Mages vs. Shaman in Kunark

[Huck]

Okay - I know shaman in Kunark are always wanted for groups - which is what made them fun to play. I know mages solo easy in classic, but how are they in Kunark? I never paid about of attention to them back in the day. Can they solo to 60? I know a Shaman CAN, but it sucks doing that. Just want to know what my options are.

[maegi]

any pet class can solo to any level, it's a matter of choice really. Do you prefer grouping and raid scenarios or soloing. Either is a viable option.

[Harrison]

Shamans get VERY powerful in Kunark solo, and group. One word for Shamans in Kunark, Torpor. (Combined with Fungi, Fungi stick, etc. you will be a fucking monster.)

Mages just barely limp in, turned into a utility class. They can still solo, but the entire tactic list you had is useless. Pet chaining is different, more mana intensive, and pet dynamics changed ENTIRELY 51+.

Any mage worth a shit will still be amazing, but your typical mage now will just suck dong.

Aggro kiting in Kunark is your best bet for open-zone soloing I've practiced. If you're in a dungeon you're almost forced to use the earth pet, buffed. (Or lightly buffed for chaining...)

[Odeseus]

I would argue against earth pet all the time solo, though they do get better in kunark since their roots begin to do damage. Air pet is also a viable option as their stuns do damage as well. Basically comes down to situation. Earth for pure melees is best, but for casters the stuns might prove to be more beneficial. Farm some stun whips from the paw and air pet becomes a stun machine.

In all honesty it is a wash, IMO. Better hp/ac on earth pet, slightly better DPS and stuns on air.

Use water when you can agro kite (not that easy without being able to snare or root but doable if you have the room. SoW pots or Jboots FTW) because it can backstab. It is the best pure DPS pet mages get, if used right. If it isn't backstabbing, it is pretty flimsy and doesn't do any better DPS than air. Also use water in groups and learn how to position it. This will be key for any mage who wants to still do good in kunark.

Fire pets get nerfed to hell. Becomes a wizard with a shitty mana pool. I guess it is good for range only fights but you probably won't ever use it.

Shaman get insanely powerful in kunark, solo or otherwise. At 51 you get the best slow that was ever put into the game. Literally when I quit live at level 85 I was still using the AA version of turgur's. And in kunark, there is no mitigation so everything you land slow on will be 75% slow. Basically after 51, with slow, root, pet, heals, canni and decent DPS with nukes and DoTs, you should be able to solo any melee mob with ease. Even multiples aren't too bad as you can root adds. Be smart and shaman is basically unmatched in kunark era.

[Krimsin]

Harrison, I never played a sham prior to p99 but decided to roll one precisely because they were such beasts in kun/vel. Is the fungi tunic/stick combo a necessity for soloing or can they manage to 60 just fine without it?

[mokfarg]

I have a shaman but quit him because I think I really messed up his starting stats. I put all in stamina and he can barely cast anything before he is oom. I imagine also the fungi tunic will be severely camped by the people in the big guilds, that they will be hard to get.

[Harrison]

You can definitely manage without it. But, with it...you're a beast of epic proportions.

[Harrison]

I have a shaman but quit him because I think I really messed up his starting stats. I put all in stamina and he can barely cast anything before he is oom. I imagine also the fungi tunic will be severely camped by the people in the big guilds, that they will be hard to get.

Stamina on a shaman is probably just as beneficial as wisdom, which both will be maxed while buffed anyways at 50+.

Your hp pool is directly tied to your mana pool, because of canni. A huge hp pool is awesome, and maxing your stamina might be more difficult than maxing wisdom depending on race.

What it comes down to, is what YOU want to do. It's not a gamebreaker by any means. Starting stats are irrelevant.

[mokfarg]

Stamina on a shaman is probably just as beneficial as wisdom, which both will be maxed while buffed anyways at 50+.

