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Discussion - Rangers..... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Doc James
- Start date
Rangers have good utility, good damage, and reasonable mitigation. Given their toolkit they excel at PvP. Headshot AA with Volley was better than AoE groups and they could do that all by themselves, though that’s not as viable anymore.
They can spike massive damage.
They can spike massive damage.
They can also be paired well with other dps classes if you choose the right "arrow" buff. EX: Fire, Poison, etc...
I have a Ranger that works great in both group setups I run. The ranger is very consistent dps, not to mention there's 0 downtime. The HS that happen are a nice surprise at times, otherwise; I wanted to try out the ranger. Plus, if my Pally does go down, I can step in with the ranger and tank (of course i'd chose the mage pet first lol). All in all they're a great utility like Knightly mentioned above. I'd level a few more to just HS FM, but I've been working on other things.
Pal/Mage/Mage/Rng/Enc/Shm
Necro/Mage/Mage/Rng/Enc/Shm
Pal/Mage/Mage/Rng/Enc/Shm
Necro/Mage/Mage/Rng/Enc/Shm
I mained a ranger for years and years until somewhere around RoF so they have a special place in my heart. IMO they're the second best jack of all trades class (to bards), and when played well can do about anything- pull, tank, dps, whatever. Like @Thehub said they're super fun to pull with. Harmonious Arrow before the nerf was awesomesauce and now I think it's just decent. I used to have a lot of fun with the flusterbolt/blusterbolt combo of spells and remember impressing one of my friends that was in a top raiding guild with how well I was pulling some camps.
I'm still relearning the class since they've gotten a lot of new stuff since I switched classes, but as far as I can tell they bring (to a box group):
* attack buffs (predator line)
* there's a new enrichment buff that says it adds a flat % to melee.. I think somewhere in the teens so about half as good as bard aura iirc
* good to great dps depending on headshotability of what you're killing
* movement/lev buffs
* crit increase via auspice and group guardian of the forest
If you're playing them manually, I'd add:
* emergency tankability
* great pulling in non-dungeon/close spaces
I'm still relearning the class since they've gotten a lot of new stuff since I switched classes, but as far as I can tell they bring (to a box group):
* attack buffs (predator line)
* there's a new enrichment buff that says it adds a flat % to melee.. I think somewhere in the teens so about half as good as bard aura iirc
* good to great dps depending on headshotability of what you're killing
* movement/lev buffs
* crit increase via auspice and group guardian of the forest
If you're playing them manually, I'd add:
* emergency tankability
* great pulling in non-dungeon/close spaces
Yep yep we have toolkits - big ones - uh huh.
With 'Cover tracks" we can now run away much faster before we die so no one will see us running.
Some of my best friends are Rangers. Oh wait, so am I but I wear silver colored Hero's Forge so I look like a Paladin.
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Aren't they top 2 dps in ToL, currently?
Can you elaborate on "no down time"? My Ranger always seems to be OOM. He burns thru mana like koole-aide!
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Typically, this is what happens with rangers when they are taking a dirt nap... it causes them to be OOM :P HAHA
Well now I’m wondering what kind of person involved in what kind of activity…burns kool aid.
Ranger DPS is a combination of spells and attacks given that they’re a hybrid, so if you’re doing it well you’re timing that so you don’t lose DPS during casting. Make sure you have your mana AAs and you’re using your self buff line. I always have an enchanter buff mana regen too. But, other than your fast casts, you probably shouldn’t be casting all the time in combat.
Ranger DPS is a combination of spells and attacks given that they’re a hybrid, so if you’re doing it well you’re timing that so you don’t lose DPS during casting. Make sure you have your mana AAs and you’re using your self buff line. I always have an enchanter buff mana regen too. But, other than your fast casts, you probably shouldn’t be casting all the time in combat.
I dont know if I am doing it well or not. I dont actually know how to play a ranger, he is just running KA using one of the 120 INIs from the library. Anybody using KA that is NOT burning thru mana like koole-aid.
They can tank? The only exposure I have had with Rangers was with a friend of mine like 20 years ago that got waxed as fast as a robed caster when attempting to tank. I imagine that may have changed in two decades. Can you elaborate?
Not sure your group setup, by mine does have an enchanter in it. But, yes my Ranger is never OOM. she casts DD's and dots. Now, I don't use the highest amount of mana dots so that could be it, but that's just because I've yet to buy spells.
Otherwise the ranger at range firing it off.
Now my mages on the other hand... Very OOM, but that's generally pulling non-stop for 40 ish minutes.
