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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 10:08AM
#21
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Date Joined:
Apr 25, 2002
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Because of the free scale proficiency and +2 shield bonus, which is great for a bear, who otherwise has to take 13 str and chain proficiency and still have -3 AC comparatively.
(It's pretty good for watchers too)
Also because of the sweet lvl 1 daily and lvl 6 utility selection. Plus Hybrid cleric was highly rated (maybe even gold I think?) on the handbook. So I just assumed it was a good way to go.
I guess that's really the extent of it.
Sky Blue
Shamans don't have the best support and there are levels where there aren't a lot of good powers. Clerics have a lot of support and good powers all over the place. Also, by having easy access to Scale Armor + 2 AC, it makes a couple things happen:
You can take a 20 Wisdom/Auspicious Birth without worrying about significantly compromising your other stats. Now you hit more often while having a 19 AC.
Your Spirit Companion is really hard to hit. Not that it usually should be a significant problem - if the DM is attacking your SC, that usually means the DM is making a tactical mistake of some kind.
Warlord is likely a better combo with Shaman for all the reasons that Warlord is a good hybrid - but there's nothing wrong with Shaman|Cleric.
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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 10:10AM
#22
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Date Joined:
Feb 26, 2011
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meh, Stalker Shamans have good powers at every level, 1 to 17.
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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 10:16AM
#23
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Date Joined:
Apr 25, 2002
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Really? Their powers are okay, but I've never seen any of them as being all that crazy special.
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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 10:37AM
#24
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Date Joined:
Feb 26, 2011
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Iron Breaker Claws, the double grant e3, Blood Dancer, Killing Shot, all damn good powers. So look again.
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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 10:52AM
#25
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Date Joined:
Apr 25, 2002
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They're all decent, but I wouldn't call them great unless you're in a very specific party(i.e. one that has a really good MBA striker with variable damage and no other MBA experts.) MBA on a hit with relatively lousy damage is going to be less valuable than than just flat out granting an MBA a lot of the time. Why sacrifice 30% of the potential MBAs for 1d10+bonuses from a Leader when you can just do Spirit Infusion in the first place?
I'm definitely not calling them bad - but why sacrifice the encounter power slot for something that is barely an upgrade to Spirit Infusion?
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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 11:11AM
#26
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Date Joined:
Dec 22, 2010
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Spirit of the killing shot + helm of heroes + blade cascade = shredded solo.
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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 11:24AM
#27
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Date Joined:
Feb 26, 2011
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Given that logic MwAO, Warlords have terrible encounter powers at heroic. Since all the warlord hit, ally powers are barely upgrades over Direct the Strike. Seriously, you've spent way too much time badly optimized games.
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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 12:46PM
#28
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Date Joined:
Apr 25, 2002
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Given that logic MwAO, Warlords have terrible encounter powers at heroic. Since all the warlord hit, ally powers are barely upgrades over Direct the Strike. Seriously, you've spent way too much time badly optimized games.
Read the initial post - the OP describes his game as a badly optimized game...
The thing that makes the Warlord powers awesome is that they generate multiple MBAs, not single MBAs on hits. Vengeance is Mine is a BA + MBA on a reaction. That is a huge upgrade to Direct the Strike in Heroic. And Direct the Strike doesn't come with +2 to hit, +Int to damage boost either.
In any case, if we're talking about a highly opp'd game, then Cause Fear is a major upgrade on Ironbreaker. because you get your 2+ MBA specialists to make the attack, who have invested major resources into hitting and doing damage, while you the Leader have just investing in hitting.
Yes, Blade Cascade at max damage with +Int to hit/damage is awesome. Explain to me why the hybrid can't simply choose to take that power with that exact option again?
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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 12:49PM
#29
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Date Joined:
Mar 12, 2011
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Seriously, you've spent way too much time in badly optimized games.
I wish this were less true of me as well.
Unfortunately, across a dozen campaigns with 5 different DMs both local and online, 10 of the campaigns have been so-called "low-magic" settings where players have no control over item selection and no gold is rewarded, so we have to take what we can get (and use inherent bonuses for the rest). And each of the groups has had at least one player who *hates* anything that might make someone think his character is competent. Starts with a post-racial 15, takes terrible powers, picks feats based on their name. That sort of thing.
I'd seriously like to actually play with competent people and a competent DM for once.
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5 months ago ::
Feb 03, 2013 - 4:54PM
#30
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Date Joined:
Feb 26, 2006
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Not as a hybrid, is what I meant. As a bear I'd be forced to take protector's strike.
That's not true actually. The only restriction on hybrid shaman at-wills are that you can't take the at-will specific to another companion spirit. If you went bear, you wouldn't have to take protector's strike, you just couldn't take Spirit's Infusion, Spirit's Fangs, Claws of the Eagle, or Voice of Battle. Any of the other at-wills are fair game. Not that that really helps much given the other options, but worth clarifying.
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