They're more or less as powerful at 50 as they are 51-59 except for lacking the luxury of JBB. Besides Torpor and unresistable Malo, shamans don't really get anything new in Kunark. Those two spells are extremely rare and both are level 60, so it's not exactly a core part of the class experience. A level 50 shaman is a great soloer, fully capable of doing anything soloable pre-Kunark except for the things that require charm. That'd be the main thing to consider when comparing them to necros, because undead charm is the key to soloing lord in Guk and I'm pretty sure only necros and enchanters can do it. Anything else worthwhile that can be soloed in classic can be soloed by a shaman. Maybe there's some obscure shit in Kedge that also requires charm, but outside of charm-reliant encounters, a shaman is right up there with the other soloers and probably ranks just after enchanter in terms of the most powerful mobs they can solo, and I'd say equal to necros outside of undead charm scenarios. A buffed high-level shaman pet isn't too far behind a high-level necro pet, their dots and mana tools are comparable, and the shaman's tanking ability and heals compare adequately to the necro's feign death except when this is used to actually avoid dying when things go wrong (which should happen less easily for a shaman due to their vastly superior raw survivability, and anyway the shaman can get a gate off much more reliably.) While ogre is generally the best shaman race, a barbarian shaman with the spiritist hammer can put out considerable damage without spending mana, and this becomes a viable soloing method in itself which isn't available to the other races.
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