Revisiting the Elven Ranger for New Players

[unbongwah]

EDIT: (10/26/15) Update 28 has majorly buffed Tempest and Deepwood Stalker; U28.1 has buffed Arcane Archer but also changed how Manyshot works. You can read my thoughts here, but tl;dr summary: archery has become an even more backloaded DPS combat style than it already was, unfortunately; but the good news is you will see a DPS increase in epics once you've geared for it.

Hello and welcome to another edition of "Revisiting the Classics," wherein I revisit old builds and spruce them up! This thread will be focused on pure builds. If you're looking for a ranger with trap skills, I suggest checking out EllisDee37's Tempest Trapmonkey. If you're interested in more heavily-MCed but still mostly-rgr builds, have a look at Noyellowbar (rgr 15 / pal 4 / ftr 1).

Now, onto some general guidelines:

STR vs DEX: U28 has made DEX builds even more viable than they were before, now that Improved Weapon Finesse applies to bows as well as melee weapons. However, a pure rgr will still come out with at least +7 STR in epic lvls (Ram's Might + Primal Scream) - EDIT: and even more is possible if you have Madstone Boots or Titan's Grip (exclusive so you can only have 1 per char, so effectively +6 STR for boss fights) - vs +4 DEX from capstone; and khopeshes are still the overall best choice for crafted / lootgen TWF DPS, which doesn't work with DEX-to-dmg. So basically it boils down to more DPS (STR-based) or higher AC & Reflex saves (DEX-based). I'm going to focus on DEX builds for this thread; for a pure STR-based rgr using khopeshes, see the Cuisinart thread.

Feats: The primary appeal of rangers is their versatility; they get a full set of melee & ranged feats and some useful survivability perks like Evasion, defensive buffs, and Cure spells. However, even with all their free feats, you're still feat-constrained on a pure build, which means you have to make some tough choices about what your primary build goals are:

• For archery, you still want Point Blank Shot, Precision, Improved Crit:Ranged, Overwhelming Crit, Combat Archery, and Doubleshot (lvl 28 ED feat). Manyshot changes make Doubleshot crucial. [You can also add +4 Ranged Power by taking the Weapon Focus:Ranged & Thrown feats, but this is a pretty modest DPS boost, IMHO, and not worth 2 feats.]
• For melee, you still want Improved Crit for your chosen melee weapons & PTWF (Primal ED feat); you also want Precision or Power Attack (or both). Cleave feats aren't as good as Dance of Death, but they're necessary if you want to use Momentum Swing + Lay Waste in Legendary Dreadnought; also Precision is disabled by Rage effects, including FotW. So plan according to which Epic Destiny you intend to use. [You can add up to +6 Melee Power by taking the melee Weapon Focus feats, which would make up for the Melee Power Turbine took away from TWF feats. But again, I don't think it's worth the 1-3 feat cost.]
• For survivability, you may want some combination of Dodge bonuses (Dodge/Mobility/Spring Atk), extra HPs (Toughness+eToughness), Two Weapon Defense for extra PRR (combine w/Imp Parry from Tempest), and/or metamagics (Emp Heal+Quik+Rejuv Cocoon is a good combo for epic lvls). I'm also a sucker for Least Shadow Dragonmark feat + Gtr DM for Displacement; plus glowing facial tattoos are cool.

Skills: again, these are a matter of personal priorities. Self-heals? Max out Heal and Concentration. Want stealth? Hide & Move Silently. Spot is good for finding stealthed enemies; Search is handy for finding secret doors. [Turbine upped their DCs so True Seeing is no longer sufficient for most of them.] If you're going for AA, you'll want to max out Spellcraft, which now boosts your AA imbues. Use Magic Device (UMD) is the only skill I recommend every rgr has, since you've got plenty of skill pts to spare; even if you can't hit the magic 39 mark for Heal scrolls, UMD is still useful for lots of other things (Raise Dead scrolls, Flame Arrow wands, etc.).

The great thing about DDO is you can have two people with identical race / class combos and come up with very different results. This is not meant to be a definitive set of builds, but samples to help give you ideas.

