Please help me choose a race for my shaman.

[Haunt]

Hail.

Please help me choose between playing an ogre and an iksar shaman. I really like the look of both races, but I think iksar look decent in mismatched armor while ogres look terrible in a patchwork of gear. I'm into the fashionquest, and am leaning iksar for that reason - but will I regret not having access to JBB spam, and the stun immunity?

I'm not concerned about the faction penalties of being iksar. This will be my first character on p99 and first time playing everquest since way back, so this will ideally be the 'farming' character that gets me up and running - if that makes a difference.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Lammy]

Don't forget about the iksar exp penalty ewww.

[abyssalstalker]

The XP penalty shouldnt even be a consideration. What you pay for in time to level up, you gain in permanent natural regeneration and enhanced natural armor class. This honestly yields more XP since less downtime recovering HP. Foraging is nice too.

I played a human necro up to the 50's without knowing about the iksar regen. Once I learned, I immediately rerolled. You're playing EQ... you're in this game for the long haul. Why gimp yourself over a few extra days of leveling difference, if that?

[Jan Jensen]

This will be my first character on p99 and first time playing everquest since way back, so this will ideally be the 'farming' character that gets me up and running - if that makes a difference.


Having chosen shaman as my first p99 character, I really advise against this.

[loramin]

The XP penalty shouldnt even be a consideration.

Different people play this game differently. Some people will be 60 in 6 months, others will still be in their 50's two years from now ... if they're even still playing in two years. Racial penalties absolutely matter if they mean being able to reach (say) 45 instead of 43.

It all comes down to how long you think you'll play this character.

Short Term:
If you might not even make it to 60, or expect you'll only play at 60 for a few months, the best race is Barbarian: being able to go into any good city is quite convenient while you level, and having the lowest XP penalty could mean getting to 60 months faster.

After that its Troll/Iksar: both have the same regen ability and racial XP penalty (40%). As I understand it, the regen downtime reduction roughly matches the increased XP need, but you wind up spending more time playing and less sitting on your ass. Trolls are slightly better than Iksar because they can use any evil town (not just Cabillis) and can use the JBB; Iksar just get some fun quests and a little extra AC.

Then there's Ogres. They can't use good towns and their main ability, frontal stun immunity, won't really help you level faster. Their XP penalty is lower than Trolls/Iksar, but they don't have regen to make up for it; if you really want a low penalty (plus good city faction) you'd go Barbarian.

Long Term:
If you embrace the idea that "the game doesn't even start until 60", the racial order is almost reversed. With enough time it doesn't matter what the XP penalty is (you'll hit 60 eventually), and with enough time any race can fix any good city faction ... if they even want to bother (at 60 you mainly play in Kunark/Velious). So Barbarians effectively have no racial ability at this point.

Similarly once you get Torpor regen is almost meaningless, so Trolls and Iksar also don't have much of a racial ability at this point either. Trolls are still slightly better than Iksar though, just because the JBB is still slightly useful at 60.

Ogres are the best Shaman race in the long term, because their frontal stun immunity power is not only still relevant at 60, but actually (a little) helpful for soloing tough mobs at 60.

I really like the look of both races, but I think iksar look decent in mismatched armor while ogres look terrible in a patchwork of gear. I'm into the fashionquest, and am leaning iksar for that reason - but will I regret not having access to JBB spam, and the stun immunity?

Everything I just wrote aside, none of the pros/cons I just listed matter that much, especially when raiding (which is a lot of what you do at 60) ... and I say this as a level 60 Barbarian Shaman with Torpor who's played here for 3+ years. Whatever race you pick, you'll be staring at it for the life of your character, and that will impact your fun more than any racial pro/con.

So really my advice is to pick what seems coolest to you, because all Shaman races are totally viable.

[loramin]

so this will ideally be the 'farming' character that gets me up and running

Having chosen shaman as my first p99 character, I really advise against this.

Just curious, why? My shaman was my first character, and I farm stuff for my alts with him all the time. Of course first I had to farm a JBB, and epic, and Torpor (a bit over 200k worth), but once you have those basics you can farm almost any item your alts desire.

[ScaringChildren]

Iksars can't get JBB and they don't look good in armor (outside of Necro/Monk/SK).

That regen must be nice though. Even with Topor it's nice on the way up to 60.

[bigjeff100]

I always think Druids are the best first toon choice.. Can level them up to their 30's or 40's and then stop if you want. None of this exp penalty stuff to consider.. Super cheap gear. Now you can do ports for moneys!! Save up and gear a proper main! And still have the option to farm things!

[kjs86z]

Just make an Ogre.

On the off chance you play it into the end game, you'll be glad.

If you don't play to the end game, what difference will it make?

[Gozuk]

The answer is Troll. Best of both worlds

[Jan Jensen]

Just curious, why?


Because, next to warriors, shamans are one of the most expensive classes to gear up for simply functional play. It's a helluva lot more fun as a second character, once you can throw a fungi on him and not feel oppressed by shaman gearing/spell prices.

If farming and getting a foundation together is the intent of the OP, I'd venture to say that chanter makes a far better first character. It also helps to make the player better skilled long term, becoming more familiar with a lot of the game's mechanics and nuances. Chanter also has the added benefit that epic can't be MQ'd - so you won't find level 60s at your quest mobs unless they themselves need the epic. Contrasted with PoFear shaman tear routinely being sold for 75k+ by golem farmers.

[loramin]

Because, next to warriors, shamans are one of the most expensive classes to gear up for simply functional play. It's a helluva lot more fun as a second character, once you can throw a fungi on him and not feel oppressed by shaman gearing/spell prices.

