Decisons, decisions...

[quellren]

I know this makes me sound like a jerk, but:
Isn't the romance of EQ figuring things out for yourself? One of the things that annoys me the most most about the WoW generation of MMOs (and MMO gamers) is the insistence of "a gear list" that you must strive for, or you're considered sub-par and 'fail'. Just stack wis to 175-180, then stack stam. In the beginning, under 20, get a set of banded and go to work. The shaman has both the pleasure and the curse of having a wide variety of gear that is 'good' for them. I've seen shaman with 55hp rings, and the 6wis rings(or one of each), shaman with 2hb, and spear and shield, Caster shaman in high wis leather/cloth, and 'battlemage' shaman in high AC chain.

Since someones gonna start this same thread next week, here are some common, ubiquitous items that the vast majority of shaman seek out.

Bloodstained tunic (Foremans tunic isn't bad either)
Charred Guardian Shield
Gloomwater harpoon
Sharkbone warhammer (Theres another 1hb with wis, but I don't remember the name)
Lizardscale mantle
Runed mithral bracers (there are other choices, inc. player made)
Black Iron Medalion
Chrysoberl Talisman (can be pricey)
+wis jewelry
5ac/55hp rings
Some times a savants cap (low AC, but +3wis)
Each of these pieces should be between 50 and 400p. If you can't afford that, stick to the banded armor until you can.
Not every slot has an ideal piece, some you just gotta wear whats available. Cloak comes to mind.

Just level. The gear will come. If you need a refresher, spend some time in EC as you level up, clicking the links in /auc. You'll start seeing gear that looks like it'd work.

[Alawen Everywhere]

I am starting to wonder if wisdom vs stamina is a total false dichotomy.

How many hit points does each point of stamina give a shaman at 50 and at 60? I've read the "wisdom" over and over to put your points into stamina, but I'm definitely not convinced for other casters. Shamans are unclear to me because of the mad aggro and beats from slow on raid mobs.

For my druid and cleric, stamina is a complete waste of points. Pump up that wisdom and free up slots for hp/mana gear.

So how much is it? Do 25 points in stamina wind up giving 50 hit points or some other trivial amount? If we're going to min/max this, let's do it right.

[Wenai]

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

I am starting to wonder if wisdom vs stamina is a total false dichotomy.

How many hit points does each point of stamina give a shaman at 50 and at 60? I've read the "wisdom" over and over to put your points into stamina, but I'm definitely not convinced for other casters. Shamans are unclear to me because of the mad aggro and beats from slow on raid mobs.

For my druid and cleric, stamina is a complete waste of points. Pump up that wisdom and free up slots for hp/mana gear.

So how much is it? Do 25 points in stamina wind up giving 50 hit points or some other trivial amount? If we're going to min/max this, let's do it right.

Wisdom is easy to max.. Stamina is not. That is why people say to dump stats into stamina.

My shaman uses a balance of gear on the server (I wear a lot of AC/HP gear and such) and I still have 189 WIS without even trying.

[Alawen Everywhere]

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

Wisdom is easy to max.. Stamina is not. That is why people say to dump stats into stamina.

My shaman uses a balance of gear on the server (I wear a lot of AC/HP gear and such) and I still have 189 WIS without even trying.

My question is does maxing stamina matter at all? How many hit points are we actually talking about? If it's 50, take off a 6 wisdom ring and put on a Djarn's for more mana AND more hit points.

[Wenai]

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

My question is does maxing stamina matter at all? How many hit points are we actually talking about? If it's 50, take off a 6 wisdom ring and put on a Djarn's for more mana AND more hit points.

First of all.. a shaman should not be wearing a 6 wisdom ring.. hell.. NO ONE should be wearing a 6 wis ring. In my opinion, it is stupid to give up 110 hp/10ac for 12 wisdom. There aren't many good +HP slots in classic EQ. Giving up an easily affordable/attainable slot for WIS is just stupid.

Looking to the future.. it will be no problem for someone to max their Wisdom in Kunark/Velious. You can't go past the cap.. so even if you have 290 WIS from gear... in reality you are capped and you are wasting stats.

That being said.. I rolled my shaman with WIS maxxed. Just because I felt like it. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] I am not a min/maxer and I had no interest in making the classic content more difficult on myself by going for STA instead of WIS.

[Skope]

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

I am starting to wonder if wisdom vs stamina is a total false dichotomy.

How many hit points does each point of stamina give a shaman at 50 and at 60? I've read the "wisdom" over and over to put your points into stamina, but I'm definitely not convinced for other casters. Shamans are unclear to me because of the mad aggro and beats from slow on raid mobs.

For my druid and cleric, stamina is a complete waste of points. Pump up that wisdom and free up slots for hp/mana gear.

So how much is it? Do 25 points in stamina wind up giving 50 hit points or some other trivial amount? If we're going to min/max this, let's do it right.

Neither is a bad choice. stamina return at lvl 50 is weak, and at 60 it still remains relatively weak :P During classic you're more wis dependent due to your spell line and slow-casting cannibalize (recast timer is slower and chews up less health). With wisdom/dex gear I have 201 wisdom and around 200 dex without a +dex pot (full rune etched minus helm - totemic and boots - eboots), while still wielding a hammer and melee'ing. The character is used to raid, but when farming I throw on melee gear and drop to ~180wis and ~220-230 dex. In terms of classic, you're better off with higher wisdom than you are with +hp. Your AC/hp should be quite high regardless and have enough to take a few hits before it gets taunted back off. If i need to off-tank i throw on the ac/hp gear and off-tank trash comfortably.

He's right when he said achieving balanced stats are important, but it's my belief that throwing points into +wisdom at the beginning frees up inventory slots for your other stats.

Also have to keep in mind that as a shaman some of the priest gear that does include massive wis/hp/mana won't go to you until the regular clerics have it, leaving you at the middle of the line for some gear.

[mgellan]

I just can't stare at an Ogre or Troll for 50 levels, Barb FTW!

Regards,
Mg

[alWald0]

Barb's remind me to much of humans, ogre's and troll's ugliness makes them awesome!

[Wizerud]

Seems to be a pretty easy dilemma to solve. If you never find yourself running out of mana in normal situations (depending on your playstyle) don't bother stocking up on wis anymore.

[Reiker]

Back in classic we had a term for shaman who would stack wisdom gear... Druman (shaman who thinks he's a druid).