Hit Lvl 20 and looking to TR my Ranger now...need advice

[Lord_Balon]

I need some advice on how to best take advantage of the Ranger PL feat. I limped through ranger due to my own inexperience with the class and I would to avoid re-living that pain on this toons new life. To me the obvious choice would be to take Artificer due to the ranged weapon bonus. I've been toying with the idea of making a pale master with 2 monk splash but that basically "flushes" the past life feat. I have a lvl 22 pure artificer and loved the build but I'd to shake it up some. Are there complimentary splashes for Artificer as I don't really want to rinse and repeat my artificer build? My goal for this toon's next life would be to have a build that has "solo-ability" and be a fun build. I'm not looking to take this toon into epic content rather make him my eventual completionist.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If you are feeling generous, I would appreciate why you are suggesting what you suggest so I can learn more about building toons. Thank you!!

[Lord_Balon]

I decided to move forward and go WF Artificer to take advantage of the ranger PL. Currently, I'm at level 2 and haven't made the decision to go pure Arti or go with the Juggernaut build (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/415796-Juggernaut-Mk-II). Although I'm already "off-build" due to taking Arti at level 2, I still think its earlier enough that one level won't negatively impact the build. The next step is to move this thread over to the proper forum page. If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to leave your thoughts. Thanks.

[MartinusWyllt]

I did 3 arti lives before ranger lives but for the ranger lives I went (approx.) 11 ranger/7 arti/2 rogue for one, 8/6/6 for another 2 before the enhancement pass for the sniper/engineer/mechanic combo. It looks like you can get those enhancement benefits with 4 arti/4 rogue, respectively (persistent int damage from mechanic and at least endless fusillade from artificer*). Playing repeater/rune arm, of course.

The 3 ranger PLs are worth it on a subsequent engineer/mechanic life. Especially since you can double that extra damage with a piece of randgen loot (+6 damage going with the +6 ranged damage from PLs) which is extra special on a repeater.

12 rogue/8 artificer is the life I'm at 20 now on my "main".

*ETA: If I'm remembering the new enhancement trees correctly.

[Lord_Balon]

At the rate that I level, it would take me another year to get an additional 2 PL. :) The potential of having +6 ranged damage is really tempting but I don't think I could go through Ranger again. As I said in my OP, I limped through Ranger caused I under geared him and mostly piked him until I got decent gear. I don't want to do that again. :)

Thanks for the advice!

[Ausdoerrt]

I need some advice on how to best take advantage of the Ranger PL feat. I limped through ranger due to my own inexperience with the class and I would to avoid re-living that pain on this toons new life. To me the obvious choice would be to take Artificer due to the ranged weapon bonus. I've been toying with the idea of making a pale master with 2 monk splash but that basically "flushes" the past life feat. I have a lvl 22 pure artificer and loved the build but I'd to shake it up some. Are there complimentary splashes for Artificer as I don't really want to rinse and repeat my artificer build? My goal for this toon's next life would be to have a build that has "solo-ability" and be a fun build. I'm not looking to take this toon into epic content rather make him my eventual completionist.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If you are feeling generous, I would appreciate why you are suggesting what you suggest so I can learn more about building toons. Thank you!!

For Arti? Anything with evasion is good for a splash, if you want to be a good trapper.

Rangers are one of the most self-sufficient classes in the game, you need to take advantage of that. I've recently leveled a 28 point AA/DWS ranger to cap starting fresh on a server with little trouble. I'm still using ML6-10 bows most of the time in epics without feeling horribly inadequate; the enhancement pass has shifted a lot of the focus away from gear for rangers.


So a little advice if you decide to try it again:

- Invest in healing: CSW can go a long way; combine with Quicken and Maximize/Empower for best effect; rangers get lots of extra SP now from enhancements;
- Invest in damage mitigation: you're likely to have high dex, so you can get okay-ish AC. Get a dodge item. If you're an elf, you can also get a +3% dodge enhancement, and a dragonmark with displacement clickies, which will help you lite through longer/tougher fights. Feats that grant dodge could help as well. Rangers also get Evasion for free, and it's trivial to get decent Reflex with an archer's high DEX.
- Invest in CC: rangers get a plenty of decent CC options from enhancements, gear and EDs: AA Paralyzing or Frost arrows; DWS leg shot; Shiradi pinning, Otto's and Stay Frosty; Shimmering Arrowhead trinket. If enemies can't even get to you before you kill them, you win. Use several of the listed abilities in conjunction with IPS stance for best effect.
- Invest in mobility: sure, standing still may give you some bonuses now, but IMO, for an archer movement is key - unless you have a good dedicated tank that can tank through Manyshot and/or all the mobs are CCd. You have the option to avoid damage while dealing damage, and you should use it; IPS is better than Focus anyway. Ranks in Jump and Tumble and feats like Mobility may be situationally useful as well.
- Learn to manage aggro: rangers get decent DPS and insane burst DPS. You should learn what makes mobs go after you and see if you can counter it; learn when and when not to hit bosses, or when Manyshot is appropriate. Items that reduce ranged aggro may help a bit, though Manyshot is guaranteed to give you aggro 90% of the time. This way, when you will know when you're safe and when mobs go after you and you need to get ready to mitigate.

Hope this helps :)

[Lord_Balon]

Thanks for the advice! that gives me something to consider..

[Satyriasys]

1Rogue/19Ranger full trapping ability. Elf with Grace (longbow) completely ignore Str.