Curse

ArKaiN · Feb 18, 2007, 06:02 AM // 06:02

Ok, so I have a D/Mo 20 and a Mo/Me 20, and I decided it was time I went for a Ranger, mainly because of a cool build a friend showed me (Spear Chucker, I belive it's called. With Rampage as One).
Thing is, I don't know squat about rangers, other than they kite really well in pvp(heh). I'm currently lvl 12 in Elona, but I have Prophecies aswell. I just got my second Attribute Boost and I wonder what kind of build would help me in the next few missions/levels. I'm having some trouble getting through some of the tougher quests(with the Dervish I could spike a lot and PvE was easy; With the Monk I could always get a good group).
Something else I'd like very much to know is this: there are a few "tricks" you learn when you've played a class long enough; For me, it's turning my damage into Holy with the Dervish (Heart of the Holy Flame) and going to town on various undeads/awaken(spikes of 400+dmg are not uncommon). I got some serious experience on the lvl 15 undeads of Undead Island on Elona early on, and would like to know if I can do something simmilar on a R(since it's pretty easy to make your damage fire, for example).

Thank you for any knowledge you choose to throw my way.

IAmFlip · Feb 18, 2007, 07:06 AM // 07:06

Well, Rangers are one of the most versatile class in the game. They have a variety of builds ranging from Trappers to your friend's build, Speak Chucker.

At level 12, you really can't use Elites so stick with simple builds for now. For a ranger, it's good to have both Distracting Shot and Savage Shot in your build. It's usually a must for most builds. You can use Dual Shot and Crossfire for now since they do decent damage. Also pack Whirling Defense in for defense or Troll Unguent for healing, although Troll will become less effective later on in the game (Crappy casting time). If you're secondary monk, Mending Touch be nice to prevent conditions. Also, add in a preparation. Preps like Apply Poison and Read The Wind are good for you build (Try using Apply with Burning Arrow

) Throw Dirt would be nice but be careful 'cause it's a Touch Skill. Natural Stride would be nice for kiting. You can use these skills for now until you get elites and move advance skills.

Simple builds using Barrage can start you off. Although you shouldn't focus many of your builds with Barrage cause it's not that great. You should try out the new Nightfall skills like Burning Arrow

(Best ranger skill imo). It can easily be captured as soon as you get to the mainland (Marga Coast). You can use different secondaries for rangers. For secondary Paragon, try using Go for the eyes mixed with barrage to have a constant party critical. Barrage can also be capped near the beginning (I think the quest where you save Koss). You can use an Ele secondary with the commonly used Conjure elements (Conjure Flame, Frost, and Lightning). You can mixed Barrage with those skills. You need to to have an elemental bow though corresponding with the right element (For example you need a fire bow for conjure flame to work). For now start of with those builds. Err I can't really think of a simple build with an elite because some good elites like Prepared Shot are all the way in Domain of Fear lol. I started off using Barrage and Go For the Eyes Ranger/Paragon Build. Then I moved on to builds using Burning Arrow, which I still use now.

Umm, as for equipments, longbows and flatbows are good. You should try to keep far from your opponent. If you like to interrupt with Distracting Shot and Savage Shot, you should use recurve bows. I don't really know about hornbows and shorts bows, I don't use em at all. Hornbows can be good for spiking builds since they have an extra 10% Armor Penetration. You can mod them with elements if you want. Vampiric is nice too since it adds another 5 damage.

Uhh wow i wrote a lot. If you need info on these skills, use Guild Wiki.

Amy Awien · Feb 18, 2007, 07:08 AM // 07:08

Ignite Arrows + Judge's Insight worked nice on groups of undead, I imagine it would work well with Heart of the Holy Flame.

ArKaiN · Feb 18, 2007, 07:38 AM // 07:38

Hmm I should have made myself more clear.
I'm a noob RANGER, not a noob PERIOD.
I have money and I know how to use the wiki, guys

@IamFlip:I've read about that Burning Barrage build, but I've Barrage unlocked for my D's hero, and I think it takes a little too long to recharge. I will look into Burning Arrow, though, as a lot of people have pointed it out.
@Amy: Judge's Insight was a good idea, but I'm currently a R/P, and I need to at least Ascend to change my secondary. Plus, I think it takes too much of an investment on Smiting prayers just to turn my damage into holy. I'd rather get a D secondary and use HHF with zero in mysticism for 30s of holy ;D

Darkpower Alchemist · Feb 18, 2007, 07:51 AM // 07:51

Throwing out names of skills and weapons and basic combos that exist within builds won't really help you,imo. What should be done first is analyze the skills you already have and construct a build from them that you can use throughout your time until you get your first elite. From there, you can revamp your builds.

