Did I screw up my Ranger?

[Evan_Arrr]

So I made a ranger about a month ago and have been playing regularly since...

Now, this is where I am at right now (LVL 4), as far as stats:

STR 15
DEX 19
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 15
CHA 10

I was originally going to go Weapon Finesse, which is why DEX is higher than STR. Then I realized only certain weapons are finessable and I really wanted to use scimitars, which are not finessable. Keep in mind that at least two points of dex and one of wis are from enhancements. I've read from a lot of people that 10 Wis is perfectly acceptable, since you can get the rest for Ranger spells from gear. Can't I get STR from gear just as easily? Doesn't it, in the long run, balance out? Also... I put two into CHA because I just don't like having negative stat mods.

I'm pretty much working towards Tempest, and at level 4, I'm not doing too bad. I'm at work so I can't use the character planner tool and post my full character build, but enhancements and feats aren't set in stone. My only question is, if I keep pumping into STR, will this character be viable in the long run with my current stats?

If not, I'll transfer my gear to another character and re-roll, as I do have veteran characters (start at level 4) available and I will have minimal loss (I think I'll lose two ranks).

[Lorien_the_First_One]

You have two problems, low con and low str. Neither is really good. No, you can't just make it up with equipment because you'd have that equipment with higher starting stats too.

Normally I'd be inclined to say at L4 you should reroll, lower dex and wis, increase con and str.

However...if it took you a month to get to L4 you sound pretty casual. If it would bother you to reroll the character will be a bit weak but not impossible to work with.

You also have the option of a "lesser reincarnation" which costs TP but would let you fix the stats without losing a month's work.

[Gnorbert]

If you want to be tempest with strength based weapons then the dex is a waste. Yes, you can get as much Str from items as you can Wis... but you only NEED 14 wis total to cast your spells.... while you will want the highest strength possible for your main role as a melee fighter.

At level 4 I would recommend rerolling the character with more strength and less dex/wis.

[Anthorin]

Can you say why you prefer scimitars? Rapiers have a better crit range and given you have max'ed dex would seem the better choice.

[EddieB_TBC]

Guessing that one of the 19 DEX is from the Ranger Dexterity I enhancement.
Just don't add any more DEX other than the Ranger Dexterity II enhancement needed for Tempest II.
Your CON is pretty low, and STR is marginal. You get 5 attribute points as you level up to 20.
If I were trying to continue with this I would put at least 2 in CON, possibly 4, and the balance in STR.
At level 13 you gain access to items with +6 attributes on them.
If you re-roll it then I would suggest you read about some of the builds in the ranger class section of the forum.
By reading comments folks have about the nuiances of different builds you can begin to gain an understanding of why some of the stats are more or less important than might be obvious.

[EddieB_TBC]

Can you say why you prefer scimitars? Rapiers have a better crit range and given you have max'ed dex would seem the better choice.

Rapiers and Scimitars have the same crit range and damage die, 1d6 and 18-20/x2.
Each also has a racial enhancement line (drow/elf).
There are different special effects available, for instance a vorpal rapier would be pretty rare as would a puncturing scimitar.

[Delolith]

Can you say why you prefer scimitars? Rapiers have a better crit range and given you have max'ed dex would seem the better choice.

He is probably elf and thus has Valenar line. Also they have same damage and same critical range.....

Your CON is pretty low, and STR is marginal.

His str is marginal indeed. His CON is not pretty low if he is elf. It is a 14 CON profile translated into 12 due to elven bonuses/penalties. More CON will mean big stat drop. Would prefer a much higher str profile. As a ranger he can still reach 500+ hps with 12 CON.

[Grecan]

So I made a ranger about a month ago and have been playing regularly since...

Now, this is where I am at right now (LVL 4), as far as stats:

STR 15
DEX 19
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 15
CHA 10

I was originally going to go Weapon Finesse, which is why DEX is higher than STR. Then I realized only certain weapons are finessable and I really wanted to use scimitars, which are not finessable.

A pure Ranger doesn't have many feats to spare... And weapon finesse only helps your to-hit, not your damage. The best finessable weapons are the rapiers, btw, and they are the only finessable weapon that are not light.

Keep in mind that at least two points of dex and one of wis are from enhancements. I've read from a lot of people that 10 Wis is perfectly acceptable, since you can get the rest for Ranger spells from gear. Can't I get STR from gear just as easily? Doesn't it, in the long run, balance out? Also... I put two into CHA because I just don't like having negative stat mods.

