What feats for a pure range ranger

[JD2134]

Ok looking at a pure rangers with focus on bows

Starting stats are 15 str ,18 dex, 13 con, 9 int, 13 wisdom, and 8 charisma. with tomes i have it be 16,18,14,10,14,8

So what feats should i look at getting to max my box abilites

[isldur]

I would go with all the feats needed for shot on the run (tho some would argue against it) I believe the feats are point blank shot, dodge, mobility, then shot on the run. There is also weapon focus: ranged and improved critical ranged. That's all I can think of right now. Elves get extra enhancements for bows as well.

Try using the search feature on the forum it may help.

Edited: Changed to focus sorry about that.

[WeiQuinn]

I have an Elven Ranger and these are the feats I took:

Point Blank Shot
Dodge
Mobility
Shot on the Run
Weapon Finesse

I plan on taking Improved Critical: Ranged at level 15 once the cap is raised.

This character was created during Headstart, so Shot on the Run was necessary to move and shoot. A lot of people don't bother since it is very feat intensive just to not have a -4 attack penalty.

I don't plan on swapping out his feats, but I plan on rerolling my Ranger/Rogue as a 32-pt build and will drop Point Blank Shot and Shot on the Run for Iron Will and Toughness.

Edit: As Gol noted Weapon Specialization requires Fighter 4. I think the poster above me meant to say Weapon Focus: Ranged.

[Gol]

Weapon Spec requires Fighter 4, btw.

[Darkwolf]

Hmmm, need to look at my build when I get home. I know that I abandoned the SotR line for Imp Crit: Ranged. With an extremly high Dex build the occasional -4 if you are moving is not going to make you miss very often. Not to mention the 17-20 crit range it gives the Silver Longbow.

[scion]

...is mostly a fighter.

Ranger 2/Fighter 12. It's all about feats. I don't remember the precise order of feats, but in general, the most important feats are precise shot, many shot, shot on the run, improved crit (ranged), and improved precise shot. Take these ASAP. Yes, SOTR is that important. It helps A LOT when you are running around trying to get mobs lined up for Imp. Precise Shot, or for attacking while making a tactical retreat (especailly for soloing)

I don't remember exact level requirements, so the following is a guess, and can almost definitely be tweaked.

R1) Bow Strength
1) PBS
R2) Rapid Shot
3) Precise Shot
F1) Dodge
F2) Mobility
6) Manyshot
F4) SOTR
F6) Imp Crit
9) WF
F8) WS
12) Imp. Prec. Shot
F10) GWF
F12) GWS

Basically, you get every ranged combat feat in the game except power critical, and the fighter crit confirmation makes up for that.

I tool this build (at lvl 12, IIRC) into the giant cave to the left of Threnal. I had someone else with me, he had 5-6 giants stuck on the bridge, all nice and lined up... 3 arrows, 5 targets = 15 hits, hitting at ~ 20+ each = 300+ damage per attack (not round, or second, but ATTACK), 900+ on crits! (silver longbow is the best DPS bow against critable foes).

For 20 seconds out of every 2 minutes you are a DPS monster. Of course, you are also almost guaranteed to take the agro unless you plan carefully. And archers are squishy...

The fighter levels also let you take the armor mastery enhancements, so he has a decent AC. (40 ish unbuffed, no shield). He has a 28 dex and a 25 str (28 pt build, no tomes, +5 items), with ideal EQ, he will get up to a 32 dex and 28 str, but I'm not holding my breath on 2 +3 tomes :rolleyes:)

Fianlly, a warning. This build is weak early, awesome in mid-upper levels, then weakens again as casters start getting inst-kill spells. And unlike a tank, you aren't going to be particulalry well suited to holding a doorway while the casters demolish a room.

On the other hand, how many people can claim to have killed the white dragon and the giant with the same attack? :cool:

[Darkwolf]

Uh, yeah. That would be a really great post. If this was a thread about multi-classed archers.

Now that you've shown how big your e-peen is why don't you cast FoM or even a simple Barkskin on the party... Oh, that's right, you can't. Because you're not a Ranger. You're a Fighter... wait. I thought this was a Ranger thread.
:rolleyes:

[JD2134]

...is mostly a fighter.

Ranger 2/Fighter 12. It's all about feats.

