57 Shaman Shopping Priorities Question

[loramin]

TLDR: I'm trying to decide what to sell and what to buy for my shaman, and I could use some advice.


I have a 57 Barbarian shaman with about 20k and a JBB (and some minor gear; there's a Magelo link in my signature if you're curious).

I don't have an epic, Fungi, or Ikky BP though (and I've given up hope on Torpor), so I can either ...


Buy an Ikky BP with the plat I have now
Buy just a tear with the plat I have now, and beg the server to help me get my epic
Sell my JBB and buy both a tear and a Shaman epic raid force
Save my pennies (30k more) until I can sell the JBB and afford a Fungi


Oh, and to the obvious question of "why not just join a guild to get the epic?", I play late (like 7pm PST). Only two guilds that I know of raid then (Indignation and Anonomous) and they don't seem to need shaman, so it seems like buying an epic is my only option if I want one.

Thanks in advance for any advice on what I should do.

[Exmo]

App a guild, even if they don't need shamans, it's rare that guilds turn down active players.

[loramin]

Thanks for the suggestion; it certainly doesn't hurt to try.

But even if I manage to find a guild that raids 7pm+ PST and does Fear and will help me get my epic, I'm still not sure what to do with my 20k. Any suggestions?

Should I buy an Ikky BP? Not risk it losing value and save my money for a Fungi? Buy something else cool that I haven't thought of for 20k? Sell the JBB and buy something for 40k?

This probably seems like a silly thing to consider for a lot of people, but that 20k is my EQ "life's savings" and I'd like to get the most bang for my buck with it.

[Danth]

Your post doesn't seem silly at all. While the forum may sometimes give the impression that everyone here is rolling in platinum, that's far from the case. I've been playing on P1999 since the server opened and still can't afford a Fungi.

Why give up on Torpor? If you have 20K and a Jaundiced Bone Bracer, you're in effect halfway there already and not even level 60 yet. If you plan to keep playing your Shaman long-term, and not just shelve it once you hit 60, you want Torpor far more than anything else you list. If you do plan to retire the character at 60, don't spend anything on it because you're almost there.

Don't buy the epic. It's one groupable or less in its entirety, or two minor raids if you want to do it easymode. All but the very weakest guilds can readily get a Tear from Fear, and the final fight can be (and sometimes is) put together here on the forum if need be. It's true that many guilds--most--have quite some Shamans already on roster, and many will figure you for wanting to join just to get the epic (it's common to see Shamans join a guild, get a tear, then leave). However, genuinely dedicated players are welcome most anywhere.

A Fungi is nice, but if you can afford one, you can darn near afford Torpor, which is a whole lot nicer and makes the fungi seem much less important. As a general rule, a newly-60 Shaman can expect to see most of his money go for spells. Not only do you want Torpor, but you'll also want Malo if you plan to do anything meaningful at 60, plus you'll probably want the high-level damage spells as well.

Danth

[Estu]

1) Get your epic. TBH this is something you should do long before level 57. Don't buy an MQ; quest it yourself. You can keep an eye on Plane of Fear to see if any guilds are doing clears, and ask if they'll let you loot a tear if any drop; often times, guilds clear Fear and have tears drop without anyone needing them, and will let random unguilded shamans loot them. Or join a raiding guild. You don't need a lot of people to do a Fear run; you don't need to do it during the guild's peak raiding hours. Once you have a child's tear, the final fight can be done with one or two groups, which you don't need a guild for; you can ask around and round up people for a PUG epic run.

2) Farm money and save up for Torpor. Nothing is more important than this spell. With epic, you'll find that you'll be much more able to farm platinum for this spell. (Also, with epic, you'll find it much faster to EXP solo)

[Orruar]

1) Get your epic. TBH this is something you should do long before level 57. Don't buy an MQ; quest it yourself. You can keep an eye on Plane of Fear to see if any guilds are doing clears, and ask if they'll let you loot a tear if any drop; often times, guilds clear Fear and have tears drop without anyone needing them, and will let random unguilded shamans loot them. Or join a raiding guild. You don't need a lot of people to do a Fear run; you don't need to do it during the guild's peak raiding hours. Once you have a child's tear, the final fight can be done with one or two groups, which you don't need a guild for; you can ask around and round up people for a PUG epic run.

