question about shaman's slam

[TastyBunny]

dose this 1skill slam useful for interrupting casting?
In my newbish eye shaman doesn't appear to have an interrupting ability otherwise so little concerned about this slam

and is shaman fun? it looks fun to me so considering shaman as second chr but not sure whether it is really fun or just my newb eye has been deceieved

[DeathsSilkyMist]

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

dose this 1skill slam useful for interrupting casting?
In my newbish eye shaman doesn't appear to have an interrupting ability otherwise so little concerned about this slam

and is shaman fun? it looks fun to me so considering shaman as second chr but not sure whether it is really fun or just my newb eye has been deceieved

Yes, slam can interrupt spellcasters. You are correct, Shamans sadly do not have a lot of ways to interrupt casters. Getting resist gear and powering through is usually your best bet.

Please take a look at my Youtube channel in my signature and see if you like how Shaman plays. Note that I have Torpor, so Shamans will play a bit differently until you hit 60.

As a heads up, the first 23 levels of a Shaman can be a bit dull, especially if you are untwinked. Once you hit 24 you'll get cannibalize and Regen.

I think Shamans are quite fun.

[Snaggles]

With a skill of 1 it’s certainly more of a dice toss. Later on though it can be helpful to slam from the side or behind the npcs so they can’t dodge/parry/block/riposte.

Many hands make light work. If you can potentially interrupt a spell caster it’s often good to toss your dice; shamans usually slow close to the NPC anyways so the melees don’t have to chase it. When playing my Paladin, I’m always trying to bash and stun but it’s a welcome (and noticeable) thing when the team is trying to help.

[sajbert]

Bash works, sometimes. Interrupt isn't really a thing on p99, some classes can cast stun but many don't even bother memorizing these spells even if they have situational uses.

Shaman is a class that benefits greatly from the time you invest into the class.

You can level 1-60 solo even untwinked or group. At 60 with all the spells you can solo some of the toughest soloable content. However, shamans can't really split mobs and camps well and because of that are more restricted than Enchanters.

The 1-34 experience is pretty rough, but it's always going to be rough untwinked on p99 except for maybe bards.

Shamans more or less fight in 2 styles:

- Root and dot and watch mobs rot. With Epic you can root and dot multiple mobs.

- Slow mob and melee with maybe adding dots into the mix. At 60 you get Torpor allowing you to heal a LOT whilst attacking and cannibalizing back mana for the next Torpor.

Outside of those styles shamans have access to buffs and in raids mostly buff and cast Torpor. Not exciting but it's honest work.

Personally I'm on the fence if I like shamans or not. Certainly less stressful than Enchanter and not as restricted to undead content as a Necromancer.

[Snaggles]

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

Interrupt isn't really a thing on p99

It depends on the definition of interruption, this can mean:

1. Movement interruption (I.e. push) = not still a thing at current. PC’s can always get hit enough where they fail to channel a spells.
2. Physical bash/slam interrupt: Works on most sub 55, not ogres, giants, dragons
3. Magic interrupt (stun, fear, mez, charm): Depends on npc type and spell type

Category 4 might be mana draining a NPC or interruption via dps burn. It doesn’t really count.

A shaman slam is a 2. category. It does work but it’s a chance of working. With enough people trying, it can stop a CH or gate from most npcs. I would always commend a shaman for trying to slam off a spell…it’s likely not at a detriment to the group.

[loramin]

TLDR; Slam is not a major feature of (large) Shaman. It's something you'll rarely even remember to use at higher levels, and even when you do it won't work reliably ... but if you're lucky it can be helpful in clutch situations when battling a caster.

Personally, I took it off my action bar by 60 at least, and probably long before (but it's been so long I don't remember). Still, every once in a blue moon when I'm soloing a caster, I'll SHIFT + 2 and use it from my second action pane.

[zelld52]

I will use Slam in "oh sh**" situations, ie:

im grouped, and the mob is gating and resisted the enchanter mez / stun.
im soloing and mob is healing itself

as others have said its not something youll have on your actions bar - and its not reliable, but its better than nothing