Tempest rangers for all folks old and new ~ R10 Viable Tempest ranger build

[Kaboom2112]

Maybe you or someone else would be interested in posting an alternate set of feats then?

Check the "other" forum.

[Ganak]

Much less damage, about 70% of the damage of strength build.

Building and playing a dex based scimitar ranger wrong...



A dex based scimitar ranger is best played as an off-tank and should always be focused on positioning to do sneak attack damage.


Should take DWS to at least 30 AP so as to get the 4th Core for the 10% fort bypass and more so the Mark of the Hunted clickie:

Mark of the Hunted: Activate: Expend a use of Wild Empathy. Your currently selected enemy receives -25% Fortification, -10 Armor Class, -10 Spell Resistance, and suffers a -4 penalty to all ability scores for 3 minutes. This effect also works on bosses and Raid bosses.
Passive: Your attacks bypass an additional 10% Fortification. You also gain +2 Damage when attacking Favored Enemies.
Passive: +10 Positive Spell Power



Mark of the Hunted, for red named and bosses, lasts more than enough time and benefits the ENTIRE party.



A focus should be on getting Fort Bypass as high as possible, which benefits not only the sneak attack damage, but also the expanded crit range of the scimitar.

Passive Sources:
Precision feat (25%)
Armor-Piercing Item (23% cannith crafting / 28% slave lord crafting / or other items or weapons with it.
Advanced Sneak Attack (10%) - DWS core 3
Mark of the Hunted (10%)
Silent Avenger set (25% legendary) - Artifact bonus to Armor-Piercing
Can also Twist in Grim Precision (15%) or Piercing Clarity (10%)

So easy at 30 to run around with a 93% fort bypass or higher. Mark of the hunter will take you north of 100%.




Scion of the Ethereal Plane as the legendary feat is huge, primarily for the +1 point of Sneak Attack damage for every 3 points of Hide, with hide augmented by the max dex build.


Maximize use of items giving sneak attack damage (Deception, Insightful Deception), and get three Sneak Attack Die from DWS tree.



For when you get agro, Exposing Strike DWS clickie is huge in it gives you 4 out of every 6 seconds of sneak attack and as mentioned works on named bosses.


Tis a glass cannon, so invest in high dodge. I don't take the dragonmark feats b/c I have a ton of displace clickies, but do one or the other. This route also means I don't take the Extend feat (only really useful for Dragonmark displace, and since not getting no dragonmark feat, no extend).






I totally dump stat str, max dex and con, and have a few points to dump into either int or wis on my Wood Elf build.

Stats
. . . . . . . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . .8. . . .+6. . . .4: DEX
Dexterity . . . 20. . . .+6. . . .8: DEX
Constitution. . 18. . . .+6. . . 12: DEX
Intelligence. . .8. . . .+6. . . 16: DEX
Wisdom. . . . . 10. . . .+6. . . 20: DEX
Charisma. . . . .8. . . .+6. . . 24: DEX
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: DEX

I do have to be careful of weight over encumbrance at lower levels, which consists of avoiding heavy trash gear.

I only take Int to 8 because that's all it takes to get the skills I desire.



Skills
Max Spot, Search, Heal, UMD, Hide

I max move silently, but for no good reason. Guess its nice to be there should I need it.

Jump to 10
1 point in tumble

Note: No concentration skill due to having Quicken feat for healing casting. Concentration would be then left to help with scroll usage, which I don't do.



Feats:
1 Precision
3 Dodge
6 Weapon Focus: Slash
9 Improved Crit: Slash
12 Quicken
15 Empower Heal
18 Mobility
21 OC
24 Spring Attack
27 Blinding speed
28 Elusive target
29 Embodiment of Law
30 Epic Reflex
30 Scion of the Ethereal plane

For feats, I like Empower Healing and Quicken for heals, and find myself to be a very effective single target healer in Reaper. I also make sure I have a devotion item (currently slave lords crafting)

Note: Extend only useful for Dragonmark displace, and since not getting Dragonmark feat, no extend feat.

I take Epic Reflexes (don't automatically fail Reflex saving throws on a roll of 1) being a max dex build and just don't fail. Love dancing in the middle of traps in reaper.

As an alternative to mobility and spring attack, I actual have a hard time deciding between that and toughness and epic toughness. No one does toughness any more. The combo adds 82 hp at cap. Let's say my login hp at cap is about 1500, it adds 5.4% hp, which is significant and can never have enough hp. I think math might say mobility/spring attack leads to a better outcome and survivalist, but I do not know.


The result is a very resilient character with arguably the most under rated dps in the game when built and played right. I don't have numbers, but would take the whole package over a str build tempest any day.

[Coffey]

As an alternative to mobility and spring attack, I actual have a hard time deciding between that and toughness and epic toughness. No one does toughness any more. The combo adds 82 hp at cap. Let's say my login hp at cap is about 1500, it adds 5.4% hp, which is significant and can never have enough hp. I think math might say mobility/spring attack leads to a better outcome and survivalist, but I do not know.


The result is a very resilient character with arguably the most under rated dps in the game when built and played right. I don't have numbers, but would take the whole package over a str build tempest any day.

