Ranger Interview for EQ2 Podcast

[Rotacidare]

<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a.</div><div>    b.</div><div>    c.</div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a.</div><div>    b.</div><div>    c.</div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?4. In general is it easy to find a group?</div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?</div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?</div></div></div></div>

[Merkad]

1) A) That we have an established role.B) That we are very Power conservative.C) That we can minamalize AE impact due to ranged fighting2) A) The class still does not feel ranger-y to me.B) The use of poisons (I think it should be a spell based proc instead, seems odd poisoning people)C) Being pure DPS. You do not always have optimal groups/raids/gear to DPS at max, and when you bring very little else, it shows, and is dull.3) Hmm, normally group-centric, but if you have money to buy stun poisons/adeste's you can solo nearly any heroic mob (still trying carpet 4 solo.. got it down to 30%).4) I never LFG, I always solo or guild group.5) Rangers are slightly better imo. And when an AE is factored in, we are alot better. Soloing, we are clearly better with the bow/proc advantage. Though we have less utility (not by much, as theirs is aggro transfer/apply poison).6) As stated, if a mob is heroic or less, it really should not matter what level (unless to high to hit) or how many arrows up. That said, the highest I personally killed is just 57th ^^^ named thief guy in Hidden Cache (@60th). But mostly because I have been too lazy to try a higher one (instead I am trying carpet 4, which is a three mob encounter that all hit very hard). I know full well Rangers and other classes have done Aysor and his Eye which are 63/64^^^.Merkades, 60th Ranger.Siege, Najena.

[xandez]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/" target="_blank"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div></div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>a. <font color="#ff9900">I can hold on my own, always has, even pre CU...</font></div><div>b. <font color="#ff9900">Im a shooter in RL too, so i kinda like to see the mobs pincushioned *grin*</font></div><div>c. <font color="#ff9900">Have to say the DPS, especially after the CU</font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>a. <font color="#ff9900">We dont have any buffs, all we do is DPS (in groups)</font></div><div>b. <font color="#ff9900">We lack pets (fluff ones dont count)</font></div><div>c. <font color="#ff9900">Our dmg costs cash (poisons + arrows, yes you have to buy em if you play lots)</font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?   <font color="#ff9900">Anykind i guess... hard to say, just dont mash those buttons too much or you're surely grab aggro! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></font>4. In general is it easy to find a group?   <font color="#ff9900">I would say so, yes.</font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?   <font color="#ff9900">Hard to say, since i havent played assassin myself, but... i think we are more or less equal (some might outDPS the other etc, but in general...)</font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?   <font color="#ff9900">We solo very well, the best solo exp is the solo ones (imo). I can solo even heroics if needed, but its really not worth it. (takes too much time + is risky)</font></div></div></div></div><hr></blockquote><font color="#ff9900">++Xan</font>

[Sirlutt]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/" target="_blank"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ff0000">The raw burst damage from a distance.  I feel like Heavy Artillery <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></font></div><div>    b. <font color="#ff0000">The resepct we finally get for being able to lay waste to things.</font></div><div>    c. <font color="#ff0000">Its a challenge to play, lots of positional attacks.</font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ff0000">Very expensive class to play, need to upgrade lots, buy poisons</font></div><div>    b. <font color="#ff0000">We have no group buffs apart from path finding and Evac.</font></div><div>    c. <font color="#ff0000">Our Melee skills are pretty wimpy.</font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class? - <font color="#ff0000">Its not a point and click class, you really need to be knowledgable and on top of your game with your equipment.  A sugar mommy/daddy helps as it gets expensive.</font>4. In general is it easy to find a group? - <font color="#ff0000">After LU13 - yes.  We are Tier 1 DPS, as we should be and sought after because we bring the pain.</font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?  <font color="#ff0000">I think Assassins need a little bit of love.  More melee damage for them  We are their ranged bretheren though.</font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?  <font color="#ff0000">I can do a green ^^^ if I am lucky.  We arent that great at soloing, but we dont totally suck either.  When we solo, fully 2/3rds of our attacks cant be used effectively.  we have a couple of mainstay skills though that help us get by.</font></div></div></div></div><hr></blockquote></span></div>

