Bard or Shammy to complete War/Clr/Wiz

[Ballaorf]

Hi all-

I tried searching for a thread on this. While I found lots of great info about bards and shammies, I think I need a bit more guidance. (Plus, a lot of threads I found saying shaman were overpopulated, while bards were in demand were very old.)

A while back, one of the guys and I rolled characters and I made a Barb Shammy. We got to level 12 or so before we stopped playing (he got bored). Recently, we came back and he rolled a new warrior and I made a bard. Another guy joined us as a Human Cleric and a fourth said he wants to start playing as an Erudite Wizard. We grouped up last night and, as much as I enjoy Bard play, I really wasn't liking it too much in the group. Twisting the songs while meleeing and trying to keep up with the group just wasn't that enjoyable.

So I'm thinking of switching back to my shaman. This will leave us (well, them haha) without mana regen and mezzing capabilities. I did briefly consider Enchanter, but I don't think I'd really like the gameplay of it that much.

My question is: Would I be really gimping our group by going back to Shaman? I think that would make my role mostly buffs, slows, and haste (albeit not the best haste around). I probably won't ever get torpor, if we stick with the game long enough to hit 60. Personally, I'd like to eventually raid, but I don't know if I'll have the fortitude to get that high without a static group.

Thanks for the help [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[kjs86z]

Convince your Wizard bud to play something else, literally anything else....and then go from there (recommend him necro or mage if he wants to stick w/ that classic cloth damage dealer caster type).

What is it about enchanter gameplay that scares you? It'll be kinda similar to shaman (buffs and slow, but better CC and more DPS w/ a charmed pet).

War / Cleric is a fantastic start to a 4 man group, adding an enchanter would make it a god mode 3s and then your wizard buddy could play whatever (including wizard).

I feel ya on not liking Bard. I played one to about 26 and haven't logged in since. Horrible.

[Legidias]

Bard opens up a lot of possibilities in snare / aggro, fear, or ae kiting that shammies wont have. 60 Shaman with torpor is immensely strong, but since you already scratched that off, I would say overall you'd get a lot out of bard that you dont necessarily get from shaman, while still getting buffs, slows, hastes.

[Ballaorf]

Originally Posted by kjs86z [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Convince your Wizard bud to play something else, literally anything else....and then go from there (recommend him necro or mage if he wants to stick w/ that classic cloth damage dealer caster type).

What is it about enchanter gameplay that scares you? It'll be kinda similar to shaman (buffs and slow, but better CC and more DPS w/ a charmed pet).

War / Cleric is a fantastic start to a 4 man group, adding an enchanter would make it a god mode 3s and then your wizard buddy could play whatever (including wizard).

I feel ya on not liking Bard. I played one to about 26 and haven't logged in since. Horrible.

I recommended Mage to him initially, then told him to really just play whatever he wanted. Someone else told him to go Wiz for the ports and he seems into it. Since we're kind of casual, I don't want to make him play something he'll hate.

Right, I know enc would be amazing for the group. It just seems so squishy compared to Shaman. I'm also not sure if I really want to start yet another character. Even getting to 5 is kind of a slog, especially since we're in the Qeynos area. My shammy is level 12, bard just hit 6.

Are encs good solo? I've never played one. They have a lot more time to play than I do, so I'll probably have to do some catchup exp grinding alone, so it's important that I enjoy the class and be able to get groups / solo without them.

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

Bard opens up a lot of possibilities in snare / aggro, fear, or ae kiting that shammies wont have. 60 Shaman with torpor is immensely strong, but since you already scratched that off, I would say overall you'd get a lot out of bard that you dont necessarily get from shaman, while still getting buffs, slows, hastes.

Yeah, I know the Bard would work better in this comp, but I'm wondering if it would be a HUGE blow to them if I switched. We're pretty casual, so if we're just a little less efficient, it shouldn't matter too much.

[loramin]

Enchanters are good soloers, but that's neither here nor there. Play what you want. This is always good advice, but if you're going to have a group with a wizard you're already not worrying about min/maxing, so it's especially true.

But to answer your question, a Shaman will be a great addition to your group. They can slow, haste, buff, backup heal, and even add some pet or DoT DPS. They can also solo well if your group ever breaks up or if you ever fall behind in level, and they're one of the most powerful classes in the end game.

I'd say play what you want even if you were going the other way from Shaman => Bard, but I'm especially in support of going from Bard to Shaman, because Shaman rock.

[Legidias]

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

I'm wondering if it would be a HUGE blow to them if I switched.

Unless you really want to AE kite (your comp is actually quite good at it too, minus war) no, you're not changing that much if you switch. You lose the bard mana regen, but with shaman in there you have stronger slows, extra heals, and (possibly) more DPS to make up for it in a group slog.

[Ballaorf]

Ty all!

I did some more reading on Enchanters and research alone is enough to make me not want to play it haha

I think I'll probably switch over to Shaman in that case. I also let the guy know that Wizard is the worst lol So we'll see if he picks something else.

[loramin]

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

I also let the guy know that Wizard is the worst lol So we'll see if he picks something else.

It's the worst from a min/max perspective. But it's not like your group will just die all the time because you have a wizard.

Sure almost any other class will let you kill stuff faster (that's the min/max part), but at the same time no other class (except a Druid) can save you time by teleporting everyone. Maybe you won't save as much time as you lose on killing, but maybe because you can port around your group goes all over Norrath and sees tons of fun stuff it never would have seen without a Wizard.

Later on maybe the Wizard evacs will save you from long and painful CRs. Again maybe that won't make up from the time lost from them being sub-optimal, but I might mean more fun playtime and less miserable CR time.

And way later on, maybe your group will start single-group-farming stuff in Plane of Sky or Hate, which you could only do with a Wizard. Then again maybe not (that's kind of hardcore), but the point is having a Wizard offers possibilities.

If you're all just casuals playing for fun your friend can totally stick to Wizard, you'll all continue to have fun, and you'll still level just fine ... just maybe 4.728% (made-up number) slower than you would with another class.

[kjs86z]

If he's stuck on wizard you're gonna want some mana regen (will also be hugely beneficial to cleric). Which is why I suggested enchanter. Bard also works here.

[bigjeff100]

Play what you all want to play. Wizards are great, when shit hits the fan and a wizzy just starts dealin those nukes out, stuff dies quick! I've gotten outta many situations because a wizard just had to go HAM on the nukes. And also those evacs [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] and having a porter in your crew will make life so much easier to go wherever you all want to go!!! Stick with your crew! Rerolling characters is depressing haha.