Suggestions for 2-boxing a ranger/pally

Agaxiq · 01-09-2007, 10:07 PM

Back at launch, I had played a ranger up to about 26 on a server I don't play on anymore. This was well before LU13 even. I had quit playing (several times) and that character is long gone. I had played an assassin up to about 53 or so, but that character is gone as well, but I at least have some familiarity with predators.I two-box exclusively now (actually in windowed mode on one box), and one of my combos is a Pally/Wizzy. With the amends line, the Wizzy almost never gets agro, so I would assume the same would hold true for a ranger.The wizzy can just sit there away from the mob and nuke. Can a ranger do this? I see that we still have a bunch of short-range assassin-like attacks, it will be "annoying" to have to use those, simply from a control perspective. I'd rather stay at range if I can. Can I make it by this way? Will I really be hurting my dps? I remember there was a sweet spot with my assassin where I could use both my close range attacks and my few bow CA's, is this the case with rangers? If I dont really need a long bow, should I go ahead and get a short bow? I wouldn't be pulling with the ranger, ever, so i'm wondering if the faster autoattack with the short bow would be better.I havent rolled a ranger yet (I'd have to delete a char or get station access) but am just wondering how feasible it would be.Simply looking for any tips. I'm betting once I get into the 30's I can get by with being at range exclusively, but before that I simply won't have enough CA's. Just a guess though.Thanks!agressiv³

Graven55 · 01-09-2007, 11:54 PM

I use a Ranger/Pally 2box a lot of the time. You give up some DPS if you range, but it doesn't hurt too bad. There is a "sweet spot" where you can do your melee CA's and your Ranged ones (although you'll only be able to autoattack with ranged from there). Aggro is absolutely not an issue with the Pally, Rangers have decent Deaggro anyway and with Amends, deaggro poison isn't even needed (so you can switch to something more useful like Stun or Slow).

I've been able to 2box yellow heroics without much trouble (killed everything in PoA except the Skylord while 2boxing),. The main problem with a Ranger/Pally 2box over your Wizard is arrows. If you play anything like me you'll end up putting most of the plat you make on trash loot right back into arrows (in addition to a good chunk of any fabled/legendary loot you get too) and poisons. Adamantine arrows run 6p90 a stack and I easily go through a Quiverful a night. You can get by with exceptional poisons, which makes that affordable, but the Grandmasters are nice, especially if you go with the Spell dmg Crit AA's. If you can get one (or both) of the bows from Deathtoll on your ranger this will help with the cost of arrows immensely (along with the AA on your summoned arrows ability).

In the end, I don't know that you would gain much, from a practical perspective, from a Ranger/Pally 2box that you don't already have with your wizard/pally, but it is a very fun class to play, and if they ever address the issues with arrows it'll be a great class. What you would gain is track, which is nice, but not super important with the nice eq2map and pathfinding, which is unimportant except for maybe training from climby wall to climby wall.

Message Edited by Graven55 on 01-09-2007 10:56 AM

Agaxiq · 01-10-2007, 12:40 AM

Graven55 wrote:

I use a Ranger/Pally 2box a lot of the time. You give up some DPS if you range, but it doesn't hurt too bad. There is a "sweet spot" where you can do your melee CA's and your Ranged ones (although you'll only be able to autoattack with ranged from there). Aggro is absolutely not an issue with the Pally, Rangers have decent Deaggro anyway and with Amends, deaggro poison isn't even needed (so you can switch to something more useful like Stun or Slow).

I've been able to 2box yellow heroics without much trouble (killed everything in PoA except the Skylord while 2boxing),. The main problem with a Ranger/Pally 2box over your Wizard is arrows. If you play anything like me you'll end up putting most of the plat you make on trash loot right back into arrows (in addition to a good chunk of any fabled/legendary loot you get too) and poisons. Adamantine arrows run 6p90 a stack and I easily go through a Quiverful a night. You can get by with exceptional poisons, which makes that affordable, but the Grandmasters are nice, especially if you go with the Spell dmg Crit AA's. If you can get one (or both) of the bows from Deathtoll on your ranger this will help with the cost of arrows immensely (along with the AA on your summoned arrows ability).

In the end, I don't know that you would gain much, from a practical perspective, from a Ranger/Pally 2box that you don't already have with your wizard/pally, but it is a very fun class to play, and if they ever address the issues with arrows it'll be a great class. What you would gain is track, which is nice, but not super important with the nice eq2map and pathfinding, which is unimportant except for maybe training from climby wall to climby wall.

