Best solo tactic for a shaman?

[Midoo]

Trying to solo my way from 36 to 39 and I was wondering what the best tactic would be. People told me root rotting isn't viable anymore. I don't know what I'm doing. No fungi or any twink items but I have a few pre-planar bis items and 190 WIS.

Inb4 "just group/duo with a monk": I've been 36 for the last two months because I'm a sick altoholic and because I have no friends to play with and guildies are too busy.

[loramin]

I really don't believe there's one best way to play a Shaman.

For instance, root/rot is good when the mob deals a lot of damage, and doesn't summon. Pet tanking is good when you you can do more damage by medding and casting a DoT, while face tanking is better when you can do more damage with your melee weapon.

Really animal charming is the only Shaman style that's for a specific level range. The rest depend on your gear and what you're fighting.

[ScottBerta]

Root/ Rot or slow and face tank are your two options. If you could find a melee to duo with would be ideal.

[skorge]

Trying to solo my way from 36 to 39 and I was wondering what the best tactic would be. People told me root rotting isn't viable anymore. I don't know what I'm doing. No fungi or any twink items but I have a few pre-planar bis items and 190 WIS.

Inb4 "just group/duo with a monk": I've been 36 for the last two months because I'm a sick altoholic and because I have no friends to play with and guildies are too busy.

You have your pet now. Be sure to quest for the shovel of ponz (https://wiki.project1999.com/Shovel_Of_Ponz_Quest). Use this item to reclaim energy until you have your best con pet for your level.

Secondly, grab a Poison Wind Censor, Scourge Hammer of the Blight, Barbarian Spiritist's Hammer or Granite Face Grinder. GFG is the best out of all 3 and only costs 2.5k plat. PWC is only 300 plat range.

Pull mob with slow, sic pet in, buff yourself with haste and regen yourself...dot mob. Be sure to keep dex on yourself for more proc'ing. Do this until you get your epic.

[HedleyKow]

It really depends on your level, the mobs you're fighting, your gear, and personal preference. I would encourage you to try them out for yourself to see which you prefer and/or which is most efficient. That being said, if you have decent gear for your level, alternating between face tanking and pet tank would probably be best.

Personally, when I was leveling killing Faerie Dragons (the 4 on the east side) and then Goos in Wakening Lands I tried the following:

1) Face Tanking (At lower levels this is what I mostly did when soloing, but I found it was no longer effective. The melee damage I dealt wasn't worth the amount of damage I took.)
2) Pet Tanking (I found was also no longer effective. Pet was too squishy.)
3) Enstill > Epic dot > disease dot > poison dot > med/canni (I didn't see any point to this method if you have JBB. If you're gonna go this route I'd do multiple targets at once.)
4) Enstill > Epic dot > poison dot > JBB spam (Kills fast, but had to canni while waiting on spawns)
5) Enstill > Epic dot > JBB spam (extremely mana efficient and can pretty much kill continuously without stopping, but kills somewhat slowly)
6) Enstill > Epic dot > poison dot > JBB spam, but weaving Canni in between each JBB (A little more tedious, but kills faster than 5 and doesn't have downtime canni spamming like 4. Probably the most efficient method for killing one at a time.)
7) Number 3, but with multiple targets. (I found this method rather tedious, so I haven't used it a lot, but it seems to be pretty efficient.)

When I'm killing higher level things I found malo to be rather useful; but for FDs and Goos I didn't find it was worth the extra mana as having to canni it back in between spawn wasn't worth the effort. Also, I had a pet out to finish off runners(except when dotting multiples). For goos I would haste my pet as well to kill the little goos faster.

[kjs86z]

Inb4 "just group/duo with a monk": I've been 36 for the last two months because I'm a sick altoholic and because I have no friends to play with and guildies are too busy.

Just do "/who all monk 33 39" if you're still 36...or use whatever level range you're comfy with.

That will give you all the monks online (that aren't anon/role). Send tells with a standard hello and see if they want to group for xp.

Warriors are also a good duo partner. Add a necro to this composition for an excellent, extremely capable trio! Heck, even ask a necro if they want to duo and go help them charm undead mobs (Kaesora is a good spot for that for your current level range, but may want to find necros that are a couple / few levels higher than you).

I find the duo / trio experience to be more enjoyable than solo. Its social without the inevitable slacking you find in full 6 person groups on the XP superhighway.