The Classic Archer (updated 12/27/17)

First let's go with the basic leveling plan:

Classic Archer (U37)
Ranger 20
True Neutral Elf


Stats
               28pt     32pt     Level Up
               ----     ----     --------
Strength         8        8       4: DEX
Dexterity       18       18       8: DEX
Constitution    12       14      12: DEX
Intelligence    14       14      16: DEX
Wisdom          14       14      20: DEX
Charisma         8        8      24: DEX
                                 28: DEX

Skills
          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
         ------------------------------------------------------------
Concent   4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Heal      4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Search    4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Spot      4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Hide      3  2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2  23
Move Si   3  2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2  23
Spellcr   2     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     11
UMD       2     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     11
Tumble    1                                                            1
         ------------------------------------------------------------
         32  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8


Feats

 1        : Point Blank Shot
 3        : Precision
 6        : Quicken Spell
 9        : Improved Critical: Ranged
12        : Improved Critical: Slashing OR Weapon Focus: Ranged
15        : Spell Focus: Enchantment
18        : Empower Healing Spell
21 Epic   : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic   : Combat Archery
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting OR Pierce Damage Reduction: Silver OR Holy Strike
27 Epic   : Blinding Speed OR Epic Damage Reduction
28 Destiny: Doubleshot
29 Destiny: Harbinger of Chaos OR Embodiment of Law OR Deific Warding
30 Epic   : Epic Reflexes OR Epic Damage Reduction
30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea OR Ethereal Plane OR Plane of Earth OR Feywild

 1 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Undead
 5 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Giant
10 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider
15 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Construct
20 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Aberration OR Elemental

Most feats are pretty much what I expect on any ranged toon. Favored Enemies are based on what I consider the most prevalent mobs at any given level. Your final FE feat can be whatever you want based on what you plan to face in epics: elf for drow in Eveningstar, Elemental for ToEE farming, even Dragon if you (still) run eVON 6 or FTP regularly - whatever. The optional feats depend on e.g. do you want to keep melee as a backup (in which case IC:Slash + PTWF is worthwhile) or what ED you plan to use (more on that soon).

Heroic Enhancements: for heroic leveling I prefer tier-5 Deepwood Stalker (DWS) to tier-5 AA; OTOH, if you want to focus on AA imbues (esp. Paralyzing), then you should front-load those instead. So let's look at a couple of leveling plans depending on which you want to focus on first. Note that these schemes presume you want to focus purely on ranged DPS; if you also want to melee, it's a good idea to put 6 APs into Tempest ASAP for the first two cores so you can get DEX to-hit. [Improved Weapon Finesse will provide DEX to dmg so you don't need the third Tempest core.]
tier-5 DWS:

Leveling Guide

AA0 Arcane Archer; AA1 Conjure Arrows; DS0 Far Shot
DS1 Stealthy I, II, III; DS1 Favored Defense I
DS2 Improved Weapon Finesse; DS0 Sneak Attack; DS2 Melee/Range Power Boost I, II
DS2 Melee/Range Power Boost III; DS3 Thrill of the Hunt I, II, III
DS3 Favored Hunter I, II, III; DS2 Faster Sneaking I
DS0 Sniper Shot; DS2 Faster Sneaking II, III; DS4 Killer I
DS4 Killer II, III; AA1 Corrosive Arrows
AA0 Morphic Arrows; AA2 Elemental Damage; AA1 Energy of the Wild I
AA1 Energy of the Wild II, III; AA3 Soul Magic; AA0 Metalline Arrows
DS2 Survivalist; DS3 Survivalist
DS4 Survivalist; Elf0 Elven Accuracy; (Bank 1 AP)
DS0 Advanced Sneak Attack; DS5 Strikes Like Lightning; DS5 Improved Archer's Focus
DS5 Heavy Draw; DS5 Extra Favored Enemy: Monstrous Humanoid
DS5 Head Shot; AA3 Elemental Damage
AA3 Terror Arrows; AA2 Force Arrows I
AA2 Force Arrows II; AA4 Paralyzing Arrows
AA4 Elemental Damage; AA4 Smiting Arrows; AA4 Banishing Arrows
Reset Elf
Deepwood Stalker: Mark of the Hunted

Arcane Archer: Aligned Arrows, Shadow Arrows
(none)
(none)
Dexterity
Elf0 Elven Accuracy; Elf0 Elven Dexterity; Elf0 Elven Accuracy II
DS0 Horizon Shot; Elf0 Elven Dexterity II; Elf0 Elven Accuracy III

tier-5 AA with a focus on imbues:

