My main is a 68 Shaman on Prexus...I've soloed most of my way to this level. While I don't claim to know all ins-and-outs of my class nor the game, the Shaman class is a very viable soloing beast. I'm not a huge fan of root-rot as I prefer to send my doggie in and start off with a slow. Hit them with all of your dots and canni as needed. Take up alchemy and make a lot of Skinspike potions (or bazaar them, though the ingredients for Skinspikes VI are fully vendor bought and pretty trivial). Get the AA Virulent Paralysis whenever possible and then upgrade that to level 2 when you get a chance.
As far as the mana-draining spells, it's partially true. Hitting a mob using my method may drain your mana a bit but it's all easy recovered with tribute regen or clarity potions or just plain ol' canni. I hardly have down time and when I do it's only for a few moments.
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Charekil Ssavage (68th Iksar Shaman, Prexus)
Amputated Limbs (30th Iksar Monk, Prexus)
Lasaxony Quartier (25th Human Shadowknight, Prexus)
Velveteenn Rabbitt (21st Half Elf Bard, Prexus)
Sinamoon (28th Dark Elf Necromancer, Prexus)
Ouijaspirit Devilboard (26th Drakkin Cleric, Prexus)
Aardvarkgoddess (11th Gnome