For a Shaman who wants to melee level, do I need to be Ogre/Troll?

[Tunabros]

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

Can someone tell me why people talk about shamans tanking all the time?

Like, I don't see any stats that make a shaman more of a tank than a cleric.

they can torpor themselves and good agro with their dots and poison dd

[Vaarsuvius]

Like Tunasbors said:

Torpor,
75% slow,
Debuffs,
Hasted & buffed pet,
Pox, Bane & epic DoT,
Home made 30ish DS pots,

This might be some of the reasons shamans can tank better than other priest classes

[Gustoo]

I'm talking about Pre Torpor sorry for the confusion.

[Tunabros]

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

I'm talking about Pre Torpor sorry for the confusion.

dont really need torpor to be a good tank

just need a cleric

[Gozuk]

I leveled my Shaman to 50 using primarily melee. It was fun and I felt like it was pretty efficient especially once I got pet and haste spell. He's an Iksar. Not majorly twinked but I had 21% worn haste, a PWC till around level 25 or 30 and then 30/36 Velium brawlstick after that. Iksar regen BP. Really enjoyed leveling him up!

[Danth]

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

Can someone tell me why people talk about shamans tanking all the time?

Like, I don't see any stats that make a shaman more of a tank than a cleric.

It's not so much that the shaman is a better theoretical tank than the cleric but rather the shaman's more self-contained for the offtank role (the shaman brings its own slow) and there's usually more of a reason for the shaman to want to do it. Clerics can do it too when circumstances require, just those circumstances tend to be less common.

Danth

[ScottBerta]

Shamans can slow and can regenerate themselves.. pretty good tanking combination. Throw in a pet and haste that’s not bad at all. My main is 60 Ogre Shaman and I did plenty of face tanking. GFG is a good lower level weapon for that. However if you get epic you will want to root/rot or just Duo with like a monk. For super tough solo fights lvl 60... you will absolutely be face tanking. Malo, Slow, Cripple, and start tanking it. However often times I won’t even attack when I do but rather stay non stop cannabilizing, torping, and DoTing. But lower lvls like 30-40s can work real well.

Also to Danth’s point, shaman can tank and mana regenerate at same time with canni, however clerics cannot so they really need to be medding if they are not casting.

[greenspectre]

As a shaman I ended up tanking a lot in groups until about 30 or so. But that was more based on my armor than my weapon, which was garbage. Green was just short on tanks at the beginning was all.

[Jimjam]

Class 	BRD	CLR	DRU	ENC	MAG	MNK	NEC	PAL	RNG	ROG	SHM	SK	WAR	WIZ
Defense	215	175	200	145	145	252	145	230	200	252	200	230	252	145

According to this resource, for at least part of classic, shaman had better defence skill caps than cleric too. Fair enough, Cleric could wear plate to offset this, but let's be honest - all priests wore a lot of leather and chain during this period (gatorscale, bloodstained tunic, etc) so the plate advantage wasn't maximised by clerics.

I'm not sure if P1999 has these skill caps actually programmed in during the timeline, so this oddity may not be pertinent to our server. The era these are given seems late Kunark, early Velious.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Not sure why people keep saying Shamans can't melee well past 20. They have the same offensive skill cap as warriors sub level 50. Couple that with their ability to haste themselves and buff their strength, they do more white damage than DoT damage until level 40, when mobs get a big boost to HP, AC, and Damage. Shaman DoTs really suck until you get Plague and Envenomed Bolt. They cost a lot of mana, have poor DPM, and get resisted. The priest damage table does suck, but a granite face grinder or poision wind censor will get you to the damage cap just fine, and they have relatively low delay for a 2H weapon.

The reason why non Torpor Shamans can tank well is because of Slow. That spell alone is reducing damage more effectively than the defensive capabilities of a tank. Shamans can also let their pets off tank because their HP pool is pretty good for a pet, and slow allows the doggo to last even longer.

No race is particularly better than the other in terms of outputting raw melee damage, since you can buff yourself anyway. Obviously an Ogre/Troll have more strength, but STR is one of the easiest stats to stack on cheap gear, and a haste item plus self haste is your main source of white damage increases anyway. And a good weapon of course.

I would personally advise against rolling Iksar due to the lack of JBB. I assume you are not twinking your toon to the teeth with an Epic. Barbarians are generally considered very fashionable. I disagree, but that is just my dislike of the kilts. Melee starts to get rough around the time you can use a JBB, and that item is the best leveling tool you can get to solo to 60. Epic is better, but costs about 100k when you can find it on the market.