Curse

Grav · Mar 30, 2011, 02:47 AM // 02:47

Hi all,

so after 5 weeks without internet - and thus GW - I finally got reconnected a couple of days ago, and thought I'd mark the occasion by starting a new character with the aim of getting LDoA, now that it's actually a feasible target for a Joe Averagegamer like me. I chose a Ranger for the pet, and the /bonus bow (+ fire imp ofc). Current build is:

Read The Wind
Power Shot
Dual Shot
Point Blank Shot
Troll Unguent
Comfort Animal
2 x empty (presumably to become secondary skills, maybe rez signet when I complete the quest)

I got as far as L7 last night, having only completed a minimum of quests and am currently farming Charr At The Gate to try and reach 9, then turn in all the quests and hope that gets me through to 10. Anyway, my question is: what do you think makes a good Ranger secondary in pre-searing? I wouldn't have asked except that (a) it obviously can't be changed without going to post, and (b) I figure the choice is more important with a lack of skills across the board.

My own thoughts...

R/W: The idea of Frenzy on ranged attacks interests me, and Healing Signet could be useful between fights. Otherwise everything else is melee-weapon-specific, and I wanna focus primarily on the bow.

R/E: GoLE and Aura are nice but only works on spells, which the ranger has none of. Fire Storm is tempting, but I'm not sure of its value in pre where the mobs are smaller.

R/Me: Ether Feast could be a useful self-heal? Empathy/Backfire are nice but require points investment and would seem slow without Fast Casting?

R/Mo: Orison to self-heal seems a bit lacking without Divine Favor. Healing Breeze maybe, although I already have Troll Unguent. Smiting seems useless outside Catacombs which I'm already done with, so meh.

R/N: the Blood Magic line looks interesting in particular, with a few different self-heals for different situations, almost the beginnings of a toucher.

Currently leaning towards R/N as the effectiveness of the necro stuff isn't really reduced too much by the lack of Soul Reaping, while still offering a little versatility.

What are your experiences with ranger secondaries in pre, especially when you're up to the point where it's mostly Charr you're facing from now on, as it is for me?

Thanks in advance.

Marverick · Mar 30, 2011, 03:31 AM // 03:31

I went with Firestorm because Charr tend to mob so it seems like it would be useful to initiate fights with. But I'm still level 15 and don't have enough attributes to make Firestorm worthwhile after 12 marks. I don't think I would recommend this.

Frenzy is good for farming and killing low level enemies in the way quickly, but it's dangerous for actual questing because you don't have access to cancel stances.

Ether Feast does seem like a good heal, but if you initiate fights with Troll Unguent you should be fine without secondary heals.

Touch Rangers don't seem that attractive because Rangers can do so much damage with bows, since they have the only max-damage weapons in pre.

Honestly Rangers are pretty sufficient within their own class. I would just go with /W for faster speed.

FoxBat · Mar 30, 2011, 03:55 AM // 03:55

Send your pet in with a flatbow and make it tank. Frenzy away.

Heal sig is also beastly at low tactics spec.... just try not to use it WITH frenzy...

Rites · Mar 30, 2011, 05:06 AM // 05:06

i have a R/E, pet as tank, mobs naturally ball, imp helps with straglers

firestorm is actually a worthwhile skill in pre

The Only Warrior · Mar 30, 2011, 07:15 AM // 07:15

R/W deffinatly if you have /bonus bow, once you get 9 marks everything is just a joke to you, the damage is overpowered and an imp just makes things lawl, frenzy+read the wind is all you need for 2-4 shot kill on everything inculding bosses.

Grav · Mar 30, 2011, 08:46 AM // 08:46

Thanks for the feedback thus far. Tonight I've made it to 10 and pugged my first daily which went without incident. Now the long road begins...

On reflection, I suppose it is a bit silly to want to focus on the bow as I said, while at the same time considering a toucher-type setup. And yes, I am aware of the dangers of Frenzy and Heal Sig together, they would of course be kept separate.

I might give it a few more quests before committing, but yeah R/W seems to make a lot more sense now.

Tal L · Mar 30, 2011, 03:21 PM // 15:21

As a LDOA want to be achiver before the quests I can warmly recommand you to take Mes, even thou you can max it without a second proffesion.

