How many of us are using a shaman right now?
Tresset
Member, Moderator Posts: 8,268
Just for the lols, I want to see how many of us are playing around with the shaman class right now as opposed to other classes, because I get the feeling that this will be a very lopsided poll...
- How many of us are using a shaman right now?61 votes
- I made a shaman to play with!47.54%
- I am still using other classes right now. Shaman can wait.42.62%
- Other?9.84%
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Comments
As for the rest, I'm not particularly impressed.
It doesn't reach the potential of the other classes, unless they are gonna modify it or give it some very good synergy with his HLA.
And that's his problem: synergy.
A Thief goes invisible so it can backstab, a warrior can equip the heaviest armors so it make use of his melee ability, etc.
I fail to see the role of this class.
It is arguably better than a kitless Druid but let's be honest: kitless Druids are also terribly annoying to play.
It can't fight due to bad pips, it is not a good magic-damage dealer, it heals but is not as reliable as a cleric who can even protect himself better in order to stay in battle and do his job.
Sure, he summons cannon fodder for free, but even these spirits aren't that great in BG2 and the concept of the dance is: you can't play your char meanwhile.
I was looking for a way around, but it can't stay invisible while using that toggle and it looks like not even its simulacrum can summon spirits with the dance.
(Actually they are summoned by the simulacrum but disappear immediately).
I could see its usefulness if it was allowed to dual or multi to classes =/= than Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Paladin.
Maybe they'll add in some shaman specific items that broaden the class' use in the end game? Remains to be seen.
And unfortunately these spirits become not so useful if you use mods that properly improve the AI, thus ignoring summons (when possible) to go straight for the spellcasters.
Not to talk about Death Spell and ADHW.
Which means that the first Death Spell and ADHW will hit all of them, in case of the latter probably the Shaman too.
Anyway, we've just seen the beta.
Maybe something will change.
In regards to Spirits, they are quite buggy and need a looking at for start.
Lost count of the amount of times they get stuck on each other, or the amount of times they just sit there and refuse to attack onscreen enemies (that are literally attacking them), or how many times they just randomly unsummon when loading a game (But this isn't a constant, sometimes they do and sometimes they don't - so it's not just a case of not being able to save and load games while spirits are out)
Don't understand why we aren't given direct control over them either.
Only in BG1 at the moment. They make good decoys and distractions, aren't very good for much else though at lvl 1-6 where I am currently. Can't comment on how well these scale later on.
Sorcerer style spellcasting is interesting.. though I feel it is wasted on this class and should be a selling point for something else, shamans already have the Dance and Spirits as their class gimmick.
Lack of Stronghold in BGII is a nice, big, turn-off also. Surely they can just shoe-horn me into the Druid's, it's about close enough thematically of the core classes that do get to have one.
Ultimately however, the biggest issue for me is the same problem and reason I stay away from Bards or Jester kit bards. That is - they are a one gimmick trick pony and once you put the modal toggle skill on, you literally just sit there unable to do anything else. Passively sitting back and controlling the other party members instead isn't terribly fun in my opinion.
If I were to propose a change (way too late and too soon before the launch for it to matter..), I would re-work the class entirely. Instead of summoning spirits and then just being a passive bystander while your non-controllable spirits do whatever they feel like, I would instead re-work the lore and idea of the class so that while 'Dancing' (or meditating or whatever I might change it to) the Shaman in question is actually transferring their consciousness to a Spirit that is created.
The player's character is still there with a massive armour penalty and killable while the modal ability is active, perhaps even in some sort of stunned or debilitating state, In the meantime you get to take control of differing spirit(s) based on the Shaman's level or what-have-you.
They would probably need to be somewhat better than they are currently, but for balance and to fit in theme you could create a backlash (Small amount of damage, instant fatigue, confused, [insert idea here]) to the Shaman upon the Spirit being destroyed or Unsummoned while in combat.
Would still have that 'unlimited summoning' ability that is the basis and core of the class, while giving some interactivity and a sense of actually participating instead of being rooted in-place resigned to some modal ability. (Technically 'You' still would be, but thematically you are now this controllable Spirit or number of Spirits that could have their own set of abilities etc.)
I see Shamans as more of a lone Ranger. What I mean is, the could certainly lead a community but you wouldn't expect to find a Shaman's Grove.
Get on it, Beamdog!
Can you confirm that Shaman uses the druid xp table?
If so, I wonder if we have any in-game explanation for the strange curve. That is a large part of the flavor of PnP druid, where the higher levels are political, limited to a set number of individuals so that it takes time to rise through those named ranks, before ultimately being recognized as the one and only arch-druid. The levels after that were an afterthought, as player continued to want to play their characters beyond the 'traditional' levels, and so the arch-druid was allowed (after a suitable period of service) to lay aside their duties to the religion, and pursue a more personal relationship and service of nature - which is the sudden acceleration of levels again after a long, expensive period - and also why 14 level is so special, being the arch druid is a big deal (whether or not you take the grove in BG2).
Shaman's don't seem to have that background - very specifically they are too solitary in nature to have the political structure for the traditional base-of-operations perk in BG, so how would we explain the xp curve?
(unless I am wrong and they use the cleric or sorcerer xp curve, or similar, in which case, nothing more to explain!)
My second thought was an exotic dancer who can use the dance to fascinate enemies. Anyone else remember the "Houri" class from White Dwarf magazine in the 1980s?