Leveling Guide

AA0 Arcane Archer; AA1 Conjure Arrows; DS0 Far Shot
DS1 Stealthy I, II, III; DS1 Favored Defense I
DS2 Improved Weapon Finesse; DS0 Sneak Attack; AA1 Corrosive Arrows
AA2 Elemental Damage; AA2 Force Arrows I
AA0 Morphic Arrows; DS2 Melee/Range Power Boost I, II, III
DS0 Sniper Shot; AA0 Metalline Arrows; AA3 Elemental Damage
AA3 Terror Arrows; AA2 Force Arrows II
AA1 Energy of the Wild I, II, III; AA3 Soul Magic
AA4 Paralyzing Arrows; AA4 Elemental Damage
AA4 Banishing Arrows; AA4 Smiting Arrows; AA2 Force Arrows III
DS3 Favored Hunter I, II, III; (Bank 1 AP)
AA0 Aligned Arrows; AA5 Elemental Damage; AA5 Arrow of Slaying
AA5 Final Strike; AA5 Runebow
AA5 Moonbow; DS2 Survivalist
DS3 Survivalist; DS3 Thrill of the Hunt I, II
DS0 Advanced Sneak Attack; DS4 Killer I, II, III
DS4 Survivalist; DS3 Thrill of the Hunt III; DS2 Faster Sneaking I
AA0 Shadow Arrows; DS2 Faster Sneaking II, III; DS0 Mark of the Hunted
Elf0 Elven Accuracy; Elf0 Elven Dexterity; Elf0 Elven Accuracy II
AA0 Mystical Archer; Elf0 Elven Dexterity II; Elf0 Elven Accuracy III

The earliest you can grab Paralyzing Arrows is level 6 (costs 22 APs). I think it's worth delaying it a couple of levels to pick up a few things from DWS first (namely Imp Weap Finesse for DEX to dmg and Sniper Shot); but you can reset DWS @ lvl 6 to grab Paralyzing + 4th tier elemental dmg instead.

Epic Configuration: I'm not going to bother listing all possibilities because that's a serious PITA. Let's just look at two:

Burst DPS (FotW)

Feats

30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea OR Plane of Earth

Enhancements (80 AP)

Arcane Archer (42 AP)
Arcane Archer, Morphic Arrows, Metalline Arrows, Aligned Arrows, Shadow Arrows, Mystical Archer
Conjure Arrows, Energy of the Wild III, Corrosive Arrows
Force Arrows I, Elemental Damage
Terror Arrows, Soul Magic, Elemental Damage, Dexterity
Banishing Arrows, Paralyzing Arrows, Smiting Arrows, Elemental Damage, Dexterity
Moonbow, Arrow of Slaying, Final Strike, Elemental Damage, Runebow

Deepwood Stalker (31 AP)
Far Shot, Sneak Attack, Sniper Shot, Advanced Sneak Attack, Mark of the Hunted
Stealthy III, Increased Empathy I
Faster Sneaking III, Improved Weapon Finesse, Melee/Range Power Boost III
Thrill of the Hunt III, Favored Hunter III, Aimed Shot
Killer III, Merciful Shot, Leg Shot

Tempest (7 AP)
Shield of Whirling Steel, Tempest
Item Defense I, Improved Reaction III
Sprint Boost I


Destiny (24 AP)

Fury of the Wild
Primal Scream III, Boulder Toss III, Fast Healing III
Acute Instincts III
(none)
Gird Against Demons I, Sense Weakness III, Overwhelming Force III
Fury Eternal
Unbridled Fury

Twists of Fate (36 fate points)
Grim Precision (Tier 3 Shadowdancer)
Balanced Attacks (Tier 3 Primal)
Pin (Tier 2 Shiradi)
School Specialist: Enchantment (Tier 2 Magister)
Rejuvenation Cocoon (Tier 1 Primal)

Focus of this build is on burst DPS via Manyshot + Adrenaline + (Slaying Arrow | Sniper Shot). During Unbridled Fury, rotate thru your ranged special attacks each time Adrenaline Overload pops up. Melee is there for flavor / variety and a way of recharging Adrenaline; also Adrenaline + Overwhelming Force + Merciful Strike can be a potent combo, IMO. Plus adding Spring Boost addresses one of pure rgr's shortcomings, namely no runspeed bonuses apart from Longstrider. Takes either Arborea for the extra Ranged / Melee Power (bigger burst DPS) or Plane of Earth for added acid dmg, +2 Paralyzing DCs, and +20 PRR (good combo of DPS & survivability bonuses IMO).

