Starting a Ranger

Every ranger gets free training to be effective both with a bow, and with paired melee weapons, although most choose to concentrate on one of the two specialities using one of the two powerful Ranger enhancements.

The Arcane Archer learns dedicated archery skills, and in particular the ability to generate magically imbued arrows. The Ranger Tempest's training in using two weapons at once, progressively reduces the normal handicaps for this style, and eventually ensures that the off hand is attacking 100% of the time.

However, even an Arcane Archer knows how to pull out a pair of swords when when their enemies are too close, while the meanest Ranger Tempest can still be relied on to target a distant boss or enemy casters with some well placed arrows when required.

Archer
The Archer is an agile and skilled scout with minor spellcasting abilities. With his keen senses he can detect traps, secret doors or enemies before anyone else. Once combat starts the archer usually stays behind to support the party with his bow, but even in melee he has learned to wield two weapons with deadly precision. The archer wears only light armor but is quick in his movement and can sneak past enemies when necessary.

This specialization is recommended to those players who prefer smiting enemies from a distance rather than close up. Even so, any ranger can fight effectively with two weapons, so melee fighting is always an alternative when your enemies are within striking distance. Once Manyshot has run out, Rangers usually do more damage with two-weapon fighting than using a bow, even if they have gained the Point Blank Shot feat.

Archers need high Dexterity for unfailing ranged attacks, and so may take the Weapon Finesse feat to enable attacks with rapiers and shortswords to enjoy the same bonus. However they should also keep their strength up because it improves the damage for both.

The Arcane Archer has dedicated archery skills, and in particular the ability to generate arrows with special effects.

No ranger should use a crossbow because the free Bow strength feat applies the ranger's strength bonus to their damage rolls with a longbow or shortbow, and negates the crossbow's higher damage class.

Recommended race
Elf: Elves have great Dexterity and racial bonuses to finessable weapons but comparitively few hitpoints due to low Constitution and fewer racial toughness enhancements.

Warforged: Warforged have natural resistances, good constitution, good melee enhancements and increased hitpoints but are partialy immune to their own ranger healing spells.

Dwarf: Dwarf rangers are hard to kill thanks to their high Constitution, racial toughness enhancements, and improved saves v.s. magic but their racial weapon feats and enhancements to axe combat do not synergize well with archery.

Minimum recommended stats
Rangers get all of their class feats even if they don't meet the Dexterity requirements. However, there are optional feats that do have minimum requirements. The only way to meet these requirements are by starting with the required characteristics or by increasing them Tomes and level up bonuses to characteristics. Items, spells and enchantments NEVER count for satisfying Feats requisites.

Strength: No minimum requirement but Strength increases melee damage and ranged damage (because of the Ranger Feat: Bow Strength)so it's always good to have more Strength. Str 13 is required for Power Attack

Dexterity: 13 is required for the Tempest prestige class. This is because Tempest requires spring attack, mobility and dodge; and dodge requires a Dexterity of 13. Many people take much higher dex for more armor class along with the feat weapon finesse.

Constitution: 14 is required for the bonus hit points. Only ignore this advice if you don't plan on running end game content where hit points are more important, or if you have some way to overcome the problem of too few hit points.

Wisdom: No minimum requirement but you must increase your Wisdom to 14 to cast the highest level ranger spells. This can be done quite easily with bonuses from items, spells and guild airships -- even if your Wis is only 8.

Intelligence: No minimum requirement but you will need to increase your Int if you want to take feats that have Combat Expertise as a requisite. For example improved trip. Int also increases your skill points.

Charisma: No minimum requirement but arguably the most important skill Use Magic Device is based on Cha.

Skills
Skills can vary greatly for a ranger as they are a very flexible class capable of specializing in a number of different directions.

Warforged only

When playing a warforged the amount you heal when resting at a shrine is determined by the player with the highest repair (or yourself if your repair skill is better)in your group. Because of this you should try to have at least one warforged warrior or a wizard with heal in your group in most cases as rangers do not get repair as a class skill.

