[Bear Shaman] BearForceOne - bear form at level 10 guyz!

Megathread Version 1.2

BearForceOne Theme Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twQlpFrm5iM

BearforceOne Leadership:

• insomne (Rave in game) - Inner Council
• nowa - LACI
  
  Feel free to bug either of them with any Bear Shaman related questions, comments or concerns.

Bear Shaman Wiki: http://wiki.goonheim.com/index.php/Bear_Shaman

Experienced Bear Shamans please feel free to edit/add information to the wiki as you see fit. If you don't know how to edit wiki pages just PM me the information and I'll make sure it gets up there.

Just the Facts Ma'am

Specialties:

• Healer
• Group resistance/defensive buffs
• Two-handed Blunt weapons
• Archery (At Later Levels)

Races Available:

• Cimmerian

Weapons Available:

• Two-handed Blunt
• Bows (later levels)
• Crossbows (later levels)
• Throwing Weapons (later levels)

Armor Available:

• Cloth
• Light
• Medium (level 10)

Overview:

Bear shamans can inherit aspects of the great bear like claws, savage strength or adrenaline surges and use spirit totems that heal and counter-attack enemy blows. They can also gain the power to heal and eventually resurrect fallen companions. Bear shamans are able to equip the heaviest priest armor (medium) and are the sturdiest of all the priests.
Capable of mighty combos with their two-handed weapons, and a complement of druidic enchantments, this makes them fearsome enemies in combat. In common with other priests, they also have many healing powers.

The Bear Shaman represents two sides of nature – Tranquility and Fury. The tranquil side of the Bear Shaman allows him to utilize powerful magic to heal himself and his friends. Tapping into the power of the wind, the Bear Shaman may heal both himself and his teammates by utilizing the very forces of nature itself. The Renewal spell gained at level twenty is one of many healing spells the Bear Shaman will have access to. His ability to resurrect friends who fell in the midst of a bloody battle becomes available to him at around level thirty, but the spell will become more and more potent as the Bear Shaman grows in power – allowing him to further diminish the detrimental effects of death.

In Age of Conan there is also something called “cone healing” which is basically a feature where the caster can heal everyone in front of within a certain distance. The first of these spells is Blood Flow received at level twenty-five. Instead of having to target specific members of your party or casting an area of effect spell, the Bear Shaman must face those he wish to heal. Far from being an observer in battles, the Bear Shaman will also have to heal himself to remedy the injuries sustained through fighting. As such, the “Blood Flow” spell will also heal the caster – although with lesser effect.

One of the furious sides of the Bear Shaman allows him to use various weapons in order to engage in melee combat. Known to be more than able fighters, the Bear Shaman will learn to master several tools of death – such as two-handed blunt weapons and even bows at later levels. Through practice they gain access to various melee combos that will allow them to perform violent, damage-dealing maneuvers with their weapon.

Calling upon the spirits of the bear, the Bear Shaman can boost both himself and those who travels with him. As the great transparent shape of the bear rises up behind him to transfuse the powers over to the caster, the Spirit of the Bear spell will increase the caster’s health. Caving into his furious nature, the Bear Shaman will gain access to the powerful Lycanthropic Bite spell at level eighty, a spell that will take a percentage of the melee damage the Bear Shaman does with both normal and combo moves and convert it into healing. The Grizzled Hide spell will increase the defense rating of all teammates, but only if they remember to stay close to the bear shaman. Moving too far away from him and the effects will disappear. This will urge teammates to stay close.

Pulling out a ferocious power from deep within his own spirit, the Bear Shaman can also cast so-called manifestations. Enfeebling Manifestation gained around level fifty will, for instance, continuously pulse a curse from the caster that will debuff all nearby foes.

Bear Shamans can also curse their enemies. Using Blessed Claws which becomes available at level seventy, two bears will rush past the caster and put a curse on the target that will not only increase the health regeneration of the caster, but will also heal anyone who attacks the caster’s target – thus making life extremely difficult for the enemy! The Bear Shaman’s ability to heal, buff and even engage in vicious close combat (not to mention ranged combat) makes this class an excellent choice for anyone who wants to explore many of the different aspects of Age of Conan at once – from melee to magic.

Nicely done. I like the design.

Now to wait for the game to come out so I can further discuss the finer points of being a bear shaman. Things like spreading aids with bear claws or the art of smashing people in the face with a blunt object for the sake of "tranquility".

Originally Posted by Mayor McCheese

Nicely done. I like the design.

Now to wait for the game to come out so I can further discuss the finer points of being a bear shaman. Things like spreading aids with bear claws or the art of smashing people in the face with a blunt object for the sake of tranquility.

As long as it's in the name of tranquility, smashing faces is fair game!

