Curse

Valerius · Apr 21, 2005, 12:51 AM // 00:51

lol... i know this has prolly been asked a million times but i can't seem to find anything on this...

so far i've heard of two good PvE builds for Ranger... Ranger/Mesmer and Ranger/Monk

but i was wonderin' what is the "best" .. i would like to focus mainly on using my bow and having my pet tank.. i would also like to be able to go solo a lot of the time...

if u could help that'd be awesome

Raumoheru · Apr 21, 2005, 01:41 AM // 01:41

that depends on your playing style.

the ranger monk is good for giving fire support and keeping the troops alive

but the mesmer can do some wicked spells

so if you want an offensive character then ranger/mesmer
but if you want a defensive character then ranger/monk

Valerius · Apr 21, 2005, 01:53 AM // 01:53

well... in ur opinion what would be the better of the two... cause...

i like playing both offensive and defensive... which would be better against the hard monsters later on in the game? which will be better say if i were to join a team and go do quests as a group... ? and also which would be better to solo quests with?

thanx for the help

tektonik · Apr 21, 2005, 02:22 AM // 02:22

R/mo with barrage and judge's insight. There you go.

Ensign · Apr 21, 2005, 03:16 AM // 03:16

Mesmer is the worst of the Ranger subclasses for PvE. Yes, that includes Warrior, which at least has stuff like Shields Up! and Watch Yourself! as defense.

Ranger/Monk with Judge's Insight for damage, or other Monk skills to survive, is an outstanding choice.

Peace,
-CxE

Valerius · Apr 21, 2005, 03:35 AM // 03:35

k... thanx guys

so i ll prolly go Ranger / Monk .. what about the build? .. so far i've read about this one..

Barragebot
Ranger/Monk

Expertise 10, +3 Rune, +1 Hat
Marksmanship 11, +1 Rune
Beastmastery 3, +1 Rune
Smiting Prayers 7
Healing Prayers 7

Barrage
Penetrating Attack
Hunter's Shot
Debilitating Shot
Pin Down
Tiger's Fury
Judge's Insight
Restore Life

is that a good one? it has both Barrage and Judge's Insight which both of u have mentioned as a "must have" ... so is this build a good PvE... anything u would recommend i change?

Big Fat Duck · Apr 21, 2005, 04:10 AM // 04:10

i found ranger monk has freaking annoying.. its hard to do anything beneficial.
the entire time is spent trying to heal yourself using all your mana and doing tiny amounts of damage

Ensign · Apr 21, 2005, 06:49 AM // 06:49

Valerius - that's a pretty solid build. For PvE, Debilitating Shot and Pin Down lose a lot of value, so you might think about cutting those to make room for more straight offense / defense.

Similarly, for PvE, Rebirth becomes a whole lot better than Restore Life, especially on a ranged attacker.

For PvP, I'd want to find a way to slip an interrupt in somehow (probably for Hunter's Shot), but it's solid. Rangers are always pressed for space. =p

Peace,
-CxE

Valerius · Apr 21, 2005, 01:55 PM // 13:55

k so...

Barragebot
Ranger/Monk

Expertise 10, +3 Rune, +1 Hat
Marksmanship 11, +1 Rune
Beastmastery 3, +1 Rune
Smiting Prayers 7
Healing Prayers 7

Barrage
Penetrating Attack
Hunter's Shot
Tiger's Fury
Judge's Insight
Rebirth

now what would u recommend i get instead of Debilitating Shot and Pin Down?

thanx for all the help guys... u are all awesome

Ensign · Apr 21, 2005, 05:29 PM // 17:29

Well for starters you can move points out of Healing and into Beastmastery now that you don't have to power Restore Life. =)

What to take with the other two slots is a bit tricky for PvE. Personally I like Distracting Shot, even in PvE. It's a bit harder to use now that you can't hit aftercasts, but you can still catch two second cast skills without too much trouble - it'll hit Healing Signets, Troll Unguents, and Ether Feasts from a ton of annoying enemies, and it's always useful against Elementalists with their wide-open spells. Not a must have, but when you're missing an interrupt and an enemy is spamming Troll Unguent it's pretty obvious.

You're not going to get much use out of another attack skill, because Barrage / Penetrating / Hunter's are going to occupy 7 of your 8 attacks if you have energy. So I'd concentrate on defense. Throw Dirt is really good in PvE - you should be back near the Monks anyway, and they're always afraid of the melee packs that break through. With your Expertise you're looking at 14 seconds of blind which is not going to be removed. Can't argue with that.

You could also grab something else from your secondary, particularly if you put more points into Protection. Even at moderate levels Shielding Hands will prevent a lot of damage over its lifetime - Essence Bond on a tank should give you gobs of energy.

Your options are pretty tight given the core you have, but I'm sure you can fit something in. My suggestion is to try out a few different things in these slots and see what works.

