Common questions and answers (a FAQ if you like) - Jan 10/06

[Vimy]

<div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>*** EDIT:  As of LU 20 none of the comments on procs is accurate.  Use at your own riskJust some common answers to common questions. Let me know if it needs any updates.Oh, and these are all of course just my opionions...  YMMV.   <span>:smileywink:</span><b>Skill Lists?</b>SOE official list: <a href="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/en/classes/index.vm?classId=39" target="_blank">EQ2 Player</a>Scout Sanctuary list - decomissioned - r.i.p.<span></span>Vyaelin's table: <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/ryokousha/Games/EQ2/ranger-skilltable.html" target="_blank">Clicky</a>50-60 screen shots: <a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=39&message.id=12352" target="_blank">Clicky</a><b>Leather vs. Chain Armor</b>Simple answer: whatever you can afford. When only comparing mitigation of the crafted items then it's straight forward:common leather < common chain < rare leather < rare chain.But mitigation isn't the only story, as some times a looted piece of armor might have some really good stats, or better mitigation but not both. When it comes to loot you'll have to choose on your own on case by case basis.One reason *not* to choose a lighter set of armor is avoidance. If a mob is swinging at us, it's probably going to hit us, especially if we're in our offensive stance. Our best defense is killing the mob as fast as possible when solo, or not drawing agro while grouped. For a more detailed discussion: <a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=39&message.id=16358" target="_blank">Clicky</a><b>What bow should I be using?</b>There are two schools of thought, rare crafted or quested.Rare crafted have advantage of being available as soon as you hit a new tier, and if imbued they add another proc to our arsenal. Each tier has it's own rare that you'll need:Tier 1 - Severed Alder (but don't bother)Tier 2 - Severed Bone + Glowing extract (but don't bother either)Tier 3 - Severed Fir + Sparkling extract (might want to bother)Tier 4 - Severed Oak + Glimmering extractTier 5 - Severed Cedar + Luminous extractTier 6 - Severed Iron wood + Lambent extractMost go with a long bow for the extra proc'ing goodness.Quested are free (except for your time), but there aren't as many. Most notable:Arrel's Bow of Alacrity - Sub-class reward - Qeynos HarborStormfire - usable 28 - Sir Valinayle near the entrance in StormholdSureshot / Bloodlet - low 30's - Shadow on the docs of ZekA combination of those two will get you to level 40 in pretty good style but for 40 up, there's not much that compares to a cedar/Ironwood long bow, except for fabled bows of course.<b>What's a proc?</b>It's a secondary effect that has a chance to go off when we attack/are attacked:- poisons- gleaming strike imbued weapons- sanguine imbued armor- random proc's like those from the PGTBecause the chance to "proc" is based off of a calculation that includes weapon delay, and Rangers make use of long delay bows for many attacks, we're proc monsters. Learn it, feel it, live it.<b>Kiting</b>The practice of attacking a mob while keeping it out of melee range so that it can't hit you.Rangers can do it if they have the room. So while slow compared to other techniques, it is possible.Recent thread on it <a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=39&message.id=16611" target="_blank">here</a>.<b>What arrows should I be using?</b>Starting at level 21, you get the Makeshift arrow ability that will give you arrows that you can use for every day use. It will get updated at 34 and 48.Do "better" arrows do more damage? Kinda. Ranged auto-attack damage does seem to be linked to the type of arrow, but combat arts do not. Since auto-attack damage makes up such a small part of our total DPS, it's hardly worth worrying about day to day.One place where the arrow type does matter is against named/raid mobs. Some will be pierce immune and that will mean that some of our CAs might not hit using summoned arrows. In that case hunting arrows will do slashing damage, and rounded arrows will do crushing damage. For an extra kick in the pants there are also legendary crafted arrows, but you'll pay for the luxury.<b>Poisons? Huh?</b>Predators and rogues can use poisons. You can have one each of the 3 types active at once. If you're not using at least a damage poison, then you missing out on a large portion of your potential damage. Currently poisons disappear on death, which is really annoying, but hopefully that will change one day soon.There are both NPC poisons and player crafted type 1 poisons.  The NPC poisons have fewer procs than the player crafted.  Player crafted poisons come in both handcrafted and legendary flavors.type 1 - damage poison - 200 proc's @ 25% - deals damage to the targettype 2 - debuff poison - 4, 30, or 80 proc's @ 15-20% - lowers mob resistance to poison/magic/physical attackstype 3 - stifle/stun/mez/slow poison - 4 or 30 proc's @ 15%<a href="http://www.eq2alchemy.com" target="_blank"><b>eq2alchemy.com</b></a> is a great place to go looking for info on poisons.Also <a href="http://www.eq2potions.com/" target="_blank">eq2potions.com</a> is another great resource.<b>What tradeskill profession should I follow?</b>To be honest, whichever you enjoy. That said, there are 3 that are often asked about in relation to RangersWoodworker - makes bows, arrows, and totemsAlchemist - potions, and poisonsJeweler - jewelry (duh!), and scout skill upgradesGoing woodworker to make your own arrows probably won't work. In later levels we go through A LOT of arrows, and the time required to make them probably wouldn't be worth the effort (6 combines to make 20 arrows I believe). The toss up in my mind would be Alchemist and Jeweler. Alchemist for the poisons, Jeweler for the skill upgrades. In the end it's whatever you prefer.Recent link: <a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=39&message.id=17155" target="_blank">Clicky</a><b>Rangers get pets?</b>Yes, as fluff spells. No, they will not fight for you. They're just for fun. They have to be bought from one of the "trainers" in Elddar Grove.level 20 - Hawk - Phyn's Hunting Hawk - sold by Guillotlevel 40 - Bear - Jeth's Cuddly Companion - sold by Zintkala Skalevel 50 - Tiger - Rhyn's Feline Hunter - sold by Zintkala Ska<b>Ancient Teachings? (Level 52, 55, 5<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></b>level 52 - Thorny trap - roots any mobs that run over it.level 55 - Stream of arrows - Roots the ranger, does a ton of damage with increased hatelevel 58 - Sniper Shot - HUGE direct damage CA - 15 minutes reuse timer<b>Strength or Agility?</b>Probably both. Strength affects the damage that we do, while agility determines the size if our power pool, and avoidance to a small degree. In essence, don't neglect one for the other, as they are both important. Need both to do damage, and damage is what we're all about.Wisdom is used in the calculation of resists, so if you find caster mobs tearing you apart, maybe a boost in wis might help as it often gets neglected too.Intelligence affects spell damage and there is some debate to wether it up our procs such as poison or not.  See <a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=39&message.id=18384" target="_blank">this link</a> for the details supporting upping your int.Stamina is used to determin our total health points.More info: <a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=39&message.id=16244" target="_blank">Clicky</a><p>Message Edited by Vimy on <span class="date_text">12-19-2005</span><span class="time_text">01:23 PM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Vimy on <span class="date_text">12-20-2005</span><span class="time_text">09:45 AM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Vimy on <span class="date_text">01-05-2006</span><span class="time_text">09:57 AM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Vimy on <span class="date_text">01-05-2006</span><span class="time_text">09:57 AM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Vimy on <span class="date_text">01-10-2006</span><span class="time_text">01:47 PM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Vimy on <span class="date_text">04-04-2006</span><span class="time_text">11:17 AM</span></p>

