Shaman or Enchanter?

[NirrtiXXX]

I am stuck between classes, I want something that I can do on a low budget as both are said to be. I am not sure which would be best for me as a new player to 1999.

I want something that can solo groups of mobs effectively and not rely on DOTs. I do not think either of these do this.

I also know that enchanters charm then do their thing.

How do the shaman solo, do they kite?

I guess which is better, considering charm is not the most reliable spell.

[Sulfurian]

Correct me if im wrong , but shaman use dot's alot to solo.

[NirrtiXXX]

oh well shows what I know... I meant in comparison to some classes. I have not played ina long time. I guess I was thinking about how a necro dots then relys ona pet while a shaman can either kite or melee until the other is dead. Shaman do have DD too though.

[Vlak]

Correct me if im wrong , but shaman use dot's alot to solo.

You are correct sir! Root rotting with DoT's or unsnared kiting... with DoT's.

[NirrtiXXX]

well met me ask this are either of both classes good at taking small camps of blues or commonly taking on oranges/reds solo?

I am mostly looking for a class that fits the bill best that is a low budget class :P.

[Swish]

Dotted mobs don't take a full damage tick (think they lose 33% of each tick) if they aren't either rooted or feared.

"Root rotting" is the way to go on a shaman and can be done on a low budget.

Most enchanters aspire to 200 charisma to charm effectively, I'd say if you can get 150-160 to begin with you're in a good place to solo with charming but will require some plat investment for charisma gear (some of it's cheap however). It's important to break the charm when both mobs get low on HP, and nuke them to death. If you need someone to explain the mechanics of that I'm sure someone can better than me :D

[NirrtiXXX]

so, if i went enchanter should I invest mot of my points into charisma?

[distung]

1. "Better" cannot really defined. Better at what? Killing groups of mobs? In what manner?
2. If you want to solo ("groups of mobs effectively") as a Shaman, you're gonna have to learn to love dots. If you want enchanter, you may want to embrace charming.
3. Sounds like your play style might be more in line with druids/wizards (quads, charm and dot optional).

[Swish]

so, if i went enchanter should I invest mot of my points into charisma?

Depends on your race choice I'd say.

The subject of where to distribute bonus points is heavily debated among Project 1999 enchanters. The two recommended distributions are either 25 Intelligence, 5 Charisma or 5 Intelligence, 25 Charisma. Those who intend to charm frequently as a solo tactic are advised to distribute their points into Charisma. Enchanters who do not intend to charm will probably see a greater benefit from an increased mana pool.

(from the wiki)

If you're going to solo, I'd go 25 cha / 5 int... unless you're playing a high elf.

Tecmos is the person to ask on this, he's got it nailed.

[rollin5k]

Shamans solo really great if you have epic and jbb otherwise boring as heck do to insane downtime.
Enchanter solo is more excitingfrom what i gather

[NirrtiXXX]

1. "Better" cannot really defined. Better at what? Killing groups of mobs? In what manner?
2. If you want to solo ("groups of mobs effectively") as a Shaman, you're gonna have to learn to love dots. If you want enchanter, you may want to embrace charming.
3. Sounds like your play style might be more in line with druids/wizards (quads, charm and dot optional).

I am not against charming... i am jsut used to in the past it breaking too much... maybe i just needed more cha...

I guess I will go Enchanter.... At least groups will not be hard to find.

[NirrtiXXX]

thanks for the tips by the way....

[rollin5k]

Ok here's my advice. Necro, low downtime can duo solo trio outside and good in groups. And need no money to start.

[distung]

Yep, more charisma helps. How much it helps past 200 seems to still be up for debate, but most agree that you should aim for at least that much. Enchanter gear is pretty cheap, also. That does fill that criteria for you, at least.

Edit: Also agree with the necro statement. FD envy is a very real thing.

[Confit]

That all depends on what you like, both can solo very well and handle groups of mobs at once. An Enchanter is undoubtedly more squishy than a Shaman and that's the main thing I envy between my Enchanter and Shaman. There's a lot less "Oh crap!" moments especially in confined spaces.