Message Edited by Graven55 on 01-09-2007 10:56 AM

Great, thanks for the info. I do remember that "sweet spot" with my assassin, but he only had a few ranged CA's anyways, so it didn't matter much.I dont raid (other than a few pickup raids on contested mobs), so summoned/cheap arrows would probably be sufficient for my needs. Maybe not tin arrows, but probably something like a feyiron or fulginate, at least until something changes. Deathtoll is not in my forseeable future SMILEY

I guess I'm a hardcore "casual" player. I simply go AFK way too much to group extensively or raid - which is why I two-box.Which means I'm not so worried about the endgame (60+) as opposed to 30-55. I would assume at the end game I'd have more than enough abilities with ancient teachings where I can stay ranged all the time - its the "road there" where you dont have every CA line that I'd be worried about.And for me, its all about the fun factor. Ranger, while being a DPS class, seems to be much different than the rest of the scouts being the only one really acting as an "arrow nuker". Forgive the the analogy SMILEY

If I wanted a brute force duo, my Bruiser/Fury can take down the most stuff with all the healing and damage potential. The track would be nice for named hunting - and quite honestly i dont see many low-level < 50 rangers out there. Guessing people aren't rolling them as much as before.agressiv³

Rasraaku · 01-10-2007, 03:02 AM

I have always wanted to play a ranger but was too afraid of not being able to solo. But now i got a 2nd box so i was wondering what is the best partner for a ranger? i already have a pally, a defiler and a coercer. Thanks in advance for answering.

Agaxiq · 01-10-2007, 04:26 AM

Pally is always a good choice because of amends/heals/rez, but if you want a little extra kick, a summoner would probably fare well also. You'd have to be careful not to over-dps with the ranger partnered with a summoner though, since their tank pets won't taunt as well as a true tank. (No rescue etc too) Also, if you dont have heals it will be tough to do heroics without very careful planning. Agro control is also a must. For doing solo quests/mobs, anything will work, but I'd pick one that doesn't have a ton of situationals for sanities sake, especially if you are 2-boxing. In that case, a bruiser/monk would be nice.agressiv³

Dogfood76 · 01-10-2007, 07:46 PM

I 2-boxed a ton back when I played DAoC, and since I just started playing EQ2 and I've decided to stick with it, I am considering picking up the second box again SMILEY . I play a ranger (level 30, woohoo!) and a shadowknight as my "main" characters and I thought that Fury or Warden looked really good as a 2nd. Heals, buffs, speed, and the big one...root and/or snare. I fear having two melee characters (especially without the /stick command from DAoC). Would I be able to take on heroics/named with a Ranger+Warden/Fury?

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack the thread here but 2-boxing and ranger topics don't come along that often!

Agaxiq · 01-10-2007, 09:14 PM

Dogfood76 wrote:

I 2-boxed a ton back when I played DAoC, and since I just started playing EQ2 and I've decided to stick with it, I am considering picking up the second box again. I play a ranger (level 30, woohoo!) and a shadowknight as my "main" characters and I thought that Fury or Warden looked really good as a 2nd. Heals, buffs, speed, and the big one...root and/or snare. I fear having two melee characters (especially without the /stick command from DAoC). Would I be able to take on heroics/named with a Ranger+Warden/Fury?

WIth my fury, I never use root/snare. If you have a tank taking the beating, its simply not necessary IMO. With my bruiser tanking i can mez an add or fear it. Moving both chars after rooting the mob takes a decent amount of effort if you are surrounded by mobs. I'm sure people do it, I just dont SMILEY

I can take on white named without much difficulty.However, if you are doing ranger/warden, you'll need the root/snare. From what I've seen, the ranger lacks the stuns needed to use all of their CA's while "tanking" (unlike a rogue) so you'll need to at least keep the mobs rooted to accomplish many of them. Just be careful of casters SMILEY

agressiv³

Lesca · 01-10-2007, 10:52 PM

Admitedly not 2-boxing, but I've duoed just about everything (including most of Claymore series) with a Paladin, and it works like a dream. We've killed stuff that really we shouldn't have been able to, and if I get aggro it's because the Pally's dead. Other tanks... I'm the one eating dirt.

