Most useless class in DDO?

[Merlocke]

Ranger.
Esp ranged rangers.

[shadowhop]

All these responses saying Ranger genuinely confuse me.

Rangers are a jack-of-all-trades class; they can do some of the best melee DPS out there, buff the party, self-heal... I've even seen some Rangers act as the main tank. The only thing they can't do is traps and locks, but giving up the capstone isn't a big deal. In fact, I wouldn't build a Ranger who couldn't be a trapmonkey. Sure, a pure Barbarian will out-DPS a Ranger, a Bard will out-buff, etc., but that's because the classes are built for that; Rangers can serve to replace those classes and can fill multiple rolls easily. Who wouldn't want that in their group?

I guess Rangers have a bit of a bad rep because of all the new players rolling Elf Rangers with 8 Con, 12 Str and max Dex and using nothing but bows thinking they're doing insane damage, but I've seen well-built Rangers out-DPS Fighters and even some Barbs. Look at Exploiters - I'd say a well-played Exploiter would be in the top 3 melee builds for DPS, and definitely the most versatile.

Just my two cents here. But yeah, I'd agree that it's the player that's awful, not the class. I accept anyone in my PUGs, assuming I don't need something specific.

^ this

I also think that there is a difference between end game content(epic) and levelling between 1 and 19. A ranger will be out dpsed by an barb but doesn't need a babysitter behind his back and who can only disable traps with its head.

[kuro_zero]

My, how things have come full circle. When the game first came out, the only thing rangers were good for was barkskin. Then came tempest, and everyone loved rangers.

The change to TWF and tempest (and attack alclarity in general) hit rangers hard. Ranger exploiter builds rank in DPS only against favored enemies now, and even then they may not break into the top 5. This is compounded by the fact that there is a greater variety of enemy types in end game and epics than FE can cover, and so much of ranger dps relies on it.

And then you have new players coming from more conventional MMOs or DnD games believing range is a viable option (as it SHOULD be). It is not, hasn't been since RELEASE and Turbine stubbornly REFUSES to fix this.

I love rangers. Played them since head start. They're simply so far behind the power curve compared to every other class. A well played ranger is better than a poorly played fighter or barbarian. But any other class well played will out perform rangers in the current state of the game.

[MasterOfWorlds]

Oh, don't get me wrong - unless they're total gimps, pallies are good on evil outsiders. Just not that much without em.
And well, eChrono IS one of the hardest raids in the game. Which is..
Pretty sad. But yea. Let's move on.
If I really do MyDDO someone, I usually just check for weapons (not random loot trash), fort, hp and that's about it. Like I said, I almost never decline people from my parties. Game is just that easy.

That's fair. I do agree that some classes could use a buff.

[protokon]

It's a tough choice, considering I have seen puggers that have managed to make pretty much every class look useless. That's why I don't discriminate based on class in my runs, just guild tag :P

[Rubiconn]

There is no weak classes only weak players.

[PurdueDave]

No class is useless and all classes can excel.

In the spirit of the question for characters all or almost all one class, I'd say it's probably paladin right now. They desperately need a PrE overhaul.

[UnderwearModel]

I rarely put up an LFM though.

I hate waiting. I hate having to deal with people that decide to go AFK just after they joined the group.

No class is useless, just the players behind the class can render it useless.

[EpiKagEMO]

Gimpy Rangers/paladins/rogues that cant do damage.

[Malky]

I always accept anyone who applies, but I'm always a bit reluctant when a rogue applies. Besides what everyone says about the highest DPS with 0% fort and 100% SA, and all the blablabla, I've never seen a rogue grab aggro from a barb in a raid, and they die pretty fast due to lower HP.

Yes, I know all rogues do not have a low HP but how many end game players & epic oriented players play with a rogue? That should answer your question.

I hope your asbestos armor has no hole

More seriously, rogue is a quite difficult class to master, and quite ungrateful when you first hit epics.

But, if you ever see a good rogue in action... it's the only class that has a chance to compete with a necro spec'd wizard in the killcount department (in epics/elite amrath) beside savants.

As for their boss DPS, between the new imp. sunder, the FvS debuff and opportunist, i don't think they're gonna suffer much in that department if the group is smart.

[Talon_Moonshadow]

I hope your asbestos armor has no hole

More seriously, rogue is a quite difficult class to master, and quite ungrateful when you first hit epics.

But, if you ever see a good rogue in action... it's the only class that has a chance to compete with a necro spec'd wizard in the killcount department (in epics/elite amrath) beside savants.

As for their boss DPS, between the new imp. sunder, the FvS debuff and opportunist, i don't think they're gonna suffer much in that department if the group is smart.

Biggest obsticle I see to a Rogue's kill count is being able to put weapons on target before someone else kills it. Which is further slowed down by the need to not have agro.

