General Tips

 GENERAL TIPS

1. If you're able to, become all access and get the latest expansions. This guide will be more beneficial to you. Although owning the latest expansions is not necessary, but if you plan on raiding or joining an active guild it will help immensely. This also will keep you from reaching the level cap maximum.
   
2. With that being said, JOIN A GUILD. Going alone can be okay, but this game is extremely more fun if you play in groups. Soloing/Moloing gets tired real quick. (**Please, do this. I cannot tell you the amount of times someone says they get no groups and has not joined a guild and isn't very retroactive in finding their own groups. Even a little "Hey doing X anyone want to tag along?" in general chat usually ends up in at least 1 or 2 joining you for a grind session.**)
   
3. Speaking of soloing/moloing, if you do not Get a J5 Mercenary you're going to die a lot more. It makes a huge difference. Do the quest especially if you plan to mainly solo. Use the healer. It's the only viable mercenary for soloing at this level.(Once you become accustomed to the Shaman, you will more than likely use a tank while soloing and healing said tank.)
4. Do your epic quests! Don't skip any of this. Do your epic 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. You'll use the 2.0 a lot in groups and solo play. Besides the Shaman epic story line is awesome. Seriously people, this is one of the few epics in my opinion that is a must have. DO NOT SKIP getting this.
5. BE PATIENT. Live servers are not what the game was in 1999-2004. If you're coming back due to nostalgia, this is not the game you're looking for. You will be better suited for Time Locked progression servers. But if you can re-learn some mechanics, read a ton of stuff, and push through playing, you will get better each time. Eventually muscle memory will take hold and you'll seem like a total badass at the character, when in fact you're just going through your rotations as quickly as possible. And you'll inadvertently  form memory timers for your abilities.
6. The best solo/molo for Shaman is root rot. Find mobs that you can do this too with Virulent Paralysis(knocks mob back and roots them), Malaise them, Damage Over Time(DoT) them and sit there and wait until they die. I.E.  And in Empires of Kunark, the zone Frontier Mountains has treants all over the North side of the zone. They are not social (They will not help one another if you attack one) Do not do this with a merc. A wizard's nuke will break the root. And any melee will also break the root. Just have a back up plan. If you've done the Anniversary quest "Pub Crawl" then you have the excellent item "Drunkard's Stein"(Instant port to Plane of Knowledge) or if you're wanting more of a challenge you can run a bit, hopefully not die, Inconspicuous Totem, wait for aggro to drop, then go back to doing what you were. The second best requires you to heal between your pet and mercenary. Also all mobs (besides named) in Dead Hills Heroic Adventures are also rootable. This is a great area to practice your abilities in, especially around the late 90's early 100 levels. Just always have an emergency plan to escape or not die.
7. I don't group often but when I do.....Dos Equis. Stay Buffed my friend. No for real, stay buffed! Pay attention to this. Have everyone in your group constantly rebuff. You are not the only buffs in the game. The Enchanter, Ranger, and Wizard for example have some pretty stellar buffs. As well as other classes, always take buffs and stay buffed. Even bring a potion to raise stats. (I.E. around RoS use Gorowyn Fortified Drink) Bring stat food/drink for your level also.
8. If you are idling any noncombat areas, SUSPEND your merc. You are wasting plat. And unless you're willing to break ToS and real world trade (Which I suggest not doing, since it's a bannable offense) you're blasting away hundreds of plat every 15 minutes.
9. Get a map pack and install it. I use  Brewall's Everquest Maps This has been a huge time saver.