LU20 Ranger Tactics/Techniques

[FunkBudd]

<div>I'm starting this thread for those of us that aren't quitting. Hopefully we can work together and figure out what tactics work best to maximize what DPS we have left.</div><div> </div><div>I have a 58 Ranger in Legendary/Fabled gear and several AdeptIII/Masters. At first, i was getting my [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] handed to me by solo blue mobs. I adjusted my play style quite drastically and was able take down solo yellow mobs. Here's what I did.</div><div> </div><div>First I fire off high damage long delay shot to pull. There is almost no chance of me getting off a second shot. I use stun/high dd/poison debuff poisons. After this, I immediately hit Cheap Shot and try to fire off one of my quick bow shots. Then I switch to my Defensive Stance which is Master I and melee/debuff until my Cheap Shot recycles. Then I switch stances again and hit Cheap Shot followed by the quick bow shot. Rinse and repeat.</div><div> </div><div>I'm parsing about 200-225 DPS with Advanced Combat Tracker. I tried with a shield/one hander and dual wield. The shield/one hander combo didn't seem to help my defense at all so I switched back to the dual wield. I'm going to try using the High DOT poisons tonight and see if my DPS improves.</div><div> </div><div>See ya 'round</div><div> </div><div>Aghubo</div><div>58 Ranger</div><div>Permafrost</div><div> </div>

[dbmoreland]

For no arrow or down arrow mobs my tactics have not changed significanly since before LU20 (or LU13 for that matter).First I set up at max bow range. Then if I am after a group of mobs (3 or more) I set thorny trap.For my opening shot I use either Stealthy Fire if I am hunting one or two mobs or Storm of Arrows if there are 3 or more.Then I use Leg Shot, followed by Sharp Shot. At this point the mob is on me so I Cheap Shot him for 6 seconds.I then back up very slightly (just into min bow range) and fire off Debilitating Arrow and Triple Arrow.The mob is back on me so I switch to defensive stance, then cycle through my 4 frontal melee CAs, Blazing Thrust, Fatal Reminder, Lunging Blade and Tear.At this point Cheap Shot is back up so I use it, move through the mob while casting Surveil then use Dire Blade, Longshank and Tangleflame.I then rinse and repeat these steps till the mob(s) are dead.If I had a group of 3 or more mobs at first, I simply use ranged CAs on each as they come off of the thorny trap until each is dead.Now vs UP arrow mobs things get VERY dicey. I will NEVER try a group of UP arrow mobs, only singles.Then I will do basicly the same thing, set thorny trap, start with my best ranged CA, cycle through all of them for as long as TT holds then melee the mob.Unfortunatly with only a one second stun and NO frontal ranged CAs that can be cast on the run, if the mob is NOT going down faster than I am I hit evac and I am gone.This is the group of mobs that I believe we SHOULD be able to SOLO that, thanks to all of the nerfs (procs and CA adjustments), we CAN NO longer do so reliably. Maybe we are not supposed to, but there are MANY other classes that still CAN reliably solo this type of mob. That is MY frustration. If SOE does not want me to solo heroic mobs fine, but do NOT take my ability to solo mobs DESIGNED for individuals.<div></div>

[Graven55]

<div></div>If I wanted to fight solo mobs for 2-3 minutes to kill em I'd have kept playin my Paladin, at least he can kill things, albeit slowly.  Ranger should mow thru basic solo mobs...make me use more power, or take away all my mit and avoidance when I'm using a bow in melee, but don't just make me another slow melee class!  Please!

[Vacan]

<div></div><p>I didn't think we had a 6 second stun anymore. I thought cheap shot was 2 seconds now.</p><p>I will try some of these ideas but just wanted to ask where you were killing these mobs and what were they. What level are you dbmoreland?</p><p> </p>

[Sirlutt]

best tactic I have found so far .. switch to my lvl 50 Guardian and lower my frustration level.<div></div>

[leafnin]

<div></div>Run

[A]

<div></div><p>Things I would consider trying.</p><p>There is a T6 stun poison with 4 charges but that stuns the mob for 22 seconds ( Cajoling whispers I believe).</p><p>Before the proc rate change it was useless as all 4 charges would have been used in a matter of seconds.</p><p>Now it may actually be something usefull for us ( I played 1h yesterday with phantasmic visions poisons on and I was getting roughly one 4 stun procs per fight, if that stun had lasted 20 seconds, things would have been much better...).</p>

[AChampi]

