Desonde
02-26-2014, 06:10 PM
I spent the majority of this past ranger life on the DWS tree supplemented by the AA tree to try and give this enhancement tree the best possible situations since I've always thought it sounded cool but it always got a negative rep.
When looking at the tree the most apparent thing is that it's very back heavy, which is a problem since rangers will want to put around 20-40 points into either tempest or AA depending on their play style. The front end is very weak, expensive, and loses it's affect faster than you can spend points in them. That and the tree tries to come across as a benefit to both range and melee but actually sits predominantly on the ranged side.
Here's my breakdown:
Core Abilities;
Far Shot - This skill is great for ranged characters but ok for melee, it gives benefits to both classes but favors one over the other. [I also think that for this ability the +10 Positive Spell Power be replaced with between +0.5 to +1 Positive Spell Power per point spent in the tree].
Sneak Attack - Great Core ability.
Called Shot - This is the highlight of the tree, when spending points into this class this is the ability I consider to build up too, unfortunately, it favors ranged combat over melee [Why doesn't the melee get the same bonus?]
Sneak Attack - It's ok, but this high up in the tree it needs something a little more.
Mark of the Hunted - It's interesting, gives me a use for my Animal Empathy's but in itself not enough to sell 18 levels into ranger, but if the Capstone does this isn't an issue.
Horizon Shot - Only benefits ranged attacks, no significant bonus to melees, and at +15 meters at level 6 I'm almost always in point blank range that the extra 10m leading up to it will easily give me the special effect it claims to offer. This lackluster appeal doesn't even come close to letting ranged characters to think about another option to Stanced Monks with 10k stars.
In the enhancement pass Rangers lost their 25% ranged speed boost, when they had it firing between 2-3 arrows at a time would put their attack speed on par with other characters [based on Many shot, 3 arrows a shot could steal aggro from some hard hitting teams, but 4 could easily steal it from none hate magnet teams]
I suggest giving the ranged version; Manyshot debuff reduced to 20seconds and when manyshot isn't active you gain +100% double shot with ranged attacks.
And the melee version; Your vorpal hits bluff your target for 4 seconds and gain +3% dodge and dodge cap.
Tier 1;
Favored Defense - these affects are really weak, and expensive, every other tree's special ability is 2ap for the full affect and links all the way up to the top. This entire column really needs to be joined together into a improved favored enemy category and the ap cost for all effects needs to be either reduced to 1/rank or 2 for the top effect. Remember, unlike the other class abilities, this one is already regulated by ranger levels/favored enemy selections, there is no reason to tax the player twice to discourage pure class builds.
It also allows those who are specializing in tempest or AA to actually splash into this tree to get the effects they want without having to spend 10(1/8 of the total spend) for the first, and 20(1/4) for the second.
Stealthy - 2 ap for +1 Hide/Move Silently? 6 ap for +3 hide/move silently and +1 sneak attack die? You can spend 6 points in the core abilities to get +2 sneak attack without having to splash. Either drop it to 1ap a rank or drop it to two tiers +2 hide/move silently @ 1 +1 hide/move silently/SA Die @ 2, or split it into two different abilities and drop the cost to 1ap a rank.
Increased Empathy/Versatile Empathy - Both are ok, I've only put points into them because of the Positive Spell Power and the fact I have to choose 5 points to spend to get to the next tier. These would be better if the two ranks of Versatile were blended into ranks 2&3 of Increased Empathy (maybe at 2ap a rank and doubling the base Positive Spell Power (so it becomes 8/14(adding an extra 2 here for a smoother curve)/20)).
Tendon Cut - This is just bad, weak +[w] bonus, special effect requires another special effect, special effect has no effect on bosses, long cool down. Even when you do get it it to trigger, the effect doesn't have much of an effect on melee characters, I would much rather see Shiv or Bleed Them Out added in it's place for a melee attack [but not Reed in the Wind, that's one of the few skills worse than this one]. If you insist on this skill remaining as is, give it the same abilities as leg shot and make it the melee alternative for that skill.
Tier 2;
Faster Sneaking - This isn't worth 2 AP a rank, if you want to make it harder for Rangers to use this skill, move it to Tier 3 @ 1ap/rank.
Empathic Healing - Not worth 2 AP, not worth Animal Empathy usage [especially when you have a core ability that would compete with this very limited pool]. Drop the cost to 1ap/rank, remove Mass Lesser Vigor, and give it 3 ranks of SLA sp cost and cool down timer.
Improved Weapon Finesse - This is a splash skill since full rangers should be able to get the same affect from the tempest line with the exception of rapiers. It should be 2ap and might also qualify for a Tier 3 ability. I would also like to see Heavy Draw moved into this skill as the ranged choice [Heavy draw is a solid skill, but not quite T5 caliber].
Action Boost - Damage is good, Skill seems like it's miss placed.
Tier 3;
Favored Accuracy - needs to be dropped to 1ap/rank and should be tied into favored defenses (so that the option can be selected at tier 1 is desired).