Maybe you missed the title, PURE ranger. I want the spells also and It not meant to be a soloist, But a helpfully addition to a party. With spells like resist so the cleric doesnt have to pass it out cause the caster doesnt have it or wants to max his mana for kills. And barkskin, with backup healing if the cleric drops

[QuantumFX]

...will be mostly ranger.

Feat spread:
2 Ranger/18 Fighter: Bow Strength, Rapid Shot, 2 Weapon Fighting, Plus 15 (6 General + 9 Fighter) feats: (Dodge, Mobility, PBS, SotR, IC Ranged, Multishot, Precise Shot, Imp Precise Shot, WF/GWF: Ranged, WS: Ranged, GWS: Ranged, Power Crit)

12 Ranger/8 Fighter: Bow Strength, Rapid Shot, 2wf/I2wf/G2wf, Rapid Shot, Multishot, Precise Shot/Imp Precise Shot, Plus 11 (5 Fighter +6 General) feats: (Dodge, Mobility, PBS, SotR, IC Ranged, WF/GWF Ranged, WS Ranged, Power Crit)

Both version have 2 feats left.
The Fighter has 20 more HP, and can do 2 more base points of damage per hit.
The Ranger has access to all of his lvl 1-3 spells, Greater 2 weapon fighting, evasion, a better reflex save and can do +6 base damage to 3 types of foes.

Arguably a 14 Ranger/6 Fighter is an even better split as GWF is cancelled out by the fact that the ranger would have 2 more points of dex over the fighter and Freedom of Movement trumps a +1 to hit.

And before anyone assumes that I'm talking about a DEX ranger... Nope! You can get a rediculously high melee/ranged damage output with a 18 STR/18 DEX elf ranger.

[Sue_Dark]

R1) Bow Strength
1) PBS
R2) Rapid Shot
3) Precise Shot
F1) Dodge
F2) Mobility
6) Manyshot
F4) SOTR
F6) Imp Crit
9) WF
F8) WS
12) Imp. Prec. Shot
F10) GWF
F12) GWS




Hmm...

Ranger L1
Bow Str
Wild Empathy (blah)

Ranger L2
Rapid shot
TWF

Ranger L6
ITWF
Many shot

Ranger L7
Imp Wild Empathy (blah)

Ranger L9
Evasion

Ranger L11
GTWF
Precise Shot
Imp Precise shot

Couple that with the feats at L1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 and the added favored enemies at L1, 5 and 10... Why exactly would I want to consider bastardizing my Ranger with fighter levels? We have the same HD. My Ranger has better saves. I can cast spells that actually benefit the party, from level 1 (CLW can save the whole group)

More importantly, you gave up a ton of stuff for things the Ranger gets not only FREE, but without need for prereqs. This frees up those feats for things like Extend spell, mental toughness, toughness, imp crit, weapon focus, skill focus, and any of the things that can make an already great class even better.

Personally I have 2 builds, one is intended for party buffing and has imp crit/focus pierce, dodge, and extend (i only recall those feats atm, at work). The other does not get extend until the next level cap, but has 100 more sp than the first and has alot more hp and output damage. Again I dont recall exact feat lineup off hand, but i know imp crit pierce and finesse are in there. My personal choice is to take finesse at L1 and go mainly dex based at the low end where high output damage isnt really needed. Later in the game one might re-think this OR go with stat damage.

The key to a successful Ranger is versitility. Dont pigeon-hole yourself into what everyone thinks a Ranger should be, but dont skimp on the things that make you valuable to the party. Be willing and ready to assist with healing when the healer needs help (and even the best need help sometimes). Be ready to toss the buffs for everyone, or call how much sp you have and ask about splitting buffs with someone else. Be helpful and versitile and people will want you around, be a mana sponge who doesnt share/help and you will quickly find yourself groupless and lonely :) <note: this post is the expressed OPINION of the poster. The factual information is taken from the DDO Compendium located at: http://www.ddo.com/index.php?page_id=339&menus=c:cf&do=classabilities&cf_id=6&cmi=3:6 >

[Darkwolf]

Wild Empathy (blah)

Hahahaha. Ain't that the truth. ;)

[QuantumFX]

Hahahaha. Ain't that the truth. ;)

Thats what you get for using CHA as a dump stat! :D

2 Paladin/1x Rangers FTW!! :)

[Darkwolf]

Thats what you get for using CHA as a dump stat! :D

2 Paladin/1x Rangers FTW!! :)

I have 0 regrets. I mean with 28 points, you have to cut corners somewhere.