On a serious note, I just want encourage all you future bear shamans not to give up on the class before level 20. 1-10 is fucking terrible, and its gets a little better after that, but it still sucks 10-20.

After that we totally kick ass. I was raping the shit out of people in the mountain pass outside the little village in the Kopshef Province on the last day of open beta.


Edit: I think the talent calulator changed since the last time I did my build, so here it is again. I think this ones a little better.

http://feats.goonheim.com/bearshaman...p5q5r2s5u3w1t2

Originally Posted by Pulp Friction

On a serious note, I just want encourage all you future bear shamans not to give up on the class before level 20....

...Edit: I think the talent calulator changed since the last time I did my build, so here it is again. I think this ones a little better.

http://feats.goonheim.com/bearshaman...p5q5r2s5u3w1t2

Its so true. It'll take a little bit longer to get to level 20 but keep up your buffs and use a potion when needed, and you'll be raping wolves and beyond before you know it.

(Updated the link to your build)

Joinin da bears.

Anyone have an optimal leveling build for talents? I was thinking deep Wrath but I haven't played much past 20 so I haven't been able to gauge the effectiveness of the deeper trees.

Thanks for putting this together. I'm guessing 1-20 will be much easier for the poopsockers on saturday.

Originally Posted by jrock

Thanks for putting this together. I'm guessing 1-20 will be much easier for the poopsockers on saturday.

im planning on going pretty much straight spirit which seems to be the suport line...so i hope the poopsock weekend gets me high enough to be able to solo if the need arises

How long do the buffs last? Last thing I want is rebuffing the entire group every 2 mins.

Originally Posted by Vijj

How long do the buffs last? Last thing I want is rebuffing the entire group every 2 mins.

Usually an hour. You don't have to rebuff with PVP deaths.

Originally Posted by Vijj

How long do the buffs last? Last thing I want is rebuffing the entire group every 2 mins.

I have a similar question, actually. I swore I read somewhere that your buffs will remain even when you die. How true is this?

Edit: welp, I think insomne answered that for me.

Originally Posted by Mayor McCheese

I have a similar question, actually. I swore I read somewhere that your buffs will remain even when you die. How true is this?

They will be lost in PVE deaths and will be kept with PVP deaths.

Originally Posted by insomne

They will be lost in PVE deaths and will be kept with PVP deaths.

Lordy, you reply quick.

Originally Posted by Vijj

How long do the buffs last? Last thing I want is rebuffing the entire group every 2 mins.

You don't have to worry about buffs, but be prepared to scream at your groups to stay in a cone formation so you can keep the faggots healed.

I've really been leaning towards Conq. this whole time but man they have some annoying shit. Lumbering Hulk lasts for 20 secs, formations all last for 8-12 secs and require people to stand in front behind and to the side. All of this sounds really annoying to me the more I read up on it. Thinking I might just cave in and go furry.

Originally Posted by Pulp Friction

You don't have to worry about buffs, but be prepared to scream at your groups to stay in a cone formation so you can keep the faggots healed.

I can't wait for this.

Originally Posted by Vijj

I've really been leaning towards Conq. this whole time but man they have some annoying shit. Lumbering Hulk lasts for 20 secs, formations all last for 8-12 secs and require people to stand in front behind and to the side. All of this sounds really annoying to me the more I read up on it. Thinking I might just cave in and go furry.

Plus, bear shamans do more damage than Conqs!

I asked this in the previous thread but never got a response.

Blood Flow is the primary healing spell but it has reduced effects for the caster. Do these reduced effects apply to the other bonus like stamina increase that certain feats give it or only to the healing? Is the healing mitigated to such an extent for a bear shaman not to use it in a 1v1 pvp battle?

Originally Posted by insomne

Plus, bear shamans do more damage than Conqs!

I read that in the interview on TTH but man that sounds wrong. Tons of healing and damage. Hope they don't get a huge nerf right off the bat.

Originally Posted by Wockaa

Blood Flow is the primary healing spell but it has reduced effects for the caster. Do these reduced effects apply to the other bonus like stamina increase that certain feats give it or only to the healing? Is the healing mitigated to such an extent for a bear shaman not to use it in a 1v1 pvp battle?

Solid numbers are pretty scarce to find atm. That said, your healing spells are vital to surviving any PvP encounter. Keeping HoTs up and using big heals when needed will allow you to survive the damage DPS classes dish out while bringing them down with your big stick.

I'll work on turning out a short Poopsocking Weekened Feat Guide but the short of it is this:

Group Leveling: Go Spirit Tree.
Solo Leveling: Go Wrath Tree.

