Ranger Questions

[Hollomere]

Just thought I would roll a Ranger to try in Thid but have some questions about arrows :

1) Which arrow types are best against the different types of armour?

2) Are the arrows that are 79s each (can't remember the exact name atm) the best you can buy?

3) Are the playermade arrows any better than bought ones?

4) Can you add weapon procs on crafted bows?


Sorry for all the questions but I need to know so I can get myself setup

Cheers

 

[Aiteal]

Armour tables are here
http://daoc.nisrv.com/modules.php?name=Armor_Resists
If it says vulnerable you'll get 5% extra damage
resistant means you'll get 10% less damage
if in doubt of the class you are firing at
slash on albs
crush on mids

footed flight broadheads (FFBs) the 79s ones are the best you can BUY yes
marisashas gloves summon arrows with an extra bonus to hit compared to the FFBs
braggarts bow summons arrows with extra range compared to the FFBs

Playermade arrows are no different from store bought

You can add specific procs on american servers to the new durable recurve bows
but the only DD for 20 damage and havent reached EU servers yet
otherwise adding a proc is a waste
add a charge instead for crafted bows

 

[Hollomere]

Thanks for your answers Aiteal

Another couple of questions I do have though (if you don't mind) :

1) When firing Crit Shots in Thid... the first few when I targetted and drew the bow I was revealed from Stealth before shooting, then one of them I remained in stealth the whole time till the arrow hit. After that all of them revealed me again!. Is it meant to break stealth during the 'aim' time or is it just that I have a low stealth (12) atm? It just seems a but strange as when I reveal during the aim time it gives tha caster time to interrupt me

2) I assume that the time for a crit shot/normal shot varies on the speed of the bow that you use? At the moment its 5.4 spd bow I use and crit shot is 6 secs and normal shot 3 secs. All dex/qui/str is maxed including self buffs.

3) The 'Barbed' arrows..... are they equally as effective against all types of armour or do they have a specialised use?

Thanks in advance :worthy:

 

[Neffneff]

1. it's dependant on your lvl of stealth, higher yer stealth in relation to your level, less chance there is you will pop while preparing the shot.

2. yes crit shot and normal shot drawspeed depend on the spd of your bow, and your quickness, slower bows take longer to draw, but hit harder pershot etc, good if you get a shot off from stealth.

 

[Aiteal]

The 'Barbed' arrows..... are they equally as effective against all types of armour or do they have a specialised use?

Barbed arrows do thrust damage.
As hibs are neutral to thrust, they should never be your "default" arrow against albs/mids if you are unsure of the class you are firing at, as you may end up facing a 10% damage penalty.

You should use them however on mid and alb chain wearers.
Clerics, minstrels, mercs, warriors, valks, healers etc.

Scouts are also vuln to thrust damage so use barbed arrows on them.

 

[Hollomere]

Again thanks NeffNeff and Aiteal for your replies

Three final questions if you don't mind as you have been so helpful so far with my Ranger queries!.

1) As I am aiming for Sniper spec (no pun intended) I am going for 50 bow. What level of stealth should I be looking at to ensure that the Crit shots will keep me stealthed and would MoS affect that chance?.

2) As I'm going for Sniper spec I not concerned about melee specification. If they get close to me I'm basically toast so why spend points on a half-ass attempt to make a melee char - would it therefore be worth going for the following spec?

Recurve 50
Path 48 (last dmg add)
Stealth 30
CD 10 (rear positional to reduce speed for possible escape)


3) The Path chain is obviously self buff only, so do these work like the Bard baseline buffs and the Druid buffs stack on top of them?.

Again, thanks in advance for your advice

 

[Aiteal]

Sniper specced ranger is probably one of the weakest classes in the game
Unless you spend all your time at sieges firing from walls
But that gets old very fast

Don't confuse archery in Thid and the other BG's with archery in lvl50 RvR
They are so different it's heartbreaking

50 modified stealth at lvl50 is what you want as regards popping outta stealth when drawing a critshot.

The half assed melee rangers, or hybrids as we call them
are actually very viable characters, especially on classic servers

On US classic I can stand my own against many classes if I play correctly, snipe a little, restealth, snipe more then get into melee

with 35 bow (autotrained)
40 pathfinding
40 blades
19 CD
and 35 steath

I do very well especially with CL buffs for base con, and spec str/con and haste ontop that
With LotM and everyone getting 10 CL points I can have magic resists and a little parry as well

My bow damage is good, and so is my melee

The only real problem is hunters and thier new pets
The new pets mean that hunters will either beat you or escape
You'll have to play very very well to beat 40BC+ hunters

Tbh, a hybrid/sniper ranger is much better on classic than on ToA
On ToA casters just have too many defenses and cast too fast

I would honestly say
reroll your ranger on US classic
take advantage of the 14 day free trial and double XP they currently have
go hybrid spec
and have fun

If you fancy playing on US classic, let me know and I'll help you out with gear etc

 

[Hollomere]

The half assed melee rangers, or hybrids as we call them
are actually very viable characters, especially on classic servers

I may have touched a bit of a nerve there by mistake

I'll have to apologise there Aiteal because I didn't make myself clear ! What I was trying to get across was the point that as I am planning to go full bow spec I wasn't going to compromise that by spending the odd point here and there in melee as it wouldn't be well invested.