Now, if I was to rebuild with 32 it may be different, but that is unlikely.

[QuantumFX]

I have 0 regrets. I mean with 28 points, you have to cut corners somewhere.

Now, if I was to rebuild with 32 it may be different, but that is unlikely.

Don't rebuild, make multiple characters!! (I actually have a 28pt build on Xoriat (http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=1281212&postcount=3) that I want to mess around with.)

If you tried WE/IWE at low levels and gave up try them again the DC is our Ranger Level + CHA bonus. I have a 8 CHA ranger and the effects still work they just don't hit as often as with my pally/rangers.

The fun thing about IWE with a high CHA score is that it lasts longer than a mage's Charm monster. Maze of Madness becomes - Come Mr. Bigglesworth let us slay your former allies!! :D

I've gotten to the point where I name my charmed pets.

Winter Wolf #1 is always named Satchel
Winter Wolf #2 is always named Santa's Little Helper
Razor Cat #1 is always named Bucky
Razor Cat #2 is always named Mr. Bigglesworth

I would use Odie and Garfield but there's never enough time between IWE cooldowns to get 3 pets.

[scion]

Now that you've shown how big your e-peen is

Right, I bragged so much, I told you all aout my character. like what his name is, and what server. I spread about tales of my superior prowess in combat, and how I pwn in PvP.

WRONG. I was touting the properties of the build, with 2 minor in-game examples, neither of which actually had nothing to do specifically with my character, but again, the potential of the build. In fact, anyone with IPS could do the latter, it was really a matter of luck, not skill (killing dragon & giant with the same shot). to top it all off, I talked about the WEAKNESSES of the build.

Ok, enough of that and on to replies more worth my time.


Maybe you missed the title, PURE ranger. I want the spells also and It not meant to be a soloist, But a helpfully addition to a party. With spells like resist so the cleric doesnt have to pass it out cause the caster doesnt have it or wants to max his mana for kills. And barkskin, with backup healing if the cleric drops

I misunderstood your title ("pure range ranger"). I put the pure with range instead of ranger, as in a ranger purely devoted to ranged combat. I should have read the first post a little closer, but there's no going back now...


Feat spread:
2 Ranger/18 Fighter: Bow Strength, Rapid Shot, 2 Weapon Fighting, Plus 15 (6 General + 9 Fighter) feats: (Dodge, Mobility, PBS, SotR, IC Ranged, Multishot, Precise Shot, Imp Precise Shot, WF/GWF: Ranged, WS: Ranged, GWS: Ranged, Power Crit)

12 Ranger/8 Fighter: Bow Strength, Rapid Shot, 2wf/I2wf/G2wf, Rapid Shot, Multishot, Precise Shot/Imp Precise Shot, Plus 11 (5 Fighter +6 General) feats: (Dodge, Mobility, PBS, SotR, IC Ranged, WF/GWF Ranged, WS Ranged, Power Crit)

Both version have 2 feats left.
The Fighter has 20 more HP, and can do 2 more base points of damage per hit.
The Ranger has access to all of his lvl 1-3 spells, Greater 2 weapon fighting, evasion, a better reflex save and can do +6 base damage to 3 types of foes.

Arguably a 14 Ranger/6 Fighter is an even better split as GWF is cancelled out by the fact that the ranger would have 2 more points of dex over the fighter and Freedom of Movement trumps a +1 to hit.

1) Nowhere did I say fighter the rest of the way to 20! in fact, I didn't mention 20 at all. We don't know what other ranged feats they may add in the process, so we don't know what would be the best way to go. Let's just work with what we have already, hm? As it is, unless they add 2+ worthwhile ranged combat feats when they raise the cap to 16, I am thinking about taking a couple levels of rogue.

2. The rng2/ftr18 build should have an additional feat (ftr18 gets 10 bonus feats, not 9)


Couple that with the feats at L1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 and the added favored enemies at L1, 5 and 10... Why exactly would I want to consider bastardizing my Ranger with fighter levels? We have the same HD. My Ranger has better saves. I can cast spells that actually benefit the party, from level 1 (CLW can save the whole group)

More importantly, you gave up a ton of stuff for things the Ranger gets not only FREE, but without need for prereqs. This frees up those feats for things like Extend spell, mental toughness, toughness, imp crit, weapon focus, skill focus, and any of the things that can make an already great class even better.

