Betraying from Ranger...be gentle

[Baelor_xev]

<DIV>I've been kicking this idea around for some time and after reading the dev response to the Ranger woes, well, it finally makes sense.  Unfortunately I just finished upgrading all of my important CA's to ad3...oh well.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm a 69 ranger and I'll probably be betraying on Monday.  I know that I will have the 57 - 70 CA's to get ad3's made...I'm hoping that our guild jeweler doesn't try to kill me since I just hade her make me a bunch of ranger ones.  I've been perusing this board for awhile trying to see what i need to change.  I mostly group instances and such...our guild is ramping up to start raiding T6 and some T7.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My understanding is to go for Str and Int first.</DIV> <DIV>I have enough AA to take 1 line to 4, 4, 4, 8 and I assume I need to respec to either the Str or Int...I don't know which one first.</DIV> <DIV>Gear-wise...no relic, so that is a plus i guess.  Is there any real difference between ranger and assassin as far as normal gear?  I have blackscale shortsword and the Tuda-something piercer that has a minimal dot.  I'm guessing that the standard one piercer and one slashing applies to assassin as well.</DIV> <DIV>Genereal concensus I'm seeing is to take mark for the 64 master2.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I did look through a couple pages for info, but I'm really trying to see what I've missed.  I know that since I'm mainly an instance grouper that I'm not going to see as drastic of a difference as if i was a raider, but the arrow cost and having to bust [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] all the time to keep up is wearing thin.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Any guidance is appreciated...even if its just a, "why didn't you do a search dummy...here is the link:........." -type post.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>-bae</DIV>

[LoreLady]

Any raiding wizard/assassin/ranger will give you the same answer..Our threshold dps (the max it can go), is no where near as high as a summoner,rouge, assassin, wizard.  Where, it is fine in many stages of the game there is a diffrence in damage, and potential damage.As a ranger, I am still not going to betray thats not who I am.. But, becarefull on your decission.. There are still changes in the works for arrows, and then diety abilities in EoF. Dont go and jump the gun on something you regret later get a assassin alt to level 30 or something before you betray your ranger..Im not trying to change your mind, I am just saying make sure YOUR mind is set.

[griffit]

I betrayed my Ranger earlier in the week (before the dev response).     First off the Betrayal part of it while long is easy, just running around Qeynos and doing a solo instance in the Mage Tower.     Grinding faction with Freeport is tedious but it's all about finding the right quest for you and then doing it repeatedly.    For me it was the "Speak the Truth" quest.   Grinding the 60,000 rep needed off that alone.     Once you have +10,000 faction you have to run to Freeport and speak with Matthais.     Mat will introduce you to 'Buddy" a Qeynos guard dog which you will have to win over.     This is perhaps the most frustrating part of the quest.    After him you just have to kill a girl in Antonica, which is simple enough.Overall it  took me 5 hours play time to betray and become a citizen of Freeport.Now I was a lvl 60 ranger who would rank 2-4 on parser, my dps would fluctuate depending on what timers were up.     Same gear, Same instance, same group and having a couple apprentice skills rather than adept I's and I found myself consistenly placing first in dps on parse.    I really enjoy myself as an Assassin.    Solo is equivalent to Ranger, group is better.     I am used to having to work like a dog as a Ranger to come out mid dps.    Putting that same amount of effort into my Assassin nets some nice results.I went 4-4-4-8-8 in the Str line and putting the rest into Int, just from perusing the first couple pages I figured it was the way to go for an Assassin.It has been a couple days and I am still really enjoying Assassin as a class.    I miss my goody goody ranger, and the magical world of disney... I mean Qeynos.  Better DPS and no arrow worries, couldn't ask for anything more.<div></div>

[Sirlutt]

For AA's .. go down Int first to get the 52% spell crit .. it works off alot of your abilities and dot.. especially things like Mark which you need to be hitting everytime its up, it will make up a large part of your damage and critting this 52% of the time is great.After int I am going STR dow the melee crit and reduced timers.Lv 64 Master II choice should be mark ... no doubt about this .. i chose something else firstly and respec'd to change it.. its a diff play style.. take a while to get used to it.. one of the things that took me a bit to work out was the order to arrange some icons.I have conceilment, then my non stealth back attack then i arrange all my stealth back attacks by timer/damage.  When i hit conceil i hit my back masked attack next and then chain all my back attacks one after another.. each time one hits with conceilment up it restealths you for the next.. its very nice <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />.. alot of them are on longish timers though.  but still hit conceil and chain what ever you have each time its up.<div></div>