Listed Twists are a wishlist, not a hard requirement; I'm certainly not expecting a first-lifer to have Epic Completionist. The first priority IMO is Pin for added CC / helpless damage (though you will probably unlock Cocoon first); add the other Twists as they become available and you earn enough Fate pts for them.

Sustained DPS (Crusader)

Based on White Feather Sniper

Ranger 20
Chaotic Good Elf

Feats

30 Legend : Scion of: Ethereal Plane

Enhancements (80 AP)

Deepwood Stalker (42 AP)
Far Shot, Sneak Attack, Sniper Shot, Advanced Sneak Attack, Mark of the Hunted, Horizon Shot
Stealthy III, Increased Empathy I
Survivalist, Faster Sneaking III, Improved Weapon Finesse, Melee/Range Power Boost III
Survivalist, Thrill of the Hunt III, Favored Hunter III
Killer III, Merciful Shot
Extra Favored Enemy: Dragon, Heavy Draw, Strikes Like Lightning, Head Shot, Improved Archer's Focus

Arcane Archer (31 AP)
Arcane Archer, Morphic Arrows, Metalline Arrows, Aligned Arrows, Shadow Arrows
Conjure Arrows, Energy of the Wild III, Corrosive Arrows
Force Arrows II, Elemental Damage
Terror Arrows, Soul Magic, Elemental Damage, Dexterity
Banishing Arrows, Paralyzing Arrows, Smiting Arrows, Elemental Damage

Elf (7 AP)
Elven Accuracy, Elven Dexterity, Elven Accuracy II, Elven Dexterity II, Elven Accuracy III


Destiny (24 AP)

Divine Crusader
Bane of Undeath, Interrogation, Purge the Wicked, Wisdom
Consecration III
Sacred Ground, Empyrean Magic, Blessed Blades
No Regret, Crusade
Castigation, Heavenly Presence, Celestial Champion

Twists of Fate (36 fate points)
Grim Precision (Tier 3 Shadowdancer)
Otto's Whistler (Tier 3 Shiradi)
Pin (Tier 2 Shiradi)
School Specialist: Enchantment (Tier 2 Magister)
Rejuvenation Cocoon (Tier 1 Primal)

This configuration is more focused on Doubleshot (Zeal of the Righteous) and ranged sneak attacks, using the DWS capstone (Horizon Shot) plus the Ethereal Plane Scion feat. Crusader also boosts your healing (Sacred Ground), adds DR-breaking (Blessed Blades), and boosts your crit range (Celestial Champion).

You could also use the 39 DWS / 41 AA combo from Strimtom's build.

[unbongwah]

Shadow Tempest (updated 9/10/17)
EDIT: Decided to drop the Dodge+Mobility feats which frees up two feat slots and a bunch of APs, which can either go towards ranged DPS or other survivability feats like Two-Weapon Defense.

Shadow Tempest
Ranger 20
True Neutral Elf


Stats
               28pt     32pt     Level Up
               ----     ----     --------
Strength         8        8       4: DEX
Dexterity       20       20       8: DEX
Constitution    12       14      12: DEX
Intelligence    14       14      16: DEX
Wisdom           8        8      20: DEX
Charisma         8        8      24: DEX
                                 28: DEX

Skills
          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
         ------------------------------------------------------------
Concent   4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Heal      4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Search    4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Spot      4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Hide      4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Move Si   4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Spellcr   1  1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1  11
UMD       2     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     11
Tumble    1                                                            1
         ------------------------------------------------------------
         32  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8  8


Feats

 1        : Precision
 1 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Undead
 3        : Least Dragonmark: Shadow
 5 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Giant
 6        : Extend Spell OR Point Blank Shot
 9        : Improved Critical: Slashing
10 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider
12        : Quicken Spell
15        : Two Weapon Defense OR Improved Critical: Ranged
15 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Construct
18        : Empower Healing Spell
20 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Elemental OR Human
21 Epic   : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic   : Weapon Focus: Slashing OR Combat Archery
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
27 Epic   : Epic Damage Reduction
28 Destiny: First Blood OR Elusive Target OR Doubleshot
29 Destiny: Embodiment of Law OR Deific Warding
30 Epic   : Blinding Speed OR Epic Reflexes
30 Legend : Scion of: Ethereal Plane OR Plane of Earth


