Shaman Math

[Trademaster]

You get to award points to yourself?

[Rahnza]

Yes, because I am an EverQuest champion.

[FireEmblem86]

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

Who's to say they'll use the same amount of mana? I'd almost guarantee someone who maxes HP will fight differently than someone who maxes wis.
There's no way to say either one is better with hypothetical situations.

Level a shaman to 50.
Max wis.
I'll max hp.
We can kill shit all day long and count who kills more.

Originally Posted by FireEmblem86 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

So he has more mana, and thus he USES more mana in each fight?

What?

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

That was never stated. The fact is that it takes more time to regen 1500 mana than it does to regen 1000 mana.

I guess it's stated now, though.

Keep in mind, I'm not saying that it's better to max out your mana rather than your HP. I think the logic is slightly flawed. Your logic with that is horribly flawed, though.

Now, my problem with the logic of 1500 HP vs. 1000 HP and canni'ing down to 500 and having to wait is this: Let's assume you use an average of 250 HP per fight. 1000 HP guy fights a total of 20 guys before going and getting back to full HP/full mana (for one reason or another). 1500 HP guy can fight 22 guys in about the same amount of time. He'll gain exp roughly 10% faster than 1000 HP guy.

[Swishahouse]

My point is as far as solo/main slower role goes for me its more of a Mana vs HP/AC not AC vs HP hence why I run with only 1765M similar ~1200HP yet around 100ac more than the others have shown.

[Jayko]

It's pretty situational which one of these you're stacking...what you're doing should dictate which gear you're wearing, and I keep a set for each.

I have a set of HP/mana stacked gear that I normally wear in raids (PKT, Djarn's, HBC, etc 1450 hp 2350 mana, mid 700s ac? unbuffed), a set of high ac high hp gear with a shield that I use for full roles in planar where I'm getting hit by a ton of 48-52 mobs (drops me 200+ mana?) and I'm working on a set of high dex gear that drops mana for dex / hp as I recently got a Barbarian Spirist Hammer which is just silly DPS.

I get use out of all three sets. Using a shield and stacking anything but mana in the top end raids is a joke. Stack all the AC you want, the bosses in Sky are going to shred you if you pull aggro before anyone even lands a greater heal. I make sure I have ~200 wis, a couple shy is no problem, and crank straight mana/hp afterwards. Most of the fights don't last long enough for me to run out of mana, but hp doesn't do much for you either as you simply don't NEED to canni and there aren't AEs going off in Sky. AE Mobs you're stacking resists so it throws a whole 'nother wrinkle.

I'd say your best bet if you're trying to build a well rounded set is to stack wis to about 185 or so if you're a barb and then just take whatever piece gives you the most of either hp or mana. If I have the choice between 30 hp and 30 mana I'll generally take the the hp. Due to the relative size of the pools, 30hp is a larger upgrade than 30 mana. I wear a Djarn's and an HBC full time because it's just difficult to find that much HP in other slots.

-Jayko
50 Barb Shaman <Dark Ascension>

[Messianic]

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

Yes, because I am an EverQuest champion.

+1

[thefloydian]

So what should I put my points into at creation? Stamina?

[quellren]

I would go wis

stam points have terrible returns on shaman. you could dump 25 points into stam at creation and have like 50 more hps at lvl 50. 25 wis will net you a good fistful of mana however.

[thefloydian]

Thanks, quellren

[Skope]

I've weighed in on other discussions and it seems somewhat redundant doing it here but here goes:

Capping your wisdom as a shaman isn't difficult. Capping your wisdom as a MELEE shaman is a bit more difficult. I've always been a champion of sticking your points into wisdom at start because i actually favor the melee shaman. In terms of gear, you're allowed more flexibility if you actually go wisdom rather than stamina. As was stated, return on sta>hp for shamans isn't anything to look forward to (it's actually quite pathetic) and your items that add pure +hp will always outnumber it by far (a single item can double the +25 points into stam at beginning but having +25 wis means you get to wear more +hp/ac/dex items, because let's face it, can you name a single item with a load of wis that a melee shaman should be wearing?).

In classic, melee shamans are somewhat gimp. The gear they get is decent but not fantastic and the spell list is crippled by a major lack of torpor. What the pure +hp boasters forget to mention is that as a shaman you can help with heals after you malo/slow/cripple. What? You mean I have to use my mana after that? yes!! If your mana pool is too low you will quickly realize it in a raid setting where you find that you're wasting time clicking that JBB when you could be healing. If you run out of mana mid-way through the fight then that time wasted cannibalizing you could have been throwing out more heals. Druid/shaman heals provide a fantastic buffer between the cleric CHs and come kunark people won't be looking your way for DPS.

Generally speaking, a raid shaman will want a good balance of +hp/mana and a healthy amount of resists -- the latter goes without saying. A melee/solo shaman will want a more favorable amount of +hp/ac/dex than wis/mana (though this can also depend on the mob that you're fighting).

I'm a champion of multiple gear sets. Remember, shamans are very versatile and in order to fill those roles you need quite a bit of gear. +resist raid gear (mana/hp), a +hp/ac set and even a +cha set. Right now i fluctuate between 175ish wis and 200 depending on whether i'm wearing the tank gear or the +wis stuff, all the while wearing a full black sapphire set and wielding a barbarian spiritist's hammer. This means that at I have enough mana to heal and enough dex (190ish?) to get in there and throw in some great DPS even while wearing the wisdom stuff.