[Zholain]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/" target="_blank"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a.  <font color="#ffff00"><font size="3">Post LU13, the damage we do.  We can finally function in the role we were intended.</font></font></div><div>    b.  <font size="3"><font color="#ffff00">It is a thoughtful subclass.  You actually need to think and concentrate when playing.</font></font></div><div>    c.  <font size="3"><font color="#ffff00">It's just plain fun.</font></font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a.  <font color="#ffff00"><font size="3">In order to be 100% effective, it is a very expensive subclass to play.  Oftentimes, things that other classes can afford easily must be sacrificed by rangers simply because of the cost to play.  This is somewhat better now, but I still do not like to pay for my damage when it should be an inherent ability.</font></font></div><div>    b.  <font color="#ffff00"><font size="3">Very few melee skills that are truly effective.  Especially frustrating when we have a couple short duration self buffs</font></font><span><font color="#ffff00"><font size="3"> (Focus Fire for one) </font></font></span><font color="#ffff00"><font size="3">that are almost totally useless.  A 30 second buff is useless on a ranger if it is only going to effect auto attack.  I guess I'm saying that we have a few skills that need to be looked at again.</font></font></div><div>    c.  <font color="#ffff00"><font size="3">Our damage output is based on strength...yet we have no self buff to increase that stat.  Agility is nowhwere near as important to us now as it was at game launch and the implications of this seem to have slipped by game designers' attention.</font></font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?<font color="#ffff00"><font size="3">Currently, I would say that we solo, group, and raid equally well, as long as the person at the keyboard can adapt their playstyle quickly to the different requirements of each.</font></font>4. In general is it easy to find a group?<font size="3"><font color="#ffff00">Since LU13, yes.</font></font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?<font size="3"><font color="#ffff00">Assassins need some work.  They fall unacceptably lower than us on the DPS ladder.</font></font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?<font color="#ffff00"><font size="3">We solo very well against solo mobs/encounters.  We can take yellow ^ if played intelligently.  But basically anything with ^^ or ^^^ with the exception of greens requires the use of stun poisons.  Anything with one or more down arrow we can pretty much plow through with ease, as we should being a dps class.</font></font></div></div></div></div><hr></blockquote></span></div>

[Bayler_x]

<div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a.  The devs really hit the nail on the head in terms of what a ranger should be, in my opinion.  I've never liked the 3/4 fighter +1/4 druid interpretation from EQ1 or D&D.  We are archers, trackers, stalkers, outdoorsmen.  All of those aspects of what a ranger is supposed to be is central to our role in EQ2.</div><div>    b.  Good in groups, but also largely self-sufficient.  Excellent exploration capability. </div><div>    c.  Our utility is actually useful.  I love it when my group asks me to check for tracks, or scout around the corner.</div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a.  Fear of the nerf bat.</div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class? We're good at anything outdoors.  Tracking helps with tons of quests.  So does stealth.  We're great explorers.  We do good damage both in and out of groups, so we can play according to our mood at any given time.4. In general is it easy to find a group? No complaints.</div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)? I don't know - I seldom get to group with assassins.  Assassins don't actually seem all that closely related to us, though.  They are fellow scouts, of course.  But the difference in melee vs ranged sets us apart from one another a great deal.</div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)? Any yellow solo encounter is doable, but oranges and reds aren't.  I just plain can't hit oranges no matter what I try.  Heroics are difficult, but sometimes possible depending on their makeup; lots of mobs in a group is bad for us.  Stun poisons make things easier, but they're pretty costly to use too often.</div></div><div></div>

[valer]

