Cleric or Shaman?

[VincentVolaju]

Hey all, so I started playing here with a friend of mine. He made a warrior and I made a Cleric, we figured since this is player run server there prob wouldnt be a very big server population so we might as well pick the 2 things needed to make any group work... a tank and healer.

Were still low level atm and I have been reading alot about Shaman being the best duo w/ melee characters.

So I was wandering ... what are the main difference between Cleric and Shaman? How are the shamans heals compared to a Clerics? Which is needed more / more of a "must have" in a group, Cleric or Shaman? Are there more Clerics or Shamans on the server?

I figured I should ask here on the forums and get as many opinions as I could before I make up my mind on if I should or shouldnt reroll shaman.

THANKS ALL!!!

[Otis]

Well as far as I know, here's how the healing classes rank in regards to healing power:
1). Cleric
2). Druid
3). Shaman

However, Shamans get abilities that melee classes like such as: Slow, Buffs, SoW, etc. Plus, Shamans can off-tank in a pinch at lower levels.

[President]

I found that a lot of the time when making groups at lower levels, I could survive a group with 1 cleric, but 1 druid or 1 shaman was rough. I would generally get 2 druids, 1 druid/1 shaman, 2 shamans or something like that if I couldn't find a cleric. It definitely becomes a lot more noticeable once clerics get complete heal. Your XP group will be hands down better if you only need to rely on 1 healer instead of 2. Resurrect will also be invaluable at later levels.

The shaman may be considered more of a fun class, and a more soloable class (buff, heal, debuff, slow, dps, sow, etc.) whereas a cleric you are basically going to buff/heal and that's about it.

Either way I don't think the combo of a warrior/shaman or warrior/cleric is really going to be that good at duoing. If you are wanting a warrior, then plan to group (or at least add dps and be a trio+) and I would suggest sticking with the cleric.

EDIT* war/shm war/clr won't be good at duoing unless you can afford fbss yakx2

[VincentVolaju]

Well we pretty much only really play the characters when were both online, so I will always be grouped with the warrior because we want to stay same level.

It sounds like in a group a Cleric is better because the heals are much stronger. What we wanted to do was pick the 2 most important class's, so we can make groups faster/easier, because its always much easier to fill in DPS and CC once you the tank/healer.

I guess if I went Shaman, I would be more of a buffer/debuffer with off heals, so we would still need to find a healer for the group anyway, right?

So far I am leaning on just sticking with the Cleric just because we can make just about any group work with a warrior / cleric combo ... I guess it isnt the same way for a Shaman though?

Does anyone know which class is more popular on the server?

[Otis]

As an aside, make sure your Warrior gets some good weapons. Taunt is screwy on this server, so weapon procs are very important.

[President]

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

Well we pretty much only really play the characters when were both online, so I will always be grouped with the warrior because we want to stay same level.

It sounds like in a group a Cleric is better because the heals are much stronger. What we wanted to do was pick the 2 most important class's, so we can make groups faster/easier, because its always much easier to fill in DPS and CC once you the tank/healer.

I guess if I went Shaman, I would be more of a buffer/debuffer with off heals, so we would still need to find a healer for the group anyway, right?

So far I am leaning on just sticking with the Cleric just because we can make just about any group work with a warrior / cleric combo ... I guess it isnt the same way for a Shaman though?

Does anyone know which class is more popular on the server?

There does seem to be a lack in shamans at higher levels, but if you are wanting to have the core classes to start groups, cleric/warrior is going to be it. And, you are never going to get turned down from a guild because you are a cleric....

[VincentVolaju]

Ive never really played EQ much, or raided for that matter. Are Clerics more useful in raids or groups? Or is there not much difference between the 2?

[Taminy]

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

EDIT* war/shm war/clr won't be good at duoing unless you can afford fbss yakx2

FBSS + yakx2 isn't needed for duoing.

FBSS + decent weapon(s) even fairly cheap ones would work fine for duoing, or a mith2h. Still expensive though of course.

[President]

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

FBSS + yakx2 isn't needed for duoing.

FBSS + decent weapon(s) even fairly cheap ones would work fine for duoing, or a mith2h. Still expensive though of course.

Thanks for clarifying my point....

[vageta31]

No one can heal as good as a cleric. Period. If you're talking end game usefullness in old school EQ then cleric wins hands down. However if you're talking duo ability then Cleric's aren't the best choice. They can lull which makes it easier to break some camps but have zero utility really.

If you want the best partner to a melee class strictly in a duo sense then you can't go wrong with Shaman. Shaman's can slow the mob up to 70% which reduces the need for a complete heal altogether. Shaman's excel at increasing the output of their melee partner by being able to debuff a mob, haste the melee, buff strength for more damage, dex buff for more proc's and have decent HP/AC buffs as to top it off. Not to mention they have utility like sow, shrink, regen, resist buffs for all 5 resists, etc...

With a Cleric/Warrior it comes down to... Warrior engages mob. When down to low health Cleric casts CH. If you get adds root for crowd control and hope it doesn't break before your next CH is off.

With Shaman/Warrior it goes like this... Warrior engages mob, Shaman sends in hasted pet. After aggro is established(if warrior has proc weapon then he will be hasted and dex buffed by shaman) Shaman casts slow. Heal as necessary and if mob needs to die quickly then Shaman can cast a DoT as well. If you get adds Shaman can off tank pretty well, at least long enough to root park, slow and heal if need be. My shaman got to 50 by tanking specs right up in their face, no kiting or root parking necessary.

Basically a Shaman/Melee will burn through mobs much easier and safer due to the utility and extra DPS from pet. Cleric/Melee is a great combo, just not as efficient. Assuming the mob can be slowed then most encounters become trivial as long as the shaman doesn't run out of mana. Once you get into planes and boss mobs then even with slow the Shaman won't be able to keep up with heals, but based on your post I doubt this is something you're worried about.

At lower levels you can aggro kite with the Shaman and let the melee run behind and get free DPS without even getting hit. Slow, malise, dots, etc.. cause massive aggro so if his pet and the melee don't taunt it isn't hard to keep the mob's attention. If outside you can easily run around after pissing off the mob and let dog and melee get free damage. Very mana efficient way to kill mobs much higher than you if you're willing to put out the effort.

Then there's Kunark... Shaman's really become strong in Kunark and even better in Velious.. Shaman/Monk is unreal. Clerics are always needed and rezzes are like gold. But if you want to duo with your buddy most of the game then you can't go wrong with a Shaman. Oh and go Ogre or go home. No frontal stun > all. Period.