So what am I doing wrong?

Spontz · 01-16-2007, 12:26 PM

I like Rangers. I almost always play Rangers, when they're available in a game. So when I started EQ2, I naturally made a Ranger.Did I make a horrible mistake?I ask because, curious about the wee winged ones, I made a Fae Fury yesterday. And the Fury is a BEAST. I don't have to think twice about yellow-con encounters of two or three if they're even or down-arrowed. I can take single orange-con enemies. I can handle heroic blues (haven't tested white or yellow yet). HOTs and DOTS and casting in combat. Truly vicious.By comparison, with my Ranger I doubt my ability to fight an even, white-con enemy. I avoid yellow and orange like the plague. Blue heroic is decidedly iffy. Green heroic gives me trouble.I have decent equipment, I use every combat art at my disposal (most are Apprentice IV or higher, thanks to a jeweler friend, whereas my Fury has only what I can buy at merchants), and I spam heroic opportunities.What am I doing wrong?

Gnome mercy · 01-16-2007, 01:45 PM

Spontz wrote:
I like Rangers. I almost always play Rangers, when they're available in a game. So when I started EQ2, I naturally made a Ranger.

Did I make a horrible mistake?

I ask because, curious about the wee winged ones, I made a Fae Fury yesterday. And the Fury is a BEAST. I don't have to think twice about yellow-con encounters of two or three if they're even or down-arrowed. I can take single orange-con enemies. I can handle heroic blues (haven't tested white or yellow yet). HOTs and DOTS and casting in combat. Truly vicious.

By comparison, with my Ranger I doubt my ability to fight an even, white-con enemy. I avoid yellow and orange like the plague. Blue heroic is decidedly iffy. Green heroic gives me trouble.

I have decent equipment, I use every combat art at my disposal (most are Apprentice IV or higher, thanks to a jeweler friend, whereas my Fury has only what I can buy at merchants), and I spam heroic opportunities.

What am I doing wrong?

Well its alot different for one thing, as my ranger I'd rather kill orange heroics than anything and I do, you just gotta learn the trade, it is hard starting out as a ranger as you don't have much utility in your arsenal but mostly keep your enemies at a range rather than up front melee, I rarely get touched and you will notice when you level up that fury you wont be able to do as much. Basically in my teens it was troublesome for a rnager but that was also before the patch that took out the class quests i was a predator in that time and not a ranger so honestly no clue how many ranged CAs we have in the teens as i have never looked nor used them. but by the time i hit my 20's I was soloing nothing but ^^^ heroics (the giants in TS was a big one for me) and that is still going on till this day. I wont hesitate to solo anything that looks like a challenge but then again I got a crazy motto that people always ask em about and that is: "I'm dumb enough to try anything once, and stupid enough to try it again" and thats the code I live by, sure your teens to mid twenties will be hard but by the time you get a good bow and your poisons you will be nearly unstoppable with the right mobs and area.

Judist · 01-16-2007, 03:53 PM

Your ranger will only get stronger... If you stick with it to lvl70, you'll find you can drop any non-heroic mob before it even reaches you. And heroics will become much easier when you get your trap and full compliment of snares, root, stuns, ect...

Message Edited by BeatinGuts on 01-16-2007 02:53 AM

Spontz · 01-16-2007, 04:53 PM

That's good to know, because I really prefer the idea of a Ranger to that of a druid/Fury/whatever. But I must be doing something wrong, because at level 26 I wouldn't dare take on one of those ^^^-heroic critters.How do you manage to drop a monster before it reaches you? If I'm lucky, I can get two shots off, then it's in melee range and my day is looking less bright and happy than it was a few moments before. I can drop the little green fellows, but that's about it.

Caliga · 01-16-2007, 07:52 PM

I have a fury too and I don't think my ranger can take down the same things as my fury. However I don't think my fury is THAT much more powerful than my ranger as you described. It just takes more skill to keep things at a range than it does to spam heals and nukes. I don't kite which is probably why I don't see my ranger taking down the same things as my fury but I'm to lazy to go running all over a zone to kill one mob. But what I do do is use everything in my power to keep the mob away from me long enough to get off another bow shot. As I have no idea what things are called at your level I'll just describe the icons. Well there is cheap shot which stuns, that gives you a moment to get behind the mob and get of a couple backstabs unless the mob is heroic. Then there is the CA with a chestpiece and a sword going through it, believe it or not, thats a root. Use that one take a step back and use a bow CA. If you go down the agi line you get point blank which knocks them on their butt for a sec so you can get a shot off. And your CA that looks like a stick with a rope tied around it is a snare, if you start at max distance and use that one, you can kill the mob before it gets to your feet. I'm not a master soloist, but that will at least get you winning against evens and yellows.

