Turning 30, gear selection help request

[Vandrav]

<DIV>     Well, I'm back in the game after a 3 month break.  My Ranger is about to hit level 30, and I'ed like some help on what gear I should be going after for him.   He's got level 20-25 quest armor now, and this is the area he needs the most help along with his jewlery, I have 2 feysteel axe's saved up for him but I don't know much about bow's beyond this point.  Any help the community can offer I would be thank full for!</DIV>

[Jay]

<DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>Bow:</STRONG> Stormfire (useable at 2<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> or a player-crafted imbued bow with comparable damage if one exists.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>Armor:</STRONG> Probably feyiron chain? Can't use much (if any) feysteel brigandine yet; most of mine opened up at 33. Feyiron chain is a good purchaseable option to get you through the first few levels. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>Jewelry: </STRONG>Player-crafted...agate? IIRC that's what I had early on. Just sort the broker on jewelry from white to orange and see what looks good for modifiers. Get yourself to EL and Zek and do some of the initial quests there for some decent jewelry rewards too.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>Weapons:</STRONG> I found a feysteel ornate spear for about 2g; <EM>very</EM> nice. Plenty of feysteel stilettos and axes seem to drop in the T4 areas, so you can find good DW weapons on the broker for less than a gold. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Hope this is somewhat accurate and helpful. My short-term memory isn't the best. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Good luck!</FONT></DIV><p>Message Edited by Jay42 on <span class=date_text>04-21-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:11 AM</span>

[Vandrav]

<DIV>    Just a couple of of questions.</DIV> <DIV>  </DIV> <DIV>    1.<SPAN><FONT color=#ffffff>  </FONT></SPAN>Feysteel brigandine? where does it drop?</DIV> <DIV>    </DIV> <DIV>     2. are imbured weapons with there procs worth it?</DIV> <DIV>    </DIV> <DIV>     3. does the damage potential of a weapon attack/delay matter for specials or the min-max dmg?</DIV>

[Jay]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><FONT size=2></FONT> <HR> Vandrav wrote:<BR> <DIV><FONT size=2>    Just a couple of of questions.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>    1.<SPAN><FONT color=#ffffff>  </FONT></SPAN>Feysteel brigandine? where does it drop?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>    </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>     2. are imbured weapons with there procs worth it?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>    </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>     3. does the damage potential of a weapon attack/delay matter for specials or the min-max dmg?</FONT></DIV><BR><FONT size=2></FONT> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><FONT size=2>1. My feysteel brigandine dropped in Ruins of Varsoon (chest piece, usable at 30) and in Enchanted Lands (helm, boots, and gloves, all useable at 33). I bought the leggings on the broker for about 2gp and some wristguards for around 1gp. The crimson 'Persian' look isn't for everybody, but it looks dead sexy on my ranger. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Great stats too.</FONT></P> <P><FONT size=2>2. I can't speak from experience regarding Imbued weapons, but the general opinion on them seems quite good. The stats for imbued procs that I've seen firsthand have been pretty impressive, but I've never used one myself. Kinda slacking on that front.</FONT></P> <P><FONT size=2>3. I'm not totally sure I understand the question, but if I'm reading this right, you're asking if the weapon's stats affect your results with Combat Arts. There are more knowledgeable rangers here that have a better grasp of the details, but my understanding is that weapon damage and delay do <STRONG>not</STRONG> affect your CA damage significantly. For example, my longbow has a delay of 7.0 seconds, but I can fire off four CAs in a row without any delay between them. By the same token, your arrow type doesn't seem to be reflected in the bow CA damage - makeshift carbonite arrows (summoned ammo you get from the Makeshift Arrows ability) seem to do about much as storebought or player-crafted arrows WRT CA damage. That said, the regular bow auto-attack <STRONG>will</STRONG> take arrow quality and weapon delay into account. (Anyone care to elaborate here, especially with regards to melee CAs vs melee weapon stats?)</FONT></P> <P><FONT size=2>Hope this helps; feel free to ask any other questions as you continue with your ranger. And welcome to the class. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></FONT></P>