Enhancements (80 AP)

Tempest (42 AP)
Shield of Whirling Steel, Tempest, Graceful Death, Deflect Arrows, Whirlwind, Dervish
Improved Defense III, Whirling Blades
Improved Parry III, Whirling Blades, Haste Boost III
Storm Dancer, Whirling Blades, Dexterity
Storm Tempest, The Growing Storm III, Whirling Blades
Dual Perfection, Cuts: A Thousand Cuts III, Whirling Blades, Dance of Death III

Deepwood Stalker (26 AP)
Far Shot, Sneak Attack, Exposing Strike, Advanced Sneak Attack
Stealthy III, Tendon Cut I
Survivalist, Improved Weapon Finesse, Melee/Range Power Boost III
Survivalist, Thrill of the Hunt II, Favored Hunter III
Survivalist, Killer III

Elf (12 AP)
Elven Accuracy
Phiarlan Dragonmark Focus III, Valenar Weapon Training
Lesser Dragonmark of Shadow, Valenar Weapon Training
Greater Dragonmark of Shadow

Leveling Guide
DS0 Far Shot; DS1 Stealthy I, II, III
DS1 Tendon Cut I; DS2 Improved Weapon Finesse; Tem0 Shield of Whirling Steel; Tem1 Improved Defense I
Tem1 Whirling Blades; Tem1 Improved Defense II; Tem0 Tempest
Tem2 Whirling Blades; Tem2 Haste Boost I, II
Elf0 Elven Accuracy; Elf1 Phiarlan Dragonmark Focus I, II, III
Reset Deepwood Stalker
Elf
Valenar Weapon Training
Lesser Dragonmark of Shadow, Valenar Weapon Training
Greater Dragonmark of Shadow

Tempest: Graceful Death
(none)
Haste Boost III
Tem3 Storm Dancer; Tem3 Whirling Blades
Tem2 Improved Parry I, II, III; Tem1 Improved Defense III
Tem4 Storm Tempest; Tem4 Whirling Blades
Tem4 The Growing Storm I, II, III; DS0 Far Shot
DS1 Stealthy I, II, III; DS1 Tendon Cut I
Reset Deepwood Stalker
Tempest: Deflect Arrows
(none)
(none)
Dexterity
(none)
Cuts: A Thousand Cuts III, Dance of Death III
Tem5 Dual Perfection; Tem5 Whirling Blades
DS0 Far Shot; DS1 Stealthy I, II, III
DS1 Tendon Cut I; DS0 Sneak Attack; DS2 Survivalist
DS2 Improved Weapon Finesse; DS2 Melee/Range Power Boost I; DS0 Exposing Strike
DS3 Survivalist; DS3 Favored Hunter I, II, III
Tem0 Whirlwind; DS2 Melee/Range Power Boost II, III; DS3 Thrill of the Hunt I
DS3 Thrill of the Hunt II; DS0 Advanced Sneak Attack; DS4 Killer I, II
Tem0 Dervish; DS4 Killer III; DS4 Survivalist


Destiny (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought
Extra Action Boost III, Constitution
Damage Boost III, Constitution
Critical Damage III, Haste Boost III
Volcano's Edge
Advancing Blows, Devastating Critical
Master's Blitz

Twists of Fate (26 fate points)
Balanced Attacks (Tier 3 Primal)
Grim Precision (Tier 3 Shadowdancer)
Lithe (Tier 2 Shadowdancer)
Rejuvenation Cocoon (Tier 1 Primal)

Tempests have become glass cannons: high melee DPS but squishy compared to barbs & pallies. This build is meant to offset some of that by going DEX-based (higher AC & Reflex saves) and Shadow Dragonmark feat (Displacement for 50% concealment); while still picking up as many melee DPS boosts as I can from DWS & Tempest.

Listed Twists are a best-case scenario; tweak based on available Fate pts as you see fit. Feat-wise, there are a few options, depending on whether you want to invest in ranged DPS (PBS+IC:Ranged+Doubleshot) or more defenses (TWD+Elusive Target). If you invest in archery feats; due to AP shortage I can't afford anything in AA, so she relies on returning / crafted / Flame Arrow ammo. Nevertheless, she'll have up to +30% Doubleshot from Killer + ED feat, so at least 150% Doubleshot during Manyshot at cap.