<div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff00">Love the damage output, we're really dishing out enough damage that we actually have a necessary role in a group.  This wasn't true pre LU 13 and in EQ1</font></div><div>    b. <font color="#ffff00">Its just so much fun being a ranger.  Fun to play the class and fun to learn new things</font></div><div>    c. <font color="#ffff00">The ability to develop tactics using our skills for different situations.  So when you play its not as repetitive as say a Tank.</font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff00">Cost of being a ranger.  I'm always broke.  I'm lvl 44 and have yet to even come close to being able to buy a horse.  Our poisons are stackable so if you think about it we use 3 potions/poisons at a time, and they get used up.  Now if a standard poison had more charges...say 14 as opposed to 7 it make it a helluva lot cheaper for us.</font></div><div>    b. <font color="#ffff00">Mob run speed, if you look at a ranger/archer they should be able fire off a considerable amount of arrows before a mob gets to them.  The fact that I can only shoot off 2 ca's without a stun poison(really expensive) equiped kind or sucks.</font></div><div>    c. <font color="#ffff00">STR, we don't have a self STR buff.  We're DPS the stronger we are the more damage we do.  We should be able to buff ourselves to increase our key attribute.</font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?</div><div><font color="#ffff00">I'm assuming by play style you mean solo, group or raid.  I'd say we're useful for all three types.  You always need somebody to take the hp's of a mob down quickly, so we're very good for groups and raids.  With the use of poisons we're a very good solo class as well.  With a stun poison we really can effectively solo</font>4. In general is it easy to find a group?</div><div><font color="#ffff00">Very easy.  If a group wants xp they want to drop mobs at a fast consistant pace.  With us in a group they healers have to heal less because the mobs go down faster so they can better conserve power.</font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?</div><div><font color="#ffff00">I think from a group standpoint they're pretty close to us in that they do a lot melee DPS, and they have more utility than we do.  I think the spot where we really outshine them is soloing.  We do more damage and we do it from afar so we get hit less.  They could use some love.   </font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?</div><div><font color="#ffff00">Our class is very good at soloing.  With the use of poisons(ie $$), we can effectively solo some pretty tough mobs.  The best I've done is a green ^^^ and that took forever, and I had room to kite.  I think it was Blood Talon in TS.</font></div></div></div>

[Ronin]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/" target="_blank"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff33">Very nice ability solo and grouped, with good mix of skills for most situations</font></div><div>    b. <font color="#ffff33">Rangers lead the way in dealing good DPS with good Agro management. </font></div><div>    c. <font color="#ffff33">Its just plain fun to test your skills with a bow, and use your own sharms to make the best of any situation. </font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff33">Costs for poisons get very high at times, specially for raids where you are thinking on over all instead of just for yourself. </font></div><div>    b. <font color="#ffff33">Rangers are not like alot of classes, get crafted and fly, we have to weigh stats vrs mitigation, with stats winning, so gear isn't cheap by any means.</font></div><div>    c. <font color="#ffff33">Grouping while easier now but still limited in that you may have problems with agro based on the tank and their knowledge of thier class. Makes soloing   still better sometimes. </font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?    <font color="#ffff33">We can conform to almost any situation now. Solo, groups, raids, we bring it where its needed. </font>4. In general is it easy to find a group?    I<font color="#ffff33">ts fairly easy, but with Combat Update, there is a HUGE influx of ranger alts, so makes available groups lower, but personal experience of others grouping with you pays off here. </font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?   <font color="#ffff33">This is tough, Assassins while doing way better dps then rangers in Melee combat, don't do still enough compared to our ranged ability, and they don't have as much agro control it seems.</font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?   <font color="#ffff33">Soloing now depends on the ability of the person, Rangers are able to solo most groups of heroics with down arrows or no arrows really well using Thorny Trap. But gets interesting on ^^ and ^^^ mobs. Though at lvl53 I tend to find myself soloing the Pulverizers in Sinking Sands pretty well, minus thier stun and root, they are not to hard really for Blue ^^^. Solo mobs however are almost a joke, minus the ^ ones. </font></div></div></div></div><hr></blockquote></span></div>