Don't worry about mana regen, don't take the gain something/lose something feats, and skip the Priest Tree for the time being unless you're a masochist.

nice ninja nerfs funcom

Originally Posted by Jayde

Yes, Rupture was changed due to being significantly over-budget in terms of power for a single-point feat after the cooldown changes to Crush Armor. Given that the single point was about a 20-25% increase in overall DPS, it needed to be adjusted somewhat.

Originally Posted by arknath

at 80 my dps is about 60% of the what it used to be so yeah this hurts heh

(this was posted today and Jayde is a developer)

I'm looking over the feat calculator and I'm a bit confused. What are prayers, adrenaline surge and spell manifestations?

When they say medium armor do they mean Chainmail like this: ftp://ftp.funcom.com/media/Age_of_Co..._Chainmail.jpg

I started the game just fine (ignoring the 3.35 hour delay).


Mayor was taking it easy and some asshole wakes me up.


I wasn't paying much attention. There was something about slavery and/or a place that this guy wouldn't shut up about.


After a few minutes of walking in a stupor I finally began my journey but not before some tied up whore with an accent wouldn't stop yapping about keys and thugs. After killing a few people, I assume I found the key or the darky threw it at me, I don't really remember, but it was in a giant bag.

I free'd her, big mistake--the yelping just got worse. It took me around an hour of bloodshed and ape murdering before I finally found a way to get into that Torso place and just in time before another asshole wanted me to pick blocks or flowers for him. I sort of blacked out at this point and they removed my bondage shackles which gave me access into the city for whatever reason. Maybe I was just too real for them.

I delivered a note to some whore wearing what I assume was a rug for armor, and she threatened me by withholding sex. I don't think I've ever been more upset in my horrible life. I ran around in a haze with the promise of sex, until I bumped into an old bitch. The only difference this time is that she mentioned that I needed to talk to more people in the bar. I was fine with this. But it was another damn trap. When I arrived this bar whore was dressed in real clothing, this was already starting to frustrate me, and ordered me to play with some bum on an island somewhere. Point is, I think I killed more innocent bystanders, maybe a few more giant animals with claws and fur before I was able to find the hobo. It worked out though. We hung out and talked about how much we hated our lives.

This is all I could remember.

Mayor McCheese that is so beautiful. Hands shaking. I'm about to cry just thinking about how amazing that is.

I'm not sure how I returned to the bar, all I know is that I was given another mission. One of the whistletits mentioned that I needed to find some healing roses or a cure for a dog or whatever the hell a Si-Khu is.


I was like cat on the prowl. A hungry cat with big nails.. claws. I was ready for anything.


Wow, that lady is sure getting stabbed a lot.




Good luck with that.

Bah, damn assholes blocking my path. I guess I have to crush a few more skulls.


The whole time she was thanking me I could feel those eyes undressing me. She wasn't a looker but who would be after getting stabbed a few hundred times. I ignored her advances and pressed on. I had a dog to save.


The hell is this? They tricked me and gave this kid a stupid name so I would help him. I showed him one of the hearts I just ripped out. I'm not very good with kids.


He started to talk but I couldn't understand his high-pitched woman voice. God damn kids.


The rest is another blur. I think I punched someone at the bar and I was sent on another important mission. I must have done something wrong because they sent me to a fucking volcano.




I was actually enjoying it until this giant indian showed up to talk about peace or whatever the hell gay giant indians talk about.




I lost it when he started winking at me. Or at least that's what I think happened. It doesn't matter, I still smashed his eyes out and ate them.




I think I passed out on my way back to the bar & ended up in the towns water supply. I might have shat a little. They charge you for taking shits in the bar and I didn't feel like saving another dog tonight.

Originally Posted by Mayor

I was actually enjoying it until this giant indian showed up to talk about peace or whatever the hell gay giant indians talk about.

Godspeed you crazy bear shaman.

So, I'm enjoying the class, only level 15 so far.

Anyone got any pointers on surviving the mobs of 3 or more. I'm fine against 1 or 2 mobs. But even level mobs of 3 or more and I'm pretty much guaranteed to die if I'm solo.

It's looking like a Druid in WoW in that to level, you will have to spec your feats into Wraith, and then to do more healing respect to put points into the Spirit line later.

Also, I really hope we get some kind of stun or root, in addition to the knock back in later levels. Specifically for pvp purposes, because its annoying as fuck to be trying to chase down people who run around like buffoons. For this reason alone I'm looking at ways to move the hit keys off onto my mouse buttons to free up my wasd.

Originally Posted by xgalaxy

So, I'm enjoying the class, only level 15 so far.

Anyone got any pointers on surviving the mobs of 3 or more. I'm fine against 1 or 2 mobs. But even level mobs of 3 or more and I'm pretty much guaranteed to die if I'm solo.

It's looking like a Druid in WoW in that to level, you will have to spec your feats into Wraith, and then to do more healing respect to put points into the Spirit line later.