Gnome mercy · 01-16-2007, 11:04 PM

Spontz wrote:
That's good to know, because I really prefer the idea of a Ranger to that of a druid/Fury/whatever. But I must be doing something wrong, because at level 26 I wouldn't dare take on one of those ^^^-heroic critters.

How do you manage to drop a monster before it reaches you? If I'm lucky, I can get two shots off, then it's in melee range and my day is looking less bright and happy than it was a few moments before. I can drop the little green fellows, but that's about it.

Its simple, start off with snare, then gain a whole lot of ground cause they have a huge attack range, then get as far of a range as possible and shoot one CA I always used triple shot that usually dealt a good chunk of damage + your Auto Attack. If snare drops hit snare again then get more ground and repeat, back then tho was the days when triple shot landed 3 poisons so it could be much harder by now but who knows. but just having ground makes it a whole lot better

Larian11 · 01-17-2007, 12:19 AM

When using snare while a mob is running at me I often encounter the issue, that the mob is sliding on his knees towards me without loosing any speed. Is that a "normal" reaction? Can I use snare effectively only when the mob is standing?

sr22ger · 01-17-2007, 01:05 AM

Snare doesn't put the mob on it's knees. I only have 3 snare CA's at 51, one is leg shot and isn't available to you, one is the ensnare line (impede is 23 and I think that is what you would have, lowers target's resistance to heat damage and slows the target's movement speed) and the other is the backfire line (does nice damage and requires you to be behind the mob, backshot is the ca you should have). I would try to start out with back shot, making sure I am behind the mob. The mob will now run very slowly at you and you should have time to get a couple auto attack ranged hits in along with a bunch of ranged ca's depending on when the snare breaks.That will give you a major head start. If the back shot snare ends quickly and the mob is running full speed at you, hit the impede hotkey and backup while firing ranged auto attacks. When the mob does get to you, you have 2 options.Root - Lunge (a short duration root, the only one we have available) then back away from the mob quickly into ranged attack range and get off 2 quick ranged ca's while the mob is unable to hit you.Stun - Stealth - Backstab - Cheap shot is our stun, and it doesn't last very long on heroic mobs. Hit this and you have 2 options. Run quickly to the side of the mob and hit either hidden attack -> shadow lunge or hidden attack -> shadowflame depending on timers and whether the mob is heroic or not (Heroics are often difficult to get the hidden attack -> lunge combo out in time before the mob turns because of stun duration). Otherwise hit cheap shot, and immediately turn on your ranged auto attack and run backwards into bow range and get 1 or 2 ranged CA's off before the mob returns to you.Once your root and stun options are up, you can either stay in melee range and hope for a melee attack victory, or if you get low on health and don't think you can win straight up, hit your impede hotkey and back away while turning on ranged auto attack to kite the mob to death.Also don't forget to use your steady aim buff before opening up with your back shot to really add to the damage you can do to a mob before it reaches you.Example even con no arrow fight should be...run behind mob, check out area for possible adds.hit steady aim, hit back shot 50%+ mob health gone now.hit trick shot and heated shot ranged ca's + 2 auto attacks (probably crits because of the steady aim buff) = dead or nearly dead mob before it even gets to your feet.if it gets to you with 5%, unload melee ca's, if more than 5%, cheap shot, move to the side of the mob, hidden attack -> shadow lunge = dead mob.Example high green/low blue con ^^^ heroic mob (this takes practice, especially as a low level ranger)...run behind mob, check out area for possible adds.hit steady aim, hit back shot 25%+ mob health gone now.trick shot, heated shot + 2 auto attacks = 50%+ mob health gone now. Mob approaches you.cheap shot -> move to side -> hidden attack -> shadowflame (this must be done quickly, don't be afraid to macro hidden attack and shadowflame together if the timing doesn't work out for you right away) 40%+ mob health gone, your at 50% or so health.lunge -> backaway a couple steps till your ranged ca's light up -> heated shot -> trick shot + 1 auto attack. Mob @ 15% or less.If your still around 50% health, stick it out up close and spam melee ca's such as bleeding cut and shocking strike along with a HO, cheap shot timer comes up, cheap shot -> move to side -> hidden attack -> shadowflame = dead mob.If less than 50% health or mob health > 25%ish after your root moves are done. Hit impede and run backwards toggling ranged auto attack ( you must continue to face the mob for the ranged auto attacks to go off) and just kite until its dead (or run away if you don't think you will win). Be sure to kite it in circles if you can because once you get a certain distance away from the mobs home area, it will run back to its home and all your hard work will go down the drain SMILEY