[Jay]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff33">Filling the role for which I was intended - ranged DPS. Our damage is very respectable and we have a clearly-defined role to play in a group or raid, but we also have some flexibility and aren't locked in to a single playstyle.</font></div><div>    b. <font color="#ffff33">Our self-reliance and our survivability. We adapt well.</font></div><div>    c. <font color="#ffff33">The community of ranger players on the SOE class forum and our global chat channel. </font></div><div> </div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff33">There isn't much to dislike at the moment, but one source of frustration is our attribute dependencies - we can't buff our own STR, but most would agree that it's our most important stat. AGI doesn't have much meaning for us, but that's the only stat we can increase ourselves. And as a ranger, I still do not understand the rationale for having INT increase our poison and proc damage - that makes absolutely no sense. </font> </div><div>    </div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">I really enjoy being a significant impact on the bottom line without having to worry about people assisting me, protecting my party from harm, keeping my group alive, or managing crowd control. Those are all interesting aspects of other roles, but rangers get to work alone within the context of a group. I'm a social player and I prefer grouping over soloing, but I like that my role in those groups is self-reliant.</font></div><div>4. In general is it easy to find a group?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">I think rangers are in much higher demand since the combat revamp in LU13. I personally don't rely much on pickup groups, but those that I've joined in the last few months are definitely more informed about the DPS potential that ranger class currently has. </font></div><div> </div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">Not sure what you want us to compare, but their DPS output seems a bit low compared to ours, currently. The two should be brought into line so that our DPS is roughly comparable in various contexts, though it will always vary according to the situation, given that assassins are more effective in melee and we're more effective at ranged combat.</font></div><div> </div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">Our class does much better now than it did pre-LU13. We depend on Cheap Shot and our few snares to bring our ranged attacks to bear in a solo context; without our bow CAs, we're much less effective soloers. The highest mob that I've tried to solo was probably a yellow single-up. I can probably solo something harder using stun poisons, but I don't get much fun out of that. </font></div><div><hr></div></div></div></div></blockquote>

[Quillian Feetfa]

<div></div><div></div><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a.<font color="#66ff00">All the DPS that I can do since the revamp.</font></div><div>    b.<font color="#66ff00">The Ranged attacks that can do.  I can stay out of most AE's that the Mobs do.</font></div><div>    c.<font color="#66ff00">The feeling that the class is now respected more than it was before LU13.</font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a.<font color="#66ff00">Lack of a useful pet.</font></div><div>    b.<font color="#66ff00">The fact that AGI seems relatively useless.</font></div><div>    c.<font color="#66ff00">Not having a commune with Nature.  We should be able to "charm" the natural wildlife so that it won't aggro us (just like deer, beers, and wolves, etc.  Not Gnolls, Centaurs, etc.)</font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?  <font color="#66ff00">I feel that group play is more suited, because of the positional attacks that we have, but I do Solo a lot of my XP.</font>4. In general is it easy to find a group?  <font color="#66ff00">Yes.  I'm seem to be very highly in demand</font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?  <font color="#66ff00">I think the Assassins are severely gimped right now.  They should be more on par with the DPS that the Rangers do.</font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?</div><div><font color="#66ff00">It is very easy to solo.  I have done the majority of my XP that way.  I can solo Blue ^^^ and on rare occasions a yellow ^ (Takes a lot of work and stun poison)</font></div></div></div></div><hr></blockquote><p>Message Edited by Quillian Feetfast on <span class="date_text">01-23-2006</span><span class="time_text">01:15 PM</span></p>

