Shaman Skill Ideas: Spirit Guide Companion, Swamp Totem, Tsunami & More

[Angelcrest]

I am in love with this game. I made several primalists and while both beastmaster and the new druid feel spot on shaman feels a bit odd right now. Here are some of the things that bother me.

• First of all the spec seemingly is centered around totems yet it only had one of them. There are many passive that scale with multiple totems yet the mastery skill is a totem you can only have one of. Sure you have a bunch of healing totems or 5 thorns totems but I already have a thorns totem druid and quite frankly if I make another thorns totem I would still prefer druid over shaman even though I like shaman it feels a bit dated compared to the shiny new druid which is spot on.

• Storm totem is the only totem that starts as lightning and opts into cold and all the other totems you can get all start physical and opt into lightning. For a spec centered around cold and lightning dmg at the forefront it seems odd that there aren’t more baseline cold or lightning totems.

• There aren’t enough defensive passives or at least ones that define the spec, both other specs are strong defensive identities that the Shaman lack. I feel like every shaman I have has to spec into beastmaster or druid for survivability. After playing with my other characters going on my shaman I feel so squishy. I literally have to spec into defensive skills which none of my other toons needed to do.

• When coming up with skill ideas for shaman something I considered is that shaman is not a mage so any new spell idea has to keep that in mind. I see shaman more like Storm from X-Men. Utilizing weather effects. Though they should also be spiritual which the spec is somewhat missing. Shamans in essence would be a source of ancestral guidance especially in other media. So partly whether man parly ancestral guide is the vibe I went it.

• Water is a element that is both healing and spirutal in nature and when I think of shaman I imagine a bowl of water being being looked at for answers of the past and future (along with totems scattred around). Water also fits into the weather destruction aspect of the shaman. It does fit in with the theme and could deal cold damage. I mean ice is technically water but having water and ice together could be fun too.

• Tornado is the only skill with a fire variant and synergy and Earthquake just as a fire variant with no support. Both have no passive support. But Primalist is not a fire mage so any support has to be just enough to be niche but viable. One part of elemental destruction that breaths shaman is volcano. I think Upheavel could have a volcano attached to it’s skill tree somewhere or it could it’s own spell. Some fire synergy could be themetic with a shaman as long as the fire is worldly and not magicky. Also I have several primalists but I never played a mage in this game yet so if any of my suggestions overlap with that class I didn’t know.

• All lightning skills of primalist is literally thunder coming down. There are no horizontal lightning skills. There isn’t any different animation. The lightning strike from the shaman passive tree could be more distinct. I can’t tell when it procs with all the other lightning. Maybe lightning coming from you to the enemy instead of the sky? Perhaps current skills could be updated in the future but I do have some fun suggestions on this starting with my first skill idea. However one thing to note is casting lightning from your hands like a sith doesn’t really sound like a shaman it screams more of a mage thing. I think all lightning skills should come off something you use or make rather than yourself.

• Variety is fun. All totems start at 1 per cast right now and some of them are skills that turn into totems but there isn’t a totem that can turn into a skilli or multiple totem by deault that can be turned into a stronger singular totem.

• Going back to Lightning Strike from the passives, it could be my build or my gear, it could be a lot of things but it feels very weak even when completely centered towards it. Most sources don’t even update the dmg on the tooltip, like conflux (shaman passive) which is it’s entire purpose.

So here are a few of my ideas. Starting with skills, I also have some passive ideas at the bottom. The ideas within the skills don’t have to be part of the default skill but can be part of its skill points or other synergies. It’s not a comprehensive x mana y cooldown strict formula but ideas of concepts that can spark other ideas. I like to think even if noone of these ideas are good (for the game) that at least they will spark an even greater idea for the game designers.

