Shapeshifters

This page could probably use a bit of an overhaul- drafted from Rhynsts guide, a lot of the information there is still relevant but could use more. Needs section for earth forms and notes for earth, specifically.

Class hall dirs: 11s, all w, 6s, e, s, 10e, 10s, 3e, s, 2e

Since each of the primary clans within a shapeshifter greatly change how good a shapeshifter is at doing various things, this rating system is a little bit different, like the mage rating above.

	Drakon	Xaerre	Treant
Learning Curve	Medium	Low	Medium-High
Damage Dealing	B	B+	C
Damage Absorption	A-	C	A+
Soloing Ability	A	B-	C
Bashing Ability	B	B+	F
Tanking Prowess	B	C	D

Famous Primaries Serin Gyn

Shapeshifters are a very complex class. Their main ability is obviously to be able to change into another form – opossums, frogs, rocks, cats, lizards and trees. Each form has its own special abilities. More complicated forms constantly lose spell points to represent the effort it takes to stay in the form. For a more detailed description, check out Moot’s website (http://uk.geocities.com/mootshovel/shapeshifters.html) and Venom’s (http://sio.midco.net/shapeshifters/).

To get these forms, you learn them from various characters in the class hall. Each form typically has 5 levels, each one more powerful than the last. To advance in form, you have to gain experience (which does not have to be gained while in the form you are trying to advance in), as well as time spent in form (which does have to be spent in the appropriate form). There are a total of 59 forms, taking about 20 days(!) of character age to max out all the forms.

The first advanced form you learn (cat, flower, chameleon) determines your primary clan, and the second the secondary. This affects how long it will take for you to gain levels in the secondary and tertiary clans – a tertiary clan form takes much much longer than a primary clan form.

Opossum is the most basic form for all shapeshifters, which is mandatory to learn. It is very weak, uses its claws to attack, and unlike most of the other lower forms, is able to pick things up. it’s a good idea to spend only as much time in this form as you have to.

Frogs are the next basic form, which isn’t compulsory. Frogs simply walk across rivers and lakes, which gives it nice mobility. They attack better than opossums but can’t pick things up.

The Rock formations are odd forms with no use as they cannot attack and basically can’t be attacked either. They take ages to max out, to move around, and to do anything. Very strange and useless form.

Once past the general forms, there are then a further 3 ‘branches’ to choose from. They are the feline, reptile and forest clans, each boasting 3 linked main forms that are progressively more powerful, with 5 levels of each. Typically it takes level 3 in the previous form before you can advance to the next powerful form (ie level 3 chameleon is required before you can get level 1 nelitos dragon).

The reptile clan is the most popular. You start off as a chameleon, which can blend into its surroundings, and eat small insects to heal. They get damage bonuses against insects and spiders.

The chameleon then can become a nelitos dragon, which is a slightly tougher version that gets a ‘bite’ ability to do minor damage for 10 spell points.

Finally the nelitos dragon is able to morph into a drakon. Drakons are very tough, with high natural armour class, and get a progressively powerful breath attack, eventually turning into something even more powerful than the mage’s venom spit or acid arrow. They have a very pathetic physical attack, so the majority of their damage comes from the breath.

The feline clan is more offensive than the reptile clan. The cat is the basic form, which does slightly more damage than the reptile.

The cat soon upgrades into a panther, which often is able to land several hits in the one round. It also comes with a bite attack similar to the nelitos dragon’s, and all this makes it the most damaging shapeshifter in the mid levels

The final feline form is the xaerre, a half man half lion, which is able to wield conventional weapons. They are also able to wear armour on their neck, hands and arms, light body armour, jewellery and containers. However they don’t have much natural armour, and are much worse than reptilians at taking damage. Xaerres also come with a claw ability, which costs 20 spell points, and is similar to the bite ability, dealing about 35 damage per hit.

Finally there is the forest clan, which is rarely chosen as a primary clan. Forest clan starts their initiates off as flowers – non combat forms which heal rapidly in the sun (and at night for moonflowers), but which are very vulnerable. To advance from flower, you will need to gather your experience while in other forms.

Trees are the next form, and they move incredibly slowly around, and cannot go indoors, which you will have to quickly get used to. It heals quickly in the rain, and has very high armour class, but attack less than normal characters, and it takes a lot of damage from fire attacks. They can pick up items, and wear packs.

