Ranger Foci

Rangers need foci - there are two Ranger lines that have little to do with bows (though a few skills do affect them) and most every line in the game has either a weapon or a focus, or in the case of many lines, both (exceptions exist in a few attributes - Energy Storage, Fast Casting, Soul Reaping come to mind as attributes with neither a weapon nor off hand, but they have few to no skills in them and are primary lines). Rangers are hard to use as a secondary, lacking the Expertise makes many skills too expensive, and the lack of any associated focus/shield weapon in any line excepting Marksmanship hurts.

Ranger Foci for the Wilderness Survival and Beastmastery lines would be nice, giving a new choice for the wand/sword/axe wielding Ranger/X or X/Ranger out there. Since the attributes are both offensive (Pet attacks, Tiger's Fury, Poison arrow) and defensive (Fertile Season, Dryder's Defense, Troll's Unguent) I think Ranger Foci should split between energy and armour, just as the ranger is a "jack of all trades", so should the focus be. Ranging to +8 Armour and +6 energy (Half of the defense associated with a shield and half the energy of a focus), the focus could thus be a nice middle ground. It would be easy to come up with approriate objects; Hunting Horns, a Druid's Sickle, animal type relics (equivalent to a lucky rabbit's foot), totems and so on.

Foci for Ranger lines permit a R/* or */R using one of the Ranger lines to pick up a focus with it - setting it midway between a shield and a focus is a nice compromise, and takes it into a realm that isn't currently occupied, thus doesn't step on casters' or Warrior's toes.

heh good idea- they could be called armguards - allowing you to use bows at the same time. Not the arm piece of armor, just something to protect your hands from the twang of the bow- in real life if you don't have one it can hurt or at least tear your hair out of the arm - ow

The foci needs to require a hand. Seems like a workable idea.

Agreed. While most Rangers probably won't use one, that's beside the point - hammer warriors don't benefit from shields yet they take tactics, this would be for those not using a bow, thus either Ranger secondaries (I know a few Mo/R that might take a focus like this) or the Trapper/Beastmaster type Rangers.