Recommended enhancements
Ranger Action Boost

Ranger's Dexterity

Rogue's Dexterity (multiclassing only)

Warforged only
Construct Thinking

Warforged Constitution

Elf only
Elven Dexterity

Elven Ranged Damage

Aerenal Elf Melee Damage

Elven Perception

Elven Enchantment Resistance

Feats
Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapon

Point Blank Shot

Precision (Useful for high armor enemies and bows with special effects on critical hits)

Dodge (Stacks with all other dodge bonuses)

Mobility

Shot on the Run

Two-Weapon Defense

Warforged only
Mithral Body

Mithral Fluidity

Elf only
Weapon Finesse (keep in mind only rapiers and light weapons are affected by this feat; resupply accordingly if investing in this feat)

Favored Enemies
Possible Favored Enemy choices, you get five eventually.
 * Undead (essential at low level)
 * Giant (useful at mid level)
 * Elemental (useful at mid and high levels)
 * Evil Outsider (essential at high level)
 * Construct (occasionally useful at mid and high levels)
 * Aberration (useful at higher levels - you may choose to drop say Undead or Giant to switch to it then)

Alternate build
Halfling Ranger
 * 12 str
 * 18 dex
 * 14 con
 * 14 wis
 * 8 int
 * 8 cha

Bonus stat points into str.

Favored Enemy:
 * Undead
 * Giant
 * Evil Outsider
 * Abberation (you may choose to switch when at higher levels, when usually-deadly abberations become frequent in quests)

Feats:
 * 1 Luck of Heroes
 * 3 Iron Will
 * 6 WFocus: Slash
 * 9 Improved Critical: Slash

Enhancements:
 * Ranger Dex
 * Halfling Dex
 * Ranger Action Boost
 * Halfling Luck

Skills:


 * Concentration
 * Search
 * Spot
 * Heal
 * Tumble CC

Fighting Tips
Other fighting classes can hide behind their heavy armor and extra hit points but Archers need to play smart. The point of using arrows is not damage, which over time is usually less than melee damage, but the enormous advantage of being able to hit enemies who cannot hit back at you because you are out of reach. Pick off vulnerable foes one by one to minimize damage from return fire, unless you are using a paralysing bow, in which case spread the affect around.

There are also explicit situations where the ability to hit the enemy from a distance means more than safety. The most obvious is in returning fire to ranged mobs standing out of reach, but even more useful is the ability to grab the 'aggro' of enemy casters or the boss from a distance. You may be able to destroy them from afar with manyshot, but if not, have a good plan for how to deal with them afterwards.

The combination of Improved Precise Shot with Manyshot can be like a machine gun on a group of vulnerable foes. The technique needs practise, as you have to get the timing right, have them nicely lined up, and target the one at the back.

Lastly, don't forget those Two Weapon Fighting feats that you get for free. Consider leaping over the frontline fighters to attack high priority targets like casters, or the enemy archers standing at the back.

Kite wisely Kiting is getting a monster to chase you, while you run backwards firing at it. This is a common tactic for solo archers, and can work well in groups if you can kite them through a firewall, a blade barrier or a waiting group of your fellows. But careless kiting in a group will anger your fellow players since they will typically not be able to hit a monster while running after it and you. Tell them what you are planning, and if you are in trouble, run run towards your friends, not away from them.

Tempest Ranger (Multiclass)
Forget about being the pansy at the back of the group flinging wooden cocktail sticks at your enemies, a Tempest ranger will show monsters a whole new world of pain!

The Tempest is a fast hitting killer concentrating on attack rather than defence. While having good Constitution and enough hitpoints to survive life in the front line, she prefers not to be the focus of attention for too long. She thinks shields are for wimps and uses Two-weapon fighting to maximise her Damage Per Second. She also has minor spellcasting abilities, giving a few useful buffs and some healing ability. With her keen senses she can detect traps, secret doors or enemies before anyone else. The Tempest wears only light armor but may be dexterous enough to get a high armor class. She is quick in her movements and can sneak past enemies when necessary.