[Deml]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff33">Filling the intended role of DPS</font></div><div>    b. <font color="#ffff33">The ranger community (forums and chat channel)</font></div><div>    c. <font color="#ffff33">The versatility, that I'm not always looking for group, or group dependant.</font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff33">The wide ranger of stats we have to increase to maximize our dps and the randomness that seems to accompany why we need them.</font></div><div><font color="#ffff33"> <font color="#ffffff">   b. </font>Not having skills that buff any of the needed stats for our class except AGI which no ranger in 50+ gear needs more of.</font> </div><div>   c. <font color="#ffff00">The flood of ranger alts into the game lately, and the constant barrage of hate and "you need nerfed" comments from specific other classes.</font></div><div>    </div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">You need to pay attention, not click buttons and watch tv or walk away.  You need to stay focused and adjust on the fly.  Button mashers make the worst rangers.  </font></div><div>4. In general is it easy to find a group?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">It's not difficult at all to find groups since a couple weeks after LU13 when people started seeing what rangers can really do.</font></div><div> </div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">It's tough to "compare" the two classes.  We focus on bow/ranged fighting, they are up close and personal.  They have one or two more stuns than we get I think, and they can transfer agro to a tank which we can not do.  On the other hand, we can stand outside of most AE's to make our lives easier.  Their DPS needs some help though.  Maybe a change so that assassin's can proc everything off of their off hand just like their primary hand, and assassin's only.  That would be a nice boost to their dps to catch them up with where they should be.</font></div><div> </div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">It depends on how you are trying to solo.  A ranger, soloing things in melee combat, dies.  We are terrible at melee combat for soloing mobs.  Cheap shot just doesn't give you enough time vs anything heroic.  Ranged combat we are great at soloing.  Using snares and cheap shot for bow fighting I've been able to take down even con or yellow ^^ mobs.  Using a stun poison I can solo a level 64^^^, haven't tried a 65^^^ yet.</font><hr></div></div></div></div></blockquote>

[Kiluvi]

<div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div> </div><div>a. <font color="#006600">I like the fact that Rangers are 100% burst damage. Sometimes in ranged combat, if the encounter lasts long enough, there is a period of time (about 20sec.) where I don't have any combat arts to use except Snaring Shot. Which is fine by me, because when my combat arts are all recycled - I get to lay waste to the mob all over again.</font></div><div><font color="#006600"></font> </div><div>b. <font color="#006600">Being a Ranger suits my personality. I am an independant type of person, and a Ranger is an independant class, capable of anything if you put in the time and thought into what your attempting to accomplish.</font></div><div> </div><div>c.<font color="#006600"> I like that Rangers are an all-around class, its what makes them so independant. We are able to lay traps, use poisons and procs, attack while stunned via Stream of Arrows, and soemtimes outright kill mobs with Sniper's Shot - or just getting that 11,000 damage hit is cool to see.</font></div><div> </div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div> </div><div>a.<font color="#006600"> I dislike that we can no longer use our ranged combat arts on the move. We can still use Storm of Arrows and Debilitating Arrow, but I'd really like to be able to move with Triple Arrow and Precise Shot again... although it would make us even more powerful than we currently are, which wouldn't be fair to other classes -- they're already too jealous of us!</font></div><div> </div><div>b. <font color="#006600">In my opinion, Rangers should have some kind of mount spell, it just feels to me that a Ranger should have a horse companion, as most do in every type of genre you can find. They normally have the fastest horses in existance as well, so some sort of spell that increases horse movement rate would be cool. But I can't think of a whole lot that I really dislike about being a Ranger.</font></div><div> </div><div>c. <font color="#006600">I tried thinking of something to put here, but I'm just a Ranger person, and I like almost everything about my class. I promise I thought really hard about it!</font></div><div> </div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?</div><div><font color="#006600">My personal playstyle is 100% Ranged combat... I don't even use my melee combat arts because I'm efficient enough without them. Besides, I don't play the game outside of raiding, or level grinding back to max level, so melee combat is the worst possible choice for me.</font></div><div><font color="#006600"></font>4. In general is it easy to find a group?</div><div><font color="#006600">For almost any Ranger, finding a group shouldn't pose a problem at all. We're currently one of, if not the best, DPS in the game.</font> <font color="#006600">Everyone wants and needs a good DPS class for grouping in general, so finding a group has never been a problem for me, personally.</font></div><div> </div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?</div><div><font color="#006600">Rangers have the ability to permantly give their attacks a de-hate mod of 55% with Primal Agility at Master 1, and no less than about 47 at Adept 3. Being a ranged fighter and having the best de-aggro spells in the game make Rangers an ideal PvE DPS class. Assassins are just as good at dealing damage as Rangers are, they just don't have the hate utility we do, and their damage is melee based. Assassins seem more suited for PvP while Rangers seem better suited for PvE encounters. Keep in mind though, it isn't easy to beat a Ranger in a duel, even if your an Assassin.</font></div><div> </div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?</div><div><font color="#006600">Soloing is very easy for me personally, there is no heroic encounter that I have found to not be beatable solo. As long as you have the right utilities (stun poisons, direct dmg poisons), a Ranger can take down anything, it was even possible to kill some of the epic x2 encounters solo before stun poison was changed to not effect epic mobs.</font></div></div></div>

