Curse

jawapodracer · Oct 06, 2008, 09:37 AM // 09:37

My R/x is a Prophecies character, and he's beaten Prophecies, using Barrage as soon as it was available to him. I like Barrage (short cooldown, spreads the damage), however it's the only damaging Elite I have, and I never really considered anything else. I did unlock Burning Arrow on my PvP Ranger, and while nice I don't know if I'd like it as much as Barrage for PvE.

I'm going through the NF campaign now, and just unlocked the Sunspear Sanctuary in Kourna. Barrage was a BEAST on the Consulate Docks mission, since mobs were always so close together. I don't see any real reason to switch it up other than to vary my playstyle a bit.

So for going through the Nightfall campaign, do you recommend an elite other than Barrage?
EDIT: Forgot to mention, I only own Prophecies and Nightfall. No Factions or EotN skills please.

Amy Awien · Oct 06, 2008, 11:21 AM // 11:21

If you like Barrage, use it.

But mobs don't always cluster as nicely as they did in Consulate Docks and NF has nice elites in, for instances, Magebane Shot and Burning Arrow. And you'll want some good interrupts against the Ele mobs later on.

Toffin · Oct 06, 2008, 11:26 AM // 11:26

Barrage is a good skill to go anywhere in PvE, however to get the true feel of the Ranger Class you have to switch up Elites.

Try using Expert's Dexterity, Prepared Shot, Incendiary Arrows with some preperations. Or even try going Beast Mastery with Rampage as One or Ferocious Strike.

Most likely you will end up going back to barrage, like most people.

Luminarus · Oct 06, 2008, 11:44 AM // 11:44

Personally I never found barrages damage to be that great... if u wanna spam aoe damage go ele i say. Far better to do decent pressure and interupts. Its nigh impossible to reliable interupt when every attack is a skill. I did 90% of elona with a BHA build, the other 10%, i used BA.

xanarot · Oct 06, 2008, 11:56 AM // 11:56

For most PvE rangers, if barrage isnt the elite then its incendiary arrows (the child of barrage and burning arrow; hit 3 targets and put burning for 1-3 sec on each) which also allows you to use a preparation like apply poison/explosive shot.

So you could try that if you want a change... other then that i wouldnt really know.

bungusmaximus · Oct 06, 2008, 12:03 PM // 12:03

broadhead, but I don't know if that's available for you. Choking gas/practiced stance can be funny, the dps is a little piddy though.

eximiis · Oct 06, 2008, 12:21 PM // 12:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luminarus

Personally I never found barrages damage to be that great... if u wanna spam aoe damage go ele i say. Far better to do decent pressure and interupts. Its nigh impossible to reliable interupt when every attack is a skill. I did 90% of elona with a BHA build, the other 10%, i used BA.

Barrage with splinter is your damage.

legacyofkain85 · Oct 06, 2008, 01:07 PM // 13:07

there are quite some other nice choices,u can use
[Broad Head Arrow]-for spellcaster shutdown,combine it with [Epidemic] for aoe daze
[Magebane Shot]-for an an iterupt build
[Expert's Dexterity]-for a dmg oriented build,combine with [Read The Wind] and a flatbow
[Burninr Arrow]-dmg +burning ,altho i find it more of a pvp skill
[Prepared Shot]-if u have an energy intensive build
[Incendiary Arrows]-combine it with [Apply Poison]to spred conditions or [Ignite Arrows]for aoe dmg

Mordiego · Oct 06, 2008, 01:20 PM // 13:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by legacyofkain85

...[Broadhead Arrow]-for spellcaster shutdown,combine it with [Epidemic] for aoe daze...

the one and only thing I ever played Ranger for. Try this and say good-bye to all spellcasters in the game. U will see how usefull it is when U get further into NF missions. Buy silencing bow string for 25 seconds daze.

Mixie · Oct 06, 2008, 01:35 PM // 13:35

Prepared shot is nice.

Benster · Oct 06, 2008, 01:42 PM // 13:42

If you have access to Eye of the North, then you can use Volley instead of barrage and save yourself the elite.

Broad Head Arrow (as mentioned above) is a very good elite to shut down casters. Also, if you switch to a mesmer secondary and equip epidemic and volley, you can shut down multiple casters at a time when clumped.

