Can someone hold my hand and explain (newb shaman content)

[Tehwoot]

hello there!

I have recently came back to p1999 and started to play my lvl 31 troll shaman after a year or so of not being on the server. The shaman is my main and the only caster I have played past lvl 10.

I am hoping to get some help with my class and spell rotations. I not sure the best usage of my spells when soloing and seem to have a lot of resists and more downtime than expected. Currently solo gnolls in and around paw.

Thanks,

Turds

[Bristlebard]

Are you using your malaise spell before trying to land your dots on a target? You might get resists on it also, but once it sticks it should help a lot with landing your more expensive damage spells, roots, and slows. I'm not sure how long fights are lasting, but if you can get 2 minutes of use out of your affliction spell, using only envenomed breath and affliction is more mana efficient than using frost strikes, plus you shouldn't get many early root breaks with your resist debuff. I've never played a shaman, but I'd probably try to pull with malaise and then stick affliction and evenomed breath, THEN root your target and back off a bit to med while the dots tick.

Also, you might consider looking for enemies that are a level or two lower. The wiki says those gnolls are 27, which shouldn't be too bad for you to solo, but if you feel like you're still getting too many resists to fight them comfortably try looking for stuff that's level 26 or 25.

Generally you want to be killing stuff that is just barely dark blue to minimize resists and how much damage you need to do for a kill. A level 25 or 26 only gives a tiny bit less xp than a 27 (until they turn green), but should be quite a bit easier to kill.

[Bristlebard]

If you're up for trying lower enemies, try killing the two Miller NPCs near Surefall in Qeynos Hills. You're a troll so I assume you don't mind hurting your Qeynos factions. They can be single pulled (one of them wanders away from the other one regularly), are level 25, and drop fine steel. And if you can handle them and need more to kill, I think you can fight the guards that are nearby also.

[Tehwoot]

Originally Posted by Bristlebard [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Are you using your malaise spell before trying to land your dots on a target? You might get resists on it also, but once it sticks it should help a lot with landing your more expensive damage spells, roots, and slows. I'm not sure how long fights are lasting, but if you can get 2 minutes of use out of your affliction spell, using only envenomed breath and affliction is more mana efficient than using frost strikes, plus you shouldn't get many early root breaks with your resist debuff. I've never played a shaman, but I'd probably try to pull with malaise and then stick affliction and evenomed breath, THEN root your target and back off a bit to med while the dots tick.

Also, you might consider looking for enemies that are a level or two lower. The wiki says those gnolls are 27, which shouldn't be too bad for you to solo, but if you feel like you're still getting too many resists to fight them comfortably try looking for stuff that's level 26 or 25.

Generally you want to be killing stuff that is just barely dark blue to minimize resists and how much damage you need to do for a kill. A level 25 or 26 only gives a tiny bit less xp than a 27 (until they turn green), but should be quite a bit easier to kill.

thanks, i never use malaise or affliction... just been rooting and using evenomed breath / poison rain / frost strike and than finish it off with melee.

[Bristlebard]

Poison storm is going to have even more resists than normal spells, probably! Rain spells are goofy. It is less efficient than either of your dots anyways, even if it doesn't get any resists at all.

[loramin]

I did the Paw gnolls at that level, and I never needed malaise or affliction ... but I also didn't use any direct damage spells (rain or normal).

For me what worked well was leading off with a slow, throwing disease/poison DoTs on, and then letting the pet chew on the gnoll until it died ... unless the pet got low on health, in which case I'd tank. I also sometimes tanked even when I didn't have to, but only because I had a Barbarian Spiritist's Hammer.

By the way, if both gnoll camps (inside and out) are taken there's several other good spots around that area:

• giant skeletons in Rathe Mountains (just across Lake Rathe, but they might be green to you by now)
• aviaks (I think the harriers are still blue at 31)
• centaurs in the North-West corner
• treants in the North-West corner

[DrKvothe]

the levels leading up to 34 really suck if you're untwinked. With a really nice weapon like poison wind censor or granite face grinder, lvl 29 gives you 30% haste and a better slow. If you don't have an overpowered weapon, you're still using your lvl 19 and 24 dots while root/rotting.

You've got greater healing, regeneration, quickness, and cannibalize. Put them to use with a monk leveling partner or in larger groups. I did those levels to 34, when you get a pet, hp buff, and a new disease dot, in HHK killing goblins and guards.

