Also, I wished to say I'd like to referrence this guide (with a link, nothing else) to a little nooblie on the gamefaqs.com boards who are having Ranger problems, as it SURE helped me out.
You'll just be getting a larger crowd, is all :P
-Meta
Ranger Builds, Guides, and Tips
Meta Physical
Ah, thanks for answering my question - I'll know what not to run for the whole game
Also, I wished to say I'd like to referrence this guide (with a link, nothing else) to a little nooblie on the gamefaqs.com boards who are having Ranger problems, as it SURE helped me out.
You'll just be getting a larger crowd, is all :P
-Meta
Also, I wished to say I'd like to referrence this guide (with a link, nothing else) to a little nooblie on the gamefaqs.com boards who are having Ranger problems, as it SURE helped me out.
You'll just be getting a larger crowd, is all :P
-Meta
cush29
Really liked your article.....was very informative since i am a fairly new player
what i didn't understand was your attributes
for instance you had
example
expertise 11+1+1
i know the 11 is what you put on your char
what i don't understand is the +1+1
also what is the difference between
Druids 70 armor (infused) and (accended)
15k armor
they both look the same to me
Thanks
what i didn't understand was your attributes
for instance you had
example
expertise 11+1+1
i know the 11 is what you put on your char
what i don't understand is the +1+1
also what is the difference between
Druids 70 armor (infused) and (accended)
15k armor
they both look the same to me
Thanks
SnipiousMax
Quote:
Originally Posted by cush29
+1 point for a Rune that gives a bonus to the attribute
Quote:
Typo on my part, but I fixed. |
also what is the difference between Druids 70 armor (infused) and (accended) 15k armor they both look the same to me Infusion doesn't add any armor... you just need infusion for the later levels of Prophecies. There is also no difference between 1.5k armor and 15k armor besides looks.
Sha Noran
Meta: Ah, good ol' gamefaqs. A link is fine, but no excessive copy-pasting without citing your sources. ;-)
cush29: Glad you liked it, and I'm glad it helped. It looks like Snipious has summed up answers to your questions rather nicely. Thanks Snipe. ;-)
Meta Physical
No Copy+Paste at all, here, unless you count the link.
In fact, here is the direct link: http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gen...topic=30578115 And here is a damn-near thesis thingy I wrote for someone deciding between a Ranger and an Ele: http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gen...0550699&page=1 Err... enjoy? -Meta
Sha Noran
Well it's been a while since I've checked up on this, but I finally got around to updating the good ol' guide with Nightfall information and skills. Hopefully this guide continues to help people as it has been. :-D
Sir Mad
^ As we're talking about NF skills/equip/etc, there is one skill pretty much unoticed by rangers (except when I spam about it in this forum - erm...): Flail. This is a strength skill, with means rangers won't be able to boost it, but it doesn't matter for 2 builds I'm going to post.
Description (at level 0): For 5 seconds, you attack 33% faster but move 33% slower. it costs 4 strikes of adrenaline to cast. With those 2 builds you can keep it up all the time: 16 markmanship 13 expertise Read the Wind Quickshot Needling Shot Savage Shot Favorable Winds (to maximise the damage of needling shot) Whirling Defense (or even LR if you wanna keep the IAS for a short time) Flail Rez A vampiric shortbow is a weapon of choice for this build: a vamp string + FW + RtW = 41 damage with needling hot. Add an order necro (Awaken the Blood + Order of the Vampire), and it's getting insane (I'm sure Abaddon remembers my last raid  ).Note: heroes aparently can't handle highly spamable skills like needling shot / quickshot, so I'd keep this build for human players. The other Flail build is obvious: Barrage Savage Shot Spirit / Distracting Shot Flail Optional (throw dirt, dust trap, stance, etc) Whirling Defense Troll (or optional) Rez Or for B/P (however I don't feel comfortable without a hard rez in the tombs of FoW): Barrage Savage Shot Flail Rez Whirling Defense Troll or Spirit Charm Animal Comfort Animal
Sha Noran
Ha, yea that's a really good catch Mad. I've been an advocate of the skill on Warriors and never even considered it for Rangers. I would say you should definately have another Stance (a speed boost ideally) as a cancel for Flail should the situation you're in go south. Dodge would probably be better than Sprint, but you may have just said Sprint as an indication of SOME speed boost rather than just the actual skill Sprint. Self-snare ftl. :-)
Sir Mad
^ Hmm yeah indeed, however with a minimum of experience it's not that a big deal: the skill lasts only 5 secs, so if you see things are going bad and you're team may be wipped out, just don't recast it. Actually whenever I used this build, there were other rangers in the team (including my heroes, with another etup) so I didn't have to bring FW, and I went with LR I believe.
