Equipment Check

[Quinner Sparrowhawk]

If anyone has the time and can give me some advice, please check out my magelo and tell me how I'm doing. I can get my wisdom up to 255 which is great for tradeskilling but am I missing something vital for successful hunting?

[Delfontes]

I'd suggest a couple changes off the top of my head...

First off, how much do you melee?

I'd suggest spending the 2k that FBSS is worth on a belt with wis/mana on it, OR getting a hammer that isn't 22/43 ratio. It is a bit of a joke to have haste and something that horrible for melee.

Don't get me wrong, it has nice wisdom on it. I would look into a 1hand weapon, maybe a spear, and a shield. With 2 items you can usually get better stats than 1, but that is up to you.

I'd suggest looking into better jewelry after that, those are good for tradeskilling, but maybe do a bazaar search, see if you can get something with str/wis and AC/mana for fairly cheap.

Other than that, better stats than I had at 44, hehe. Heck I only have 100 str now, and that is at 55, wizard btw.

[Farnyr]

As I tell most people, "You will end up with 2 sets of gear if you tradeskill".

For your tradeskilling gear, get wis, pure and simple. Closest to 255 is what you are aiming for. Thats an easy one, lots of cheap good wisdom items out there.

As for fighting, I know only a few shaman, and they tell me, AC is what you want! Youll want your AC and HP as high as you can, because who else is gonna be taking the hits when you are soloing, or slowing and getting agro from the slows? Exactly. Sure, wis is important too, but dont try to go both. You may want to consult the Crucible(sorry, dont know the website) to get a better informed answer about shaman though.

So in conclusion, buy some cheap wis gear to do tradeskilling, and then toss it in the bank when you go hunting.

[cattywumpus]

I have to disagree with Delfontes about the weapon. The proc on the Barbarian Spiritist's Hammer is huge and saves an otherwise mundane weapon. I would love to have one but being a kitty I can't use it.

He is right about the FBSS though. We shaman just don't do enough damage meleewise to warant the lost stats that could be put in that slot. Get a Chitinous Belt for the waist. They are usually pretty cheap for what you get.

I hate to be critical but your equipment looks like a druid's for the most part. High Wis is nice but shaman need AC/HP far more. We can Canabalize to get mana back so we don't need as huge a mana pool as a druid would to be effective. If you haven't got Canni 2 do it now! It make a huge difference in efficiency and effectiveness.

Check out my Magelo for some better suggestions, most of which didn't cost all that much. I'm by no means uber but I'm on the right track for a shaman. http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=564665

The best advice you can get was given by Farnyr though, go to http://forums.interealms.com/shaman/. Those are the experts!

[kiztent]

I ran my shaman's magelo past the crucible and they had a few suggestions, which I've incorporated, and said basically it was ok.

Without knowing your budget, I can't really comment on what's a good upgrade.

I'd recommend a shadel bandit ring, 6/65 melee rings (er, velium fire wedding rings), skull marked shield for offhand, the darkened mace from TS shadows is ok for main. Chitinous belt for waist, selling the FBSS should give you some cash.

[Delfontes]

I have to disagree with Delfontes about the weapon. The proc on the Barbarian Spiritist's Hammer is huge and saves an otherwise mundane weapon. I would love to have one but being a kitty I can't use it.

I didn't check out the proc before I posted... 250 damage is nice. Still though, with a semi-low dex, and a delay that bad, it can't go off all that much to be more than a toy of sorts... does it?

Speaking of Shaman haste, do they actually melee decently at higher levels? They were the only pure casters allowed on the RBB roll on a vox raid I was on. A pally won it, but I couldn't believe they were letting Shaman roll on it. (excuse the slight derail, seeking to better understand the class)

[Lothay]

Despite rumors to the contray, I play a pretty wicked shaman too.

Shaman don't melee as well as any class dedicated to melee, BUT the melee better than any other casting class.

Low dex? Buff it! Low str? Buff it? You have a pet (at levels 34 and above), use it. You have slows.. Use them, you have haste, use it. To date, my single biggest melee hit was 54 points of damage (using Blight Hammer of the Scourge, yes, a dragon drop from Naggy or the green dragon in EJ.) and I routinely hit for the 30's with a spear. Not fantastic damage by any means, but better than your average wizard in melee.