1. Crackling Totem: To address the vertical lightning issue and give a totem that start out multiple but can opt into being a single one. When you put down a cracling totem it has a very small radius around it where the air crackles. Very tiny small crackles similar to storm crows. These deal very tiny dmg but is not the bulk of the damage. So a single totem is practically just poke dmg. When you put down a second totem then the first totem sends out a lightning to the second totem and visa versa. Sending lightning between each other (not a constant damaging line but a projectile being passed around). This is where the dmg comes from. You need to position your totems so the minions get hit by the lightning passed around. And the more totems you have up the more lightning is being passed around. There could be skill points that increase the speed or the amount of lightning being passed around. One that turns it into a constant beam of lightning but for lower dmg. One that makes you cracle and be a target for the lightning to be passed around (you won’t send any out). There could be a whole skill line that increases the very tiny cracle dmg and area, ending with a totem limit of one (So no more lightning being passed around). This node could also be reached where you cracle so both you and your totem could cracle together or have the totem send you all the lightning but at a faster rate since there is no other totem to pass around. You could even get a bonus to your own lightning dmg if you get hit by the lightning (either sent to you or between other totems). This could also have a some storm crow synergy like passing your crows the lightning, having them cracle too or some other new effect. Forking lightning could be used as an upgrade where instead of being absorbed by the destination totem the lightning forks in a cone behind the totem a little. One aspect of lightning not explored in the game is how it can lead to fires. So an odd little ignite node on the lightning dmg could be interesting. Which leads me to the next skill.

2. Sun Beam Totem: A fire skill that is the only fire skill the primalist will need and no passives for fire dmg need to be added because what it does is it turns all dmg done by you and your minions into fire while active and in range. How that would work is any elemental type based damage you acquire from anywhere such as lightning for minions or cold spell dmg for you would be turned into fire damage buffs. It will not give skills fire tag. So a lightning skill will still shoot lightning but deal fire dmg. Since all the synergy is still there it wouldn’t naturally change any number by default. So what it could do is give bonus fire dmg or ignite while active if it’s too weak on it’s own. But it could also be too strong as it would mean you could have a cold&lightning dmg idol turn all that dmg into fire essencially double dipping for your cold or lightning skill. So it’s a skill you would have to uniquely build around. Not just gearing for fire dmg but all elemental dmg. Of couse all souces of elemental dmg will be clumped up into a fire bonus so that they are additive not multiplicative with each other. There is a version of this where some skills could get a fire variant from this while active like flaming crows or crackling flame totem. The namesake of the skill is either opt in or default beam of sun that burns and follows foes. Can turn into a moonbeam to make it a cold synergy instead. This could be in addition to the type change of skills or it’s own thing without that. One other thing shaman could use is a totem skill that can be opt into a castable skill. I think this could be that skill. Where the Beam comes down where you click it but you have to channel it and no longer is a totem skill. You can even put it behind moonbeam if you don’t wish to have another shaman fire spell. If a volcano skill was considered this could also be it’s home as an opt in skill point, if you focus the beam on one spot long enough a volcano errupts from the location giving a flavorful boss dmg.

3. Swamp Totem: The idea is that similar to how Blizzard make an area of snow storm Swamp Totem makes the ground swampy. It requires a lot of art assets but it could be a fun idea. The thing that got me to the idea was actually how both other specs have some sort of minion synergy skill but shaman doesn’t. I mean like how both swarmblade form and spriggan form have a minion tag but aren’t minions. It’s a really cool way for a spec focused on forms to have a unique minion synergy. This is the shaman’s version a totem. This totem’s area can first off slow enemies. It can deal physical dmg or cold dmg if the swamp becomes frozen when opt into (with new art assets) or lightning dmg again if you opt into it (something about how water conducts electricity I dunno). It can have bonus dmg to minions of the same type as the swamp. It can summon very tiny but many minions that live in the swamp based on the type. Such as frogs or mosquitos or bees(maybe the type of dmg changes the environment it provides such a flowerfield instead of a swamp?). These small minions could act like Swamblade’s minions in a way or like the new bee shrine. But comes all at once and can’t leave the area of the totem. A quicksand version is also possible. Fog is also on the table for cold dmg or blinding enemies. Swamp felt more shaman for some reason but it could be any environment really. And if it’s too much work a totem that just summons a bunch of criters that are leashed to the totem could be fun on its own.

4. Rain Dance: So a water based skill that also fits the tribal theme and is wheather related. This could be channeled where the animation is a literal rain dance or a long cast time ability that acts as an aura after being cast. It makes it rain everwhere on the screen like a filter. It’s the flavor that gets me not how it works. It could give cold dmg bonus to you and your minions, it could deal dmg to everyone on the screen. It doesn’t have to be the whole screen it could be a comical cloud raining down on one spot. Could have some thunder here and there opt in ofc, this is shaman after all can’t forget the vertical thunder.