There is a thread on the Rogue forum about increasing survivability for reaper Dwarf-Rogue-Assassin-Reaper-and-Raid-Focused. Says in there the Dwarf Dex based Rogue build is pushing 2500 HP. May be worth a look. And i see toughness and epic toughness feats added so you may be onto something there.

I do like the tactical feat adds from the strength based version, although costly feat wise. But i like running the poor mans dexterity build. Even a newer player to the game can easily enjoy playing it without a lot of investment.

And you are right about the damage potential when played right. Very similar to the rogue without having to invest in charisma for bluff.

One of the best made character classes for DDO

[GramercyRiff]

Building and playing a dex based scimitar ranger wrong...



A dex based scimitar ranger is best played as an off-tank and should always be focused on positioning to do sneak attack damage.


Should take DWS to at least 30 AP so as to get the 4th Core for the 10% fort bypass and more so the Mark of the Hunted clickie:

Mark of the Hunted: Activate: Expend a use of Wild Empathy. Your currently selected enemy receives -25% Fortification, -10 Armor Class, -10 Spell Resistance, and suffers a -4 penalty to all ability scores for 3 minutes. This effect also works on bosses and Raid bosses.
Passive: Your attacks bypass an additional 10% Fortification. You also gain +2 Damage when attacking Favored Enemies.
Passive: +10 Positive Spell Power



Mark of the Hunted, for red named and bosses, lasts more than enough time and benefits the ENTIRE party.



A focus should be on getting Fort Bypass as high as possible, which benefits not only the sneak attack damage, but also the expanded crit range of the scimitar.

Passive Sources:
Precision feat (25%)
Armor-Piercing Item (23% cannith crafting / 28% slave lord crafting / or other items or weapons with it.
Advanced Sneak Attack (10%) - DWS core 3
Mark of the Hunted (10%)
Silent Avenger set (25% legendary) - Artifact bonus to Armor-Piercing
Can also Twist in Grim Precision (15%) or Piercing Clarity (10%)

So easy at 30 to run around with a 93% fort bypass or higher. Mark of the hunter will take you north of 100%.




Scion of the Ethereal Plane as the legendary feat is huge, primarily for the +1 point of Sneak Attack damage for every 3 points of Hide, with hide augmented by the max dex build.


Maximize use of items giving sneak attack damage (Deception, Insightful Deception), and get three Sneak Attack Die from DWS tree.



For when you get agro, Exposing Strike DWS clickie is huge in it gives you 4 out of every 6 seconds of sneak attack and as mentioned works on named bosses.


Tis a glass cannon, so invest in high dodge. I don't take the dragonmark feats b/c I have a ton of displace clickies, but do one or the other. This route also means I don't take the Extend feat (only really useful for Dragonmark displace, and since not getting no dragonmark feat, no extend).






I totally dump stat str, max dex and con, and have a few points to dump into either int or wis on my Wood Elf build.

Stats
. . . . . . . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . .8. . . .+6. . . .4: DEX
Dexterity . . . 20. . . .+6. . . .8: DEX
Constitution. . 18. . . .+6. . . 12: DEX
Intelligence. . .8. . . .+6. . . 16: DEX
Wisdom. . . . . 10. . . .+6. . . 20: DEX
Charisma. . . . .8. . . .+6. . . 24: DEX
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: DEX

I do have to be careful of weight over encumbrance at lower levels, which consists of avoiding heavy trash gear.

I only take Int to 8 because that's all it takes to get the skills I desire.



Skills
Max Spot, Search, Heal, Hide, Balance to 11

I max move silently, but for no good reason. Guess its nice to be there should I need it.

Jump to 10
1 point in tumble

Note: I don't do UMD. UMD to me would be for Raise Dead, and I have clickies. Not optimal by any means, but I dont have to invest the skill points nor buff charisma on the build.

Note: No concentration skill due to having Quicken feat for healing casting. Concentration would be then left to help with scroll usage, which I don't do.



Feats:
1 Precision
3 Dodge
6 Weapon Focus: Slash
9 Improved Crit: Slash
12 Quicken
15 Empower Heal
18 Mobility
21 OC
24 Spring Attack
27 Blinding speed
28 Elusive target
29 Embodiment of Law
30 Epic Reflex
30 Scion of the Ethereal plane

For feats, I like Empower Healing and Quicken for heals, and find myself to be a very effective single target healer in Reaper. I also make sure I have a devotion item (currently slave lords crafting)

Note: Extend only useful for Dragonmark displace, and since not getting Dragonmark feat, no extend feat.

I take Epic Reflexes (don't automatically fail Reflex saving throws on a roll of 1) being a max dex build and just don't fail. Love dancing in the middle of traps in reaper.

As an alternative to mobility and spring attack, I actual have a hard time deciding between that and toughness and epic toughness. No one does toughness any more. The combo adds 82 hp at cap. Let's say my login hp at cap is about 1500, it adds 5.4% hp, which is significant and can never have enough hp. I think math might say mobility/spring attack leads to a better outcome and survivalist, but I do not know.


The result is a very resilient character with arguably the most under rated dps in the game when built and played right. I don't have numbers, but would take the whole package over a str build tempest any day.

Gonna be real I like this build a lot better than Strimtom's.

I can't decide on doing Dex/Scimitar or Str/Khop so I'm probably going to do both and see which I prefer. Right now I don't have any great Khopeshes and I'll never get a Calamity because I don't raid.

