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The Shaman

DullSkullTheSecondDullSkullTheSecond Member Posts: 243
Unsure where to put this so if it is placed wrong feel free to move it.

Anyway...
The Shaman, how is it? Haven't seen any mention or discussion of it post release. From my early testing I can't say it seem all that great but I don't really know how it should be played with the dance and druid spells. The spirits are all pretty weak and unreliable to say the least, had hoped for some synergy with farsight but that was not the case. The spirits doesn't seem to scale all that well either and having to give up all offense while dancing drags down its use even further. And on top of that no stronghold...

Discuss?

Edit: Cheated in a lvl 31 evil half-orc shaman and I take back what I said about scaling. The shaman while not all that "fun" is a power house. The earth, fire etc spirits are insane. And you can summon an infinite amount of them! Just give the shaman all the saves and armor you can find and he can just stand there while the spirits seriously mess up your enemies. And if you don't feel like dancing(then you're no friend of mine) you can use a sling with the half-orc strength bonus and druid spells(without the need to spend abilities on wisdom) with sorcerer like casting(very useful for a druid). The shaman is nuts when you get the spirit summoning going, the moment one falls another replaces it. I can absolutely see the shaman as the "tank" of the group while dancing. Back him up with a group of only mages and thieves and nothing can even hope to stand a chance. I'm even starting to lean on this class as being a bit too powerful(not mage/sorcerer level but not far from it). But I'm guessing it's something I'm missing since no one is complaining about it.
Post edited by DullSkullTheSecond on

Comments

  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511
    M'kliin is awesome. Spamming Call Lightning devastates outdoor encounters. Haven't tried a PC shaman, largely due to the lack of stronghold quest.

    Will be seriously overpowered in IWD when it gets added.
  • rapsam2003rapsam2003 Member Posts: 1,636
    I mean, if you do their stats right, they're decent melee while also being great spellcasters. Shamans make great gishes. (Meaning of gish, if you've never heard the term: http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/30829/what-is-the-etymology-of-the-term-gish .) Honestly, they may have to rebalance a tiny bit for IWDEE, LMAO.
  • jsavingjsaving Member Posts: 1,083
    I have a mixed view of the shaman. On the one hand, they're as strong as other classes and they're probably the most unique class in the game. On the other hand, they're boring to play if you use their dancing/summoning ability but inferior to Jaheira if you don't.

    As a protagonist, I think they are a poor choice because of the inexplicable decision to bar them from any strongholds (which does nothing for game balance -- it simply lessens the "fun factor" of playing a shaman). But the goblin NPC is a nice support character in a 6-person party.
  • ObjulenObjulen Member Posts: 93
    I've been playing a game with sorcerer main and a shaman secondary, with 4 slots for NPCs. So far, the shaman is great. I haven't used the dance much, but she has high damage with a sling and an axe, and can spam cure light and bless, which is great. I don't have any other cleric-types in my party, but it is a good way to keep a prepaired caster from being in a straight jacket for healing spells, slow poison, and stuff like that.

    The fog spell is great. It's available at lower levels than most AoE spells (you'll have maybe a fireball or two if you pick up a mage early on a level after the Shaman can cast this). It's great for hitting some enemies slightly off screen before dropping a fireball or skull trap on them.

    I'm looking forward to hitting level 7 or so. I plan on seeing if a Shaman will break invisibility while spirit dancing, because if not, that'll be a great way to start a fight with the enemies distracted.
  • DullSkullTheSecondDullSkullTheSecond Member Posts: 243
    The elemental spirits at lvl 18 have great resistances. Total immunity to mind altering magic, 100 to poison, different elemental resistances and 50 to all physical resistances. Depending on the element they have different thaco and damage. they also seem to carry a magical weapon.
  • CalemyrCalemyr Member Posts: 238
    The stronghold thing doesn't bother me too much, because I mod the game. The De'Arnise Romance makes the Keep available regardless of class (and doesn't actually require romancing Nalia). BG Tweaks offers options to own all strongholds or just claim the first one you earn, so you just pick the one that makes sense.

    I tried creating a Shaman in ToB just to see how it worked at the upper edge. I was not impressed. The first pocket plane trial (Gavin and Murder's Price), the spirits were largely irrelevant. I was playing on normal difficulty, nothing fancy, but they were cannon fodder and not even effective cannon fodder, while costing me the Shaman's participation.

    That said, the more I think about it, the scarier the class would be paired with Haer'Dalis and a druid, at least once HLAs come into play (so the midway through Underdark, in my experience). Improved Bard Song plus the Pixie Dust Spell. A constant stream of buffed minions coming from an invisible source. Combine them with a couple decent front liners and a mage/thief archer, and impressive might not be a strong enough word.
  • KorbuKorbu Member Posts: 61
    edited May 2016
    Was wondering what would be the best race/stats for a Shaman. So Wisdom has absolutely no effect on their spellcasting whatsoever huh? So basically just pump STR, DEX, CON, and whatever else you want?
  • ArgyleArgyle Member Posts: 48
    Correct, wisdom has no effects on Shaman gameplay.

    What I like so far (level 8): axes, shortbows, Spirit Fire is a beautiful blue fireball, Writhing Fog, and ability to cast any spell on my list. As with all cleric/druid types in BGEE, the Wand of the Heavens soon becomes your most potent offensive spell-weapon anyway.

    The spirit summons are kind of tough to use because you have to be in sight of the enemies before the spirits will engage. At low levels, that means you might spend an entire battle dancing around with nothing showing up. I would almost rather have them show up immediately, but then leave at random times. I suppose elementals will be good to have, but I haven't gotten to high levels yet. Maybe the best way to use spirits is to summon them after using a regular summoning spell first.
  • KorbuKorbu Member Posts: 61
    Yeah, i was planning on making a Spear wielding Shaman, and EEKeepering him to a Lizardman.
  • DullSkullTheSecondDullSkullTheSecond Member Posts: 243
    Argyle said:

    Correct, wisdom has no effects on Shaman gameplay.

    What I like so far (level 8): axes, shortbows, Spirit Fire is a beautiful blue fireball, Writhing Fog, and ability to cast any spell on my list. As with all cleric/druid types in BGEE, the Wand of the Heavens soon becomes your most potent offensive spell-weapon anyway.

    The spirit summons are kind of tough to use because you have to be in sight of the enemies before the spirits will engage. At low levels, that means you might spend an entire battle dancing around with nothing showing up. I would almost rather have them show up immediately, but then leave at random times. I suppose elementals will be good to have, but I haven't gotten to high levels yet. Maybe the best way to use spirits is to summon them after using a regular summoning spell first.

    I would honestly not even use the dance during bg1, better to just play as a ranged fighter/druid. Once you get the better druid spells like insect plague you can buff up the party send out some debuffing spells on your opponents and then start dancing. Let a mage slap an improved invisibility on you and you will be safe enough while the spirits wreak havoc. The dance should probably be the last thing you do.
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