From my personal experience, Enchanter solo is a bit more complex but more fun while Shaman solo is a bit more simple but less fun. My Shaman will fly through a dungeon/confined space whereas on my Enchanter I prefer a more open space.

As far as grouping goes, there are a crap load of Enchanters and Shamans on this server and that can be frustrating when you don't have buddies to exp with on a regular basis. On the flip side, both of these classes bring a lot to a group so they are often sought after.

The only advice I can give you, other than my personal experience with the two classes, is to play what you like. You can get a shadow of an idea of what it will be like to play these classes on the forums but you won't truly know until you make a character and invest some time. Also, both classes can work well on a low budget and both classes can make some serious cash farming items.

[webrunner5]

High end a decent Shaman cost a TON of plat to equip. Like 400k. A Enchanter can be twinked for 20k. Something to think about.

[NirrtiXXX]

Anyone know how hard it would be to do the Stein of Moggok quest on a say agnostic high elf enchanter?

I pretty much decided on enchanter :P but deciding race.

[Swish]

Anyone know how hard it would be to do the Stein of Moggok quest on a say agnostic high elf enchanter?

I pretty much decided on enchanter :P but deciding race.

Agnostic any race will be easy, you just need a troll/ogre illusion for one part of it...and maybe more than 1 part of it if you're a dark elf. Look it up on the wiki. It can be time consuming but it is fun :)

[thieros]

I have a 55 chanter & 52 shaman. in my experience:

Enchanter - A blast to solo, but much more dangerous. Downtime dimished due to clarity line. no healing aside from troll regen and runes to dodge taking damage. A class that is really fun to play solo that does not rely on dots. Charm kiting also nets excellent experience in a solo format. Duos well with many classes, specifically shaman | cleric. A cheaper solo class, but does experience costs in the realm of reagents. Twinking to +200 cha is a simple task along with some cheap hp items. High end spells are cheap in comparison.

Shaman - A blast to solo, can handle getting womped on my multiple mobs for a second or two while breakin off some roots. Downtime diminished thanks to regen & canni dancing. An equally fun class without the danger and add in 0 component expenses. Relies on dots exclusively (+pet and possibly slow tanking). Can be highly twinked ftw, but costs are high with this class, especially in the last few levels considering bane, pox & torpor.

just my opinion. two quite fun classes, but i prefer to run them both in duos, because im lazy. My favorite char is shadowknight though, jus sayin. thats a good time

[baalzy]

As far as grouping goes, there are a crap load of Enchanters and Shamans on this server and that can be frustrating when you don't have buddies to exp with on a regular basis. On the flip side, both of these classes bring a lot to a group so they are often sought after.



Just going to address this statement. Multiple Enchanters stack within a group just fine so long as one,or preferably, both maintain a charmed pet. The DPS added by the pets is off the charts & with two enchanters they can help watch each others backs.

Shaman don't stack together as well in a group, unless you're putting together 2 of them as a Cleric replacement 45+. Since you don't need 2 shaman to maintain buffs/slows a group would be better served going Shaman+Druid if they need a cleric replacement so they can have DS+Snares with HP buffs & utility stuns.

Shaman have 'safer' soloing since they don't have to maintain a charmed pet & can go afk if doing camps and can heal/regen themselves.

Keep this in mind while you make a decision.

[distung]

Shaman have 'safer' soloing since they don't have to maintain a charmed pet & can go afk if doing camps and can heal/regen themselves.

Keep this in mind while you make a decision.

This is extremely true. As a enchanter, you can never AFK safely unless you want to find a new pet or die...it's a pain in the ass. It's a bigger deal than you think.

[Tecmos Deception]

This is extremely true. As a enchanter, you can never AFK safely unless you want to find a new pet or die...it's a pain in the ass. It's a bigger deal than you think.

Very untrue. 3 minute roots, blurring a mob back to it's spawn point, knowing your way in a dungeon, these things make afking totally realistic and as safe as it is for anyone without fd. Hell, when I'm farming on tecmos, I usually camp out between killing PHs. Tough to get much safer or easier than than.