The final form is the treant, which moves at a normal rate (but still can’t go indoors), gets even more armour class, is able to wear containers, but loses the rain-healing ability. They have a 25 sps entangle ability which lowers greatly the opponent’s armour class, and prevents it from leaving the room. They occasionally get 3 attacks in the same round.

Moot has compiled a very useful time/experience table for shapeshifters: http://uk.geocities.com/mootshovel/shapeshifters.html .

Class Abilities - Offensive

Drakons only have one decent offensive ability – their breath attack. At over level 19, this does about 65 damage for only about 35 spell points. In addition Drakons get free hits with their tail – which does about 5 damage, and can choose to attack with their tail as well for about 10 spell points – very useless. Drakons have very poor physical damage. With armour, drakons are able to wear only jewellery (and the Wigwog skin shield, for some reason), which is an important thing to boost the armour class. Essentially they are elven conjurers which more armour class and more damage, but less versatility.

Xaerres are the only shapeshifters able to wield weapons. They deal out respectable damage, similar to clerics with clubs and staves. In addition they get some bonus damage from claw – all up it doesn’t compare to fighters or rangers, but it’s the best shapeshifters have to offer as a basher.

Treants’ entangle ability lowers the enemy armour class greatly, helping herself and the whole party to destroy the monster faster. As mentioned, they also occasionally get multiple attacks in the same round.

Panthers and Nelitos dragons also get ‘bite’ attacks, which cost 10 sps and deals about 10 damage.

Chameleons also get combat bonuses against insects and spiders, making them at least twice as good at fighting them.

Class Abilities - Defensive

The most prominent defensive ability for most shapeshifters is natural armour class. Drakons’ armour class is akin to wearing star armour, while treants get even more. This makes some of the forms very easy to get going with after logging in, as there is no need to find armour.

Drakons don’t have to carry much equipment at all, so a good idea is to use dodge. You should keep just your pipe in your inventory during combat, putting everything else in a container and dropping the container. A dodging drakon takes very little damage from most things.

A sort-of-defensive ability for midlevel shapeshifters is the corpse eating healing of cats, chameleon and panthers, which heal them slightly for eating certain types of corpses (critters, insects, etc)

A shapeshifter in rock form is the ultimate defender, attackers automatically ceasing their attacks 1 round after starting combat.

Skills

For all forms but xaerre, unarmed is all there is to it. This skill goes up incredibly quickly for shapeshifters, and there is little choice but to raise it.

Xaerres are fast with clubs, staves and spears, with clubs and staves dealing quite respectable damage. Clubs have better high end choices than staff, while spear only has the golden trident to recommend it.

Xaerres should also look into raising marksmanship with archery, to gather experience with while they’re waiting for the more advanced xaerre forms, as bows do substantially more damage than the otherwise piddling damage than low xaerres do.

Races

The best race for a shapeshifter depends a lot on what you plan on doing with it, and what form you want to spend most of your time in.

Drakons use dodge a lot, so the dextrous races are best for it – elves and orcs. If you plan on tanking more, use orcs for their superior constitution, or if you’re just going to solo or bash, then the elves’ higher spell point pool and int/wis allows it to do better with the breath attack.

Xaerres are most like fighters, so they should be orcs, humans or dwarves, so they can wield the big clubs and staves which require 16 strength.

Treants also dodge a lot, so orcs and elves are good here again. Since they have slightly more focus on physical damage than drakons, humans are also reasonable here.

Levelling your first Shapeshifter

A shapeshifter takes a very long time to raise, mainly because of the time requirements before advancement of forms. However the first 10 levels or so still go by reasonably quickly

Levels 1-4: get the opossum form, and zhou unarmed up. If you plan on being a xaerre later on, then go into your normal form before level 5, get a catty from the blacksmith, and get marksmanship up as well. Kill in the normal newbie areas, and hopefully reach level 4 with opossum level 3 and ready to pick a primary clan, with 20 or so unarmed.

Levels 4-10: pick between the cat or the chameleon as your first form. The chameleon will be more sufficient, the cat better as a basher in a party. Once you learn the first advanced form, that clan automatically becomes your primary clan.

If you chose chameleon, then use your new attack bonuses against insects to the maximum – the spiders in the manor, butterflies in the fairy ring, random crickets in the forest, the huge swarm of insects in ravel, etc.

As a cat, it’s just like levelling up a typical other class like paladin, just kill in the normal newbie areas and watch things die.

