Shaman Gearing - White Dragon Helm vs White Dragonscale Boots

[Wiff]

I'll hopefully have enough faction for the KT head turnin this week, but I still haven't decided which reward to commit to. I'd like to be on giant faction at some point in the future even if temporarily, and Yelinak faction has been a pain even without ever bottoming out.

I know that AC/HP/Resists is generally preferred to Wis/Mana which is why I've been leaning more towards the helm, but I've seen very little discussion of FT for shamans. The extra 20 MR, slightly extra AC/HP, and tradability to alts is certainly juicy, but would the shaman players here consider that to completely outweigh FT 2?

[Ripqozko]

get helm, get pom boots, hope that helps.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Personally, if you can afford PoM boots, I would spend that money on a Mithril Helm instead and go boots.

Here are the stat comparisons between the two combinations:

PoM Boots + White Dragon Helm
--------------------------------------
_AC: +67
_HP: +150
_MP: + 60
STR: +15 (useless, will be maxed anyway with buffs)
STA: +22 (useless, will be maxed anyway with buffs)
DEX: +15 (useless, will be maxed anyway with buffs)
AGI: +10
_FR: +10
_CR: +15
_MR: +30
_PR: +10
_DR: +15

Mithril Helm + White Dragon Boots
--------------------------------------
_AC: +50
_HP: +85
_MP: + 150
STR: +4
WIS: +32
INT: +17 (useless)
_FR: +20
_CR: +35
_MR: +25
_PR: +20
_DR: +20

When you remove the useless stats, these are the positive differences between the two combinations:

PoM Boots + White Dragon Helm VS. Mithril Helm + White Dragon Boots
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_AC: +17
_HP: +65
AGI: +10
_MR: +5

Mithril Helm + White Dragon Boots VS. PoM Boots + White Dragon Helm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_MP: +90
WIS: +32
_FR: +10
_CR: +20
_PR: +10
_DR: +10
Flowing Thought II

As you can see, Mithril Helm + White Dragon Boots is giving you a ton of mana (240-420 roughly speaking, depending on how close you are to 200 WIS), a good chunk more of important resists (+10 FR, +20 CR) while only sacrificing 5 MR, and you get Flowing Thought II, which is the only Flowing Thought II item for Shamans.

While some people are rabid fans of maxing HP as much as possible, I do not think +65HP is going to help you as much as the mana, resists, and Flowing Thought. It will really only save you if you are getting beat down really fast, and get lucky enough to stabilize the fight at less than 100hp.

Flowing Thought isn't as great on Shamans as it is on other classes, but it can still help reduce the amount of cannibalizing you need to do per fight. It is also nice for regenerating mana while you are traveling from one location to another. You may not need to stop and Cannibalize.

EDIT: If you are an Iksar Shaman, the +22 STA will probably be more useful, as your base STA is much lower than the big races, but +STA is still quite plentiful on Shaman gear. At best you will get an extra 66 HP at level 60, so I still personally prefer the White Dragon Boots + Mithril Helm combo. White Dragon Boots have the best boot resistances in the game for a Shaman, besides Vulak loot. Boots are one of the slots that is much more difficult to find a good resistance piece.

[Ripqozko]

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

Personally, if you can afford PoM boots, I would spend that money on a Mithril Helm instead and go boots.

Here are the stat comparisons between the two combinations:

PoM Boots + White Dragon Helm
--------------------------------------
_AC: +67
_HP: +150
_MP: + 60
STR: +15 (useless, will be maxed anyway with buffs)
STA: +22 (useless, will be maxed anyway with buffs)
DEX: +15 (useless, will be maxed anyway with buffs)
AGI: +10
_FR: +10
_CR: +15
_MR: +30
_PR: +10
_DR: +15

Mithril Helm + White Dragon Boots
--------------------------------------
_AC: +50
_HP: +85
_MP: + 150
STR: +4
WIS: +32
INT: +17 (useless)
_FR: +20
_CR: +35
_MR: +25
_PR: +20
_DR: +20

When you remove the useless stats, these are the positive differences between the two combinations:

PoM Boots + White Dragon Helm VS. Mithril Helm + White Dragon Boots
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_AC: +17
_HP: +65
AGI: +10
_MR: +5

Mithril Helm + White Dragon Boots VS. PoM Boots + White Dragon Helm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_MP: +90
WIS: +32
_FR: +10
_CR: +20
_PR: +10
_DR: +10
Flowing Thought II

As you can see, Mithril Helm + White Dragon Boots is giving you a ton of mana (240-420 roughly speaking, depending on how close you are to 200 WIS), a good chunk more of important resists (+10 FR, +20 CR) while only sacrificing 5 MR, and you get Flowing Thought II, which is the only Flowing Thought II item for Shamans.

While some people are rabid fans of maxing HP as much as possible, I do not think +65HP is going to help you as much as the mana, resists, and Flowing Thought. It will really only save you if you are getting beat down really fast, and get lucky enough to stabilize the fight at less than 100hp.

Flowing Thought isn't as great on Shamans as it is on other classes, but it can still help reduce the amount of cannibalizing you need to do per fight. It is also nice for regenerating mana while you are traveling from one location to another. You may not need to stop and Cannibalize.

EDIT: If you are an Iksar Shaman, the +22 STA will probably be more useful, as your base STA is much lower than the big races, but +STA is still quite plentiful on Shaman gear. At best you will get an extra 66 HP at level 60, so I still personally prefer the White Dragon Boots + Mithril Helm combo. White Dragon Boots have the best boot resistances in the game for a Shaman, besides Vulak loot. It is one of the slots that is much more difficult to find a good resistance piece.

Sounds like you made up your mind, waste of thread

[DeathsSilkyMist]

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

Sounds like you made up your mind, waste of thread

What? I am not the original poster of the thread lol. I am just giving my opinion on what he should do...

[Wiff]

I really appreciate the breakdown, Deaths! I do agree that that combo would give better returns. I am trying to prioritize HP, AC, and MR, but that is indeed a lot to give up just to be marginally sturdier.

I am a troll so STA is pretty much a nonissue. I actually did fail to account for how prevalent the stat would be on Velious gear.

Although thrones and dolls will probably be generally attainable way sooner than Lady M loot, I do think the boots would likely turn out to be the better long term option for the all reasons you've presented: hard-to-replace resists for the slot, superior overall stat returns, our only source of FT 2 even if it does less for us.

[Solist]

Neither?

Both suck on a shaman, put the helm on an alt monk/rog.

[Nutsax]

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

What? I am not the original poster of the thread lol. I am just giving my opinion on what he should do...

Please forgive him, he has a pea sized brain.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

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

Please forgive him, he has a pea sized brain.

Reviving an old thread just to insult someone for no reason is silly.