[DrawingGuy]

Gonna be real I like this build a lot better than Strimtom's.

I can't decide on doing Dex/Scimitar or Str/Khop so I'm probably going to do both and see which I prefer. Right now I don't have any great Khopeshes and I'll never get a Calamity because I don't raid.

If you don't plan on farming Calamity, I'd definitely go DEX route. Legendary Vulkoor's Edge is competitive DPS wise, does not require any raid farming, and you can farm it with any toon to set up your Ranger as they are BtA. The Heroic versions are pretty solid too for leveling 14+ as vorpal proc weapons work great in heroics.

Though not raiding really hurts as Strahd and Killing Time both provide items that take Ranger from being a top-tier DPS option in parties, to being great soloers and/or much tankier against unCCed trash:

Flow, the Piercer of Hearts - This weapon applies its CC to BOTH of your weapons and has no save. It procs on crit, which if you are taking Imp Crit Pierce and DWS, is 35% of the time on one of the highest attack density classes in the game. Essentially almost every attack interrupts up to 4 targets.

Nightshard (No Wiki page yet) - This weapon comes from Killing Time. This weapon is higher DPS than flow, and Identity Crisis is a salt proc that slows everything down to a crawl.

Both would combo into a complete shutdown of targets, with Nightshard slowing targets enough that you could target shift to spread out the interrupts. Either one of them is a game changer for an unsupported Ranger. And they are both weapons that a DEX Ranger can use.



I really enjoyed playing a DEX based Ranger. It was far from squishy (over 2k HP with over 2500 in Reaper and over 250 PRR and 200 AC), did so much damage I was able to easily hate tank with no hate items, and being able to AOE attack at that DPS just melts mobs. I suspect that I converted a few people to Ranger that saw me in action.

That said, I don't fully agree with all of Ganak's choices. The two biggest are:
- Feat Choices. Sneak of Shadows is a solid DPS boost, and Completionist is universally useful. Imp Crit pierce is key to the use of Flow for CC, and Imp Crit Bludgeon covers a DR tool. "Filler" feats would be weapon focuses to boost your MP. I don't think it is necessary to dump any feats for Toughnesses or Spring Attack. Dodge/Mobility opens up the option for 3 more Dodge cap and 5 more MDB, though as you can easily cap your dodge without the feats and a single T1 twist can bring your MDB to 28 (20 + 2 aug + 6 twist), which is already your dodge cap, Two feats is a pretty hefty price for 3 dodge cap. Though if you don't have the past lives, it is a lot easier to justify.

- UMD. UMD is for more than just "Raise Dead". It allows for "Resurrection" scrolls, which is critical for in-combat raises so whomever you're bringing back up isn't just going to die instantly again. It also allows for strong self-buffs like Shield wands (which boosts AC along with MM immunity and can fill in Nightshield clicky gaps), Tenser scrolls, True Seeing scrolls, and GH scrolls. Resto/Greater resto scrolls to clear neg levels on yourself or others. Fireshield scrolls for half cold or fire damage. There are many other little things, be it quest specific like lighting/putting out torches in Inferno, fireballing hounds in Thrill, etc, or filling in other utility gaps in your setup. UMD is by far the most important skill in the game, and to give it up is to shoot your support abilities in the foot. I'd kick Move Silently to the curb in a nano-second to invest in this. Though putting more points into INT is not a bad thing as it boosts your KtA.



I've been planning on going WIS based Aasimar my next Ranger life, but I hit a roadblock. My DEX life at cap showed me how critical Exposing Strike was from DWS - I don't have the static party that lets me get away with not needing it to qualify for SA damage, and SA damage is too big a part of my DPS to lose it. This means that I have a base point spread of 41 Tempest, 11 DWS, 26 Falconry (as Deadly Instinct and No Mercy were the keys to help make up for the +1 crit range loss)... I simply don't have the points to get Aasimar Ascendant Bond. This puts Aasimar Scourge clearly as the superior option, especially if you're running Calamities like I planned on, and I've already completed all my Aasimar Scourge lives. I'll have to decide if I want to stick with the plan (likely 42/11/27) or do STR instead.

[Niminae]

After extensive testing the mace build came in behind the people using real weapons by a noticable margin.

Mace usage on a scourge is a trap.

It's like Righteous Weapons in Warpriest/Soul: A trap

[RavenNight91]

Because scourge gains huge bonuses using them. It's probably the best weapon set for any Scourge TWF which can dip into their Racial Tree.

Scourge

lol...scimitars are the best weapons in reaper without gimping yourself

[RavenNight91]

My own two cents:

Weapon Choice:

STR based Khopesh (Calamity) - When you have no other source of Vulnerability, these win the DPS contest

DEX based Scimi (Vulkoor's Edge) - When you have other sources of Vulnerability, the additional DEX for Ethereal along with solid Scimi choices have this on par with Calamities. There are also amazing CC weapons that you can use DEX based: Flow and the new Reflection of the Frostblade. Haven't crunched the numbers on Vulkoor vs Nightshard, but I suspect Vulkoor still wins (metalline bypass is nice as well). In any case, the CC options, especially Flow, works well enough that you can solo pretty well.

