Shaman race poll

[Videri]

There have been many threads about shaman race choice, but I thought of a different approach. Please respond only if you have played a shaman extensively, at least to 50+. Imagine you decided to delete your character and restart. Which race would you choose?

The goal is to help players choose their new shaman's race. There is probably no strictly superior shaman race, and players may prefer races based on appearance, roleplaying, and lore; but at least with this poll, we can see how players feel about their choice of race.

I'm curious to see if a strong lead emerges or if there is an approximate tie between two or more races. Let's see how this develops.

[Troxx]

As of the end of january:

-50% of ogres who have responded would reroll another race
-More than 50% of barbarians would reroll another race
-90% of trolls would troll again
-85% of iksars would iksar again

[Varren]

No bush/towers?

[Ricky Bobby]

I have a level 58 barbarian shaman.
I am in the process of re-rolling as a Troll. I'm in the mid 40s.

Why Troll and not iksar? I wanted to play with Clickie Snare & JBB.
I believe Troll is the best race for shamans. Everyone has their own opinion, this is mine.

The only thing I like about my barb is the number of cities I can enter without them being KOS. But in the time that I have played my barb I learned many places a troll of innoruuk could buy/sell. Plus by the time I hit the higher 50's I was spending most of my time in velious lands so I just used thurgadin as my home city. So the perk of being a good guy was kind of null.

Then there was the fact that I was getting something like 10 less hit points per tick while sitting.

There is the barbarian spiritualist hammer,.. which I never used. But I read that the granite face grinder is better dps. So whats the point of a 2h that's lower dps and will get replaced by an epic someday. I would take the snare clickie over that any day of the week, no matter how weak the snare is.

Iksar is a good choice but they have certain minor limitations on gear pre-raid, depending on your budget. They also cant use JBB which isn't a deal breaker for some people. But I like that slow cast free 250 dd. /shrug
Some people prefer their AC bonus over the JBB.

I don't like how ogres look so i'm never playing an ogre. But I can see how their frontal stun immunity could come in handy against hard hitting mobs. especially when you need to land that slow.

People can talk about which race to play as a shaman until they're blue in the face. it's been talked about a lot of these forums. I think every angle has been discussed. So if anyone is unsure. Just search the forums on the subject. you'll likely find several threads discussing it.

Once I get my Troll shaman to get 58 I plan on doing a couple tests to compare barb vs troll.

[Varren]

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

I have a level 58 barbarian shaman.
I am in the process of re-rolling as a Troll. I'm in the mid 40s.

Why Troll and not iksar? I wanted to play with Clickie Snare & JBB.
I believe Troll is the best race for shamans. Everyone has their own opinion, this is mine.

I agree. I have an iksar, and although iksars look the best, I wish I had rolled troll. Wish I had the better stats and the slam, mostly. At 51 currently and won't reroll. Its not that big of a deal to me and I do like the iksar.

[Troxx]

Trolls are awesome.

They're ugly as sin and I love that. Slam is nice. The clicky snare is quite useful (though I wish it lasted longer or casted faster). Starting stats are good, the low wisdom isn't a bother as your mana is more dependent on regen.

I finally saved up enough for a fungi, should ding 58 tomorrow.

48 hp a tick sitting regen is just insane. With canni conversion ratios, the extra regen alone after 56 is like having an extra clarity/c2 over barbarian and ogre.

It gives you a lot more mana to work with and really reduces your downtime while also giving you a wide extra measure of safety.

[Ricky Bobby]

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

I finally saved up enough for a fungi, should ding 58 tomorrow.

48 hp a tick sitting regen is just insane. With canni conversion ratios, the extra regen alone after 56 is like having an extra clarity/c2 over barbarian and ogre.

It gives you a lot more mana to work with and really reduces your downtime while also giving you a wide extra measure of safety.

This is exactly why I felt I needed to re-roll from barb.

For people who can't afford a fungi tunic there is a cheaper option.
http://wiki.project1999.com/Ceremonial_Iksar_Chestplate

It is what I use and it's amazing for it's price point. Granted it has no stats (STA/WIS) but the +5 regen (only 10 less per tick from a fungi & without the movement speed debuff) has a huge impact on my downtime. Also worth noting that this regen ticks whether I'm standing or sitting and stacks with the life regen line of spells.