Once you unlock Sunspear Sanctuary, you have access to a few ranger elites in the areas around there. RaO,BA,and Barrage to name a few. However,if you want to have 4 staples to an early build, these are it;

[skill=card]Crossfire[/skill][skill=card]Screaming Shot[/skill][skill=card]Distracting Shot[/skill][skill=card]Apply Poison[/skill]

These 4 skills will give you a definite advantage for the majority of the game.

If you can get savage shot instead of Distracting, then you should use that. Both can be used when the ele/monk presence is heavy.

jesh · Feb 19, 2007, 08:20 PM // 20:20

Heart of Holy Flame quickly loses value once you get off the island, I think.

As for R/P, take Go For The Eyes, Keen Arrow and Screaming Shot. You don't need tons in Command, just put your leftovers there. Do the same for Koss, and you'll notice your damage go up considerably.

Epic Monkey Battle · Feb 20, 2007, 06:12 AM // 06:12

I agree with the GftE spam if you are R/P. rangers can be the best interupter if played properly and condition spamming is a big part of their role (i suppose more in PvP altough). One thing I suggest while going through nightfall is to bring attacks that can't be blocked (because of those pesky kournan rangers that always seem to have whirling defense up).

pman · Feb 20, 2007, 07:38 PM // 19:38

Marksmanship 16
Expertise 12
Wilderness Survival 12
Beastery 0

Screaming Shot +26 Dam, Bleeding 21 Sec (5 Energy, 8 Recharge)
Burning Arrow [E] +31 Dam, Burning 5 Sec (5 Energy, 5 Recharge)
Savage Shot +29 if a Spell (3 Energy, 10 Recharge) (5 Energy for Savage)
Keen Arrow +21 and if a critical hit Additional +37 Dam = +58 (3 Energy, 6 Re)
Poison Arrow Posion arrows for 24 sec, 13 sec of Poison (8 E, 12 R)
Troll Urgent +9 HP Regen for 10 Secs
Whirling Defense 75% Block attacks for 18 Secs
Lightning Reflexes/Natural Stride 10 secs 75% block and 33% increase speed attack (NS 7 50% blockage @ 7 secs - recharge time is only 10 secs where as LR is 45 secs)

This build has no rez, if you need rez go R/Mo and get Res Chant or Rebirth depending on situation replace Keen Arrow. I find that I have the most time of all team members to Rez

. The order of applying degen skills are as followed:

Apply poision -4 degen (24 sec window)
Screaming Shot -3 degen (21 secs for bleeding period window, note must be within earshot to cause bleeding so get 3/4 range of flat bow)
Burning shot -7 degen (5 secs burning)

degen total = -14 (capped at 10 of course, just in case of health regen)

Idea is to apply all three continously. First give everyone in range a dose of Posion to keep them away if they don't go away use burning arrow after poison. Find a target and start degen. Keep Poision up, use Screaming then Burning arrow. Use Savage or Distracting if they try to heal or use skills to escape, or cause massive damage to you. If a Melee enemy is attacking (or other rangers) use whirling defense while u focus on target, if target is attacking use lighting reflexes to increase attack rate and then whirling after LR fades away. When in HP is low use Whirling Defense and run a bit then use Troll Urgent. I find that if you stay still you get hit more then if you took a few steps and used it. Maybe hit or block calculation is restarted?? Why 2 Defensive skills. You will need it. One to finish off your opponent or avoid further damage and the othe to heal. Degen takes time and you will need the extra skill to keep others at bay.

Best way to get rid of thumpers and touchers is to use all the degen and run while shooting back. This build not only does degen it does massive hit Damage. +26 screaming, +31 burning, +21/+58 if critical Keen Arow. I've hit for 121 damage with Keen Arrow in PvP before. This is where Natural stride comes in handy (always handy when you plan to move around alot, cause recharge time is only 10 secs). Toucher's main skills require close range, though vampric gaze and such allow for distance if you health is not below half then you are ok. I usually use Troll urgent when u are at the half way point of your health or degen very rapidly. Remember this build relies on damage + degen damage so using an armor peircing or + damage bow is a Plus. Sometimes I take out LR or NS and replace with Favorable Wind. You will find that sometimes you can kill faster with spirits. This build does not account for Blocked shots and such. However I think Whirling Def has a very long duration so it can outlast other "blocking" skills. FYI, like a monk, a ranger is better; moving around and taking aim. Running away and shooting is not wussing out. It's just plain and simple strategy. Another thought is in PvP use the secondary profession as a Necromancer (R/N). People will think you are a toucher and stay away from you. Notice that all your skills are ranger based. In case of R/N in PvP use Rez Sig where needed. Don't stand still cuase they are the targetz not you. Utitilze your side strifing and such to avoid simple arrows or fireballs. Use obstacles and corners to obstruct other's from attacking you and pull out to use an arrow or two when they have just attacked. Really just don't use Defensive skills untill you really need them.

