Just some questions about Rangers and AAs

[Taeolen]

<DIV>Hi, all.  I recently made another Ranger after ditching my first one a few months ago and I am really enjoying this one more than my first one.  I am level 32 now and I have some questions about the AA lines.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So far I am 4-4-4-8 in Agi line.  I am also planning on doing the Str line the same way (4-4-4-<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />.  Should I have reversed this and filled out my str line first then Agi, or did it like I did?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Are the final abilities in Str and/or Agi worth the 8 points required?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Should I start advancing points into my Ranger specific tree now or stick with the Predator tree until I have completed it?  Feel really overwhelmed by all the AA choices where to put things now with the new tree and all. <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What do most of you consider "must haves" from the Ranger tree?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks.  I'm sure I had more questions but I can't remember them</DIV>

[Mono]

<DIV>well AA's are a personal choice so no choice is the wrong choice.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>BUt i raid and as poisons are a rangers best friend i've got Agi and Int..</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As poison procs and hits add big damage to your ranged attacks.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Str i found was ok but only if u grp and melee alot as i hardly ever melee str just wasn't any good to me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As for Predator line i've gone for double attack and filled that line now i'm either looking toward focus aim or poison procs.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[hieronym]

the must haves I would say is the damage increase and lower reuse timer on our STR line. With rain of arrows and sniper shot they are some of the biggest hits and having them on a shorter timer is good to keep up with all those other classes DPS wise.Next up is the AGI line. I went 4,4,4,8 but I have been thinking about it lately and am going to change it and have 4,4,8 to max out ranged crit chances and then use the remaining points on either STR or maybe INTI did go 4,4,4,8 in the INT line and tbh I could not see any improvment doing itif you have a few respects have a play on what suits your style. <div></div>

[Mronin]

As has been said I think a lot depends on your play style and what you're doing IE: grouping, raiding, soloing. I think the AGI line is a no brainer but the end ability is IMO not worth the eight points. In live and on beta I played with the STR line, specifically taking it all the way down to the end ability. Even with having ASWB and full relic from beta buffing I didn't find the STR line or perfectionist to be a huge help. On live when I respeced away from the INT almost all the way down the STR line I actually saw a significant decrease in my DPS./slight derail: While I know that I'll probably get a ton of people telling me that it "just doesn't work that way" all I can say is that I know the numbers before and after, and twenty plat later my numbers are finally back up where they should be. Prior to going down the STR line I could count on sniper for at least an 8K hit, after going down STR I was lucky if it broke 6 and if I was really rocking it would hit 7. Respecing back down INT I could once again count on it for 8K, 10K is very common 12K+ crits are fairly common as well and this is with my strength only at 480. The same skew was seen with other high hit CA's such as veiled and rain of arrows. /end derail.The point being that as of now I'd stick with what you have and save your free respec for later down the line when you're closer to filling out the full predator tree. At that point I'd gather numbers from your current setup, use the free respec to go down the INT line and see what the numbers are. Then make a comparison and see what benefits you most.<p>Message Edited by Mronin on <span class=date_text>12-05-2006</span> <span class=time_text>10:54 AM</span>

[Sulas]

After lots and lots of reading the Ranger forum on this subject, I'm going down the Agi and Int trees.  I'm only 10 points in, but since I almost exclusively solo I'm doing the first two levels of Agi and Int before I decise on my next move.  And as so often expressed, personal play-style has to be a large part of the decision.<div></div>

[Zholain]

<font size="2">You'll never find any agreement on this primarily because most everyone feels that their way is better.  And they're probably right...because they have their AA's set up to match their playstyle.  There simply is not a 'best' setup.  Unfortunately, the only way you'll find out what works best for you is to use your free respec, and after that, spend a bit of coin tuning it to the way you like it most.The most important thing to remember is that sometimes the end abilities are not the 'end-all, be-all' things that they are touted to be.  Just because you choose the STR line doesn't necessarily mean that you have to choose the end line in that ability.  Also, don't be afraid to try a non-conventional combination.</font><div></div>

[Crychtonn]

<P>I'd go straight down the Agi line to max ranged crits and grab Poise to start with.  After that I'd switch to filling out the Ranger specific EoF AA's and not worry about the Str vs Int lines until I was done.  I'd even be tempted to just start with the EoF AA's and come back for the Agi line later.  The EoF AA's have an immediate impact on your toon.  With the KoS AA's you have to spend alot of points before you get to AA's that will actually help you.</P> <P> </P>