Also, I really hope we get some kind of stun or root, in addition to the knock back in later levels. Specifically for pvp purposes, because its annoying as fuck to be trying to chase down people who run around like buffoons. For this reason alone I'm looking at ways to move the hit keys off onto my mouse buttons to free up my wasd.

5m AoE stun at level 20 that lasts 2 or 3 seconds, its usally enough to get behind someone and bust out an ursine brawl combo. You also get a great knockback at 20 I think as well.

I also have a couple tips for all of you bear shamans. Make sure you nature's wrath and blood warrior maxed by 19. They're the first 2 talents in wrath and spirits respectivly. Nature's Wrath is easily one of our best abilites, learn how to use it. In a prolonged fight, spam blood flow every 10 seconds or so. As you fight nature's wrath stacks and eventually can increase the healing done by 450%! Oh and if can't get a full group, find a barb to duo with. Its such an amazing combo.

Going to quote some stuff from the closed beta forums that I find useful. CB forums closing soon anyway so a permanent place for some info is good.

Originally Posted by fadeee

So I've posted several threads about various issues within the Bear Shaman feat system now, and I was just wondering if we could get some feedback as to the future of some particularly iffy feats. Keep in mind that all of this is comparative; many of these feats simply do not seem, feel, or play out to be, near as powerful as what many other classes get - including the other Priests.

In Wrath:
1) Crushed Bones/Crushed Organs - Huge investment of 8 points into a single combo should make it devastatingly powerful. Right now, those 8 points offer a mediocre buff. Terrible discrepancies between this line, Ursine Onslaught, and Rupture, which has been noted by the beta community many times.
2) Battle Roar - Insignificant health pool buff with a cast timer and a cooldown that makes it impossible to spam. The damage bonus is pitiful. Right now, the only reason I see to pick this up is to get Ursine Roar (which is a half-decent, but definitely not great, feat) or to fill in points for future tiers. Solo, the cast time means you will take an extra hit which nullifies the HP, and in groups, this won't even nullify a single attack (from a PC or NPC).
3) Ursine Rush - Great feat because it gives the Bear Shaman a charge. Terrible feat because additional points make almost no difference because the damage is so pitiful. Adding the +% damage to the hammer swing this triggers would give a reason to not only invest more points, but also to actually use that weapon swing; normally, I just cancel it to start a combo after reaching melee range.
4) Claws of the Reaper - Damage is pitiful. Does not justify five points. Does not work with either second-tier 41-point feat line feats. Base Claws are better than this one, pure and simple.
5) Bloodthirst - Similar to Battle Roar, the healing is just not enough. This combo is on a cooldown, is a 35-point Wrath feat, and yet hits for less than Crush Armor (although it provides an extra tick of Bloodflow, essentially).
6) Shards of the Earth - Spirit Totem: Stone still isn't worth it, even with +75% damage.
7) Spirits of the Debased / Spirits of the Earth - Does not synergize with Claws of the Reaper, as mentioned previously.

In Spirits:
1) Blood Warrior - Difficult to keep track of in battle. Great damage buff, but needs to be easier to see when this buff is ending so it can be recast.
2) Ether Theft / Improved Ether Theft - Bear Shaman is almost independent of his mana pool, making this feat not particularly useful. It is quick, though, which is nice, but a short-duration silence, a stamina drain, or anything of the sort (maybe even just a casting concentration debuff to keep the anti-caster theme) would be loads more enticing.
3) Spirit Totem: Venom - Just like Claws of the Reaper, this buff just isn't worth it. Damage numbers either aren't scaling properly, or are just purely terrible. Base line totems are better.
4) Manifestation: Rabies / Improved Manifestation: Rabies - Does not live up to being a Tier 5 / Tier 6 feat. Does not justify turning off Enfeeble, although it is better than nothing. Damage is mediocre at best.
5) Manifestation: Regrowth - Similarly not good enough to use instead of Enfeeble. Should add a secondary buff, or simply just be more powerful, due to it being a mid-to-late feat in the Spirits line.
6) Wild/Untamed Energy - Not as good as Ether Flow. And again, Bear Shamans are not very mana dependent, making this feat nigh-worthless.
7) Claws of Life - A mediocre healing bonus at best. This will only be decent in raid situations, since the healing will do effectively nothing in PvP, yet it is placed as a prerequisite of a PvP-oriented AoE silence spell.
8) Improved Adrenaline Surge - I've never used Adrenaline Surge. 'Nuff said.
9) Blood Healing - Second to last Tier in Spirits, and it offers a 6.25% bonus to one of the BS heals for five points? Feels like a total waste.
10) Iron Hide - Will be okay for PvE, since you can nullify one hit if you manage to get aggro or something. In PvP, it's only good for stopping a stealth attack (on a bad stealther that you know is there). Nine times out of ten that you use this in normal combat, it won't be on a combo, simply because of how difficult it is to stay in total control of a PvP situation.

