Orc Shaman guide

For anyone who cannot decide between fighter and mystic, the Orc Shaman is the best route for you to go! With high HP and Soul Cry, not to mention that it's the only mystic with a physical attack (Stun), the Shaman can act like a tank in desperate situations. Likewise, with the combo of sleep and its arsenal of Damage over Time spells, it makes for a deadly mystic, whether hunting monsters or in the PvP arena.

You definitely want to use a blunt weapon to take advantage of your stun skills. However, there's a choice here still. You can elect to use a Mystic staff, which gives better magic damage but prevents wielding a shield, or you can choose to work with a one-handed hammer or mace, with reduced bonuses to magic damage.

Likewise, there are two main paths Shamans can follow. You can choose a melee-based role, or a damage-over-time caster-oriented role. Either way, you have some flexibility to do both, and have great group-beneficial powers as well.

Melee Shaman. Get into heavy armor as soon as possible. Your primary skills are Heavy Armor Mastery, Weapon Mastery, Soul Cry, Stun Attack and Lifedrain. These vital skills can be rounded out with a combination of DoT spells and buffs. You typically engages a target at close range (using Lifedrain to pull it if you need health), using armor to prevent damage, your weapons to smite the monster, and Lifedrain to recoup lost hit points. This makes for a fast, light tank with very little downtime.

Caster Shaman. You are a master of damage-over-time (DoT) spells. You have some flexibility with armor choice. Some prefer robes, for the additional casting speed and magic point recovery speed, but these also offer the worst protection. Light and heavy armor are generally better, but have some light penalties to casting abilities. The most important spell is Frost Flame — a very strong DoT that replaces Chill Flame as the main weapon in your arsenal. Other primary

spells and powers include the Armor Mastery of your choice, Weapon Mastery for added spell damage, and Venom 3 as a second DoT that stacks with your primary. DoT casters generally cast one or both DoTs on a target, then run off a bit while they do their work, whittling the monster's health down. Spiritshots are often used to help ensure that the DoTs land. DoTs in Lineage II do not kill a target — the best they can do is take a victim to one Hit Point, and often leave more than that. You'll need a weapon of some sort, either a bow if you've got weaker armor, or a melee weapon if you use stronger armor, to finish off the monster.

Buffing Shaman. You have a great number of self, other and group buffs which can help a lot. Chant of Life is a nice heal-over-time which you can use to help yourself or others. The Chants of Fire, Shielding, Battle and Flame are group buffs that are a strong contribution to any group you join. Shielding is another solid buff every Shaman should learn. Lastly, the two "Palagrio" spells — Power and Blessing of Palagrio — are "clan buffs" that affect every member of your clan who is in range, grouped with you or not. Starting in Chronicle 1, these clan buff spells affect both your clan and your group, if any members of either are in range, greatly increasing their effectiveness.

Seals. Seal spells are point-blank area-of-effect spells, hitting all targets close to you. They generally deal damage, but some have other effects like a root (holds monsters in place), a slow and a seal that decreases accuracy of attacks.

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