Also reapply impede if the mob gets close to you again and if you get enough distance away and a ranged ca timer is up, use it for a quicker kill.Hope this helps...

Message Edited by sr22ger on 01-16-2007 12:15 PM

Message Edited by sr22ger on 01-16-2007 12:17 PM

Spontz · 01-17-2007, 06:25 AM

Thanks for the advice! I can't take some of it right now, I'm not high enough level, but it has certainly given me something to think and plot about, and around which to build a strategy.It's good to know it isn't a hopeless case. I'd keep playing the Ranger, even if the Fury would always be the more powerful class, just because I like Rangers. But I do tire of being the laughing-stock, as in EQ1. Or maybe that was just me, for trying to play a tanking Ranger. SMILEY

Jaggid · 01-18-2007, 08:47 PM

Why do people worry about the higher lvl mobs? I couldn't even tell you if I can take em down or not.

If i am solo I am ripping through the greens/blues/whites, never worried about adds and if I wasn't lvl locked would be ripping through the lvl's. You make more money in the long run too. SMILEY

Spontz · 01-24-2007, 06:27 PM

For several reasons:Because sometimes killing things that are just this side of being grey gets boring.Because an exciting battle with a powerful enemy can be preferable to hours and hours of farming gold and/or XP.Because learning how to play the class effectively and efficiently enough to kill a powerful enemy will also serve one well when fighting green/blue/white mobs, when grouping, when on raids, etc.And finally, because people enjoy different aspects of the game.

01-16-2007, 01:45 PM	#2
Gnome mercy Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 303	Spontz wrote: I like Rangers. I almost always play Rangers, when they're available in a game. So when I started EQ2, I naturally made a Ranger. Did I make a horrible mistake? I ask because, curious about the wee winged ones, I made a Fae Fury yesterday. And the Fury is a BEAST. I don't have to think twice about yellow-con encounters of two or three if they're even or down-arrowed. I can take single orange-con enemies. I can handle heroic blues (haven't tested white or yellow yet). HOTs and DOTS and casting in combat. Truly vicious. By comparison, with my Ranger I doubt my ability to fight an even, white-con enemy. I avoid yellow and orange like the plague. Blue heroic is decidedly iffy. Green heroic gives me trouble. I have decent equipment, I use every combat art at my disposal (most are Apprentice IV or higher, thanks to a jeweler friend, whereas my Fury has only what I can buy at merchants), and I spam heroic opportunities. What am I doing wrong? Well its alot different for one thing, as my ranger I'd rather kill orange heroics than anything and I do, you just gotta learn the trade, it is hard starting out as a ranger as you don't have much utility in your arsenal but mostly keep your enemies at a range rather than up front melee, I rarely get touched and you will notice when you level up that fury you wont be able to do as much. Basically in my teens it was troublesome for a rnager but that was also before the patch that took out the class quests i was a predator in that time and not a ranger so honestly no clue how many ranged CAs we have in the teens as i have never looked nor used them. but by the time i hit my 20's I was soloing nothing but ^^^ heroics (the giants in TS was a big one for me) and that is still going on till this day. I wont hesitate to solo anything that looks like a challenge but then again I got a crazy motto that people always ask em about and that is: "I'm dumb enough to try anything once, and stupid enough to try it again" and thats the code I live by, sure your teens to mid twenties will be hard but by the time you get a good bow and your poisons you will be nearly unstoppable with the right mobs and area.

