What skill to use Ruby on?

[Anarand]

<DIV>Hello Fellow Rangers,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I am fortunate enough to have stumbled across a rough ruby in my journeys.  While I am delighted at my find, I am puzzled as to what skill to make adept III.  I was hoping some of you could give you your thoughts on my situation.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks in advance,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anarandil Aratoosta</DIV> <DIV>Lvl 42 Ranger, Lvl 50 Provisioner</DIV> <DIV>Vehemence</DIV> <DIV>Grobb</DIV>

[Zholain]

<font size="2">There are a few things you should consider.  First, is that at lvl 44 you will get a training choice of Triple Fire, Leg Shot, Hidden Fire, and one other which I can not remember(there's a post of them somewhere on this board) that you can bring up to Master II quality.  No use to waste the ruby on the one you're gonna choose. Another thing to consider is whether you mostly group or solo.  If you mostly solo, then one of the CA's with a snare would be really useful(Culling the Herd at Ad3 slows the mob by 54%).  If you mostly group, then one of the higher damage attacks would probably be the wiser choice. Something else is whether you want instant gratification.  Indeed, it would be awesome to just have the jeweler make the skill for you and you can immediately go out and start whacking on the bad guys.  But some of the CA's that you get at lvl 50 are incredible, and Storm of Arrows is just beyond description.  In my opinion, if you think you'll be fortunate, or wealthy, enough to find another ruby by the time you hit 50, go ahead and use the ruby.  If not, I would honestly say have the jeweler make SoA for you and sit on it until you hit 50.  It's THAT good.  And as a bonus....it would be more incentive to get to level 50 in a hurry.  <span>:womanwink:</span> I know I haven't really given you an answer, but these are some of the things that you should consider. </font><div></div>

[Jay]

My partner in crime is spot on, yet again. Storm of Arrows for the win!

[Saihung23]

Ya...I think I would go with the Storm of Arrows.... <div></div>

[Teksun]

<strike>Unam eunam </strike>I agree... <div></div>

[smoody]

<P>If I only had 1 ruby, I would upgrade Storm of Arrows. I know that means sitting on it until you get to 50. But it's worth it!</P>

[Jer_]

<DIV>If you don't think you will get another ruby by level 50 I would have to say Storm of Arrows as well.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>There is nothing quite like the feeling you get when you 1 shot a couple solo mobs and someone in your gorup says 'What the hel_ was that?'</DIV>

[The_Wind]

Having had a choice among them, i went with Storm of Arrows AD3.  Haven't looked back since.  Its one of those skills that makes you proud to be a ranger. <div></div>

[xandez]

Either Storm of arrows (at lvl 50) or the ybah offensive proc (arrow xxx, cant remember at work atm) Also, debilitating arrow (nice debuff, can be fire on the move) would be tempting... its really a matter of taste in the end <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> (atleast, imho... heh <span>:smileyvery-happy:</span>) ++Xan <div></div>

[BlackAdderDr]

Arrow Frenzy hand down... It will affect all your arts in a very big way. Instead of just having one skill every 45sec frenzy is amazing at adIII. <div></div>

[Anarand]

<P>Thanks much for the advice so far! :smileyvery-happy:</P> <P>I have indeed used the said ruby for Storm of Arrows, another for Culling the Herd, and now I have a third.  How feasable is upgrading Arrow Frenzy to Adept III?</P> <P>Again, your input is valued greatly.</P> <DIV>Anarandil Aratoosta</DIV> <DIV>Lvl 42 Ranger, Lvl 50 Provisioner</DIV> <DIV>Vehemence</DIV> <DIV>Grobb</DIV>

[Jay]

How feasible? I'd say it's just as easy as upgrading any other T5 skill to Adept III. I've not seen the stats for that CA at that level, but I imagine it confers a pretty nice benefit. That said, the big question I see is whether Arrow Frenzy gets replaced after 50.

