Race based on a Weapon

[Arashai]

Just lookin for opinions once again. Do you think its a reasonable reason to make a Barbarian shaman based solely on obtaining a Barbarian Spiritist's Hammer? Or even other gear options for that matter. Or go with the Troll or the Regen?. Also even tho regen is fantastic at lower levels in combination with Canni, is it that important/noticeable at high levels?

[Malrubius]

The other thing to keep in mind with a Troll is the xp penalty.

That being said, here are the regen rates for my level 21 Troll SK so far...

Level 1-19 -> 6 sitting
Level 20-? -> 9 sitting

I think a non-Troll/non-Iksar is 2 sitting until 20, and then 3 after 20. So the bump is significant.

[Tork]

I would say no, since there will always be something else out there which is better - admittedly, we know future itemization since P1999's path is laid out.

I guess it comes down to your goal - if your goal is wield the hammer, go for it. If your goal is badass weapons on your shaman, maybe no. If your goal is something different and the hammer is just the means to that end... explore your goal more.

For me, I pick first based on what I enjoy doing in a raid, then from all those combinations strongly associated with those activities, I pick race/class based on visual appearance.

Goal...

[bionicbadger]

JBB>hammer

[HeallunRumblebelly]

JBB>hammer

This. Iksar is the only bad choice D= (sadly :( )

edit: with torpor come kunark, you'd he hard pressed to notice another 4 hp regen standing.

[Arashai]

Aye, Indeed, although i enjoy the looks of Iksar shaman, no JBB is no thx. Im just a big fan of being in melee as a shaman, why i was wondering if that item choice really mattered so much.

[Malrubius]

Shaman newb here...

JBB?

[guineapig]

Jaundiced Bone Bracer

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=893

[Enderenter]

Just lookin for opinions once again. Do you think its a reasonable reason to make a Barbarian shaman based solely on obtaining a Barbarian Spiritist's Hammer? Or even other gear options for that matter. Or go with the Troll or the Regen?. Also even tho regen is fantastic at lower levels in combination with Canni, is it that important/noticeable at high levels?

Think about regen this way, it all adds up. As a shaman in classic, you'll be regening/chloroing yourself anyways, but the extra racial regen does help. Most people probably don't have access to a Rubi BP at least at first, (or Barbarian Spiritist's Hammer for that matter - 65k or so) and Fungi is out of the picture for who knows how long. I don't know the specifics on troll regen, but I think at 50 it's close to the bump that Rubi BP gives you (and of course stacks). Correct me if I am wrong, I haven't done any tests or anything.

Ultimately, pick whichever of the races you like most. I picked Troll, for the regen and the innoruuk necklace (http://common.allakhazam.com/images/4/3/431e7ffbe71a8a062e5641e14649ef13.png) sure, but mostly because I just like Trolls. If I had liked Barbarians more I would have picked a Barb, same with Ogre.

Also keep in mind the racial XP penalties - Troll 20% Ogre 15% Barbarian 5% (though at lower levels the regen definitely mitigates the XP penalty by giving you less downtime between fights)

[Bubbles]

Basically you'll hit 50 (and eventually 60) really quick no matter your choice, so you might as well pick that which you like best.

[hrafn]

eh rubi bp is way overrated for shamans. i ended up selling mine after 2 weeks as i didnt really help that much and at 49 i got the spell rage. it adds 20 hp regen, add that to my troll regen and chloro. makes the rubi kinda pointless. planar shm bp adds sta so its way better. more life=more mana.

[Enderenter]

True, Rage + Chloro makes Rubi BP overpriced in terms of practical usage, but Rubi BP's value has always been as a rare/twink/nostalgic item. Though in Classic, probably only the planar BP outstrips Rubi BP for a Shaman.

[purist]

If you're gonna pick a Shaman race based on wearable items, it's not just that hammer to think about if you're thinking about rolling a non-fatty. For example, fatties can't equip Jarsath armor, which is > rune etched in a lot of slots and when Kunark comes out you could bring a level 1 Iksar Shaman to KC and loot the rotting corpses for at zoneline for free.

I picked Ogre for my Shaman 'cause they look tight.

[Enderenter]

If you're gonna pick a Shaman race based on wearable items, it's not just that hammer to think about if you're thinking about rolling a non-fatty. For example, fatties can't equip Jarsath armor, which is > rune etched in a lot of slots and when Kunark comes out you could bring a level 1 Iksar Shaman to KC and loot the rotting corpses for at zoneline for free.


Actually, looking at the Jarsath stuff now, and none of the pieces I looked at are better than Rune etched. The BP, legs and Vambraces were far worse, the helm is about on par with Totemic (pretty suck by Kunark), gloves and boots are about equal to Rune etched though I'd rather have Rune etched in both cases, and the wrist guards are slightly worse than Rune etched.

Besides, if he wants to roll a Shaman now, Iksar is not an option. (and won't be for who knows how long)

[purist]

I only said Iksar because it's not a bad run to KC from Cabilis. Barbs can wear Jarsath too obviously. And yeah, rune etched ranges from slightly to moderately better than Jarsath in most cases but Jarsath is competent to rune etched in most slots and even better than it in some slots. More importantly it's far more obtainable. Like I said, you could get it at level 5 or so walking into KC.

If you really want to base your Shaman race on items I definitely say go for non-fatty races. Especially Iksar, which although not currently an option, their hate gear has more ac, double the wis and +11 more to each resist than any other shaman race iirc, and imbued granite spaulders and the tons of Velious handheld WIS items for medium races only.

[Enderenter]

If you really want to base your Shaman race on items I definitely say go for non-fatty races. Especially Iksar, which although not currently an option, their hate gear has more ac, double the wis and +11 more to each resist than any other shaman race iirc, and imbued granite spaulders and the tons of Velious handheld WIS items for medium races only.

Yeah, Iksar planar gear is definitely superior.

Ultimately, as I stated before, pick a race/class combination that you will most enjoy. The other priorities (gear, faction prohibitions) should fall into place behind that.

[Arashai]

Thanks for the comments so far. Yah pretty much what i figured. Ive always been a huge judge on looks of races, for example i love luclin model trolls, but are kinda indifferent on classic models, i dont care for barb models at all. Only reason i considered barb is that beastly hammer, thus the big question, was it worth to pick a race based on that one weapon pretty much

[purist]

Ultimately, as I stated before, pick a race/class combination that you will most enjoy. The other priorities (gear, faction prohibitions) should fall into place behind that.

Word, I picked a Troll as my first shaman for regen rate alone. Eventually hated the way I looked and ended up rerolling as Ogre in mid-late 20s. Was a pain to do it all over, pick what you think looks the coolest and will enjoy most imo.

[Comapavik]

There's an OGR/TRL hammer similar to the Barb one, off Vox I think. Blight, Hammer of the Scourge. So I'd say def not worth it for that weapon alone.

[Arashai]

Yah well Blight is an ok weapon, thats like 500 over 2 mins, but Barbs Spirit Hammer is instant DD damage, much better imo. Still cant decide lol.. Wish there were more proc weapons in classic that were shaman useable, atleast that didnt suck

[Arashai]

I guess also, could ask someone personally, like Jeremy, how cock-diesel his hammer is with and without. I wonder also what proc weapons kunark will bring for shammies.