A Ranger / Necromancer Knowledge Base: Role-Playing Builds and Strategies for Differe

RANGER / NECROMANCER KNOWLEDGE BASE: ROLE-PLAYING BUILDS AND STRATEGIES FOR DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE WORLD version 1.0

CONTENTS:
1. INTRODUCTION
2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
3. BUILDS AND STRATEGIES
4. NOTES

1. INTRODUCTION
The Ranger / Necromancer is not one of the more common build combinations that I have come across during my Guild Wars adventures. I am a Ranger / Necromancer myself and personally think it is a great build that is both competitive and fun to play. Since the Ranger / Necromancer is relatively underplayed, I feel that a Knowledge Base that highlights different ways that a Ranger / Necromancer can be used would prove to be useful. I intend to demonstrate several effective R/N strategies and build styles and where in the world they seem to be the most effective. This guide is still in rough form and any R/N’s out there that have something to contribute to the overall content and quality of this guide, please feel free to. I have every intention to continue with updates of this guide, and am fully aware that this first draft shall prove to be an inadequate base of knowledge.

Note: This guide *will not* touch upon P v P. If you are familiar with the P v P dynamics of the R / N, feel free to make intelligent contributions and I will try to include a P v P strategy section in the next revision of this guide.

2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Guild Wars name: Karma Rogue
Experienced Earned: 384,707
Guild: Entropic Endings (Beyond Chaos)
Locked Skills: (I felt that it would be important for me to list all skills that I have yet to acquire so as to accurately portray my strategies and decisions.) They are:
Aura of the Lich
Awaken the Blood
Brutal Strike
Call of Protection
Dark Fury
Deathly Chill
Demonic Flesh
Energizing Wind
Enfeeble
Escape
Feast of Corruption
Ferocious Strike
Fertile Season
Greater Conflagration
Grenth’s Balance
Incendiary Arrows
Infuse Condition
Life Transfer
Lingering Curse
Maiming Strike
Malign Intervention
Mark of Subversion
Melandru’s Arrows
Melandru’s Assault
Muddy Terrain
Offering of Blood
Plague Signet
Practiced Stance
Primal Echoes
Punishing Shot
Quick Shot
Rigor Mortis
Scavenger Strike
Signet of Agony
Soul Leech
Spinal Shivers
Symbiotic Bond
Tainted Flesh
Taste of Death
Touch of Agony
Vampiric Touch
Virulence
Well of Profane
Wither

3. BUILDS AND STRATEGIES

The following are builds and strategies for different regions. This is still in *very* rough draft form. I am going to publish this in such rough form for two reasons. 1) Because I will see room for improvement when looking at the finished product. 2) Other R / N’s out there will be able to contribute right away to the quality of the build and strategies as well. Without further ado:

ASCALON CITY and the BEGINNING of GAME:
I personally do not remember the skills I was limited to this early in the game. I do remember doing very well with skills: Power Shot, Penetrating Shot, and Troll Unguent. I do not remember using many Necromancer skills early on.

SHIVERPEAKS:
Same as above. In general, when grouping for missions in the Shiverpeaks, a Ranger / Necromancer is more than OK by going out with just Ranger Skills equipped and providing support for the group. If I remember correctly, I used Ranger dodge skills and Healing Spring quite often in this region to provide healing support as well.

BEETLETUN:
Head out of the East Beetletun exit and you will find a nice small circle full of easy creeps to farm. A build I have been using to accomplish this quickly and easily is:
Marksman’s Wager
Deathly Swarm
Animate Bone Horror
Verata’s Sacrifice
Soul Feast
Whirling Defense
Charm Animal
Comfort Animal

THROUGH THE JUNGLE REGIONS:
Obviously, different areas vary, but here are some skills I like to bring with me when traveling this region simply because of all the nasty little casters out there:
Melandru’s Resilience
Nature’s Renewal
Choking Gas
Distracting Shot

For handling the trolls and tengus:
Barrage
Barrage
Barrage

Dust Trap
Pin Down
Spike Trap

THE DESERT:
Those damn bugs in the desert. And hydras. Here are some skills that have stood out to me when in the desert:
Enfeebling Blood
Spiteful Spirit
Shadow of Fear
Throw Dirt
Concussion Shot + Oath Shot
Poison Arrow


POST-ASCENSION:
I typically go with a standard trapper build, substituting Poison Arrow with something else because of the non-fleshy mobs around.

HELL:
Choking Gas
Traps
Healing support such as Healing Spring, Well of Power

SOME EXPERIMENTAL BUILDS:
All-Out trapper:
Serpent’s quickness
Dust
Spiked
Barb
Flame
Dryder’s
Troll

Curser:
Marksman’s Wager / Spiteful Spirit
Enfeebling Blood
Shadow of Fear

ADDITIONALLY:
If you have no other healing with you, bring Troll Unguent.
It is almost always a good idea to bring Distracting Shot.
It is almost always a good idea to bring some sort of a dodge skill.
As a ranger, don’t tank… no matter what. Actually, what you do with just henches is up to you.
Experiment, experiment, experiment, there are tons of builds that I have used successfully (and in the following revisions of this guide will include, it’s hard to remember them all)


NOTES:
I through this together quickly, so don’t bash for lack of content. This is meant to be a beginning, or a means, to an end. If you’re an experience R / N, contribute some knowledge. I will contribute to the guide and post updates periodically. Thanks for reading.

-Karma

Just to point out a couple problems:

1) You won't have Barrage in the Jungle. It's an elite, and earliest its available is the Iron Mines of Moladune.

2) Resilience is also an elite, and unavailable for use in the Jungle when you first get there.

4) Healing Spring isn't available till you're in Kryta, when you can either get a SoC and look for it (Although I've never seen an enemy use it) and more likely, go to the Ascalon Settlement and buy it.

5) I will scream this from the hilltops for as long as I live: Troll Unguent is a waste of a slot. Take something more useful to your team and rely on your healer. its not a good damage blanket, and you're going to be getting pounded while you use it, so...
Trust the healer.

This is a good start, but a LOT of your skill information is out of date. Did you Ascend before they moved the Elites to all post Ascension bosses? That may be why.

I see R/N everywhere.... it is my main char, and I literally see them everywhere. I thought it was original, once upon a time as well

Thanks for feedback. Like you aknowledged, this is intended to be a start for an eventually thorough guide, and whatever anybody has to say is welcomed. As for whether or not you have Barrage and Resilience in the Jungle... I realize that it's not possible to have them in the jungle when you first arrive. However, after completing the game I have done plenty of adventuring throughout the game and some of the strategied I've included are the ideal approach to areas granted certain skills have been aquired. I appreciate your comment about Troll Unguent. It's interesting to hear you say that, perhaps I have grown too accustomed to it.

From Guild-Hall.net where I also posted the R/N article, somebody submitted the idea of Mark of Pain + Ignite Arrows which I thought was a neat AoE combo.

Crippling Shot is one of my new favorites to take with me to Underworld.

Again, thanks for the feedback, hopefully it keeps coming!

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