[loramin]

It really depends on your level, the mobs you're fighting, your gear, and personal preference. I would encourage you to try them out for yourself to see which you prefer and/or which is most efficient. That being said, if you have decent gear for your level, alternating between face tanking and pet tank would probably be best.

Personally, when I was leveling killing Faerie Dragons (the 4 on the east side) and then Goos in Wakening Lands I tried the following:

1) Face Tanking (At lower levels this is what I mostly did when soloing, but I found it was no longer effective. The melee damage I dealt wasn't worth the amount of damage I took.)
2) Pet Tanking (I found was also no longer effective. Pet was too squishy.)
3) Enstill > Epic dot > disease dot > poison dot > med/canni (I didn't see any point to this method if you have JBB. If you're gonna go this route I'd do multiple targets at once.)
4) Enstill > Epic dot > poison dot > JBB spam (Kills fast, but had to canni while waiting on spawns)
5) Enstill > Epic dot > JBB spam (extremely mana efficient and can pretty much kill continuously without stopping, but kills somewhat slowly)
6) Enstill > Epic dot > poison dot > JBB spam, but weaving Canni in between each JBB (A little more tedious, but kills faster than 5 and doesn't have downtime canni spamming like 4. Probably the most efficient method for killing one at a time.)
7) Number 3, but with multiple targets. (I found this method rather tedious, so I haven't used it a lot, but it seems to be pretty efficient.)

When I'm killing higher level things I found malo to be rather useful; but for FDs and Goos I didn't find it was worth the extra mana as having to canni it back in between spawn wasn't worth the effort. Also, I had a pet out to finish off runners(except when dotting multiples). For goos I would haste my pet as well to kill the little goos faster.

This guy knows how to Shaman ... you experiment! :D

To add to #7 though: the real way to root/rot a bunch of mobs as a Shaman is to go pure epic. If the mob can be killed in 3-4 epics, like for instance the Seafury Cyclops in OOT, you can get away with only spending 100 mana on root to kill each mob. It will take forever (or at least 3-4 runs of your epic DoT), but you can kill 7+ mobs at a time that way.

Back before Seafuries were nerfed I had a lot of fun with this approach.

[skorge]

It really depends on your level, the mobs you're fighting, your gear, and personal preference. I would encourage you to try them out for yourself to see which you prefer and/or which is most efficient. That being said, if you have decent gear for your level, alternating between face tanking and pet tank would probably be best.

Personally, when I was leveling killing Faerie Dragons (the 4 on the east side) and then Goos in Wakening Lands I tried the following:

1) Face Tanking (At lower levels this is what I mostly did when soloing, but I found it was no longer effective. The melee damage I dealt wasn't worth the amount of damage I took.)
2) Pet Tanking (I found was also no longer effective. Pet was too squishy.)
3) Enstill > Epic dot > disease dot > poison dot > med/canni (I didn't see any point to this method if you have JBB. If you're gonna go this route I'd do multiple targets at once.)
4) Enstill > Epic dot > poison dot > JBB spam (Kills fast, but had to canni while waiting on spawns)
5) Enstill > Epic dot > JBB spam (extremely mana efficient and can pretty much kill continuously without stopping, but kills somewhat slowly)
6) Enstill > Epic dot > poison dot > JBB spam, but weaving Canni in between each JBB (A little more tedious, but kills faster than 5 and doesn't have downtime canni spamming like 4. Probably the most efficient method for killing one at a time.)
7) Number 3, but with multiple targets. (I found this method rather tedious, so I haven't used it a lot, but it seems to be pretty efficient.)

When I'm killing higher level things I found malo to be rather useful; but for FDs and Goos I didn't find it was worth the extra mana as having to canni it back in between spawn wasn't worth the effort. Also, I had a pet out to finish off runners(except when dotting multiples). For goos I would haste my pet as well to kill the little goos faster.

Dude is asking for 36-39 leveling...you can't even use the JBB until level 45 basically making the info you provided irrelevant to OP's question...lol sorry not trying to be a forum warrior but yeah...

[skorge]

This guy knows how to Shaman ... you experiment! :D

To add to #7 though: the real way to root/rot a bunch of mobs as a Shaman is to go pure epic. If the mob can be killed in 3-4 epics, like for instance the Seafury Cyclops in OOT, you can get away with only spending 100 mana on root to kill each mob. It will take forever (or at least 3-4 runs of your epic DoT), but you can kill 7+ mobs at a time that way.