[Rotacidare]

<div></div>Thanks for all your good responses here. We've had a delay so we are actually not recording this podcast until next week. Is there anyone that is very verse with both Rangers and Assassins that might want to be on our show for a little Q&A? I'm looking for someone who has both classes, probably lvl 35-40+ in each, and plays them both enough to talk about them in detail.  If you think you are qualified and might like to be on for a short segment send me a PM.

[Saihung23]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/" target="_blank"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>   <font color="#66ffcc"> a. I love the lore of rangers...it is such a well known and respected class in fantasy.</font></div><div><font color="#66ffcc">    b. I like the ability to start my battles from a distance, allowing me to control the fight more</font></div><div><font color="#66ffcc">    c. I thoroughly enjoy the tracking and sneak skills, me being a notorious wrongway most of the time...lol.</font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    <font color="#66ffcc">a.  I dont like not being able to fire on the run...or while running on horseback...not enough skills that allow that.</font></div><div><font color="#66ffcc">    b.  I dont like the poisons wearing off after death when food and other buffs do not dissappear.</font></div><div><font color="#66ffcc">    c.  I dont like...hrmm...I guess I like everything really...even the above two dont really bother me that much.</font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class? <font color="#66ffcc">This is an odd question....well, I can solo effectively and be an invaluable member of a group.  I think the ranger is one of the few classes that excels both in groups and alone.</font>4. In general is it easy to find a group?  <font color="#66ffcc">It is as hard as you make it...if you go begging for a group, generally no one wants a part of a group like that.  I find it easy because I 1) know my class and play it well   2) I put up my LFG flag and start asking folks what they are up to and if they would like to group.  I find it easiest to group when I show that I know what I want to do and dont require someone to walk me through my quests or how to play my ranger.</font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?   <font color="#66ffcc">I believe that assassins are becoming more and more balanced with each tweak that the devs make.  There were some problems with some of their damage but I believe we are almost in line with each other.  I think it would be more difficult to solo with an assassin simply because of their need for back attacking.</font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?</div><div><font color="#66ffcc">Well, I dont really keep good track of these things...I am not "uber" equipped...I can solo a yellow ^ if everything is going my way...like the mob is a wimp, I have good weapons and start the fight the way I want to. I have "heard" of rangers solo'ing much higher mobs but I have not witnessed it nor have I done it myself.  I was pretty Happy when I took down that yellow ^ ghoul in the desert.</font></div></div></div></div><hr></blockquote><p>Saihung Talechaser</p><p>49th Ranked Ranger</p><p>41st ranked Carpenter</p>

[Saihung23]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Jay42 wrote:<div></div><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/" target="_blank"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff33">Filling the role for which I was intended - ranged DPS. Our damage is very respectable and we have a clearly-defined role to play in a group or raid, but we also have some flexibility and aren't locked in to a single playstyle.</font></div><div>    b. <font color="#ffff33">Our self-reliance and our survivability. We adapt well.</font></div><div>    <font size="5" color="#cc0000">c. The community of ranger players on the SOE class forum and our global chat channel. </font></div><div><font size="5" color="#cc0000"></font> </div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a. <font color="#ffff33">There isn't much to dislike at the moment, but one source of frustration is our attribute dependencies - we can't buff our own STR, but most would agree that it's our most important stat. AGI doesn't have much meaning for us, but that's the only stat we can increase ourselves. And as a ranger, I still do not understand the rationale for having INT increase our poison and proc damage - that makes absolutely no sense. </font> </div><div>    </div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">I really enjoy being a significant impact on the bottom line without having to worry about people assisting me, protecting my party from harm, keeping my group alive, or managing crowd control. Those are all interesting aspects of other roles, but rangers get to work alone within the context of a group. I'm a social player and I prefer grouping over soloing, but I like that my role in those groups is self-reliant.</font></div><div>4. In general is it easy to find a group?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">I think rangers are in much higher demand since the combat revamp in LU13. I personally don't rely much on pickup groups, but those that I've joined in the last few months are definitely more informed about the DPS potential that ranger class currently has. </font></div><div> </div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">Not sure what you want us to compare, but their DPS output seems a bit low compared to ours, currently. The two should be brought into line so that our DPS is roughly comparable in various contexts, though it will always vary according to the situation, given that assassins are more effective in melee and we're more effective at ranged combat.</font></div><div> </div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?</div><div><font color="#ffff33">Our class does much better now than it did pre-LU13. We depend on Cheap Shot and our few snares to bring our ranged attacks to bear in a solo context; without our bow CAs, we're much less effective soloers. The highest mob that I've tried to solo was probably a yellow single-up. I can probably solo something harder using stun poisons, but I don't get much fun out of that. </font></div><div><hr></div></div></div></div></blockquote><hr></blockquote><p>Jay42 QFE</p><p>Ranger Community for Teh Win!!!</p><p>Hehe</p>

