Patrons
At level 15, a Shaman embarks on a quest to choose his patron. The player gains a pet, new spells, and new skills. Keep in mind that the selection is permanent. Tuurgin grants melee buffs and The Spirit Walk culminates with the Shaman learning a skill specific to yher patron. Every level thereafter, she is able to Spirit Walk with her patron by using this skill to see if she learns new spells and abilities. This allows the Shaman to learn some things without have to stop the grind to visit a trainer!
Patrons:
Hayatet
Favors players who like to nuke a lot or who want to add damage through a pet.
Eventually learn buffs that increase energy regeneration.
Allow the player to remain at a safe distance from battles.
The pet provides good damage.
Rakuur
Solid choice for mobility and melee haste
Can go into stealth mode to explore or retrieve corpses.
Provide benefits to all melee characters in the group.
The pet provides decent damage.
Rakurr Skills
Tuurgin
Provides a pet thank can tank in a pinch.
Eventually learn buffs that increase endurance regeneration.
Provide benefits to all melee characters in the group.
The pet makes solo a viable option.
Spirit bonds
Shamans can form temporary bonds with spirits to gain extra powers. These can be toggled on and off at will but will last an hour or until the player logs off once toggled. They affect only the Shaman.
Skamadiz
Increase melee damage by a small percentage
Krigus
Reduce the energy and endurance costs of spells by a small percentage.
Nag-Suul
Increases spell damage by a medium percentage.
Wards
shamans learn special warding spells that provide a decent healing burst up front and then help mitigate incoming damage by healing for a small amount each time damage is taken up to the duration of the spell or by blocking incoming damage for a brief time.
Panacea
This line of spells starts in the early teens. It provides a medium heal for the target and then blocks incoming damage for 4 seconds.
Life Ward
This line of wards starts in the late teens and heals for a decent amount up front and then heals a small amount each time damage is taken. The ward dissipates after a certain amount of damage is taken or after 1 hour, whichever comes first.
Aegis of Life
A spell line that first shows up in the early 30s, Aegis of Life is a beefed up version of the Life Ward line. It heals for a large amount up front and then heals for a medium amount each time the target takes damage. The limit to the damage taken before the aegis dissipates is much higher than with Life Ward.
Types of spells
Damage Spells & Abilities
Shamans primarily deal damage through DoTs. Every Shaman learns cold and disease DoTs. Hayatet Shamans also learn some fire-based spells.
Shamans also learn a spiritual-based direct damage spell, but the DoTs tend to be more efficient.
All Shamans learn a few melee skills that can damage opponents and add a DoT. Rakuur and Tuurgin Shamans learn even more damage abilities.
Debuffs
The Shaman's primary debuff is Lethargy, a spell that reduces the attack rate of enemies. Patron spells can further add to the debuff repertoire.
Buffs
All Shamans can buff AC, hitpoints, energy pool, cast time, movement speed, and underwater breathing. Depending on the patron chosen, Shamans get other buffs to melee speed, endurance regeneration, and energy regeneration.