[Taeolen]

<P>Great, thanks for all the feedback.  Even more information to take into consideration before making my final descision.  I havent spent anymore of my points since getting my ranged crit chance maxxed out.</P> <P>Been looking at the EoF stuff and it looks nice I'm impressed by it.  Debating on going down it starting now.  Just not sure what are the more important items to spend the points on when it comes to the EoF stuff.</P>

[Taekwondo]

I went down the Strength ilne to get the reduced reuse timers which are a big help.  I don't see a drop in dps as some have stated, in fact it's only higher now and I have looked through my parses to be sure.  I initially did the Agi line but when I "respec'd" (respect is something completely different folks lol) and did the Strength line, I saw my Sniper Shot go from 7-9k cap to 14k+.  So, who knows what the "right" answer is?  I'm becoming convinced it's all more or less random anyway, like that one ranger that is on the leader boards at level 61 with a 64k melee shot...how did he get that? LOL <div></div>

[BSbon]

<DIV>i dont think the 8 points into the strength final ability is worth it. i think that's the one that reduces reuse timer on spells that have a reuse timer greater than 3 minutes. i checked and i had only 1. snipers shot. i could be wrong though so i'll look again tonight.</DIV>

[Mronin]

<blockquote><hr>bongotez wrote:<DIV>i dont think the 8 points into the strength final ability is worth it. i think that's the one that reduces reuse timer on spells that have a reuse timer greater than 3 minutes. i checked and i had only 1. snipers shot. i could be wrong though so i'll look again tonight.</DIV><hr></blockquote>I thought it was on CA's with 2 minute or greater reuse timers but I could be mistaken. Either way it was nice to have sniper on a reduced timer, that I'll admit. However I never did see the great improvement that has been claimed with the final ability in the STR line. Then again I'm almost exclusively raiding and not soloing or doing smaller groups. In those situations I can see the STR line being a great way to go with the added melee crits.

[Mighty Melvor]

<P>I'm quester on a PvP server.</P> <P>The predator's agility line was a no-brainer for me.  Having the added knockback was a nice addition for PvP engagements.</P> <P>Once the EoF class specific tree hit, I've abandoned the predator tree until I complete my ranger tree.  To me the ranger tree has so much more to offer.  I first went down the adroit and pathfinding line.  Having 46% run speed and no loss of abilities being in defense mode is sweet :smileytongue:  Most of my PvPing is in a group setting, so next I'm building up the trapping line so that I keep people from running away from me and my group.  Next I will max out the poisoning line.  As I see it, I will need 47 points to max out trapping, poisoning and pathfinding.  Not sure where I'll spend the remaining 3...but that's a long ways off....</P> <P>Once I get my ranger tree filled, I will go down the int line most likely.  So far off though....</P> <P>As already stated, place your AAs that fit your play style best!</P>

[Mronin]

<blockquote><hr>Zholain wrote:<font size="2">The most important thing to remember is that sometimes the end abilities are not the 'end-all, be-all' things that they are touted to be.  Just because you choose the STR line doesn't necessarily mean that you have to choose the end line in that ability.  Also, don't be afraid to try a non-conventional combination.</font><div></div><hr></blockquote>Spot on about not being afraid to try non conventional combinations. I mixed and matched on beta and I'm fairly well satisfied with the admittedly oddball mix I am using right now. Though I am giving consideration to try the STR line again after the combat changes, the only hesitation I have is the cost involved with one and possibly two more respecs.

[Lorien5555]

