Picking a race for shaman

[hopped]

Doing this on my phone so first off I'm sorry if it formats funny.

I have made 7 characters now since I started on p99 and have yet to get higher than 22. I figure I am missing my old live character which was a Shaman but have avoided it due to the massive shaman population. I am over the idea of too many shaman and was looking for a pros/cons list of being a shaman currently. My budget for gear is about 10k so gear advice would be welcome as well.

I will add more when I get home as typing this on my phone is becoming tedious.

Thanks in advance!

[JayN]

iksar; ac bonus, regen scaling

troll is close second place

[hopped]

My main back on live was a troll, which was created prior to Kunark being released so Iksar might be fun for something I have never done.

[Exmo]

Depends on what you want to do.

If you want a Soloing Shaman @ high end, go Ogre. Stun Immunity is OP as shit.

If you want the most mana for raiding/buffs, go Iksar. Regen + fungi = awesome.

[Buriedpast]

Bryjun sums this up best on the wiki.

Ogre.

All I'll add is that absolutely any time you get stunned trying to topor, you would of lived on an ogre. They are not even comparable. If the question is about what's the 8th, 9th and 10th best races for a shaman then it's iksar, barbarian, troll. But spots 2-7 are reserved because that's how much better an ogre is.

[hopped]

That all makes sense, thank you all for the input. I will be going ogre. I keep hearing stun immunity is crazy OP but I have a hard time with how much of a giant boulder ogres are. I'll get used to it though.

[Exmo]

That all makes sense, thank you all for the input. I will be going ogre. I keep hearing stun immunity is crazy OP but I have a hard time with how much of a giant boulder ogres are. I'll get used to it though.

I turned on the Male Ogre Luclin Model only when I started my Ogre Shaman. So at least I can see around my toon.

I don't like the model, but it's cheaper than an AON.

[hopped]

hah that is a good idea. I had them all turned on for a bit but I felt the classic feeling slipping away.

[whippetofspades]

ungnghhhhhhhh

sick of this "stun immunity is OP" bullshit. Ogre stats are OP but at 60 especially with Velious everyone's stats are going to be high anyway. But more importantly with your highest level slow mobs will bash or kick approximately every 30 SECONDS. That's bash OR kick. Use the search function, last year or the year before someone did the maths to show this. Torpor takes 6 seconds to cast. Unless you are severely disabled you should be able to find a 6 second window between those bashes.

I would go troll or maybe iksar. Regen is much more useful 1-59. IF you can afford torpor at 60 regen loses some of its value, but 1-59 is hardly an inconsiderable chunk of the game. Iksar doesn't get JBB obviously but that's only an issue if you have 45k to buy one.

[hopped]

I was pretty clear in my funds I hope. 10k to start means I will most likely not be able to afford anything high end for a VERY long time. I won't have a fungi or jbb or torpor unless I get chosen out of the countless other shaman who will be better geared to begin with for a raid spot that gets me some crazy drop. So race choice should be considered as casual I suppose since my odds of raiding are slim.

[Potus]

Front stun immunity is so overrated.

[whippetofspades]

I was pretty clear in my funds I hope. 10k to start means I will most likely not be able to afford anything high end for a VERY long time. I won't have a fungi or jbb or torpor unless I get chosen out of the countless other shaman who will be better geared to begin with for a raid spot that gets me some crazy drop. So race choice should be considered as casual I suppose since my odds of raiding are slim.

In that case I'd still recommend troll or iksar. People scream about iksars being terrible shamans but that's mostly because of JBB issues and lots of people will never afford one anyway. And besides, the epic is way more useful than JBB. Iksar have access to some pretty sweet no-drop armor that big races can't wear (Jarsath Scale I think it's called, drops in KC), have the most convenient Kunark city and have an innate AC bonus.

The reason people talk about stun immunity and ogres etc. is because with top-end gear and torpor shaman can solo big mobs like some dragons in Velious. Regen becomes irrelevant because of torpor. Truth is, only a minority of shaman will be able to do this anyway so you might as well go with a regen race because the benefits are both immediate and very noticable.

