Curse

infernal · Jul 28, 2005, 09:09 PM // 21:09

I started with an E/Mo followed by a W/Mo, Mo/R and a N/Me. Ascended all four, got mired down with guild stuff, bought a second account and made a Me/R. Up until this point, I firmly beleived that rangers were nerfed.
Then I made a R/Me and began working on him. Things were good but my opinion was still dour to the class as a whole until I went to do ashes out of Pikens. I kept getting with pathetic PUGS and we couldn't do anything, so out of frustration, I grabbed the henchies and took off.
Long-story-short, at 11th level I soloed ashes with my ranger. I didn't sneak in and take the ashes and then get killed either ~ I killed everything with nothing but henchies and my cat, and walked calmly to the pedastel enjoying the view while grabbing the ashes.
Yes, rangers rock!

My only complaint is that Beast mastery is such a waste. (i.e. - nerfed). To make it worthwhile, one would have to max out the skill and use up most of their slots equipping the different attacks (and even then it's debatable how worthwhile it would be).. and then, your pet would be great, if you could just stay alive long enough to enjoy it.

Kishin · Jul 28, 2005, 09:21 PM // 21:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flamingpeanut

I'm not sure what my build is, I haven't changed it in so long =)
I think it's:
Marks: 11
WS: 12
Expertise: 9
Illusion Magic: 9

Basically, I can use Poison and Phantasm for 9 bars degen on the enemy, Troll Unguent for 9 bars regen on me, and then pop in kindle arrows + power shot/dual shot for the 20 points of damage per hit. And if the warriors look at me I have Whirling Defense to keep them off me while reinforcements arrive.

Not to mention if I need to, the WS makes a good trapper and Marks means Barrage is effective for PvE.

Tell me Rangers suck NOW

Well, Rangers don't suck, but speaking as a Ranger, this build could use a bit of tweaking. Troll Unguent is a waste of time, and Penetrating Attack is better than Power Shot. Phantasm isn't that wonderful except to cover hex. Its not the worst I've seen, though.

I completely agree that most Rangers are terrible at what they do. Its probably the second most played class after War/Mo, and in no small part to that, chock full of people who aren't quite sure what they should be doing.

MSecorsky · Jul 28, 2005, 09:39 PM // 21:39

Funny though... right after ascending, in the dragon lair, I was grabbed up by a party because I was the only ranger there. Full room too, only ranger.

I felt special.

DFrost · Jul 30, 2005, 08:57 AM // 08:57

I'm a R/E and yesterday I tried ditching fire magic completely and putting all those points in Wilderness Survival. So now I'm using only ranger skills (+res signet) and I'm really liking it so far.

People seem to appreciate Tiger's fury a lot, but I don't see the point unless you're a beastmaster. Is it horribly stupid to prefer Lightning Reflexes instead?

Tiger's Fury:
All your non-attack skills are disabled for 5 seconds. For 5-10 seconds, you attack 33% faster than normal - 10/0/10

Lightning Reflexes:
For 5-10 seconds, you have a 75% chance to "evade" melee and arrow attacks, and attack 33% faster - 10/0/60

Now I don't have to spread points to beastmastery, so the stance lasts longer plus I do more damage because I can spare to pump up marksmanship. Yes, the recharge time is a lot longer, but it doesn't become a huge problem if groups don't want to rush. The evading bonus is nice too.

If I remember correctly I left my skillset like this (I have no elites yet), it could be more effective damage-wise if there's no need for interrupts. For the first time I could do some decent soloing, when I was still using fire magic it was pretty much hopeless.

Troll unguent
Kindle arrows
Choking gas
Distracting shot
Savage shot
Penetrating attack
Determined shot
Resurrection signet

magnusmu · Jul 30, 2005, 09:22 AM // 09:22

I've got 5 ascended characters, 3 of which past the game. Yes, my ranger does rock and is a very respected killer in my little circle of admirers. I'm super flexible with my setup because I have different sets of armor with different sets of runes to focus on each. Of course having several really high end bows really helps.

While I haven't tried with any other character class, I do kill stuff down on Lornar's for XP when I'm bored and need Alpine seeds for a collector run. Only thing that gets me is when I get to the 2 worms down at the bottom after killing everything else. This is solo - no henches.

Like most, I hardly ever use any skills from my secondary. I've got skills from Monk, Elemental, and Necro range. Most of the time, it doesn't beat putting all my points in the Ranger line.

Frankly, PUGs are lucky to have me on their team as a Ranger.

ElderAtronach · Jul 30, 2005, 09:53 AM // 09:53

R/W vs dopple and you couldn't kill it? Um that's one of the most unfair matches as far as dopples go, probably even easier than Me/X. I killed my R/W dopple in 10 seconds flat.

It's fun watching him use frenzy, try to lay down a trap, get interrupted, and take double damage from my penetrating shot.

Jarlaxe · Jul 30, 2005, 11:03 AM // 11:03

Rangers are good but same was with spike teams - now there is tons of rangers - soon somone will get way to counter them in pvp or arena net will fixx their build to be more balanced (for example spirits as ench) and ranger year will finish. Sad but true - same was with Grench Balance skill - overpowered - fixed.

triorph · Jul 30, 2005, 11:37 AM // 11:37

Rangers do rock, i'm a R/Me and i went for a very long period with just only using rangers skills. But now I have what i so far think is my best build, and it takes advantage of the secondary.

