Pure Ranger Arcane Archer Build

[grodon9999]

Level-ups are better off in STR. I had the toons you're proposing and then GR'd her. Trust me.

[maverik99]

No-one consider Zen Archery? Dex to wisd attack mod

And put points only in str and wisd(for att bonus and lots of mana) :P

[96th_Malice]

I think the biggest flaw an AA can make is having too much dex and not enough strength.

Ask any player what the weakness of ranged combat is and you'll hear one answer: low DPS. So why would you not maximize the stat that increases your DPS? Yes, you'll have to deal with a lower Attack Bonus but there are lots of ways to increase your attack bonus without negatively impacting your damage.
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Most AA's are waiting on the 500+ damage of a slayer to go off which in tune really makes your STR irrelevant as it will kill most things in the game.

However .... I have a high DEX AA and a high STR AA and by far the high strengh version is a MUCH better toon

There is really no need for a 36 DEX ...... 32 hits everything and your STR could use the extra points !

[MateCarefor]

However .... I have a high DEX AA and a high STR AA and by far the high strengh version is a MUCH better toon
There is really no need for a 36 DEX ...... 32 hits everything and your STR could use the extra points !

I just wanted to chime in to agree with the above and the support of more strength on archers in general.

Was also interested to ask why True Neutral with no UMD in your build?

[Hirshel]

The point is kinda moot though. Its going to be a TR character anyway. Its just for experimentation. Not to mention the following:

-yes, a total of 37 dex after the mod is a bit high by most standards.. but the dex is being used on this character for more than just the +to hit. Its also being used for the other obvious places.. such as the bit lower sneak and hide.
-Instead of working for dex gearing on him/her, I can use up all the STR gear I have and make them even out
-Build has no tomes listed, so I'm not even sure if I'll be using the tomes on it.
-Its a ranger. Nothing is expected of us anyway. Sorry to say it, but the argument always remains true. So long as there's a boarish stubborn snot out there, they're always going to say "Ranger's aren't DPS." Strength or Dex build, from what I've read and witnessed over the past few nights on my cleric... that's not really going to change.

And to the above, the build does have UMD. 10 points of it. I'm a fan of it actually. Picked it up on a few other characters and I like using the wands and off chances of getting successful scrolls. Kept true neutral to be able to use any bow reguardless of law alignment, and the neutral to be able to use Litany by the off chance I get it in a guild raid or something for the little bit once its maxed. Just always had a thing for being fully neutral. Besides, Silver Bow up to and including after GS would be the only thing I'd on her anyway. Some of the better stuff comes nice and early.

[96th_Malice]

I just wanted to chime in to agree with the above and the support of more strength on archers in general.

Was also interested to ask why True Neutral with no UMD in your build?

As lame as it sounds ...... Damiya is mainly my PvP toon now and I need the Neutral alignment for use of the PvP awesome Greensteel Triple Neg Bow !

I do agree however .... in game Good Alignment is the way to go OR yes as you have stated ... UMD !

I wish theyd fix MyDDO as all of my toons are WAY different now lol

[96th_Malice]

The point is kinda moot though. Its going to be a TR character anyway. Its just for experimentation. Not to mention the following:

-yes, a total of 37 dex after the mod is a bit high by most standards.. but the dex is being used on this character for more than just the +to hit. .

Ya Nattalie right now is sitting at 37 DEX and at 20th will be 38

I agree 100% this is DEX overkill ...... BUT the toon is 4 years old and when I created her all I was worried about was DEX lol ( I need to get my head out of the full ranged toons mentality lol ...... maybe one day ! )

Her CON is weak and I should re-incarnate just to re-do the stats as I have done on a couple other toons ... the problem is .... I am not sure how I got my dex THAT high at 16th lvl lol !!

So ..... 18 end game CON it will be on here I guess lol !!

[96th_Malice]

No-one consider Zen Archery? Dex to wisd attack mod

And put points only in str and wisd(for att bonus and lots of mana) :P

I am familliar with this feat BUT I am pretty sure this really would only benefit a Cleric Arcane Archer !

Although I don't know enough about the feat to make an unbiased opinion

I am presuming that Zen Archer ONLY effects your + to hit with a bow where your AC and reflex saves still rely on your Dex

Honest opinion .... Unless you are PvP-ing and are worried about saves on WIS based spells or cursespewing weapons ............ WIS is something you only want enough points that allow you to cast your spells / craft your arrows and give out some ranger buffs.

AND if you are an elf its much cheaper to put your points into DEX

Correct me if I am wrong on the Zen Archery Feat providing more than +'s to hit with a ranged weapon

[TFPAQ]

Level-ups are better off in STR. I had the toons you're proposing and then GR'd her. Trust me.

For me, the difference in the time it took to kill things on the DEX versus the STR build was the kicker.

Whatever you chose to play (and from the amount of TR-ing it sounds like you are going to do on this build), STR is hands down "easier" to play. You can still have very good AC on the STR build but you will kill things so much faster that it makes the dramatically inflated xp requirements a little more palatable.

[Chai]

How far are you planning on taking this build? It will work well on level 20 content on normal difficulty but if you start pushing past hard your attack is going to be low and you'll be doing a whole lot of missing. If you want to be able to run elite/epic difficulty it's better to sacrifice points from str and con to boost your dex. I've seen the magic AC number for epic cited as 70. In other words raid bosses on epic difficulty have an AC around 70.

Naaa. The biggest error I have seen with archers is the 22 str 38 dex build, who can shoot stuff but not kill stuff.

Starting dex at 18 + 6 item + 2 elf + 2 tome +3 ranger +3 exceptional is 34 dex. +1 for a level up and a +3 tome is 36 dex.

