A good idea or a mediocre Idea? Pure elf rogue AA tree (bow) and Rogue Mech tree (ra

[SatansToupee]

I was Thinking about turning my pure ranger into Elf pure rogue (using the AA tree from Elf) and rogue Mech tree. Full AA tree, so am I giving up too much or gaining something useful and interesting?

[oraness]

The main issue with that is most AA enhancements require a Shortbow or Longbow, and most Mechanic enhancements require a Crossbow of some sort. You are much better off sticking with Ranger unless you absolutely insist on being Rogue.

[Hobgoblin]

in the words of zoltan kulle.... its not the worst idea you have ever had

you get a lot more sneak damage from rogue.....


and some enhancements work with bows not just xbows

[Enoach]

Also keep in mind that doing a Multi-Class of Elf Ranger/Rogue is also an option. Both are High Skill point classes so keeping your rogue skills at max is absolutely possible.

Additionally, you can access the AA tree earlier via Ranger and later switch to using the Elf access later when you have enough points to unlock the elf enhancements. This will also open up being able to get the Capstone of the AA tree even on a multi-class which does not happen until you are in epic levels since the cores all have higher Character Level Requirements.

It will also open up access to Deep wood Sniper just in case some abilities in the other trees you were expecting to use are not available.

The ranger levels can also make getting access to some Range Feats easier if getting the pre-reqs prove to be stretching your build thin.

[Coffey]

I looked at this a while ago too but the mechanic or AA trees dont have the critcal threat range enhancement. Both have the competence crit multiplier only.

[C-Dog]

Whenever you look at different elements being combined into a build, whether that's different trees from the same class, or diff class trees, or a heavy dive into a racial tree, or whatever, you are looking for two things: synergy and optimization.

Optimization is pretty easy - does "what I'm gaining" outweigh "what I'm giving up" (aka "what else I could have instead")? This avoids the "Ooh, SHINEY!" effect, and tries to get the most bang for the buck.

Synergy is tougher, and sometimes is unexpected. There have been Rogue/Ranger builds that suggest using the bow only with Multishot, then switching to a crossbow during cooldown - interesting use of the best of both worlds. But meanwhile, you would hope to have enhancements that do double-duty, that work with both a bow and a crossbow as much as possible. Otherwise, even the best AP expenditure becomes only half as good, cuz it becomes a 50% chance whether it applies to the weapon in your hand at any moment. :/

The ranger levels can also make getting access to some Range Feats easier if getting the pre-reqs prove to be stretching your build thin.

Taking Ranger for the Feats sounds great, until you realize that, without Harper*, you need Rog 6 to get Int to Damage, and every Ranger level delays that, making leveling that much tougher. This isn't a problem if the build is for an Iconic that starts at Level 15 - so that can make all the difference.

(* w/ Harper, you just respec whenever you hit Rog 6)

I looked at this a while ago too but the mechanic or AA trees dont have the critcal threat range enhancement. Both have the competence crit multiplier only.

Crit threat is huge, but it becomes less and less depending on a) when it shows up, and b) whether you're TR'ing at 20 or pushing to 30. If going to 30 (or if an Iconic build), a late addition will still effect Epics, but if going to 20 a late addition makes almost no diff. Otoh, an early crit boost can make leveling from mid-heroics so much easier.

Lots to balance.