[xandez]

<div></div><div></div><div></div>Well have to comment for the bow, imbued bone (dont bother you said) i heavily disagree. I think that is just the bow you should get asap, since craftsman can make it, components dont cost anything (compared to other rare tiers) and its awesome! I still use it for my alt (he's nearly lvl 32) and i make nice dmg with it <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> (He harvested the bone and glowing extract, i then crafted the bow with my main [shh, dont tell anyone]) <font color="#ff9900">*EDIT*</font><font color="#ff9900"> </font><font color="#ff9900">Also about STR and AGI... Concentrate on STR! Agility will raise because many STR equipment has also AGI bonuses, we also get AGI buffs and class bonuses to AGI. Race does matter some, but you can freely pick any race you want (i'd prefer one with highish STR thou <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> [im woodelf myself, go figure... ])</font> <font color="#ffcc00">*EDIT2*</font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00">sry, just dont seem to catch everything with 1 glance <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00">you said: "Intelligence affects spell damage and most proc's are considered spells so... don't neglect intelligence either."</font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00">Well, i say: "Dont bother with intelligance, focus for STR" (my lvl 31.8 dwarf ranger [alt] has 100 agi and i've pumped all STR i've could, havent given agi 1 single thought to be honest... </font><font color="#ffcc00">Yes, i know major part of our dmg comes from our poison and other procs, but according to my tests, the impact for eg. 50 intelligence more is quite minimal... dunno if they have changed this lately, but the last time i looked i was not happy for what i saw... posting more info when i can (read: drag my lazy butt to) test that properly.</font>   ++Xan <div></div><p>Message Edited by xandez on <span class="date_text">12-14-2005</span> <span class="time_text">09:06 AM</span></p><p>Message Edited by xandez on <span class=date_text>12-14-2005</span> <span class=time_text>09:13 AM</span>

[arkkon]

<P>Str is more important than intelligence.</P> <P>But if your str at lvl 60 is anywhere near 300 - 350 selfbuffed, you will most likely be hitting the 440 cap on raids. </P> <P>Which then leads rangers to start getting intelligence gear.  </P> <P> </P> <P> </P> <P>Pathfinder Sakir Shadow</P> <P>The Downward Spiral</P> <P>Lavastorm Server</P>