01-16-2007, 07:52 PM	#5
Caliga Loremaster Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 355	I have a fury too and I don't think my ranger can take down the same things as my fury. However I don't think my fury is THAT much more powerful than my ranger as you described. It just takes more skill to keep things at a range than it does to spam heals and nukes. I don't kite which is probably why I don't see my ranger taking down the same things as my fury but I'm to lazy to go running all over a zone to kill one mob. But what I do do is use everything in my power to keep the mob away from me long enough to get off another bow shot. As I have no idea what things are called at your level I'll just describe the icons. Well there is cheap shot which stuns, that gives you a moment to get behind the mob and get of a couple backstabs unless the mob is heroic. Then there is the CA with a chestpiece and a sword going through it, believe it or not, thats a root. Use that one take a step back and use a bow CA. If you go down the agi line you get point blank which knocks them on their butt for a sec so you can get a shot off. And your CA that looks like a stick with a rope tied around it is a snare, if you start at max distance and use that one, you can kill the mob before it gets to your feet. I'm not a master soloist, but that will at least get you winning against evens and yellows. __________________

01-16-2007, 11:04 PM	#6
Gnome mercy Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 303	Spontz wrote: That's good to know, because I really prefer the idea of a Ranger to that of a druid/Fury/whatever. But I must be doing something wrong, because at level 26 I wouldn't dare take on one of those ^^^-heroic critters. How do you manage to drop a monster before it reaches you? If I'm lucky, I can get two shots off, then it's in melee range and my day is looking less bright and happy than it was a few moments before. I can drop the little green fellows, but that's about it. Its simple, start off with snare, then gain a whole lot of ground cause they have a huge attack range, then get as far of a range as possible and shoot one CA I always used triple shot that usually dealt a good chunk of damage + your Auto Attack. If snare drops hit snare again then get more ground and repeat, back then tho was the days when triple shot landed 3 poisons so it could be much harder by now but who knows. but just having ground makes it a whole lot better

01-17-2007, 01:05 AM	#8
sr22ger Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 10	Snare doesn't put the mob on it's knees. I only have 3 snare CA's at 51, one is leg shot and isn't available to you, one is the ensnare line (impede is 23 and I think that is what you would have, lowers target's resistance to heat damage and slows the target's movement speed) and the other is the backfire line (does nice damage and requires you to be behind the mob, backshot is the ca you should have). I would try to start out with back shot, making sure I am behind the mob. The mob will now run very slowly at you and you should have time to get a couple auto attack ranged hits in along with a bunch of ranged ca's depending on when the snare breaks.That will give you a major head start. If the back shot snare ends quickly and the mob is running full speed at you, hit the impede hotkey and backup while firing ranged auto attacks. When the mob does get to you, you have 2 options.Root - Lunge (a short duration root, the only one we have available) then back away from the mob quickly into ranged attack range and get off 2 quick ranged ca's while the mob is unable to hit you.Stun - Stealth - Backstab - Cheap shot is our stun, and it doesn't last very long on heroic mobs. Hit this and you have 2 options. Run quickly to the side of the mob and hit either hidden attack -> shadow lunge or hidden attack -> shadowflame depending on timers and whether the mob is heroic or not (Heroics are often difficult to get the hidden attack -> lunge combo out in time before the mob turns because of stun duration). Otherwise hit cheap shot, and immediately turn on your ranged auto attack and run backwards into bow range and get 1 or 2 ranged CA's off before the mob returns to you.Once your root and stun options are up, you can either stay in melee range and hope for a melee attack victory, or if you get low on health and don't think you can win straight up, hit your impede hotkey and back away while turning on ranged auto attack to kite the mob to death.Also don't forget to use your steady aim buff before opening up with your back shot to really add to the damage you can do to a mob before it reaches you.Example even con no arrow fight should be...run behind mob, check out area for possible adds.hit steady aim, hit back shot 50%+ mob health gone now.hit trick shot and heated shot ranged ca's + 2 auto attacks (probably crits because of the steady aim buff) = dead or nearly dead mob before it even gets to your feet.if it gets to you with 5%, unload melee ca's, if more than 5%, cheap shot, move to the side of the mob, hidden attack -> shadow lunge = dead mob.Example high green/low blue con ^^^ heroic mob (this takes practice, especially as a low level ranger)...run behind mob, check out area for possible adds.hit steady aim, hit back shot 25%+ mob health gone now.trick shot, heated shot + 2 auto attacks = 50%+ mob health gone now. Mob approaches you.cheap shot -> move to side -> hidden attack -> shadowflame (this must be done quickly, don't be afraid to macro hidden attack and shadowflame together if the timing doesn't work out for you right away) 40%+ mob health gone, your at 50% or so health.lunge -> backaway a couple steps till your ranged ca's light up -> heated shot -> trick shot + 1 auto attack. Mob @ 15% or less.If your still around 50% health, stick it out up close and spam melee ca's such as bleeding cut and shocking strike along with a HO, cheap shot timer comes up, cheap shot -> move to side -> hidden attack -> shadowflame = dead mob.If less than 50% health or mob health > 25%ish after your root moves are done. Hit impede and run backwards toggling ranged auto attack ( you must continue to face the mob for the ranged auto attacks to go off) and just kite until its dead (or run away if you don't think you will win). Be sure to kite it in circles if you can because once you get a certain distance away from the mobs home area, it will run back to its home and all your hard work will go down the drain Also reapply impede if the mob gets close to you again and if you get enough distance away and a ranged ca timer is up, use it for a quicker kill.Hope this helps... Message Edited by sr22ger on 01-16-2007 12:15 PM Message Edited by sr22ger on 01-16-2007 12:17 PM __________________

