New to Shaman need some help

[Daggorath]

Not sure what race to go with. I see a lot of Barb shamans out in the world and hear that ogres are good for the high stamina they start with and trolls/iksars for the regen passive.

Being new to it im not going to have a lot of gear and access to certain items so what would a good race to go with if anyone could give me some advice please.

[Daggorath]

I’m on blue server too btw

[Tecmos Deception]

Barbs: not quite as large so they fit in places easier without using shrink, good race so they aren't kill on sight all over the place, decent wisdom

Ogres: huge str and stam. immune to bash stunning you from the front, which is really nice to not get your spells interrupted like other shamans. but they're enormous and evil

Trolls: high str and stam, faster regeneration (especially noticable at 51+). but they're very large and evil

Iksar: best wisdom, faster regeneration, innate AC bonus. but they're extra super duper evil and they can't wear some armor choices because of their scales


You really can't go wrong picking your race based on what they look like. Which one of these dudes do you like watching run around and cast spells the most? Cause that's what you're going to be staring at forever. They also have different appearances when they cast their bear form spell that they get at higher end from Velious.

You literally can't pick a bad shaman race. It's just up to you what mix of appearance and racial perks you prefer.

[bricke75]

Regen is super helpful up until 60 when you get Torpor, at which point it doesn't really matter. But it does help you level and have less downtime.

Faction can be fixed for most places, fairly easily.

[Snaggles]

The min-maxers will squeal but I’ve lamented not making a barb over my troll constantly. I love the look but being huge is a pain in the ass.

[Daggorath]

Yeah I might g iksar for the regen and being small to fit in places. I would like being a ogre or troll just because of needing shrink to fit in places like small dungeons.

Thanks everyone for your input!!

[Snaggles]

The one thing you might consider is the iksar is the only race that can’t use Jaundice Bone armor. Not a big deal for most pieces but the bracer does make the 45-55’ish grind much easier. Especially since epic’s are notoriously hard to get.

[Wallicker]

Man, you get bear form, can cast shrink, make shrink pots, JBB is so nice, go troll/ogre, honestly Ogre is the best if you plan on going to 60 and getting gear/torp.

[Danth]

Not sure what race to go with. I see a lot of Barb shamans out in the world and hear that ogres are good for the high stamina they start with and trolls/iksars for the regen passive.

Being new to it im not going to have a lot of gear and access to certain items so what would a good race to go with if anyone could give me some advice please.

Whatever you picked, you picked right. There is no bad choice for a Shaman. This is one of the most over-thought subjects on the forum so if you want more discussion search out any of the dozens of threads on this subject.

Danth

[Wallicker]

Time of leveling aside, Min/max is as follows for a lvl 60 sham with all spells:

1: Ogre
2: Troll
3: Iksar
4: Barbarian

[loramin]

Whatever you picked, you picked right. There is no bad choice for a Shaman. This is one of the most over-thought subjects on the forum so if you want more discussion search out any of the dozens of threads on this subject.

Danth

This, but also no need to wade through a million old posts: the shaman wiki page breaks down every (I think) pro/con of every race: Shaman#Picking the Right Race (http://wiki.project1999.com/Shaman#Picking_the_Right_Race).

[Daggorath]

Thanks guys for the inputs, Torpor will be hard to get its so expensive and so will JBB's/Fungi tunics Being new I am without a way to farm plat it will be a grind to get to a point I can get those items and with Blue being light on people things will be even more tough. But shamans can solo very well so I will work at it! Wallicker made a good point to shrink and bear form so I might go Ogre for the higher str and sta thanks mate! :)

[commongood]

My shaman is barbarian. I chose that way because it was the first char I made when I began on P99 and I was on Tallon Zek back in live and there it was team pvp and I was used to only ever playing a light race. I knew I wanted to play a shaman to how powerful the class is in Kunark/Velious era and wanting to be a light race there is only barbarian. I didn't know about exp differences nor did I remember much about frontal stun immunity or regen.

