Guide:Dragon Force Shaman Guide

Guide:Dragon Force Shaman Guide
Author: Clydae


Dragon Shaman are one of the most versatile classes in Metin2. With offensive and defensive skills, a Dragon Shaman has many choices of gameplay. This guide will explain a Dragon Shaman's choice of skills, popular and effective builds, and a breif explanation on what kind of equipment is valuable for any given Dragon Shaman.

Skills

A Dragon Shaman has a choice of 6 skills to master. Her or his choice of skills will be a major factor in determining style of play. Of the six skills available, three are offensive attack skills and three are buff skills, all which can be cast on allies of the same empire.

  • Flying Talisman: Flying Talisman (Talisman for short) is the fastest loading offensive skill in Metin2 (tied with Healer Shamans' Lightning Throw). It is a homing skill that chases down the opponent up to a certain range. The description can be misleading, as it states "Attack on Multiple Targets" but in reality, Flying Talisman can only hit a maximum of two targets if they are very close together when the talisman hits its target. Flying Talisman is a valuable skill for a Dragon Shaman due to its ability to lock on a target, even if it is moving. This is good for pvm for the purpose of luring mobs, and great in pvp for the task of taking down an enemy that is trying to escape.


  • Shooting Dragon: Shooting Dragon (Shooting for short) is a quick skill with many advantages. It is only one second longer loading time than Flying Talisman, has slightly higher damage, has splash damage, and has a chance to cause lasting fire. The skill is cast in a fixed linear path over a certain range. Splash damage means that any potential target in that line of fire recieves the full damage of the skill. Lasting fire damage is a status similar to poison, causing a fixed amount of damage over time. With these properties, Shooting Dragon is a very valuable skill for any Dragon Shaman. However, despite not homing in on its target, Shooting Dragon does require a target to cast.


  • Dragon's Roar: Dragon's Roar (Roar for short) is a Dragon Shaman's AoE skill. AoE stands for Area of Effect, so that any target within the area (in this case a circle around the Shaman casting) receives the damage from the skill. Dragon's Roar also carries the chance to cause lasting fire damage, and deals the highest damage out of a Dragon Shaman's offensive skills. However, it also carries the slowest loading time- well over twice the time required for Shooting or Talisman. One very distinct advantage of Dragon's Roar is the ability to cast without a target. While seemingly an insignificant advantage, it is useful in both pvp and pvm. For pvm especially, when dismounting a horse, the target is lost, but with Dragon's Roar a Dragon Shaman can deal large skill damage to the surrounding mobs. In pvp this property is more specifically advantageous against fast-moving enemies who are hard to target and for dagger ninjas who try to avoid taking damage by using stealth.


  • Blessing: Blessing is one of the most sought-after defensive buffs when partying with a Dragon Shaman in pvm. Second only to Dragon's Strength in demand, Blessing reduces the amount of PHYSICAL damage taken by a certain percentage (dependent entirely on the Intelligence stat of the casting shaman). I emphasize physical because Blessing does not reduce any amount of magic or skill damage taken. For this reason, Blessing is an extremely valuable skill for pvm, but not nearly as useful in pvp.


  • Reflect: Reflect is another defensive buff whose effectiveness has long been debated. Considering the high demand of the other two buff skills, Reflect is very rarely mastered by a Dragon Shaman unless its entire purpose is to buff. Reflect does exactly as its name suggests; it reflects a percentage of damage (again, only physical and again, dependent on INT stat of the shaman) received back at the enemy. However, it does not reduce the damage taken as Blessing does. Reflect's effect is also diminished by the effect of Blessing. Despite the ambiguity of the skill, many people have tried out Reflect and found it very helpful.


  • Dragon's Strength: Dragon's Strength (Dragon or Dragon Str for short) is undoubtedly the most desirable buff that a Shaman can give to his or her allies. It increases the chance of critical hits (dependent entirely on the INT stat of the shaman), which is extremely useful in both pvm and pvp situations. It's original name was simply Dragon, and it was once said that a Dragon Shaman without Dragon isn't a Dragon Shaman at all.


