How to Solo as shaman

[Hrothgaar]

Hi all,

as a starting player in this game - and one that loves grouping - there are times where no groups can be found and I need to solo.
I am a level 19 troll shaman right now and sit in oasis but I seem to do something wrong when I solo as even if I engage blues my mana and health bar is pretty much depleted after just one fight so I guess I do something wrong.

How do you solo with a shaman? Any tips would be appreciated! :-)

[Itap]

Shaman soloing doesnt really become efficient till ~34. Up until then, life is rough. Ive leveled a shaman on red and basically just slow/dot and melee until the mob is dead. I know groups are hard to come by at certain times, but try and duo. A shaman can pretty much pair with anyone

[blondeattk]

find monk or necro or ....scraping the barrel here...an enc.....and form a duo.

[knix]

shaman are great, but i am so disappointed in this thread, I read it as "how to Han Solo a shaman "

[Jimjam]

shaman are great, but i am so disappointed in this thread, I read it as "how to Han Solo a shaman "

Always root first!

[Slave35]

Han rooted first

[Millburn]

find monk or necro or ....scraping the barrel here...an enc.....and form a duo.

Once you reach 34+ go ahead and reverse this list in terms of duo partners viability. Enchanter duo at higher levels is one of the strongest duos in the game and is hands down the best option for a shaman. Malo + Tash is invaluable when it comes to charm pets and where shamans and enchanters overlap they actually complement each other because it allows them both to play to their strengths instead of fighting each other for who is better like other classes who overlap.

[Amyas]

Root dot root dot root dot

[SamwiseRed]

use your spells.

[nyclin]

Hi all,

as a starting player in this game - and one that loves grouping - there are times where no groups can be found and I need to solo.
I am a level 19 troll shaman right now and sit in oasis but I seem to do something wrong when I solo as even if I engage blues my mana and health bar is pretty much depleted after just one fight so I guess I do something wrong.

How do you solo with a shaman? Any tips would be appreciated! :-)

At your level just pick up a decent melee weapon and melee stuff. Pull with slow, use a long duration DOT (Sicken line), and melee until dead.

After 20 you'll probably want to use a 2hander, but there aren't many cheap options available. This isn't too bad: http://wiki.project1999.com/Runewood_Great_Staff
Granite Face Grinder and Blight hammer are really what you want, though.

For 1handers you have a lot more options:
http://wiki.project1999.com/Brell%27s_Keg_Popper
http://wiki.project1999.com/Smoldering_Brand
http://wiki.project1999.com/Iksar_Berserker_Club
http://wiki.project1999.com/Springwood_Club
http://wiki.project1999.com/Wraith_Bone_Hammer
http://wiki.project1999.com/Jade_Chokidai_Prod
http://wiki.project1999.com/Beetle_Stinger
http://wiki.project1999.com/Goblin_Parrying_Spear
http://wiki.project1999.com/Spear_of_Mortification

If you find yourself taking too much damage, you can switch to root rotting. Stack your dots, then root the mob and move away from it. You can root first if you need to but the damage from your dots will probably break it.

[Deliverator]

Shaman Solo Strat:
Root, Dot, repeat.

[Baler]

Here is what I do..
Regen + Sow always buffed on me, It's the shaman's bread and butter spells.
Buff myself with everything I have to start. (optional)
If I need to pull a mob to a different location, I open with a Malaise line spell(debuff).
When the mob is at the spot you want it Root it.
Dot the target with disease 1st then poison 2nd. Disease lasts longer.

Continue to root dot the target until it's dead.
If your decided to buff yourself and they are all gone rebuff (optional)
If your health is up and your mana is down Use Cannibalize(lvl 24 spell) until you're happy with the hp to mana ratio.(this can be done at any point you feel needed)

The key thing I found is that you want to sit between spell casts. Also be sure to cast cannibalize before or right after a mana regen server tick. (every ~6 seconds). This way you're not standing during a server tick and get the mana tick.

