How 'ranged' is Ranger?

[Gilthen]

I've never played a Ranger.One of the things I've wondered in debating giving one a try is, "How 'ranged' oriented are they?" Meaning what percentage is the combat ranged and melee? Now, I enjoy melee more to be honest, but I like the RP aspect of a Ranger. I have played a Swashbuckler, so I have an idea of Scout class.-How does Ranger differ from Swashbuckler?-So, how many combat arts are based on ranged as compaired to melee?-How much combat itself is done ranged as compaired to melee?Any general infromation, opinions, stories, advice is appreciated.Thanks.<div></div>

[Tarryn]

<DIV>All but a very few CAs are ranged (even some of the "melee" ones can be used from longer than melee range).  Without looking at my CA list, I'd venture to say that at least 80% of ranger CAs can be used at >3m.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As far as combat in general...well, most of your CAs are ranged (and most of those CANNOT be used at melee range), and your bow autoattack does significantly better damage than your melee autoattack.  Typically, one will either fight at range and then dive in closer to use our short range stealth/back attacks, or sometimes you may be able to find the "sweet spot" where you can fire all of your CAs whilst still staying far enough from the mob to use bow autoattack.  In terms of actual combat time, I'd say that I usually fight at least 90% of the time at range--assuming one is not soloing nor fighting a raid mob that needs to be crowded for some reason.</DIV>

[TaleraRis]

I solo and I fight ranged 90% of the time. With Cheap Shot, Point Blank Shot, Thorny Trap (which you get at 52) and the root from the Lunging line, we can keep solo mobs from us pretty easily and only require melee skills to mop up after our ranged arts are done with them. Keep in mind this is on solo mobs. I don't go after heroics until they're well into the grey. They would eat me. Fried frog legs seem to be a delicacy among them and they all have the recipe. I would say you're going to use your melee arts most often in a group. With a good tank that knows how to position the thing right, you can make use of all your backstabs and as was mentioned, you can fire off a lot of ranged from the same "sweet spot". I end up using melee more when I group just because the groups I've been in have been DPS-intensive and taking time for more than a couple ranged shots would just take too much time. So in order to have time to contribute,  I concentrate on melee first and stick ranged in if it's needed.  <div></div>

[snowbrdr093]

For damage, we have 7 melee combat arts, and 9 ranged combat arts (not counting Sniper Shot or Rain of Arrows).<div></div>

[kidpaul]

Im counting 14 ranged that includes stream of arrows, sniper shot and rain of arrows and 10 melee on my toon that includes master strike in melee, dreadfang and poison combination (aa melee attack when mob is poisoned). not counting point blank shot since it ranged but has the distance of melee.<div></div>

[kidpaul]

Lol accidently counted 3 macros so 11 ranged.<div></div>

[EQ2Magroo]

Solo: Generally when I solo I fire off some high damage ranged CAs to start, then jump in with a bit of melee (fire off HO with cheap shot which stuns it), jump over mob, backstab it, finish off HO then stun it again with Lunging Thrust line and back off and fire some more ranged CAs. Repeat as necessary. All the time keeping an eye out for adds/roaming mobs.Groups: In groups/raids it's pretty much all ranged attacks only coming in for some melee when I'm waiting for timers to refresh. In theory it should all be ranged, but that means buying/making expensive arrows for the ranged auto-attack and I can't afford that most of the time. Our ranged CAs ignore quality of arrows for calculating damage, but our ranged auto-attack is based on level of arrows, so those vendor bought tin arrows will miss and you'll need to melee to keep DPS up.<div></div>As you've played a scout you'll be used to the fact that you can't really take on several mobs at once unless you're very lucky with roots/stuns, and even green heroics need to be treated with respect. On the flip side, if you get some good opening shots with critical damage (don't forger poisons !!) you can have a mob down to <50% health before it even reaches you.Note that if you want to play a Ranger using lots of ranged attacks, be prepared to spend a lot of money on arrows (1-2PP per raid at high end)

[xandez]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>snowbrdr093 wrote:For damage, we have 7 melee combat arts, and 9 ranged combat arts (not counting Sniper Shot or Rain of Arrows).<div></div><hr></blockquote>whats those 7 btw... uh, iirc not that many <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />(atleast i havent used that many <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />)++Xan

[kidpaul]

<div></div>For me it is.(1) Master Strikes (Various mob specific melee attacks)(2) Longblade(3) Ember Strike(4) Rangers Blade(5) Arrow Rip(6) Lunging Joust(7) Shocking Trust(<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Mortal Reminder(9) Poison Combination (AA Melee Int line useable only when mob is poisoned)(10) Dreadfang (Bloodlines Adv pack spell vampire only but useful in new EoF zones)There you go 10 Melee attacks for rangers you can have even more then 10 attacks depending how you spec your AA's<div></div><p>Message Edited by kidpaul on <span class=date_text>01-15-2007</span> <span class=time_text>07:35 AM</span>