01-16-2007, 12:26 PM	#1
Spontz Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 171	I like Rangers. I almost always play Rangers, when they're available in a game. So when I started EQ2, I naturally made a Ranger.Did I make a horrible mistake?I ask because, curious about the wee winged ones, I made a Fae Fury yesterday. And the Fury is a BEAST. I don't have to think twice about yellow-con encounters of two or three if they're even or down-arrowed. I can take single orange-con enemies. I can handle heroic blues (haven't tested white or yellow yet). HOTs and DOTS and casting in combat. Truly vicious.By comparison, with my Ranger I doubt my ability to fight an even, white-con enemy. I avoid yellow and orange like the plague. Blue heroic is decidedly iffy. Green heroic gives me trouble.I have decent equipment, I use every combat art at my disposal (most are Apprentice IV or higher, thanks to a jeweler friend, whereas my Fury has only what I can buy at merchants), and I spam heroic opportunities.What am I doing wrong?

01-16-2007, 03:53 PM	#3
Judist Loremaster Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 432	Your ranger will only get stronger... If you stick with it to lvl70, you'll find you can drop any non-heroic mob before it even reaches you. And heroics will become much easier when you get your trap and full compliment of snares, root, stuns, ect... Message Edited by BeatinGuts on 01-16-2007 02:53 AM

01-16-2007, 04:53 PM	#4
Spontz Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 171	That's good to know, because I really prefer the idea of a Ranger to that of a druid/Fury/whatever. But I must be doing something wrong, because at level 26 I wouldn't dare take on one of those ^^^-heroic critters.How do you manage to drop a monster before it reaches you? If I'm lucky, I can get two shots off, then it's in melee range and my day is looking less bright and happy than it was a few moments before. I can drop the little green fellows, but that's about it.

01-17-2007, 12:19 AM	#7
Larian11 Loremaster Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 4	When using snare while a mob is running at me I often encounter the issue, that the mob is sliding on his knees towards me without loosing any speed. Is that a "normal" reaction? Can I use snare effectively only when the mob is standing?

01-17-2007, 06:25 AM	#9
Spontz Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 171	Thanks for the advice! I can't take some of it right now, I'm not high enough level, but it has certainly given me something to think and plot about, and around which to build a strategy.It's good to know it isn't a hopeless case. I'd keep playing the Ranger, even if the Fury would always be the more powerful class, just because I like Rangers. But I do tire of being the laughing-stock, as in EQ1. Or maybe that was just me, for trying to play a tanking Ranger.

01-18-2007, 08:47 PM	#10
Jaggid Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 209	Why do people worry about the higher lvl mobs? I couldn't even tell you if I can take em down or not. If i am solo I am ripping through the greens/blues/whites, never worried about adds and if I wasn't lvl locked would be ripping through the lvl's. You make more money in the long run too.

01-24-2007, 06:27 PM	#11
Spontz Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 171	For several reasons:Because sometimes killing things that are just this side of being grey gets boring.Because an exciting battle with a powerful enemy can be preferable to hours and hours of farming gold and/or XP.Because learning how to play the class effectively and efficiently enough to kill a powerful enemy will also serve one well when fighting green/blue/white mobs, when grouping, when on raids, etc.And finally, because people enjoy different aspects of the game.