Shaman race dilemma: Re-roll?

[Crede]

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

Not to intentionally open a can of worms, but Ogre is the best Shaman pick, right? (Considering you get to level 60 with torpor)

Highly debated topic. But I'll lay out the facts for you:

99.8% of the time Troll Regen + JBB is the most useful
.01% of the time Ogre FSI will save you from dying
.01% of the time the extra AC from Iksar will save you from dying

I'll let you decide.

[loramin]

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

Not to intentionally open a can of worms, but Ogre is the best Shaman pick, right? (Considering you get to level 60 with torpor)

Ogre is the best race, by a very small margin that pretty much everyone agrees is not very significant, once you reach level 60 and get Torpor. But again, it's a small margin: the "worst" race (at 60 with Torpor), ie. Barbarian, happens to be the race of the top shaman solo artist on this server.

For getting to 60 Barbarian is the fastest (lowest XP penalty). Also they're the only ones that get good faction ... but they spend more time meditating up. Trolls spend less time on their ass because of their regen, so are arguably better. Iksar have all the Troll downsides but can't use the JBB (getting only a slight AC increase in return), so they are generally considered the weakest.

http://wiki.project1999.com/Shaman has a much more detailed analysis to let you make your own opinion.

[Tenagra]

Originally Posted by Boarder981 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Funny you mention that. I haven’t played the Barb or the Troll since I made the original post. I still can’t decide, and honestly haven’t played much the last few weeks. The little time I have played was devoted to working on my Druid. Want to get him high enough for ports so I’m not always poor [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It may sound lame, but I’ve come back to this post a few times to re-read all the responses, but still find it very difficult to make a final decision.

BTW, thanks all for the great advice!

rofl I feel you man. Porting is a great activity when you aren't sure what you wanna do. It also lets you check out everyones fashion-questing and sometimes that can help influence what you wanna do next.

[Vexenu]

The thing about the Shaman races is that you can at least make decent arguments for all of them, depending on what you value most as a player.

Barbarian - Fastest leveling, good faction, JBB, polar bear hats
Troll - Regen & JBB
Ogre - FSI & JBB
Iksar - Least played race so you stand out as a unique snowflake, regen, AC bonus

Basically, for the Shaman class each race has distinct pros and cons. Contrast this with almost every other class, where race either makes pretty much no difference whatsoever (Magician, Wizard, Rogue, Ranger, Bard, Paladin, etc...) or where one race has such an overwhelming advantage over the others that there is essentially zero min/max debate even possible (Monk, Necro, SK, Warrior).

The reason why Shaman race is so heavily debated is because there really is no objectively correct answer as to which is "best". The class itself is so powerful that race is not make or break either way, so it comes down to personal preference on what pros and cons you prefer.

[Crede]

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

The thing about the Shaman races is that you can at least make decent arguments for all of them, depending on what you value most as a player.

Barbarian - Fastest leveling, good faction, JBB, polar bear hats
Troll - Regen & JBB
Ogre - FSI & JBB
Iksar - Least played race so you stand out as a unique snowflake, regen, AC bonus

Basically, for the Shaman class each race has distinct pros and cons. Contrast this with almost every other class, where race either makes pretty much no difference whatsoever (Magician, Wizard, Rogue, Ranger, Bard, Paladin, etc...) or where one race has such an overwhelming advantage over the others that there is essentially zero min/max debate even possible (Monk, Necro, SK, Warrior).

The reason why Shaman race is so heavily debated is because there really is no objectively correct answer as to which is "best". The class itself is so powerful that race is not make or break either way, so it comes down to personal preference on what pros and cons you prefer.

I wouldn’t call anything overwhelming advantages, or else there wouldn’t be endless debates on it. Also not sure why you’re using barbarian leveling speed as an advantage but leaving it out for those other 4 classes.

Best shaman race in “most” scenarios is troll. Ogre will win in certain ones. Iksar ac isnt worth giving up jbb IMO. Barb has a few decent perks, but should not be in the discussion for best shaman race.

[Snaggles]

The only race at a considerable disadvantage is the Iksar w/o access to a JBB. Not an issue at level 60 with torpor and an epic but much of a shaman's life doesn't have those items. Depending on resources that extra 200k plat push in no-drop items is unobtainable. That makes a JBB some serious filthy casual helpfulness across the board.

[Issar]

When Luclin drops it’s all about the Vah Shir. Discuss.

AKA trolling; b/c Troll is the best shaman race given the OPs description. Regen is king if you’re likely never going to have torp, and access to a JBB separates them from Iksar. That being said my shaman on P99 is an Iksar. I really just enjoy the race.

[ldgo86]

Play what you can stand to look at for your characters life. I knew troll was better objectively, but I rolled ogre because I can appreciate being a fatty but not a green garbled looking fatty.

[Boarder981]

Originally Posted by ldgo86 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I knew troll was better objectively, but I rolled ogre because I can appreciate being a fatty but not a green garbled looking fatty.

Made me laugh out loud! For me it’s the opposite.

I’m beginning to think I should just stick with the Barb. After all, tons of people play Ogre Shaman and do fine without the extra regen. Yes I know FSI can be uber in the right situation, but honestly I don’t think there’s any way I’d play an Ogre.

On an unrelated note, are there custom Velious chain helms? I only see the custom graphics for plate on the wiki fashion page. If so, does anyone have a link to a pic? I really hate the Barb chain helm look.

[Troxx]

Don’t forget that 3 of the 4 shaman races can slam. Terrible damage but works surprisingly well for interrupting casters.