[Numbers_]

I'm trying to figure this out myself. I have a 23 enchanter and a 30 shaman.

I like the idea of the shaman better. I love to heal/buff people and sow is nice. The shaman group roll seems less stressful than the enchanter (keeping track of mezzed targets, pet breaking charm, etc is harder to me than healing, buffing, doting). I also like being an Iksar. However, soloing right now is painful. I'm really hoping things pick up once I hit level 34 (dog and new dots) otherwise I'm done. I've been told before that 29-34 is the worst stretch tho...please tell me it gets better at 34.

Charm killing on my enchanter is fun and I seem more needed. I get random tells very often on the enchanter for groups. It's a hard decision which is why I keep going back and forth between the two.

[rollin5k]

while the pet does help a bunch its not really game changing, you still have to root or you'll get aggro and slow or pet will die. so the cost of slow is almost as much as another poison dot. usually dog will do more damage than one dot but its still close.

[captnamazing]

yeah what he said!

[Numbers_]

Does the killing speed increase a lot? Cause right now my poison dot only does 22 a tick and my disease does 8 a tick. I'll toss in a 150 damage DD spell and melee the mob occasionally with a poison wind censer, but that's still incredibly low dps at 30. I kill stuff way slower than my enchanter and have more downtime. It's nice being able to heal myself tho.

[rollin5k]

yes the speed does increase because the dots actually start to get good dmg for level as you get higher. never gonna kill faster than a charm pet though. shaman dps not strong suit though really. get a barb spiritist hammer if you're a barb, that would help :)

[Numbers_]

Ok, thanks for the advice. I'm actually really enjoying the enchanter right now, so I think I may still with him for the time being (just wish I had some jboots, but they cost so much now). I think i'll get more used to the group role as time goes on.

[rollin5k]

Yea, I don't mean to deter you from shaman, just letting you know how it is. Shaman still my favorite, just so bad ass

[Tecmos Deception]

Imo shamans get more stressful than changers at highest levels! Chanter has to maintain some long-duration buffs and cc and manage a pet sure, but sham has to manage more buffs, debuff, help heal, and canni a ton. At least once pull is CCed chanter is usually able to sit and med for a while unless having terrible luck with charm. Every 60 sham I see is CONSTANTLY busy.

[webrunner5]

Imo shamans get more stressful than chanters. Every 60 sham I see is CONSTANTLY busy.

What he said. I stopped playing my Shaman. You haven't got time to take a piss on one. And Shamans cost a friggin fortune to equip. Like 400 to 500k.

[thieros]

are yall not 100% busy as a chanter?! im prolly doing it wrong

[webrunner5]

are yall not 100% busy as a chanter?! im prolly doing it wrong

Yep you are doing something wrong. I am not saying they are easy but a LOT easier than a Shaman.

[Danth]

Shaman is a busy class, and fairly complicated to play well, but I'm not sure I'd call it stressful. Activities like canni--torpor--canni become more or less muscle memory after you've done it for awhile. It's not the same thing as the local Enchanter having some charmed/hasted pet that can break and bite his face off at any given moment.

Shaman is a wretchedly expensive class, however, if you want to deck it out in top-grade equipment and get all the spells without having to get them as drops. That should factor in to anyone electing to play one as a main.

Danth

[Pyrion]

For ease of soloing i would consider also mage, necro or druid. If solo is really your focus all of them are at least easier than shaman or enchanter. Of course, enchanter can be a power house if you know how to play it really well, but necro mage or druid are much more forgiving (especially necro where you can just FD)

So for a starter mostly solo player i would advice necro. Very versatile class btw, almost as versatile as chanter.

[Clark]

Shaman and Enchanter both great choices.

[blondeattk]

shm/chanter/necro are THE 3 best solo classes.

Necro have the best damage output without any stress, but are IMO the least fun of the 3 to play.

Fell in luv with shm class in 2000 and so am totally biased) shm/cleric only caster classes where you can do melee damage.....can tap tank on necro but its normally temp option.