First time playing, need some help. Arcane Ranger

[Chronomical]

This is my first time (ever) playing and building a character; and honestly the builds are pretty confusing. I've always been interested in squishy pure range dps build, and the "arcane ranger" looks promising. Can anyone give me a solid build, or even general advice what I should be looking for when building him up?

[unbongwah]

Hi, welcome to DDO. :)

First off, you should be aware that there's a pretty major overhaul of the Enhancement system in the works; you can read about the alpha preview here (http://ddowiki.com/page/Enhancement_Alpha). This will cause a lot of rebalancing of builds, which in turn will render a lot of advice obsolete. The good news is I think rgrs will come out ahead overall; Turbine is dropping most if not all the feat pre-reqs and letting us mix-n-match PrE abilities a lot more.

Second, you should probably start by reading this thread (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/263907); it's been a couple of years since it was updated, but it gives you a good idea of how to build & play a "classic" Arcane Archer, as well as what the pros & cons are.

[Chronomical]

Thank you so much for the reply, i'm sure I can manage to figure everything out with the information provided, and from what I found on the forums. The only thing i'm still VERY confused on is Action Points. No one really gives a good description on how I should spend them for my class of choice... Can I reroll action points at any time? Does it cost in game gold to reroll? Ect. ect.

Anyway I found this build (oddly from you)https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/344706-The-Pauper-s-Ranged-Monster-28-pt-elf-AA-Kensai-(ftr-12-rgr-6-rogue-2)?highlight= which I think I will roll first just to try out to get a better feel of the game.

[giftie]

I don't have much to add to unbongwah, but one things caught my eye: "squishy".

In my opinion, the largest difference between PnP and DDO is the AC/dodge mechanics: AC is not a realistic defense (at least not for fresh characters), and you can expect to get hit. A lot. And hard. This game severly punishes squishy builds, and I promise that you will regret it if you try to dump-stat CON and don't get every +CON, vitality and false life item you can get your hands on.

About action points: then can be reset once every three days, for a maximum cost of 4000 pp (virtually nothing at higher levels).

Two tools are invaluable: DDOCharGen (lets you plan your character with the current enhancement system, but will soon be really out of date) and ddowiki.com.

[WraithfaceMacabre]

Hey, I started playing maybe a year and a half ago and my first char was a ranger so I think I know what you're going through. I basically keep my Str, Dex, and Con equal for best results --I've found anyway.

The best fail safe is that you can respec your Enhancements whenever you like (within reason) if you feel the need, and you will, based on early, mid, and top level.

Choosing Feats sucked. You will get one free single Feat exchange and then must reincarnate, which isn't bad and you pretty much will do when you hit top levels. For example the Favoured enemies you choose at low levels may not be an issue at high level.

My suggestion for Feat choice in order but don't quote me on levels is L1)Point Blank Shot, L4)Weapon Focus Range, L6)Mental Toughness, L12)Toughness, L18)Improved Critical, Ranged.

That being said, my Ranger is very lethal at top level --always the top 1-2 in raid kills (although I just True Reincarnated her last night so the build goes on).

[Rusty_Can]

Choosing Feats sucked. You will get one free single Feat exchange and then must reincarnate

Nah, you can bring some Syberis Dragonshard to Fred (http://ddowiki.com/page/Fred): if he is in a good mood, he will help.

However, swapping feats is more complicated and expensive than resetting enhancements.

[unbongwah]

The only thing i'm still VERY confused on is Action Points. No one really gives a good description on how I should spend them for my class of choice... Can I reroll action points at any time? Does it cost in game gold to reroll? Ect. ect.
Action Points (http://ddowiki.com/page/Action_Point) are spent on Enhancements (http://ddowiki.com/page/Enhancements), which improve your character's abilities; you gain 4 APs per char level, up to 80 max. [You stop gaining APs in epic lvls; instead Epic Destinies (http://ddowiki.com/page/Epic_Destinies) are what really boost your epic abilities.] If you're familiar with PnP rules, Prestige Enhancements (PrEs) are analogous to the prestige classes in 3.xE. Most builds (inc. mine) provide a layout of what to spend APs on, but there's usually some flexibility.

Anyway I found this build (oddly from you)https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/344706-The-Pauper-s-Ranged-Monster-28-pt-elf-AA-Kensai-(ftr-12-rgr-6-rogue-2)?highlight= which I think I will roll first just to try out to get a better feel of the game.
Well, I'm certainly not gonna pooh-pooh one of my own builds. ;) However, bear in mind that build isn't intended to be a full-time archer. Like the Helves Angel build it's based on, she uses bows w/Manyshot, then switches to TWF while MS is on cooldown. The main drawback to archery (vs melee) in DDO is the relatively low rate of fire; so you're always looking for ways to boost your fire rate (e.g., Manyshot & Haste Boost) and your dmg per hit (like STR & Seeker bonuses).

[MangLord]

It makes no sense to me that after all this time, dexterity still doesn't factor into ranged damage, or melee for that matter.

It's basically saying a perfect shot in the heart (or rapier thrust) is always less lethal than mashing an orc's head with an axe. Probably my second biggest pet peeve of the game, after caster uber-superiority.

With that game logic, a modern rifle bullet would be 1d6 damage max, since it's small and precise.