Scion of Ethereal Plane vs Plane of Earth largely boils to down to focusing on sneak atk dmg (by maxing out Hide skill) or 2d20 acid dmg (w/Corrosion gear). So I invested in both Hide and Spellcraft to keep my options open on this build. Or choose based on which survivability perk you want: Ethereal Plane grants perma-Invisibility Guard; PoE grants +20 PRR. Likewise, your lvl 29 Destiny feat should be either more DPS (Law / Chaos) or more survivability (Deific Warding); or you might be able to hit high enough DCs to make Dire Charge useful.

EDIT: since someone asked about the rationale of some of my epic feats:

Epic Reflexes is to hit no-fail Reflex saves so I can skip Evasive Dance, which saves me 6 APs in Tempest. Investing in Gtr Shadow DM is expensive, so I try to save APs where I can; otherwise I'd have to shave some DPS enhancements from Tempest or DWS to take Elaborate Parry + Evasive Dance.

Epic DR is part of fixing the aforementioned squishiness: +30 PRR from Tempest, +12 from DWS, and +10 from epic DR feat; 22 PRR from lt armor at lvl 30 (30 if I run with Tensers of Div Power); which puts my standing PRR at 74-82. If you take Scion of Earth, it's another +20 PRR, so let's say ~100 PRR before gear. Right now I believe the max possible PRR from gear is +70, but I haven't figured out what's an optimal gear set. 170 PRR is 63% dmg reduction.

Neither feat is essential; but both combined with other bonuses provide a nice boost to survivability to my Shadow Tempest, IMO.

[Grailhawk]

The Whirling Dervish

This build is focused almost entirely on DPS: first on melee, then on ranged. Emp Heal + Quicken are the only real concessions to survivability; and those could be dropped from, say, Precision+Blinding Speed if you really wanted to go for broke. The +2 STR tome is necessary for Overwhelming Crit; the +3 DEX tome is necessary for Combat Archery.

The Feats are all the right choices I would probably have taken Quicken at 18 and PBS and CA at 24, 27 but the feat you choice are all dead on and probably the best spread fro a true hybrid Ranger.

I think you should re do the Enh to loose a bit out of AA and take more enough in DS to take Sniper Shot.

I think this should be the go to pure 20 Ranger build.

The default paths should use this for the melee Tempest Ranger IMO.

[xberto]

Those are great ranger builds unbong but the best Elven Ranger for new players IMO is an Elven Shiradi Arcane Archer. Here are some advantages that would appeal to new players.

*You only need one good bow. You can use your imbues to effectively turn your bow into whatever you need.

*Great self healing

*Despite lacking some DPS, with Shiradi you can basically "lock down" mobs. Even is EE content, and new player can be helpful. I think new players especially benefit this mix of agro reduction and crowd control.

*Its just easy.

[unbongwah]

Switching to AA is simply a matter of shifting APs around. Feel free to post suggestions on how to configure them.

[daniel7]

Do you plan on removing cleave and great cleave?

[Ausdoerrt]

I feel like the dump-STR ranger is the most effective one if going elf. Lets you put more points into CON/WIS/INT.

[unbongwah]

Do you plan on removing cleave and great cleave?

Not sure, because CL/GC are there for the AoE DPS as well as the OC pre-req; plus if you use LD, you want Cleaves to reset Momentum Swing's timer. It does mean you can add OC to any DEX-based rgrs, though.

I feel like the dump-STR ranger is the most effective one if going elf. Lets you put more points into CON/WIS/INT.

As much as I like DEX / Finesse builds, WIS & INT aren't particularly important to a pure rgr like this. And going DEX-based basically commits you to taking elven Grace, which is at least 18 APs; that limits what you're able to take from other PrEs.

[mezzorco]

CL/GC are there for the AoE DPS

They are really subpar on a TWF for AOE DPS, although they were the only choice.

As soon as U23 arrives, I would drop completely CL and GC (and even PA) from a tempest, relying only on Dance of Death.
Ten seconds duration with 15 seconds cooldown, works with mainhand, offhand, doublestrikes...It's a great improvement over CL and GC and costs no feats.

Regarding PA, since it decreases your to hit, while Precision increases it by a percent, Precision is better than PA against any enemy you don't hit on a 2. And in Epic content hitting on a 2 is not granted.
Precision is plain better against enemies with fortification, too, even if you hit them on a 2: undeads, elementals, constructs, plants, oozes, orange-named and bosses.