Personally I have 2 builds, one is intended for party buffing and has imp crit/focus pierce, dodge, and extend (i only recall those feats atm, at work). The other does not get extend until the next level cap, but has 100 more sp than the first and has alot more hp and output damage. Again I dont recall exact feat lineup off hand, but i know imp crit pierce and finesse are in there. My personal choice is to take finesse at L1 and go mainly dex based at the low end where high output damage isnt really needed. Later in the game one might re-think this OR go with stat damage.

The key to a successful Ranger is versitility. Dont pigeon-hole yourself into what everyone thinks a Ranger should be, but dont skimp on the things that make you valuable to the party. Be willing and ready to assist with healing when the healer needs help (and even the best need help sometimes). Be ready to toss the buffs for everyone, or call how much sp you have and ask about splitting buffs with someone else. Be helpful and versitile and people will want you around, be a mana sponge who doesnt share/help and you will quickly find yourself groupless and lonely :) <note: this post is the expressed OPINION of the poster. The factual information is taken from the DDO Compendium located at: http://www.ddo.com/index.php?page_id=339&menus=c:cf&do=classabilities&cf_id=6&cmi=3:6 >

Whew! a lot to respond to (a lot of good stuff in there, btw). My response can be summed up in a few points:
1. "pure range" is what I was working off of, both when creating my character and when writing my post. I created my character in response to an attitude that ranged combat was incredibly weak and wasn't a useful addition to a party. I sufficiently proved that person wrong, and in the process kind of stopped playing my original character (having too much fun with the archer). None of the excellent reasons you pointed out for playing a pure ranger do ANYHTING for ranged combat that a fighter can't do just as well, and more.

2. Fighters get more HP than rangers. 10+con mod per level as opposed to 8+con mod. That reflects the change that rangers underwent when D&D 3.5 was released (d10 HD to d8, along with more skill points, combat style coming at 2nd level instead of 1st, and many more)

3. The build starts with 2 levels of ranger, so anything you can do at fist, I can do at first. And yes, versatility is important. I always try to carry a few CSW wands on me for that very reason. I love healing the cleric. First off there's a kind of irony to it, plus it saves their sp/wand charges for the middle of combat when I'm too busy being archer to be a healer. One cleric has even made to the comment to me that I cured others more than he cured me.

4. I wasn't trying to detract from the Ranger. Just pointing out that in ONE area, a fighter can out-perform. Actually, a pure fighter would be horrible, because only rangers can get Bow Strength. Indeed, I was looking at the ranger forums because I have a lvl 3 ranger I am playing around with, and I wanted to see what the experts had to say.

[QuantumFX]

1) Nowhere did I say fighter the rest of the way to 20! in fact, I didn't mention 20 at all. We don't know what other ranged feats they may add in the process, so we don't know what would be the best way to go. Let's just work with what we have already, hm? As it is, unless they add 2+ worthwhile ranged combat feats when they raise the cap to 16, I am thinking about taking a couple levels of rogue.

2. The rng2/ftr18 build should have an additional feat (ftr18 gets 10 bonus feats, not 9)

Point 1a (The lvl 20 aspect) - I'm talking about level 20 only because DDO is starting to turn into a grind. The reason for taking the bulk ranger levels first is so you can get all the prereq junk out of the way.

Point 1b (Additional feats) - I'm going to draw on my P&P experience here and ask what general feats could you be speaking of that a lvl 8 fighter wouldn't have access to? (Not a flame but an actual question.)

Point 1c (Dipping 2 levels of rogue) - Now you trade your most compelling edge for becoming equal to a ranger in the reflex save dept.

Point 2 - Yes they do. I did the straight value of fighter level/2 when it should be fighter lvl/2 +1.

Still the 12 ranger/8 fighter build has 2 extra feats and the 2 ranger/18 fighter build has 3.

The proposed 2 Ranger/2 Rogue/16 Fighter and the 12 Ranger/8 Fighter has 2 each. Then you're still going to have to deal with the loss of BAB, the spells, +38 skill points, G2WF and favored enemies. All you get out of it is access to UMD as a class skill, GWF/GWS and +12 HP.