The other 4 level ups go into str. Which will end up ~30 sans buffs (other than rams and maybe a rage pot) Str being the MUCH easier stat to buff, if you do start failing to hit with a bow, you can put it away, grab some blades, and start scrapping. Blades are still higher damage for AA when many shot is cooling down anyhow....

The other little tidbit here is you save a feat for not having to take weapon finesse just to melee. Your weapon selection just got better too. Bow is already piercing, so why take rapier when you can use scimitars, which are elf racial weapons AND are slashing which covers another DR type...

What I always do when trying to figure out where to put ability points is take the time to calculate out what each increase actually gives me, it really helps to put the investments into perspective. People will say that you need at least 500, 600, 1200HP to even be considered as a viable build. . . I ran a halfling AA for a good while with 340HP (this includes a false life item) and had zero problems. When you're a fast and agile class/race, when someone tries to hit you. . . you just move out of the way.

What do you do when 5 devils teleport in and 3 start wailing on you? Move out of LOS? Yeap, they will just blink right on top of you again.

I bet shroud elite is much easier piking in the penalty box for 90% of the encounter....

In DDO, there is no such thing as avoiding all melee damage. Moving out of the way applies at times, but there are time when you need to suck it up and kill the mobs faster. Higher str + more HP.

As for jump being that high, I don't know what your plan is but keep in mind you can cast jump (+10 to jump) so unless you're trying to get a 50 into jump after the spell, you could redistribute some of those points as well. I usually aim for a jump skill high enough to jump over trash mobs which helps with kiting them through sword swinging allies and avoiding attacks.

30 str is + 10 to jump (str skills) and the jump spell (30) caps you out at 40.

Kiting is fun right up until PUGs / guildies / old EQ players (haw!) start hollering at you for doing it. When they see me pull something I cant kill with a bow, flip out the swords and dispatch it, I get alot more appreciation than I do if I run all over the place and keep dragging the mobs through my allies. Its not just the aggro of the mobs I am worried about, but the aggro of the ranger haters as well.

In short, AA PRE =/= not putting the bow away. With buffed up str. all weapons are your friends, and not just the ranged ones. Str is easily buffable into the 40s or possibly low 50s with access to high end gear / mid level raid loot / potions, etc.

[Mjoll]

16 base
02 ram's might
06 item
03 tome
03 tod ring
-----------
30 STR

18 base
06 item
03 tome
03 tod ring
05 elf/ranger enhancements
-----------
35 DEX

Litany, rage, yugo pots, ship buffs, +7 stats epic items not included. And then you have to allocate the 5 points from level ups which leads to 3 choices:
- 30/40
- 32/38
- 34/36

The big loss is sacrificing a feat for weapon finesse, that's the one thing that hurts the most. Stats wise I don't see a difference that screams overkill if you go full DEX, you lose 2 or 4 points of STR. Losing some damage vs DR/slashing mobs by choosing rapiers over scimitars is not THAT bad either, only zombies have DR/slashing. On the other hand ancient arachnids, crimson foot spiders, rakshasa and wheeps have DR/piercing or DR/piercing+good. Yeah I know, they don't make the Top 100 Most Dangerous DDO Monsters.

[smithtj3]

Naaa. The biggest error I have seen with archers is the 22 str 38 dex build, who can shoot stuff but not kill stuff.

Starting dex at 18 + 6 item + 2 elf + 2 tome +3 ranger +3 exceptional is 34 dex. +1 for a level up and a +3 tome is 36 dex.

The other 4 level ups go into str. Which will end up ~30 sans buffs (other than rams and maybe a rage pot) Str being the MUCH easier stat to buff, if you do start failing to hit with a bow, you can put it away, grab some blades, and start scrapping. Blades are still higher damage for AA when many shot is cooling down anyhow....

The other little tidbit here is you save a feat for not having to take weapon finesse just to melee. Your weapon selection just got better too. Bow is already piercing, so why take rapier when you can use scimitars, which are elf racial weapons AND are slashing which covers another DR type...

Agree

What do you do when 5 devils teleport in and 3 start wailing on you? Move out of LOS? Yeap, they will just blink right on top of you again.

I bet shroud elite is much easier piking in the penalty box for 90% of the encounter....

In DDO, there is no such thing as avoiding all melee damage. Moving out of the way applies at times, but there are time when you need to suck it up and kill the mobs faster. Higher str + more HP.

I wouldn't know if it's easier piking from he penalty box, I've never died during the Shroud raid. You're right, you can never avoid the damage but I can self heal just fine for that reason. I can also out run orthons and bearded devils but killing them with weapons is faster then running them to death.

30 str is + 10 to jump (str skills) and the jump spell (30) caps you out at 40.

Congratulations!

Kiting is fun right up until PUGs / guildies / old EQ players (haw!) start hollering at you for doing it. When they see me pull something I cant kill with a bow, flip out the swords and dispatch it, I get alot more appreciation than I do if I run all over the place and keep dragging the mobs through my allies. Its not just the aggro of the mobs I am worried about, but the aggro of the ranger haters as well.

Well, I've never had a fighter complain about me bringing him something to kill. I have seen fighters scorn rangers for kiting things away from them though. You bring the unsuspecting mob into the disco ball, solid fog, or firewall etc and boom, the fighters get a freebee. If the melee in the group is horrible then I beat on whatever attacks me until it dies. It shouldn't be assumed that kiting is ALWAYS negative or impractical. It is, however, not always necessary.

In short, AA PRE =/= not putting the bow away. With buffed up str. all weapons are your friends, and not just the ranged ones. Str is easily buffable into the 40s or possibly low 50s with access to high end gear / mid level raid loot / potions, etc.

I wouldn't call them friends, I had to pay for them after all. For example, that woman I was with last night you might call a friend. I'd call her a prostitute.