Here is what my cannibalize in game macro looks like.
You may need to adjust the pause for your latency.
6 is where cannibalize is on my spell bar.
/stand
/pause14, /cast6
/sit

[Sadre Spinegnawer]

Han rooted first

win

[webrunner5]

Root dot root dot root dot

Person hit the nail right on the head. Slow as heck, but really only way to do it till at least level 24 sad to say. Low level Shamans suck pretty much. :o GROUP for God's sake. :D

[godbox]

bunch of good info here. I think the best though if you are not a twink with a haste, regen, and good damage ratio wep to start then duo with a monk. You will give even a naked new monk all the things they are missing to be a twink. they kill you slow and med. root rot is not efficient on shamans at 19. Prioritize a spear and shield or a granite face grinder and go to town. At 20 your ability to do face to face fighting will skyrocket. where you just debuff attack speed on the opponent and auto attack.

[Hrothgaar]

Hi all, thx for these good hints!

Why did you wrote that:
"At 20 your ability to do face to face fighting will skyrocket. where you just debuff attack speed on the opponent and auto attack."

Whats happening at this level?
I dont see any reason for such a dramatic change in my performance, I dont even get new spells or skills, where does this skyrocket come from?
I am puzzled... :-(

[Swish]

Isn't that the level where poison wind censer damage becomes uncapped?

[Hrothgaar]

Whats that?
You speak in riddles oO

[Jimjam]

Hi all, thx for these good hints!

Why did you wrote that:
"At 20 your ability to do face to face fighting will skyrocket. where you just debuff attack speed on the opponent and auto attack."

Whats happening at this level?
I dont see any reason for such a dramatic change in my performance, I dont even get new spells or skills, where does this skyrocket come from?
I am puzzled... :-(

I think the avoidance table takes a big jump at like 19 or 20 too?

[godbox]

20 is the second damage cap removal. I forget what the Cap is but I think its like 20 or 30 dmg until lvl 20. So suddenly your gonna hit way harder and a good damage ratio wep will easily get you to 24. 20-24 will be a little shadowknighty you attack and DoT and nuke and face tank and rest. At 24 you get regen and Canni I and your life will become much easier.

[vageta31]

As someone who played an Ogre Shaman as my first character on this server about a month after it opened(ie; totally untwinked), here is what I suggest. For the most efficient use of your mana/health, use a hybrid of root rotting and meleeing. If you go strictly root rot your mana at this level will be mostly drained after a single fight. Conversely, if you try to melee the entire fight you may save some mana but your health will suffer(depends on twink level). Either way it's inefficient as you will have too much downtime. The answer is to combine them. Basically you root rot to soften them up a bit first while you med, then you engage them in melee for the 2nd half of the fight.

One way is by root rotting them completely until they get about 50% health, then engage(this way you only have to do 30% damage while in melee since they run at 20%). I always tried to find the most efficient way at any given time, so in my case I'd usually open with a slow then let them engage me. While engaged in melee(big 2h weapon) I'd stack my dots on them and after they're all doing their work I'd root then back off and med. Since you've already started your dots the root has a better chance of lasting full duration while you get some med/regen time. If all goes well they should be at least half dead before root wears off and then you simply finish them off without anymore mana.

With this method you can probably get more kills in the same amount of time as the other methods while still keeping up your offensive and defensive spells. Root rotting at lower levels is not good for a shaman since at higher levels you will be taking some hits at some point in your career and suffer due to insufficient defensive skills. My Ogre Shammy melee'd all the way to 50 without issues. Using the above method I had no problems with specters or most other higher level mobs. With the gear that exists from kunark available this should be even easier than ever.

You will also find as you reach a new level you can adjust your tactics. You may find you can get away with only a single dot to keep more mana, maybe you can use a weaker slow, etc..

[webrunner5]

Pick another class, they are WAY too expensive to play high level. :eek: Not counting you are too busy to even go get a Beer. :( Try a class with FD. You can get a Beer and Pee with no troubles. :p

[Hrothgaar]

Pick another class, they are WAY too expensive to play high level.