Dammit - my first 50 was a Valewalker so I know all about 'Hybrids'!!

Plus the bit you added about the difference in BG's vs RvR proper was well made... maybe I am looking at it from the wrong viewpoint and expecting too much from a bow spec. I'll give it a go to see how much I like it up to Leirvik, possibly Cathal (if I get the time to level him) before really investing the time on ML's, Arti's etc.

But even with whatever I decide to do, all your and NeffNeffs advice has been truly appreciated.

Cheers !

 

[Aiteal]

I may have touched a bit of a nerve there by mistake

Don't be daft, no reason to apologise at all
Unless you come right out and call me a puppy squeezer I don't take offense


Cathal Valley will obviously be the closet thing to real RvR
Most CV toons are templated out as LVL50 toons with buffbots
Once you experience your first buffed lifetapping sorc or spiritmaster you'll wanna quit
But perservere
Archers are a very rewarding class to play, they just take more effort than alot of other classes (casters especially)

Problem is that excal CV is pretty dead
However on US classic it is jam packed (shameless plug there )

 

[knighthood]

possibly Cathal

If u like shooting arrows into thin air

I agree with the other guy tho, Melee ranger is the way to go, pretty much all bow classes suck ass with bows cept for on keep walls these days. Especially scouts

 

[Aran Thule]

They stated they wanted to play a sniper ranger and not melee and good luck to them, its not an easy path.
Would agree to Aiteal in that you might want to go a little hybred, simply because you will not be able to kill anyone in a 1vs1 using just the bow and bow damage is so easily negated (shields , brittles, inst interupts ect).
Ive gone the full bow route, also tried the trueshot 3 route and it was just depressing.
Honestly there is no reason to go for 50 bow instead of 45, thoose 5 points can be used elsewhere and you only loose 1 volley arrow(volley is pathetic now), Pen Arrow 3(not needed for rangers as we dont fight wardens) and a little damage.
You do want to have 50 modified stealth (skill+RR+items=50) as then you shouldnt unstealth for normal shots and only 20% from crits.

 

[Azathrim]

If u like shooting arrows into thin air

I agree with the other guy tho, Melee ranger is the way to go, pretty much all bow classes suck ass with bows cept for on keep walls these days. Especially scouts

The usual Albion whine?

Scouts are the best archer for shooting arrows and the worst for doing melee. So, your statement seems to be just a whine.

 

[Aiteal]

The usual Albion whine?

Scouts are the best archer for shooting arrows and the worst for doing melee. So, your statement seems to be just a whine.

A ranger can hit harder with his bow than any scout if he specs for it.
Slower champ bow with PF dmg add gives better frontloaded and dmg over time than any scout.

Scouts are better in sieges though.
But its really only when defending structures they shine, being limited to 2-3% of the NF area and excelling only when defending is a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone.

 

[oranjeboom]

i used to play my ranger a lot.
i found this site very useful, its got loads of advice on specs and items and stuff. take a look.............http://www.mygeorgiamountains.com/daoc/

 

[knighthood]

The usual Albion whine?

Scouts are the best archer for shooting arrows and the worst for doing melee. So, your statement seems to be just a whine.

No, not at all, all archers suck ass. As stated by someone else, Brittles . BT . Shield etc , insta interupts , QC casted bolts etc...

And fyi , scouts r shite at everything. Also im not an alb, im a mid, and no i dont own a Hunter , and hunters are even worse for speccing bow with. Why would u want to , its a pure fact tho, if a Hunter or Ranger specs melee, they have a grt chance of killing in combat, scouts dont, and dont give me any crap about if a scout specced 50wep etc, because theyre still on a shit dmg table, and of the two lines they can use, slash has nowt special in it, and thrust is too endurance reliable and the styles tbh r wank.

Scouts are by far the worst archer class atm. And sure they have Engage, but to engage u must be visible and all the time ure engaging your gonna get set apon by some adder, and shield ? well, since 90% of solo melee classes will be duel weilders anyway (assassins BM/Merc) what use is that lol..

 

[knighthood]

Also if u spec bow as a scout, 45 or 50, u then lack the points to get anything but slam and stealth anyway. Until they remove the self BT stopping crit shots , all archer classes wil lallways suck ass with a bow spec . And tbh since PA go thru brittles now, so shuld critshots imo..

Or at least lower the reuse timer on Trueshot or make it a speccable skill in the bow line.