Harper/INT based ranger

[skaught78]

How well does harper INT to damage gel with ranger? I'm thinking of making an INT based drow (for the racial past life) ranger. is this viable?

Would be doing a 36 pt build of course.

[PsychoBlonde]

You need to spend a minimum of 12 points in the Harper tree to get int to hit and damage, which is 12 points you're NOT spending in other trees.

Considering that Drow also gets +2 to dex and you can easily get dex to hit and damage on a ranger, why wouldn't you go dex-based instead and save the points?

The only real reason to go int-based on a ranger would be if you're mixing it with some heavily int-dependent class that needs a lot of skill points.

[skaught78]

Does that DEX to hit and damage apply to ranged and melee?

[PsychoBlonde]

Tier 2 Deepwood Stalker:

Improved Weapon Finesse: You can use your Dexterity modifier for damage when wielding bows, thrown weapons, and melee weapons with which you can use your Dexterity modifier to hit. The Weapon Finesse feat is NOT required to take this enhancement.

Core 2 Tempest:

Tempest: +10% stacking chance to make off-hand attacks when dual wielding weapons. You now treat Scimitars as if they were light melee weapons. While you are dual wielding, you can use your dexterity modifier to hit with light melee weapons.

So, yes.

[C-Dog]

Would be doing a 36 pt build of course.

Of course you meant "32 pt build". (See last paragraph of "Overview" - http://ddowiki.com/page/Drow )

The only real reason to go int-based on a ranger would be if you're mixing it with some heavily int-dependent class that needs a lot of skill points.

Admittedly, Dex is the go-to, but I can think of several other legit reasons.

You need to spend a minimum of 12 points in the Harper tree to get int to hit and damage, which is 12 points you're NOT spending in other trees.

While true, the answer to the question in the OP is "Yes, it's viable" (just perhaps(?) not optimal).

But there ~are~ some very useful enhancements included in those 12 Harper points, so ~IF~(!)...

1) what you could otherwise get with those 12 points (in other trees) is no better than Know the Angles (a long-lasting boost to damage = Int mod/2) plus some misc.,
...or...
2) the weapons you plan to use are not scimitars/bows/etc.,
...or...
3) you weren't planning to dive/dip into both DWS and Tempest...

...then... yes, it's not only viable, but (perhaps) preferable.

What exactly was the concept you were thinking about? Spec re weapon(s) style?

[unbongwah]

You need to spend a minimum of 12 points in the Harper tree to get int to hit and damage, which is 12 points you're NOT spending in other trees.

Pretty much this: on a pure rgr, 42 Tempest / 31 DWS is the optimal combo of APs for melee DPS, IMO, but that leaves only 7 APs left over, not enough for T3 Harper as well. If you do, say, 42 Tempest / 26 DWS / 12 Harper, you give up Mark of the Hunted. It's not the end of the world, of course, but it's nice to have the extra Fort bypass when it really matters.

I suppose the silver lining to INT- vs DEX-based ranger is you can use khopeshes instead of scimitars, but the same is true of STR-based ranger.

[skaught78]

Of course you meant "32 pt build".

Oh yeah...

What exactly was the concept you were thinking about? Spec re weapon(s) style?

Ideally, I'd like to be able to switch effectively between ranged and melee, be highly skilled, and maybe take insightful reflexes.


I haven't played a ranger since before the days of enhancement trees. It's been years, so yeah. kinda in the dark on them. I do want max DPS, so however I would make that happen.

[C-Dog]

... I'd like to be able to switch effectively between ranged and melee...

... I do want max DPS...

These two statements are mutually contradictory.

... so however I would make that happen.

Specialization for max DPS, either Ranged OR Melee. Few builds have enough Feats to have even 1 spare to spend on whichever is not their focus.

With Ranger, the other will enjoy the free feats, so won't be terrible - better melee than any other Ranged build, better Ranged than any other Melee build.

[skaught78]

These two statements are mutually contradictory.


Specialization for max DPS, either Ranged OR Melee. Few builds have enough Feats to have even 1 spare to spend on whichever is not their focus.

With Ranger, the other will enjoy the free feats, so won't be terrible - better melee than any other Ranged build, better Ranged than any other Melee build.

"Mutually contradictory" I LOVE THAT!!! Can I use it sometime?

Well, thanks for the straight forward answer. I'll probably just skip trying to do any meleeing and stick with ranged.

I have this fantasy of having a toon someday that can switch effectively between the two depending on the scenario... Was hoping maybe I discovered it. Maybe someday...

[unbongwah]

Specialization for max DPS, either Ranged OR Melee. Few builds have enough Feats to have even 1 spare to spend on whichever is not their focus.

While I agree max DPS requires specialization, the issue for rangers isn't so much feats as it is APs. Pts you're spending on AA are pts you're not spending on Tempest; and vice versa. In particular, there's not enough APs to take all of the rgr crit bonuses from the core Enhancements and still be able to afford a capstone. So you can make a Tempest who also invests in some ranged DPS feats & Enhancements (or vice versa); but you won't be the best at either, much less both combat styles.

[wolfy42]

If you wanted to, and where a gnome, you could squeeze in the gnome enhancements as well as the harper ones, but that makes your AP REALLY tight. Still in such a scenerio, you could mostly max out your tempest tree, just get up to tier 4 of AA tree (Focusing on elemental damage), get know the angles and int to hit/damage from harper, and max out your gnome bonus to light weapons and shortbows.

Gives you a competence bonus to your crit range for your melee and ranged weapons, on top of bonus damage (alot of bonus damage between gnome weapon specialization and know the angles). If your ditching the DWS tree for tempest (you don't need improved weapon finesse), your melee damage should be pretty decent. No scimitars etc, but hey....your a gnome!!!


Ps. I love gnomes.