With 14 ws you can cast all the ranger spells, so even starting with 8 and getting a +6 wis item allows that. You shouldn't spend level-up points into wis, imo.

I'm pretty much working towards Tempest, and at level 4, I'm not doing too bad. I'm at work so I can't use the character planner tool and post my full character build, but enhancements and feats aren't set in stone.

The 3 feats you need for Tempest I are set in stone, and you need to spend one more feat if you go for Tempest III.

My only question is, if I keep pumping into STR, will this character be viable in the long run with my current stats?

If not, I'll transfer my gear to another character and re-roll, as I do have veteran characters (start at level 4) available and I will have minimal loss (I think I'll lose two ranks).

I think it's viable, but it could also be better. More str and con are prefferable for a Tempest.

[Dendrix]

Endgame assumes that you will be using +6 items on all stats. That's "built" in to the assumptions about hp, ac, damage etc. So starting with a lower than expected statistic means that you end up with a lower than expected statistic.

If you don't have any Charisma based skills then putting 2 points into Cha is a total waste of those points. If you put those 2 points into int you would get +1 skill per level which overall give you more skills if you spend that on cha based skills.

Con12 is simply too low. Reroll with a minimum con of 14. Hit Points are king. When you run out of hitpoints it's all over.

Wis 15 is too much, the extra spell points you get from high wisdom are really really tiny in comparison with the cost of those stat points. The main reason to have high wisdom is to have good saving throws.

I'd reroll now. Focus on Str and Con as your two most important statistics.

[Evan_Arrr]

However...if it took you a month to get to L4 you sound pretty casual. If it would bother you to reroll the character will be a bit weak but not impossible to work with.

I exaggerated a bit... it's probably more like two weeks, but I can't be sure.

Right now, I have the rapier/longsword damage/to-hit enhancements and am using two rapiers (+6 AB with each, up to +20 with buffs), but that can be swapped easily enough. I prefer scimitars because they look cooler.

As far as Dex, pretty sure I have the Elven DEX +1 and the Ranger Dex+1 enhancements. My CON may only be 12 but my AC (22 +2), plus barkskin and my cleric (real person that I play with, not a hireling) make up for it, at least for the time being.

When I get home I'll be able to post my full stats/feats/enhancements to give everyone a better idea of what I'm working with.

[Rasczak]

I exaggerated a bit... it's probably more like two weeks, but I can't be sure.

Right now, I have the rapier/longsword damage/to-hit enhancements and am using two rapiers (+6 AB with each, up to +20 with buffs), but that can be swapped easily enough. I prefer scimitars because they look cooler.

As far as Dex, pretty sure I have the Elven DEX +1 and the Ranger Dex+1 enhancements. My CON may only be 12 but my AC (22 +2), plus barkskin and my cleric (real person that I play with, not a hireling) make up for it, at least for the time being.

When I get home I'll be able to post my full stats/feats/enhancements to give everyone a better idea of what I'm working with.

At lvl 4 you won't have to many problems with a Con 12 but we are talking about higher up where it's a difference of quite a few hp. In fact lvl 4 is not a very good place to judge a characters performance as at that level most classes and races perform about the same.
For instance, higher up levels AC becomes less important and att + DMG become of utmost importance.

What you could possibly do is try hunt 1k Favour to unlock veteran so you can roll lvl 4 chars.


The most important change to look at would be the high starting wisdom. It is not important to your class and won't help out as much as you would think. I'm assuming you are a 28 point character as well so build points will be better spent elsewhere.

It also depends completely on how you want to play.

If you don't mind only ever doing normal with an occasional hard and you're not looking to raid much or touch epics, any char you have fun with will do.

Speaking from experience of taking new players through some content though, if the objective is to raid and do hard questing, then you are going to have to revise the build. Not because you'll be useless, but because it is never fun when you permanently getting knocked unconscious or dead and everything you swing at you're only hitting 50% of the time and you're not hitting hard. So while you don't have to min max for that "uber" build, there are some concerns on the build you would want to look at. If you're a casual player then have fun with what you have and learn the game and when you want to do some really tough questing then build a second character made for it.

[grodon9999]

99& of the time weapon finesse is s waist of time (the 1% is that freak who solo'd VoD). Go STR based, you'll like the game a lot better that way.

You can still have a high DEX on an STR based ranger. My Elf is 34/34 STR/DEX (34 point life with a ton of gear though). 30/30 can be hit by anyone at end-game.