I personally happen to find ogres and trolls ugly. I don't find barbarians particularily aesthetically pleasing, but for sure the lesser of evils big time. Just can't stand those big models scratching their asses. Iksar is decent, looks wise, but again, dark race.

Having played on p99 for 5 years now and having gotten used to not really thinking much about race in the old pvp light/dark schism I'm overall happy enough with my choice of barbarian.

Like others have said, at 60 with Torpor, the regen gained from being a troll/iksar really doesn't matter very much (if at all). The stun immunity is by far the bigger, more impactful racial ability at 60, but even having said that, Torpor, Slow and Canni are what make the shaman able to do what the shaman can do and there is nothing an ogre shaman can solo that a barbarian, iksar or troll shaman can't.

Having said that, there isn't a time when some stupid mob kicks or bashes me and my spellcasting is interrupted and I start spinning around that a part of me doesn't growl and wish I was an ogre :p

[keglo]

Many say that you can't go wrong with any race but I have always been too scared to go with an evil race. Doesn't being evil make things SO much harder?

[Snaggles]

Many say that you can't go wrong with any race but I have always been too scared to go with an evil race. Doesn't being evil make things SO much harder?

You do have a 15% (ogre) or 20% (iskar/troll) xp penalty. "Harder" is subjective though based on where you are grinding and how much of a hassle it is returning to town to train or buy spells.

With the Surefall Glade ports (on Blue) now Barbarians have become even easier. That and being medium/large makes running around killing guards in HK simple compared to being a fatty.

IMHO,
Barbarian - Very Easy
Troll/Ogre - Easy to Medium
Iksar - Hard

[Zeboim]

Once you get invis the evil thing is a nonissue.

[Cen]

Remember: there's only one race of shaman who gets a racial that can't be duplicated in the game... BY ANY OTHER SHAMAN OR ANY OTHER CLASS EITHER EVEN IF IT IS AN OGRE

Polar Bear Form
There is only one Polar bear form casting class in the game.
With guise in the game, you have two unique shaman forms.
Also you get a kilt, so you can run around with it swinging around.

[Siege]

Once you get invis the evil thing is a nonissue.

It becomes an issue in Kunark when you start running Seb because it trashes your Overthere faction. Once you've done that, being an evil race in Kunark becomes a huge chore.

[loramin]

It becomes an issue in Kunark when you start running Seb because it trashes your Overthere faction. Once you've done that, being an evil race in Kunark becomes a huge chore.

While this is 100% true, with invis one can still (carefully) bank and vendor in the OT. Also, Evil folks killing in Sebilis will eventually get their Legion of Cabilis faction up from killing all those frogs, and then they'll be able to use Cabilis (if they avoid or work on all the other KOS factions there).

And of course anyone who spends a few hours killing pirates can be welcome in Firiona Vie. So while Kunark certainly isn't as welcoming to evil races as Velious, it's far from a deal breaker (or even major issue).

[Zeboim]

Is that even much of a factor? Theres always gonna be 10 porters sitting at hammer hill to take you wherever you want to go. Mild inconvenience at worst.

[Droxx]

It becomes an issue in Kunark when you start running Seb because it trashes your Overthere faction. Once you've done that, being an evil race in Kunark becomes a huge chore.

Seb does nothing to your Overthere faction.

Some mobs in Kaesora, everything in HS, and some mobs in Karnor do though.

[Ostepop]

If you raid in VP at all it's hard to not be ally in OT.
Also, bear form fixes a lot of faction issues. Iksar here, no regrets.

[Menenolly]

I recently played a Barbarian to his teens and I loved being night blind but once I got serpent sight the effect was ruined and I switched races. You do get a neat polar bear cap at lower levels and easy access to leveling quests. I'm currently loving troll regen at level 17 but I'm spending a ton of time fixing faction in the good cities. Good thing I enjoy doing faction work. Forget Blue by the way, try Teal or Green. Still time to get a guise. I'd remark about Iksars but the only thing I know about Kunark is that it's a dangerous place and the elves are trying to start a port there but that info came from a very drunk captain in Qeynos. Hmm, I wonder if Kunark really exists...