New Player with questions.

[DarkPatrio]

First off played a Ranger in EQ1

 

Just curious abou what the Ranger is all about in EQ2.  Are they pretty self sufficent?

 

Also curious about the ratio of Bow to Melee as I would really like to do both about equally.

 

Thats it for now but would really like some help.

 

Thanks,

[Xeph]

Hey there and welcome to the Ranger community!

The Ranger of EQ2 is a balance of Melee and Ranged as you would expect. Both Strength and Agility are important to a successful Ranger. Intelligence plays a part in Rangers due to spell damage being based on that stat. There are many opinions as to whether Strength or Agility is the most important. Damage is based directly from Strength so I would put that slightly above Agil but not by much. I've built my Ranger (level 61) with both in mind and I've been very pleased with the results.

Please don't let the negativity on this board throw you. I assure you that it's a minority of players that feel slighted by SOE, leaving the rest of us satisfied with our class of choice. There will be some changes in the near future that will bring us back into line for our damage output so don't sweat it.

All of that aside, Rangers are a blast! If you liked the EQ1 Ranger you will love the next generation. In your 30s your bow skills will start to shine. At first concentrate on some good pig stickers (i.e. Dual Wield Pierce and/or Slash) and buy or quest for moderately powered bows. I personally use Dual Wield Slash short swords and a Long Bow. This gives me a default config of both slash (melee) and pierce (arrows) without having to change much for mob immunities. When you start raiding it's a good idea to carry pierce, blunt, and slash arrows (fyi).

On the question of self suffiency... It can be difficult to solo with a Ranger in the current state our damage output is in but it's possible with a little strategy. You'll figure out how to stealth in mid-combat, get behind, and WHACK with some great backstabs and bowshots. Our snare is not too great but in conjunction with other attacks it can also be effective. Of course we are no tank so I suggest killing mobs before they get to you

Hope this helps =)

Message Edited by Xephre on 03-13-200604:38 PM

[Sirlutt]

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Xephre wrote:

 I assure you that it's a minority of players that feel slighted by SOE, leaving the rest of us satisfied with our class of choice. There will be some changes in the near future that will bring us back into line for our damage output so don't sweat it.

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lol.. avoid reality much ?

[macte]

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DarkPatriott wrote:

First off played a Ranger in EQ1

 

Just curious abou what the Ranger is all about in EQ2.  Are they pretty self sufficent?

 

Also curious about the ratio of Bow to Melee as I would really like to do both about equally.

 

Thats it for now but would really like some help.

 

Thanks,

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Coming from EQ1 you are in for a surprise, I'd say  a pleasant surprise.  At least in the 5 years I played EQ1, Rangers were jack of all trades, master of none.  EQ2 Rangers are much more narrowly focused.  We have basically no utility, but we do have a lot of flexibility in our main focus - damage.  Before the last Live Update, we were THE masters of damage.  Now, our damage is lower than it should be, but we still do a good job at it.  That is about to be changed again, bringing us back up to a reasonable level.  If you like to use your abilities, and be able to watch a mob's hit point bar move, this is a class for you.Depending on how you play, an average would be 70% bow and 30% melee.  In solo situations, or duoing with a dress wearer, it'll be more like 5-10% bow, 90+% melee.  We have all the scout/ranger abilities you are used to from eq1, track, speed buff, camo, snare*, root**.  And we just look better than all the other classes.*Snare is virtually meaningless in EQ2.  ** Our current root is extremely situational and doesn't come until level 51.  The root we are getting should be much more useful overall.