EDIT - I didn't talk about Sprint, did I? If I did, that was a lapsus for erm.. something else and means it's time for me to take a break
Jeff Highwind
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Burning Arrow Build: |
-Savage Shot -Penetrating Attack -Burning Arrow -Kindle Arrows -Troll Unguent -Whirling Defense -Storm Chaser -Ranger Variable Notes on Burning Arrow Build: Burning Arrow (Nightfall) is a really, really powerful skill. It's easily more damaging than any other bow attack I can think of, dealing +31 damage and causing your target to burn for 5 seconds at 16 Marksmanship. With a recharge of 5 seconds, that's nearly indefinate Burning. I originally used Apply Poison in this build, but really the additional damage from Kindle is a bit better, as you don't really have the opportunity to spread Apply around. Attribute Points: Marksmanship: 12+1+3 Wilderness: 10+1 Expertise: 8+1 I must interject with a few variations I run. I use Burning arrow for the degen more than the damage, but if you plan to have the highest damage I am suprised you havent included Screaming Shot. Screaming, next to Burning, has the highest possible damage of an arrow without being an elite, so you can get alot more bang for your buck with Kindle and Burning+Screaming+Savage. I must say though Energy Management and recharge are main problems with my variation. To compensate I put more into Expertise than WS, and I also weild a 5e Bow and Druids armor to supply energy; Also I added Serpent's Quickness, which gives you 22 seconds of faster recharge. The monk hate I provide from my damage and consistent degen is great.
XvArchonvX
Hey Sha, I like the update. I agree with almost all of it, but would like to make note of two things. The first is that you mention Splinter Weapon giving more than double damage with barrage in your R/Rt build, but as even you said in another thread, Splinter Weapon only triggers on one arrow, so the damage bonus is actually less than double since Splinter does less damage than barrage usually and does not affect the targetted enemy. Also, you might want to suggest using Conjure Flame with Glyph of Lesser Energy and Mark of Rogdort on your conjure build. Since these skill have been buffed a bit since your last update, they can make a pretty good combo. With these points aside, I like your modifications.
Sha Noran
Jeff: Screaming Shot is cool, but because of it's range requirements it can force you into some undesirable positions. Penetrating is solid damge without forcing you into potentially dangerous positions for enemy AoE. That said, I can see where you're build is coming from, and to help with the Energy problems you're having I would recommend only reapplying the Screaming Shot Bleeding when it's getting close to low.
XvArchonvX: Now hold on, I never said anything with Splinter Shot, I was talking about Splinter Weapon. Splinter Weapon on top of Barrage does effectively double your damage if you're careful with attribute expenditures (and are using the combination against an appropriate number of foes). Glyph and MoR did recieve an impressive buff and I should indicate so in my comments on the Conjure build. You probably don't really NEED the Glyph, but it does work well enough to mention at least.
XvArchonvX
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sha Noran
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Quote:
Aye, I can see that advantage.|
Originally Posted by Sha Noran
Splinter Weapon on top of Barrage does effectively double your damage if you're careful with attribute expenditures (and are using the combination against an appropriate number of foes).
hmm, I'm still not quite sold on the whole idea of using weapon spells as a buff for Barrage. From my experience Barrage does more than 35 damage per hit (although that is admittedly variable depending on target's defense, chance of critical hit, etc.), but since splinter weapon takes 1 second to cast in order to prepare for a barrage shot, is not affected by expertise, and does not do damage to the targeted enemy, but only to those adjacent to him. I wouldn't say that it's a completely bad idea, but I don't think I see enough advantage to this to choose it over a conjure build (especially since Glyph of lesser E and Mark can result in AoE burning in addition to the conjure bonus).
