Class Interview Bear Shaman

Jaminos · Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:32 pm Post subject: Class Interview Bear Shaman

http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/22025

Age of Conan Class Interview #7: The Bear Shaman

Posted February 13th, 2008 by Micajah
Questions by Benjamin “Machail” de la Durantaye (CM for AoC at Ten Ton Hammer)
and Cody "Micajah" Bye (Managing Editor)

Answers by Evan Michaels, Game Designer for Funcom

The priests have arrived! Full of pomp, circumstance, and enough rage to rip out your heart, the Ten Ton Hammer staff members are proud to present the first of the Age of Conan class interviews featuring the Priest archetype! To start things off, we opted to begin with the most “hands-on” of all the priests in AoC, the Bear Shaman. As always, Evan Michaels gives us the latest details on the Bear Shaman and helps us better understand what this bloody priest is all about.

Ten Ton Hammer: In a recent interview, you stated that the Bear Shaman will probably be a more melee-oriented class compared to its priestly brethren. In the current form, how will Bear Shaman’s heals work, and what sort of healing ability will he have compared to the other priest classes?

Evan Michaels: All of the Priests have comparable healing abilities, even though their method of bestowing those abilities on their group differs quite dramatically. Bear Shaman are, as you stated, very melee-oriented and both facilitate and boost their healing capacity by dealing damage via melee attacks and combos.

The Bear Shaman
Ten Ton Hammer: It’s also been stated that Bear Shaman have pretty incredible melee-based DPS. Is this true? How do they rank in the grand scheme of the melee DPS classes?

Evan: Bear Shaman do quite impressive DPS when focusing on it, and will deal damage somewhere between that of a Conqueror and the Rogue classes. The trick with the Bear Shaman is, of course, balancing the needs of their group with their offensive potential.

Ten Ton Hammer: Bear Shaman seem to be a completely new twist on the standard healing class equation. Do you feel that the Bear Shaman will be one of the more popular classes, least popular, or will they simply fall in the middle of the road of popularity?

Evan: I feel that the Bear Shaman will eventually become a reasonably popular class, however it is not one I would consider "easy" to play, per se. To play a Bear Shaman well, one must be extremely active and have very keen situational awareness. Due to this, I have a hunch it is one of those classes that will grow on people over time as they become more comfortable with the game's intricacies.

Ten Ton Hammer: Bear Shaman can wear medium armor, and are the only priests that can do so. What kind of advantages and/or disadvantages will wearing medium armor cause? Did you give them this ability mainly to protect them in melee combat?

Evan: Yes, Bear Shaman have been intentionally designed to be a bit "tougher" than the other Priests simply due to the fact that they are the only one of the three who are plunged into melee combat with their opponents--even in group situations. While the other Priests rely heavily on crowd control and using open space to their advantage, Bear Shaman pretty much have to take the brunt of punishment when things take a turn for the unexpected.

Ten Ton Hammer: To the casual observer it seems like Bear Shamans will be extremely powerful in PvP, wielding both potent melee attacks and with the ability to heal themselves through their combat encounters. How do you propose to balance Bear Shamans compared to the other classes?

Evan: Bear Shaman have proven to be reasonably popular in our PvP tests for the reasons you mentioned, however they aren't invincible and have a few weaknesses when compared to other melee classes. Although they have the ability to deal substantial damage while healing, they are also handicapped by the need to balance their health, mana and stamina pools simultaneously--while most other classes only have to concern themselves with two of those three elements. Additionally, they probably have the smallest toolset of the melee classes when it comes to dealing with ranged opponents.

Ten Ton Hammer: It has been mentioned that armor sets scale along with level. Guardians, for example, can wear medium armor at level 10, and then plate at level 60. What level can Bear Shamans begin wearing medium armor?

Evan: Bear Shaman can wear medium armor pretty much right out of the gates, starting at level 10.

Ten Ton Hammer: People have assumed that the Bear Shaman will eventually be able to take the form of an actual bear? Is this true? What kinds of advantages / disadvantages are inherent in this sort of transformation? Will it only last for a certain amount of time?

Evan: Although it may disappoint some, Bear Shaman will not actually take the physical form of a bear during gameplay. Instead, they channel spirits into various manifestations and aspects of the wilderness. These elements are harnessed in-game via three different types of buffs, "Spirit Totems," "Claw Totems," and "Manifestations." Of these three lines, one may only have a single of each running at any given time, with a handful of choices at the Bear Shaman's disposal.

For instance, when selecting a Claw Totem, the Bear Shaman could choose between the following types:

* "Claws of Stone", which grants a chance of increasing the defenses of the Bear Shaman.
* "Claws of Corruption", which causes melee attacks to inflict additional poison and unholy damage whilst also cursing the target, causing others hitting that target to inflict additional damage as well.
* "Reaper Claws", increases melee damage whilst also having a chance to proc a bleeding wound on the target which can stack up to 3 times.
* "Claws of Life", which grants melee attacks by the Bear Shaman and his allies a chance to slightly heal their wounds.

Ten Ton Hammer: In many other MMORPGs, Shaman have always been the “buffing” champions. They have the largest number of buffs and debuffs available. Will this remain true in Age of Conan? What sort of buffs and debuffs will players have access to?

Evan: The Bear Shaman does not have an excess number of buffs, having a fairly similar amount compared to the other Priests. However, as mentioned, they have many abilities such as their Claw Totems or Spirit Totems which can benefit their team in a rather active way. Bear Shaman enhance and support their team by being up in the fray--crushing and weakening their opponents--rather than standing back and watching the action from afar.

Ten Ton Hammer: Is there anything else you can tell us about the Bear Shaman?

Evan: Personally, I feel that the Bear Shaman is an extremely unique class that brings with it a gameplay experience very unlike anything players may be used to expecting from a "healer". As someone who has played healing classes rather heavily in other games, I can say from personal experience that the Bear Shaman is a very different experience from what I had been used to.

That said, I find the class to be extremely fun due to its fast-paced gameplay and tendency to reward situational awareness and quick reactions based on changing circumstances. While the Bear Shaman may not be the first choice for someone used to playing "stand at the back" types of healers in other games, it will most likely be a very enjoyable experience for those interested in a more "hands-on" survivalist.
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Salocin · Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:41 pm Post subject:

I was happy to see that they wouldn't actually turn into bears.
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Were I in your shoes, I would spend my last earthly hours enjoying the world. Of course, if you wish you can spend them fighting for a lost cause. But I think that you know, you've already lost.