This is his spell lineup for KA:
Gem1=Claimed Shots
Gem2=Focused Whirlwind of Arrows
Gem3=Summer's Torrent
Gem4=Summer's Sleet
Gem5=Composite Fusillade
Gem6=Bloodbeetle Swarm
Gem7=Arbor Stalker's Coalition
Gem8=Desperate Geyser
Gem9=Lunar Balm
Gem10=Darkflow Spring
Gem11=Arbor Stalker's Enrichment
Gem12=Shout of the Dusksage Stalker
Gem13=Spirit of Falcons
Sure! This was 10ish years ago, and I think they've upped the need for an actual plate tank since, but I used to tank in resplendent temple (raid gear at the time) and HoT zones for my crew. Between the blades line proc that's a mini-WS, and some of the ranger innates they make passable tanks (probably should caveat: when slightly overgeared). Also any ranger can tank for the 20 seconds or so until WS fades lol.
edit: I remembered two things: First, I remember I had a hotkey that switched me to my lifetap weapons and hit Imbued Ferocity (I think was the name? the auto-proc ability) for emergencies. Second, this was before all the remote healing and heal target of my target weapon procs so if you gear your crew out that way it probably gets a ton easier
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My Ranger has been tanking since Shadowhunter in Walls of Slaughter.
I main and drive my box group some of the time with a Ranger, Is one of the top raid rangers on my server. A well played T3ish ToL group geared Berz, and Rog can indeed out dps a raid geared ranger in most cases, but still are a top dps class worth playing.
One of the things with the ranger I see is that people love to dual wield 1hs items with a ranger when you really should be carrying a shield instead.
I have the CoV raid spiked shield it keeps me from ranger gating all the time. Increased AC above the caps because its held, and boost stats a ton more than a secondary 1hs, it also allows more room for augs. Most of the time I am range attacking, so having a 1hs in my secondary is not helping anything but looks. I set up bandolier and if I do melee I normally use a 2hp raid wep with poison proc but that's rare. With the shield the ranger is around 500k+ hp 13k+ ac and can certainly tank the shei group task but rangers taunt isn't so great, not that I use the ranger to tank much, but it is possible. My ini also has a condition to swap to melee with shield and 1hs to try to tank if/when the tank goes down to take over based on agro on the ranger being over 60% and then it will pop empowered blades, bulwark and some other stuff to tie us over until we get the tank back up. Because a warrior or SK will quickly take the hate away from the ranger, it will go right back to range attacking once the tank back is up and swinging.
Rangers excel in damage to human and animal. Other mistakes I see people also don't use arrow nukes that consume an arrow, they also don't use coalition with other rangers when they can, or coordinate auspice rotations especially when they are just a bot ranger being driven in a raid or group.
My spell line up is like this:
If there are other rangers in the group or raid use coal all the time...
Gem1=Arbor Stalker's Coalition
Always keep up a punt, in my ini I don't have anything that triggers it except as a fill in poofing ToL big heads in shei raid or grp task with a lua but still find times to use it manually and in other raids.
Gem2=Blusterbolt
All my ini settings or raid hot keys open with stealthy shot, If you don't its missed potential dps. it don't fire off oh well no harm done.
Gem3=Stealthy Shot
Boon adds fire damage to next fire damage spells hit before your fire nuke rotation
Gem4=Lunarflare Boon
Claimed shots. you all be using this already... if your not you need to delete your self.
Gem5=Claimed Shots
Arrow nukes as mentioned above add damage to human and animal
Gem6=Heartruin
more fire
Gem7=Lunarflare Ash
More arrows
Gem8=Focused Whirlwind of Arrows
Dots. always keep bloodbeetle swarm up, use swarm of bloodflies if no one complains about taking up a dot spot with ranger junk dots, or the ds it puts onto the tank.
Gem9=Bloodbeetle Swarm
Gem10=Swarm of Bloodflies
More arrow and fire plus a hate reduction use it.
Gem11=Composite Fullisade
more fire
Gem12=Summer's Torrent
A crappy heal that might save the the day, some times swapped out for a cure depending on the situation.
Gem13=Darkflow Spring
Stay back at 40ft range dps, spam kicks to get synergy also spam single target blades so to not break any mez. Ranger epic 1.5 and 2.0 are still useful and easy to get. Keep Poison Arrow and Elemental Arrow up. There are also a number of other buffs I wont get into. Do all this and Ranger will get in the top of the parse.
The ranger is still a great top 3 dps class with added utility functions when you use them correctly, they are still very sought after in groups and raid guilds. Problem is people tend to not learn much about the classes they are playing as bots in their grps, this is the same with lots of other classes, I mean I have no clue how what or why my mage is doing thanks to MQ2Mage lol but it sure kicks ass all over. I think each of us has our old core classes that we spent so much time with pre mq, that we all have a bias towards. For some its a ranger, for others its a necro or whatever. Its easier to pick back up with a class you are somewhat familiar with than to run with something totally new.
