So ... you want to know what Shaman Carrier is all about huh?

Well, I'll tell you it can be fun some times, and other times it can be ... weeelll ... boring as fuck.

For me, there's just something incredibly statisfying when you max out your Temporary HP buff and the hive charges in and retreats with 3/4 of their health still intact after tanking over 16 bullets.


SO, let's start off with your abilities before moving on to gameplay strategies.

Keep in mind ALL of your abilities require EGGS in order to fuel them. If you run out of eggs ... tough luck, you're now the most useless caste in the game.

Keep in mind ALL of your abilities require you to CHANNEL for a few seconds.

Keep in mind also, that ALL of your abilities require OTHER XENOS with 2 tiles of you in order to buff AND contribute to the buff total, you CANNOT buff yourself.



Abilities:


Adrenal Healing (100 plasma):

This is going to be your BREAD AND BUTTER ability.
This is an AOE Health buff ability that lasts 30 seconds.
The more xenos within your 5x5 square centered on you, the more health you buff them with, up to a maximum.
Temporary HP is a LOT MORE THAN YOU THINK, not only that IT STACKS with armor, so if you have a defender in fortify and they take a full mag of AP, they already have that MASSIVE damage reduction, but they also don't have their main health taken away, and are STILL left with some THP to spare.
I've seen Elder Empresses that have been buffed with this take 30 rounds of AP ammo JUST to chew away her THP ... NOT EVEN JOKING.

Frenzied Scream (300 plasma):

This is a weird one, and I think it's geared more towards XvX gameplay, but it still has some PRETTY DAMN GOOD ability versus marines.
It can go through walls, so that corner spot in the Lambda Entrance chokepoint? GO FOR IT!
It's an AOE stun that gets larger and lasts longer the more xenos are around.

Adrenal Pheremones (300 plasma):

You emit ALL 3 PHEREMONES for 20-30 seconds.
The more xenos around you when finish channeling it, the stronger they are.
Personally, unless there's only ONE pheremone hanging around that ISN'T recovery, I NEVER EVER use this, to me it's just a waste of an egg.



Gameplay Ideas and Strategies:


Pre-Contact and Pre-de-ovi (pre-game):
So ... before the marines arrive and before your queen de-ovi's, you're going to want to STOCKPILE THE SHIT out of eggs.
Remember that the queen has a limit, if there's too many eggs underneath her, she won't produce more. Make your own stockpile next to or near her.

Contact and De-Ovi (mid-game):
Bring your stockpile about 20 tiles away from YOUR frontline, and have an egg or 2 in your hands for that extra egg or 2.
Ask your queen to tell you when she's about to screech/push. When they tell you, use your Adrenal Healing for that SWEET SWEET Health buff, make sure there's at LEAST 3 around you, including the queen for best results.
IF there aren't any or less than smart or compliant xenos around, don't use it then.
Instead, charge WITH the queen, and when she screeches, wait around 2-3 seconds, then start channeling your frenzied scream.
If any of your fellow xenos are SMART and actually PUSH WITH THE QUEEN like they're SUPPOSED TO, you will have PLENTY of xenos around you to buff your frenzied scream.
The reason you wait 2-3 seconds after the queen screech is by the time the queen's screech wears off, your frenzied scream will take effect and the marines will start spinning around on the ground for ANOTHER 4 seconds within around a 4-6 tile radius of you (given the amount of xenos that contribute to your ability)

Almayer Assault (end-game):
You NEED as MANY eggs as the queen can give you.
Ask your queen to perhaps delay the dropship launch for 100 ticks while in ovipositor to give everyone time to evolve/upgrade and to give you eggs and the hive some breather room.
Other-wise, same thing as mid-game.




I hope this guide was helpful

I realize Shaman carrier isn't the GREATEST when it comes to meta-rushes, but if you have the eggs ... dear god will you buff your hive so much you may as well be the life-giver.