Zealot or Shaman? As PUG/Solo Healer

[Elgareth]

Hi there,
I always have most fun as a ranged/caster support guy and had both a shaman and zealot back in the early WAR days. I don't exactly remember why I switched off my shaman to a zealot, but I think that was because shaman wasn't really good at healing at some point.

Before I make the same mistake twice, and since this server differs a bit from the official servers (and I wasn't there for the later updates) I wonder if shamans can be as good at healing as zealots nowadays. From a pure aesthetic/lore perspective I'd prefer the shaman, but some threads in the shaman forums suggest some problems/nerfs with shamans at the moment?

I'll probably start solo, maybe I can bring some friends into the game later on, but for now it'll be important that I can complete quests on my own, and PvP will probably happen in PUGs. I like to purely focus on the support elements in PvP, so I don't need to do damage there necessarily.

Ideally someone could write a small pros/cons of zealot vs. shaman for solo/group PvE and small/large scale PvP, that tank writeup of the other thread was great

Thanks in advance for any info you provide
Kind regards,
Elgareth

PS: Now that I think about it, did WAR have build-swaps? Without those, it might be a bad idea to run a healer in the first place, since I'd probably want an offensive build for PvE and support for PvP? Might be wise to go with a DD for now wouldn't it?

[Mystry]

The answer is clearly

Spoiler:

archmage

[Kurama]

People usually recommend rolling the class you think looks cooler to you, that way you dont get bored.

But, reading thorugh your post Zealot is the way to go. He brings more than the Shaman in grp PVE and he is the king of solo PVE, which you don't need to invest too much money/gear due to their mechanic.

PvP wise their heals and utility are better than the Shaman but that doesn't mean the Shaman is useless. Both work well in oRVR and pug SCs. I'd choose a Zealot though for 6v6 match ups.

But a Shaman is a goblin and goblins are kool. I had the same predicament as you so i rolled both and have them at rr6x

[Elgareth]

People usually recommend rolling the class you think looks cooler to you, that way you dont get bored.

But, reading thorugh your post Zealot is the way to go. He brings more than the Shaman in grp PVE and he is the king of solo PVE, which you don't need to invest too much money/gear due to their mechanic.

PvP wise their heals and utility are better than the Shaman but that doesn't mean the Shaman is useless. Both work well in oRVR and pug SCs. I'd choose a Zealot though for 6v6 match ups.

But a Shaman is a goblin and goblins are kool. I had the same predicament as you so i rolled both and have them at rr6x

Thanks for your input

That's exactly my dilemma. I know when I roll shaman, the whole "But Zealot is just better, and you want to be useful" will constantly nag at me, and when I roll Zealot the argument will instead be "But Shaman is a whacky Goblin" .

Your Post does point very decisive towards zealot though, are shamans just that much worse of a support than a zealot? And further, are shamans just underpowered/unbalanced at the moment, or are they better than zealots in some other way, apart from... Solo and Group PvE and 6v6 PvP? (Or just the support part of that? Since both are healing/support classes at the end of the day, I can't imagine that either one have any prime role other than that where they excel at?)

Kind of hoped for a "Nah, Shamans are fine as well, just go for it"-situation Guess I'll have to think things over a bit, if the MinMaxer part of me or the casual part wins

PS:

The answer is clearly

Spoiler:

archmage

Should I ever go order it'd be runepriest 100%, because I just can't stand empire and high elves

[Kurama]

Saying that Zealot is better doesn't mean that Shaman is trash. They can work too, specially in oRVR where they can insta rez, aoe slow a wb and the best morale pump in the game. They are both good healing/support classes but the Zealot has better heal tools and 0 ap issues.

It seems you want to play a Shaman but need reassurance, so i say "Nah, Shamans are fine as well, just go for it"

[Elgareth]

Very kind of you ^_^
I made a Zealot and looked around a bit, I get what you mean by ease of equipping because of his trait now, and it helps that they are Norse people (kinda weird that I never actively thought about that back on the official servers... would've eased the decision I made then)
So far I'm happy with the choice, thanks to your suggestion. I'll probably start a shaman should I get some pals to start here as well, but the easy switching from DPS to Heal, Buffs by Marks etc. all are very appealing at the moment.

Thanks again, see you on the battlefield someday

[peterthepan3]

For what it's worth, if you fancy going DPS sometimes the Shaman can deal pretty nasty ST and AoE burst, while the DPS Zealot has a spot in WB for AoE HD/AoE DPS.

[Arteker616]

Saying that Zealot is better doesn't mean that Shaman is trash. They can work too, specially in oRVR where they can insta rez, aoe slow a wb and the best morale pump in the game. They are both good healing/support classes but the Zealot has better heal tools and 0 ap issues.

It seems you want to play a Shaman but need reassurance, so i say "Nah, Shamans are fine as well, just go for it"

insta rez is a big fail if u run a shaman, best pumper belongs to am, shaman is all about mobility, but has serious ap problems , zealot is evrsatile and if u a pug even friendly because u can just toggle harbinger and use a single set to cover both roles, dps or heal.

[adamthelc]

As far as healing goes I think if you are decent you can get the job done on any healer. It might come down to personal preference which no one can tell you what that is.

For instance on live I liked an AM now for whatever reason RP feels more comfortable to me.

I would look at what they provide besides healing. Utility, survivability and maybe dps if you are into that.

In short any healer can get the job done with healing, dont worry about that.

[Kurama]

Saying that Zealot is better doesn't mean that Shaman is trash. They can work too, specially in oRVR where they can insta rez, aoe slow a wb and the best morale pump in the game. They are both good healing/support classes but the Zealot has better heal tools and 0 ap issues.

It seems you want to play a Shaman but need reassurance, so i say "Nah, Shamans are fine as well, just go for it"

insta rez is a big fail if u run a shaman, best pumper belongs to am, shaman is all about mobility, but has serious ap problems , zealot is evrsatile and if u a pug even friendly because u can just toggle harbinger and use a single set to cover both roles, dps or heal.

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