New troll shaman questions on equipment

[isoka]

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

In the Troll/Ogre debate, you have two alternatives - frontal stun immunity or an extra 11 hp or 6 mana per tick. Among those two alternatives, i'd say frontal stun immunity is more game-breaking.

It all depends on your gameplay. If you group or duo a lot, I don't see the frontal stun immunity as good as the 6 mana per tick since you aren't tanking to the point where you can be perma stunned and can't cast anymore. If you intend to solo and handle multiple pulls on your own, then the frontal stun immunity will be a better addition.

In my opinion, a shaman performs pretty well in both solo and grouping field. However, I do think a shaman is much more group oriented since he can bring a lot to the table, hence why I value the troll regen over the frontal stun immunity.

Regarding the innoruuk troll snare necklace, it's not game breaking, but still a handy item to have when you are in dungeons and you don't have a snarer.

[Grozmok]

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

Does it mean ogres, barbarians and iksars are bad ? No

This

[Hitchens]

On live I worshipped Cazic Thule, so always regretted not being able to get the Innoruuk snare necklace. Now that I have it, I rarely ever even use it.

[Galelor]

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

Someone else posted a quote that pretty much sums up the Shaman class, especially pre-Velious:

1) Ogre: +Stun Immunity +JBB
2) Troll: +Regen +JBB
3) Iksar: +Regen -No JBB
4) Barbarian: +Faction +JBB

If I may expound:
1) Ogre: +Stun Immunity, +JBB
2) Troll: +Regen, +SnareNeck, +JBB
3) Iksar: +Regen, -No JBB
4) Barbarian: +Faction, +PoFHammer, +JBB

[Noselacri]

Faction is completely irrelevant unless you're a newbie who needs to security, and even then I'd argue that the good alignment isn't beneficial half the time. Both of the primary classic dungeons are near evil cities, and in Kunark it doesn't matter at all which side you're on. You should be spending most of your Norrath time in the few zones surrounding EC, and there's perfect access to Neriak and Grobb which provides anything you could ever need. I certainly don't see much of a point in listing faction as a "+" comparable to stun immunity or regen.

It's pretty much established that ogres have the best stats. Mana is largely irrelevant to a shaman while hp is important and even strength is convenient if you're the type who solo farms a lot, something shamans do well. That said, there is such a thing as a critical limit for mana - sometimes you just don't have time to canni, and if your mana pool is so small that you can't cast enough spells to survive a fight, you're in trouble. Putting your starting points in stamina is the best choice, but if you don't plan to raid or get rich and will spend your time in average gear, you might consider putting them in wisdom instead so you won't end up with 103 wisdom at level 60. It ultimately doesn't matter much, but like I said, you don't always have 30 seconds to mess around with canni and torpor, and it's possible to have so small a mana pool that you can't cast a slow, both dots, a superior heal and a torpor in one bar. Flexibility is important to shamans and you don't want to cut it too close with the mana. Being a casual non-raider by nature, I went with wisdom because I know I'll never have good gear. Stamina can still be maxed in Velious with casual gear and a buff.

The real dealbreaker is regen vs. stun immunity, and the simple way to put it is that stun immunity is stronger while regen is more convenient. If you're lazy and live your life on your ass as a buffbot, regen will help you more. If you plan to do high-end and/or dangerous shit, stun immunity is considerably better but doesn't really help you level faster or support a group in average content better. Ogre is the statistically best race, but some playstyles benefit more from troll regen. Barbarians have no inherent advantages except a decent hammer, and iksar is a terrible race unless you're a necro.

[Glasken]

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

...iksar is a terrible race unless you're a necro.

/end


Troll regen is great to have while soloing 1-50. Above that, getting spells off becomes more of an issue when there are multiple mobs involved, as is normally the case when root n rotting a camp. I had a 55 Troll Shammy on live and while I thrived in a group setting, soloing (especially in dungeons) became more and more tedious if more than two mobs were in the mix.

In the end, play what you like the most, and what you think looks best, because no matter what race you pick you will be looking at it for a long, long time.