Why is that?
Guys dont forget I am a total newbie to this game as I wrote above, just dont throw in some things which are pretty empty for one who knows nothing about the game :-))

[BlkCamel]

Why is that?
Guys dont forget I am a total newbie to this game as I wrote above, just dont throw in some things which are pretty empty for one who knows nothing about the game :-))

He says this because Shamans can use some pretty awesome and very powerful items/spells. Of course very awesome and powerful items/spells cost alot of platinum. Here is a list and approximate cost of each item that many consider essential for a high end shaman.

Jbb - 20+k
Fungi 70+k
Epic (Free) or MQ 35+k
Torpor 90+k
Malo 8k+
Pox 12k+
Bane of nife 15k+
Avatar 5k+
Pet 5k+
Puppet Strings 200+k

All of the above are assumed(minus puppet strings) when people talk about 60+ shaman doing things. That is aprox 260k (again minus puppet strings) assuming you pay for everything and get decent prices as my prices were low end if you ask me.
Not including regular gear and resist gear.

My 60 Shaman I would estimate has nearly 500k in items/spells/skills I would estimate.

[godbox]

Not trying to provoke an argument but leme just jump in here on the "cost" issue.
The high level sham spells drop from 50+ mobs you can absolutely get them as drops. However of the high level sham spells listed torpor is the only one that represents some huge change in play. High level Dots cost too much mana and I find rarely make it into rotation and the lower level debuffs hold up fine at 50+ to the point where you will mem them frequently depending on the situation.
Torpor is a huge boon to a lvl 60 sham ability to solo AT 60. guess what lvl torpor does nothing for... 1-59 and guess how long leveling in classic EQ takes... a while.
Fungi at 60 is a fashion statement and before that its an amazingly helpful tool that is 100% optional.
puppet strings as assumed gear... not gonna even touch that like saying manastone is assumed gear on all int casters except less useful.
Epic on shaman is awesome because unlike so many other classes you can realistically complete it without even being guilded. just make friends and ask people for tear.
JBB is the item you save up your pennies for from 1-45. You shouldn't have any problem buying one with some saving and reselling the lowbie gear people will undoubtedly drop on you.
So in a nutshell Shamans do need some gear but there is a poor mans version of almost every item they need while leveling which is easy to come by and won't put you far behind a huge twink except for fungi. So prioritize cheap +hp items and get any cheap piercing wep/ shield and or a 2h blunt. Pick troll or Ikksar to add some nice regen then just save for jbb.

[Kengo]

Godbox makes some good points.

To lessen the cost even more, a JBB (Jaundiced Bone Bracer) is not required by any means and is only useful for a certain set of levels. Some people make Iksar Shammies for the added AC and the regen (same as troll) and they can't even use the JBB. But from 45 - 54 roughly, it can be very helpful since doing damage without spending mana is awesome.

So out of BlkCamel's list, the only thing needed pre-60 would be your pet spell at 55, which sells for around 4.5k, and your epic. But like everyone said, if you do make it to 60 and want to be as OP as everyone says, you'll need Torpor which will take some time to farm up the plat or get lucky that it drops and you're with guildies.

To stay on topic, however, none of this is relevant to a lvl 19 Shaman who is new to the game. Your primary concern should be getting a better weapon. Pretty much the only caster that face tanks a lot until root rotting becomes manageable.

[curtischoy]

/stand
/pause14, /cast6
/sit

Why did you put pause before the cast?
I have never put more than one command on a line in a hotbutton. Does it execute /cast 6 before /pause 14?

so I could do a hotbutton
/say Q, /say E

and it would say "E", then on the next line "Q"?

[webrunner5]

Why did you put pause before the cast?
I have never put more than one command on a line in a hotbutton. Does it execute /cast 6 before /pause 14?

so I could do a hotbutton
/say Q, /say E

and it would say "E", then on the next line "Q"?

Because if you Don't put the pause in you will jump up too fast and not get the Tic to take advantage of sitting on your butt. :D

And yes you can have more than one command on a line. :p