<DIV>Okay ..I have always liked rangers for some unknown (probably Tolkien) reason.</DIV> <DIV>As soon as EQ2 started I made one and abandoned her at lev 15....as a soloer she<BR>was useless.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now, out of the game for 12/12 and using EoF as the bait, I have started a new one.</DIV> <DIV>However i have NO IDEA about the AAs. So I read here and then wasted my first point</DIV> <DIV> on the Predator Boon or bounnty or whatever. Naturally after that I discoverd the ranger</DIV> <DIV> tree and i am totally confused.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I play on a US server at ungodly US hours usually solo(now at the fated level 15) and </DIV> <DIV>while i have no high  level chars>30 my husband has and he is willing to subsidise me</DIV> <DIV>( or so he says) so decent gear is NP.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I was a great fan of EQ hit/run or kiting and really miss this.Even the backshot, snare</DIV> <DIV>retreat double shot etc doesn't work as you pass the line too easily and the fight ceases.</DIV> <DIV>Whereas in melee I don't last long in any  3x1 with a yellow and can barely survive a 3x1 </DIV> <DIV>in  white.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So, having read all the above i am now totally confused.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Do poisons make a real difference for soloers?  I have access to a lev 30 alchemist so</DIV> <DIV>do healing potions also help in this game (In  UO  they really do help).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I bother you folks as at this stage I may not go on with this character as the survivability at</DIV> <DIV>the cutting edge seems far less than it is for a Paladin/Sk , Wl/wiz or a NM/Conj as I  have </DIV> <DIV>had experience with all of these in the past. my old dirge who was stopped at 28 had</DIV> <DIV>the same problem: poor survivability as a soloer even with adept 3s and masters.</DIV> <DIV>Maybe i am just  a lousy player but I have never had the near death experiences with other</DIV> <DIV>chars that i do with scouts.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thank you all in advance. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Taeolen]

<P>Poisons are defineately a major chunk of our damage.  I kind of wish it wasn't like that, but anyway.  </P> <P>Always get the Mastercrafted ones (level 12, 22, 32, 42, etc).  They're not too bad in price but you'll have to buy some frequently.  I personally always use the DoT poison (Hemotoxins).  I can defineately see an increase in my damage by how fast things die.</P> <P>Sometimes I'll forget to refresh the poison after it wears off and I'll be like, "Daaaamn what's taking so long for this mob to die?  Oops poison has faded."</P> <P> </P>

[TheStormrider]

<P>Lorien...</P> <P>First.  Poisons stack.  So youll want to keep 3 poisons up all the time.  There are damage,  speed,  and stat reducing poisons. In the speed line theres a stun poison, and a run speed poison.  Thes help alot while soloing.  Big area: run speed(blue).  Small area: Stun poisons(blue).  The debuff poisons (purple) are great to reduce magic damage,  reduce melee damage,  or reduce defence and skills.</P> <P>You have abilities,  though im not sure what level they kick in,  (as well as im not sure if level 12 has all the potion lines) that also decrease run speed.  You have a leg shot, a snare,  and a stun.</P> <P>You will also need to get arrows at your current level,  so that your auto attack does full damage.  Using tin arrows,  will cut your damage in half.  I thikn at your level its iron arrows,  but im not sure.</P> <P>Honestly,  if your husband has a higher level char,  you just need to have him mentor.  If hes a tank,  youll kill tihngs from behind,  if hes a damage dealer,  he will kill things in one hit.  Once you hit your mid 20s you will start rolling.</P> <P>There are 200039 low level rangers, and a whole lot less higher level rangers,  because its a difficult ride.   You will go through times when you can solo ^^^ yellows,  and there will be times when a ^ green whips you.  </P> <P>Player crafted rare armour,  and weapons, and bow,  with the poisons,  adept 1's and good arrows,  and you should be able to fight your way throught he levels no problem.</P> <P>AAs at your level?  I dont know how much they help/hinder.  Agi is going to make you harder to hit.  Str is going to make you hit hardre and Int will make your poisons more effective.  You can respec once for free,  so go for the one you see more worthwile atm,  and respec later.  STR and AGI and INT all give you an extra attack,  the agi one is a stun,  so thats helpfull.  </P>

[Taeolen]

<P>Wow, poisons stack?  This I had no idea of.  >.<</P> <P>I'm such a Ranger newbcake.  :smileyindifferent:</P> <P>Any way to tell which ones stack like a website or something?</P>

[Prandtl]

<P>Best way to tell is by colors,  at least for the player made ones.  I'm not sure if the vendor ones are color coded or not, but the player made ones are far superior anyways.</P> <P>red - damage poison</P> <P>blue - speed debuff, de-aggro</P> <P>purple - mob debuff</P> <P>those all stack</P>

[Taeolen]

<P>That's cool.  I didn't know that at all.  I found the list of poisons in the Ranger sticky at the top of thread.  Doesn't look like there's much of a choice when it comes to level 32 Poisons (least not much on the broker anyhow).</P> <P>Do poisons stack like this for other Scout classes?</P>