This specialization is recommended to those players who are happier attacking the foe from the edges of the melee, rather than being in the thick of it. The Ranger Tempest's training in used two weapons at once, progressively reduces the normal handicaps for this style, and eventually ensures that the off hand is attacking 100% of the time. Even so, like any ranger she gets certain bow feats for free, so archery is always an alternative for those special situations when her enemies are at a distance.

Tempests need high Strength for melee attacks, but also need Dexterity for the Ranger Tempest prestige enhancement line. This is because Tempest requires spring attack, mobility and dodge; and dodge requires a Dexterity of 13. Many people take higher Dex to increase their armor class, and some take it higher than Str to use the feat Weapon finesse with rapiers and shortswords. However, although the attack for these weapons will then be based on Dex, the damage is still based on Str. so this can never be neglected.

No ranger should use a crossbow because the free Bow strength feat applies the ranger's strength bonus to their damage rolls with a longbow or shortbow, and negates the crossbow's higher damage class.

This build is based on the character Fragaria Vesca on the European server Keeper.

Note, this is not a pure ranger build.

Level Progression

 * Level 1 - Ranger
 * Level 2 - Ranger
 * Level 3 - Ranger
 * Level 4 - Fighter
 * Level 5 - Ranger
 * Level 6 - Ranger
 * Level 7 - Ranger
 * Level 8 - Fighter
 * Level 9 - Ranger
 * Level 10 - Ranger

The fighter levels are taken for the two extra feats, as well as an improved choice of armours the ranger can wear.

Race
Human: The human race gives an extra feat, which outweights the vast majority of other racial advantages, and the extra skill point are very helpful.

Stats

 * Strength: 16


 * Dexterity: 14 Enough to satisfy all the dexerity requirements of the feats Dodge, Mobilty, Spring Attack.


 * Constitution: 14 Nobody likes to die, and until your character becomes immortal, having more hitpoints makes your character harder to be killed.


 * Intelligence: 10 Rangers have a healthy supply of skill points, and coupled with the extra skill points that humans get, the extra points are likely to wasted on useless skills.


 * Wisdom: 12 (14 needed to cast all ranger spells, but any additions count so this is easy to achieve.)


 * Charisma: 8

Important Skills
In alphabetical order, these should be maxed out when possible:
 * Heal There's nothing like filling up your health bar to full everytime you use a rest shrine.
 * Jump Jumping over enemies' heads allows you to move around freely in the combat area, and allows you to jump over obstacles to engage in an enemy that is attacking your casters.
 * Spot Make the rogue in your party look like a fool when he can't spot that trap! Also allows you to spot hidden creatures. Some creatures like Hobgoblin Witch Doctors have a nasty habit of casting spells from stealth, target them and destroy them.
 * Tumble Coupled with mobilty, you can safely tumble past hordes of enemies without a scratch.

Secondary Skills
In alphabetical order, improve these skills when you can:
 * Hide Hide and Move Silently aren't that important since you cannot sneak past some mobs, only put enough to allow you to sneak past most things, rank 10 is sufficent for this purpose.
 * Move Silently
 * Search Although you will have a rogue with higher search than you, an extra pair of eyes won't hurt.

Level 1

 * Dodge
 * Mobility

Level 3

 * Resilience

Level 4

 * Spring Attack this feat helps a lot against monsters that runs around. Having longstrider allows you to catch up with runaway monsters so you can attack them.

Level 6

 * Iron Will Hold Person, Hold Monster, and other stunning or mind affecting spells are an all too common reason for the death of a melee combatant, get this to prevent it from happening to you!

Level 8

 * Improved Critical select this with a weapon of your choice, or if you prefer, a different feat. I chose Slashing Weapon since there are alot of slashing weapons to be found in the game, and helps to trigger the burst effects on weapons.

