No current information on Shapshifters so I'll add what I've found so far.
Shapeshifters have a lot of options that lie within their forms and can take advantange of many situations. Now many shapies are currently playing however so it is hard to get a definitive look at their effectiveness.
A few things to note:
If you wait a period of a few rounds in between shifting and as long as your shift counter is under 10? you seem to heal yourself for a %? of damage. At 0 status the healing amounts to be around 5k per shift.
If used effectively throughout your fight you can get around 15k additional hps!
4 current forms to choose from.
Bull:
Decent melee form. As far as i've tested, 3rd on he damage charts under Hydra and Tiger. The form provides fantastic abilities however and should be used accordingly.
--> Stomp: Great against melee classes, provides a chance to knock off (2?) limbs as well as the corresponding equipment. I havn't had much success with two successful stomps in a fight so I think this is a starting fight priority then move on.
---> Charge: Bull's middy attack. Chance to stun and a small amount of damage. The chance to stun is not very high but It could be worth using against connection avengers and any class whose abilities have a casting time, i.e. Sorcerors .
Tiger:
Good melee form. More attacks than bull but less damage than Hydra. 2nd in the pecking order. Always open your fights phased so Tiger is key.
---> Roar: Use for a chance to have your opponent flee from the fight. Lag is just as high as their flee if not higher. Very situational.
----> Phase: Higher dodge and (resist?) use before every fight, keep up constantly. Check your phase timer to see if its up or not. *Top Priority*
Hydra:
Hydra is the highest damage form and consequently it seems the best defensive form as well. Hbreath is a great middy once your situational moves have been taken care of. This seems to be the most effective all around form and will be used in most of your fights.
> Hbreath: Hydra middy. About a round and a half of lag. High damage, use when youve gone through your begining fight rotations.
Faerie:
Although Faerie was known for great defense their damage resistance is horrendous. Faerie provides extra dodge which is great for dodging those melee beasts. When you get hit, however, you get hit hard. I've found Faerie to be effective against a few classes, namely Tanarris at the moment but not many others.
-----> Faeriecurse: Completely worthless. Currently its a flashy web power and does nothing more. Now that all classes come with the WEB command....this brings nothing new to the table. Hopefully a change will come here.
------> Fblink: Great damage move. Unlike demon blink this does not need to be timed and acts just like a middy. It does do substantial damage for a midrounder and carries the high shapie lag of at least a round and half. Use when forced into faerie form.