[hopped]

Problem with going Iksar is I started buying gear and got a few pieces of jaundiced but it's totally sellable. I'll have to think about it since I have never leveled in Kunark either.

[quido]

Just don't go iksar

[hopped]

Think I'll go ogre just because the idea of not being stunned mid cast on anything sounds pretty sweet as well as the melee stats. Was able to pick up a Poison Wind Censer and slime coated harpoon pretty cheap so those should last me a good long while, just need a shield now.

[Daldaen]

Front stun immunity is so overrated.

This. You won't always be tanking and it won't always be frontal arc. But you will always need more regen.

[Itap]

Frontal stun immunity is something people will say who have never actually played an ogre shaman. It's all hearsay

[radditsu]

Just don't go iksar

Troll better if you want to go iksar. Bobbarian if you want to look like a stylish king.

[BlkCamel]

Frontal stun immunity is something people will say who have never actually played an ogre shaman. It's all hearsay

I play an Ogre Shaman and I am 60. I would recommend Ogre based on stun immunity. I played Barbarian Shaman on live and when I came here it was an easy choice. I don't regret anything. Remember although a slowed mob may only kick or bash every 30 seconds, what happens when your slow resists and that mob rushes you? What happens when you have 2,3, or 4 mobs in camp and multiple mobs are kicking/bashing and may or may not be slowed. People that say that slow makes Frontal Stun moot are ignoring many, many factors.

If you never plan to get Torpor/Fungi, Go Troll. Plate, Diety based clicky, Natural Fungi, alot better for casual play.

[hopped]

I dont think I would get it within the life span of the toon really fungi is 100k torpor 120k JBB another 45k... can I earn 260k+pp by 60? lol

[BlkCamel]

I dont think I would get it within the life span of the toon really fungi is 100k torpor 120k JBB another 45k... can I earn 260k+pp by 60? lol

Maybe if you solo'd money camps 1-56 then did 56+ in places like seb and got lucky.

Sisters in lfay, Sisters in oot, Treants in SK, Guards in HHK, Hill Giants in a bunch of zones, Ice Giants in Everfrost, seafuries in oot. This path will take forever though as Shaman are not efficient killing things like Giants until we get epic.

[DrKvothe]

You can't go wrong with shaman races. Each of them has at least one distinct advantage. Barbarians = faster leveling and good faction, Troll = regen, good stats, and close to EC, Ogre = good stats and frontal stun immunity, and Iksar = regen, smaller size, kunark leveling path, and AC bonus that'll mean a lot more in velious.

Even without stun immunity, you're still going to have a powerful character. If I were to start fresh on a brand new server, I'd go iksar *shrug*. As it is, I don't regret going barbarian.

[BlkCamel]

I dont think I would get it within the life span of the toon really fungi is 100k torpor 120k JBB another 45k... can I earn 260k+pp by 60? lol

Oh and btw although I solo'd my way to 60 in just a couple months. I still do not have any of these, No JBB, No Fungi, No Torpor. Although I did complete my epic quest.

[Aaron]

Bryjun sums this up best on the wiki.

Ogre.

All I'll add is that absolutely any time you get stunned trying to topor, you would of lived on an ogre. They are not even comparable. If the question is about what's the 8th, 9th and 10th best races for a shaman then it's iksar, barbarian, troll. But spots 2-7 are reserved because that's how much better an ogre is.

This is so, so wrong.

Come Velious, I'll take Iksar as the best shaman race. Currently it's Troll. Ogre is 2nd or 3rd, depending on how you look at it.

[Aaron]

Think I'll go ogre just because the idea of not being stunned mid cast on anything sounds pretty sweet as well as the melee stats. Was able to pick up a Poison Wind Censer and slime coated harpoon pretty cheap so those should last me a good long while, just need a shield now.

I think people get confused and think that frontal stun immunity means Ogres don't get interrupted during casting.

As a Troll, I've never lost a fight that I would've won had I not been stunned. Regenning close to 50 hps per tick with regrowth + fungi + innate is always nice before Torpor.

[ShivanAngel]

FRONTAL STUN IMMUNITY DOES NOT KEEP YOU FROM GETTING INTERRUPTED WHEN BASHED...

So many people seem to think it does.