Sha Noran
Really the primary bonus using a Weapon Spell with Barrage gives you is access to other support skills from the Ritualist line, i.e. hard rez, etc. Yes, you can deal more damage as R/E, but both R/Mo and R/Rt give you access to a good deal of support skills that are simply not there for an /Ele.
... honestly, for damage, 15% Stanced bow with Frenzy is ftw, since you can run "Watch Yourself!" with it. WY charges basically everytime you hit Barrage so it doesn't take a large Tactics investment to make it very good support for your team. MoR gives it a run for it's money with the buff and I really haven't tested it a lot. Now that I think about it, you can also run R/P with Barrage and "Go For The Eyes!" and have that charged basically everytime you hit Barrage too. Now that's a pretty sexy idea...
XvArchonvX
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sha Noran
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Quote:
Quote:
Have you ever considered, ever just once, that maybe this guide isn't designed for people like you who already know what's going on? Yes you, or I, or Snipious, or Archon, or most of the other frequent posters here can interrupt all the Meteor Showers and kite out of the occasional one that slips through. Have you ever thought that maybe KewlDood123 is the one I'm trying to help? The one that just got to the Realm of Torment and doesn't know what to do or how to survive? Personally I'd rather have a lesser experianced player wielding a Longbow and staying the hell out of the way of the Agro and taking no damage while still dealing significant amount of hurt. I really stopped caring if you appreciate it or not ages ago, I've had hundreds of people whispering me since I posted this that appreciate it very much, as do the Monks and other people they play with.|
Originally Posted by Sha Noran
Now that I think about it, you can also run R/P with Barrage and "Go For The Eyes!" and have that charged basically everytime you hit Barrage too. Now that's a pretty sexy idea...
I've thought about that and will have to try it out sometime.
Sha Noran
Wait, did you just agree with me? Wtf...
;-) ShadowbaneX
as an old Diablo2 player, especially one that played amazons, I just feel the need to point out an error in your nomeclature. If you've got a bow, it's a bowazon. A 'javazon' should probably be A/P. The Magic & Passive skill tree is more reflected with Critical Strikes and Shadow Arts then anything the ranger has.
Evilsod
Wondered how long it'd be till my post about Flail barraging before the release of NF was taken note of.
Quote:
Jeff: Screaming Shot is cool, but because of it's range requirements it can force you into some undesirable positions. Penetrating is solid damge without forcing you into potentially dangerous positions for enemy AoE. That said, I can see where you're build is coming from, and to help with the Energy problems you're having I would recommend only reapplying the Screaming Shot Bleeding when it's getting close to low
You really do need to remember that there are bows in this game beyond the Longbow. The edges of the agro bar are not 'dangerous territory'. You have the best defensive skills in the game along with high ele AL for christ sake.
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Are you a henchman? A 3 year old kid could kite a Meteor Shower. Just because there are 4 of them either means your a shit ranger (ie. no interrupts) or you've already developed a serious case and death and are therefore unable to move.
Sha Noran
Sure, you can use something else, but it's really just not worth it. It's not like by sacrificing your range you're dealing "uber zomg wtf pwn" damage. It's like, what, a few additional points of damage? You're better off being alive to finish things off. Of course, you can kite damage should you get targeted, but have fun kiting quad Met Showers off of Dryders, or some of those nice Water hexes the Rain's toss around.
If you're focusing primarily on the degen you can cause and not really directly the damage, Barbed+Poison Arrow>Apply+Screaming. You just can't spread Screaming enough with its recharge at 8 and its cost at 10.