In General:
1) Exemplar - Worse than a tier-two Wrath feat.
2) Ether Discharge - Bear Shamans really don't need any more mana than Ether Flow already provides. Would be decent if it also regenerated Stamina.
3) Healing Spirit - Again, Bear Shaman mana regen outweighs Bear Shaman mana usage.
4) Vengeance of the Gods - Similar feats exist for Bear Shamans throughout both main trees, yet they do not have a cast time and often times provide a larger overall buff. With the cast time involved, this feat is clearly more caster-oriented.

PS : If any of these problems were addressed for the EA client, I have not been able to test them out yet (currently level 40). I am not interested in wasting money to just find out that everything is the same.

The following post is kind of long but useful for those new to the class.

Originally Posted by jakeg

Hello,

Im going to just post what i have noticed. This will either help you or save you time. Please dont flame me if you already know this or if you think everyone should know this. Believe it or not but not everyone has tried the bear shaman so this could very well help them out getting started.


First of all what is a bear shaman?


The spirit of nature is strong in Cimmeria and has begun to manifest itself amongst the barbarians of the north.

Bear shamans can inherit aspects of the great bear like claws, savage strength or adrenaline surges and use spirit totems that heal and counter-attack enemy blows. They can also gain the power to heal and eventually resurrect fallen companions.

Bear shamans are able to equip the heaviest priest armor (medium) and are the sturdiest of all the priests. Capable of mighty combos with their two-handed weapons, and a complement of druidic enchantments, this makes them fearsome enemies in combat. In common with other priests, they also have many healing powers.

Archetype: Priest

Permitted races: Cimmerian

Weapons: Two-handed blunts, bows, crossbows, and thrown weapons

Armor: Cloth armor, light armor, and medium armor


The shaman is nether a full healer or nuker " caster ". There a powerful Melee healer " mage " of sorts " edited to be politically correct ". They tend to do best on the front lines cracking skulls and buffing the front line. There very useful in many ways. For those of you that played a shaman or redmage class in other games then you have another thing coming. Yes it is true we are more or less a defensive mage. However dont let the priest title fool you. We are not a bunch of weak healers that cant take a blow or dish out a good amount of DPS. To be technical BS's are more or less a DPS support class. We help support the front line while dishing out a good amount of DPS.

AoC Shamans are VERY powerful and BELONGS on the frontlines " as of right now unless things change " . They not only wield double handed blunt weapons but there buffs and melee attacks are powerful. They are no joke on or off the battle field.

They take a bit of time to master and get used to yes this is correct. However once you get them down there a fun class to play and if you like a challenge this is for you.

Bear Shamans at low levels:

Ok at first leveling and questing a bear shaman is a bit of a task. You dont get any real buffs untill lvl 15 which makes things a bit of a challenge. Thats ok you can still level up and quest until then.

When you first start off make sure you get used to the combo's. Even if you have to test them mid zone fighting nothing. Because your combo's will keep you alive. So test them swinging away in mid air or go find a poor tree or bush somewhere to test them out on.

Only pull 1 or 2 enemies at a time low levels or any other level if possible. When i mean pull i mean only try and fight 1 enemy at any given time 2 at the most. Take your time because if you dont you will spend far more time running back to where you died than just taking your time and doing the safe way.

At low levels you can use potions if you like but i never bothered. However food with extra HP " at low levels " REALLY saved my skin a few times. So all of them bananas you pick up. Use them until you get your hands on better food.

Low level battle tips :

Keep in mind your probally still limited to only a few buffs. So you still may be having a rough time. Thats ok all of us shaman's went through it. Here is some tips to help kill them enemies off a bit faster and easier without dieing as much...

When you pull a enemy if anymore comes with it try and pull them back several feet. This helps not only get you out of danger from any roaming enemies that may have strayed away from the pack. But also it helps ALIGN them in away that when you swing your weapon your hitting multiple enemies. This takes a bit of practice but i can normaly get them aligned most of the time when doing this. Also if there is a narrow area or a wall. Try and get them lined up or grouped together in those areas if possible.. If not just pull them back several feet and practice trying to get them lined up. This will help out ALOT for most of the game. Specially them dreaded volcano quests and underhalls area's just starting off.

Once you have your enemies lined up start unloading your combo's one after another. Burst them until there dead. Dont be afraid of running out of stamina because you probally wont. Just burst away until they drop.

Make sure your SKILLS have been added so your cure " when you get it " does not get interupted. By adding in these skills it will save your life many times to come. Your quick cures might not give you alot of hp but its enough to just get you by...