[scion]

Point 1a (The lvl 20 aspect) - I'm talking about level 20 only because DDO is starting to turn into a grind. The reason for taking the bulk ranger levels first is so you can get all the prereq junk out of the way.
1a part 1: whether or not DDO is a grind, we currently only have access to 14 levels. We do not know what turbine will add in terms of feats(see 1b), enhancements, gear, etc. Working with what I have, IMO a rgr2/ftr12 is the best archer (rangers get plenty of non-archery benefits, they do not weigh into this comparison)

1a part 2: I kind of agree with you about taking the ranger levels first. Definitely take lvl 1 as ranger, for bow strength and skills. Beyond tht, getting Multishot is a top priority, I think that rangers & fighters can both get it at 6th? SO you would want to stick with ranger at least till 6th before multiclassisng, if you were planning on getting the most important feats from Ranger. I suppose someone with enough time/money/dragonshards might be able to squeeze more power out of the lower levels by taking fighter levels earlier then using feat exchange to swap them out just before getting them as a ranger. I'm not sure there would be any advantage worth the cost/effort, but there might be.


Point 1b (Additional feats) - I'm going to draw on my P&P experience here and ask what general feats could you be speaking of that a lvl 8 fighter wouldn't have access to? (Not a flame but an actual question.) I'm going to draw on my P&P experience to say that DDo's improved precise shot is TONS better than the original. Oh, and Mental Toughness? Never heard of that in P&P. Snake-blooded? Precision? There are a lot of feats that are VERY different in DDO than in P&P, or don't exist at all in P&P. Who knows, maybe they'll use some of the non-core feats out of Complete Warrior, or some of the Eberron specific things (a feat that lets a monk flurry with a longsword? yes please!). The point is that we can't make even educated guesses what will be done for the next 6 levels.


Point 1c (Dipping 2 levels of rogue) - Now you trade your most compelling edge for becoming equal to a ranger in the reflex save dept.

The most compelling edge meaning the feats? I won't lose them because I take rogue levels :) getting more and more feats isn't the point, getting all of the archery feats is the point. I've done that. Where I go from here is dependant on what they add, and I don't particularly want to speculate.


The proposed 2 Ranger/2 Rogue/16 Fighter and the 12 Ranger/8 Fighter has 2 each. Then you're still going to have to deal with the loss of BAB, the spells, +38 skill points, G2WF and favored enemies. All you get out of it is access to UMD as a class skill, GWF/GWS and +12 HP.
I still wasn't talking lvl 20, I was talking a hypothetical 16. If I was building the ultimate archer and I knew what was going to be released, I would come up with a different build. Maybe. But I don't know, so at current, I build for 14, and lay down the framework of a few different ideas of what to do when they raise the cap.

[QuantumFX]

For multiclassing a Ranger/ Fighter I'd wait until at least level 11 for the reasons You mentioned. (Respecing feats is hella expensive. :P) The grind issue is that we're reaching the point where rerolling is starting to become detrimental. (Bound Items, Tomes, Time spent, Money Spent.) Why make a character if you're just going to have to reroll him at the next module?


I'm going to draw on my P&P experience to say that DDo's improved precise shot is TONS better than the original. Oh, and Mental Toughness? Never heard of that in P&P. Snake-blooded? Precision? There are a lot of feats that are VERY different in DDO than in P&P, or don't exist at all in P&P. Who knows, maybe they'll use some of the non-core feats out of Complete Warrior, or some of the Eberron specific things (a feat that lets a monk flurry with a longsword? yes please!). The point is that we can't make even educated guesses what will be done for the next 6 levels.

I think you misunderstood the question. I was asking if there were any other P&P feats (ie. Core books, Complete Warrior) available for archers that weren't implemented in DDO yet. I'm pretty sure that the only archery feats/special abilities left are in the domain of the Prestige Classes.


The most compelling edge meaning the feats?
Partially. It also includes your total to hit bonus and Hit Points. You lose a +1 BAB by dipping rogue that has to be made up with Greater Weapon Focus.


I won't lose them because I take rogue levels :) getting more and more feats isn't the point, getting all of the archery feats is the point. I've done that. Where I go from here is dependant on what they add, and I don't particularly want to speculate.

I've already acknowledged that you get access to Greater Weapon Specialization: Ranged (The only feat I'm missing.)


I still wasn't talking lvl 20, I was talking a hypothetical 16. If I was building the ultimate archer and I knew what was going to be released, I would come up with a different build. Maybe. But I don't know, so at current, I build for 14, and lay down the framework of a few different ideas of what to do when they raise the cap.

I never questioned you on that. My argument is purely from a feat standpoint at level 20. You can get there now and pay later or you can make a really good character now and continue to grow later.