Cheers!

Citan Uzuki · Feb 20, 2007, 10:32 PM // 22:32

Well for one, remember that the front lines is NOT your place. Let your tanks handle that.

Besides that, how you play is basically up to your build. If you're going trapper, lay a trap or two near your spellcasters and then some behind the tanks, just in case any monsters want to go for your spellcasters. Barbed Trap is really nice for the cripple and degen. And then if you want, put your stances up and start aggresive trapping on the frontlines.

If you're gonna be a normal ranger and use your bow, Apply Poison is a good choice for a preperation. After you apply it, don't stay on one target too long, aim to poison most of the mob. You can also combine this with Screaming Shot to add some extra degen.

If you want to go pure damage, Read the Wind or Kindle Arrows are nice preperations to start off with.Bow attacks like Crossfire, Penetrating Attack, and Savage Shot will be nice to have also.

For Spirit's, Quickening Zephyr is good to have if you coordinate with your team before going out into an explorable area so they can prepare. Favorable Winds is nice if you're in a party with other Rangers, or if you just want that extra 6 damage. I honestly don't use spirits much unless I have to though.

Since you're a Ranger, you should always have a defensive stance in your skill bar. Whirling Defense is nice for it's long duration, but it has a long recharge, so don't use it unless you have to. Natural Stride is also nice for it's short recharge and speed boost, you can use it to safely get out of harm's way.

For healing, Troll Unguent works well. But be aware of it's long casting time.

Meh, that's all I can think of right now.

Silent Elvin Ranger · Feb 21, 2007, 01:07 AM // 01:07

Ok near the begining of the game it doesnt really matter if u interupt or not. Defenately get Barrage when you are close to it, it is amazing around Kourna and Vabbi, but switch to Burning arrow ASAP.

Skills I recommend:

~A good damage prep (Kindle Arrow, Read the Wind, Ignite Arrow)
~Duel Shot (Great AoE damage paired with Ignite Arrow)
~Attack Skill (Marauder's Shot, Sundering Attack, Screaming Shot, Penetrating Attack)
~Savage Shot (If you find a need to interupt)
~Troll Unguent (especially if u picked Kindle arrows or Ignite Arrows so u have more reasons to put points in wilderness)
~evasive stance, for those dam melee buggas (Whirling defence is good idea, more points in wilderness)
~Charm Animal? You could bring ur pet, u dont need many points in beast mastery, its just good to have a second tank for the enemies to focus on, saves casters
-Comfort Animal (heal/res pet)

Alt. for not bringing pet
~Res?
~Another attack? (Maybe a condition attack)
~Another stance (maybe a attack speed increaser? Like Lightning Reflexes, Tigers Fury, or Bestial Fury )
~Throw Dirt (Dam melee buggas are attacking ur casters, help out ur casters)

Basically just an average build, nothing to specialized about it. But because you are a little low on attribute points, dont spread those points)

~Silent

~

XvArchonvX · Feb 21, 2007, 02:14 AM // 02:14

Ignite Arrows used to be a good prep in PvE, but ever since they changed the AI, it causes too much scatter to make it worth bringing. Apply, Kindle or RtW are really the only ones worth looking at unless you go with an elite.

ArKaiN · Feb 22, 2007, 10:39 PM // 22:39

Thank you so much for the responses.
This is what I've been running>

[skill]Quick shot[/skill]
[skill]Dual Shot[/skill]
[skill]Serpent's Quickness[/skill]
[skill]Kindle Arrows[/skill]
[skill]Conjure flame[/skill]
[skill]Favorable Winds[/skill]
(pet skills)

Then 13 mark, 10 exp, 8 fire, rest into wilderness(10 or 11, not sure).
Basically it`s a spiker build built around kindle+conjure flame. I mean to buy a forgerunner or a dicent fiery bow of some sort so I can use barrage, but the sinergy between quick shot and Serpent`s amazed me. It's like the best IAS skill ever, right? .667 time between arrows, plus a ton of fire dmg, plus vampiric mod. Got me a nice lion on NF, but couldn`t death-grow him into dire, so had to settle for Elder. I know how stupid this must seem to you guys, to turn a ranger into a machine gun and nothing more, but I'm having a blast. Any ideas on how to make this do even more damage?
P.S.: I'm a noob and I love the pet thing, so I'm not sure I'm willing to give him up for more damage, like a smart person would.
Cya!

anshin · Feb 22, 2007, 11:33 PM // 23:33

if you use runes... forget this post...

in case you don't use runes yet... make it so you have 13 expertise... so you can bash quick shot all you want...