If farming and getting a foundation together is the intent of the OP, I'd venture to say that chanter makes a far better first character. It also helps to make the player better skilled long term, becoming more familiar with a lot of the game's mechanics and nuances. Chanter also has the added benefit that epic can't be MQ'd - so you won't find level 60s at your quest mobs unless they themselves need the epic. Contrasted with PoFear shaman tear routinely being sold for 75k+ by golem farmers.

The way I see it, Shaman have levels 61 (epic) and 62 (Torpor) ... it's just that you earn those levels with plat, not XP. Some other classes (eg. Cleric) also have level 61 (epic), but not all do (some epics don't make enough of a difference to count as a "new level"). And certainly no other class I can think of has level 62.

But just because Shaman have the option of going up to level 62 doesn't mean they have to, and an epic-less, Torpor-less level 60 Shaman is still on par with other level 60 classes (both in terms of power and group desirability). And that same Shaman can also farm plenty of cash camps to buy stuff for their alts (see the Treasure Hunting Guide link in my signature; almost everything in there can be soloed by a level 60 Shaman, not 61 or 62).

I'll grant that a 60 Enchanter can solo some stuff that a epic-less/Torpor-less Shaman can't, but both are perfectly capable of solo farming for their alts (unlike say a Warrior). Recommending that someone play a class they don't want to play, simply because it's *slightly* better at solo farming alt stuff at level 60 (before either class has farmed 200k, at which point the Shaman will see a much greater power increase) seems like bad advice to me.

[Yttrium]

My two cents. I went Ogre shaman. I don't like the way trolls look and I was worried about the iksar no plate thing. Stun immunity sounded cool too.

I have slowly worked my way up to 30 and I realize stun immunity while neat will probably never be necessary as I likely won't hit 60. I really wish I had regen though especially since I got Canni.

If I could go back I would probably do troll.

[Para99]

If farming and getting a foundation together is the intent of the OP, I'd venture to say that chanter makes a far better first character. It also helps to make the player better skilled long term, becoming more familiar with a lot of the game's mechanics and nuances. Chanter also has the added benefit that epic can't be MQ'd - so you won't find level 60s at your quest mobs unless they themselves need the epic. Contrasted with PoFear shaman tear routinely being sold for 75k+ by golem farmers.

I don't think there are many Enchanter's that see the epic not being MQable as a benefit. Verina and Vessel are still basically permanently camped even though they can't be MQ'd. It can't be overstated how much easier it is for an Enchanter to farm 75k than it is to camp two spawns that you can potentially camp for 10 full days only to lose the FTE and have to do it all again. Even the Wraith and Hate pieces are a pain in the ass if you're not in a guild that does Fear/Hate often, able to bribe a guild that does, or luck into it.

There's a reason there aren't many 60 shamans without epics, but there are 60 enchanters without epics everywhere.

[psychosiszz]

Its all about the Troll Shaman. Best looking race imo.

[Tortok]

I went Troll Shaman and never looked back. Regen will help until Torpor which will be lots of hours spent and I like the looks of them.
For pro/con there many posts...

To summ it up:
- Ogre Frontal Stun Immunity and less exp penalty than Troll/Iksar (put 5 points in AGI!)
- Iksar Regen but no plate armor like Jaundiced Bone or SolRo Temple Quest armor and least places to bank/vendor
- Barbarian for least exp penalty and most places to vendor/bank
- Troll Regen

Just go for the looks imo, all shamans are great regardless of race.

[Baylan295]

I don't think there are many Enchanter's that see the epic not being MQable as a benefit. Verina and Vessel are still basically permanently camped even though they can't be MQ'd. It can't be overstated how much easier it is for an Enchanter to farm 75k than it is to camp two spawns that you can potentially camp for 10 full days only to lose the FTE and have to do it all again. Even the Wraith and Hate pieces are a pain in the ass if you're not in a guild that does Fear/Hate often, able to bribe a guild that does, or luck into it.

There's a reason there aren't many 60 shamans without epics, but there are 60 enchanters without epics everywhere.

MQ rights for VT/VD would be outrageous if it were possible to do it. I have personally assisted with 3(?) kills of each of those mobs, including my own pieces. While VT is more contested, I got her without socking at all. VD often just sits up for a period of hours. If you are smart and track they are very attainable.

Hate and fear are their own challenge, but most guilds doing any kind of raiding are happy to roll up to Hate or Fear and do those mobs when they are up.

[NegaStoat]

I tried an Iksar shaman with very good gear and kept feeling so weak in comparison to other classes I played around with. I kept thinking in the back of my mind that the higher Wisdom and natural AC were a big deal so I kept going for a bit. Then out of curiosity I made a fresh account and made a new Troll shaman and gave him respectable gear and a funny name, and spent some time on him.

It's a world of difference for the early game when you're struggling for lvl 24. The vastly larger Str and Sta are a big deal, along with Slam. The Innoruuk snare necklace is okay as a small aid for reaching 24 as well. It's a welcome option. Another big deal is that questline giving you a free Halfling illusion mask that opens up a crapton of old world Quest turn in options.

Go troll. You won't feel like you're 2nd rate to anything.

[Tortok]

How could I forget about the darkness necklace, it is great for groups when you lack a snarer to avoid adds. Duoing with monk I would not want to miss it in camps with adds near by. If you go Troll be sure to take Innoruuk as deity.

[Gilder]

Barbarian. There's not enough Barbarians on p99

[Haunt]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I appreciate the input.

I think I am going with iksar for looks.