Bear Shaman tips?


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I talked to the GM about it and he is willing to offer "Leather Armor Expertise" up (essentially HAE but for Leather) so that looks like it's gonna be one of the feats. We just leveled up and I came to the conclusion that by the encounters we had, Winter's Touch was never used - the Spirit Companion was simply too useful to "waste". So I'm looking for a good Spirit power to use.
At-will? Good spirit powers include Voice of Battle (shifting as an effect) or Claws of the Eagle (give your Ranger/whatever a free attack). Since you already have a Spirit at-will, though, you might also try Spirit of the Tempest--it grants an ally a save as an effect, although it requires you to be next to an enemy.
 

Since I am using a Totemic Spear it feels that either a Melee1 attack or non-spirit attacks overall is a little bit of a waste since the Totemic Spear gives my "Spirit Bear" a reach of 2 as well.

I am considering taking Melee Training (Wis) just to be able to defend myself adequately in melee (bringing me up to a +8 vs AC, 1d10+5, Reach attack) as well as being able to utilize Opportunity Attacks for myself if I get the chance...
 

At-will? Good spirit powers include Voice of Battle (shifting as an effect) or Claws of the Eagle (give your Ranger/whatever a free attack).

My human duck* shaman took claws of the eagle; i've found it incredibly useful, particularly when fighting undead alongside a paladin with Ardent Strike (radiant damage, hooray!)
 


Claws of the Eagle it seems to be then! I kinda like the power from the start! :D

Voice of battle was tempting, though; it targets will, and, more importantly, the shift is an effect so you can do it whether or not you hit. What made me go for the Claws is that I already had a power that attacked will (protecting strike), and I figured that giving a heavy-hitter an extra attack would be more consistently useful than a free slide.

One thing to consider is what other characters are in the party and if they have good basic attacks. Since you're primal only, barbarians and wardens have good basic attacks, and druids have some good at-wills they can use in beast form as basic attacks.
 

I am considering taking Melee Training (Wis) just to be able to defend myself adequately in melee (bringing me up to a +8 vs AC, 1d10+5, Reach attack) as well as being able to utilize Opportunity Attacks for myself if I get the chance...

You already -can- defend yourself in melee.

Put spirit adjacent to enemy, have spirit melee enemy. No OAs triggered.
 

You already -can- defend yourself in melee.

Put spirit adjacent to enemy, have spirit melee enemy. No OAs triggered.

Oh I'm not afraid of provoking OAs, I am thinking about successfully utilizing OAs against nearby enemies. That way I can move closer to ranged enemies like Artillery myself, forcing them to move away from me, blocking charge paths to more vulnerable allies (I mean, I have 35 hp and 10 healing surges at lvl 2 - I can take a few hits) and stuff like that.

However, Melee Training might not be better than taking feats which boost my Spirit or my healing abilities. So, spirit-boosting feats, any suggestions?
 

Vigorous and Strengthening Spirit are a good pair of feats to make your Healing Spirit better. Protector Spirit Adept (+1 to adjacent ally NADs) is solid, just remember to remind your friends so they don't forget the bonus. Resilient Spirit (+2 to spirit's defenses) is nice if enemies are trying to pop it often.
 

For feats I took Sudden Call and Strengthening Spirit, deciding to focus on the spirit. Only having to spend a minor action to dismiss and resummon my Spirit Companion is invaluable for me as a Healer, and the ability to position the spirit where it makes the most use is awesome in a very controllery fashion.
 

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