[Baelor_xev]

<P>I talked to the guild jeweler (who is also an officer) and it looks like I will have to do some sweet-talking about the amount of work I will be asking of her.  Apparently another ranger in the guild plans to betray as well, so there is some concern about going from 2 rangers / 2 assassins to 1 ranger / 3 assassins.  Should I be concerned about that?  Do assassins stack ok?  I figure as long as there is 1 ranger to use miracle shot (the only unique thing they bring) it shouldn't matter.</P> <P>I'm trying to get a feel for how much this is going to cost me as well.  I looked at the CA's from 57 - 70 and count 18.  Buying 18 spongy loams is pretty daunting, so is there a rule of thumb to use in order to bring that number down?  Are there some CA's that simply don't require AD3 as much?  I'm guessing the defensive stance and maybe the bowshot CA's?</P> <P>To me, I enjoy being a predator.  Both classes seem to have somewhat the same flavor and try to do the same thing but in slightly different ways.  I would much rather have my best days ahead of me than behind, so its time to move to Freeport.</P> <P>-bae</P>

[Jeff240]

<DIV>Defensive stance is nice to have adp3... there are just some times when you're the only thing between the mob and the healer, and clicking on another 30% avoidance is helpful.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The arrow skills I haven't adp3'd yet... I can count the number of times I've used them on my hands.  The brutal instinct (name?) 30sec dps/melee modifier is kinda useless too.. your ad3 wicked villiany and +dps buff from another class will easily max your dps modifier.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Assassins stacking?  Sure.  But.. loot rolling starts to suck when your guild is assassin-centric.</DIV>

[Baelor_xev]

<P>Thanks all for the replies.  I cleaned out my room last night and ran through as much of the betrayal as possible.  All I have left to do is train the dog and kill what's-her-name.  After that I plan to purchase all the CA's I'm not getting ad3's of, setup my hotbars, decorate the new room and try to find a way to get broken in.</P> <P>I'm not sure if soloing is going to be the best crash training, but I'd hate to inflict my noobitude on some unsuspecting group.</P> <P>-bae</P>

[Sirlutt]

3 assassins will stack fine.. the only issue you'll have is who each of you have your hate transfers on .. if i am MT group its easy, if i am not sometimes its on the healer, but often times its not on anyone and I have to be a little more careful.. also co-ordinate your apply poison... plus what debuff poisons you are all using.. should be done across all your scouts anyhow.<div></div>

[russkyj]

<DIV>Hello there, I am a Ranger turned Assassin and i gotta say, i do a lot more dps than i did as a ranger. As a ranger i had to work my [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] off to even show up on the parser, and even then i was 6th / 7th. When i learned about the betrayal quest, i was one of the first few to finish it  ( GG VERUFIAN ) Anyways, info for AAs : STR should be the first one you do, str determines your dmg and the crit buff + dirk of horror = leet dps . go 4 4 4 8 1 in str and 4 4 5 8 in intelligence, ive found thats the best way to go to maximize dps. Ad3/mastering your abilities is extremely important, i would get all of your backstabs done, your mark should be master II ( if it isnt, turn your computer off, go in a nother room, and slap yourself repeatedly ) finishing blow should be ad3 and masked attack is good as well ( decreases chance to resist therefore less misses) also, get all of your t6 ones ad3, alkali loams are realy cheap and it shouldnt cost you more than a few pp to do your 57 - 70 + apply poison and murderous design. I think that about covers it, anyways, life as an assassin is sweet, and its a fun and challenging class to play. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Sorry, also forgot to mention poisons. im the only assassin in my guild atm, on raids, usually i go with Mental Breach, Ignorant Bliss, and Gracelessness, but i would see what the other assassins are using and try and use a different debuff ( I.E. enfeebling for one, gracelessness, and cerebrall ebb, then warding ebb with the ranger or osmething like that ) if you have a power battery i find caustic poison is better than hemotoxin since it overrides itself if you use hemo, if you have someone who provides hate debuffs ( troubador ) use turgur instead of bliss. remember what stacks : Red, Blue, and Yellow poisons ( yellow = purple as well ) </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Hope this helps</DIV> <P>Message Edited by russkyj on <SPAN class=date_text>08-01-2006</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>11:48 AM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by russkyj on <span class=date_text>08-01-2006</span> <span class=time_text>12:10 PM</span>