XvArchonvX
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sha Noran
If you're focusing primarily on the degen you can cause and not really directly the damage, Barbed+Poison Arrow>Apply+Screaming. You just can't spread Screaming enough with its recharge at 8 and its cost at 10.
hmm...I don't think I agree here. Personally, I don't think barbed is usually that great of a choice. Since it has been lowered to 10 energy, it is a better choice than it was before, but having an easily interuptable prep is going to make recasting it a pain. Also Apply + Screaming gives you an elite slot to allow you to do more than just degen. Screaming + Apply also gives you a damage bonus that running Barbed + Poison Arrow doesn't. If your defense is that a longbow is a better choice then I would argue that restricting yourself to only one bow is really limiting your options.
Im summary: Apply + Screaming allows greater damage from both the damage bonus of screaming as well as the increased attack speed of a shortbow should it be used. The fact that it frees an elite slot and does not suffer from being easily interuptable makes it a legitamate option.
Jeff Highwind
Ah guys? I use Screaming purely for the high damage. It's 5 damage under Burning and doesn't DEMAND you be in earshot to use it, just to get the bleeding.
On another note, Vah's Hornbow (the 15^50 vamp one) is terrifying with that combo. 200 damage in 3 hits, and it runs faster with Serpent Quickness.
Sha Noran
You're right to say it's viable XvArchonvX, but really it comes down to what you're going to do with the rest of your skills. Both combinations could be used with success, but I hold that with a degen build designed to spread degen around the opponents team, Barbed+Poison arrow reigns supreme. If you were going for single target degen, Apply+Screaming+Burning= LOOL.
Silk Weaver
This guide is absolutely horrible. Shows a deep lack of knowledge and egotism on the author's part.
gg.
XvArchonvX
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silk Weaver
This guide is absolutely horrible. Shows a deep lack of knowledge and egotism on the author's part.
gg. Providing an empty negative criticism without anything to back it up could be seen as very egotistical in itself. If there is/are flaws in the guide it would be nice to hear what they are in order to benefit those who read this thread, but if all you came to do is throw a flame and run, then don't expect anyone to take you seriously.
Sir Mad
Quote:
Originally Posted by XvArchonvX
Providing an empty negative criticism without anything to back it up could be seen as very egotistical in itself. If there is/are flaws in the guide it would be nice to hear what they are in order to benefit those who read this thread, but if all you came to do is throw a flame and run, then don't expect anyone to take you seriously.
I'm not saying this to defend the person you're quoting, nor to encourage flames but most of these flaws have already been analyzed / criticized in the 16 pages of this thread. Of course with the new campaign, the way you look at some skills may have changed, but, again, most of the critics one could formulate have already been posted and discuted.
To be honnest, I read the guide again when Sha bumped this topic and there are still several parts that made me... erm... cough. I could post a long, detailed critic if requested, but I don't think it would change anything since most of what I could say have already been discuted, except a few skills/builds that may have gained a new respectability with NF. But of course, it doesn't mean it's the place for harsh comments.
