Classes
Shaman
Spirit-priest — slow, buffs, DoTs, and the most efficient mana economy in the priest line.
Shaman is the third priest class — the spirit-walker of the Barbarian, Troll, Ogre, Iksar, Vah Shir, and Froglok traditions. The class spans slow, buffs, DoTs, and emergency healing, and a Shaman is often the second-most-requested party member after a Cleric. The Shaman identity is slow and sustain. Slow (the Cripple line) is the single most impactful group debuff in the game — it halves a mob's attack speed, which roughly halves the HP a tank needs to survive, which roughly doubles the mana the Cleric has to spare. The Shaman's other contribution is Cannibalize: turning HP into mana on demand to keep the priest mana bar afloat in long camps.
Role and identity
A Shaman exists to make every fight in the camp easier. Slow on the mob, Talisman buffs on the tank, regen on the group, Cannibalize between fights. The class is less flashy than Druid (no ports) and less critical than Cleric (no Complete Heal), but more universally valuable than either across the full level range.
Identity is the spirit broker. Shamans trade their own HP for mana, trade buffs for time, trade slow for tank survival. The class rewards patient play and long camps — a Shaman in a 3-hour camp produces more value than a Shaman in a 15-minute pull.
Strengths
- Slow — the single most impactful debuff in EQ
- Cannibalize — HP-to-mana conversion, infinite-mana trick
- Best regen buffs in the game (Regrowth, Chloroplast competition)
- Talisman buff lines (Cat, Wild Lord, Brute) for stat-stacking
- Malo / Malosini magic resist debuff for raid casting support
- Strong DoT lines (Envenomed Breath, Scourge, Plague) for solo + raid
Weaknesses
- No port utility
- Healing slower than Cleric on burst
- DPS contribution is low without DoT setup time
- Faction-fragile outside canonical Shaman cities
- No raid CC contribution
Solo, group, and raid
Solo
Strong. Slow-and-DoT: slow the mob, apply Envenomed Breath and Scourge, melee it down while regen ticks. The Shaman solos a wider level range than Druid does indoors, though less efficiently outdoors. Cannibalize sustains long camps without sit-meditation.
Group
Any group with a Shaman is structurally more efficient than the same group without one. Slow alone reduces tank downtime; Talisman buffs reduce caster mana consumption; Cannibalize keeps the priest mana bar afloat in long camps. Signature contribution is the slow-on-pull plus Talisman-of-the-Cat haste for melee DPS classes.
Raid
Slow and Malo are raid-critical. Shamans rotate slow duties across the raid force and Malo-debuff named mobs for the wizard cohort. AA priority is Mana Conservation, Spell Casting Reinforcement, and the Shaman-specific Hastened Cannibalize. Improved Slow rounds out late-tier picks.
The Last Camp any-race-class combos
The Last Camp opens Shaman to canonically forbidden races. Wood Elf Shaman of Tunare is the standout — the Faydark spirit-walker, faction-friendly across all elf cities, with WIS scaling on a Shaman body. High Elf Shaman of Quellious is the redemption-priest build, the smallest body in the Shaman line. Halfling Shaman is the kobold-cultist build, opening Misty Thicket faction grind to Shaman class identity.
Erudite Shaman stacks the highest WIS in the game, producing the deepest Shaman mana pool any race has ever had. Dark Elf Shaman of Cazic-Thule is the corrupted-Teir'Dal build, traveling from Neriak to Innothule on a faction shift. Gnome Shaman is the Ak'Anon-cultist build, the smallest INT-stat-cap Shaman with a steam-mechanical aesthetic.
Spell / discipline highlights
Defining spells: Slow / Cripple (attack-speed debuff), Cannibalize (HP-to-mana), Regrowth (regen line), Talisman of the Cat (haste), Talisman of the Brute (STR), Malo / Malosini (magic resist debuff), Envenomed Breath (DoT), and Spirit of the Wolf (run buff). Late-game adds Avatar (boss-tier melee buff for one target, slot 1 in any tank's buff bar).
AAs to prioritize
Mana Conservation, Spell Casting Reinforcement, and Hastened Cannibalize first. Then Healing Adept, Innate Wisdom, and the Shaman-specific Improved Slow. Avatar duration extension (AA) and Spell Casting Subtlety round out the kit.
Leveling path summary
- 1-15: Native city and newbie yard.
- 15-30: Blackburrow (Barbarian), Cazic-Thule / Feerrott (Troll / Ogre), Lake of Ill Omen (Iksar).
- 30-45: Sol A/B, Upper Guk, Lower Guk.
- 45-60: Chardok, Karnor's Castle, Velketor's. Cannibalize-line becomes essential.
- 60-65: PoP. Malo and slow are raid-critical; Shamans rotate slow duties across the raid force.
Notable gear by tier
Early Shamans prize Spirit Totem (clicky), Warrior's Bane (1H blunt), and any chain piece with WIS. Kunark adds Acrylia-tipped Spear, Spirit-Animated Hammer, and the Iksar shaman chain set. Velious provides Coldain shaman gloves and the Plane of Growth nature-priest robes. PoP endgame is the Time-tier shaman chain and Spear of Fate clicky armament. Epic 1.0 Spear of Fate is a slow-clicky weapon that bypasses spell casting interrupts on the slow.