Shattered Kingdoms

That would be pretty bad [REDACTED].



Correct, or someone has to get it for you. Shamans in a faction just get handed body parts from other members who have killed enemies.

It's not broken!

Stop trying to nerf the very things that make the different classes unique and interesting to play. Voodoo too overpowered? Shamans invincible? Want to protect yourself from the almighty ever-present ultimate evil that is voodoo?

Then make your own shaman and bask in their power.


If for some reason Dulrik agreed and decided it needed a change, Finney's suggestion tying it to the portal stones is the best one that's been posted here.

There are two major difference between FoD/Petrify and Voodoo.

1. Both FoD and Petrify have saving throws. Voodoo does not, MP only minimally negates the damage as well.

2. You have to be in the same room as the person to try to petrify/FoD them, which puts you at immediate risk.

And lastly, a doll really is not required to voodoo kill someone. It gives you a chance to possibly one shot some of the higher HP classes like swashbucklers/scouts, maybe even a merc. But if you're a necro/sorc/warlock you're pretty much SoL. A non doll voodoo will easily take out any of those classes if they don't have a timely spirit aura/sanc.

And I'm really not arguing this simply because shamans voodoo me a lot, quite the opposite, I've only been voodoo killed twice, both while playing sorcerors, and voodoo'd maybe 4-5 times total over the course of the 8 or so years I've played.

I simply just think the spell is a really cheap way to go about killing someone. Voodoo being a spell should have the rules of -every- other spell applied to it, it should have a saving throw for partial damage. I'm not even asking for a full resist throw, just a partial damage throw, that would give the low HP classes a chance to survive one, since most of those classes can at least enchant their gear. The fact that Voodoo is the single greatest damage dealing ability in the game sans final strike, can be cast from anywhere with little risk to the shaman, AND does not have a saving throw is just ludicrous.

I'm actually a proponent of the so called "insta kill" spells/skills remaining powerful, such as FoD/petrify I've argued several times in the past to keep those skills un-nerfed, the reason for that is those skills recieve a saving throw, which immediately balances them. If you want to survive them, get your gear enchanted. With no saving throw Voodoo just becomes broken. There's no practical way to always be prepared for a voodoo gank. You can't quaff spirit aura/sanc 24/7 for as long as you're online, you can't enchant your gear for any sort of save against voodoo, and a full suit of great MP on each piece + shield up wasn't enough to save Eisenvahl from a single gnome voodoo, and now you can't even stack HP trains on sorcs/necros/locks so they're even more screwed.

Give voodoo a saving throw and it would immediately make the spell balanced.

I'm just going to assume that was sarcasm.

After doing many voodoos with a helf shaman, and gear to max out mana. You cannot kill a caster (I did on necros mainly, one warlock I think), w/o a doll. I could only kill with a doll. So . . . you are wrong, unless they are suffering from multiple spirit disorientations or multiple fatigues.

So you just admitted to killing several casters with voodoo, and then follow it up by saying that you can't kill casters with voodoo?

Additionally, I'm not sure that your definition and my definition of "maxxed out mana" would be entirely similar.

If you read what I said, I have done many voodooes on casters. I could not kill a single one w/o a doll. Mana mods on gear is what I was talking about (I naturally had a maxxed out wis).

No, I'm really not. I've had two sorcs, both with fully enchanted suits of MP and shield up dropped by a single shamans voodoo, without a doll. The second voodoo was also done by a half-elf. Just because you are inadequate at voodooing does not mean everyone is.

The necromancers you voodoo'd were in all likelihood deep-elves, deep-elves recieve natural bonuses to magical resistance, which lowers the damage they take from voodoos and other spells considerably, same with halflings, elves, and sprites.

Furthermore, Valthanos who had HP out the wahzoo back in a day when you could do such was nearly dropped by a single twinked out gnome voodoo.

Voodoo can flat out kill just about anything if done right. Casters are the ones at the highest risk however, a shaman barely has to try to nab them.

All this is crap. Voodoo is deadly with or without a doll. Back when I had Roath Stonehammer I killed alot of people with voodoo. You catch a merc or someone at 40% hps or something because they just escaped a pk attempt you'll kill them with voodoo. You can knock off casters, anyone.

It's about timing. Someone tells you on cb that so and so is nearly dead or half dead fire off a voodoo and you got 'em. It's real easy, and Roath was a dwarf too, that's [REDACTED] mana even at GM.

Anyone who says voodoo isn't a cheap [REDACTED] one shot kill is full garbage. You can kill a giant barb with voodoo if he's softened up first. Casters will die to voodoo from any race of shaman and if you have a gnome you've got one hell of a voodoo cannon. People who argue voodoo isn't a lame one shot kill aren't using voodoo correctly or something.

I posted on this thread months ago. Ill bring up my 3 different ways to change voodoo by making it a tactic not just a cannon.

First idea. Make a voodoo spirit similar to what a magic lamp in the game already does. The spirit is build from the shamans stats (similar to elemental accept tracks target and is ethereal ghost until the room of target). Maledictions cast on target and voodoo spirits start tracking target. Target gets to see where the shaman is. This would give a shaman who risked casting the spell closer to the target a better chance of landing a kill. Give the target a chance to use group tactics to defend against the shamans attack.

Second idea. Make voodoo a concentration spell which causes the target to take HP ME and PE damage and cast maledictions. Dolls would double damage, being in the same room would double damage, being in the same area no modifier, outside same area half damage modifier. Casting voodoo would no longer make your spirits flee. Making Voodoo a battle spell. Also would add to shaman's effectiveness in a group. Would also add to shamans over all damage output. XXXX sticks a pin in YYYYY visage. YYYYY body contorts in pain.

Third idea is just wimp the damage significantly but make the shaman get the vision of the target.