Once you get your first cure be ready to combo,combo,cure,combo,cure,combo and so on. It seems like alot of work but its better then dieing and having to get back to where you was. Its worth the extra work to survive and keep going.



Bear Shamans levels 15+ :

Once you reach level 15 things will start gettng a bit easier. But dont think your some killer machine that cant be hurt. You can and you will. So still follow the tips and tactics from the lower level questing and leveling for ever " until endgame and pvp ". Your buffs are amazing and keeps you alive. Without them we would be naked and worthless solo or even with a group... So always make sure your BUFFED and ready to go...

If you die rebuff everytime. Yes i know its a pain to recast over and over again if you die. But its worth it even if you dont think the enemies will be hard enough for them. It will make it easier to kill them and safer for you and your group if your with one. No need to risk being a big shot or trying to rush things. Play it safe and keep your buffs up.

The same battle tactics apply after lvl 15. However now at this point you will start noticing your burning a bit more MP . Once you get near your 20's and up you will notice its easy to burn MP if your in a bind and bursting your cures left and right to keep you and or your group alive.

With that being said make sure after you get done fighting to take a second for your HP and MP to regen. Its worth taken a second or to out rather then running out for the next fight. Also if you dont think there is a enemy close enough to bother having to wait. Think again. Alot of times there right around the corner waiting to ambush you. So once again play it safe and just take a second to regen.

You will notice by now you have a few combo's that takes longer to recast then some others. These are normaly more powerful then those others. So dont just waste them on regular fights. Because the next one might need those combo's to keep you alive. Save your heavy hitters that takes time to recast if you can. Sounds silly to save them but if your in a area your not used to then i would advise to save them. You never know whats around the corner or if you will get more then one enemy coming at you during the next battle.

Questing as a bear shaman :

These tips actually go for almost any class you pick im sure. But alot of people might not realize these things or may not have taken the time to test it. So im going to just touch base on ways to quest a little easier for you...

When your questing at night " single player " and you get aggervated or want a change. Go to your trainer in Tortage in the inn and switch over to day time. BUT befor you do make sure the areas your having trouble with has been started i will explain in a minute.

Go level up a few levels knocking off a few quests during the day " multiplayer " . There is alot more quests thats easy to do and can help you gain a few more levels rather quick. Once you have a few levels under your belt. Go back to your trainer in Tortage in the INN. Switch back to night play " single player " and go back to those instances. You will notice not only is most if not all the enemies you killed still gone. BUT there the same level. You will beable to get through the ALREADY started " key word already " instances much easier.

Warning : there may be one or two enemies here and there that is your same level. So take your time dont think since most of them is lower level they all are. Just make sure you scan over the ones in your way to make sure there is no higher level enemies in the mix of them...

Once your done with that instance you can then go back turn them in and get other ones. Again if your having trouble on the next instances. Do what i suggested above. Go to day play get a level or two and then come back.

This method may not always work and very well could be patched in the future. But i dont see why they would for lower level areas.

As for the rest of the questing. If you get stuck on something or having a hard time. Move on and go to the next one. You can always come back to that quest later on. ITs better to move on get a level or to and then come back.Rather then wasting a ton of time and or busting your keyboard over it. Move on and come back later!.



Killing bosses :

I have noticed most bosses are almost BLIND or deaf . Sort of funny. But im sure the developers made it this way for a reason. Most bosses that have guards or minions around them can easly be killed " or easier " then what you might expect. Here is what i do in most situation with a main boss or a standing still boss.

You can walk almost right up to some of the bosses " dont test it unless you dont care to die ". Some of them you cant . However most of them you can get closer to them without them coming after you then the regular enemies.

This gives you the edge. You can easly " most of the time " pull the enemies around the boss without getting his attention..

Example : The last battle. You can run right up to Strom be a few feet away and he wont do a thing. So this makes it easier to kill him. You can actually run right up to his minions and kill them off. But make sure you pull them back to try and line them up so you can damage multiple ones with a single swing like usual. Kill one side of the minions and then do the other side like i mentioned above. You will notice the entire time " unless this gets patched " that strom or most other bosses will more or less let you kill off there guards and or minions. I got a kick out of it when i figured it out..

But make sure you test everything SAFELY. They may patch things in the future so it wont happen. But to be honest i dont see how anyone would beable to solo it without having it this way. So i doubt Tortage areas bosses will be patched so you can not do this. S

Some of these tactics works well WAY past Tortage. So if you think its next to impossible to do something. Test it out safely if you can and you will be surprised how much easier it really is if you just take your time and think about it befor you rush in....


Ok i know wall of text. But once i stated i just couldnt stop lol.. If you guys would like me to ill come back later on and refine the guide a little better. Maybe add some screenshots. I can also upload a pdf or a more printer friendly version of it to one of my many sites.

