Shapeshifters

This page is drafted, and updated from Rhynsts guide, but it still lacks some bits here and there. Needs a section for earth. In the meantime, Gyn's excellent guide on the new Earth Clan forms is available at proboards.

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

Earth clan (Ignatious): from Gwot's camp on Infidian: se, 6e, 5n, 15e, 3s, 1w, 8s, 1w, 1s, 2w, 1s, 1w, 6s, 1w, 1s, 4w

Below is a rough rating system showcasing the differences between the primary clans.

	Reptile	Feline	Forest	Earth*
Learning Curve	Low	Low-Medium	Medium-High	High
Damage Dealing	B	B+	B-	A-
Damage Absorption	A-	C	A+	A
Soloing Ability	A	B-	B	A+
Bashing Ability	B	B+	C+	A
Tanking Prowess	B	C	A	A-

*Ratings for earth are complicated, as in Mimeon you can chose to prefer more damage or more armour, or a balance of the two.

Famous Shapeshifters: Brick, Moot, Serin

Class Abilities - General

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more detailed description, check out Moot’s website (http://www.oocities.org/mootshovel/shapeshifters.html - NOTE: VERY OUTDATED) and Venom’s (??? any existing mirrors for it?).

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 69(was 59) forms, taking about 20 days(? needs updating) of character age to max out all the forms.

The first advanced form you learn (cat, flower, chameleon, rock) determines your primary clan, and the second the secondary, and so on. The only effect of which order you chose clans in is the speed at which you advance each, with each subsequent one being slower to advance.

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 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. They also get a notable damage bonus vs insects.

Once past the general forms, there are then a further 4 ‘branches’ to choose from. They are the feline, reptile, forest and earth clans, each boasting 3 linked main forms that are progressively more powerful, with 5 levels of each. It takes level 3 in the previous form before you can advance to the next powerful form (i.e. level 3 chameleon is required before you can get level 1 nelitos dragon), but need to get the smallest form to 5 before can learn the final. (i.e. need level 5 chameleon and 3 nelitos to learn drakon)

The reptile clan is probably the easiest overall. 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, this also has a venom ability that occasionally makes things stop attacking for a few rounds.

Finally the nelitos dragon is able to morph into a drakon. Drakons are very tough, with high natural armour class, and get a progressively more powerful breath attack, eventually turning into something even more powerful than the mage’s venom spit or acid arrow. They have a fairly 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, and can eat some very small animals like birds, but can't blend into its surroundings and doesn't get damage bonuses.

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, but this bite is more powerful, though sacrificing the venom ability. This makes it the most damaging shapeshifter for 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.

Next 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. Note that as well as not being able to attack you also can't move in flower form, and have to be outdoors.

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, and axes. They have a "creepers" ability to grow either noxious creepers, that only seem to work on animals, it seems to make things miss less. They also have budding creeper, which can use sps to grow berries to pick, and anyone can eat. In tree 5 you get barbed creepers, which presumably make things take damage when they hit you. They can also carry items, and wear packs.

The final form is the treant, which moves at a normal rate and can now go indoors, gets about the best armour class in game, 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.

For earth, see the previously mentioned Gyn's guide on the new Earth Clan at proboards

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

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 one of the two forms able to wield weapons, and the only that can use bows and throw weapons. They deal out respectable damage, similar to clerics with clubs and staves. In addition they get a good bit of damage from claw, possibly even doing over 50 damage at higher levels.

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

Trees have barbed creepers, which makes things take damage when they attack.

Class Abilities - Defensive

The most prominent defensive ability for most shapeshifters is natural armour class. Treant gets about the best armour class in game, even beyond that of equipment available. Drakon gets good armour as well, probably about equivalent to the best armour. Xaerre has very minimal natural armour, but probably better than being naked.

In about every situation a shapeshifter should be dodging. Xaerre can wear some minimal armour, but its not really advisable to attempt doing defend none with armour, and should be mostly naked except for some few useful items, such as a golden amulet, artificer amulets and rings of protection, and a few other choice rings.

Tree has two defensive creepers, noxious and budding. The noxious creepers only work on animals, by making them seem to miss more. The budding creepers can be used to edible grow berries, but takes sps.

A sort-of-defensive ability is the corpse eating healing of cats(small animals only), chameleon & frog(insects, spiders, thraxi) and panther & nelitos(both of which can eat most sized animals)

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 and mimeon, 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 and mimeons are fast with clubs, staves and spears, all of which have respectable options within them.

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 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

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, get a big damaging weapon with your highest skill and whack things, with the additional use of extra claw attacks on harder kills.

Treant bashers are similar and should use their entagle ability on the harder kills, particularly things that are heavily armoured.

One of the best tanks in the shapeshifter world is a drakon. 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 rogue, 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 could do arguably as well, but needs a slightly more specialized route, avoiding things that do fire damage or have axes as best as possible, but otherwise the notes for drakon apply here as well.

Tanking as a xaerre is quite difficult as they are bad at mitigating damage, so not recommended.

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. Once upon a time they weren't the most powerful class, but after the recent updates they can become very fiercesome in the right hands.

Shapeshifters also 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.