Lasting Fire Explained

Lasting Fire Damage is, as mentioned before, a status ailment similar to poison. It deals a specific amount of damage 10 times over a certain period of time. Shooting Dragon and Dragon's Roar have the same chance to cause lasting fire, and can be increased by skill level as well as Intelligence.

Builds

As with every class, there are endless possibilities on specific builds. However, this guide will generally explore the three categories of the most popular builds a Dragon Shaman may choose to follow. Often times, a Dragon Shaman will not decide on an end-game build until later on, when choosing a third or fourth master. It is not until higher levels when most Dragon Shaman decide to redistribute stats points depending on their desired build.

The Hybrid

The Hybrid build is the most common build that a Dragon Shaman is likely to follow. A Dragon Shaman with this build is most useful in pvm party play. However, the mixed skills and straightforward stats allow a hybrid Dragon Shaman to be a respectable pvp force and decent at solo pvm, with the right equipment to reinforce these scenarios. These shaman are very often fighting on foot due to their high INT stat, but with their buffs can also fight from a military or warhorse with ease.

Hybrid Skills

The basic premise of the Hybrid's skills is simple: for the first four masters a Hybrid will have two buffs and two attack skills. The buffs are not often variable, 99% of Hybrid shaman have Dragon's Strength and Blessing as their two buff skills. On the other hand, the two attack skills are extremely variable. Any combination of 2 attack skills can be used effectively.

  • Shooting Dragon and Dragon's Roar: The most common combo. Roar for the AoE, and Shooting for the splash damage and additional fire.
  • Shooting Dragon and Flying Talisman: This combination of skills is all about casting speed. With the two fastest skills mastered, this build can pick off enemies quickly.
  • Flying Talisman and Dragon's Roar: A rare but effective combination. In effect, it is the ultimate hybrid. Talisman is useful for luring and pvp, Roar is the large AoE and has the fire damage.


For a fifth master, Hybrids more often than not go for Flying Talisman. Though depending on what style the Dragon Shaman prefers, Reflect might be a suitable fifth master as well.

Hybrid Stats

Despite being a "Hybrid", a Hybrid's stats are fairly straightforward. VIT and INT are the primary stats. INT for skill damage and buff strength, VIT for survivability. At later levels, a Hybrid can sacrifice VIT points for, or simply add to either STR or DEX, depending on if they tend more towards pvm or pvp, respectively.

PvM

A pvm Dragon Shaman is very similar to a Hybrid. The biggest difference comes from the stats. Skill-wise, they are very similar, if not identical.

PvM Skills

Again, the buffs are the same as the Hybrid. Blessing and Dragon's Strength. As for Offensive skills, a pvm shaman is more likely to go for a combination of skills that includes Dragon's Roar due to its properties as a no-target skill and the AoE.

PvM Stats

The stats on a pvm Dragon Shaman can greatly vary. Usually, a pure pvm Dragon Shaman will sacrifice INT points to add to STR in order to increase physical damage dealt on horseback. This cripples the shaman in pvp, but makes him or her quite an effective pvm character, comparable to any other pvm class.

PvP

Successful pvp Dragon Shamans are a rare breed. It takes specific types of bonuses and equipment to be competitive. Skill-wise, however, it's an easy decision.

PvP Skills

For the first four masters, there's not much of a decision to make. All three attack skills and Dragon's Strength make up a pvp Dragon Shaman's only real option. As the author of this guide I would like to make one point. I have seen other guides recommend that a pvp Dragon Shaman master all three attack skills FIRST. I recommend mastering Dragon's Strength third or even second. The reason for this is that before reaching a high enough level to have four masters, having a decent level Dragon's Strength can help a Dragon Shaman level his or herself as well as help in lower level pvp. The order for the three attack skills is highly variable and can be left to personal preference.

PvP Stats

A pvp Dragon Shaman strives for INT. INT adds to Dragon's Strength, increases skill damage, and increases the chance of lasting fire. For that reason, a pvp Dragon Shaman should have as much INT as possible. At lower levels, full VIT is important for survivability. After level 70/75, it's recommended that some amount of these VIT points be transferred to DEX to further increase skill damage. STR has near 0 value for Dragon Shamans in pvp.

Equipment

A Dragon Shaman's choice in equipment can be vital to their specific build, but there are some general choices and bonuses that can be explained.

Weapons