Regeneration * Infravision * Faster swimming rate, longer underwater time * Foraging * Slow level advancement * No plate armor (Totemic, Jaundiced) The globally deployable shaman is a barbarian, life is just easier with good faction and the barbarian race is a good compromise of strength and wisdom. The iksar shaman just rocks. If you can tolerate the slow level advancement, the iksar is one of the most powerful shaman around, but is restricted to Kunark. Sadly there isn't much going for fatties anymore, Kunark is a perilous place due to the faction-malf ups installed by Verant. CREATION Really not alot of brain work in dividing split points with a shaman. We get 30 points... 20-25 should go to wisdom (surprise). Other statistics can be decided by race. Barbarian 20-25 points go on wisdom, exploit the natural advantage of being a barb. You may want to add points to dexterity, your base dex is 70... 75 is average. Dexterity determines how quickly you build fighting skills (eg. piercing, 2hd blunt, dodge, double attack, etc.). You can buff dexterity at level 1, so this isn't crucial. Strength is always useful. Ogre 20-25 points go on wisdom. Add at least 5 points to agility. You MUST get your agility to 75+. FYI, having less than 75 agility can butcher your AC at higher levels, penalties of 50 points are not unheard of. Troll 20-25 points go on wisdom. Sense a common thread here? Beyond that, anything goes. The troll shaman has good physical stats, 108 str, 114 sta, 83 agi, 75 dex I think... nothing you really need. I would chuck the remaining 5 on strength or (maybe) agility. Strength is prolly the best investment for a shaman. Iksar 90 base wisdom! Woot! Be a disgusting powergamer and add 20-25 points to it. Add 5 points to your strength, no shaman should be have a 70 strength. Iksar are great casters... but such wuss-pots otherwise. I did tell you that shaman are very different. For a shaman, 80 base wisdom is considered good. Small mana pool is prolly another reason we aren't the #1 class. Your melee skills will save you from some grief. The ogre shaman's ability to avoid stuns is great on a spellcaster. The troll regeneration stacks with our regen spells and more than mitigates their crappy wisdom once we aquire Cannibalize (level 24). Life is mana. More to follow. Shaman Guide - Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | ||
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