STR based Mace (Beacon of Night/Day) - These fall a fair bit behind DPS wise, even with Scourge bonus. However it is still important to carry blunt weapons of some sort for bypass reasons, and Scourge helps prevent them from being as big of a DPS loss.



I would also like to talk about going WIS based via Falconry. While a Tempest doesn't really care about DCs, so doesn't benefit as much as a Monk/ranged/divine would, there are still some compelling reasons:

- Aasimar and Aasimar Scourge heals scale multiplicatively with WIS, and is the key to having high reaper self healing potential
- Mass Frog is a strong ability, and if you have the past lives/reaper tree for spell pen, can be very effective even without feats. Certainly more useful than Tactician
- Applies to all weapons like STR does, but is also boosting WILL saves with investment.

With No Mercy, you'll end up with higher trash DPS on everything CCed, but lower on bosses/non-CCed due to the loss of DWS investment. The new Frostblade (assuming it isn't glitched down to a 35DC like Epic Freezing is) presents a Dire-Charge > 6 seconds to freeze everything under your burst combo that could carry No Mercy into the general win zone even solo, which is where you'd want the stronger Aasimar heal anyways. However outside of Aasimar, I'd stick to STR or DEX only.



Race:

Aasimar Scourge has the boost to Maces (STR/WIS) or Light Maces (DEX), Oversized feat for a small boost to attack (does not qualify you for DEX to attack/damage on anything), free Undead FE, ghost touch, and the highest burst potential under Divine Form

Aasimar gives you passive Vuln stacking no matter your weapon choice as a Fallen, Quick Draw for quicker recovery from casting heals, and up to +5 STR under Purpose if you're STR based. Vuln Stacking is not to be underestimated, so Fallen Aasimar will out-DPS anyone that does not have a different source for it.

Elf is great for DEX builds as they max out DEX, boost accuracy (high reapers need all you can get to avoid grazing hits), and have a Displacement clicky.

Wood Elf gives up the Dragonmark Displacement option of Elf, but loses the CON penalty and has a STR option for someone rolling STR and wanting the accuracy bonuses. 5% doublestrike, a 10% action boost to speed for free with a tumble, and a strong attack/damage tree is nice too.

Half-Orc has action boosts, lock bash, and brutality for helpless damage. I consider this a top-tier damage option.

Human I really think is second-fiddle to Aasimar for Tempest. You don't really need the feat or action points, and Aasimar/Scourge gets the heal amp along a powerful self heal and a form that boosts DPS. It's far from a weak choice, but any Aasimar option is simply better.

Plenty of other options, but I don't think they bring as much to the table. Technically Helf would work well, but they're too ugly to count.



Scion of Ethereal vs Scion of Arborea

Scion of Ethereal is very strong. SA damage scales at 150% of MP, so it can easily translate to 200+ damage per hit -- even on non-DEX builds. Obviously that gets downscaled by Reaper, but so does Arborea's affect. On anything that is not SA immune, it is no contest - especially as you have a reliable way to apply it with Exposing Strike.

I really would only take Scion of Arborea if there are one of two conditions:

1) There is no way you can fit Hide items without major sacrifice (and even then it is debatable)
2) You are mainly running content with SA immune targets such as RL raids



Gear

I realize you may have some inefficiencies due to using some existing Slavers gear, but there are definitely some improvements you could make:

- Executioner's Helm really can't be beat for DPS. It gives Seeker, 5% damage from Fury, SA from Insightful Deception, along with Qual Combat Mastery. Rolling with an Executioners + Legendary Bracers of the Fallen Hero will be better... especially when you're on the higher end of Doublestrike. This is including even when not under Fury. When on boss fights, you could swap on a Slavers with 17 STR and a Packbanner as you would not need Stunning at that point.

- Sheltering 45 is 100% useless on a gear setup that is giving you 50 PRR / 52 MRR. If you already have CON/DEX/STR/WIS covered (which you don't on your setups), then there is always False Life.

- Ward Inscribed Pendant may be a source of CON, but it is breaking up Adherent set bonus option and Fleetfoot is a strong defensive boost as it gives 20 WIS for Will saves and Wind Through the Trees for no-save knockdown on anything attacking you.

This is the setups I would suggest:

STR Based:
Goggles: Precision Lenses
Helmet: Legendary Executioner's Helm
Necklace: Fleetfoot Necklace
Trinket: Echo of Ravenkind
Cloak: The Invisible Cloak of Strahd
Belt: Braided Cutcord
Gloves: Molten Silver Gauntlets
Boots: Slave Lords Crafted - False Life 68 (or INT 17 for a lazy KtA), Accuracy 28, Hide 22 (or Vertigo 20 if you use Trips), Quality STR 4 (or Qual CON)
Bracers: Legendary Bracers of the Fallen Hero
Ring 1: Band of Insightful Commands
Ring 2: Ring of Nightfall
Armor: Mist Laden Vestment

You could do boots with FL 68, Accuracy 28, Vertigo 20, Qual STR 4 for trash, and a STR 17, Accuracy 28, Hide 22, Qual STR 4 (or CON) for bosses so you can swap to Lorefueled Packbanner.