[draconetti]

personally i've gone for full suit of feysteel brig, and at 32 getting annoyed not being able to wear it all :O) weapons i got a feyiron kris and feyiron hand-axe, and can now use my pgt... possible get an imbued feysteel piercer and go and do an axe from the past! as far as jewellery goes, i'm waiting till i can wear my full feysteel suit to see what mods i'd benefit from so not to sure on crafted :O/ <div></div>

[Flust]

<P>Get imbued weapons.. Atleast one until you get a PGT.  If you can get an imbued feysteel do it, if not get an imbued feyiron til you can get an imbued feysteel. </P> <P>As for armor... Feysteel big is good, as well as mob dropped feysteel.. both drop in Nek castle, EL, Zek, RE etc.  If you get yoru hands on feysteel harvestables.. after getting an imbued weapon, then get some feysteel armor made.  It is the best aside from epic master chest drops. </P>

[Absinth]

Generally speaking the stuff already posted is dead on. Player crafted gear is cheap (compared to other drops) and highly available. Pursue the PGT quest - a great weapon. Imbued weapons rule. They are excellent if you can afford them. Get them. Love them. Personally if you have the money, I reccomend getting a rare imbued weapon (i.e. an imbued feysteel weapon) which you will probably have to first buy the rare then find a weaponsmith to make what you want. Bows: Stormfire is great, but lacks a proc. I'm not sure how the damage of a briarwood bow compares to Stormfire. Another option is to hunt up an imbued oak longbow - the damage and stats will be better and it has the proc. Oak is fairly cheap on my server compared to most rares. I used Stormfire because there were no imbued weapons then, but I can't say what I'd do now. I doubt you'll be going wrong either way. Jewelry: there are some new imbued rings as well. It's not a top priority but they cast a stat buff on you, and the buff stays if you take off the ring, so you could, say, buff str, stamina, and agi without having to wear them all. Again, that's if you have the money to spare. Oh and for armor, consider the imbued feyiron chest - the healing is handy if you solo. <div></div>

[Jay]

<P><FONT size=2>Question about imbues: can you buy a pristine un-imbued weapon, attune it and use it, and then LATER get it imbued? Or can it only be imbued prior to attuning?</FONT></P> <P><FONT size=2>I ask b/c I picked up a very nice pristine forged feysteel short spear this morning, and I think I have a glimmering stone somewhere that I was saving to imbue something really nice. The short spear is the definite candidate as it would be a perfect compliment to the PGT that I'll get any day now. I (perhaps foolishly) attuned the short spear before realizing that this may disqualify me from imbuing it. </FONT></P> <P><FONT size=2>And if I can imbue, any thoughts on a reasonable cost to have the extract made (alchemist) and then applied (weaponsmith)?  </FONT><FONT size=2>Thanks much.</FONT></P>

[Absinth]

<span><blockquote><hr>Jay42 wrote:<p><font size="2">Question about imbues: can you buy a pristine un-imbued weapon, attune it and use it, and then LATER get it imbued? Or can it only be imbued prior to attuning?</font></p> <p><font size="2">... </font></p> <p><font size="2">And if I can imbue, any thoughts on a reasonable cost to have the extract made (alchemist) and then applied (weaponsmith)?  </font><font size="2">Thanks much.</font></p><hr></blockquote> To your first question: yes and  no. A weapon can be imbued at any time. But if you're not of the right crafting class, you won't be able to pass it to the craftsman once you attune it. Say I have a pristine sword and a pristine bow. If I attune them I can use them and that's fine. Now if I'm a woodworker of sufficient level, I could later imbue the bow. But I can't have the sword imbued because it's attuned therefore notrade therefore I can't give it to a weaponsmith to imbue for me. (Also bear in mind that you imbue on the x9's - it takes a 39 woodworker to imbue a tier 4 bow for instance. Unless your tradeskill level is well above your adventuring level, you're going to want to outsource.) As for costs, I assume it varies widely by server and tier. Tier 5 stuff is going to cost a lot. Tier 4 or lower probably nowhere near as bad.</span><div></div>

