Quote:
Originally Posted by Reiker
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There was a "discussion" about the usefulness of JBB awhile ago on this forums. My stance is fairly anti-JBB. I'm also curious why you need to root the mob, you'll never lose aggro over your pet (which is good, shaman pet is a horrible tank compared to the shaman).
Anyways, regarding JBB. This item is very good when you can first use it (45) but after awhile it actually becomes detrimental to use. I see you mentioned Pox, which would assume you were JBBing in PoP, which I don't recommend.
As I mentioned before, the strength of a shaman is no downtime. Any time you're not casting a spell you're wasting time. Every action a shaman takes can be represented in "time efficiency" instead of "mana efficiency." The JBB does 263 damage after an 8 second cast time, or 32.875 dps. The benefit of the JBB is that it's mana free. If there's any class that doesn't care about the mana cost of something, it's shaman. If you weren't clicking JBB above, you could afford to cast spells such as Blood of Saryrn. Blood of Saryrn takes 3 seconds to cast and costs 535 mana. To regain that mana it'll take about 6 cannis, or 30 seconds. Blood of Saryrn cost you 33 total seconds. That may seem like a lot until you consider that focuses, Flowing Thought, AAs, and mana regen buffs will make this even more efficient (but won't affect JBB). Blood of Saryrn does 2324 total damage, or 70.42 dps when considering the time lost to canni back mana. Again note that the time decreases with focuses, etc, increasing the potential dps by a lot.
Basically, the JBB would be an amazing and potentially overpowering item in the hands of any other class besides a shaman. Many use one early and get attached to it, not understanding that it's actually hindering them.
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I understand what you are saying and I have discussed it with a lot of people in the past. I used the Poxx/JBB/Torpor method while level 60. Poxx is a kunark spell
[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]. This is kind of interesting because it brings up the point I have made in the fast, what type of efficiency do you prefer:
1. Time Efficiency
2. Mana Efficiency
I am typically a very defensive player and value crowd control and versatility far more than speed. I feel that if you play defensively than you have the mana to handle situations that go badly.
I understand that your DPS is
better by using your regular DoTs rather than JBB but the thing is that JBB is completely mana free, which frees up your mana for buffing (with no downtime) as well as just protection. The thing you seem to be forgetting is that if you are killing higher level creatures, seeing a resist on a high mana-cost DoT sucks. All of a sudden your efficiency is out the window. If you have to Malo every single pull, once again your efficiency is out the window. I feel like JBB is the safe way to solo and that is just the way I have always played.
I understand the merit in using DoTs instead of JBB but to me it goes against my priorities in EQ of not only safety but also versatility. If I am spending all my mana on DoTs, I have less mana for CC and heals. I understand if you kill quicker than you don't have to worry about heals and you worry less about CC.. but that just goes against my playstyle.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skope
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It's a fantastic item, and i agree, but bear in mind that your numbers are luclin/AA based and there was a huge jump from velious => luclin.
JBB filled the void of killing things that can be rooted, or killing something that's not as challenging -- doesn't summon, basically -- and doing so by using very little mana. It does hinder a shaman in the sense that it draws you away from carpal tunnel clicking and therefore is considered a waste of time or cast. With a JBB i can root/rot JBB things down with very little effort, but with a barbarian spiritist's hammer I can also melee proc the same nuke many times a minute while still being able to cast, heal, cannibalize and all the things that make a shaman so lovely. The hammer isn't necessary, as 8 seconds between clicking JBB isn't hard to accomplish with a slowed mob beating on you since you should be timing the bash/kicks anyway.
Is it a great item? absolutely! is it necessary to do some of the wacky things that shaman were capable of doing? no, it isn't. You were always way better off saving for a fungi tunic/staff than you were for a JBB.
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Disagree on Fungi Tunic. Worst waste of cash I ever spent. Seriously. I spent 60k on my Fungi Tunic. Realized that regen is overrated in Kunark era for shamans due to Torpor. As soon as you hit 40% health, drop torpor on yourself and you are good to go. That extra 15 hp/tic really means shit all. It means you cast Torpor less often and thus save mana and gain effiency.. but whatever. Not worth the sacrifice of stats for a shaman imo in the Kunark era. Fungi tunic is amazing for Monks obviously. It is high AC for a monk and the 15hp/tic regen is huge for a class that can't heal themselves.
I paid 85k for my Torpor scroll on live.. and it was damn worth it. It is singly the most important thing shaman gets between Vanilla and Kunark.
Oh. I actually got my JBB for relatively cheap on live.. between 15 and 20k.