If Dodge is needed, flip boots and Trinket and put CON 17 on Slavers
Trinket: Cannith Crafted - Dodge 15, Heal Amp 61, Insightful DEX 7 (or Ins Seeker)
Boots: Softsole Slippers


DEX based:
Goggles: Van Richten's Spectacles
Helmet: Legendary Executioner's Helm
Necklace: Fleetfoot Necklace
Trinket: Cannith Crafted - Dodge 15 (or Spell Saves 12 or Melee Alacrity 15, Heal Amp 61, Insightful DEX 7
Cloak: Legendary Shadowhail Cloak
Belt: Braided Cutcord
Gloves: Molten Silver Gauntlets
Boots: Slave Lords Crafted - CON 17, Accuracy 28, Stunning 20, Quality PRR 11
Bracers: Lorefueled Packbanner
Ring 1: Band of Insightful Commands
Ring 2: Ring of Nightfall
Armor: Mist Laden Vestment

There is also this setup. It will come at a slight DPS loss due to no longer having Ins Deception SA, and no Heal Amp or Dodge, but has other advantages:
Goggles: Cannith Crafted - Seeker 15, Accuracy 23, Insightful Seeker 7 (or Ins WIS 7)
Helmet: Wind Howler Mask - Insightful DEX 9, Relentless Fury, Doubleshot 12, Tendon Slice 16%
Necklace: Fleetfoot Necklace
Trinket: Echo of Ravenkind
Cloak: Legendary Shadowhail Cloak
Belt: Braided Cutcord
Gloves: Molten Silver Gauntlets
Boots: Slave Lords Crafted - Sheltering 45, Devotion 185, Stunning 20, Quality PRR 11
Bracers: Lorefueled Packbanner
Ring 1: Band of Insightful Commands
Ring 2: Ring of Nightfall
Armor: Mist Laden Vestment


WIS based
Goggles: The Masque
Helmet: Legendary Executioner's Helm
Necklace: Fleetfoot Necklace
Trinket: Trinket of Freewill - Insightful WIS 9, MRR 52, Spell Resist 46, Mind Control Immunity
Cloak: Legendary Shadowhail Cloak
Belt: Braided Cutcord
Gloves: Molten Silver Gauntlets
Boots: Legendary Flightfoot Greaves
Bracers: Lorefueled Packbanner
Ring 1: Slave Lords Crafted - CON 17, Accuracy 28, Stunning 20, Qual WIS 4
Ring 2: Legendary Cursebane Ring (or Legendary Deathwarden for healing)
Armor: Mist Laden Vestment

If you need Dodge, you can make the following changes:
Trinket: Cannith Crafted - Dodge 15, Heal Amp 61, Insightful WIS 7
Cloak: The Invisible Cloak of Strahd

mighty stormreach helmet (daze on both weapons with solipsism) + packbanner is better for boss fights than slavers and fallen hero and i would use the chieftain ring for the wisdom and insane saves (+14) which stacks with resistance instead of nightfall (which will be nerfed anyway) also the quartz necklace gets you way better stats than a wasted slot with only wisdom and nothing else. You are missing dodge btw.

[RavenNight91]

Gonna be real I like this build a lot better than Strimtom's.

I can't decide on doing Dex/Scimitar or Str/Khop so I'm probably going to do both and see which I prefer. Right now I don't have any great Khopeshes and I'll never get a Calamity because I don't raid.

Str/Scimitar is better because Str will end up higher than dex (more dmg + tactic dc) and you can use stunning blow (more cc) and nothing beats a scimitar in reaper atm not even a khopesh because the damage reduction makes the khopesh useless.

[Kaboom2112]

nothing beats a scimitar in reaper atm not even a khopesh because the damage reduction makes the khopesh useless.

Absolute nonsense.

[DrawingGuy]

mighty stormreach helmet (daze on both weapons with solipsism) + packbanner is better for boss fights than slavers and fallen hero and i would use the chieftain ring for the wisdom and insane saves (+14) which stacks with resistance instead of nightfall (which will be nerfed anyway) also the quartz necklace gets you way better stats than a wasted slot with only wisdom and nothing else. You are missing dodge btw.

Solipsism is a guard proc (as are all other Madness upgrades that proc), and thus is hardly a reliable CC worth building over. And all my setups already use Packbanner, with the exception of STR where I suggest to use Fallen Hero for trash and Packbanner for bosses. In addition, Fleetfoot is not just for Wisdom. It also provides NA for AC (something far too many underestimate), Wind through the Trees (one of the best guard procs as it also works on Miss), and set bonus.

I had 28 dodge on my Ranger without any dodge items - between belt, past lives, and Reaper trees you can cap it. There is also the Halloween candy that gives you an hour of dodge at listen value, capping you even if you started with 0 dodge. However I provide an alternative for all STR/DEX/WIS setups to fit in a dodge item if you have no other alternatives.

Lastly the Nightfall ring's Ins Deadly not stacking is not something I'd plan for just yet. A Dev may have recently confirmed it is not WAI, but also stated there are no immediate plans to fix it. Either it will go away some day, or they'll just continue to ignore/label as WAI. I expect new gear to come in and change layouts far before that becomes a concern, and even then, gear can be changed at anytime.


@RavenNight - I have to agree with Kaboom. To claim Khopeshes are useless due to Reaper damage reduction is nonsense. The higher base die and multiplier more than make up for the superior crit range of Scimitar. Scimitar is only able to compete because of some amazing named weapons (Vulkoor and Nightshard) that come with 2+ extra weapon die and nice procs, as well as how crit range is better with Flow for when you need to bring more CC to the table yourself. Built right, you should see impressive DPS with either weapon choice, with one beating the other situationally. The only trap weapon is Mace.