2) Farm money and save up for Torpor. Nothing is more important than this spell. With epic, you'll find that you'll be much more able to farm platinum for this spell. (Also, with epic, you'll find it much faster to EXP solo)

Was gonna post, but this sums it up. Get epic by watching when guilds go to fear and ask if you can loot the tear. Plenty of tears rot despite the vibrant MQ market. Then save your pennies for torpor. You can buy a fungi later.

[BlkCamel]

TLDR:
Buy an Ikky BP with the plat I have now
Buy just a tear with the plat I have now, and beg the server to help me get my epic
Sell my JBB and buy both a tear and a Shaman epic raid force
Save my pennies (30k more) until I can sell the JBB and afford a Fungi


Thanks in advance for any advice on what I should do.

#1 - If you don't buy Epic yes buy Ikky BP

#2 - Get Epic (either buy; Will earn money + Levels w/Epic faster, or get guild; if buy don't sell JBB to do so, unless you get a high offer and know you can replace it quickly.)

#3 - Do not sell JBB except for Torpor or Fungi; even then I wouldn't sell my JBB as I can use it to farm more plat faster for those items then trying to get money to buy it back after selling it (You will be burnt out from the plat grind).

#4 - Don't sell the JBB until you are 60 or about to buy Torpor with the money you will gain from selling it. JBB is soo effective, mana free dd, too many people dismiss it but it is one of the best farming tools. You will forever use it and farm faster.:D

[Orruar]

JBB is nearly worthless once you have 60+torpor, so if you can trade it in while buying torpor, do it.

[loramin]

Awesome, so it sounds like everyone agrees: I should just avoid MQs and try and get the epic myself. Hopefully that will be easier now since I just got accepted in to Anonomous :D

As for shopping, it seems like I should either buy nothing, and just save up for Torpor, or buy an Ikky BP and then sell it when I'm close to buying Torpor. 100k+ plat has always seemed so intimidating that I never thought I'd be able to get Torpor, but based on the feedback here I'm feeling more hopeful.

Thanks for the advice all.

[Danth]

I have a 57 Barbarian shaman with about 20k and a JBB (and some minor gear; there's a Magelo link in my signature if you're curious).

You have a strange set of gear: Some very expensive items coupled with outright rubbish in some slots. Jarsath scale rots from Karnor could improve several of your slots for free and it's not a bad zone for a Shaman your level to solo in for experience anyhow. I'd suggest fighting there a bit whilst keeping an eye on /ooc.

The Shaman epic is really easy. Some folks might argue but I feel it's actually easier than the Rogue epic...and the folks who'd argue still usually consider it the next-easiest. The guild you said you're in now is more than capable of doing the epic.

You seem to have acquired 20K in the bank plus a 25-30K bracer and a ~5K hammer, so as noted above, that's in effect half way to Torpor (you'll probably never use that hammer again with the epic). If you try to gain experience at camps that can drop even moderately valuable items, you can make most if not all of the remainder by 60. The main thing you'll want to decide before buying Torpor is whether you plan to stick with the Shaman as a main; you can't un-scribe a spell once scribed so it's something of a commitment. I know a few Shamans who decided never to purchase Torpor simply because upon hitting 60 they chose to focus on other characters instead for the most part. The Shaman can perform many of its group duties and most of its raid duties without it.

Danth

[DrKvothe]

The epic is fantastic for solo grinding exp. However, you're still just as useful in groups without it. Like everyone suggested, talk to people doing fear whenever you're on and talk to guilds in advance about the possibility of you looting a tear if you're on when they do fear. But while you wait, HS and Seb groups can be good cash and don't penalize you for not having your epic.

Until you get your epic, I'd focus on getting cash over getting exp. The exp will come quickly (relatively, anyways) after you get your epic.