[Blixx0]

<div></div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>   <font color="#66ff00"> a. Ranged DPS </font></div><div><font color="#66ff00">    b. The lone ranger feel to the class</font></div><div><font color="#66ff00">    c. No need to group but we are highly desired</font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>   <font color="#66ff00"> a. Cost of Arrows and poisons</font></div><div><font color="#66ff00">    b. Almost no group spells</font></div><div><font color="#66ff00">    c. Lack of gear in the game for the class</font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class?   <font color="#ff0000">"We're good at anything outdoors.  Tracking helps with tons of quests.  So does stealth.  We're great explorers.  We do good damage both in and out of groups, so we can play according to our mood at any given time. "</font><a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/view_profile?user.id=89563" target="_blank"><span><font color="#ff0000">Bayler_xev</font></span></a>  <font color="#66ff00">Well said can not have put it better...</font></div><div>4. In general is it easy to find a group?</div><div>    <font color="#66ff00">I have found it much harder to find a group playing a DPS Class over a Healer Class</font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)?</div><div>   <font color="#66ff00">The assassins got the short end of the stick.  They do less DPS and do not have the ability to survive in Raids very well.</font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?</div><div>   <font color="#66ff00">I spend most of my time soloing for xp.  I can xp just as fast solo as I can in a group and I have no down time waiting on others.  The draw back is the cost of poisons and arrows.  </font></div></div>

[Stormykat]

<span><blockquote><hr>Saihung23 wrote:<div></div><blockquote><hr><div><div><div><div><font color="#66ffcc">    b.  I dont like the poisons wearing off after death when food and other buffs do not dissappear.</font></div></div></div></div></blockquote><hr></blockquote>Poisons dont wear off anymore after death <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></span><div></div>

[GoNom]