Level 9

 * Precision There are certain monsters with an insanely high AC, such as the drow in Tempest's Spine, use this feat to hit them.

Level 1

 * Longstrider +15% run speed is great for getting around, it lasts for a long time too; also has a nice visual effect.
 * Resist Energy: Fire Fire attacks are much more common than attacks of the other elements, and where they do appear, you will often be given the chance to swap to a Resist Energy spell of the required type.

Level 2

 * Barkskin More AC is always good.

Enhancements

 * Ranger's Action Boost This is the best enhancement you will get as a ranger, recommeneded usage: skill boost to improve your haggle skill to squeeze that extra gold from the traders; sprinting around the city or in a dungeon is also fun :)
 * Energy of the Wild More spellpoints allows you to buff yourself, and your companions too if they are too tight to buff themselves.

Final Comments
Although this build was originally designed for damage, in practice, it is quite defensive and the feat selection reflects this. This build is most effective against spellcasters type monsters.

I hope you will enjoy playing a melee ranger in the future, as well as disolving the stereotype image of a ranger as an archery specialist. The majority of the warriors I have partied with are often shocked at how quick my character can mow through hordes of mobs taking little to no damage, and spellcasters are often thankful when I leap over monsters to their rescue.

--137.222.10.67 05:34, April 30, 2006 (EDT)

Tempest Ranger (Pure Class)
This build is as pure as a martini... stirred of course, none of those dirty martinis that James Bond loves.

This build is based on the character Praxidike on the European server Aureon; it is basically a reroll of Fragaria Vesca without the fighter levels.

Level Progression

 * Level 1 - Ranger
 * Level 2 - Ranger
 * Level 3 - Ranger
 * Level 4 - Ranger
 * Level 5 - Ranger
 * Level 6 - Ranger
 * Level 7 - Ranger
 * Level 8 - Ranger
 * Level 9 - Ranger
 * Level 10 - Ranger

Race
Human: The human race gives an extra feat, which outweights the vast majority of other racial advantages, and the extra skill point are very helpful.

Stats

 * Strength: 14 Increase strength at levels 4 and 8.


 * Dexterity: 14 Enough to satisfy all the dexerity requirements of the feats Dodge, Mobilty, Spring Attack.


 * Constitution: 14 Nobody likes to die, and until your character becomes immortal, having more hitpoints makes your character harder to be killed.


 * Intelligence: 12 Rangers have a healthy supply of skill points, and a good selection of them to choose from too, I just can't choose some, so I chose all!


 * Wisdom: 14 Although 12 is enough to cast all the ranger spells given the current level cap, 14 will allow you to cast all ranger spells as they become available when the level cap is raised, and extra will save is also handy.


 * Charisma: 8 Why bother with your "force of personality" when you can use your "force of strength" and beat things to a pulp!

Important Skills
In alphabetical order, these should be maxed out when possible:
 * Heal There's nothing like filling up your health bar to full everytime you use a rest shrine; activating action boost (skill) and you can bring even a critically wounded barbarian to full health at the rest shrine.
 * Hide Hide and Move Silently allows you do move through lots of enemies undetected, even more important to have a decent supply of these two skills since the invisibility nerf in module 1 patch 3.
 * Jump Jumping over enemies' heads allows you to move around freely in the combat area, and allows you to jump over obstacles to engage in an enemy that is attacking your casters; at 35 jump, I have jumped to places considered impossible by others, such as the ladder at the final section of VoN5, I often wait for the raid leader to organise 4 people to use the lever for the first sonic cannon, while I wait at the second one.
 * Listen I took this to test its usefulness, and I still can't hear a mouse squeaking with maxed out listen.
 * Move Silently See Hide
 * Search Although you will have a rogue with higher search than you, an extra pair of eyes won't hurt; at 34 search, anything a rogue and detect, I can as well, a common tactic for me and a rogue in a room full of traps is for me run off to find the boxes and the rogue to disable them. Apparantly Trap Sense has been fixed in Module 1 patch 3, so detecting traps with DC 20 or greater is now impossible.
 * Spot Make the rogue in your party look like a fool when he can't spot that trap! Also allows you to spot hidden creatures. Some creatures like Hobgoblin Witch Doctors have a nasty habit of casting spells from stealth, target them and destroy them.
 * Tumble Coupled with mobilty, you can safely tumble past hordes of enemies without a scratch; just for fun, I cast tumble and use action boosts to do forward flips in my mithral full plate in front of those tin can fighters and paladins.

