Hate Management on Elite

[Ilontu]

I was thinking about ditching my ranger at lower levels because ranged combat seemed so messed up (and really slow). I was completely ineffective with it, and was a better asset to the group with a greatsword than a bow. After I got to about lv 5&6 though, ranged combat started working better, and I really started enjoying it. I am currently lv 7, but now I'm experiencing a new problem:

I pull aggro like nobody's business on elite. Normal is not so much of a problem because I can kill any normal enemy in 2-3 shots; hard takes a bit more skill but most enemies still die at my feet before they can get a hit on me. On Elite though, one (un)lucky crit can earn me a new best friend and I start feeling guilty about all those heals the cleric has to land on me to keep me alive. Manyshot alleviates this slightly (I can kill any normal enemy on elite before it gets to me), but I can only use manyshot 25% of the time, if even that often.

Also, lets be clear: I'm referring only to melee-heavy enemies. I love the aggro on ranged attackers because I can strafe all of their shots whereas the tank has other things to worry about. I don't mind caster aggro too much, because I can strafe rays, and my saving throws are better than tanks (and it's less disastrous when I get hit by Hold Person/etc).

I'm still relatively new to the game, so my first question is: is this normal? Is it something I'm doing wrong or have I just not teamed up with a good enough tank?

I've played other MMOs before, but they were all much more tame; DDO battles are much more chaotic. On elite, I usually wait until I see an enemy has a bit of his health, but even then sometimes I do too much damage and aggro him. The other, possibly bigger problem, is hitting enemies between me and my target; these are worse because they're typically at much higher health when they come for me. I try to avoid this, but lets face it, it happens. Also, I've read that once I get Improved precise shot at 11, I should try and do this, because I'll hit multiple enemies with the same shot.

Anyways, critiques on what I'm doing wrong, and suggestions for how to do better would be welcome. One idea I had was to put my aggro generating abilities to use in peeling enemies off the casters when they get it (which I do anyways, though it sucks when I'm already being meleed at the same time), but that doesn't happen every fight, and I'm not sure if I would be considered kinda useless standing around doing nothing for half the battles.

[Fennario]

Couple of things you can try:

Use Fearsome armor or robes. Then when a mob hits you just shoot his back full of arrows as he is running away in terror.

Pull out a shield and tumble the mob/mobs back to the melee.

Pull out some melee weapons and defend yourself.

[Ilontu]

Use Fearsome armor or robes. Then when a mob hits you just shoot his back full of arrows as he is running away in terror.

This was recomended to me by a guildie, but sadly I've not come across any, and fearsome items usually sell for too much in the Auctions for me to afford.



Pull out a shield and tumble the mob/mobs back to the melee.

Pull out some melee weapons and defend yourself.

That's what I usually end up doing. I'll switch to sword and board and turtle, or lead it back to the tank. On big outside levels, I can usually use the terrain to my advantage and keep up with the bow. IE: get up on a ramp and when they go all the way over to get me I jump off, etc. Actually, Stormcleave was quite fun for things like this.

What I'm looking for more is ways to avoid generating the aggro to begin with...or confimation that my situation is common for most rangers on elite.runs.

[Teufel_Hunden]

well i play 2 rangers, and i can confirm, at least in my experience, that this is normal. I can hit creatures for nice damage. , esp with the Silver bow and Imp Crit Ranged, and when ImpPreciseShot hits the dudes in the back and everybody in between, LOOK OUT. At this point, i do 1 of 5 things:
1. Kite w/ my bow
2. Hop up to a shady spot if available
3. Pull out the Para's and Curse spewer, and start swinging, which leads to ->
4. Paying the cleric for the wands he used to keep my weak arse up
5. Die

But man is it fun. My favorite bow, until i get a para bow, is my Pure Good curse spewer. With IPS, i can curse tons b4 they get mad at me.

As a side note. I found that we are able to curse Earth Elementals and Constructs (both Iron and clay golems) BEFORE they become active. Neat trick that.

[Jaysensen]

Aggro is a weird thing in DDO. There really isnt any traditional tanking as in other mmorpgs. Fights are just too short, and the way Intimidate is implemented is questionable.

Sight Aggro / Range pulling a mob is the biggest thing you can do. Dont do it. Let a Sword/Shield tank do it. You will do less damage because you are shooting things much later than you possibly could. But you wont pull aggro. You will thus take less damage. So while your killcount will go down, you will be more efficient.

Once you get Manyshot, life is good. Ranged combat starts to decline slowly, until you and your group mates hit level 10. Melee drastically pulls ahead then.

[Teufel_Hunden]

Exactly what Jay said. Here's one for you. If you like kill counts and it makes your (general your, not specific your) ego grow big, watch the combat from afar. Pepper the foe with your bow, but always keep cycling through targets. Especially the one's the melees are whacking on. Watch the health, wait until its almost gone, then BLAM! fire the killing shot. Kill count +1 to you. Cheap and slimey, but some people put alot of stock into numbers. I personally don't do this, but there you go.

[WeiQuinn]

Don't forget you can use Cure wands yourself. Obviously, not while getting beat on, but after the battle, to top yourself and anyone else off. This alleviates the strain on the cleric some.

In the mean time, use your best melee weapon/shield you have and draw them back to the tanks. Ranged combat can be fun, just be ready to melee at the drop of a hat!

[Ilontu]

I'm not the type that goes after kill count, I just want to contribute fully to the group. I hate when I feel like I'm not pulling my weight.

Anyways guys, thanks for your responses. I'll still be on the lookout for some good fearsome armor, otherwise getting monsters attention is just part of the game. :)

[Osharan_Tregarth]

I'll also add my endorsement for sight aggro.

If you hit something with a weapon, everything within range will come straight at you. If you let something see you, a lot of the time you will only get what saw you.

Shooting the ground near something is a great way to get something to turn around and look at you, without having them charge straight at you.

[rpasell]

I'm not the type that goes after kill count, I just want to contribute fully to the group. I hate when I feel like I'm not pulling my weight.

Anyways guys, thanks for your responses. I'll still be on the lookout for some good fearsome armor, otherwise getting monsters attention is just part of the game. :)

Hit the House K vendor. Since the merge there is a ton of stuff including fearsome. I grabbed a nice min lvl 10 Fearsome Robe of Mod Fort off there today.

[Shade]

I pull aggro like nobody's business on elite. ....

I'm still relatively new to the game, so my first question is: is this normal?

No its elite.
Are you elite?
No?
Then theres your problem.

Don't expect things to go well when you try things your not certain about. Elite requires an elite group with elite tactics.

At lvl7, you should have a wizard with extended haste constantly on the party and an appropriate striding item (10-15%), as such you should be able to outrun all the mobs and avoir any real damage. By the same token your tanks should far outdamage you in melee vs your at bow, as such you should not be taking the first shot.

If you lack such buffs, use potions. If you lack potions, you have no business being in the quest on elite, its designed with the maximum buffs in mind.

Basicly if your new to the game and your unsure of your abilities and find yourself pulling too much agro, then don't do elite, do normal. Theres no reason or big rewards to be doing it anyways. Its a bit more xp, but for "new" players, the extra time it takes more then outweighs any xp benefit.