The choice I'd debate more on is STR vs DEX. STR does indeed have the higher DPS potential and allows you to fit in more tactics with Stunning Blow and Trips. However I consider that DPS potential to be overstated as much of the sources you can't really fit or are super short screen shot numbers, making it compete against SA Hide DPS gains... so the difference is rather small. I haven't seen/tried the Kobold numbers, but I've done STR Rangers in the past, and I didn't feel any weaker on my DEX. I consider the real question is, are Stunning Blow and Trip more important than AC + Reflex + less MAD allowing for more point and gear flexibility. Leveling, I'd say SB and Trip win. At cap when you have powerful CC weapons at your disposal, not so much. No matter the case, both DEX and STR are very strong options. My only question is if the gains of WIS offset the losses. My paper math says no, but I'll still be doing a WIS build sometime soon (likely after another STR build).

[RavenNight91]

Solipsism is a guard proc (as are all other Madness upgrades that proc), and thus is hardly a reliable CC worth building over. And all my setups already use Packbanner, with the exception of STR where I suggest to use Fallen Hero for trash and Packbanner for bosses. In addition, Fleetfoot is not just for Wisdom. It also provides NA for AC (something far too many underestimate), Wind through the Trees (one of the best guard procs as it also works on Miss), and set bonus.

I had 28 dodge on my Ranger without any dodge items - between belt, past lives, and Reaper trees you can cap it. There is also the Halloween candy that gives you an hour of dodge at listen value, capping you even if you started with 0 dodge. However I provide an alternative for all STR/DEX/WIS setups to fit in a dodge item if you have no other alternatives.

Lastly the Nightfall ring's Ins Deadly not stacking is not something I'd plan for just yet. A Dev may have recently confirmed it is not WAI, but also stated there are no immediate plans to fix it. Either it will go away some day, or they'll just continue to ignore/label as WAI. I expect new gear to come in and change layouts far before that becomes a concern, and even then, gear can be changed at anytime.


@RavenNight - I have to agree with Kaboom. To claim Khopeshes are useless due to Reaper damage reduction is nonsense. The higher base die and multiplier more than make up for the superior crit range of Scimitar. Scimitar is only able to compete because of some amazing named weapons (Vulkoor and Nightshard) that come with 2+ extra weapon die and nice procs, as well as how crit range is better with Flow for when you need to bring more CC to the table yourself. Built right, you should see impressive DPS with either weapon choice, with one beating the other situationally. The only trap weapon is Mace.

The choice I'd debate more on is STR vs DEX. STR does indeed have the higher DPS potential and allows you to fit in more tactics with Stunning Blow and Trips. However I consider that DPS potential to be overstated as much of the sources you can't really fit or are super short screen shot numbers, making it compete against SA Hide DPS gains... so the difference is rather small. I haven't seen/tried the Kobold numbers, but I've done STR Rangers in the past, and I didn't feel any weaker on my DEX. I consider the real question is, are Stunning Blow and Trip more important than AC + Reflex + less MAD allowing for more point and gear flexibility. Leveling, I'd say SB and Trip win. At cap when you have powerful CC weapons at your disposal, not so much. No matter the case, both DEX and STR are very strong options. My only question is if the gains of WIS offset the losses. My paper math says no, but I'll still be doing a WIS build sometime soon (likely after another STR build).

Solipsism is a attack proc which lasts for 6 sec with no save ( https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...ranged-attacks ). And stunning blow is always a must because it induces helpless dmg and with that you are able to disable champs or orange named bosses easier. Dire charge tends to miss a lot when you are only facing one mob so i save it and use it when facing more than just one.

[RavenNight91]

Absolute nonsense.

Critting more felt better and faster for me in reaper than a higher multi weapon with less crits.

[Emerge2012]

Critting more felt better and faster for me in reaper than a higher multi weapon with less crits.

Good good, your fee fees are what's really important here.

[Taxidiotis]

I keep reading STR would be typically higher than DEX. Does anyone have any in-game STR numbers?

My Aasimar Pure Tempest Sexy Dexy Thot is pulling base 86 DEX in reaper content(no pots). I have not done the full math on any other STR tempest build, but I can see base STR coming in at max 86, as well. Anyone have any higher STR with similar build? (Also, I have a hard time fitting max doublestrike into a STR without compromising other attributes, which further puts DEX in favor for me).

I am in no way suggesting STR is inferior to DEX, but running a baseline of numbers eventually pulls DEX ahead by a very slight margin (not enough to tout one is better than the other, however).
I run High Reaper content with STR Tempests ( actually it's just one ) in which we both constantly rival each other in kill counts, survivability and aggro pulling (when not running with a proper tank). We both DPS test at +/-18.5 - 19k, almost identical (frankly "Nameless" STR tempest outperforms me because of player base [tips hat*], not specifically the build), but we do not have a matched baseline to come to a very conclusive difference; due to very small differences in toons (PLs/mythic gear/RPR points/etc.)