[scion]

For multiclassing a Ranger/ Fighter I'd wait until at least level 11 for the reasons You mentioned. (Respecing feats is hella expensive. :P) The grind issue is that we're reaching the point where rerolling is starting to become detrimental. (Bound Items, Tomes, Time spent, Money Spent.) Why make a character if you're just going to have to reroll him at the next module?See, my perspective is a little different. I don't plan on re-rolling, just because I could have done something better if only I knew ahead of time. When the cap gets raised, I will choose how to advance my archer based on what is now available. The more I think about it, the more I think taking two more levels of fighter would be best, even if they don't add any archery feats. There are plenty of non-archery feats that would help him out tremendously, like toughness or weapon finesse, that I simply did not have the room for in 14 levels. On the other hand, a level or two of rogue or barbarian would also be quite useful. I will mak eplans when I have more information, same as I do in P&P. If I am playing an undead hunter and the campaign shifts such that i'm primarily fighting orcs instead, I'm not going to re-roll, I'm going to adapt my character as best I can.


I think you misunderstood the question. I was asking if there were any other P&P feats (ie. Core books, Complete Warrior) available for archers that weren't implemented in DDO yet. I'm pretty sure that the only archery feats/special abilities left are in the domain of the Prestige Classes. I understood, my point was simply that there is plenty of non-P&P content in DDO already, so planning off of what's available in P&P can only take you so far.

You are right there there isn't much for archers short of a few prestige classes that still leave a lot to be desired(for my last P&P archer, I designed my own, with DM permission). IIRC, there is an Improved Manyshot feat in the XPH (and in the SRD), but that would be very hard to code, I think (you can shoot at multiple targets). There is an archery feat that does what DDO's Improved Precise Shot does, I think it might be in complete adventurer (can't look that up, my copy was stolen :mad: ). Still, I can see them implementiong a high level feat similar to whirlwind attack, where you take one shot at every target within a certain radius. Of course, I think that's a ranger spell in P&P, so it might get implemented as such.



Partially. It also includes your total to hit bonus and Hit Points. You lose a +1 BAB by dipping rogue that has to be made up with Greater Weapon Focus.
That's true, I would lose a point of BAB, 8 HP (over 2 levels), a small amount of fort save (1 pointt I think), and one fighter bonus feat (and whatever fighter enhancements they implement). In exchange, I would get better reflex saves (already quite good, because of his 28 dex), evasion, trap finding, skills, and 1d6 sneak attack (I wonder how sneak attack would apply to multishot and imp. PS... simplest to code would be having it apply to each hit, but that would be HUGE extra damage).


I never questioned you on that. My argument is purely from a feat standpoint at level 20. You can get there now and pay later or you can make a really good character now and continue to grow later. My archer is a pretty good character at lvl 14, and future growth will only improve that, even if it doesn't significantly improve his archery, he can still grow in other areas. It's a matter of focus, do you focus on being the best at one thing, then diversifying later when you have mastered your specialty, or do you diversify first, and later work on mastering one aspect?I took the early mastery route, you are talking about the other. Both work, and though they will not look the same in the end, they will both have their strengths and weakness. Based on what we know right now, though(i.e. capping at lvl 14), in order to truly master archery, Elf Rng2/Ftr12 is the way to go. That's not to say you can't be an excellent archer through different routes, and arguably a better character, but certainly not a better archer.

[Mad_Bombardier]

RangerL7
Imp Wild Empathy (blah)That's what I thought too! My Wild Empathy couldn't charm a CR3 wolf in Threnal...
But, Imp Wild Empathy works! My 9CHA 12Ranger can ImpWildEmp the CR18 Razorcats in Maze of Madness with 2/3 success rate.

[Jaysensen]

The key to a successful Ranger is versitility. Dont pigeon-hole yourself into what everyone thinks a Ranger should be, but dont skimp on the things that make you valuable to the party. Be willing and ready to assist with healing when the healer needs help (and even the best need help sometimes). Be ready to toss the buffs for everyone, or call how much sp you have and ask about splitting buffs with someone else. Be helpful and versitile and people will want you around, be a mana sponge who doesnt share/help and you will quickly find yourself groupless and lonely :)

This is the most intelligent suggestion I have read on the Ranger Forum in months. (Esp since we got wiped lol)

[scion]

This is the most intelligent suggestion I have read on the Ranger Forum in months. (Esp since we got wiped lol)
I concur.

Just to re-emphasize, my comments have been purely about archery, not about being a ranger in general.