[Grailhawk]

They are really subpar on a TWF for AOE DPS, although they were the only choice.

As soon as U23 arrives, I would drop completely CL and GC (and even PA) from a tempest, relying only on Dance of Death.
Ten seconds duration with 15 seconds cooldown, works with mainhand, offhand, doublestrikes...It's a great improvement over CL and GC and costs no feats.

Regarding PA, since it decreases your to hit, while Precision increases it by a percent, Precision is better than PA against any enemy you don't hit on a 2. And in Epic content hitting on a 2 is not granted.
Precision is plain better against enemies with fortification, too, even if you hit them on a 2: undeads, elementals, constructs, plants, oozes, orange-named and bosses.

I agree with this assessment U23 is changing a lot related to rangers, and this is with out even bringing up what Harper does. Know the Angles + 9 Melee power and 10% healing amp are far more attractive then the stuff in the racial trees.

[pappo]

Are Drow good for Ranger builds ?
If so, can you point me to a link for a Drow ranger build ? I would like to do AA ranger, with some TWF when the melee gets close.

[unbongwah]

Drow works fine for STR ranger. Elves are the only race which can get DEX to longbow dmg (Elven Grace), so they're the only viable pick for a DEX-based archer. [Why there isn't a DEX-to-ranged-dmg option in any of the rgr PREs is beyond me, but that's what happens when Turbine doesn't hire me as a consultant... ] If you need advice on picking feats, let me know, but converting the first build to drow is pretty straight-forward.

When U23 goes live, I'll try to remember to update these builds. As I mentioned in the OP, also have a look at Noyellowbar, specifically the drow variant I posted. U23 should make Noyellowbar even stronger: defensive stance is moving to lvl 3 Sacred D., which means a big boost to PRR & MRR; and Cleaves are being added to KotC PrE, giving you a little more flexibility with feats.

[pappo]

Drow works fine for STR ranger. Elves are the only race which can get DEX to longbow dmg (Elven Grace), so they're the only viable pick for a DEX-based archer. [Why there isn't a DEX-to-ranged-dmg option in any of the rgr PREs is beyond me, but that's what happens when Turbine doesn't hire me as a consultant... ] If you need advice on picking feats, let me know, but converting the first build to drow is pretty straight-forward.

I will LR my Drow into a STR build. I would appreciate any help you can provide on starting Stats and feats. I have a Silver bow to help at low levels, and a toon with crafting levels in the 60's to help with gear. I have a lvl 4 frozen tunic but gear suggestions would also be appreciated.

[unbongwah]

After U23 goes live, you will no longer need Great Cleave (or STR 23) for Overwhelming Crit. So for a pure drow rgr that's focused on archery, I'd probably do Point Blank Shot (1), Precision (3), Dodge (6), Improved Crit:Ranged (9), IC:Pierce (12), Emp Heal (15), Quicken (18), Overwhelming Crit (21), Combat Archery (24), PTWF (26). You need base DEX 21 to take CA, so figure out what combo of tome(s) & build pts gets you there; plus enough CON not to die, ofc. Everything else goes into STR.

Enhancements: 41 APs into AA (Slaying Arrow, capstone); 21 APs into Tempest (100% offhand proc, +3% Dodge from Imp Dodge); 11 APs into DWS (Sniper Shot, +Pos Spellpower, some sneak atk bonuses); last 7 APs sprinkled as you see fit. Though naturally, feel free to experiment as you level; you may find you prefer, say, the ranged special atks in DWS over AA imbues and shift APs accordingly.

[pappo]

After U23 goes live, you will no longer need Great Cleave (or STR 23) for Overwhelming Crit. So for a pure drow rgr that's focused on archery, I'd probably do Point Blank Shot (1), Precision (3), Dodge (6), Improved Crit:Ranged (9), IC:Pierce (12), Emp Heal (15), Quicken (18), Overwhelming Crit (21), Combat Archery (24), PTWF (26). You need base DEX 21 to take CA, so figure out what combo of tome(s) & build pts gets you there; plus enough CON not to die, ofc. Everything else goes into STR.

