Shaman or Shadowknight?! Input Appreciated!

[Whoop]

How much buffing is involved for a shaman when soloing? One of the reason I like soloing with my nec is I can go afk without having to worry about using up to much mana rebuffing my self when coming back. Guess its about the same for a SK?

[Yumyums Inmahtumtums]

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

How much buffing is involved for a shaman when soloing? One of the reason I like soloing with my nec is I can go afk without having to worry about using up to much mana rebuffing my self when coming back. Guess its about the same for a SK?

Past 34 it's basically talisman, regen, stamina, sow - for yourself that is.

[BattleToad]

Good choice on Troll. In my opinion an SK will take you a lot longer than a Shaman.

[NextGenesis88]

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

Good choice on Troll. In my opinion an SK will take you a lot longer than a Shaman.

You get used to the penalty and it starts to feel normal. If you enjoy playing the game this shouldn't be a problem. The first time I have noticed XP coming in to slowly was as soon as I got to my first hell level. (30) I was wondering why it was taking a few mobs to get 1% solo and quickly put two and two together. So apart from the hell levels I'm not sure when I would finally feel that it's just too slow. My character, it's theme and role are satisfying so it's to a point where it's like what can I really complain about? More time leveling and having fun with groups and soloing. A longer ride to 60 is welcome in my book. I want to see the world especially since I only experienced a small fraction of it when I started. Choose character by looks/theme, and playstyle/role. It must feel satisfying and enjoyable for the XP penalty to not bother you. Up to 30 I have LOVED the troll SK and you can find tons of amazing gear and weapons at all prices. 300-500 you can get a DECENT weapon with a good ratio. But even then it's your role to tank, so get you some 5ac 55hp rings and stack it up.

Go for HP, AC and STR. Dex is always cool to help with spell interrupts since you are casting while tanking a lot, but I can't say when it's a noticeable gain or how it scales. Generally you should end up with +dex as you go anyways. Int I have not focused on whatsoever and generally I can regen fast enough between kills or standing if I pace my spells. With a simple Breeze I can med perfectly standing the whole time with general spell castings per fight. I am no pro for a SK, but I can give tips from my learning and experience so far. I can come back with some gear and weapon suggestions maybe. You could PM me for someones name that would likely lend you weapons/gear/wrbags like they have done for me. I have returned a couple and still have some others. He's a cool guy, but I wasn't going to just throw his name out there out of respect.

[Danth]

Originally Posted by NextGenesis88 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Maybe I'm playing "wrong", but I mostly go toe to toe pretty efficiently on my Troll SK.

You're not wrong, you just haven't reached the level where your ability to consistently fight desired targets toe to toe when solo peters out. To keep things in perspective, remember that level 50 is probably only about half way to level 60 in terms of time.

I mostly duo'd my Shadow Knight to 60 with the wife (she has a Shaman), with some solo and some grouping mixed in. In general the Shaman is the far more powerful solo class and also levels more quickly. The two classes have wildly different group and raid roles so I'd say enjoying the Shadow Knight's multi-player roles would be the primary reason to pick it over a Shaman. In my opinion the Shadow Knight has a higher learning curve to get the most out of it, which can be an advantage or a drawback depending on your mindset.

Danth

[August]

I leveled sk/shm combo with my wife til about 40. I played the SK, she played the shaman.

At about level 30, we had 1 fungi between us, and she started wearing it due to the potential mana efficiency. She also did quite a bit of damage compared to me.

She quit at 40 (dissertation time) and I started playing her character and mine at different times. After about 2 levels I stripped the SK and beefed up the SHM as I had a much better time - I was considerably more powerful as a shaman (think killing 3-4 mobs at a time compared to being able to slowly kill 1 and have to med) - and this is WITH a fungi tunic. The SK w/o a fungi would be painful compared to the shm.

Just my 2 cents. I played a SK on Fippy to 60 and found it a lot of fun. This was my first shaman (And I only played it from 40+) so my views are a bit skewed i imagine

[Faerie]

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

does it really even matter tho? think about it

Okay Nietzsche :P

[Numbers_]

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

Past 34 it's basically talisman, regen, stamina, sow - for yourself that is.

Yup, that's probably what I'll use at 34. Right now at 32 I only use protect, regen, stamina and sow when soloing. The regen is kind of a pain to keep going because you have to recast it about every 10 minutes and it's a decent amount of mana. Other than that tho, not too annoying.

[NextGenesis88]

I did not really know that 50-60 is roughly the same as 1-50. hmph.

[Yumyums Inmahtumtums]

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

Yup, that's probably what I'll use at 34. Right now at 32 I only use protect, regen, stamina and sow when soloing. The regen is kind of a pain to keep going because you have to recast it about every 10 minutes and it's a decent amount of mana. Other than that tho, not too annoying.

Regen is the only thing you really "need" up. It is your lifeblood and is how you keep up your mana at later levels.