Whioth you hasted, buffed, and the mob slowed/debuffed... You'll do "okay" in melee.

Just don't count on it as your primary tactic.

~Lothay

[Ngreth Thergn]

I do 40 as wizard.. with my epic.

You probably hit MUCH more often than I hit though Wiff is the norm.

[cattywumpus]

I didn't check out the proc before I posted... 250 damage is nice. Still though, with a semi-low dex, and a delay that bad, it can't go off all that much to be more than a toy of sorts... does it?

There's a reason this is the among the most desired of droppable shaman weapons, going for 6-8kpp if you can find one for sale. I play a vah shir so my base Dex is pretty bad but if I melee at all my Dex is buffed to well over 200. That's the fun of playing a shaman. I never did hit for very much damage and what little I did hit for was slow in coming. I depended on procs to do any real damage. If that hammer procced three or four times a fight (which isn't unusual for a buffed shaman on a high dark blue) that's 750-1k extra free damage a fight.

I rarely swing a weapon since I got my Jaundiced Bone Bracer though. I pull with slow, sic Scooby and the just hit the proc every 8 seconds on the JBB. Very efficient, by the time the mob goes down I've regained all the mana I used on the slow so I can chain kill dark blues till my fingers bleed.

[Lothay]

I do 40 as wizard.. with my epic.

You probably hit MUCH more often than I hit though Wiff is the norm.

Feh - You've seen me Ngreth. And cheered with everyone else when I hit for "1". :shock: And I don't have an epic.

~Lothay

[Sinuuyanea Nocturne]

Heh, I do 70 self buffed with my Brawlstick...my max is 110, but had a 255 STR at the time...I dont melee much, except in groups, when I dont have time to layer more than one or two fast DoTs (Funeral Pyre and Saryrn's Kiss), but still...

[Quinner Sparrowhawk]

Thanks for the critical comments. I got the FSSB to help offset the slow speed of the hammer. This is assuming my haste spell stacks with the item effects. Perhaps I should consider a SCHW instead? I will be replacing the rings and BP to increase my hit points and AC but beyond that what should my order of priorities be, AC, HP, Mana, or WIS? I don't know at what point increasing WIS becomes less effective than raw mana. BTW, I am a shaman who likes to solo and melee. I usually Slow, sic Kublatnik on em, dot em, and then wade into the fray, fully buffed to the max with Aego and other assorted HP buffs.

[kiztent]

Thanks for the critical comments. I got the FSSB to help offset the slow speed of the hammer.

Ratio is ratio. A FBSS increases your damage by 21 percent. Procs are independant of weapon speed, but I believe haste will help more procs happen

This is assuming my haste spell stacks with the item effects. Perhaps I should consider a SCHW instead?

You can get one item haste, one spell haste and one song haste that stack up to the haste cap (which is 100 percent or so). Personally, I'm not sure you should depend on melee for damage, and as such, money to buy haste is better invested elsewhere.

[EnfinitiStarr8]

Entoine Starr

That's my Sham Twink Alt. As much as I'm going for WIS/Mana then HP/AC I'm also going for FOUCS EFFECTS! No matter how much Mana you have, you will use it. But, with some Focus effects you can use your spells faster, harder, longer, further away, you can heal yourself for more. Look over my Sham's real profile then go to the "Wish List" and make sure you click the Focus on the right to see all the Focus' he is loaded with. Then look at the level requirements for most of his gear and realize you will grow into it and get more WIS/Mana/HP/AC. remember, you want HPs also, you can use Canb I or II to there fullest. And always remember to get KEI!!!

[Gargazon]

I saw a post on Afterlife's site a while ago. Can't remember the exact numbers, but a well equipped shaman, at level 60 (no level 65 at the time) can mitigate about 400 dps. So, unless it's doing more than that to you, you come out of the fight ready for the next one. I imagine that now, with 65, they could probably mitigate a lot more.