Thrill of the Hunt - Too expensive for too little/conditional damage. The ap needs to be brought down to 1, or the damage needs to be boosted to 2/4/6, and change the %health to if you hit a favored enemy.
Aimed Shot - Decent ranged skill, but this is where the melee options vanish. Should have a melee equivalent.
Dex/Wis - Great.
Tier 4;
Favored Damage - Tie it into three skills below so it can be selected earlier.
Killer - This is actually the only skill in top of the tree that benefits the melee better than the ranged (since manyshot/10k star cripples your doubleshot chance and is needed to make bow combat usable).
Hunter's Mercy - This is among the worst skills in the game, it's way to complicated and once you jump through all the hoops you have a mediocre effect and a long cool down [made worse by the ease it has to fail]. The ranged version is better do to the extreme timing needed it's better to use Manyshot -> Called Shot -> Merciful Strike for +2k damage. For this attack to go off you must have a(hit the target)+b(be a sneak attack)+c(target must be below 20% health)+d(target must not be immune to sneak attacks)+e(must not be absorbed by fortification)+f(not be a grazing hit for ranged)+g(be in point blank shot range for ranged), that's for melee effect to trigger x=a+b+c+d+e ranged to trigger y=a+b+c+d+e+f+g. Remove either the sneak attack or the hp [20% is also really hard to judge, 33% would be easier to see].
Leg Shot - Good for ranged, but no melee ability [and a melee clone wouldn't be nearly as affective].
Tier 5;
Extra Favored Enemy - I like this, it benefits pure rangers, and affects all builds, it is however, the only T5 melee option.
Heavy Draw - This is a great skill, but not of T5 caliber.
Head Shot - This is actually worse than Hunter's Mercy and cannot compete with Arrow of Slaying, and has no melee alternative. Either drop the cool down to 6-10sec (there are other skills the force crits with a much shorter time) and give it a melee clone, or remove the on Vorpal on the skill to a passive On Vorpal up to once every .5 seconds (so it doesn't stack with manyshot, and twf's can't get an insane lucky streaks), and make it automatically considered a vorpal strike (keeping the 60s cooldown, but performed both as a ranged or melee).
Improved Archer's Focus - It's an interesting ability, but since it doesn't stack with Improved Precise Shot, it doesn't hold up. Perhaps a improved power attack for a melee alternative? (+2 damage -2 attack stacks with other improved power attack).
When you look at the tree as a whole, it's very full, and has a lot of placed to spend points, but once you start spending them it appears that things are spread too thin and many of the offerings aren't what you want/need.
When looking at the tree the most apparent thing is that it's very back heavy, which is a problem since rangers will want to put around 20-40 points into either tempest or AA depending on their play style. The front end is very weak, expensive, and loses it's affect faster than you can spend points in them. That and the tree tries to come across as a benefit to both range and melee but actually sits predominantly on the ranged side.
Here's my breakdown:
Core Abilities;
Far Shot - This skill is great for ranged characters but ok for melee, it gives benefits to both classes but favors one over the other. [I also think that for this ability the +10 Positive Spell Power be replaced with between +0.5 to +1 Positive Spell Power per point spent in the tree].
Sneak Attack - Great Core ability.
Called Shot - This is the highlight of the tree, when spending points into this class this is the ability I consider to build up too, unfortunately, it favors ranged combat over melee [Why doesn't the melee get the same bonus?]
Sneak Attack - It's ok, but this high up in the tree it needs something a little more.
Mark of the Hunted - It's interesting, gives me a use for my Animal Empathy's but in itself not enough to sell 18 levels into ranger, but if the Capstone does this isn't an issue.
Horizon Shot - Only benefits ranged attacks, no significant bonus to melees, and at +15 meters at level 6 I'm almost always in point blank range that the extra 10m leading up to it will easily give me the special effect it claims to offer. This lackluster appeal doesn't even come close to letting ranged characters to think about another option to Stanced Monks with 10k stars.
In the enhancement pass Rangers lost their 25% ranged speed boost, when they had it firing between 2-3 arrows at a time would put their attack speed on par with other characters [based on Many shot, 3 arrows a shot could steal aggro from some hard hitting teams, but 4 could easily steal it from none hate magnet teams]
I suggest giving the ranged version; Manyshot debuff reduced to 20seconds and when manyshot isn't active you gain +100% double shot with ranged attacks.
And the melee version; Your vorpal hits bluff your target for 4 seconds and gain +3% dodge and dodge cap.
Tier 1;
Favored Defense - these affects are really weak, and expensive, every other tree's special ability is 2ap for the full affect and links all the way up to the top. This entire column really needs to be joined together into a improved favored enemy category and the ap cost for all effects needs to be either reduced to 1/rank or 2 for the top effect. Remember, unlike the other class abilities, this one is already regulated by ranger levels/favored enemy selections, there is no reason to tax the player twice to discourage pure class builds.