[Prandtl]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> kidpaul wrote:<BR> For me it is.<BR>(1) Master Strikes (Various mob specific melee attacks)<BR>(2) Longblade<BR>(3) Ember Strike<BR>(4) Rangers Blade<BR>(5) Arrow Rip<BR>(6) Lunging Joust<BR>(7) Shocking Trust<BR>(<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Mortal Reminder<BR>(9) Poison Combination (AA Melee Int line useable only when mob is poisoned)<BR>(10) Dreadfang (Bloodlines Adv pack spell vampire only but useful in new EoF zones)<BR><BR>There you go 10 Melee attacks for rangers you can have even more then 10 attacks depending how you spec your AA's<BR> <P>Message Edited by kidpaul on <SPAN class=date_text>01-15-2007</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>07:35 AM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Dreadfang?  Had never heard of that one!  Is it purchaseable in Bloodlines as trick of the hunter was in Splitpaw, or do I need to find someone who has scribed the recipe?

[Zholain]

<div></div><div></div><div></div><font size="2">Same here Prandtl.  I am feeling quite the noob as I've never heard of it either.  The only CA from Bloodlines that I am familliar with is Honed Reflexex.Edit:  Just found it in EQ2idb.aITEM 1086561807 191404169: Dreadfang - Vampire Slaying Training for Scouts/aI sure don't remember it, but then again I didn't spend a lot of time there either.  Delete the space between the : and the D to link it in game.</font><div></div><p>Message Edited by Zholain on <span class="date_text">01-15-2007</span> <span class="time_text">01:13 PM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Zholain on <span class="date_text">01-15-2007</span> <span class="time_text">01:15 PM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Zholain on <span class=date_text>01-15-2007</span> <span class=time_text>01:15 PM</span>

[Prandtl]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Zholain wrote:<BR><FONT size=2>Same here Prandtl.  I am feeling quite the noob as I've never heard of it either.  The only CA from Bloodlines that I am familliar with is Honed Reflexex.</FONT><BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I feel better now!!  :smileyvery-happy:

[Zholain]

<div></div><div><font size="2"></font><blockquote><hr><font size="2">Zholain wrote:</font><font size="2">Edit:  Just found it in EQ2idb.aITEM 1086561807 191404169: Dreadfang - Vampire Slaying Training for Scouts/aI sure don't remember it, but then again I didn't spend a lot of time there either.  Delete the space between the : and the D to link it in game.</font></blockquote><font size="2"></font><hr size="2" width="100%"><font size="2">I sure hope it scales to level.  I can't see it being useful if it doesn't.</font></div><p>Message Edited by Zholain on <span class=date_text>01-15-2007</span> <span class=time_text>01:18 PM</span>

[Caliga]

Go with any other scout class if you only want SOME range.  Rangers are very ranged.  All our best stuff is ranged, and the rest off it is methods of keeping the mob at a distance so we can use our range attacks.  <span>:smileywink:</span><div></div>

[Gareorn]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> pinkdove80 wrote:<BR>Go with any other scout class if you only want SOME range.  Rangers are very ranged.  All our best stuff is ranged, and the rest off it is methods of keeping the mob at a distance so we can use our range attacks.  <SPAN>:smileywink:</SPAN><BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>I agree.  We are more of an archer class than a ranger class.  We do have some pretty nice melee skills, but by far, our best damage is dealt with our bows.<BR>

[TaleraRis]

<div><blockquote><hr>Zholain wrote:<div></div><div></div><div></div><font size="2">Same here Prandtl.  I am feeling quite the noob as I've never heard of it either.  The only CA from Bloodlines that I am familliar with is Honed Reflexex.Edit:  Just found it in EQ2idb.aITEM 1086561807 191404169: Dreadfang - Vampire Slaying Training for Scouts/aI sure don't remember it, but then again I didn't spend a lot of time there either.  Delete the space between the : and the D to link it in game.</font><div></div><p>Message Edited by Zholain on <span class="date_text">01-15-2007</span> <span class="time_text">01:13 PM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Zholain on <span class="date_text">01-15-2007</span> <span class="time_text">01:15 PM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Zholain on <span class="date_text">01-15-2007</span> <span class="time_text">01:15 PM</span></p><hr></blockquote>Don't quote me, but I *think* I got it after killing the main level 40 baddie after like, the 11th quest in the line. I think you get it the same time you get the vampire illusion item.</div>

[kidpaul]

<div></div>Yes dreadfang is purchased or you get it when you complete Bloodlines adv pack but I forgot to mention that it doesn't scale and do very little dmg like 117-196 @ 400str and it's vampire only but again it's always something and it has a short stun like 3s or atleast i think it is 3s since it doesn't really tell in the description only says how long it will keep an epic stunned but it's always something to fire off while waiting for other CA's to refresh. Be all the DPS you can Be or something like it.<div></div><p>Message Edited by kidpaul on <span class=date_text>01-15-2007</span> <span class=time_text>04:46 PM</span>

[Phylok]

you know, I had completly forgot about that one.  the fact that it can stun an epic vampire might just be it's saving grace.