Curse

FalconDance · Dec 19, 2006, 02:54 PM // 14:54

There *are* times when Barrage is a better skill than others.......I capped it with my Elonian ranger and used it in the Realm of Torment (can't remember the exact map right now). While I missed the degen effect of Burning Arrow, Barrage slowly put pay to the crowds of foe that insisted on standing in the way.

I would still say, however, that if a ranger (or other) said that Barrage is the ONLY way to play a ranger, they're a rank amateur at best.

Former Ruling · Dec 19, 2006, 07:12 PM // 19:12

Barrage is just...so easy to use in almost any PvE situation. PvE is overly focused on "pwn the hordes and hordes of enemy groups throughout the area" which gives Barrage more than enough opportunity to test out its AoE. Making it obviously the basic choice if there isn't some specifically better elite for the area.

Barrage is consistent DPS in an AoE skill that doesn't require any weird conditions be met to be effective, or require you keep reapplying a prep twice a minute, or require some weird specific scenario to be effective.

This added to the fact that Rangers have some pretty poor elite choices for PvE overall and the fact that the ranger play style and primary attribute doesn't foster much love for Secondary prof elite usage and you have a very good understanding of why Barrage is choose.

I admit that there are situations that call for not using Barrage, but in the bulk of the game it is just more to the advantage of the group to deal out consistent AoE dmg than to try to more focused approach on 1 enemy.

If every class had consistent easy to use AoE I bet you all my plat that they'd be using it...almost solely. They basically are now anyways...Ele's are all instructed to be Nukers, Necros are all SS or MMs, etc.