Troll for
Regen
http://wiki.project1999.com/Regent_Symbol_of_Innoruuk

[Potus]

Let us consult the master: (http://www.notacult.com/guide_trollshaman.html)

Race conclusion:
Troll by far. The two most important racial abilities for the PvP shaman are (in order): Slam, Natural Regen. You might point and say, "but but but, BLART! Trolls have shitty wisdom! And and their resists, well um, they suck cack!!" But you'd be wrong. Read the stats again, and whisper to yourself, "trolls are the best, they really are the best, better than rest". If that doesn't work, go write your own damn guide to misinform the world about the superiority of your effeminate barbarian.

[Mayhem2]

If you want to be a wrecking ball, pick an Ogre. If you want to pussy foot around, pick any of the other races.

[coki]

Barb has JBB + Barb spirit hammer for procs inbetween, along with dots can take stuff down very fast with hardly using any mana

[justin2090]

I'd rather have stun immunity because no stat or piece of gear can give you this. It's completely unique. There are plently of ways to regen hp and only 1 way to be stun immune. Roll an Ogre.

[thieros]

http://wiki.project1999.com/images/Normal_Regen.png
http://wiki.project1999.com/images/Troll_Iksar_Regen.png

Regrowth -15 hp a tick
Fungi Tunic - 15 hp a tick

So at 60 for a ikky/troll shaman sitting is 48 hp a tick(42 a tick standing)... without torpor!

With torpor/regen/fungi; for ikky/troll that is 342 a tick standing versus barb/ogre 334 a tick standing. so for ikky/troll thats an extra 32-40 hp per torpor cast

Torpor Standing:
ikky/troll hp to mana: 8.55 hp per mana spent (1710 HP)
barb/ogre hp to mana: 8.35 hp per mana spent (1670 HP)

Torpor Sitting:
ikky/troll hp to mana: 8.7 hp per mana spent (1740 HP)
barb/ogre hp to mana: 8.425 hp per mana spent (1685 HP)

so for every 42 torpors, you get 1 extra torpors worth of hp as an ikky/troll versus ogre/barb.

started this post to defend ikky shammies (and troll) in how valuable regen is even at 60. ended post with f it, all shammies are awesome

side note. i also am a 60 cleric and love celestial elixir (clerics torpor 1200 hp over 4 ticks @ 300 mana cost with no slow/snare effect). Just realized torpor is more mana efficient than CE. Thats pretty cool.

[Vlak]

Played an Iksar Shaman to 65 on Al'Kabor. Gotta say I really liked the regen. Never cared about the JBB, but had my epic. I was pretty casual as a player too and it fit my style. Looked awesome as well. IDK, it sounds like they're all pretty even with gear and spells, just easier to get through the early levels with no gear as an Iksar (maybe troll?) IMO.

[lecompte]

For power gamers, I think ogre, thanks to the no frontal stun, is pretty much the undisputed champ. The greatest risk in killing something that takes a while: having slow break when you are at 60% life and can't get off a cast of EITHER torpor or slow due to stuns.

I have never had a JBB and have only ever wanted one when there were two shamans in the group.


And Anakarias: 'ware lest ye fly to close to the sun.
Ikkorous Project | IKSAR SHAMAN!

[Daldaen]

Getting stunned from the front really isn't that common. You get interrupted from push far more often than stun.

Turgur's is a 6~ min timer. Just don't let it end, it's not that tough to start refreshing slow 4-4.5min in to make sure it never ends.

Really, there is nothing an ogre shaman can do that an iksar can't as far as solo kills go.

[thieros]

And Anakarias: 'ware lest ye fly to close to the sun.
Ikkorous Project | IKSAR SHAMAN!

judging by my corpses being everywhere... i fly too close way too often

[lecompte]

Getting stunned from the front really isn't that common. You get interrupted from push far more often than stun.

Turgur's is a 6~ min timer. Just don't let it end, it's not that tough to start refreshing slow 4-4.5min in to make sure it never ends.

Really, there is nothing an ogre shaman can do that an iksar can't as far as solo kills go.