Your hp pool is directly tied to your mana pool, because of canni. A huge hp pool is awesome, and maxing your stamina might be more difficult than maxing wisdom depending on race.

What it comes down to, is what YOU want to do. It's not a gamebreaker by any means. Starting stats are irrelevant.

That's good to know, I may have to try to play him again. Maybe if I save some money I can buy a little mana gear might help.

[Humerox]

Shaman hands down.

JBB ftw.

[DevGrousis]

Shaman hands down.

JBB ftw.

whats JBB?

Jaud Bone Bracer?

[Gorgetrapper]

Jaundiced Bone Bracer, right click rape.

[Myrkskog]

Is an 8 second 263dmg nuke really that good? I Haven't looked at any numbers but I would have thought doing the 6 second canni dance + dots would be better overall.

[Odeseus]

Oh god, I forgot about JBB. Add that to the list I posted earlier about why shaman own. You can do respectable damage without even using mana. And shammy epic is one of the easiest out of all the epics, and one of the most powerful. Between that and the JBB, you might not need to use any other damage spells.

[bizzum]

JBB is the tits. Yes, relatively long cast time but it is very powerful with the epic dot for some manaless killing. Using those and healing with that extra mana is really effective for solo stuff, and even just in groups clicking it once in a while is extra damage.

Going to live in Seb for so long on my shaman, but I think its a good thing :)

[Odeseus]

Yes it is worth it, in the right conditions. With rage hp regen being nerfed, you will not regen hp as fast, therefore you will not be able to canni as well. There are times when you will not have the hp to do the canni dance (or you may be tanking a mob), nor the mana to cast the damage spells you need to (or be saving mana to heal yourself or others). Just so much easier to right click a decent nuke, even if it takes 8 seconds.

[nalkin]

We will see who the true mages are when Kunark comes out.

/salute

[garyogburn]

Yes it is worth it, in the right conditions. With rage hp regen being nerfed, you will not regen hp as fast, therefore you will not be able to canni as well. There are times when you will not have the hp to do the canni dance (or you may be tanking a mob), nor the mana to cast the damage spells you need to (or be saving mana to heal yourself or others). Just so much easier to right click a decent nuke, even if it takes 8 seconds.

Rage hp regen has been nerfed?

[garyogburn]

We will see who the true mages are when Kunark comes out.

/salute

You mean the ones who can make cool patterns with mod rods in the back of the raid? :P

[Humerox]

You mean the ones who can make cool patterns with mod rods in the back of the raid? :P

HA~

sad but true...that's why my mage is going to collect dust~

Hell...think I'll roll a shammy.

:)

[Myrkskog]

Rage hp regen has been nerfed?


It will be soon.

[Extunarian]

Rage hp regen has been nerfed?

The HP regen will stay the same, but a mana drain component (100/tick?) is being added, making the spell not worth using in most cases.

[garyogburn]

The HP regen will stay the same, but a mana drain component (100/tick?) is being added, making the spell not worth using in most cases.

Super lame

[Extunarian]

Super lame

Also the days of 25dmg/tick for Affliction are coming to a close. Affliction should revert back to its classic damage of 6/tick.

[garyogburn]

Also the days of 25dmg/tick for Affliction are coming to a close. Affliction should revert back to its classic damage of 6/tick.

I was wondering if that was a glitch. I still use it at 45

[DevGrousis]

so with JDD being so powerful, is going Iksar Shaman a stupid thing to do? does the regen make up for not being able to use JDD? or is JDD reall just a toy

[bizzum]

so with JDD being so powerful, is going Iksar Shaman a stupid thing to do? does the regen make up for not being able to use JDD? or is JDD reall just a toy

1. Its JBB
2. Its not make or break, if you want to play Iksar go for it. Trolls also have the regen going for them too though, so you can think about that. It depends what you are going to be doing on your character I guess. Its probably safe to say there is no bad reason to have one, but there are times where you would be much better off casting other spells than an 8 second nuke.