If a Rogue can strike fast enough, he can rack up huge kills. But some players are better at drawing first blood than others.

At low lvls, my Rogues lack fast enough Striders to get there before the Barbarians can swing their axes. At high lvls, the Wizards can FoD from long range and wail several targets at once.

But even then, my Rogues usually can pull off the high kills in most parties. (always a source of pride to outkill a Pale Master. )

[Alabore]

Biggest obsticle I see to a Rogue's kill count is being able to put weapons on target before someone else kills it. Which is further slowed down by the need to not have agro.

When I pug with that kind of guys - you know who you are, the multi TR'ed Horc monk, the WF Sorc with Abishai set, basically, anybody who could solo contents under level, and still barely break a sweat - I try and provide them with foe debuffs: bluff, sunder, trip, sap, paralysis...

I tend to see my rogue's job as a debuffer melee.
No point in trying to outkill heavy weights, I might be better served with a lower personal kill tally, but making the killing process smoother for everybody.

They see my effects going off, they realise they have an easier time killing, they see my rogue not getting hurt, or surviving crits because he's got 100% fort, and - hopefully - they realise I'm adapting to their style and doing my part of the job, beyond trap duty.

[Doganpc]

Human Artificer's. If you're smart you're saving flawless sibery's so you can swap feats out once you've hit cap with a decent Artificer only to convert it into a pure crafting artificer. I have a feeling 70-90% of the Human Artificers we'll see in game for a while will be poorly built crafting bots leeching on PUG goodwill.

Dogan
cause if you spent those feats on crafting you...

[Malky]

Biggest obsticle I see to a Rogue's kill count is being able to put weapons on target before someone else kills it. Which is further slowed down by the need to not have agro.

I find bluff a very useful skill in those occasions when timed right, plus it has the exact same cooldown sooooo... the other important skill is usally tied to having played an instakiller caster yourself : if you 'know' which target will eat the FoD, you know which target(s) you will be able to assassinate during FoD cooldown

Wail being a PBAoE is a bit less of a concern, you can easily see what group is gonna be wailed and either be there to finish the mob(s) that saved, or seek another target that will be out of range of the wail if the caster has high enough DC for the content to wail everything.

Rogue is to me by far the most interesting & challenging melee class to play, and rewarding if you do it right. The only downside is the overlook from a lot of people, my rogue is pretty much only played in guild groups as for now...

[Talon_Moonshadow]

When I pug with that kind of guys - you know who you are, the multi TR'ed Horc monk, the WF Sorc with Abishai set, basically, anybody who could solo contents under level, and still barely break a sweat - I try and provide them with foe debuffs: bluff, sunder, trip, sap, paralysis...

I tend to see my rogue's job as a debuffer melee.
No point in trying to outkill heavy weights, I might be better served with a lower personal kill tally, but making the killing process smoother for everybody.

They see my effects going off, they realise they have an easier time killing, they see my rogue not getting hurt, or surviving crits because he's got 100% fort, and - hopefully - they realise I'm adapting to their style and doing my part of the job, beyond trap duty.

Well, my point was that my Rogue can kill just fine. But I am limited to melee range, and further limited by needing to not have agro....which in some cases requires me to make sure I am not seen first (hang back a bit).

But some people kill things soooo fast, that the monster is dead, before I can et wepons on target.

Barbs and Monks run faster than everyone else. Casters can kill at range.
I think the highest movement rate possible is very critical to a Rogue. You need to be able to pounce!

I really take pride in both getting the high kill count, plus never taking damage...especially in groups of Min II swinging TRed 1/2 Orc Barbs and insta-killing arcanes.

[Alabore]

Well, my point was that my Rogue can kill just fine. But I am limited to melee range, and further limited by needing to not have agro....which in some cases requires me to make sure I am not seen first (hang back a bit).

Just comparing notes.
Since they tweaked bluff I've been using it a lot: it allows me to get first strike and even designate targets without waiting for team members to attack them first.

[Battlehawke]

Pikers, even though they are Invulnerable to everything.

[DawnofEntropy]

To be honest I'm ussually hesitent to allow monks, as someone who normally uses back up characters such as bards and trap monkeys. I'm hesistent to let anyone in who can't tank or offer great dps.

[k1ngp1n]

I'm hesistent to let anyone in who can't tank or offer great dps.

Then you are misinformed about the capabilities of many monks.

[Aurora_nyx]

The most useless class would be the one who doesn't click on my lfm and let me get into the quest faster (it is of course tied with the class played by the 15yo boy who won't stop hitting on me)

I've had shroud runs with 5-6 rogues and no barb/fighter/pallys in them, done just fine. Other raids with no casters, and so on.I've even been known to let some more interesting build in a group just because I'm curious and know we can still complete regardless of them. I completely agree with it's the player not the class