Triorph Lindrall the disable ranger:

Debilitating shot
Distracting shot
Penetrating shot
Ether feast
Melandru's Arrows
Troll Unguent
Whirling Defense
Res Signet

Expertise: 13 (superior rune)
Marksmanship: 12 (minor rune + mask)
Wilderness Survival: 10 (minor rune)
Inspiration Magic: 5

and a major rune of vigor.

The Basic point of this skillset is to bring down the energy of opponents, works well against other rangers who can't do much without any energy. W/Mo who heals when low on health (stops 'em healing), Monks of most kinds. Not too well on Ele because they have so much more energy. If a mesmer is focusing on you it can bring you down quite easily too. (btw, the ether fest is more for bringing down energy than healing, the healing is just an added bonus)

Hell Marauder · Jul 30, 2005, 01:01 PM // 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFrost

I'm a R/E and yesterday I tried ditching fire magic completely and putting all those points in Wilderness Survival. So now I'm using only ranger skills (+res signet) and I'm really liking it so far.

People seem to appreciate Tiger's fury a lot, but I don't see the point unless you're a beastmaster. Is it horribly stupid to prefer Lightning Reflexes instead?

Glad you like pure ranger skills. Tiger's fury is better than lightning reflexes because of its 10 sec recharge time vs LR's 60 so you can just spam it. Plus, you only need 4 ranks in it to have it last 7 sec long, leaving 3 sec for that posion arrow, hunter shot or penetration shot. So yea, tiger's fury is great for every ranger who uses a bow.

ktadie · Jul 30, 2005, 01:41 PM // 13:41

one thing i dont like with having a pet, is that you need the skill Charm Animal to have your pet with you, and that takes a lot of space (after my opinion)

valid user name · Jul 30, 2005, 09:16 PM // 21:16

I like using rangers for PvP, highly effective, with the right build.

Eder · Jul 30, 2005, 09:24 PM // 21:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFrost

People seem to appreciate Tiger's fury a lot, but I don't see the point unless you're a beastmaster. Is it horribly stupid to prefer Lightning Reflexes instead?

Well, I think the point is that you only need to have 4 BM (that's only 10 attribute points) to make Tiger's Fury last 7 seconds. That'll give you faster attacks 70% of the time, instead of 17% of the time like Lightning Reflexes... and to me it's not just a matter of finding a group that'll take their time, either - *every* combat lasts more than 10 seconds, so there will *always* be downtime during combat when you use LR.

Considering the damage bonuses in Marksmanship after lvl 12 aren't all that great, I brought my marsmanship down one notch and pumped BM to 4. I'd rather deal 100% damage 33% faster 70% of the time than 104% damage 33% faster 17% of the time. Sure, 75% evasion is nice, but LR isn't the best defensive skill around, either... I'd rather use two slots to take a good defensive skill and Tiger's Fury than use LR... So yeah, I really think Tiger's Fury is worth considering for anyone who doesn't rely on non-attack skills too much.

Currently I run 4 BM, 14 expertise, 12 Marksmanship, and whatever's left into Wilderness. But these aren't set in stone or anything... the thing I like the most about my ranger is versatility. I can do trapping, spirits, Barrage+Judge's Insight, Barrage+Conjure, Choking Gas+Practiced Stance, Incendiary+Fragility, you name it.

Scar Ishbal · Jul 30, 2005, 10:17 PM // 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by knives

Its not that the rangers can function without using their secondary, its that rangers CAN only be efficient if they put all their points into expertise, marksmanship, wilderness survival, or beast mastery. Two attributes that you must have are expertise and marksmanship. Then others feel like the WS attribute is too hard to pass up, and since people don't want to spread their points too thin, they hardly have enough points to use their secondary to its full potential.

i think this guy got it exactly right, and yes RANGERS ROCK!

nooby nooby · Jul 30, 2005, 10:52 PM // 22:52

howd you change proffesion =]?

pollo loco · Jul 30, 2005, 11:51 PM // 23:51

I've never been able to get the hang of the ranger combat style. i don't know i find it and the style of the class as a whole unsatisfying. This means i don't really understand the class and i'm a poor ranger as a result, i'm much better with monk, warrior, necro or ele. I'll try to come back to ranger again in the future but i can't get the hang at the mo.

PLV

Enigmatics · Jul 31, 2005, 02:15 PM // 14:15

Slowly typing your life away, aren't you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by nooby nooby

howd you change proffesion =]?

There are quests in the Crystal Desert that, once you complete, allow you to switch secondary professions at leisure. Towns they're located in are Destiny's Gorge, Hero's Audience, and Seeker's Passage.

Bast · Aug 01, 2005, 12:32 AM // 00:32

If you like dancing in presearing, then yes, Rangers are good.

piercehead · Aug 01, 2005, 02:02 AM // 02:02

You've touched a nerve there

That's one thing I'm looking for in the expansion- different dancing moves for my Ranger!

Big Shooter · Aug 10, 2005, 04:45 AM // 04:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktadie

that wont be good if you want good drops

Agreed :P

..sucks without nice drops

shady_knife · Aug 10, 2005, 11:39 AM // 11:39

i just changed my rangers skills completely. i was a all out trapper, had 16 ws an all that jazz, now i can't be hit 75% of the time from attacks, so meh, rangers do rock.