01-10-2007, 12:40 AM	#3
Agaxiq Server: Unrest Guild: Ascendant Rank: Alts Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 552	Graven55 wrote: I use a Ranger/Pally 2box a lot of the time. You give up some DPS if you range, but it doesn't hurt too bad. There is a "sweet spot" where you can do your melee CA's and your Ranged ones (although you'll only be able to autoattack with ranged from there). Aggro is absolutely not an issue with the Pally, Rangers have decent Deaggro anyway and with Amends, deaggro poison isn't even needed (so you can switch to something more useful like Stun or Slow). I've been able to 2box yellow heroics without much trouble (killed everything in PoA except the Skylord while 2boxing),. The main problem with a Ranger/Pally 2box over your Wizard is arrows. If you play anything like me you'll end up putting most of the plat you make on trash loot right back into arrows (in addition to a good chunk of any fabled/legendary loot you get too) and poisons. Adamantine arrows run 6p90 a stack and I easily go through a Quiverful a night. You can get by with exceptional poisons, which makes that affordable, but the Grandmasters are nice, especially if you go with the Spell dmg Crit AA's. If you can get one (or both) of the bows from Deathtoll on your ranger this will help with the cost of arrows immensely (along with the AA on your summoned arrows ability). In the end, I don't know that you would gain much, from a practical perspective, from a Ranger/Pally 2box that you don't already have with your wizard/pally, but it is a very fun class to play, and if they ever address the issues with arrows it'll be a great class. What you would gain is track, which is nice, but not super important with the nice eq2map and pathfinding, which is unimportant except for maybe training from climby wall to climby wall. Message Edited by Graven55 on 01-09-2007 10:56 AM Great, thanks for the info. I do remember that "sweet spot" with my assassin, but he only had a few ranged CA's anyways, so it didn't matter much.I dont raid (other than a few pickup raids on contested mobs), so summoned/cheap arrows would probably be sufficient for my needs. Maybe not tin arrows, but probably something like a feyiron or fulginate, at least until something changes. Deathtoll is not in my forseeable future I guess I'm a hardcore "casual" player. I simply go AFK way too much to group extensively or raid - which is why I two-box.Which means I'm not so worried about the endgame (60+) as opposed to 30-55. I would assume at the end game I'd have more than enough abilities with ancient teachings where I can stay ranged all the time - its the "road there" where you dont have every CA line that I'd be worried about.And for me, its all about the fun factor. Ranger, while being a DPS class, seems to be much different than the rest of the scouts being the only one really acting as an "arrow nuker". Forgive the the analogy If I wanted a brute force duo, my Bruiser/Fury can take down the most stuff with all the healing and damage potential. The track would be nice for named hunting - and quite honestly i dont see many low-level < 50 rangers out there. Guessing people aren't rolling them as much as before.agressiv³

01-10-2007, 07:46 PM	#6
Dogfood76 Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 11	I 2-boxed a ton back when I played DAoC, and since I just started playing EQ2 and I've decided to stick with it, I am considering picking up the second box again. I play a ranger (level 30, woohoo!) and a shadowknight as my "main" characters and I thought that Fury or Warden looked really good as a 2nd. Heals, buffs, speed, and the big one...root and/or snare. I fear having two melee characters (especially without the /stick command from DAoC). Would I be able to take on heroics/named with a Ranger+Warden/Fury? Sorry, I don't mean to hijack the thread here but 2-boxing and ranger topics don't come along that often!

01-10-2007, 09:14 PM	#7
Agaxiq Server: Unrest Guild: Ascendant Rank: Alts Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 552	Dogfood76 wrote: I 2-boxed a ton back when I played DAoC, and since I just started playing EQ2 and I've decided to stick with it, I am considering picking up the second box again. I play a ranger (level 30, woohoo!) and a shadowknight as my "main" characters and I thought that Fury or Warden looked really good as a 2nd. Heals, buffs, speed, and the big one...root and/or snare. I fear having two melee characters (especially without the /stick command from DAoC). Would I be able to take on heroics/named with a Ranger+Warden/Fury? WIth my fury, I never use root/snare. If you have a tank taking the beating, its simply not necessary IMO. With my bruiser tanking i can mez an add or fear it. Moving both chars after rooting the mob takes a decent amount of effort if you are surrounded by mobs. I'm sure people do it, I just dont I can take on white named without much difficulty.However, if you are doing ranger/warden, you'll need the root/snare. From what I've seen, the ranger lacks the stuns needed to use all of their CA's while "tanking" (unlike a rogue) so you'll need to at least keep the mobs rooted to accomplish many of them. Just be careful of casters agressiv³