[Balerius]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Taeolen wrote:<BR> <P>That's cool.  I didn't know that at all.  I found the list of poisons in the Ranger sticky at the top of thread.  Doesn't look like there's much of a choice when it comes to level 32 Poisons (least not much on the broker anyhow).</P> <P>Do poisons stack like this for other Scout classes?</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Poisons work the same for all scout classes who can use them.</P> <P>Poison stacking only works for crafted poisons of different types, not store bought poisons.</P>

[Taeolen]

<DIV>Great, thanks. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Lorien5555]

<P>First of all:"I thank both of you".</P> <P>Secondly part of our marriage a greeement is NOT</P> <P>playing together.This may sound stupid but in the game</P> <P>he is an arrogant macho male pig who runs around doing </P> <P>raids and getting titles like:" the Killer of XYZ" etc and it is</P> <P>enough to make you sick. Whereas i am a soloer who plays</P> <P> when she can and takes her time and looks around and </P> <P>coos at the graphics(great EoF video BTW) as opposed to</P> <P>an obsessive power player. So we do not mix in game and I</P> <P>never(thank God!!) see him there.He is really quite nice in real</P> <P>life but has always been the same since UO in games.</P> <P> </P> <P>So, I must push for AGILITY and the ranger AAs and use my poisons</P> <P>which quite honestly i have ignored until now. So it is time to pull</P> <P>out my 30 level alchemist and get her back to work. I have to admit that</P> <P>after being DP'd by PKs in UO I have always been suspicious of poisons </P> <P>and loath to use them as using them also makes me feel like i am cheating.</P> <P> </P> <P>Are healing/ regen potions useful? Do you have to waste a charm slot for them?</P> <P> </P> <P> I will persist for a while longer. Thank you!!</P>

[Mirdo]

<DIV><BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> bongotez wrote:<BR> <DIV>i dont think the 8 points into the strength final ability is worth it. i think that's the one that reduces reuse timer on spells that have a reuse timer greater than 3 minutes. i checked and i had only 1. snipers shot. i could be wrong though so i'll look again tonight.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>Rain of arrows also benefits from the ability. I have the ability mainly for that but am considering dropping it in favour of some other tweaks.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Mirdo.</DIV>

[Zholain]

<font size="2">In my experience, even with the added STR from that line and the damage boost from the final ability, the dps from Rain of Arrows didn't add up to as much as the additional crits from the 53% crit spell damage on poisons.  In beta, after being AA buffed, the addditional damage from Rain + the additional damage of Caustic and others in the poisoning line made this combination even more lethal, even with the same gear that I was currently using on live.  They just seemed to complement each other.  I'm really looking forward to being able to try some of this stuff out on a more extended basis once I get AA's maxed out.</font><div></div>

[Ranja]

<div><blockquote><hr>Zholain wrote:<font size="2">In my experience, even with the added STR from that line and the damage boost from the final ability, the dps from Rain of Arrows didn't add up to as much as the additional crits from the 53% crit spell damage on poisons.  In beta, after being AA buffed, the addditional damage from Rain + the additional damage of Caustic and others in the poisoning line made this combination even more lethal, even with the same gear that I was currently using on live.  They just seemed to complement each other.  I'm really looking forward to being able to try some of this stuff out on a more extended basis once I get AA's maxed out.</font><div></div><hr></blockquote>I agree with this one. I cannot justify spending 8 points in a line that only affects 2 of our CAs. Rain and Sniper. Plus, with the extra crits in poison using Grandmaster's my poison is critting for 1500 - 2000 at times with 300 int. On a side note, I have 68 AAs and nearing double shot. I was pulling aggro in the raid in Lyceaum for the first time in a long time. I had to throttle back and use my ignorant bliss. My DPS is definately improving as I was consistently around 1100-1200 rather than 1000. I cannot wait for double attack. I also have dumped my Grizz for Raincaller. RC has a higher end damage which I beleive makes up for 2 points less of DR. My auto-attack hits for more damage and defiantely crits for more with the higher end damage.</div>

[LoreLady]

Wait till you get snaring shot, 5% extra chance to hit, your relic BP with 5 points in tripple volly etc.. And you should notice a LARGE improvement - as long as pose and those stack..Also bentgate the STR line give more overall dps than the int line - it was the last post I putout when I took my break, its only a 5 dps diffrence overall, however many of the abilities out there were given a large boost while some stayed the same.. the only ability that was nerfed was rangers blade.. I remember all the numbers before hand because I have a spreadsheet of all my dps/etc so I can look on it while my str remains the same <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />.