These things combined with a natural regen of the Troll or Iksar is definitely a game changer,. with or without torpor I'd be willing to bet.
In a way it reminds me of how Iksar Necro's can out perform non-Iksar necros. In terms of life to mana ratios.

==Edit==
One thing that crossed my mind is that both Troll & Iksar have -20% exp.
I have noticed that hell levels are more difficult to grind through. However if you're going for level 60 no matter what. -20% isn't going to stop you. It will just make things a tad slower. approx 1.2x slower /laugh Depending on your leveling methods.
But level 59 for example would be the only level where I see a exponential difference in the amount of exp you have to grind. Level 54 is also a double hell level so that one may be a pain to grind through too. It's not like you're going to skip those levels as another race though. So I don't see the pain of having to grind a little extra as being a huge turn off.

==Edit==
Varren mentions slam. I can't tell you the number of times that I have been able to stun a mob in flee mode or interrupt a mobs casting via the use of slam. While it only does 1 point of dmg. The utility of it is quite useful when you apply it in the right situation. Not perfect but with a little rng can be the difference between life and death.

[Slave35]

Here's the dirty low-down:

Ogre has frontal stun immunity.
Level 60 with Torpor is absolutely the Shaman class's power spike.
Level 60 with Torpor nullifies any regeneration bonus the Troll might enjoy.
Level 60 with Torpor, Ogre is clearly the superior shaman, and probably the strongest race/class combination in the game.
If you don't care about level 60 with Torpor, and farming the hardest things you can and doing it the easiest, then Troll has a great look, regeneration, and snare click.

tl;dr: Troll 1-59. Ogre 60.

[Varren]

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

I can't tell you the number of times that I have been able to stun a mob in flee mode or interrupt a mobs casting via the use of slam. While it only does 1 point of dmg. The utility of it is quite useful when you apply it in the right situation. Not perfect but with a little rng can be the difference between life and death.

This is the biggest thing for me honestly. It seems pretty important for a class that has no other way to interrupt a caster besides regular melee.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by Slave35 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Here's the dirty low-down:

Ogre has frontal stun immunity.
Level 60 with Torpor is absolutely the Shaman class's power spike.
Level 60 with Torpor nullifies any regeneration bonus the Troll might enjoy.
Level 60 with Torpor, Ogre is clearly the superior shaman, and probably the strongest race/class combination in the game.
If you don't care about level 60 with Torpor, and farming the hardest things you can and doing it the easiest, then Troll has a great look, regeneration, and snare click.

tl;dr: Troll 1-59. Ogre 60.

I see a pattern here. Torpor, Torpor, Torpor.
If Torpor is so huge then why do you say Ogre is the superior race? All shaman's of any race can use Torpor. Barb, Troll, Iksar.

Even while you're using Torpor you'll still be getting more health regen as a troll or iksar. So torpor+more health regen. Whoa.. And you said it yourself three times.. Torpor What does torpor do? it regens health. More health regen? Yes please.

Torpor lasts 4 ticks,. Standing a troll/iksar would get 33 more health then a ogre. Sitting they'd get 44 more health.
torpor = 300hp * 4 ticks = 1200 health
1276 health(ogre/barb(fungi)) vs 1308(troll/iksar(fungi)) standing
1288 health(ogre/barb(fungi)) vs 1332(troll/iksar(fungi)) sitting.

Frontal stun immunity or not,.. you're going to be regening so much it wont matter, Ogre or Not. Just use your spells, abilities and skill as a shaman to not get caught in a situation where you're getting frontal stun locked.
[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I do not believe that the Ogre's racial is as crucial to the shaman class as say it is to the warrior class. The power of the shaman really doesn't come from it's race as has been mentioned many times. Even the op admits this. It's the spells it has in the endgame.

I know this card has been pulled one too many times,. But there is Barb shamans who can do content just as hard as any other race. They don't get regen or frontal stun immunity. What does that tell you? I get the feeling the race doesn't matter honestly. But I rest easier at night thinking about my improved regen on my troll vs my barb.

Edit: Why did I take time to write all this out? Your post makes it sound like ogre is the clear cut winner. At least in my initial post I presented some positive facts about all the shaman race choices. Saying that one is better just because it is doesn't help people.