[Jay]

<FONT size=2></FONT> <DIV><FONT size=2>Wait just a second here. Attuned = No <EM>Trade</EM>?!? I thought it just meant that you couldn't <STRONG>use</STRONG> an item that was previously attuned, not that attunement actually prevented you from handing it over to one person or the other...??? Oh my god, if that's truly the case, I'm gonna scream. I cannot imbue anything myself, I'm a provisioner. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>So basically I've just screwed myself out of an imbue because I prematurely attuned my new spear. <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></FONT></DIV>

[Gareorn]

<P>Yes, that is the case.  I'm a jeweler and attuning an item requires that a pristine to be used as one of the ingredients.  The crafter can't imbue it if you can't give it it to him.  Sorry Jay.  </P>

[Jay]

<P><FONT size=2>Thanks for the info, I did confirm it myself when I went home that night. Attuned does indeed equal No Trade. Which is [Removed for Content]' idiotic, IMO, but whatever. I just wish I'd known better than to attune something before investigating that question. </FONT></P> <P><FONT size=2>I think I may just ask the weaponsmith who made my spear if he could make me another one, and provide him with the glimmering extract before the fact so he can do it all at once. </FONT></P>

[Davilan]

<DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Jay42 wrote:<BR> <P><FONT size=2>Thanks for the info, I did confirm it myself when I went home that night. Attuned does indeed equal No Trade. Which is [Removed for Content]' idiotic, IMO, but whatever. I just wish I'd known better than to attune something before investigating that question. </FONT></P> <P><FONT size=2>I think I may just ask the weaponsmith who made my spear if he could make me another one, and provide him with the glimmering extract before the fact so he can do it all at once. </FONT></P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I think its stupid also. They could make attuned tradable, and not equipable, but people would be ripping off people selling items that no one can use but them and that could be a pain. They made attuned to make more customers for the crafters plus keep people from get richer that much faster and attempt to make the economy balanced and not so pricey. Personaly I think the economy will never be balanced, but thats another topic.</DIV>

[Queen Alexandria]

<blockquote><hr>Davilan77 wrote:<DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Jay42 wrote: <P><FONT size=2>Thanks for the info, I did confirm it myself when I went home that night. Attuned does indeed equal No Trade. Which is [Removed for Content]' idiotic, IMO, but whatever. I just wish I'd known better than to attune something before investigating that question. </FONT></P> <P><FONT size=2>I think I may just ask the weaponsmith who made my spear if he could make me another one, and provide him with the glimmering extract before the fact so he can do it all at once. </FONT></P> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>I think its stupid also. They could make attuned tradable, and not equipable, but people would be ripping off people selling items that no one can use but them and that could be a pain. They made attuned to make more customers for the crafters plus keep people from get richer that much faster and attempt to make the economy balanced and not so pricey. Personaly I think the economy will never be balanced, but thats another topic.</DIV><hr></blockquote>I agree entirely. My Paladin has a full suit of Ebon that i worked so hard to get a long time ago, and then shortly after the introduce imbuing. Unfortunately the way its setup right now i have to be a 49 armorer to imbue my own armor. Its rediculous cause all you need is a simple tag that says Attuned to: Playername, just like the Crafted by: Playername field.Anyways, that's just wishful thinking. I doubt they would ever implement that now. The trick is, once you imbue an item its basically like recrafting it and that means it would be un attuned after its imbued. So i can see why they have a hard time figuring out a simple way of doing this without harming the whole playerbase by letting stuff be re-attuned.<p>Message Edited by Queen Alexandria on <span class=date_text>05-04-2005</span> <span class=time_text>09:19 AM</span>