[Hisvet]

<DIV>Alright I have a question about CA timing.  I have 74 AA points, lvl 70 raiding ranger</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Lately I've been bugged about my CA timing.  Nothing seemed faster, despite AAs, equipment, grouping.  So I've been looking.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Predator line is Agility 4/4/4/8/1 so I have poise with Int of 5/4/4/8/0</DIV> <DIV>I have on the Ranger tree Caustic 5/fettering 1 then on the Focus line 3/5/1 then multishot 3/3 Selecton/3 Rain of Arrows</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And yet...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When I cast Rain of Arrows or Veiled Fire or Sniper Shot the count down timers for reuse is the full default time.</DIV> <DIV>Sniper says 15 minutes, Rain of Arrows says 3 minutes, Veiled Fire say 1 minute 30 seconds.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It doesn't appear to me that I am getting any time off my CAs at all.  Not solo, not in a 6 person group, not in a raid group.  The only time I've ever noticed a tming reduction is doing a sniper shot with Jester's Cap on me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So then, what the heck is Poised doing?  And where are the timing reductions for the Multishot line?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyone else notice this?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Prandtl]

I believe those are casting time reductions, not reuse timer. 

[Hisvet]

<DIV>Then what does "Improve Recovery Speed" mean?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Recovery doesn't seem to indicate reducing the speed at which a spell goes off but reducing the speed at which you can cast it again.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>(I believe thats right for Poise, just checked, but that doesn't seem like it should be the case for the multishot line).  Thanks.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Hisvet on <span class=date_text>12-07-2006</span> <span class=time_text>11:22 AM</span>

[Jeris Nefz]

<DIV>Recovery speed is just that... the time it takes for you to "recover" from using that combat art.  You can't use any other combat art or item (ie manastone or thermal shocker) until you have "recovered" from your combat art.  I personally just combine it with casting timers to find out the time it takes to move on to the next combat art or item.  I don't understand why they broke them up like that, but that is the way it is.  It's not the first (nor the last) thing that I haven't understood from SOE.  :smileyvery-happy:  </DIV>

[Corwinus]

Well, maybe I can share my experience,I have 78 aas, I am mostly fabled, use grandmaster poisons, did not find an uber bow or T7 arrows yet but still trying <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> doing DT and HoS regularly and now trying to tacke EH.Well, I am like a lot of you, on the predator tree I went down the agi line up to poise 44481, then I went down the str line al the way which was great in solo or group mode, then i started raiding a lot and wanted to optimize my dps so i went down the int line and maxed it but without intoxication 5448. So far for my playstyle (mostly range) I like the results.Now on the Ranger treee I focused 1st on the Multishot line with Precise 5, Selection 5, Triple 5, Rain 5 and le Arrow 1, again I could see a good increase of dps in raid. I have put 5  in caustic for immediate benefit and now I am starting the focus line with 2 in dance, but I plan to put 1 more in dance, 5 in Focus fire, 5 in honed, and 5 in killing to be able to reach Extension. I played with that in beta and i liked it. I guess i will spend the rest of my points on snaring shot for solo purpose.So far I am not sure that I see the impact of double arrow on my dps, it may be because it works only on auto attack. hmmm I have to parse a bit more.Anyway some other things helped my dps, with adornments and equipment I can now self buff str at 521, agi at 520 and int at 304. but also I spent plats/dkp on material for 3 scintillating judicious claps that i could put on the MoA (neck), Amulet of Foresworn (Neck/Wrist) and Yelinak talisman (neck/wrist). They stack for 30 permanent dps. then if you add the proc from the cloak of Valor you get to 45 dps and if your acrylia band of str procs you get to 73 dps (procs on melee only). Not bad for a start, then in Raid you add your focus fire and killing instinct to it and you are good to go over 100 dps even if you dont have a Coercer around. For now this set up allows me to be just below assassins on the parse in Raids (and no they are not slacking, they do great). If I can get my hands on a good bow and good arrows I will be able to challenge them, but it is a question of luck, well, ...,you all know that. Any way, I hope this little bit of experience helps.Corwin - Oasis - Hero<div></div>