Keep advancing your primary forms, and as you near level 10, get the first flower form so you can heal for free outdoors when injured.

With both forms, be sure to be regularly hitting up the training academy in Tantallon to be raising your brawl ability.

You should hit level 10 with 30-40 unarmed skill, and level 3 in your cat or chameleon form, perhaps enough experience for the panther or nelitos forms.

Levels 10-15: Chameleons should spend their times switching between chameleon and nelitos forms. In chameleon form, hunt down slightly harder insects like the ants on the southeast isles, spiders in the drow and manspider areas, etc. When they are all dead, turn into a nelitos and use bite and physical damage to take things within your level range – preferably ones without weapons or armour, like harkke wolves and unicorns, Burnham and Anasazi animals, intep, etc, while healing using inns like the eastroad and the wayfarer’s rest. Do this for a while until the insects respawn, then back into chameleon form you go.

Felines should spend their time in panther form. They deal reasonable damage, and with bite can take down slightly harder kills than nelitos dragons. Go for the same sort of kills as mentioned above, healing using inns and flower form when too stuffed/drunk.

There is no rush to kill things that fast here, as the time requirements start getting very very high around now.

Unarmed skill should be flying now, but frankly it doesn’t really matter any more – drakons do very little physical damage, and xaerres will soon be wielding real weapons instead.

Level 15+: Here you start getting your final form. Unfortunately, at first, they are not really much better than the previous form, though you can now at least carry equipment and heals, and wear some armour.

Since the natural armour class is still poor, a drakon should seek out amulets and rings to wear as soon as possible, and also a permed armour spell would be very helpful. You still deal very little damage, so it’s a good idea to get someone to bash for you, as otherwise you kill very slowly for a level 15. However if you’re in no rush, then killing things slowly is a decent way to while away the otherwise long idling times anyway. Once again, the best targets for a small drakon are the unarmed types like unicorns.

Once your drakon reaches level 4 or 5, then it’s time to break out the whoop ass. With fire breath, hunt down the various frost giants in the game in the steading, and in rune, then take the easier 6ks like the fairies and wyvern and bulette. Once you reach level 5, all the boundaries are gone, and you can kill almost everything with the breath.

A xaerre can spend the first form or two just working up club, staff, spear and marksmanship. Once a few of those are at a decent level, 50 or so, you should be close to xaerre 4 anyway.

Once there, your xaerre plays much like a solo fighter or cleric, so start off just killing things appropriate to your primary skill – 2ks at 40 skill, 4ks at 60 and 6ks and 9ks at 70 and beyond. You’re a little fragile still, so avoid high damage dealers, but the damage output from a good club or staff later coupled with claw is quite reasonable.

Playing a shapeshifter

Venom has gathered some detailed information for soloing as a shifter - http://sio.midco.net/shapeshifters/ , under the ‘powerplaying’ tab.

When bashing as a shapeshifter, drakons should just attack promptly, grab loot quickly, keep spell points coming and use their breath on harder mobs – very similar to bashing as a conjurer or drowgar.

Xaerre bashers play much like a fighter, with the additional use of extra claw attacks on harder kills. Treant bashers are very impractical due to their movement restrictions.

Tanking as a xaerre is quite hard, since you are very bad at mitigating damage. However, a drakon is quite good at it. Get a golden amulet and a ring, hopefully blessed, and a permed armour, and find some hard hitting bashers. You mitigate damage about as well as a freedom fighter, so there is little fear for you on most kills in the game. Carry your own heals, and 2 containers to fit them in. Every battle, drop all the containers first, and have good alias’ for picking them up at the end (1=get all container, 2=get all meat, 3=get all potion, 4=get all berry, etc). Breath attack the harder kills. If your bashers have a clue and you’re already decent at tanking as other classes, then drakons should be an interesting alternative for you.

A treant tank is very restricted in their movements, but if you get used to where you can go and get a route down, then it plays much like a drakon tank. Try to entangle everything you kill (unless it’s very easy) since the armour class reduction benefits your whole party.

Is a shapeshifter for you?

Shapeshifters are for those who desire a change of pace, and want to play the game in a totally different way. They’re not the most powerful class, but are still reasonably good at fighting in their different forms. Shapeshifters make a good class to read boards with and to chat with since the time spent reading or chatting while in form goes into your total pool of time. For those true perfectionists, getting every single form is something achievable by even newer players, as long as they have the time to put into it.