Ether Feast can help you get above 100+ hp with only 5-4 inspiration attribute points. If you have an imp, R/Me is perfect for you since your pet and Imp can tank for you while you inflict Ignite Arrows and use troll ugnet and ether to deffend yourself. I wont recommand ele hence the fact most of ranger skills aren't spells and you wont get any healing from it's healing skill or do much damage with fire storm...

Peace and good luck..

chuckles79 · Mar 30, 2011, 04:01 PM // 16:01

A little off-topic but what are you all going to do with your LDoA toons once you hit 20? Sear, pay for run to LA, EotN, HoM then ?????

Marverick · Mar 30, 2011, 04:30 PM // 16:30

you can HoM it without leaving pre

Captain Bulldozer · Mar 30, 2011, 04:33 PM // 16:33

I'd go with either R/W or R/Mo.

With R/W use heal sig and frenzy. If you combine frenzy with read the wind your arrows from the bonus flatbow go super fast. As long as you can get your pet to do some tanking you can quickly pick targets off as you want. I've tried this myself, and by level 10 or so can usually kill off any melee target before they reach me.

With R/Mo you can use Bane signet, which is actually a pretty decent skill in pre-searing due to the KD. you can also use healing breeze over troll unguent for a better, longer lasting heal (but of course it can and will be stripped by charr chaots).Some people like to use retribution as well, though I never saw this ase a good idea myself.

Good hunting... please sell me all your charr kits

Rites · Mar 31, 2011, 07:56 AM // 07:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tal L

you wont do much damage with fire storm...

ummm..... actually firestorm does quite a bit of damage in pre. personally i think its one of the better AoE skills you can get in pre

unlike post and specifically HM, the mobs in pre don't scatter from AoE attacks

now once you get to post thats a whole different story all together

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer

you can also use healing breeze over troll unguent for a better, longer lasting heal (but of course it can and will be stripped by charr chaots)

it lasts a whole 2 seconds longer and requires putting points into healing prayers
troll unguent on the other hand is already in an attribute line that you will be using since ignite arrows is also in the wilderness survival line

cataphract · Mar 31, 2011, 09:52 AM // 09:52

My LDoA ranger is playing as R/W. Swordsmanship, Tactics, Beast Mastery. Deep Wound is great, the shield provides bonus to armor and health and the bear keeps me company.

As far as Firestorm is concerned - it's pure win in pre. My E/Mo easily balls several enemies and cheerfully nukes away.

Captain Bulldozer · Mar 31, 2011, 06:43 PM // 18:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rites

it lasts a whole 2 seconds longer and requires putting points into healing prayers
troll unguent on the other hand is already in an attribute line that you will be using since ignite arrows is also in the wilderness survival line

You also have to factor in the casting time of troll unguent. Its a 3 second cast for a 13 second effect. Healing breeze, on the other hand, is a 1 second cast for a 15 second effect. So yes, HB only lasts 2 seconds longer, but it also gives you 2 seconds more time for attacking/other skills. The downsides of course are the fact that its 10 energy, you need to spec into healing prayers for it to be as effective and its removable. So yes, if you're already using wilderness survival, troll unguent is quite possibly the better choice. However, ignite arrows isn't always the best skill to use, especially in those early days when you just barely have enough attribute points to reach 9 in marksmanship.

Rites · Apr 01, 2011, 12:11 AM // 00:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer

You also have to factor in the casting time of troll unguent. Its a 3 second cast for a 13 second effect. Healing breeze, on the other hand, is a 1 second cast for a 15 second effect. So yes, HB only lasts 2 seconds longer, but it also gives you 2 seconds more time for attacking/other skills. The downsides of course are the fact that its 10 energy, you need to spec into healing prayers for it to be as effective and its removable. So yes, if you're already using wilderness survival, troll unguent is quite possibly the better choice. However, ignite arrows isn't always the best skill to use, especially in those early days when you just barely have enough attribute points to reach 9 in marksmanship.

lol but yet you propose it will be easier to put points in healing prayers? dont you think your logic is a little off?

with no points in either attribute, healing breeze is better to start. but as you level up (10+ levels) using troll unguent would be the better choice considering most rangers that stay in pre end up using ignite arrows anyway

