Cael
03-22-2005, 06:33 PM
<DIV> <P>At level 44, I'm only one of nine Rangers to make it to this level on my server. I thought that was odd in itself. To me, a bow class seems as if it would be fairly common in this games setting (middle ages?). Why mention this? I don't know.. ..just seemed odd.</P> <P>Regarding arrows...</P> <P>Until I received "Makeshift Arrow", I never used my bow. At lower levels, I wasn't making enough coin to be able to afford a constant supply of arrows. I reached the point of using "Rip" and switched to that, but found this skill to be somewhat of a fool's errand. Ironically, this skill has me obtaining an object at melee range that is intended for use at a distance. In other words, if I want to play a ranged character in this game, and obtain arrows from my encounters, then I have to spend most of my time fighting as a melee. Anyone see my point?</P> <DIV>If I "truly" play my character as a ranger, then I will be using arrows for more than my ability to gather them. This produces the next dilemma; paying to play. No other class has to pay to play. Ranger needs two external items to be effective (poisons and arrows). Can you imagine what all the Warlocks would say if they were told that casting "poison" attacks required them to purchase vials of poison at 30 silver a piece? What would the fighter classes say if they were told that their swords would need to use grinding stones to keep them sharp and that if those stones ran out, they would receive a message stating "Missing Component" and be unable to attack? Basically, if you make it possible for every other class to be able to play freely, then Ranger shouldn't be an exception.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What I'd "like" to see is for arrows to be instantly available to Rangers dependant on the bow they have equipped. The bow, itself, dictates the quality of the arrows. I'd like to have different bows for different attack styles. One bow excels at slashing damage, another is ideal for crushing, etc. Maybe have an NPC convert an existing bow (crafted or quest) on the player to be slashing, piercing, or crushing. When a Ranger (and ONLY a Ranger) equips these bows, both the bow and the arrow slots on the paperdoll get filled. Non-Ranger classes choosing to use these bows (if made available to non-Ranger classes) would need to provide the arrows. Non-Ranger classes can continue to use ranged weapons (throwing stars, daggers, etc.) but would need to buy the ammunition since this is an elected choice.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Regarding poisons...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As far as poisons, since weapons need to be attuned now, wouldn't it make sense for Rangers to be able to visit a NPC and have their currently equipped (and attuned) weapon have a permanent poison attack applied to it? Once attuned, the weapon is only useful to the player that possesses it. A NPC could do a simple check to determine if the player is, in fact, a Ranger and then bring up a dialog of all attuned weapons on the player. A player can then have poison applied. Using this mechanism, all weapons dropped or granted from quests continue to exist as they do now. Players that don't get a poison attack don't benefit from this mechanism. However, Rangers get to use a skill (poison) that is native to the class, but without having to pay for it. As they get (and attune) new weapons, they simply revisit the NPC. The "quality" of the poison applied to the weapon is based on the current level of the Ranger's poison skill usage level. Seems fair, doesn't it?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In closing...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm not going to get into skills that are broken or simply not worth using. All classes have similar issues. I'm not going to get into whether or not Assassins excel at damage output over their predator cousins (you only need to view the top 100 melee damage output stats to determine that). I not going to get into other classes getting skills that would seem to be class defining for a ranger (e.g., other non-scout classes being able to stealth as well if not better, being able to evac an entire group, etc.). Every class has issues. Ideally, it would be great if all these issues could be resolved. Realistically.. ..eh.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>At this point, I'll take what I can get. Making arrows and poisons freely available to a class that relies heavily on them only makes sense. Especially since these two items are part of the math equation that went into determining the overall effectiveness of the Ranger class. No other class is told they have to rely on an exhaustive mechanism that gets increasingly costly. Why should we?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>NOTE: My two suggestions are "very" basic. I could go into more detail as to how they could both function, but I thought I'd leave room for others to add their thoughts.</DIV></DIV>