Sorry for the spelling errors but im sort of in a hurry. Ill try and fix it up later on if you all want me to....

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

More stuff from fadee, this guy seems pretty knowledgable.

Originally Posted by fadeee

This is just a post about the feats, in general - their usefulness, and any suggestions I might have to improve them. All of this is based on leveling a BS up to 52 on a PvP server, so the last two tiers of each tree will be left out.

Wrath

Tier One

Nature's Wrath - A good feat to start off on, although the description is misleading. For anyone who doesn't know, it gives you a chance to proc a stacking buff which adds an additional initial effect, equaling whatever Blood Flow normally heals initially when stacked 10 times. So, if you stack it 10 times, the initial effect of Blood Flow is doubled.

Tier Two

Ursine Onslaught - Simple, but effective. There is a discrepancy between the 5-point cost of this feat and the 1-point cost of Rupture, though - especially considering Rupture adds an additional 10%.

Animalistic Fury - Again, simple but effective. Not much to say here - it's a solid feat.

Tier Three

Aspect - Untamed Regeneration - A very powerful feat with a large negative side effect. Extremely useful and offers the only regen buffs available in Wrath.

Crushed Bones - As far as I know this is broken. Regardless, this and Crushed Organs would do better as a single feat - first two points provide an initial damage increase, last three points provide an initial damage increase and a DoT increase. 8 Points is too much to invest into a single combo.

Aspect - Skulk - I've not had a huge amount of PvE experience, but what little I've had in groups has led me to believe that such aggro managing talents aren't very necessary. Tanks can hold aggro well enough without me gimping my build.

Tier Four

Improved Grizzled Hide - A hefty buff for a tier four feat. Very useful, especially considering it is a prerequisite for Stone Hide.

Poisoned Hide - Not terrible for solo PvE. Terrible for everything else. Doubling the damage would make it half decent, but as is, a single melee swipe does three times as much damage as this spell does every 5 seconds. Still worth it as a prerequisite for Stone Hide, though.

Crushed Organs - Not worth the five-point prerequisite for a paltry 30% DoT increase. As I stated above, merging this with Crushed Bones would make both feats more desirable (assuming CB isn't broken).

Tier Five

Spell - Ursine Roar - Quite nice in PvE, but a 15% damage debuff for only 10 seconds in PvP has limited usefulness. Not much to say here; this is simply a feat that works better in controlled PvE environments, but still has some use in PvP.

Spell - Battle Roar - Provides a hefty HP buff to your entire party, but the damage buff (3%) should either be increased or left out entirely, as it does next-to-nothing for the Priest's output. A decent buff, but nothing to write home about.

Rupture - This is an amazing feat for one point, and would easily be worth investing five points into. With this, Crush Armor becomes one of, if not the, best Bear Shaman combos. Discrepancies exist with Ursine Onslaught, though, due to investment differences.

Tier Six

Ursine Rush - A charge. Necessary for any DPS-oriented PvP build, and an exceptional feat in-and-of itself, for one-point. Adding more than one-point only increases the terrible DoT portion though; either increase the base DoT damage or severely increase the % increase gained through the extra two points.

Spell - Stone Hide - Love this one, right here. 25% Damage Deflect for 15 seconds, with a 90 second cooldown. Excellent for PvP, PvE, and even for going AFK.

Spell - Claws of the Reaper - Requires significant damage buffs. For a Tier Six five-point feat, I was expecting something much greater. Also, the 41-point feats require you to fore-go this spell because their prerequisites buff separate Claws; this should be changed, for sure.

Tier Seven

Shards of the Earth - Good on paper, but Totem: Stone sucks already, so there's no point in buffing it 65% for five points. Re-balance Totem: Stone's damage, or change both the spell's effect and this feat's bonus.

Combo - Bloodthirst - Was excited when I picked this up, but disappointed after the first time I used it. The damage is less than Rupture-enhance Crush Armor, with a 2 minute cooldown. The heal portion heals for as much as a single tick of Blood Flow. Overall, bleh - a prerequisite for Bewilder only.

Weight of the World - This is an absolutely amazing feat. +40% damage on the next three strikes - including combo finishers - and a 50% snare. Simply amazing.

Tier One

Blood Warrior - A decent start feat. Can provide an exceptional bonus to damage if stacked 5 times, but since it has a shorter duration than Blood Flow, this is somewhat a pain to keep going. Spamming it also resets the Nature's Wrath stack, making these two feats somewhat mutually exclusive.

Spirits

Tier Two

Empowered Renewal - Terrible if used incorrectly, but wonderful if used right before a combo finisher. Amazingly powerful for a Tier Two feat.