Peace,
-CxE

Valerius · Apr 21, 2005, 10:47 PM // 22:47

thanx for all the help guys... that clears everything up a whole lot

so what about this :

Ranger/Monk

Expertise 10, +3 Rune, +1 Hat
Marksmanship 11, +1 Rune
Beast Mastery 3, +1 Rune
Smiting Prayers 7
Protection Prayers 7

- Barrage
- Penetrating Attack
- Hunter's Shot
- Tiger's Fury
- Judge's Insight
- Rebirth / Shielding Hands
- Distracting Shot
- Throw Dirt

Scaphism · Apr 21, 2005, 11:19 PM // 23:19

I'd have to agree with Ensign's suggestions-
At least 1 interrupt is a must. You'll often roll over enemies but get stuck at one boss using troll unguent or ether feast. You just watch them for a bit to catch their timing on their self heal. (They usually cast once they're down to maybe 35% life.) Troll Unguent has a 10s recycle, Ether Feast has an 8s recycle. Time your shot just in advance of when they'll activate the skill and you shouldn't have much trouble disrupting them. It's satisfying to get the timing down and really nail them.

Also, if you're not taking Shielding Hands, you don't need points in Protection. It's true that protection is linked to Rebirth, but in PVE, it's insignificant. The point of bringing Rebirth is that it pulls the bodies out of danger. Skill lockdown duration is a non-factor if you are standing in a safe spot.
So if you don't want Shielding Hands (a personal favorite of mine), you really don't need any points in protection either. Put them into Beastmastery, or Smiting, or somewhere else.

I'd personally choose to focus on Smiting OR Protection, otherwise it seems like you're spreading yourself rather thin.

The last thing to do is test it, and see what suits you.

Kha · Apr 21, 2005, 11:19 PM // 23:19

I found Hunter's Shot a waste of a skill in PvE if you have Barrage. Dodge or some kind of escape skill might be nice to put in there for those dangerous moments where you will be your team's last hope. Maybe even Guardian, Shielding Hands, or Favorable Winds (are Nature Rituals now useless in PvE? I haven't used them since they were turned into spirits.)

Valerius · Apr 21, 2005, 11:24 PM // 23:24

k thanx for the tip

so... hows this :

Ranger/Monk

Expertise 10, +3 Rune, +1 Hat
Marksmanship 11, +1 Rune
Beast Mastery 7, +1 Rune
Protection Prayers 10

- Barrage
- Penetrating Attack
- Hunter's Shot
- Tiger's Fury
- Rebirth
- Shielding Hands
- Distracting Shot
- Throw Dirt

Scaphism · Apr 21, 2005, 11:39 PM // 23:39

That looks good Val. If you find you're unhappy with your damage ever, then you can just switch your Smiting to 10 and Protection to 0 and try that. In fact, that's what I'd recommend, so you can get an idea of which build you prefer.

Valerius · Apr 22, 2005, 01:16 AM // 01:16

ok .. thanx a lot everyone... i appreciate it a lot

i guess u can lock the thread now .. or just let it sink to the bottom lol :P

Zeppo · Apr 22, 2005, 01:44 AM // 01:44

Just wondering, but why would a mesmer be a bad second class for a ranger?

walder · Apr 22, 2005, 01:47 AM // 01:47

I went with a little bit different path than you but the same core of the build:

R/Mo

Exp
Marks
Smite
Beast

Barrage-E
Hunter's Shot
Penetrating Attack
Judge's Insight
Whirling Defense
Balthazar's Aura
Lightning Reflexes
Tiger's Fury

This way, you can use your Judge's+Tiger's+Barrage+Hunter's+Penetrating combo until your targets get close to you. Then let them surround you and throw on Whirling+Aura, then when Whirling runs out Lightning for more evade. After you get your evades going keep spamming your attacks, I probably wouldn't throw Judge's on again because you lose DPS. This should kill most enemies assuming you don't attract too much attention.

Ensign · Apr 22, 2005, 01:54 AM // 01:54

It's just exceptionally narrow. What are you using it for? Interrupts? Use Distracting Shot, Concussion Shot, Savage Shot. Energy denial? Debilitating Shot. Hexing an opponent out? Waste of energy when you have Expertise to work with.

Basically the Ranger and Mesmer are the most similar classes in the game, and because of that they don't have a ton to offer to each other. The significant difference is that the Ranger has better damage output, while the Mesmer has hard shutdown hexes. Unfortunately these two themes do not play well with each other.

This isn't to say that the class combination should never be used, but that it's one that you want for very specific uses and not general utility. If you're looking for a Ranger combo that's flexible and easy to adapt for various PvE missions and pick up PvP teams, Ranger/Mesmer is more trouble than it's worth. But if you have a specific build in mind and want to slap a PvP character together utilizing it? Go for it.

Peace,
-CxE

Zeppo · Apr 22, 2005, 01:58 AM // 01:58

I was thinking of using some of the mesmers skills that steal energy to help out with the rangers since rangers only have like 25.

Edit: thats really the only reason i would use it for.