Barrage is nice in theory, and good when combined with certain secondary class skills, but on its own tend to be less effective. (In my opinion) I felt like the game became much easier once I stopped using it.

zelgadissan · Oct 06, 2008, 01:52 PM // 13:52

[Broad Head Arrow] + [Epidemic] + [Volley] + optional [Splinter Weapon] >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [Barrage] + [Splinter Weapon]

......but, since you don't own Factions or EotN (w00t I can readz!), Barrage might seriously be the best things you've got. [Escape] scythe rangers can be fun.

Kerwyn Nasilan · Oct 06, 2008, 01:58 PM // 13:58

Barrage is nice for early areas, but really doesn't stack up all the well in farther areas where stuff like BHA is invaluable.

[Morkai] · Oct 06, 2008, 02:09 PM // 14:09

He said he can't get access to BHA, l2rid plz?

Barrage is nice, maybe add a Conjure spell if you feel the need for more damage.

Remember - Distracting Shot is invaluable.

Zen1331 · Oct 06, 2008, 02:58 PM // 14:58

I've done R/E and used barrage in combination with conjure lightning using a shocking bow string and I notice major dmg on all my targets. But like everyone else here posting, broadhead arrow with epidemic does crazy shutdown to spell casters and helps out the frontliners immensely.

relt · Oct 06, 2008, 03:23 PM // 15:23

I think every ranger has his personal favorite build, and the best way to find that is just experiment with different combos. Barrage can be a good general use build, but you will probably want to cap whatever elites you find along the way. Mobs won't always clump nicely for you, and you may find another elite that you feel works better with your playstyle. We can all give you suggestions on what works for us, but in the end you just have to experiment creating your own builds. There is no single Godmode Ranger build, most elites can be used as a general build. (This doesn't really help you, but I am a big fan of a Glass Arrows/Conjure build for serious damage, but still mix it up randomly just for fun.)

N1ghtstalker · Oct 06, 2008, 03:29 PM // 15:29

some nice elites for ranger nowadays are
incendary arrows
burning arrow
punishing shot
magebane shot
melandru's arrows
poison arrow
those are quite good in my oppinion even tho for me i'll go burning arrow
but if you like barrage use it
throw on a conjure for bonus dmg and you got good outputs

jawapodracer · Oct 06, 2008, 06:26 PM // 18:26

Looking at Incendiary Arrows, it looks like something I'd definitely be interested in trying out. However, what should I put in between each Incendiary arrow shot; just do an autoattack or what?

On a sidenote, I carry 2 interrupts with me at all times; Distracting Shot and Savage Shot. It serves me quite well, though I will keep in mind that I may need a third later in the NF campaign.

My build:
12 + 1 + 1 Marksman
12 + 1 Expertise
3 Wilderness

Distracting Shot
Barrage
Savage Shot
Lightning Reflexes
Frenzy
Antidote Signet
Troll Unguent
Res Sig

I might try replacing Barrage with Incendiary and Frenzy/Antidote Sig with Apply Poison. I think I'd get more damage out of that than Barrage.

Tyla · Oct 06, 2008, 06:31 PM // 18:31

I'd rather run Tiger's Fury instead of Frenzy to be honest. Also Troll Unguent is pretty bad outside of situations where you would be required to split at times. Keep in mind this also opens your secondary, so I suggest a Conjure (although attribute split could get heavy) or changing Res Sig for Restore Life. I'm not sure if you could change secondary to /Rt if you don't have Factions though, but if you can Death Pact Signet is a great skill.

Also, degeneration isn't really the best thing for DPS in PvE. It's a measily 20DPS maximum compared to the damage you could do by using other skills.

Luminarus · Oct 07, 2008, 04:12 AM // 04:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by eximiis

Barrage with splinter is your damage.

Barrage with splinter and no access to factions is such good damage... right. I know splinter is good, i was refering in response to the OP. Barrage by itself, to me doesnt do enough damage. Conjure helps, but even then its only about 50 damage every 3 seconds (give or take with a bow attack). Overall I just dont find it that great, and prefer relying on casters for the AoE whilst I take out the enemy casters and save our team/help kills.

Prepared Shot is also nice, forgot that one. Although its only really good in conjunction with sundering/penetrating spam, or pve skill spam. Penetrating is factions, and most pve skills are eotn so since you dont have access to them I dont think Prepared will do that great in pve for you.