Cathode_Reborn · Feb 23, 2007, 12:10 AM // 00:10

Assuming you're playing a ranger in pve...

Whirling Defense = no.

60sec recharge? It's not worth it. And who cares if it has a long duration? It only takes seconds to get an enemy off your back. You know what I do when I get attacked? Simply move slightly farther back so that the enemy will switch to another target. If it's a melee foe, just kite. Or better yet.....

[skill]Pin Down[/skill][skill]Throw Dirt[/skill]

Besides being used for defense, both can be used assist your casters when they get attacked by melee. It's them that need Whirling Defense....You have slightly more armor against phys damage, but a whopping 100al vs. ele damage. It's also not healthy for the team when your monk happens to be the target of a melee foe.

In pve....Whirling Defense = selfish protection....Pin Down = Party Support.....I'm sure we've seen it a million times, cause it's so common - melee enemies usually always get to your backlines. In short, don't use WD in pve unless you're doin the Tombs er somethin that really requires you to use it.

As for pets, I'm not sure what to say about them. They take up 2 skills (Charm + Comfort) in your already-limited skillbar. I guess they can be meat shields, but there's hundreds of skills out there.....I rarely use my pet. I honestly think people just like a pet following them around....some people show a strange liking to their e-animals =p

As for your elite, Burning Arrow or Barrage are both great. While enemies do bunch up in pve, it's not always like that. Alot of people will overexaggerate it. I've ditched Barrage months ago and started doing single-target damage with Burning Arrow. Single-target damage is underrated, and don't listen to people when they say it's useless in pve.

Amy Awien · Feb 23, 2007, 07:25 AM // 07:25

For some it's not a pet, but an animal companion. And you can do more with them then just use them as meat-shields, there are some good damage skills for your pet, as well as some utility.

Keithark · Feb 23, 2007, 03:00 PM // 15:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArKaiN

Ok, so I have a D/Mo 20 and a Mo/Me 20, and I decided it was time I went for a Ranger, mainly because of a cool build a friend showed me (Spear Chucker, I belive it's called. With Rampage as One).
.

Ranger is not the most fun to hench thru the game with because it is easier to use as support/pressure with poision, spirits, etc..for max damage I usually go beastmaster if not in area where barrage is effective. As for your comments above about ranger with spear and RaO..A-net killed the build so don't bother wasting your money on the skills and profession change to play that build. I have put my ranger up for the most part since the RaO nerf but thinking about pulling it out and doing a little cartography..I just hate it that A-Nerf decided to kill my ranger

llsektorll · Feb 23, 2007, 08:08 PM // 20:08

run

barrage, savage shot, distracting shot,

I use vamp horn for barrage... don't ask me why it just does loads of dmg and has pvp potential if you want person to carry over.

I swap sometimes for a 20/20 Recurve because of quick arrow speed better for interupting between barrages.

Darkpower Alchemist · Feb 25, 2007, 05:11 AM // 05:11

OMG, is every other post telling this guy to run Barrage? It's not the greatest skill the world created. get inventive dammit.

Brian the Gladiator · Feb 26, 2007, 02:47 AM // 02:47

Barrage is the best elite in the game for Ranger and should be used almost always when playing pve. The only time I would ever use buurning arrow in pve is against shiro or Verish or something. Having the ability to do AoE damage AND not scatter your opponent is the best ability ever!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkpower Alchemist

OMG, is every other post telling this guy to run Barrage? It's not the greatest skill the world created. get inventive dammit.

You are right, it isnt the greatest skill the world created. It is, however, the greatest skill A-NET created for the ranger class. GG!

Wolydarg · Feb 26, 2007, 03:27 AM // 03:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian the Gladiator

<snip>

Somehow Barrage's status as a viable skill pops up in every thread like this..

On some missions (Imperial Sanctum comes to mind), Barrage is definitely not the best choice, but in the majority of pve, where monsters tend to bunch up and the full potential of barrage can be reached, it quickly outpaces other elites, such as burning arrow/quickshot. 8v1 Shiro, barrage becomes just a spammable +17dmg attack. So let's just stop bashing on barrage, and face that when foes are bunched up(which happens in PvE a lot), a ranger with barrage is a helpful asset to the team.

But that's not saying the +101 damage(over 5 seconds(from one shot)) from Burning Arrow is useless in pve, whatever floats your boat, I guess. You bought the game, you spent $50~$150 on guild wars, you can play it how you want, you can even just spin the discs really fast with your hands if you really want to.