best race for shaman?

[loramin]

This topic has been discussed (a lot) already; see the Priests forum. My summary of it:

Ogres have the most powerul ability at level 60, with Torpor: front stun immunity. So if you want the most ultimate power someday, go Ogre.

Trolls and Iksar have regen, which is less relevant once you have Torpor (but keep in mind it will take you a long time to get level 60 and get the 100k+ plat for Torpor). Iksar are slightly inferior though because their AC bonus doesn't make up for their lack of JBB (or other plate).

Barbarians have no special features compared to the others. However, they level faster, and have better faction than the others.

Which is right for you depends. Iksar seems bad, but keep in mind that the JBB is only barely affordable by your late 40s/early 50s (and at 60 w/ Torpor it barely gets used). It's huge for leveling from 40-60, but unless you have rich friends or the willpower to save all your plat (no tradeskills, no purchased gear, etc.) don't even worry about it. If you aren't sure you'll even make it to 60 then the Barbarian exp bonus starts looking a lot better than the Ogre's stun immunity (which barely helps leveling). But if you're in it for the most power possible over the long haul an Ogre seems a lot better. And so on.

Personally, knowing all of the above, I made a Barbarian shaman. After almost a year of play (about an hour a night on average) I'm only 56; as any other race I might not even be 50 yet. Plus I've gotten to explore almost all of the cities in Norath. Oh, and shortly before I saved up enough for a JBB someone gave me one, and it has been really, really useful, so all in all I've been pretty happy with my choice.

The good news is there's no wrong choice: even if you level a Barbarian to 60 and get him Torpor he'll only be a little bit less powerful than an Ogre. And even if you pick an Ogre, it won't take that much longer to level up than a Barbarian.

Anyhow, hope that helps.