<span><blockquote><hr>Ail wrote:<div></div><p>Things I would consider trying.</p><p>There is a T6 stun poison with 4 charges but that stuns the mob for 22 seconds ( Cajoling whispers I believe).</p><p>Before the proc rate change it was useless as all 4 charges would have been used in a matter of seconds.</p><p>Now it may actually be something usefull for us ( I played 1h yesterday with phantasmic visions poisons on and I was getting roughly one 4 stun procs per fight, if that stun had lasted 20 seconds, things would have been much better...).</p><hr></blockquote>Unfortunately cajoling whispers is more like a mez and will break on your next poison DoT or CA.Regards  -Slic.</span><div></div>

[dbmoreland]

I am currently level 56. Against no arrow or down arrow mobs the stun still lasts long enough for me to run through the mob and cast Surveil, Lunging Blade, Longshank and Tangleflame. I did this several times after LU20.<div></div>

[illum]

<div></div><div>i created a zerker lol :smileyvery-happy:</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>seriously though, i haven't really had time to try and hammer out a new strategy...good idea though :smileyhappy:</div>

[Incedio]

<div></div>Cheap shot wasn't nerfed (yet) the tool tip was changed but against no arrow mobs it still stuns for 6 seconds. One of the things I did notice though was in high lag zones like TT was lastnight cheapshot will make the birdie noise but will not fire off correctly. It's not burning the timer but it's making the sound like it is. I first noticed this soloing in PoF during XP weekend.

[FluffyDestroyerofWorlds]

Just a comment on the "supposed to" element of the description of your experience.Smoothie Le'ClotLevel 56 Ranger          vs        Maj'Dul Cortesan (54^)where: a Maj'Dul Residencewhy: Tears Grifter Quest for gaining court faction (solo instance)poisons: Spine Jolt 133/117dot, Phantasmic Visions (4 sec. stun), Bite of the Shissar (decr. poison/disease mitigation by 871)This is a solo-only instance.  Started in Arrow Frenzy with Stealthy Fire leading her into a trap which did not proc a root. Was able to get a Sharp Shot off before she was on me.  Switched to Dance of Leaves.  Caught the Dance of (somethingorother) HO which increases attack speed.  Laid on Brutal Instinct and Focus Fire.  Continued attempting nuke of said NPC.In the end, I was dead on the floor with the NPC at 1/3 health.One of the things I noticed was that my two p. imb. beryillium bands of agility were not active, despite the description that states they offer "Aura of Agility when equipped".  Granted, she has a magic attack, but my mit. vs. magic is at 1,980.I tried this three times with similar results.  Fortunately, Smoothie is also a level 52 Armorer, so he will be retired to the forge for the time being until this issue can be worked out.  Perhaps, when he is at the level that he can make the set, and has the coin to buy the clusters, I will try him again after he is equpped with full cobalt gear.  I'm a huge fan of soloing.  While I appreciate the utility of spending 3 hours killing giants or cyclops in a group, it becomes horribly dull at a certain point.   I soloed Smoothie, for the most part, through my mid-40s.  Now, however, getting spanked repeatedly by single blue ^ mobs gets a bit depressing.  It would be better if there was at least a fighting chance at victory.I'll continue to check back on this board periodically to see how others' experiences are going.  Perhaps at some point Smoothie will get to come back out and play!Good luck to all.<div></div>

[xfres]

<div>Good luck with this, I finally gave up when my 42 ranger couldnt take out a level 10 highwayman with a single bow shot.  We are now a berserker without the fancy armor and mitigation</div>

[Beldin_]

<div></div>Play first my Conjurer to 70 ..  and look whats happening .. if nothing .. play my Dirge and look meanwhile .. if still nothing .. ok i have 10 Charslots .. but i hope i don't have to play 9 Chars to 70 until the fix rangers :smileywink:

[Arhan]

<div></div>Down arrows or normal cons=were still good.  I haven't tried anything higher solo wise.   I was soloing fine with the ZI mobs in Barren Skies.   Just not as fast as I was before.  Am I happy?  No not by a long shot...in a group I just don't have the juice I use too and I do not seem to be getting the group invites since everyone knows now that we aren't as good as we were...   When stuff hits the fan I can not sink the mobs very well due to lack of procing.  I do alright though...  Basically when soloing it just requires more arrows, cheap shot, and snaring(leg shot, culling etc).  On the plus side poisons last longer heh

[A]

<div></div><p>Grouped for 3h in Santuum of the Scaleborn last night and seriously when grouping dps isn't that bad.</p><p>I did have to update tactics slightly though.</p><p>First noticeable change was that I had no issue at all with aggro, this meant one thing :</p><p>- I could use Streams of arrows when I wanted.</p><p>- I never had to hold back</p><p>I definitly noticed that which ranged CA is better has changed with this patch. ( the one that fires off 2 arrows at a time isn't that great anymore but Culling of the Herd and Snipe Shot are now key damage dealers when ranged...).</p>