So lets baseline them; pretend mythic gear bonuses, Reaper, Sentient, etc never existed; and the two builds are identical in PLs, enhancements, gear and feat layout as per their perspective build attribute (i.e obviously STR would not take WepFin; and DEX would NEVER put on Precision Lenses...smh). Both would have same RL Avenger/Mist set bonuses (if you don't have both, just stop reading now).

1. STR build effectively MUST put points into DEX for defense purposes, so the points are spread between STR & DEX; but DEX build absolutely dumps STR and focuses all on DEX(att/dmg) (granted; I feel like a gimp when I can't pull the levers in TS raid).
2. Thus, STR build will never have DEX higher than a DEX build.
3. Higher DEX means higher Hide by +/-15pts = slightly higher dmg
4. And DEX puts saves a little higher. But max DEX does very little to increase Dodge because of MDB, so it gets wasted there (but that can change with new Update gear).

I won't harp too much on the fact that STR build has a difficult time gearing everything in, whereas DEX build seems to be more convenient; because devs can introduce new gear next update that makes the opposite true. For now, gearing STR is a little cumbersome. AND let's face it, new content really put gearing a DEX in even better position with new raid nightshard scimmy. But, once devs intro the next +1 STR race PL, maybe STR will pull ahead, IDFK...

So baselining the two, DEX would come out ahead due to Hide skill (15/3) = 5DPS...A whole 5DPS! IMHO, they're both dead-on even...and will both forever be in a cursed struggle of swinging red-named boss aggro from eachother

PS; Scourge and Wood Elf tempests sound wonderful; look closely tho...they're traps. Stop doing that thing.

[RavenNight91]

I keep reading STR would be typically higher than DEX. Does anyone have any in-game STR numbers?

My Aasimar Pure Tempest Sexy Dexy Thot is pulling base 86 DEX in reaper content(no pots). I have not done the full math on any other STR tempest build, but I can see base STR coming in at max 86, as well. Anyone have any higher STR with similar build? (Also, I have a hard time fitting max doublestrike into a STR without compromising other attributes, which further puts DEX in favor for me).

I am in no way suggesting STR is inferior to DEX, but running a baseline of numbers eventually pulls DEX ahead by a very slight margin (not enough to tout one is better than the other, however).
I run High Reaper content with STR Tempests ( actually it's just one ) in which we both constantly rival each other in kill counts, survivability and aggro pulling (when not running with a proper tank). We both DPS test at +/-18.5 - 19k, almost identical (frankly "Nameless" STR tempest outperforms me because of player base [tips hat*], not specifically the build), but we do not have a matched baseline to come to a very conclusive difference; due to very small differences in toons (PLs/mythic gear/RPR points/etc.)

So lets baseline them; pretend mythic gear bonuses, Reaper, Sentient, etc never existed; and the two builds are identical in PLs, enhancements, gear and feat layout as per their perspective build attribute (i.e obviously STR would not take WepFin; and DEX would NEVER put on Precision Lenses...smh). Both would have same RL Avenger/Mist set bonuses (if you don't have both, just stop reading now).

1. STR build effectively MUST put points into DEX for defense purposes, so the points are spread between STR & DEX; but DEX build absolutely dumps STR and focuses all on DEX(att/dmg) (granted; I feel like a gimp when I can't pull the levers in TS raid).
2. Thus, STR build will never have DEX higher than a DEX build.
3. Higher DEX means higher Hide by +/-15pts = slightly higher dmg
4. And DEX puts saves a little higher. But max DEX does very little to increase Dodge because of MDB, so it gets wasted there (but that can change with new Update gear).

I won't harp too much on the fact that STR build has a difficult time gearing everything in, whereas DEX build seems to be more convenient; because devs can introduce new gear next update that makes the opposite true. For now, gearing STR is a little cumbersome. AND let's face it, new content really put gearing a DEX in even better position with new raid nightshard scimmy. But, once devs intro the next +1 STR race PL, maybe STR will pull ahead, IDFK...

So baselining the two, DEX would come out ahead due to Hide skill (15/3) = 5DPS...A whole 5DPS! IMHO, they're both dead-on even...and will both forever be in a cursed struggle of swinging red-named boss aggro from eachother

PS; Scourge and Wood Elf tempests sound wonderful; look closely tho...they're traps. Stop doing that thing.

Are you trolling ? Dex higher than Str ? In which World ? I always end up with 20 Str more than Dex by comparing those.

[Taxidiotis]

Are you trolling ? Dex higher than Str ? In which World ? I always end up with 20 Str more than Dex by comparing those.

I didn't specifically note DEX being higher than STR. I theorized STR/DEX being same. I don't know what cap STR can be on tempest...thus the initial question. I do know what DEX can be, and that is an efficient 86.
Are you suggesting you run with a base 106 STR? If so, would you mind explaining? Can you offer any support to your claim?

[Jimminy]

Building and playing a dex based scimitar ranger wrong...



A dex based scimitar ranger is best played as an off-tank and should always be focused on positioning to do sneak attack damage.


Should take DWS to at least 30 AP so as to get the 4th Core for the 10% fort bypass and more so the Mark of the Hunted clickie:

Mark of the Hunted: Activate: Expend a use of Wild Empathy. Your currently selected enemy receives -25% Fortification, -10 Armor Class, -10 Spell Resistance, and suffers a -4 penalty to all ability scores for 3 minutes. This effect also works on bosses and Raid bosses.
Passive: Your attacks bypass an additional 10% Fortification. You also gain +2 Damage when attacking Favored Enemies.
Passive: +10 Positive Spell Power



Mark of the Hunted, for red named and bosses, lasts more than enough time and benefits the ENTIRE party.