Secondary Skills
In alphabetical order, improve these skills when you can:
 * Use Magic Device I took 2 ranks of UMD at level 10, which combined with items and other boosts can reach as high as 21 making most restricted items usable; raising people from the dead is possible! This skill is required to reach 25 strength since a certain scroll must be read.

Level 1

 * Dodge
 * Medium Armour Profiency I like the look and stats of medium and heavy armour made from mithral than light armours, you can pick some other feat if you desire.

Level 3

 * Mobility

Level 6

 * Spring Attack this feat helps alot against monsters that runs around alot, whether it's something that monster does naturally, or when you have a stupid caster that runs away from the tanks when they have aggro. Having longstrider allows you to catch up with runaway monsters so you can attack them.

Level 9

 * Improved Critical select this with a weapon of your choice, or if you prefer, a different feat. I chose Slashing Weapon since there are alot of slashing weapons to be found in the game; great for getting twice the number of crits with my +5 battleaxe.

Level 1

 * Undead Undead is a fairly common enemy at all levels.

Level 5

 * Evil Outsiders One of the more common, yet tough group of enemies at high levels.

Level 10

 * Aberrations Great for soloing beholders, and beating up rust monsters.

Level 1

 * Camoflague I usually take this spell for novelty purposes, when you cast this then barkskin on someone, they will turn to a near transparent texture.
 * Resist Energy: Fire Fire attacks are much more common than attacks of the other elements, and where they do appear, you will often be given the chance to swap to a Resist Energy spell of the required type.
 * Resist Energy: Electricity Lightning bolts and electrical damage is the second most common type of damage next to fire, and some dungeons have more electrical damage than fire, so this will be handy.

Level 2

 * Barkskin More AC is always good, you'd be barking mad if you don't have this memorised all the time.
 * Cat's Grace More Dexterity is always good too.

Enhancements

 * Ranger's Action Boost Skill boosts are wonderful for a skills based class such as the ranger.
 * Energy of the Wild More spellpoints allows you to buff yourself, and your companions too if they are too tight to buff themselves.
 * Human Strength With this enhancement and other spell boosts, this build can open up locks that requires 25 strength.
 * Human Versatility Since you have alot of skills, why not give them all a boost.

Final Comments
This build is a significant improvement over Fragaria (see above), the vast majority of people that I have grouped with think that this character build is insane since it is the opposite what they perceive a ranger to be, although not in a negative way, once they recognise the considerable number of advantages of this build, as compared to a stereotypical ranger.

Having 25 strength is excellent if your guild does not have a lot of high strength characters and they need a certain 25 strength lever opened; the damage from arrows benefits from a high strength as well, at the expense of an average to hit due to an average dexerity.

At 40AC, a highly mobile playstyle, and a decent amount of damage, changing tactics in the middle of a fight can be done very easily; in my regular group, my role is the the tank, whilst my fighter friend deals the damage.

With aberrations as a favoured enemy, soloing them is not much of a challenge.

When fighting spellcasters that fling fireballs, lightning bolts and anything that evasion works on, I am the one taking the lead to ensure they are not targetting the crispy tin cans or squishies while they all take them down one at a time. Fighting mobs in a trapped room is no problem either, when a rogue gets spotted when disabling a trap, I will leap to their rescue so they can try the box again.

In conclusion, the Ranger is a generalist class and this character build epitomises this fact with the ability to do just about anything in the game.

--137.222.210.174 09:02, June 15, 2006 (EDT)