<div></div><div></div><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/" target="_blank"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a. <font color="#cc9966">Versatility - We adapt really well to all environments. Group, Solo, whatever comes our way we can handle it</font></div><div>    b. <font color="#cc9966">Freedom - Having the ability to sneak around, plus run speed buffs allows us to explore new areas at earlier levels then most other</font></div><div>    c. <font color="#cc9966">There is an overwhelming joy in one shotting solo mobs on a regular basis.  Never gets old</font></div><div>   d.<font color="#cc9966"> I added this in here, because it bears an importance, there is an inate bond between Rangers, especially the EQ1 vets, and the Rangers who rolled at launch.  We've been through the tough times, and have perververed through them.  We are proof that if you make an intellegent point, and continue to stress it to Sony, they do listen.  And, they will take your suggestions seriously.  Our Class has been through so much turmoil between the 2 games, its been a roller coaster, in a sense.  So in a sense I think of all in-game Rangers as "Brothers and Sisters in Misery".  This forum and the World Ranger channel are such a great tools for Rangers, especially one's starting out or coming back to learn the complexities of the class.  </font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a. <font color="#cc9966">It is, IMO, the most expensive class to maintain, slightly more then Rogues, between poisons, and arrows I can spend about 25g a day just outfitting those 2 essentialls.</font></div><div>    b. <font color="#cc9966">Every major quest (Peacock, Prismatics) seem to negate the fact that the bow is the defining weapon for Rangers, 90% of our damage come as a result of it, in one fashion or another.  I hope SOE in the future realizes this and placates our desire for an "Epic" (to Use EQ1 lingo)  Bow.</font></div><div>    c. <font color="#cc9966">I really cannot complain at this point, with the combat changes and skills as a result of DoF, I think the class is where most people believed it should be, at the top, or near the top of the DPS ladder.  I love my Ranger.</font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class? <font color="#cc9966">See question 1, Soloing, grouping, either way we adapt very well.  </font>4. In general is it easy to find a group? <font color="#cc9966">I think this is a case by case question, I have done very well trying to maintain a positive reputation as a good, fun, easy-going player.  So usually when I throw my LFG tag up I get an invite within 15-20 minutes, depending on the time of day.  I think its good advise to everyone, if your not greedy with loot, have fu and joke around and remember that its only a game, so enjoy it, then people will seek you out for groups.  Being in a large Raiding guild helps me in that respect as well.  </font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)? <font color="#cc9966">LOL, lets not go there.......Okay I can't resist.   Assasin and Ranger are the least similar Sub-Class bretheren.  We are all about ranged DPS, while Assasins are really glorified Rogues, doing mainly backstab damage.  However I must admit that Assasin's can put out some pretty hefty damage as well</font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)? <font color="#cc9966">I plead the 5th on the grounds that Sony will beat me with a Nerf bat.  Lets just say somewhere just south of Illusionist solo'ability. To put it anotherway, I can't solo Orange ^^^..........</font></div></div></div></div><hr></blockquote>Hope that helps you out, thanks alot for checking in on the Rangers!<p>Message Edited by GoNomar on <span class="date_text">01-30-2006</span><span class="time_text">03:14 AM</span></p>

[Rotacidare]

<div></div>Can Rangers Safefall?

[theorbell]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div><div><div>Hello Rangers! We have a weekly feature on the various classes for our podcast at <a href="http://www.eq2-daily.com/" target="_blank"><font color="#c8c1b5">www.eq2-daily.com</font></a> . I am looking for some input from you all about your class to use in our discussion, in the form of this forum "interview." I'll post some questions for you all to answer, and then we'll talk about your thoughts. Please try to be somewhat brief in your answers, and please try to be objective. Thank you all.</div><div> </div><div><div>1. What do you like about your class?</div><div>    a.  <font color="#00cc33">Ability to sneak and track</font></div><div>    b.  <font color="#00cc00">Ranged DPS/Death from a distance</font></div><div>    c.  <font color="#00cc00">Variety of poisons available to use for different effects/strategies</font></div><div>2. What do you not like?</div><div>    a.  <font color="#00cc00">Limited group buffs/mob debuffs</font></div><div>    b.  <font color="#00cc00">Looks like other scout types (e.g., no cloaks, forest/camoflague wear)</font></div><div>    c.  <font color="#00cc00">Inability to buff STR solo</font></div><div>3. What kind of play style is best suited to your class? <font color="#00cc00">Raids and Quest groups</font>4. In general is it easy to find a group? <font color="#00cc00">Yes</font></div><div>5. How would you compare your class to your good/evil counterparts (Assassins)? <font color="#00cc00">Feel like we have a more defined role in game lore/culture and the persona is more group oriented (what assassin travels with 23 other friends in fantasy fiction?)</font></div><div>6. How do you feel your class does soloing? What is the highest lvl mob you can solo (i.e. yellow ^ or blue v)?  <font color="#00cc00">pretty good, can solo yellow ^^, sometimes a yellow ^^^ if EVERYTHING goes right with procs, stuns, roots, etc.</font></div></div></div></div><hr></blockquote>

[TaleraRis]

<span><blockquote><hr>Rotacidare wrote:<div></div>Can Rangers Safefall?<hr></blockquote>Yep, we have Safe Fall.</span><div></div>