One of the things with the ranger I see is that people love to dual wield 1hs items with a ranger when you really should be carrying a shield instead.
I have the CoV raid spiked shield it keeps me from ranger gating all the time. Increased AC above the caps because its held, and boost stats a ton more than a secondary 1hs, it also allows more room for augs. Most of the time I am range attacking, so having a 1hs in my secondary is not helping anything but looks. I set up bandolier and if I do melee I normally use a 2hp raid wep with poison proc but that's rare. With the shield the ranger is around 500k+ hp 13k+ ac and can certainly tank the shei group task but rangers taunt isn't so great, not that I use the ranger to tank much, but it is possible. My ini also has a condition to swap to melee with shield and 1hs to try to tank if/when the tank goes down to take over based on agro on the ranger being over 60% and then it will pop empowered blades, bulwark and some other stuff to tie us over until we get the tank back up. Because a warrior or SK will quickly take the hate away from the ranger, it will go right back to range attacking once the tank back is up and swinging.
Rangers excel in damage to human and animal. Other mistakes I see people also don't use arrow nukes that consume an arrow, they also don't use coalition with other rangers when they can, or coordinate auspice rotations especially when they are just a bot ranger being driven in a raid or group.
My spell line up is like this:
If there are other rangers in the group or raid use coal all the time...
Gem1=Arbor Stalker's Coalition
Always keep up a punt, in my ini I don't have anything that triggers it except as a fill in poofing ToL big heads in shei raid or grp task with a lua but still find times to use it manually and in other raids.
Gem2=Blusterbolt
All my ini settings or raid hot keys open with stealthy shot, If you don't its missed potential dps. it don't fire off oh well no harm done.
Gem3=Stealthy Shot
Boon adds fire damage to next fire damage spells hit before your fire nuke rotation
Gem4=Lunarflare Boon
Claimed shots. you all be using this already... if your not you need to delete your self.
Gem5=Claimed Shots
Arrow nukes as mentioned above add damage to human and animal
Gem6=Heartruin
more fire
Gem7=Lunarflare Ash
More arrows
Gem8=Focused Whirlwind of Arrows
Dots. always keep bloodbeetle swarm up, use swarm of bloodflies if no one complains about taking up a dot spot with ranger junk dots, or the ds it puts onto the tank.
Gem9=Bloodbeetle Swarm
Gem10=Swarm of Bloodflies
More arrow and fire plus a hate reduction use it.
Gem11=Composite Fullisade
more fire
Gem12=Summer's Torrent
A crappy heal that might save the the day, some times swapped out for a cure depending on the situation.
Gem13=Darkflow Spring
Stay back at 40ft range dps, spam kicks to get synergy also spam single target blades so to not break any mez. Ranger epic 1.5 and 2.0 are still useful and easy to get. Keep Poison Arrow and Elemental Arrow up. There are also a number of other buffs I wont get into. Do all this and Ranger will get in the top of the parse.
The ranger is still a great top 3 dps class with added utility functions when you use them correctly, they are still very sought after in groups and raid guilds. Problem is people tend to not learn much about the classes they are playing as bots in their grps, this is the same with lots of other classes, I mean I have no clue how what or why my mage is doing thanks to MQ2Mage lol but it sure kicks ass all over. I think each of us has our old core classes that we spent so much time with pre mq, that we all have a bias towards. For some its a ranger, for others its a necro or whatever. Its easier to pick back up with a class you are somewhat familiar with than to run with something totally new.
Thank you for that great info! I was literally lol at "Ranger Gate" too.
PS
Do you have a Ranger KA .ini that you use by chance?
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For whatever reason I am reminded of raiding during PoR. There were rangers who'd miss the TL from Devastation and they'd ask me as a bard to duel them and kill them so they could "gate" back to the lobby. I had a brick of knowledge that I used myself. It was weird how often a couple of those guys would manage to get themselves stranded. I think you don't lose XP if a player kills you
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Depending on the mob type, I have seen my Ranger's at the top of the DPS parsing consistently (typically when using ranged attack of course). The fact that they can be a ranged dps is nice too as they dont clog things up as much (need to leave room for the Rogs and Zerks to do their thang...not to mention room for the Bards/Ench's to get sucked in and killed 
). I am sure their utility is much greater than this and more than what I use them for, but I love having a Ranger in my crew (in the least they are a toon you can sacrifice to the wipe gods to allow a few others to escape 
)
). I am sure their utility is much greater than this and more than what I use them for, but I love having a Ranger in my crew (in the least they are a toon you can sacrifice to the wipe gods to allow a few others to escape )