It also allows those who are specializing in tempest or AA to actually splash into this tree to get the effects they want without having to spend 10(1/8 of the total spend) for the first, and 20(1/4) for the second.
Stealthy - 2 ap for +1 Hide/Move Silently? 6 ap for +3 hide/move silently and +1 sneak attack die? You can spend 6 points in the core abilities to get +2 sneak attack without having to splash. Either drop it to 1ap a rank or drop it to two tiers +2 hide/move silently @ 1 +1 hide/move silently/SA Die @ 2, or split it into two different abilities and drop the cost to 1ap a rank.
Increased Empathy/Versatile Empathy - Both are ok, I've only put points into them because of the Positive Spell Power and the fact I have to choose 5 points to spend to get to the next tier. These would be better if the two ranks of Versatile were blended into ranks 2&3 of Increased Empathy (maybe at 2ap a rank and doubling the base Positive Spell Power (so it becomes 8/14(adding an extra 2 here for a smoother curve)/20)).
Tendon Cut - This is just bad, weak +[w] bonus, special effect requires another special effect, special effect has no effect on bosses, long cool down. Even when you do get it it to trigger, the effect doesn't have much of an effect on melee characters, I would much rather see Shiv or Bleed Them Out added in it's place for a melee attack [but not Reed in the Wind, that's one of the few skills worse than this one]. If you insist on this skill remaining as is, give it the same abilities as leg shot and make it the melee alternative for that skill.
Tier 2;
Faster Sneaking - This isn't worth 2 AP a rank, if you want to make it harder for Rangers to use this skill, move it to Tier 3 @ 1ap/rank.
Empathic Healing - Not worth 2 AP, not worth Animal Empathy usage [especially when you have a core ability that would compete with this very limited pool]. Drop the cost to 1ap/rank, remove Mass Lesser Vigor, and give it 3 ranks of SLA sp cost and cool down timer.
Improved Weapon Finesse - This is a splash skill since full rangers should be able to get the same affect from the tempest line with the exception of rapiers. It should be 2ap and might also qualify for a Tier 3 ability. I would also like to see Heavy Draw moved into this skill as the ranged choice [Heavy draw is a solid skill, but not quite T5 caliber].
Action Boost - Damage is good, Skill seems like it's miss placed.
Tier 3;
Favored Accuracy - needs to be dropped to 1ap/rank and should be tied into favored defenses (so that the option can be selected at tier 1 is desired).
Thrill of the Hunt - Too expensive for too little/conditional damage. The ap needs to be brought down to 1, or the damage needs to be boosted to 2/4/6, and change the %health to if you hit a favored enemy.
Aimed Shot - Decent ranged skill, but this is where the melee options vanish. Should have a melee equivalent.
Dex/Wis - Great.
Tier 4;
Favored Damage - Tie it into three skills below so it can be selected earlier.
Killer - This is actually the only skill in top of the tree that benefits the melee better than the ranged (since manyshot/10k star cripples your doubleshot chance and is needed to make bow combat usable).
Hunter's Mercy - This is among the worst skills in the game, it's way to complicated and once you jump through all the hoops you have a mediocre effect and a long cool down [made worse by the ease it has to fail]. The ranged version is better do to the extreme timing needed it's better to use Manyshot -> Called Shot -> Merciful Strike for +2k damage. For this attack to go off you must have a(hit the target)+b(be a sneak attack)+c(target must be below 20% health)+d(target must not be immune to sneak attacks)+e(must not be absorbed by fortification)+f(not be a grazing hit for ranged)+g(be in point blank shot range for ranged), that's for melee effect to trigger x=a+b+c+d+e ranged to trigger y=a+b+c+d+e+f+g. Remove either the sneak attack or the hp [20% is also really hard to judge, 33% would be easier to see].
Leg Shot - Good for ranged, but no melee ability [and a melee clone wouldn't be nearly as affective].
Tier 5;
Extra Favored Enemy - I like this, it benefits pure rangers, and affects all builds, it is however, the only T5 melee option.
Heavy Draw - This is a great skill, but not of T5 caliber.
Head Shot - This is actually worse than Hunter's Mercy and cannot compete with Arrow of Slaying, and has no melee alternative. Either drop the cool down to 6-10sec (there are other skills the force crits with a much shorter time) and give it a melee clone, or remove the on Vorpal on the skill to a passive On Vorpal up to once every .5 seconds (so it doesn't stack with manyshot, and twf's can't get an insane lucky streaks), and make it automatically considered a vorpal strike (keeping the 60s cooldown, but performed both as a ranged or melee).
Improved Archer's Focus - It's an interesting ability, but since it doesn't stack with Improved Precise Shot, it doesn't hold up. Perhaps a improved power attack for a melee alternative? (+2 damage -2 attack stacks with other improved power attack).
When you look at the tree as a whole, it's very full, and has a lot of placed to spend points, but once you start spending them it appears that things are spread too thin and many of the offerings aren't what you want/need.