[Evan_Arrr]

What you could possibly do is try hunt 1k Favour to unlock veteran so you can roll lvl 4 chars.

After doing Korthos all the way through four times with my friends, I purchased DDO points and bought veteran. I wouldn't mind never seeing Korthos ever again.

[Loromir]

After doing Korthos all the way through four times with my friends, I purchased DDO points and bought veteran. I wouldn't mind never seeing Korthos ever again.

By all means then, re roll that toon. Start with higher Str and Con and lower Dex and Wis. Start with wis at 11 and you can easily get to 14 in time to cast all ranger spells. Go Elf if you want to use Scimitars. Get Str and Con as high as you can...try to get Dex reasonably high too if you plan to used bows very much....but Str and Con are most important.

[grodon9999]

Buy 32-point builds while you're at it

[Evan_Arrr]

So, I LRed because I didn't want to lose some of the bound equipment I had purchased off the AH, and this is my improved build. Skill points may not be exact, I wasn't looking at my character when I was filling this out. Since I started at 4, I didn't bother with an actual level progression of enhancements, thus they are all lumped in at level 4.

Also, since I already had some decent rapiers, I stuck with Aerenal instead of Valenar (for now).

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.7.3 (Pre-Release)
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Timyr the Long
Level 4 Chaotic Neutral Elf Male
(4 Ranger) 
Hit Points: 60
Spell Points: 5 
BAB: 4\4
Fortitude: 6
Reflex: 8
Will: 1

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 4)
Strength             16                    17
Dexterity            16                    18
Constitution         14                    14
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               10                    10
Charisma              8                     8

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 4)
Balance               3                     4
Bluff                -1                    -1
Concentration         2                     2
Diplomacy            -1                    -1
Disable Device       n/a                   n/a
Haggle               -1                    -1
Heal                  0                     0
Hide                  7                    10
Intimidate           -1                    -1
Jump                  7                     9
Listen                4                     8
Move Silently         4                     6
Open Lock             n/a                   n/a
Perform              n/a                   n/a
Repair               -1                    -1
Search                3                    10
Spot                  1                     7
Swim                  3                     4
Tumble                4                     5.5
Use Magic Device     n/a                   n/a


Level 1 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead


Level 2 (Ranger)


Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Mobility


Level 4 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Ranger Skill Boost I
Enhancement: Ranger Skill Boost II
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I
Enhancement: Aerenal Elf Melee Attack I
Enhancement: Aerenal Elf Melee Damage I
Enhancement: Elven Perception I
Enhancement: Elven Perception II
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Defense I
Enhancement: Improved Search I
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity I

[Noctus]

Now you´ve got a good ranger.


Much better!

[Faent]

99& of the time weapon finesse is s waist of time (the 1% is that freak who solo'd VoD). Go STR based, you'll like the game a lot better that way. You can still have a high DEX on an STR based ranger. My Elf is 34/34 STR/DEX (34 point life with a ton of gear though). 30/30 can be hit by anyone at end-game.

Grodon and I keep disagreeing over this. =)

Your stat allocation is setting you up nicely for a DEX-based (18/1/1) Exploiter build, save that low CON. If you wanted that build, ideally you'd drop WIS a wee bit, completely dump CHA, and boost CON. Grodon will love to hear this, I'm sure, but I nerfed my STR much more than you did, and I've never regretted it. As a result, my endgame AC will easily be 6-7 points higher than what the standard Exploiter can achieve. This helps A LOT, especially when you can maintain good DR. For one, it means you can pull out vorpal weapons in quests like Hard/Elite Sins, and drop your +4 GS Insight item without worrying about being hit by anything but grazes. A DEX based-exploiter is almost always useful in a good group, and is very fun to play. If dealing max damage is your thing, of course, you won't like it. But if you like to survive like nobody's business while still maintaining significant DPS, it's the way to go.

[Rasczak]

That's a decent enough build. I think you'll find it a lot more useful moving forward

[unbongwah]

Looks solid enough. If you're going Tempest (and don't want a rogue splash), consider rgr 18 / ftr 2: you give up your final FE and rgr capstone; but gain two feats, +1 STR enh (lets you even it out to 22 at lvl 20), extra HPs (+14 w/ftr Toughness enh - always a good thing, esp. on an elf), and Haste Boost I. I recommend playing with the builder now before you level any further to compare the two.