How about Black Dire, which is part of shaman epic quest? Shaman can't solo it, but he could duo it with SK ... or monk

Just an example....there is many more out there. Pre-PoP pre-aa's shaman can't solo high end named mobs as well as you might have thought...

SHM/NEC can always heal a necro pet also on a tough mob pull (not to mention NEC can charm against UD).

With FD the nec can lay on an array of dots as well and not worry about agro.

it goes in order of bestiness
sham/nec
sham/monk
sham/biggslick
sham/sk

+1 for shm+nec.

Fantastic duo. Roting, pet tanking, kiting. It's all good.

You just use Clinging Darkness by then. It's almost as good and more than enough. Any class with a spammable high-aggro spell can hold aggro from anyone who isn't actively trying to take it. Think of it like this:

You need 100 TPS (threat per second) to hold aggro from anyone who isn't trying to overtake you.

You can generate 400 TPS with DC if you want to.

You can generate 300 TPS with CD if you want to.

(numbers are examples)

Basically, any caster class can effortlessly hold aggro against anybody who isn't trying to out-aggro. Even a wizard could chain snare/stun, and a magician could chain malwhatever.

you dont need to generate agro in a duo since all duos have some form of crowd control in the necro/sham you just root everything and slow then sick pet on em.

SK gets to look more badass than necro (unless they got lich illusion) thats about it as far as the duo benefit you dont need a "tank" for a duo just a way to not take damage/recover life which SK doesnt add anything that a monk can bring. not that tanks arnt important for taking on mobs that a duo wont tackle but if a duo can do it the sk isnt gonna make or break it.

Don't forget to play what's the most fun for you guys. Min / max = monk. But none of the classes you listed are bad at all, just not the tryhardbest.

qft

and

gear needs to be considered for new players

monks (not sure how they got brought in to sk/necro comparison)= gear dependent to be wtfpwnd although thats severely mitigated by being paired with sham stats/hp/ac/100% weight bags/haste/regen/mr is all the gear youd need as a monk you can get geared on a budget at that point some wus and any combo of 1h and 2hb to keep skills up until you can get an ifs or something

SK = also very gear dependent moreso than monk imo since they will need good weps/shield/armor +hp +mana

necro=not gear dependent at all and even moreso since regen/hp buffs = mana


one final point from me since im bored:
in the sham/sk duo who is doing the damage? is SK just burning through mana and needing to med after everyfight to keep dps up or is sham having to take on doting ontop of slowing so all SK ends up bringing to the table is a way mana inefficient root in the form of agro thats gonna need heals and buffs.

Although there is a rediculous amount of overlap, an Enchanter might be considered the most useful dungeon companion for a Shaman. The thing that is most missing from a Chanter is some way to heal, which the Shaman provides. With the Chanter you get:

* The best possible CC
* Charmed mob for tanking/dps
* Clarity or C2 (anybody who thinks Canni obviates C2 is wrong)

Necro also can feed shaman mana while enjoying the chloroplast :D