Shaman Questions

[Skope]

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

Here's a jumble of questions about Shamans for anyone that wants to chime in on some of this:

Allakhazam says Drowsy only lasts for 3 ticks at level 5 and duration increases with level, but the spell description in game says something like 3:00 without mentioning any level restrictions. Which is correct for these sorts of spells?

Do slow spells stack, for example should I cast both drowsy and walking sleep at level 14?

Does anyone bother casting the fleeting fury type 18 second line of spells while they are solo meleeing?

Is it possible to make a macro that targets youself, casts a heal, then retargets a mob you are fighting on it's own?

Will I continue to tank and melee while soloing or will I eventually have to stop doing this and act like a caster because the mobs start hitting too hard?

If I have a weapon without procs are dexterity buffs useful to me at all?

Whats the limit on the to hit cap? I miss a lot, so will increasing agility cut down significantly on misses?

How important is wisdom vs stamina, hit points, strength, dex, agil to a shaman? What balance or ratio should I be shooting for?

Does the class take off and have super uber level ranges? I like to solo, and I had a pretty easy time up to level 8, but now its gotten tougher. It also seems the level 9 spells kind of stink other than SoW, and I still won't have any DoTs to kite with. What level does the Shaman really take flight?

Does SoW stack with spirit of bear or can only one be active at a time?

Thanks in advance.

The issue with some of the timers on spells may have something to do with your spells file in EQ folder, make sure to keep that up to date. Not sure about drowsy specifically, though.

Slow spells do not stack.

The fury line is awesome for the melee shaman, i tend to cast it a lot.

Think the macro question has been answered already :P

You can choose to tank or root/rot and even aggro-kite. Certain mobs hit too hard (planar?) though I've tanked those as well. With a set of full rune-etched and melee gear I cap out at 870 AC, which is equal to a semi-planar geared paladin or SK. Short answer is yes, you can tank pretty much anything in classic short of planar mobs/FGs if you plan to solo.

Dexterity won't be useful without a proc weapon, no. You would be better off stacking hp/mana/wis/stam.

Agility will only help with your AC, pretty much. Shaman damage doesn't come from melee unless it's a proc weapon, you're there only to take hits until the thing dies from DoTs/pet damage.

It all depends on how you choose to play it. Shamans are known to have multiple sets of gear (melee/resist/wisdom and sometimes even +hp gear). You'll see more shammies stacking wisdom in classic than you will in kunark/velious due to torpor and gear (fungi staff/tunic and regrowth spell) where your health regen is essentially your mana regen, thus you have an endless manapool as long as you have health. In classic it's a toss-up really, you can choose to go wisdom, +hp, and a mix of both. If you decide to melee with a proc weapon, then stack hp/dex/ac. The magic number floating around the shaman forums on live was around 175wisdom, which allowed for more than enough mana to land slows/DoTs and debuffs and gave plenty of room gear-wise to boost your other stats.

Shammy solo really doesn't take flight until lvl 34 when you get your first puppy. They're not known to be an incredibly efficient solo class (they can be, sure) but certain other classes -- mages and necros -- will always level faster and more efficiently.

Spirit of bear is a stamina buff line, it stacks with SoW. Not sure why this question was even asked...

[Dersk]

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

The issue with some of the timers on spells may have something to do with your spells file in EQ folder, make sure to keep that up to date. Not sure about drowsy specifically, though.

The eq spell file has nothing to do with this issue, as the in-game information does not list the variable durations, only a spell's maximum duration. The lucy/alla information is correct (ignoring any issues with level caps) in that the spell lasts three ticks when it is first available, and the in-game information is as correct as it ever will be.

As to DoT stacking, this was changed between the releases of luclin and pop. Originally spells of the same line, or the same spell from different casters, would not stack with each other. This was changed so that unless a spell had a secondary effect, such as a snare or resistance debuff, then it would stack with other spells in the same line or with another caster's application. DoT stacking isn't classic.

[mgellan]

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

It also seems the level 9 spells kind of stink other than SoW, and I still won't have any DoTs to kite with.

Not sure what you mean by this, yet get Sicken at 5 and Tainted Breath at 9, both available from Starn Bearhumper (or something [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] near Megan's Tower in EF Tundra...

IMHO any Shammy should be meleeing as much as possible/feasible to max skills so when you're at high levels getting the snot beaten out of you by the mob you just slowed, you don't get beaten up too badly... STA should be a starting stat since you can get lots of WIS items but not a lot of STA. AC is pretty important at higher levels as well since you need to survive getting beaten on til the tank taunts the mob off.

Regards,
Mg

[Enderenter]

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

Correction Kagren. DoTs in the same line DO stack with each other. I use sicken with affliction and scourge even now at 47. Try it. You can burn down mobs pretty fast

Just out of curiosity, why do you still use Sicken at 47? (I know all the dots stack.)

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

I had a druid on live that could stack every single version of his magic dot...other druids told me it was impossible, maybe I was special...also, shaman inner flame buff has a better mana-hp ratio than minor/lesser healing. So just use it if you're out of combat...helps save mana since med is level 8

Every druid DoT stacks... if someone told you it was impossible that was probably very early in EQ when some people may not have known.

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

Not sure what you mean by this, yet get Sicken at 5 and Tainted Breath at 9, both available from Starn Bearhumper (or something [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] near Megan's Tower in EF Tundra...

For Trolls/Ogres: you can buy the DoTs on a vendor standing on a large hand near the middle-top of Innothule. It's a small dot on the map.

[Maurk]

once your targeting a mob pressing TAB will then target you, then TAB again switches back to mob.

I use this all the time with my pally, healing in between strikes.
You only have to have yourself targeted for a sec once you cast, then you can just tab again and finish casting on yourself while targeting the mob.

[glydor]

wow, I didnt know that fury added regen...

[Gris]

I don't think it does.

[Sckrilla]

The Frenzy/Fury/Rage self-only buffs do in fact add to HP regen, scaling up with each spell.