[Tehwoot]

Originally Posted by DrKvothe [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

the levels leading up to 34 really suck if you're untwinked. With a really nice weapon like poison wind censor or granite face grinder, lvl 29 gives you 30% haste and a better slow. If you don't have an overpowered weapon, you're still using your lvl 19 and 24 dots while root/rotting.

You've got greater healing, regeneration, quickness, and cannibalize. Put them to use with a monk leveling partner or in larger groups. I did those levels to 34, when you get a pet, hp buff, and a new disease dot, in HHK killing goblins and guards.

my gear is decent from tunnel questing in ecom and I do have a Granite Face Grinder, but the downtime seems to not be worth it to tank and spank. Some mobs are simple to kill w/ slow, but other wreck me and end up empty on hp / mana after a blue kill. Signature has my magelo, from the looks of it to make tank and spank worthwhile in the 30's you need a fungi.

On another note I moved to Misty Thicket last night to try and solo guards, main gate wall is to much at lvl 31, but the single spawns are doable. Now if I could just not get KS'd and the camps stolen from me by trolls...

[DrKvothe]

You're losing quite a bit of dps without a haste belt. Also, not all dark blues are created equal, maybe you were fighting something too close to your level. If you're comparing slow+melee to root+rot, with your weak dots I'm guessing your kill times are probably a lot faster with melee, even if there's more downtime?

I wonder if CT alligators would be good around your level. Not a ton of hp, and you can get the key items for reclaim pet clickies, which you'll want at 34. Shit, you can even play around with lvl 29 animal charm on the weakest ones. Root + rot + charmed pet kamikazee! Should be a great ZEM. Lately I've been looking for excuses to go there, but I don't have any characters in the right level range to make it reasonable.

[Shatford]

At 31, I would recommend going to the giant fort in Warsliks Woods. There are 3 types of giants there that you can single pull into the corner near the path that leads into the fort on the side closest to The Overthere: Forest Giant Sapling is the weakest, then Forest Giant Greenwoods are a bit stronger, then Forest Giant Evergreens are the strongest. I fought in WW from about 24-32, after which you can move next door to The Overthere. There's an easy side of The Overthere with sarnaks, cactii, chickens, and tigers and rhinos (tigers and rhinos can be Befriended as a pet til you hit 34), and there's a difficult side of Overthere which has the same mobs, just higher levels.

I fought from 34-40 in OT, all the while killing many, many Sarnak Berzerkers to do the Workers Sledgemallet quest (procs gate to The Overthere) which is an invaluable tool once you hit level 50. Also the quest gives you about a blue's worth of xp if you're lvl 34-40.

As for fighting style, it looks like you're geared for melee, which is the way to go until you hit your mid-to-late 30s. At level 31, you have no pet, no decent dots, and no decent DD spells. Your only real option for taking down mobs efficiently is to slow them then melee. That being said, you should try to pick up a few extra gear items that have higher AC or give bonus HPs.

Sell your Granite Face Grinder for 7,000pp and pick up a the following gear:
- Poison Wind Censer (it won't proc until lvl 50) -- 1,200pp
- Black Sapphire Platinum Necklace -- 2,800pp
- Black Sapphire Electrum Earring -- 2,500pp
- Embroidered Black Sleeves -- 250pp

That's an extra 105HPs that you didn't have before. If you don't want to go that route, buy a Flowing Black Silk Sash instead. The extra ~20% haste will offset the damage that the mobs will do to because they'll die 20% faster.

You can also sell some of your +WIS gear to pick up some of the cheaper Jaundiced Bone gear slots like head and arms (they go for about 400pp a piece). You don't need the mana from those two slots really at level 31-34, but you do need the AC. You can't click them just yet, but they have incredibly high AC, which you're gonna need if you're gonna go toe-to-toe with mobs.

Once you're into your early 40's, sell the FBSS and regear for +WIS items and head to CoM if you like doing the whole pick-up group scene. If you're like me and can't stand doing that, save up your monies and buy a Jaundiced Bone Bracer (costs around 22,000pp currently) and keep soloing. It is an awesome clicky that you'll use heavily until you get your epic, and even then, you'll keep using it out of habit and also because it is just so freaking handy.

There. I just mapped out your whole career as a shaman for you.