When to stealth/Melee Strategy - Help

[Fr]

<div></div><div></div>Newbie ranger here  I'm afraid.I'm increasing in levels and getting more Slealth based abilities but never finding any opportunity or necesity to use them.  At range I pull with my bow and melee up close.  This is in groups or solo'ing.  I'm only level 8 so I only have sneak attack and stalker strike, but looking up through the upcoming abilities I can see hidden attack,  stalk, shadow Leap etc... and can't think of a scenario where I would use them.Some of the abilities put me in stealth after I have made the attack, so should I then follow up with a stalker strike or something?  Is this more effective than just firing off damaging archery abilities?Any and all help would be very much appreciated.I love the fact that we have to melee aswell as use our bows.  Being able to dual wield looks ace and the fact we can look after ourselves at all ranges is pretty appealing to me.  I would just like a few strategies based around melee attacking & stealth if anyone can offer some. Do stealth strategies play a big part further up the levels?Thanks guys.<div></div><p>Message Edited by Fr4g on <span class="date_text">03-02-2006</span><span class="time_text">12:46 AM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Fr4g on <span class="date_text">03-02-2006</span><span class="time_text">12:47 AM</span></p>

[Caliga]

Stealth isn't the end all be all, but I use it in groups to save on arrows and I use it solo to do more damage since the changes.What I do is...Cheap Shot - stuns the mob for a few secondsRun behind mobBackstab CA that makes me invisBackstab CA that can only be used when invised<div></div>

[Caliga]

Oh, that reminds me, things I really wished I would have known earlier - Stalk (at least I think its Stalk) is the first in a line of spells that does damage to every mob in a group.  You want to pull with this spell when you are fighting grouped mobs.  It can easily be the difference between surviving or not.  And it is a bow attack even though it doesn't look like one, so you will use a lot of arrows.<div></div>

[Mirdo]

<div>Hi there,</div><div> </div><div>A lot has changed for rangers since I was in the low levels but I can say that stealth plays a big part in our playstyle at all levels once the correct combat arts are learned.</div><div>At level 4 we get a stun called cheap shot. You can hit a mob with cheap shot, hit our ability that puts us into stealth quickly, run around the mob and get in a high damage rear attack. Although tricky at first, you can practice this and then use the same technique for the rest of your Ranger career!</div><div> </div><div>At your level, you would use cheap shot, sneak attack, run around the back of the mob (or jump over it) then something like stalker strike. At your next level it would be shadow fire.</div><div> </div><div>I'm still using the same basic technique at level 62 so it's a skill well worth mastering.</div><div> </div><div>Finally, at level 26 you will get your first bow attack that has to be made from stealth. Stealth bow shots or unstealthed backshots are usually good to pull with because they are quite high damage. Then, when the mob is up close, you can do your stun/invis/hit combo.</div><div> </div><div>Good luck !</div><div> </div><div>Mirdo.</div>

[Stigch]

<div></div><p>Indeed, it's called stepping in. You stun your target with cheap shot, make sure it doesn't have an ^ (or more) cause it don't work. Also make sure you don't hit him with any melee attacks. You then hit your forward button, don't bother manoeuvering around just walk straight through your mob. When you're beside it hit your flanking attack that also drops you to stealth. With the recent reshuffle I don't know what skills you have now. The mob is now stunned, you've hit it for high dmg and your standing behind it in stealth. Hit your highest stealth attack and slice your target to ribbons.</p><p>THe trick you have to learn is to get your hands to press the right buttons at the right time. After 10 times screwing it up it becomes second nature and you'll be doing it every fight. I start every fight with ranged attacks, every single one I can squeeze in. When the mob gets to me I cheap shot it. Since I didn't go melee yet, I don't break the stun. I quickly step in for a flanking attack (dont know the name, just got a new one), drop to  stealth and stab the mob in the back. Combined with the ranged attacks that went before, I get the mob don't to the last 2 bubbles of health.</p><p> </p><p>Good luck</p>

[Fr]

"make sure it doesn't have an ^ (or more) cause it don't work"Sorry, like I say I'm a noob.  What do you mean by ^ ???<div></div>

[Mirdo]

<div></div><p>The difficulty of a mob is indicated by it's the colour of it's name and possibly one or more arrows above it's head.</p><p>The colours are:</p><p>Grey - trivial or you have outlevelled it</p><p>Green - easy - you are higher level than the mob and it should be a straightforward battle</p><p>Blue - closer but the mob is still lower level than you - you have the advantage</p><p>White - even - the mob is th sme level as you - you probably need to know your class to beat it</p><p>Yellow - the mob is higher level than you - your attacks are less effective and it's are more effective</p><p>Orange - as above but much worse <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Red - don't bother <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>The arrows are:</p><p>3 down arrows writen VVV - very easy - usually one of a group of mobs</p><p>2 down arrows VV - again very easy - usually one of a group of mobs</p><p>1 down arrow - easy - usually grouped but can be alone</p><p>No arrows - 'standard' difficulty mob.</p><p>1 up arrow written ^  a tough solo mob - you need good gear / tactics to defeat these</p><p>2 up arrow written ^^ small group mob or solo if you have very good gear and tactics.</p><p>3 up arrow written ^^^ mobs that are meant for whole groups to tackle</p><p>So when you combine the colour (it's level) with the number of arrows (if any) it gives you an idea of the difficuty of the mob.</p><p>You can also mouse over the mob to get a written description of it's dificulty. The way above is much faster once you have tried a few mobs and get a feel for what the symbols mean when you are actually getting smacked by the mob <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Mirdo.</p><p> </p>