The Shaman

With origins rooted in tribal communities, the Shaman has a long tradition of being a spiritual guide to their people. In Rift, they kick the healing part to the curb and focus on laying down a beating. The most melee heavy of the Cleric souls, the Shaman is as comfortable as the primary soul as it is as a complementary one.

Pros

• High damage output
• Powerful buffs.
• Able to take a beating
• Extra damage shield for not many points

Cons

• Next to no healing ability
• Unable to heal allies
• Easily kited by ranged classes

Overview

Like a bare knuckled boxer the Shaman exudes toughness in a calling most equate with wearing a dress. The Shaman is easily the most offense laden of the Cleric souls, and not so much for the amount of damage they put out, but for the lack of healing they possess.

Solo Play

A well played shaman will have little to no downtime despite their lack of healing ability. Through use of brute force and a powerful damage shield, most single pull mobs die before the shield expires. The Shaman does possess a reactive heal that can be used after they are the victim of a critical hit and while it doesn't do a lot of healing, it can often be the extra nudge needed to come out on top of a bad pull.

Group Play

Shaman do pack a punch and bring a smattering of group buffs to the table, but like all hybrid oriented souls, they don't quite bring the same amount of damage to the table that other callings do. With no signature enhancement to a group it may take some convincing to get a party invite as a deep spec Shaman, but as a complimentary soul they can certainly up the damage output signifigantly.

Pairs Best With

Druid

The Druid is also a melee heavy soul and is a natural companion to the Shaman. The most important factor is that benefits are realized with a minimal amount of points spent in the tree. Choosing the Druid gives the Shaman a summoned pet that will heal them and adds a second damage shield for only 4 points. While the two shields don't stack, they also don't share a cooldown - making them a great asset when managed well.

Justicar

The Shaman is a must have for any serious tanking build in the Cleric calling. Bringing sustained and castable damage reduction as well as upping the damage output of the Justicar makes this a match made in the heavens. One of the main faults of the Justicar, other than low armor class, is that they are huge mana hogs. At 17 points spent in the Shaman tree; Endless Winter replenishes 4% of the casters mana with every critical hit.