Captain Bulldozer · Apr 01, 2011, 05:22 AM // 05:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rites

lol but yet you propose it will be easier to put points in healing prayers? dont you think your logic is a little off?

with no points in either attribute, healing breeze is better to start. but as you level up (10+ levels) using troll unguent would be the better choice considering most rangers that stay in pre end up using ignite arrows anyway

In terms of healing, healing breeze is "better" then troll unguent all the way up to an attribute investment of 10. So no, the logic is not off. If you have trouble putting points into anything but Marksmanship, healing breeze is the better option. Obviously this will be a temporary situation, so really it doesn't make much difference. Still, the 3 second cast time of Unguent is a real downer, especially if you wait to cast it til you actually need it. Thus, the point is that if you wanted to run R/Mo, healing breeze would be a good option UNLESS you're particularly set on using Ignite arrows. If you want to use ignite arrows it's harder to justify.

For my part, I prefer R/W over R/Mo anyway. I do wish that Troll Unguent weren't such a GO RED ENGINE GO awful skill though.

Grav · Apr 04, 2011, 04:56 AM // 04:56

Some good discussion coming out of this thread, I appreciate everyone's thoughts on the subject.

Some of my own thoughts in follow-up:

I did go with R/W in the end, and have not regretted it. Build is now as follows (I dropped Dual Shot as the 20 second recharge made it seem less worthwhile):

Read The Wind
Frenzy
Power Shot
Point Blank Shot
Troll Unguent
Comfort Animal
Healing Signet
Resurrection Signet

You weren't kidding about 9 Marksmanship with the max bow; the damage is just insane, up to 100+ per shot which - when combined with Read The Wind and Frenzy - makes for some impressive DPS for a pre-searing character. I don't always use Frenzy, only once the fight appears to be under control from my perspective, or if it's clear the pet & imp are holding the aggro comfortably.

On the subject of Troll Unguent vs Healing Breeze, the Chaots' stripping made this an easier decision for me after discussing it with a few monks I met in-game. Unguent's cast time is long, but by timing it right the downside is minimised. I've learned to pop a single arrow off then cast Unguent; by the time it's ready the Axe Fiends/Blade Storms have only just arrived and most casters have only just finished their own preparatory casts as well. The 10 second recharge means I basically just re-cast it as soon as I can as often as necessary; I'm doing enough damage between the casting for the 3 seconds to matter less anyway, especially during shorter fights where re-casts are fewer.

The other advantage of this R/W build is little need for points going into the secondary class attributes. At L14 I'm currently 9 Marksmanship, 6 Wilderness Survival, 4 Expertise and 3 Beast Mastery. As I level and collect some runes, this will obviously improve with time, but I have no real urge to invest elsewhere except maybe some leftovers in Tactics for Healing Signet later on.

Cheers guys. o7

Highlander Of Alba · Apr 19, 2011, 03:58 PM // 15:58

Well I just came out of pre yesterday on an Alt and found it pleasently surprising

I ran a R/Mes and found this no problems. no big grind mainly because I went this way

I only took the ranger skills and no other reward , the mesmer was there without reward as I beleive not required till later on.

If I may I found this way to get it quickly and less grief.

1/5 was quick as all I did was go get ranger skills and walked to all the outposts

5/10 Just did char at the gete plus bull

10/15 I did the daily quests and found out that in some V quests you could gain Xp greater by repeating them.

As the monsters level stays at 11 from 14/16 the xp is not all that great at 16 I decided that at lev 16 to take all the quests and rewards this made me gain a level from 16/ to 17

As monster level goes up to 15 excluding bosses from level 17 the xp gained is quick and easy

Alittle tip I used was depending on daily for e.g Bandits I only did the first 2 groups as they are just outside then mapped back to Fort as saves u running all over the map and quick and easy xp

This was the same for Wup Wup easy xp gained on this daily by rinse and repeat The mesmer sec was used then only for emergency heal.

The Non Northlands are a great source of quick play and solo as no GM required.

So all in all the secondary did not mean a great deal only from lev 17 I found out that if I made a mistake it was there for quick and easy heal .

So all in all choose what you wish as secondary as I had no problems using the method as above