druids are a convenience machine - buffs, ports, sow, etc. they have little combat value. They root rot significantly worse than sham/necro and quad kite slightly worse than wizards. They charm slightly better than enchanters (thanks to escape abilities) but have a much narrower spectrum of targets. Druids have almost no place in end game.
Shamans are the hardcore class of the game. They are REQUIRED to do anything serious thanks to their slows. They are also one of the best classes at soloing (but ramp to that point very poorly. JBB and canni are the only real starting points).
tldr; druid is probably a better starting class because shamans are actually somewhat gear dependent as a caster (they want HP regen and dmg clickies). Druid can easily solo to lvl 50 without equipping a single item
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