A focus should be on getting Fort Bypass as high as possible, which benefits not only the sneak attack damage, but also the expanded crit range of the scimitar.

Passive Sources:
Precision feat (25%)
Armor-Piercing Item (23% cannith crafting / 28% slave lord crafting / or other items or weapons with it.
Advanced Sneak Attack (10%) - DWS core 3
Mark of the Hunted (10%)
Silent Avenger set (25% legendary) - Artifact bonus to Armor-Piercing
Can also Twist in Grim Precision (15%) or Piercing Clarity (10%)

So easy at 30 to run around with a 93% fort bypass or higher. Mark of the hunter will take you north of 100%.




Scion of the Ethereal Plane as the legendary feat is huge, primarily for the +1 point of Sneak Attack damage for every 3 points of Hide, with hide augmented by the max dex build.


Maximize use of items giving sneak attack damage (Deception, Insightful Deception), and get three Sneak Attack Die from DWS tree.



For when you get agro, Exposing Strike DWS clickie is huge in it gives you 4 out of every 6 seconds of sneak attack and as mentioned works on named bosses.


Tis a glass cannon, so invest in high dodge. I don't take the dragonmark feats b/c I have a ton of displace clickies, but do one or the other. This route also means I don't take the Extend feat (only really useful for Dragonmark displace, and since not getting no dragonmark feat, no extend).






I totally dump stat str, max dex and con, and have a few points to dump into either int or wis on my Wood Elf build.

Stats
. . . . . . . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . .8. . . .+6. . . .4: DEX
Dexterity . . . 20. . . .+6. . . .8: DEX
Constitution. . 18. . . .+6. . . 12: DEX
Intelligence. . .8. . . .+6. . . 16: DEX
Wisdom. . . . . 10. . . .+6. . . 20: DEX
Charisma. . . . .8. . . .+6. . . 24: DEX
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: DEX

I do have to be careful of weight over encumbrance at lower levels, which consists of avoiding heavy trash gear.

I only take Int to 8 because that's all it takes to get the skills I desire.



Skills
Max Spot, Search, Heal, Hide, Balance to 11

I max move silently, but for no good reason. Guess its nice to be there should I need it.

Jump to 10
1 point in tumble

Note: I don't do UMD. UMD to me would be for Raise Dead, and I have clickies. Not optimal by any means, but I dont have to invest the skill points nor buff charisma on the build.

Note: No concentration skill due to having Quicken feat for healing casting. Concentration would be then left to help with scroll usage, which I don't do.



Feats:
1 Precision
3 Dodge
6 Weapon Focus: Slash
9 Improved Crit: Slash
12 Quicken
15 Empower Heal
18 Mobility
21 OC
24 Spring Attack
27 Blinding speed
28 Elusive target
29 Embodiment of Law
30 Epic Reflex
30 Scion of the Ethereal plane

For feats, I like Empower Healing and Quicken for heals, and find myself to be a very effective single target healer in Reaper. I also make sure I have a devotion item (currently slave lords crafting)

Note: Extend only useful for Dragonmark displace, and since not getting Dragonmark feat, no extend feat.

I take Epic Reflexes (don't automatically fail Reflex saving throws on a roll of 1) being a max dex build and just don't fail. Love dancing in the middle of traps in reaper.

As an alternative to mobility and spring attack, I actual have a hard time deciding between that and toughness and epic toughness. No one does toughness any more. The combo adds 82 hp at cap. Let's say my login hp at cap is about 1500, it adds 5.4% hp, which is significant and can never have enough hp. I think math might say mobility/spring attack leads to a better outcome and survivalist, but I do not know.


The result is a very resilient character with arguably the most under rated dps in the game when built and played right. I don't have numbers, but would take the whole package over a str build tempest any day.

Do you have an enhancement list for this? I'm hoping to try this for my next TR.

[Niminae]

Double Smash
Ranger 20
Lawful Good Aasimar Scourge

Strength Human Kopesh
Ranger 20
Lawful Good Human

Ranger Elf Scimitar D-mark
Ranger 20
Lawful Good Elf

Why Lawful Good?

I get Good for the Aasimar, you're getting 'free' Good weapons from Scourge Weapons, which is a good thing (no pun intended). But why Lawful, and why LG for the Human and the Elf? You're not twisting in Blessed Blades, so it looks like you're just making yourself more vulnerable to alignment damage.

Typos are fixed (hopefully). Should be slashing for the scimitar build.

Sapphile of Good luck +2

Well, it's Sapphire. You got it right everywhere else but for the luck augment. Bad luck, there (no pun intended!).

[Niminae]

Half-Orc has action boosts, lock bash, and brutality for helpless damage. I consider this a top-tier damage option.

I've had reasonable success with Lock Bash on a STR build Paladin which had a decent CHA as well and a partial investment in Intim. Wiki says Lock Bash is bugged and uses CHA instead of STR. How many Rangers don't dump CHA, and how many Rangers invest in Intim?