Comments on E/R

how strong would a ele/ranger be using the prime class just for the energy storage and going full up on the ranger skills?

Depends what Ranger skills. But probably not as strong as a primary Ranger. A primary Ranger would have Expertise which drops the energy cost of most, if not all, Ranger skills at this point. So, you'd have roughly the same effect. An Ele/Ran would have more energy to use those skills but would need it. A Ran/Ele would have less energy but those skills would cost less. The tipping point is probably that a primary Ranger can use Ranger runes so they can get +1 or more to Expertise and Marksmanship or whatever Ranger attribute you're talking about. Better protection from their armor overall, too.

An Ele/Ran can work well, though. I'd use the Ranger skills to compliment the Elementalist skills, though. Spells aren't affected by expertise so the Ran/Ele won't be able to cast anywhere near the amount of spells you can. You use things like Oath Shot or Serpent's Quickness to rapidly recharge them or rituals like Energizing Winds to drop their cost along with Ranger stances which provide excellent defense and you'll be a better caster than you would otherwise.

another thing to consider, along the lines of the runes, is the armor. ranger armor is generally more robust, while elementalist armor gets you that extra pip.. even though the ranger is a back line kind of character, you are going to get hit eventually..

Personally... I feel, the BIGGEST difference is that... as an E primary, people will pick on you first. Regardless of you using bow or not.