Shattered Kingdoms

I would also be in favor of astral projection. Where the shaman enters the spirit world, leaves their body, and can float around unnoticed - just like a ghost. Spirit sight would be the only way to detect a shaman that is astral projected.

Basically sums up my 2 cents on the op.

Anyways.

I think voodoo needs removed, but odds are that the 236th time is not the charm.

I am however amused by the comments about how easy it is to voodoo gank people and requires no skill to use.

Given the number of people who are terrible at using voodoo and can't even kill things like sorcerors with it, that is clearly a mistaken belief.

The only problem with banishment are the crazy requirements on it.

Aside from sacred sets, the only class that can have protection up 24/7 are priests, paladins, hellions and shamans.... none of which sprites can be. Keeping sanc up 24/7 is even more impossible unless you're a tribunal member that never goes anywhere.

I would make a good bet that any caster besides shamans can be taken out with a strong voodoo, doll not included.

Fixed that for you.

However, your average shaman can't even gank a sorc. Because it does actually require some preparation to make voodoo worth using.

A human shaman can gank rogues/scouts/etc without a doll. /If/ you put in the prep.

Once someone has a doll of you, if they know what they're doing, the only way you are going to survive a voodoo is by having spirit aura up. Unless you're a magic resistant priest or maybe a MR merc in a trib, I guess. Other than that, you're gone.

If the shaman in question is gray aura, then lol, everybody is pretty much screwed.

I said minimal effort, not 0 effort. There are myriad items and consumables out there, such that any mage subclass who is really interested in not getting owned by voodoo may ensure that they are covered by both spells 100% of the time that they are not sitting somewhere with friends.

You forgot an overly paranoid scout in this list.

I routinely survived double voodoos on a half-elf scout. Syn is right. Most shaman players are terribad at the prep work in firing off a decent voodoo bomb. Not to mention it leaves you paralyzed and at the mercy of an attacker.

I guess we have different playstyles then. Keeping up both of those spells 100% of the time requires burning through a lot of consumables when you don't have many friends online, which is the only time that anyone bothers voodooing anyway.

I don't care how few friends you have, nobody spends 100% of their playtime "at risk". Let's take this hypothetical adverse situation to the extreme, though, and assume that you'll always be online alone, friendless, and with Talys, Wala, and a burly friend or two of theirs ready to voodoo you. That's the worst, worst, worst case scenario and herbs cost maybe 5 plat per hour of 100% uptime. If you're at all serious about not dying, that is NBD.

Oh I think if we get into the double-voodoo territory then preparation is pretty much out the window. Unless you have a way of getting spirit aura.