Curse

Moonsong · Oct 28, 2007, 09:44 PM // 21:44

I haven't played in about a year or so maybe longer but I just made a ranger. I've read the builds and everything but nothing really strikes me as fun. What are the bad sides of staying Ranger only and what are decent builds for a PvE character.

melandru ascended · Oct 29, 2007, 12:11 AM // 00:11

The game has various gameplay. If you think ranger is not striking you as fun. Try 1 of the other 9 proffesions?

horseradish · Oct 29, 2007, 12:44 AM // 00:44

rangers are second only to assassins in mobility. they are one of the hardest to pin down and kill (if you're good at it).

the main niches for a ranger are

1. interrupts
2. condition spreading
3. beast mastering
4. trapping

i, personally, don't enjoy the latter two, but i encourage you to try them anyways.

[skill]distracting shot[/skill] & [skill]savage shot[/skill] are staple ranger skills. although not necessary in PvE, it's excellent for bosses and key opponents and such.

I also find, that simply mimicking popular builds is not that fun. try making variants of popular builds that are on pvx or something.

...

...I'll add more, when i think of more things.

Moonsong · Oct 29, 2007, 01:51 PM // 13:51

Its not that the Ranger is not fun its that I cant see how a ranger would combine well with another class. That doesn't seem fun what classes compliment the ranger for a fun experience.

October Jade · Oct 29, 2007, 03:36 PM // 15:36

You are correct; rangers do not gain much from the other classes. Since Expertise affects only a small subset of the ~1300 available skills, most often I find myself ignoring the secondary entirely.

If you absolutely have to draw on another profession, try out the Conjures, weapon spells, maybe an Epidemic build. There are lots of options. I just choose not to use them.

lennymon · Oct 29, 2007, 05:14 PM // 17:14

Playing a smoke trapper in the Chaos Plains of Underworld is exceptionally mentally rewarding, as you can just wand interrupt even the bad guys clumsiness and sometimes interrupt their interrupts. The giant caster groups are like candy for me there (and I got a sweet tooth

). Horseradish has a good basic role guide for rangers but here's the thing... The first character I made was a ranger, and I deleted him as well as the next several rangers I made. I just couldn't get into it. About 6 months later I started another one and it's been may main character ever since. I guess the question is why are you making the ranger?

horseradish · Oct 29, 2007, 10:45 PM // 22:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonsong

Its not that the Ranger is not fun its that I cant see how a ranger would combine well with another class. That doesn't seem fun what classes compliment the ranger for a fun experience.

It's true that ranger skills don't mesh well with other classes...unless you go A/R and be a critical barrager or something....but i don't think any class needs a second profession. Having one is for different builds and other benefits.

a solid choice is monk (of course) for mending touch and a hard rez. same with Rit for the weapon spells and hard rez....basically, if you can't think of a good second profession, go with one of those two.

and it's not like it matters that much, you can always change ur profession later, and more than likely, you'll get along fine using skills only from ur primary.

wilebill · Oct 29, 2007, 11:11 PM // 23:11

Rangers do combine well with secondaries. But first, level up and finish the game as a pure Ranger. It is important to know how to play as a pure Ranger in both PvE and PvP (if you are so inclined). And yes, you want to be able to play both with and without a pet.

Once you really know what you are doing with your Ranger, R/E with Conjures or for Armor; R/Rit for Splinter Barrage and other Channeling fun. And yet, it remains true that 99% of the time you don't need to be anything more than a pure Ranger to accomplish whatever you want to do.

Master Ketsu · Oct 30, 2007, 01:29 AM // 01:29

interruption in PvE is still very worth it. Interrupting key skills will keep your team alive just as much as a monk.

Ignore PvE'ers that tell you otherwise. The simplistic nature of enemy AI makes it so they are easy to destroy regardless of strategy, and because of this a lot of players overlook the power of utility.

Magnus_1 · Oct 30, 2007, 05:01 AM // 05:01

The way I really got into my ranger (after letting him lie dormant for 3 months) was to start ABing. Get into some PvP with a nice skill set and have some fun. Rangers have the capacity for tremendous damage dealing (burning/bleeding/poison/spiking) as well as hamstringing your enemies (cripple/interrupts/daze).

They don't synergize all that well with other professions (conjure is nice, but probably not quite what you're expecting). Still, Rangers are definitely worth playing.

ValaOfTheFens · Oct 30, 2007, 05:48 PM // 17:48

There isn't really anything bad about being just R/ except you don't have access to any beneficial skills from other professions. My own Ranger is my second favorite character. You can do all sorts of things as a Ranger. You can spread conditions, interrupt foes, trap(this is one of the most fun things to do as a Ranger), and run. I've found that some other classes try to do what a Ranger can but they usually fail. Example, I was doing Tomb with a guildie and there were these 2 Eles in our group who were convinced they could pull better than me. They were both at 60 DP and ended up leaving once we got to the Courtyard and I only died once(due to my pet's bad pulling skills). Anyway, I suggest looking at all the Ranger skills. Find a few that interest you and start working with them. Make your own builds and make PvX Wiki builds your own.