[Stormykat]

intelligence on a day to day soloing basis isn't that important, but if you're duoing with an enchanter that has a nice 30 second intelligence buff, or a fury who has a really great int buff - you'll see the difference in your poisons - those are my two favourite types of duoing partners. <div></div>

[Cron]

Nicely done....<div></div>

[Gailstryd]

<P>/massive applause <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P>Great post, helpful, informative, and hopefully nice to avoid answering 2 or 3 threads on the same thing within a 2 day period hehe.  I do have to say though the Search button can really suck unless you know absolutely what you are looking for which isn't all that helpful when you are new and don't really know specifics.  Two thumbs and two big toes up for this post (yes i have freak toes that are long and I use them like an ape <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />).</P>

[Jay]

Wow, GREAT job, Vimy!!

[Vimy]

<span><blockquote><hr>xandez wrote:Well have to comment for the bow, imbued bone (dont bother you said) i heavily disagree. I think that is just the bow you should get asap, since craftsman can make it, components dont cost anything (compared to other rare tiers) and its awesome! <font color="#ff0000"></font> I still use it for my alt (he's nearly lvl 32) and i make nice dmg with it <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> (He harvested the bone and glowing extract, i then crafted the bow with my main [shh, dont tell anyone]) </blockquote></span> <blockquote> <hr> </blockquote> <font color="#ffffff">I found that the teens went by really quick when leveling an alt, which is why I would wait for 20..  but you're right, they are easy to get ahold of.   </font><font color="#ffffff">:robotvery-happy:    Though it might be harder to find someone to craft it for you if you can't do it yourself. </font><span> <blockquote> <hr>xandez wrote:<span><font color="#ff0000"><span> </span></font></span> <font color="#ff9900">*EDIT*</font><font color="#ff9900"> </font><font color="#ff9900">Also about STR and AGI... Concentrate on STR! Agility will raise because many STR equipment has also AGI bonuses, we also get AGI buffs and class bonuses to AGI. Race does matter some, but you can freely pick any race you want (i'd prefer one with highish STR thou <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> [im woodelf myself, go figure... ])</font> <font color="#ffcc00">*EDIT2*</font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00">sry, just dont seem to catch everything with 1 glance <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00">you said: "Intelligence affects spell damage and most proc's are considered spells so... don't neglect intelligence either."</font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00"> </font><font color="#ffcc00">Well, i say: "Dont bother with intelligance, focus for STR" (my lvl 31.8 dwarf ranger [alt] has 100 agi and i've pumped all STR i've could, havent given agi 1 single thought to be honest... </font><font color="#ffcc00">Yes, i know major part of our dmg comes from our poison and other procs, but according to my tests, the impact for eg. 50 intelligence more is quite minimal... dunno if they have changed this lately, but the last time i looked i was not happy for what i saw... posting more info when i can (read: drag my lazy butt to) test that properly.</font>  <hr> </blockquote> <font color="#ffffff"><span><span><span>I guess my point is that all the stats have an effect and that ignoring any one stat completely isn't a good idea.   When I'm out soloing writs I can easily see when the wisdom buff from my ring has droped and I don't have my wisdom hex doll equiped because the casters start kicking me around.    <span>:smileywink: </span></span></span></span></font>I updated the part on inteligence to say that we don't know.   My bad for posting old info.   I'm fairly sure that it still affects those procs that other players cast on use like the Illusionist dynamism, but I'll leave it off since I don't have any hard proof.  </span><div></div>

[KipperFl]

<DIV>Stupid me assumed a Scout's most important stat would be AGI. I structured my equipment accordingly and at level 23, my STR gets to about 90, all other stats are in the 50-60 range and my AGI buffs to 140ish!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I assume I need to spread the love.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For example, both my Hex dolls are +AGI. In fact, just the though of being a Scout and saying, "hey, I need me a +WIS hex doll" seems odd.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Oh well, this isn't the first and most certainly won't be the last thing EQ2 related that I'm clueless on. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Jay]

Our AGI just seems to increase itself. I usually opt for STR, but my AGI is still higher. Thankfully after recently upgrading rings and hex dolls, the gap is much narrower than it used to be.

[xandez]

<div></div>Hmm this thread has some nice info for begging rangers, any chance to get it stickyed and maybe then ppl would add more to this aswell?<font color="#ff9900">*EDIT*</font><font color="#ff9900"></font><font color="#ff9900">rofl begging... supposed to be beginning... <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></font>++Xan<div></div><p>Message Edited by xandez on <span class=date_text>12-27-2005</span> <span class=time_text>12:59 PM</span>

[Mabes]

Awsome post vimy