5. Tsunami & New Ailment “Soaked”: Another water based skill cold skill. That can be physical with landslide instead. You lift a wave from the ground in the front of you the more you channel the more it grows. When you let it go in the direction you are facing it moves dmging enemies along the way. I pictured the cast animation as hands pointing to the sky like claws, character a bit crouched like bringing water from deep below the earth. Then pushing his hands towards the enemy when he lets go. It can have a skill where is also knocks back enemies with the wave. It can leave them chilled but I suggest if we go for a water kit route we have a new ailment called “Soaked” that water based cold skills can apply but it increases lightning dmg to the target since they are more conductable now. It does also help with a cold & lightning focused shaman. Rain could also give soaked. Tsunami could be an ice thorn replacement. A skill node could turn the skill into smaller waves in all directions around you instead and deal less dmg. A follow up node could give a chance to sometimes send off a small wave when attacked that apply soaked but don’t deal as much dmg. Similar to how ice thorns could be specced into having proc when damaged. Scorpion could send out a small waves around it with it’s ice thorn node. Being an option to apply soaked that can also benefit a lightning scorpion.

6. Spirit Guide Companion: Shaman is the only spec without a companion of it’s own. This could be a ghostly figure of a stag. That doesn’t attack or cast spells. It is a spirit guide so walks towards your enemies and passes through them. Passing through enemies is what deal the dmg. It is a spell tagged minion but there is no attack animation as it is a peaceful spirit that only wants to guide the way or ward off evil. When it is idle it stand in front of you and when you walk forward it walks in front of you, like it is guiding the way. So it’s pathing is unique. Since it’s dmg comes from passing through enemies. Giving it extra movement speed and size helps it deal more dmg. Similar to Wandering Spirits. Cast speed is converted to movement speed for it. It deal cold dmg by default. It can have different animal forms for different dmg types.

7. Ancestral Guidance: This is a far-fetched idea but the theme is good. So any skill related to the spirutuality of shaman could be good. But it’s not really a direction currently focused on for shaman in Last Epoch and maybe people would want it that way. These are only suggestions that I made cause it’s fun. The skill honestly could be anything but the version I went with, which is highly subjective is: you sit down and ask guidance from ancestors (basically like a channeled skill). While channeling you character does not move and cannot be damaged instead one of 3 (doesn’t have to be 3) ancestor spirits is summoned and you instead control the summoned spirit. It’s like an ultimate form where A) you could power up you existing spells in a cool way or B) have unique kits for each ancestor or C) have all the ancestors have the same kit. Either way it’s a short time invulnability buff where you control a spirit to cast cool spells instead. The spirit can be damage and if killed will return you to your character. The spirit cannot wander too far from you but it can be used to scout out a fork in the path for example and a quick return. A skill node could be you end up at the ancestors location when the skill ends giving it a movement tag. Other skill nodes could make you chose an ancestor to summon always otherwise it summons one at random. Another could be to have the all three ancestors summoned but you can no longer control them and you no longer channel the skill giving the skill a minion tag. These won’t be permenant minions but ones you have to resummon. Unlike necro spirits these ones doesn’t deal necro dmg but cold dmg. For visual think of the primalist model but like a wandering spirit coat of paint that is blue instead of green.

8. Some defensive passive ideas: A unique way for Shaman’s to have a defence could be to have a system around taking less dmg from foes hit by cold or lightning skills since the spec is centered around offence. So one idea is a water shield that grows in size when you cast cold skills. Acts like ward (or could literally be ward). If it grows too much (from doing too much cold dmg) you can’t sustain the water and it summons a max channeled tsunami wave in all directions. It could leave you with a a decaying ward so you don’t immidiately lose your defence when it pops. I like the flavor of this but there could be other ideas that are similar in concept but better in practice. I really want the way you can proc lightning from so many places to shine in shaman. So a flat dmg reduction buff that stacks for every different skill that dealt lightning dmg. So for this all 3 lightning strikes prom the passive tree would give a different stack each. maelstrom and hurrican can also proc lightnings and lightning dmg from pets could also count for this.

These are just fun ideas I had, I don’t know if all or any would fit into the game, being game breaking perhaps or how tedious it would be to implement. But these are some of the things I came up with. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.