Assassin Or Shaman?

I got back into Wynncraft a month ago and wanted to complete 100% of the quests, discoveries, get to level 105, and do 2 crafting professions along the way with Archer. Well the latter was left behind after level 20 because I couldn’t stand how slow the game became, so I decided to wait until I completed Hunted Mode and create a new class on it.

Now I’m nearing the endgame for my Archer and I’m torn on what class I should pick next. I ruled out Warrior because I do fine with Archer's defense and you get farther into the game with more damage, not defense. That also ruled out Mage; plus I hate having only 1 main attack spell and mage is pretty annoying in the earlier game.

So now it's either Assassin or Shaman. On the one hand, I've barely played with Shaman unlike with the other classes so it would be a fresher experience. I get the benefits of mage's range and heal while not sacrificing damage. On the other hand, Assassin has double the defense of Shaman while still having great damage. And while I said I prefer damage over defense, Shaman may be too much of a glass cannon for me. The reason why Archer can get away with being glassy is Arrow Shield, and Shaman doesn't have a defensive spell like that. Mobility-wise I guess Assassin is better, but if I wanted actually good mobility I'd just go with Archer or Mage.

So which class should I choose, Assassin or Shaman?

 

I say Assassin.

First off, in Hunted mode Assassin is obviously the better choice. You can hide from your enemies, take out hunters, and have a better survivability as Hunted characters always drop some of their unIDd/IDd equipment, regardless of Skill Points.

And secondly, while Shaman is probably a fresher experience, and it's playstyle is unique, I personally found it much less enjoyable to play than Assassin.

 

Do people play hunted mode that often? I rarely run into a player in my playthroughs and if I ever do I can just log out :)

Is Shaman's gameplay mostly camping from a distance while spamming aura with your totem?

 

You mostly meet hunted players in the endgame, they are very uncommon otherwise.

Shaman's gameplay isn't that much camping, unless you wish to play it that way, but it's just very straightforward and boring, being mainly Aura spam.

 

I'd say assassin. Having played both, shaman feels really clunky, glassy and slow, while assassin feels fast, fun and has really good combat abilities in general which give it good offensive versatility. Shaman does a shitton of damage vs groups of mobs but I feel assassin is equipped for all kinds of things - bosses, hunters and groups, while having its defenses stressed less. I just feel that assassin is easier to play, more fun and more solid than shaman. While shaman's playstyle might provide a fresh experience at first, it's not a fun playstyle (in my opinion) after a short while. It's kind of just aura spam and not much else. Vanish is also a super good evasion spell.

 

Is the lack of range an issue though for assassin? One of the reasons I love archer is that you can make fights a total joke by sniping them across a distance. And you have bosses like CoW that are super fast and spam push, pull, and multi-hit. Especially flame thrower; I have some trouble evading that even as an archer.

 

Assassin can usually blind enemies though, so theoretically close range shouldn't be a problem.

 

It has amazing distance-closing abilities. Assassin can then blind and combo enemies once it gets close, which means that you can easily avoid damage when doing so, while dishing out a massive amount of your own damage. And, if you want range, there is always smoke bomb.

 

Assassin. It's fun to play, yet challenging to master at the same time. Its combo potential is possibly the best out of all of the classes.

 

Assassin is the best. Good damage, good survivability, and stuns, you'll have a blast. Go shaman last out of the five, you'll see why.

 

Assassin is more fun in my opinion

 

TL:DR; Assassin if you want a more enjoyable experience and tend to play alone, but Shaman if you want to feel more powerful, particularly when playing with others.
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Assassins are very good with a balance of damage and defense, and is a much more active style of play since you manage your vanish use so that you can land potent spin attacks, multihits and smoke bombs. They are very good at dealing damage to bosses since a mix of spin attack and multihit can deal a lot of damage in a short period of time. Assassin is definitely the stronger of the melee-centric classes (which doesn't actually say much), and with a few potions can make for builds capable of both strong damage and high durability. My assassin can solo LI quite regularly so long as I bring a few emeralds or healing potions in with me.

Assassin can be semi-easy to learn since many of your abilities are very close range, and a little experimentation can help figure out tricks to amplify your effectiveness, but they are quite potent when you get the rhythm as foes tend to melt quite quickly. You do need to keep a regular stock of potions on hand though since you lack any real healing methods outside of passive health regen. The lack of range can also be very difficult to work with, as your only ranged spell doesn't do much damage unless also used in close range.

Assassin is strong, and it is quite fun as well, but works best solo as there are very few areas where Assassin can provide any form of team support. It was the first class I levelled for a reason though, even back in 2014, and it was the class I most enjoyed out of all of them.
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Shamans are a slower playstyle, but VERY powerful once you get used to it and in some situations. Aura Spam with your totem can lock down entire arenas of foes, particularly melees. Many otherwise-dangerous bosses such as Qira, Corruptor, etc. become much easier, especially if the boss and/or minions are melee-exclusive as you can keep them unable to hurt you once you can manage totem. Since your totem also heals you while anyone is in its radius from as early as level 16, you tend to be able to sustain yourself in a long fight, but quite susceptible to burst. My skyseer can solo most fights without extreme difficulty, and without needing a mythic to tip the scales.

Shaman has a sharper, arguably harder learning curve however as the style of play is very different to what you would normally perform as any of the other classes. Totem management is regularly a little bit of a challenge until you get to 66 with maxed Uproot, and generally Shaman has a more difficult early-mid game compared to other classes since you are even squishier than Archer. There does tend to be a slight bit of challenge with ranged foes, since you need to try and balance avoiding at distance and healing in close-range, but even then there is a lot of strength.

Out of all the classes, Shaman is the one you probably shouldn't pick on in middle school, as once you get to the higher levels, and learn how to use the shaman's abilities, it is STRONG, even moreso with teammates or when facing many mobs at once.

 

I’ll go with Assassin then. I usually prefer to go solo and this will probably be my last play through of Wynncraft so I’d want to make it count given how everyone has said it has a more fun play style.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I very much appreciate it!

 

shaman is cool but assassin cooler

 

shaman is like assassin if assassin had a big spin attack but vanish is epic sauce