Back before Seafuries were nerfed I had a lot of fun with this approach.

Once again dude is asking for level 36-39 shaman leveling. Epic and JBB is not viable here.

Get a GFG, haste yourself, regen yourself, cast slow on mob, dot mob, use pet. /thread

[HedleyKow]

Dude is asking for 36-39 leveling...you can't even use the JBB until level 45 basically making the info you provided irrelevant to OP's question...lol sorry not trying to be a forum warrior but yeah...

I did say that, depending on his gear, face tanking or pet tanking would likely be best at that level. The wall of text that followed was just an example of my trying out a bunch of different options on my shaman.

[Naethyn]

I like the lists above but I also malo everything for longer root durations.

[HedleyKow]

I like the lists above but I also malo everything for longer root durations.

I do as well for higher level mobs, but for Faerie Dragons and Goos I didn't find it worthwhile. Which might just be me being lazy and avoiding canni dancing in between spawns.

[Jibartik]

This has nothing to do with your question OP but a few posts in here just gets me excited for the epic shaman life:

Find area to set up camp for the night:

Regular root

Net click root

Net click root

Net click root

malo 1st mob

re-root

malo 2 mob

root

malo 3 mob

root

malo 4 mob

root

epic click click click click (or slip them in after each root idk whtaever dealers choice)

Repeat root/epic on each mob 1 by one till you win!

I know this sounds stupdily repetitive, but its by far the most fun I had playing everquest lol

That was my strat!

[loramin]

Once again dude is asking for level 36-39 shaman leveling. Epic and JBB is not viable here.

Get a GFG, haste yourself, regen yourself, cast slow on mob, dot mob, use pet. /thread

You may notice that I was the first person to reply to the OP, and that that response was 100% geared towards them and their lack of Epic/JBB.

This second post was a reply to someone else (I literally quoted their post above mine). But regardless, there still is nothing wrong at all with talking to a level 36 Shaman and letting them know that other playstyles are coming in the future.

[NegaStoat]

For my iksar shaman, I made 35 off of the cheesy iksar outcasts in swamp of no hope and then moved over to West Karana to whack guards. I would haste my pet, attack with Shock of Tainted x2 + Envenomed Breath with a root and a cheap slow so that the target was at 40% health, and let the pet take it down for the rest while the DoT was working. I would constantly Sit the pet when it wasn't in use to regain health as fast as possible.

My plan was for mana blasting the 2 guards to get them dead as quickly and efficiently as possible with the pet finishing the kill at that 40% mark, and use Canni to recover w/ regen in use while waiting for new spawns. I did zero (0) melee, and was killing about as fast as my DE necromancer at the same level and targets. At level 39 I had canni 2 to work with and a new pet, but stuck it out on the guards until 42 I think at which point I went from 42 to 50 solely off of Den and Friends dwarf spawn in Butcherblock while watching videos and keeping spawns killed.

Honestly, at 34 you can sell your melee weapon you were fighting with and use a +wis / mana combo set for both hands and not be swinging again to hit 50. That includes ditching your haste item. You really won't need it for a leveling speed that rivals a necro or magician, unless you enjoy the novelty of swinging a weapon and not meditating through a fight.

Edit - People that have a fungi and prime gear would of course probably do better with mixing up melee in fights as well as take on more ambitious mob targets to level faster. All I was concerned with at the time was a competitive leveling speed off of VERY SIMPLE old world mobs that gave a moderate return of loot value and quality video watching time between spawns. Old world mobs really are the key to doing anything with leveling a character that is in an awkward stage of strength between spell level tiers.

[Berendar]

If you have a PWS I always found slow tanking to be the best and most efficient way at your level even without a Fungi.

Buff, use the lowest level slow you can get away with to conserve mana, use 1 DOT, preferably the quicker acting poison one for your level, and use the pet as another DOT while you tank.

Root/Rot works, but always feels less efficient and also less fun.

[tylidian]

36 to 39 is easy in the Unrest hag tower. Breaking the room the first time is just a little challenging, but can certainly be done with a couple roots, slow, and then nuke the hags down. Best XP to 39.

[Tethler]

If you have a decent hitting 2h, you can do jousting between med ticks while root rotting, or jousting while pet tanks to split incoming damage with pet a bit. That's a bit tryhard though.