Evilsod
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sha Noran
As for Rain torments... well you have a point, but with henchman grouping up like they do, if your too busy trying to kite the odd Deep Freeze (since its the only AoE w/ Area effect) then you've already lost. Those things trouble henchman, the only thing to annoy a ranger is Blurred Vision, a skill they seem sometimes afraid to cast anyway. Quote:
Since you've got such good credintials! /sarcasm
Quote: As for Rain torments... well you have a point, but with henchman grouping up like they do, if your too busy trying to kite the odd Deep Freeze (since its the only AoE w/ Area effect) then you've already lost. Those things trouble henchman, the only thing to annoy a ranger is Blurred Vision, a skill they seem sometimes afraid to cast anyway. |
Quote:
Quote: Originally Posted by Evilsod
Quote:
I skip the build chapter.|
Originally Posted by Silk Weaver
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This guide is absolutely horrible. Shows a deep lack of knowledge and egotism on the author's part. gg. We know, thats why its not stickied. I'm really tired of this kind of shit from you in my thread. Seriously, I and everyone else with the patience to keep up with the thread know full well that you think you know better than everyone else in the game. Good for you. Do me a favor and quit shitting in my thread kthx. Quote:
I was not saying I know more about the ranger class, although since we're on topic, I'll say it now-- I know more about the ranger class (and so does a lot of other people) because I certainly think so. However, that is irrelevant, and my point is that your knowledge is bad and that your article misleads begginers and therefore creates a negative impact on them. Your comments on skills, your view, perspective, is overly narrow, your tone is not neutral or impersonal, it is a bad guide. You miss out many facts, only skates over the surface for some. You do know that Otyugh's cry, for example, is used for the AoE armor bonus, and not to actually trigger uncharmed animals, right? There are many other cases. What about in the Jade sea? Can you think of a better way to stop the spamming ressurrect? Daze is a very effective PvE condition. Beastmasters bad? Oh, even though the fact that a Beastmaster ranger does far more damage than a bow ranger? Bows aren't for damage to start with, yes. What about daggers? Thumpers? How many rangers here have a second set of stormbound armor before they disallowed armor switching in PvP? I know I do. It still works in PvE, so I don't see why people wouldn't have it now. Concussion Shot? Oh, I know, because PvE is easy. Anyway, I'm not going to go for all the flaws, but the example above already shows that you don't know what some skills are used for, and take things for the surface values only. The beastmaster/training dire guide on the forums a while ago is far more thoughtful than this ego stroke of a guide. The fact that you are attempting to defend the article instead of trying to improve show that you're in for the prestige, and not to compile a good guide.
Sir Mad
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sha Noran
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Quote: Revive Animal: Again, looks cool, but... how many Beast Masters that even want their pet alive are you going to play with anyway? And if they want them alive, won't they bring a pet-rez with them themselves? Even if you were running with a whole group of Beast Masters the range on this skill is absolutely horrid (half the range of Heal Area, maybe). Waste of time, especially when you have to have Comfort Animal along anyway to heal your own pet… The range of Revive is decent, and it's definitely wider than half the range of heal area (actually it's much wider than heal area's range: it affects nearby allies: heal area affects adjacent allies). Remember as well Revive Animal can rez all the pets around with 100% health. The main inconvenients of this skill are the recharge time (20 secs) and the casting time (compared to the almost instant Comfort).
Quote: Oath Shot: This Elite is simply not a very good one for any Ranger playing in a group atmosphere. Assuming you've got your wits about you enough for this skill to hit realiably, you still will not see enough benefit from it to make much use of the increased recharge. There simply are not enough skills that have slow enough recharges that you need to make use of your Elite slot to bring them back. Already discussed, so.. erm. Have you just nuanced your comment? That's trvial, but I believed it was a bit harsher when I read the guide again a few days ago.
Quote: Concussion Shot: This skill is simply too conditional to be worth its high Energy cost; if you're really looking for Dazed, look into Broad Head Arrow; despite the arc, you're better off with it than with a skill that requires you to hit an interrupt to achieve the Dazed effect. The biggest problem is that the monsters you want Dazed most are the ones that are most difficult to interrupt anyway. As you said, the alternative to this skill is BHA. But BHA has 2 inconvenients: 1/ its arc (you're going to miss if the target is moving at all), 2/ it's an elite. I wouldn't take this skill if I don't definitely need it. But under some circumstances, I prefer it to BHA. Unwaking Waters for example: you need to dazze kunny and put conditions on him. With BHA, you only have apply poison left. With concussion shot, you can have a build poison arrow + kindle (or even babed arrows now). That's much more damage. It's also a nice skill to have when you go capping those ele elites
If you're conifdent with interupting, I'd say go with this skill and save your elite slot for something else. If you're not, then BHA is for you.Quote:
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Choking Gas: This skill would be really nice if it lasted just a little bit longer. As it is, you can't interrupt enough skills with it to make it worth it. You could, feasibly, use this combined with Practiced Stance (and that's pretty much the only way to go about it) but you're better off with something else entirely in most cases.
Practiced Stance + Choking Gas is the build to make Gates of Pain easy, over any other interupt builds, since CG is an AoE skill (and you need to interupt several dryders at the same time). Quote:
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