[Teksun]

<span><blockquote><hr>Jay42 wrote:<div></div>How feasible? I'd say it's just as easy as upgrading any other T5 skill to Adept III. I've not seen the stats for that CA at that level, but I imagine it confers a pretty nice benefit. That said, the big question I see is whether Arrow Frenzy gets replaced after 50.<hr></blockquote>We get a CA "Archer's Frenzy" at 60. This appears to be the upgrade, but hey it's at 60 <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></span><div></div>

[Zholain]

<div></div><font size="2">Don't forget about your de-agro CA's.  Arrow Frenzy would indeed probably be my first choice, but now that our evade line actually does something useful, it's worth thinking about now that we generate so much agro.  Primal Reflexes I think is our lvl 39 de-agro, always-up buff but I haven't seen the stats on the Ad3...besides, it would require a t4 rare and not a ruby. Edit:  Ya' know, I thought about this for a few minutes and realized....every single ability we have now is actually useful.  One thing that the devs intended for the revamp was that all spell/CA upgrades actually have meaning.  I have to say, they did a pretty good job with that for rangers.  They may have missed some with a couple other classes, but they really got it right with us rangers.  What I'm trying to say is that you will probably not be dissatisfied with anything you choose.  Just determine which one takes you a step in the direction you want to go(i.e. group or solo, primarily) and hit the ground running. </font><div></div><p>Message Edited by Zholain on <span class=date_text>09-28-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:35 AM</span>

[Jay]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Zholain wrote:<BR> <FONT size=2>Don't forget about your de-agro CA's.  Arrow Frenzy would indeed probably be my first choice, but now that our evade line actually does something useful, it's worth thinking about now that we generate so much agro.  Primal Reflexes I think is our lvl 39 de-agro, always-up buff but I haven't seen the stats on the Ad3...besides, it would require a t4 rare and not a ruby.<BR><BR><FONT color=#ffff66>Edit:  Ya' know, I thought about this for a few minutes and realized....every single ability we have now is actually useful.</FONT> </FONT> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>By and large, I agree with you here - I think SOE did a good job of streamlining abilities, overall. But this brings up a question I thought of last night - are you guys using the Pick Off line at all? This CA is in the dark, musty corner of my ranged toolbar and I realized that I haven't really reexamined it since the revamp - I just kinda forgot it was there. So are you using it, and do you find it effective? </DIV>

[ChaosUndivided]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Jay42 wrote:<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Zholain wrote:<BR> <FONT size=2>Don't forget about your de-agro CA's.  Arrow Frenzy would indeed probably be my first choice, but now that our evade line actually does something useful, it's worth thinking about now that we generate so much agro.  Primal Reflexes I think is our lvl 39 de-agro, always-up buff but I haven't seen the stats on the Ad3...besides, it would require a t4 rare and not a ruby.<BR><BR><FONT color=#ffff66>Edit:  Ya' know, I thought about this for a few minutes and realized....every single ability we have now is actually useful.</FONT> </FONT> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>By and large, I agree with you here - I think SOE did a good job of streamlining abilities, overall. But this brings up a question I thought of last night - are you guys using the Pick Off line at all? This CA is in the dark, musty corner of my ranged toolbar and I realized that I haven't really reexamined it since the revamp - I just kinda forgot it was there. So are you using it, and do you find it effective? </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Honestly Jay, not as much. When I solo the mobs die too fast to even think about debuffing them, couple bow shots and they die. In groups it used to be a great HO flipper/starter but I find with the emphasis on ranged combat now Im usually staying out of melee and just autobowing. They also did 2 things to semi reduce it's effectiveness, they doubled the recast timer and they reduced the importance of defense. Under Old rules 5 Defense effectively lowered the mob by one lvl and/or con color. In the new system It merely effects avoidance and honestly I dont see the difference. Keep in mind Im using Master 1 Snipe which lowers 36 Defense.

[Teksun]

I'll use snipe in group, but usually when I'm waiting for my ranged CA's to proc... <div></div>

[Jay]

Yeah, Snipe is the current name, forgot that. I just don't find myself ever using it, but after the CU it could have been much more meaningful and I might have been missing out. I still need to rearrange my toolbars a bit - Hidden Shot is pretty buried too - but right now Snipe seems to be the least useful of my bow arts.

[Kiluvi]

Well, when fighting orange mobs, the only way I was ever able to land a hit on them was to use Snipe first, otherwise everything was missed, blocked, or parried... Made a big difference for me.