[Gerdos]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Hisvet wrote:<BR> <DIV>Alright I have a question about CA timing.  I have 74 AA points, lvl 70 raiding ranger</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Lately I've been bugged about my CA timing.  Nothing seemed faster, despite AAs, equipment, grouping.  So I've been looking.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Predator line is Agility 4/4/4/8/1 so I have poise with Int of 5/4/4/8/0</DIV> <DIV>I have on the Ranger tree Caustic 5/fettering 1 then on the Focus line 3/5/1 then multishot 3/3 Selecton/3 Rain of Arrows</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And yet...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When I cast Rain of Arrows or Veiled Fire or Sniper Shot the count down timers for reuse is the full default time.</DIV> <DIV>Sniper says 15 minutes, Rain of Arrows says 3 minutes, Veiled Fire say 1 minute 30 seconds.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It doesn't appear to me that I am getting any time off my CAs at all.  Not solo, not in a 6 person group, not in a raid group.  The only time I've ever noticed a tming reduction is doing a sniper shot with Jester's Cap on me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So then, what the heck is Poised doing?  And where are the timing reductions for the Multishot line?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyone else notice this?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr> <DIV>Then what does "Improve Recovery Speed" mean?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Recovery doesn't seem to indicate reducing the speed at which a spell goes off but reducing the speed at which you can cast it again.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>(I believe thats right for Poise, just checked, but that doesn't seem like it should be the case for the multishot line).  Thanks.</DIV> <P>Message Edited by Hisvet on <SPAN class=date_text><FONT color=#756b56>12-07-2006</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=time_text>11:22 AM</SPAN></P> <P></P> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>There is no CA or AA in game, that will affect the <U><STRONG>reuse timer</STRONG></U> of Veiled Fire.</P> <P>In order to reduce the <STRONG><U>reuse timers</U></STRONG> of Rain of Arrows or Sniper Shot, you'll need the final rank "Perfectionist" of the STR predator AA tree.</P> <P>There are items that reduce the <U><STRONG>reuse timers</STRONG></U> which apply to all your CA's (eg. aITEM 1601821277 -2126077842:Ring of the Four Winds/a), or items that reduce a single CA (ie. relic bp/leggings).</P> <P>The setup you have, will not affect your <U><STRONG>reuse timers</STRONG></U> on these 3 CA's.</P> <P> </P> <P>"POISE", the final rank of Agility from the Predator AA tree affects <U><STRONG>casting timers</STRONG></U> on all your CA's by 35%.  The benefits (improved <STRONG><U>casting timers</U></STRONG>)  gained from the Multishot AA line in the Ranger AA tree <EM>stack</EM> with "POISE".  However, the game mechanics, prevent you from reducing <U><STRONG>casting timers</STRONG></U> by more then 50% of their default value.   Putting more then 3 points into the Enhance ranks, will NOT improve your <U><STRONG>casting timers</STRONG></U> any further if you already have "POISE" (the additional % dmg will still stack).   Removing "POISE" from the Agility AA line will see you gaining additional benefits to their <U><STRONG>casting timers</STRONG></U>, but not to the same level if you also had "POISE".</P> <P> </P> <P><U><STRONG>Recovery Speed</STRONG></U> is the default timer that follows after completed casting of CAs and auto-attacks.   The default value is 0.5sec.  If you stack/bank up your CAs, they dont start casting straight after the previous CA finishes casting.  There is a <STRONG><U>recovery timer</U></STRONG> of 0.5sec before the next CA or auto-attack can begin casting.</P> <P>Eg.   Ranger ABC has POISE and Double Attack plus 5 points in the Enhance: CA ranks, uses Focus Aim, gaining 10 sec duration to his DPS, and follows this up by banking up some CA's but also allowing for auto attack.  This is an example of how the mechanics work.</P> <P><FONT color=#339999>FOCUS AIM (cast)</FONT>  - Recovery timer (0.5sec) - <FONT color=#ff3366><EM>banked</EM> Devitalising Arrow (casting timer 1.11 sec)</FONT> - recovery timer (0.5sec) - <FONT color=#ff3366><EM>banked</EM> Confounding Arrow (casting timer 0.74sec)</FONT> - recovery timer (0.5sec) - <FONT color=#ff3366><EM>banked</EM> Tripple Volley (casting timer 0.75sec)</FONT> - recovery timer (0.5sec) - <FONT color=#ff3366><EM>banked</EM> Rain of Arrows (casting timer 1.0sec)</FONT> - recovery timer (0.5sec) - <FONT color=#ff6666>Auto-attack (casting timer 0.5(?)sec)</FONT> - recovery timer (0.5sec) - <FONT color=#cc99ff>(<EM>DEADTIME 0.6sec</EM>)</FONT> - <FONT color=#ff3366>Longblade (casting timer 0.37sec)</FONT> - recovery timer (0.5sec) - <FONT color=#cc99ff>(DEADTIME 0.3sec)</FONT> - <FONT color=#ff3366>Selection (casting timer 1.5sec)</FONT> - recovery timer (0.5sec) - <FONT color=#cc99ff>(DEADTIME x.x sec)</FONT> - <FONT color=#ff6666>Auto-attack (casting timer 0.5sec)</FONT> - recovery timer (0.5sec) ................</P> <P>Basically thats how the mechanics work on <STRONG><U>Recovery Speed</U></STRONG>.     As you can see, reducing <STRONG><U>recovery timer</U> </STRONG>has its benefits.</P> <P>Edited to add:   To my knowedge I'm not sure if there's anything currently available in game that reduces Recovery Speed to CA's.   During the EOF BETA phase, i think the multishot line, Enhance ranks improved Recovery Timers, .. but this was changed to Casting Timers when EoF went live.  Someone else who was in beta should be able to confirm this.</P> <P><SPAN class=time_text></SPAN> </P><p>Message Edited by Gerdos on <span class=date_text>12-09-2006</span> <span class=time_text>01:03 AM</span>

