Orc Shamans

[lethul]

I've read a lot of people really like this unit. But how do you guys use it? My totems gets insta killed and i think i would get more use out of a regular ranged unit.

So anyone have any good Shaman tactics?

[Marlowe]

Originally Posted by lethul

I've read a lot of people really like this unit. But how do you guys use it? My totems gets insta killed and i think i would get more use out of a regular ranged unit.

So anyone have any good Shaman tactics?

I really like the shamans since they fit into my stategy as a paladin. I use haste to get my melee troops to enemy troops that I need to take out first and try to CC the rest (slow, blind, etc.). The shaman is a great CC unit. Even if the totems are instantly killed, they serve a valuable purpose, at least for my strategy--every turn that an enemy troop attacks a totem is a turn that it is not attacking you or moving closer to attacking you. You can even use them strategically to pen in a unit on occassion. Not to mention that the totem effects, when they survive, are very nice. Plus the shaman has a decent ranged damage every fourth turn via special ability (which also provides a small heal) and decent melee damage when needed.

[Namel]

My usual tactic is on first round use axes to hit some ranged unit that has not yet shot.

On second round I usually try to place attack totem in such way that it either forces ranged attacker to hit it with melee or makes melee move sideways or backwards to kill it. Sometimes I can get units move just near it and not have any more moves to hit it. My aim is not for totem to damage anyone but rather steal one move away from strong unit or two.

Defensive totem I use in various ways. Sometimes I just put it behind my troops so that it stays alive. And other times I drop it next to big enemy stack so they hit the totem instead of my troops. I also use it to block enemy from reaching my ranged units.

Of course It changes abit what I do. Sometimes I use totem on first turn if there is good spot to block lot of units. And axes are decent for healing too.

Generally I use totems to slow enemy while my spells, rage and ranged units kill them.

[ganjatron]

Originally Posted by lethul

I've read a lot of people really like this unit. But how do you guys use it? My totems gets insta killed and i think i would get more use out of a regular ranged unit.

So anyone have any good Shaman tactics?

I think Shaman are one of the best support unit and is always in my army or in my reserves. Sure you could use archers instead and trade damage with your opponent, or you can cast a totem and watch them waste their round - think of a totem as an xxxx hitpoint damage shield - something that will nullify an enemy unit for a round. If they don't target the totem, well then you get the benefits from it, whether it be healing all units in the area, or damaging all enemies. Win-Win.

In addition, they have a direct damage spell that heals all your units given you strike down on a living humanoid type mob. Last but not least - low reload makes the shaman useful just about every round. Good initiative, good hitpoints, etc. Shaman rule.

Out of curiosity, what do you do when an enemy shaman drops a totem on your squad?

[lethul]

Originally Posted by ganjatron

I think Shaman are one of the best support unit and is always in my army or in my reserves. Sure you could use archers instead and trade damage with your opponent, or you can cast a totem and watch them waste their round - think of a totem as an xxxx hitpoint damage shield - something that will nullify an enemy unit for a round. If they don't target the totem, well then you get the benefits from it, whether it be healing all units in the area, or damaging all enemies. Win-Win.

In addition, they have a direct damage spell that heals all your units given you strike down on a living humanoid type mob. Last but not least - low reload makes the shaman useful just about every round. Good initiative, good hitpoints, etc. Shaman rule.

Out of curiosity, what do you do when an enemy shaman drops a totem on your squad?

Shamans are usually dead by the time it's their turn

[bugmenot]

I had an interesting battle with an enemy who had cloned my armies (including shaman), the clone also used phatoms, creating more clones of the shaman.

I lost about a third of my troops in that battle (normally I lose none, archers+resurrect+phoenix meat shield).

Shaman have lots of hit points and a decent melee attack, it makes them pretty formidable for a level 4 unit.

In combat I normally use the Tactics powerup to have my Shaman a little bit forward, and on round 1 summon a phoenix infront of the shaman.

The phoenix will fly over, area attack 3 enemies (preferrably archers), and I'll put a death totem behind the phoenix.

Seems to work well, sometimes it damages the enemy, usually it just distracts a couple of enemy units, but once they've moved to the totem they tend to engage the phoenix (and stay away from my archers).
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roll a joint

[wolfing]

Shamans are my favorite units of them all, very versatile and durable. My first round I usually hit a caster/ranged with the axes (getting a full heal on all the units as a side-effect), then I put the red totem somewhere so the enemy wastes a turn or two to kill it, then I put the green totem in the center of my units (at this time normally the enemy is closing on my stacks) so it defends everybody.

[bugmenot]

Originally Posted by wolfing

Shamans are my favorite units of them all, very versatile and durable. My first round I usually hit a caster/ranged with the axes (getting a full heal on all the units as a side-effect)

Sorry, can you explain this part.

I've occasinally seen my units mysteriously heal, I never really understood why, my non-summoned troops only get damaged in difficult battles, which usually have special circumstances (example: while suppressing dwarfish boots I noticed my dwarfs were healing).

Do shamen heal all your troops when they use an axe attack? Do they need to kill a stack? What if they kill in melee? I guess it only heals, not resurrects?
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volcano classic

[Zhuangzi]

Shamans heal your troops when they use their magic axe attack. This can be very nice, say for instance 460 healing on a Black Dragon. No, they don't need to kill the stack but it does need to be the axe attack, not melee.

Shamans are among the best and most unique units in the game. The totems are mainly used as bait for the enemy. You do need other strong units to cause most of the physical damage, but these are tough guys that don't die easily.

[kuqumi]

I find them extremely useful in bossfights where the boss keeps adding in stacks of creatures. They can be used to make a bottleneck or to prevent troops from being spawned behind your ranged fighters. I got about 1/2 a level (nearly 35K exp) by letting the spawns pile up while I killed the boss at my leisure. Since I don't have resurrect I used cursed ghosts and sacrifice to keep the other exposed troops topped off. (With stone skin and the physical resist boots, cursed ghosts can have 95% physical resistance!)