Spell - Rune of Slaughter - A great PvE spell, and will probably be a necessary raiding feat. Since it requires to stack though, PvP usefulness is limited.

Blood Fever - Not stated to be an aspect. Quite a nice buff though, with a significant but manageable negative side effect.

Tier Three

Spell - Grace of Nature - Wonderful PvP feat, but next-to-useless in PvE. This is required to defeat casters in at least 50% of 1v1 fights, and will be a huge boon to your team in group PvP.

Blood Champion - Nice, but not amazing. Since it is a clickable, it can clutter up combat buffing though, and the biggest problem with this feat is that you have to really micromanage your spells to use it to its full potential.

Combo - Ether Theft - Disappointing, like Bloodthirst. Mediocre damage, with a mediocre mana leech.

Spell - Spirit Totem: Venom - Like Claws of the Reaper, this needs re-balancing. The damage is too small to justify dropping another, better spirit totem and investing three feat points.

Tier Five

Spell - Rune of Aggression - Quite nice! +20% damage for a short time to your party; obviously, this is useful in both PvE and PvP.

Improved Ether Theft - Not much to say here, other than that it should probably just merge with Ether Theft as a three-point feat.

Spell - Rune of Grounding - Great for PvE, good for PvP; the 75% snare it applies forces the Shaman to properly use this spell, but 95% Immunity can keep you up against a caster indefinitely.

Spell - Manifestation: Rabies - With manifestations being generally weak auras, this fits right in. Mild pulsing AoE damage. Won't do much in PvP or PvE.

Tier Six

Wild Energy - Spirits' mana regeneration foil to Untamed Regeneration. Not much to say about it; it works well, but has a hefty feat-investment cost (combined with Untamed Energy).

Untamed Energy - See above.

Spell - Manifestation: Regrowth - A decent healing aura, but nothing spectacular. Considering it has a longer cast-time than Blood Flow and a cooldown, I expected it being at least as effective as Blood Flow.

Improved Manifestation: Rabies - See above.

Tier Seven

Balance of Nature - One word describes this talent pretty perfectly: Wow! Almost deserves investing 30 points just for this feat, as it greatly aids in both PvE and PvP. The stamina regen applies to both the Shaman and his party, and as it is a very hefty regen bonus, it can keep a melee-oriented group going for twice the time it could normally go for.

Spell - Claws of Life - Like the other feats that give Totems or Claws, this one is also very mediocre. Not much else to say about it; having a 30 point feat be this weak is odd, though, especially considering how powerful Balance of Nature is.

Originally Posted by fadeee

You can use the goonheim feat buider here:

http://feats.goonheim.com/bearshaman

It's out-dated for some classes, but the Bear Shaman feats are (I think) up to date. It serves the purpose anyway.

As for that "perfect" build, I'm not quite sure what you're referring to. As far as I see it, there are three viable PvP builds for the Bear Shaman:

Heavy Wrath: http://feats.goonheim.com/bearshaman...v5x1t2a5b3e2k5
Tri-Spec, Heavy Spirits: http://feats.goonheim.com/bearshaman...m1n3t2a5b3e2k5
Tri-Spec, Heavy Wrath: http://feats.goonheim.com/bearshaman...r2u3t2a5b3e2k5

Note how every spec has Rune of Grounding, Rune of Aggression, Grace of Nature, Ursine Rush, Rupture, Stone Hide, Untamed Regeneration, and Presence of Mind. I feel these will be the most-needed spells and abilities for PvP, both group and solo.

Tomed. Awesome. Christ. More.'

I'll try to condense it down for incorporation into the OP.

What does the Bear Shaman have in the way of CC(root/mez/snare/stun)? I'm having a hard time figuring out which spell/ability lists are accurate.

We have a knockback that doesn't work post level 5 and we get an aoe stun (I think) around level 20ish.

There are also several feats in the high tiers that stun / root / etc.

Originally Posted by xgalaxy

We have a knockback that doesn't work post level 5 and we get an aoe stun (I think) around level 20ish.

There are also several feats in the high tiers that stun / root / etc.

Slam and Sweep are generic abilities all melee classes get before level 5. Just remove them from your bar once you're at Tortage. You'll get your real knockbacks a little later.

Renew / Empowered Renew is awesome I have found out today.

Hit that spell just before a combo finisher and it will fuck things up.

A lot of that analysis of the feats looks out of date. Is it?

Originally Posted by Virtuoso

A lot of that analysis of the feats looks out of date. Is it?

Nope, its pretty complete. Overall, our feats suck some mean donkey dick.

wiki page is up: http://wiki.goonheim.com/index.php/Bear_Shaman

Experienced Bear Shamans please feel free to edit/add information to the wiki as you see fit. If you don't know how to edit wiki pages just PM me the information and I'll make sure it gets up there.