01-10-2007, 10:52 PM	#8
Lesca Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 191	Admitedly not 2-boxing, but I've duoed just about everything (including most of Claymore series) with a Paladin, and it works like a dream. We've killed stuff that really we shouldn't have been able to, and if I get aggro it's because the Pally's dead. Other tanks... I'm the one eating dirt. __________________

01-09-2007, 10:07 PM	#1
Agaxiq Server: Unrest Guild: Ascendant Rank: Alts Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 552	Back at launch, I had played a ranger up to about 26 on a server I don't play on anymore. This was well before LU13 even. I had quit playing (several times) and that character is long gone. I had played an assassin up to about 53 or so, but that character is gone as well, but I at least have some familiarity with predators.I two-box exclusively now (actually in windowed mode on one box), and one of my combos is a Pally/Wizzy. With the amends line, the Wizzy almost never gets agro, so I would assume the same would hold true for a ranger.The wizzy can just sit there away from the mob and nuke. Can a ranger do this? I see that we still have a bunch of short-range assassin-like attacks, it will be "annoying" to have to use those, simply from a control perspective. I'd rather stay at range if I can. Can I make it by this way? Will I really be hurting my dps? I remember there was a sweet spot with my assassin where I could use both my close range attacks and my few bow CA's, is this the case with rangers? If I dont really need a long bow, should I go ahead and get a short bow? I wouldn't be pulling with the ranger, ever, so i'm wondering if the faster autoattack with the short bow would be better.I havent rolled a ranger yet (I'd have to delete a char or get station access) but am just wondering how feasible it would be.Simply looking for any tips. I'm betting once I get into the 30's I can get by with being at range exclusively, but before that I simply won't have enough CA's. Just a guess though.Thanks!agressiv³

01-09-2007, 11:54 PM	#2
Graven55 Lord Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 38	I use a Ranger/Pally 2box a lot of the time. You give up some DPS if you range, but it doesn't hurt too bad. There is a "sweet spot" where you can do your melee CA's and your Ranged ones (although you'll only be able to autoattack with ranged from there). Aggro is absolutely not an issue with the Pally, Rangers have decent Deaggro anyway and with Amends, deaggro poison isn't even needed (so you can switch to something more useful like Stun or Slow). I've been able to 2box yellow heroics without much trouble (killed everything in PoA except the Skylord while 2boxing),. The main problem with a Ranger/Pally 2box over your Wizard is arrows. If you play anything like me you'll end up putting most of the plat you make on trash loot right back into arrows (in addition to a good chunk of any fabled/legendary loot you get too) and poisons. Adamantine arrows run 6p90 a stack and I easily go through a Quiverful a night. You can get by with exceptional poisons, which makes that affordable, but the Grandmasters are nice, especially if you go with the Spell dmg Crit AA's. If you can get one (or both) of the bows from Deathtoll on your ranger this will help with the cost of arrows immensely (along with the AA on your summoned arrows ability). In the end, I don't know that you would gain much, from a practical perspective, from a Ranger/Pally 2box that you don't already have with your wizard/pally, but it is a very fun class to play, and if they ever address the issues with arrows it'll be a great class. What you would gain is track, which is nice, but not super important with the nice eq2map and pathfinding, which is unimportant except for maybe training from climby wall to climby wall. Message Edited by Graven55 on 01-09-2007 10:56 AM

01-10-2007, 03:02 AM	#4
Rasraaku Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 36	I have always wanted to play a ranger but was too afraid of not being able to solo. But now i got a 2nd box so i was wondering what is the best partner for a ranger? i already have a pally, a defiler and a coercer. Thanks in advance for answering.

01-10-2007, 04:26 AM	#5
Agaxiq Server: Unrest Guild: Ascendant Rank: Alts Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 552	Pally is always a good choice because of amends/heals/rez, but if you want a little extra kick, a summoner would probably fare well also. You'd have to be careful not to over-dps with the ranger partnered with a summoner though, since their tank pets won't taunt as well as a true tank. (No rescue etc too) Also, if you dont have heals it will be tough to do heroics without very careful planning. Agro control is also a must. For doing solo quests/mobs, anything will work, but I'd pick one that doesn't have a ton of situationals for sanities sake, especially if you are 2-boxing. In that case, a bruiser/monk would be nice.agressiv³