Enhancements: 41 APs into AA (Slaying Arrow, capstone); 21 APs into Tempest (100% offhand proc, +3% Dodge from Imp Dodge); 11 APs into DWS (Sniper Shot, +Pos Spellpower, some sneak atk bonuses); last 7 APs sprinkled as you see fit. Though naturally, feel free to experiment as you level; you may find you prefer, say, the ranged special atks in DWS over AA imbues and shift APs accordingly.

unbongwah - thank you for all this. +1 for the builds you create and help you provide.
I have a rog/monk stick build that I just got to 20, and plan to TR into your Knight of the Holy Stick build because I have so many staffs in my TR cache I hate to lose them.

[pappo]

After U23 goes live, you will no longer need Great Cleave (or STR 23) for Overwhelming Crit. So for a pure drow rgr that's focused on archery, I'd probably do Point Blank Shot (1), Precision (3), Dodge (6), Improved Crit:Ranged (9), IC:Pierce (12), Emp Heal (15), Quicken (18), Overwhelming Crit (21), Combat Archery (24), PTWF (26). You need base DEX 21 to take CA, so figure out what combo of tome(s) & build pts gets you there; plus enough CON not to die, ofc. Everything else goes into STR.

Enhancements: 41 APs into AA (Slaying Arrow, capstone); 21 APs into Tempest (100% offhand proc, +3% Dodge from Imp Dodge); 11 APs into DWS (Sniper Shot, +Pos Spellpower, some sneak atk bonuses); last 7 APs sprinkled as you see fit. Though naturally, feel free to experiment as you level; you may find you prefer, say, the ranged special atks in DWS over AA imbues and shift APs accordingly.

Well, I screwed up my LR +1 somehow. I went in with 2 rogue 3 ranger and ended up with 3 rogue 2 ranger. I leveled up to 3 rogue / 3 ranger but really don't want the 3 rogue.
Can I use another LR +1 to make me a 2 rogue 4 ranger. I can't delete and start over or I will lose all my TR cache from my previous bard life, and all the named rapiers and shortswords in there.
Any suggestions on how to get to 2 rogue 4 ranger ?

Or is it so bad to have the 3 rogue and just end up as a 3 rogue 17 ranger ?

[Grailhawk]

Well, I screwed up my LR +1 somehow. I went in with 2 rogue 3 ranger and ended up with 3 rogue 2 ranger. I leveled up to 3 rogue / 3 ranger but really don't want the 3 rogue.
Can I use another LR +1 to make me a 2 rogue 4 ranger. I can't delete and start over or I will lose all my TR cache from my previous bard life, and all the named rapiers and shortswords in there.
Any suggestions on how to get to 2 rogue 4 ranger ?

Or is it so bad to have the 3 rogue and just end up as a 3 rogue 17 ranger ?

Yes you can use a LR +1 to get ride of the extra rogue level.

Don't do 17/3 not a good split if you are under 18 Ranger don't go past 15 so 15/3/2 (fighter or monk) or 15/5 would be your options.

[unbongwah]

I have a rog/monk stick build that I just got to 20, and plan to TR into your Knight of the Holy Stick build because I have so many staffs in my TR cache I hate to lose them.

With the forthcoming changes to pallies in U23, I may revise KotHS to have 15 lvls of pally for 2 lvl 4 spell slots. Holy Sword can replace Staff Spec, which opens different MCing options, e.g., pal 15 / rog 3 / ftr or monk 2. But that's a topic for another thread.

Or is it so bad to have the 3 rogue and just end up as a 3 rogue 17 ranger ?

Rog 3 / rgr 17 is not ideal, although for an HTR life it's not a big deal. [Shadow Dodge from Acrobat is a nice perk (+3% Dodge, +6 DEX, -30% Fortification), I'm just not convinced it's worth 13 APs on its own, since you need to take a lot of filler on a non-staff build to get it.] Rog 5 / rgr 15 is solid if you plan to use daggers (Knife Spec from Assassin); although if you wish to reuse your short swords & rapiers, that's not helpful. Or you could do something like rog 3 / rgr 15 / <splash> 2.

You should also post in Ellis's Tempest Trapmonkey thread; sure you'll get more advice there.

[unbongwah]

I've updated the first post with a couple of options for AA & Tempest; and archived my original builds in the second post for comparison's sake. A DWS-specific build would look...well, mostly the same, since what I find appealing about DWS is it buffs melee & ranged DPS almost equally; but it's not as good if you want to specialize.

[Doutrinador]

I need past life sorcerer for completionlist. Would be EH/EE viable one sorcerer / ranger build? Using spell power and spell critical for elemantel arrows? maybe one lvl of cleric for DM.

anyone?