[Lorien5555]

<P>The above is quite fascinating. Just a few (moronic perhaps) questions.</P> <P> </P> <P>Do you experts recommend that the agility column be filled in to lev 4 first</P> <P>or that a specific linebranch in the ranger section should be attempted first.</P> <P> </P> <P>If the latter, which branch for a mostly solo player?</P>

[Teksun]

<div><blockquote><hr>LoreLady wrote:Wait till you get snaring shot, 5% extra chance to hit, your relic BP with 5 points in tripple volly etc.. And you should notice a LARGE improvement - as long as pose and those stack..Also bentgate the STR line give more overall dps than the int line - it was the last post I putout when I took my break, its only a 5 dps diffrence overall, however many of the abilities out there were given a large boost while some stayed the same.. the only ability that was nerfed was rangers blade.. I remember all the numbers before hand because I have a spreadsheet of all my dps/etc so I can look on it while my str remains the same <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />.<hr></blockquote>Are you taking into account the added 10% poison damage. Granted both lines can get it, but 10% more to crits should put the INT line well over 5dps</div>

[Taeolen]

<P>How is the charm animal ability in the EoF Tree?  I've almost up to the point where I've saved enough points to go down the tree more and be able to pick it up.</P> <P>How about dieties?  Are there any that are really worthwhile or worth the trouble as a Ranger?</P>

[LoreLady]

<div><blockquote><hr>Teksun wrote:<div><blockquote><hr>LoreLady wrote:Wait till you get snaring shot, 5% extra chance to hit, your relic BP with 5 points in tripple volly etc.. And you should notice a LARGE improvement - as long as pose and those stack..Also bentgate the STR line give more overall dps than the int line - it was the last post I putout when I took my break, its only a 5 dps diffrence overall, however many of the abilities out there were given a large boost while some stayed the same.. the only ability that was nerfed was rangers blade.. I remember all the numbers before hand because I have a spreadsheet of all my dps/etc so I can look on it while my str remains the same <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />.<hr></blockquote>Are you taking into account the added 10% poison damage. Granted both lines can get it, but 10% more to crits should put the INT line well over 5dps</div><hr></blockquote>No im not - my numbers came before pre EoF - and although I havent done any new things on it between the two, in my "own" mind - I still like the str and the recasts better than I like the poisons, but thats just me.</div>

[Hisvet]

<DIV>Another question because I'm here to learn.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Has anyone used the final AA ability on the Focus tree?  It says it gives 15% extension to range.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Does this only apply to Autoattacks?  I don't have the exact wording, not in game, my links to AAs are not the post live updated ones but it seemed to read that it did not apply to CAs.  In other words my surveil pull has a range that would be shorter then my autoattack bow range.  I'd mostly only do a ranged extension if it helped my pulling since I am mostly well out of range of a lot of AoEs already at 35 meters.  Seems a worthless extension if it only worked with autoattack.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyone tried this?  Am I reading it correct that only non CA would work with it?</DIV>