Don't get me wrong, all the shaman's are fine and viable but when you have two summoning FGs hitting you in the face and you're killing them at the same time, frontal stun is huge and it is a problem often.

[justin2090]

Frontal stun puts all the min/max'rs brain muscles in overload. It's not a stat and you can't parse it. It's just awesome.

[coki]

Frontal stun puts all the min/max'rs brain muscles in overload. It's not a stat and you can't parse it. It's just awesome.

Bingo... But seriously JBB+BarbSpiritHammer+epic+pet = insane free dps... Theres a reason people played Barb Shamans in Classic---Velious

[skorge]

Frontal stun puts all the min/max'rs brain muscles in overload. It's not a stat and you can't parse it. It's just awesome.

not sure if anyone actually read my posts, ive played troll, ogre and barb to 60. Hell, my ogre I leveled 1-60 on the RED server which is even better sample to draw from. The frontal stun immunity is basically a waste on a shaman...you will never NEED it, ever (well that is, if you are smart).

the shaman best of the best winner wasn't an ogre, it was a troll....

regen is KING, troll/iksar regen is active ALWAYS, frontal stun immunity will kick in in less than .01% of your shaman's play time...which is better, an effect that is ALWAYS active or one that is hardly ever put to use?

regen helps you level faster, regen helps you can for more magic to give buffs, it's just way more of a better trait to have than frontal stun immunity....for a shaman

keep in mind, i leveled and played an ogre shaman 1-60 on Red, owned several troll shamas 50+ and a 60 barb shaman on blue

that said i rank shamans as troll, ogre, barb, iksar (the JBB is such a powerful tool that I wouldnt play a shaman without it...it's just super convenient when farming and stuff)

[Smalls]

Nobody likes Barbarians for Shaman?

[skorge]

Nobody likes Barbarians for Shaman?

all shamans are great, barbs main advantage is they are not an evil race...that's about it, that's why i rank them under ogre and trolls, but any shaman race will be great

[TheFishyOne]

Roll a Barb. Barbs make everything Better.

[Yumyums Inmahtumtums]

My Barb is 59 and if I was able to trade for another race I would.

Regen so powerful, getting beat on by 4 things so dangerous.

Barbarians do look the best though, so I have that going for me, which is nice.

[theaetatus]

FRONTAL STUN IMMUNITY DOES NOT KEEP YOU FROM GETTING INTERRUPTED WHEN BASHED...

So many people seem to think it does.


It does unless you're being hit in the back by it, but that's why it's called FRONTAL stun immunity.

Ogre by a long way.

I was a Troll Shaman on live for years and rolled Ogre on my shaman this time in a heartbeat. When you're breaking a camp or accidentally get a few adds or get trained, it is invaluable. A tiny amount of extra regen (especially when factoring in Torpor) means nothing in comparison.

The only valid reason for not choosing Ogre is not liking the models.

[skorge]

It does unless you're being hit in the back by it, but that's why it's called FRONTAL stun immunity.

Ogre by a long way.

I was a Troll Shaman on live for years and rolled Ogre on my shaman this time in a heartbeat. When you're breaking a camp or accidentally get a few adds or get trained, it is invaluable. A tiny amount of extra regen (especially when factoring in Torpor) means nothing in comparison.

The only valid reason for not choosing Ogre is not liking the models.

I guess it depends on the player. As a 60 ogre shaman I've only had frontal stun immunity put to use a very small handful of times.

I personally value regen higher, because the regen is ALWAYS in effect. During the course of your ogre's playtime, the frontal stun immunity is being put to use about 0.01% of your playtime.

Even while playing on the Red server did I rarely see my frontal stun immunity put to use (one time I got a gate off vs 3 players because of it, wow lol).

Remember, a troll won the Best of the Best here. Don't under estimate regen.

That is my point of view.

[Duckwalk]

Frontal stun immunity affects stuns, not push back, not interrupts. Stuns only, and then only from the front.

People seem to have the impression that ogres do not get interrupted BY ANYTHING from the front.

[Kazi]

It's true an ogre can get interrupted despite immunity to stuns, but you can channel through pushback pretty easily. Shaman can cast regen, too, so it's a nice perk that can't be replaced. Also, trolls are hideous.