Need ranger build

[Atwan]

On my 9th or not sure life. And died again. I want to play only a elf ranger. Need some advice. I don’t like to plan anything. Just want to play and have the ability to not die. Can someone give me a build with all the details. Like what feats and when with the new ranger changes. What do I need to wear and carry on me to try and stay alive. I was paralyzing. But some things can’t be. Help.

[FURYous]

On my 9th or not sure life. And died again. I want to play only a elf ranger. Need some advice. I don’t like to plan anything. Just want to play and have the ability to not die. Can someone give me a build with all the details. Like what feats and when with the new ranger changes. What do I need to wear and carry on me to try and stay alive. I was paralyzing. But some things can’t be. Help.

I don't think HC is the place for flavor builds, get a build that is built to take a punishment so it survives, too many instant kills this season with the new champs and the added challenge of mimics.

You may want to think about warforged or bladeforged as they get immunities to Poison, Sleep Effects, Negative Levels, Paralysis, Hold Person/Monster, Flesh to Stone, Disease, Nausea, Fatigue & Exhaustion also water breathing. They seem to be the uber race this season. Also think about at least 4 levels of Pally for an extra 14+ to all saves, 20% extra health, 6 extra con, immunity to fear etc.

The problem with ranged is most of them have lower health, saves and mitigation, you want something that can get around all this IMHO. You can do it with ranged but it takes thinking out of the box.

Here is my take on a range HC build, it takes a bit to get going but once it hits 8 or so it is a rock with decent DPS. Hardcore Sherman Machine Gun

Note the HP, saves and resistances (augments) as well as the mitigation (AC, PRR, MRR, ETC) anything to keep you alive. This is an Inq build so a ranged toon with a 6 second reconstruct and heals.

Level 12 stats:

[unbongwah]

So here's my idea: elf ranger 18 / barbarian 2 with Dragonmark. The barbarian splash gets you +10% runspeed and Blood Tribute; Greater Dragonmark of Shadow gives you Displacement. [You also gain Invisibility and Shadow Walk.] So: faster kiting, temp HPs, and 50% concealment - all of which helps you stay alive longer. Downside is it costs 20 APs so you end up backloading some DPS and you have to take those APs from elsewhere - in this case, Arcane Archer so I'm not really investing in imbues, really just want Conjure Arrows + Morphic Arrows for DR-breaking.

Phiarlan Archer (HC)
18/2 Ranger/Barbarian
True Neutral Elf




Level Order


1. Ranger          6. Ranger         11. Ranger         16. Ranger
2. Ranger          7. Ranger         12. Ranger         17. Ranger
3. Barbarian       8. Ranger         13. Ranger         18. Ranger
4. Barbarian       9. Ranger         14. Ranger         19. Ranger
5. Ranger         10. Ranger         15. Ranger         20. Ranger




Stats
               28pt     Level Up
               ----     --------
Strength         8       4: DEX
Dexterity       20       8: DEX
Constitution    14      12: DEX
Intelligence    10      16: DEX
Wisdom           8      20: DEX
Charisma         8      24: DEX
                        28: DEX


Skills
          R  R  B  B  R  R  R  R  R  R  R  R  R  R  R  R  R  R  R  R
          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
         ------------------------------------------------------------
Concent   4  1           2     2     2  1  3  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Spot      4  1        3  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Hide      4  1              2  2  2  2  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Move Si   4  1        1  3  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Heal      4  1                                   2     2     2     2  13
UMD       1        2  1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     11
Spellcr   1                                                            1
Diplo           1                                                      1
Swim         1                                                         1
Tumble          1                                                      1
         ------------------------------------------------------------
         24  6  4  4  6  6  6  6  6  6  6  6  6  6  6  6  6  6  6  6




Feats


 1        : Point Blank Shot
 3        : Precision
 6        : Least Dragonmark: Shadow
 9        : Improved Critical: Ranged
12        : Extend Spell OR Quicken Spell
15        : Weapon Focus: Ranged OR Quicken Spell
18        : Empower Healing Spell OR Maximize Spell
21 Epic   : Combat Archery
24 Epic   : Overwhelming Critical
26 Destiny: Holy Strike OR Pierce Damage Reduction: Silver
27 Epic   : Epic Damage Reduction
28 Destiny: Doubleshot
29 Destiny: Deific Warding OR Harbinger of Chaos
30 Epic   : Blinding Speed OR Epic Reflexes
30 Legend : Scion of: Ethereal Plane


 1 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Construct OR Undead
 7 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider
12 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Elemental
17 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Monstrous Humanoid OR Undead




Enhancements (Spent: 80+0r +0u / Max: 80+0r +0u AP)


Deepwood Stalker (41 AP)
Far Shot, Sneak Attack, Sniper Shot, Advanced Sneak Attack, Mark of the Hunted
Stealthy III, Increased Empathy I
Survivalist, Faster Sneaking III, Melee/Range Power Boost III
Survivalist, Favored Hunter III, Aimed Shot
Survivalist, Killer III, Merciful Shot
Extra Favored Enemy: Giant, Heavy Draw, Strikes Like Lightning, Head Shot, Improved Archer's Focus

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

Falconry (12 AP)
Summon Avian Companion: Falcon
Rugged III, Hunter's Knowledge, Out in Nature III
Meticulous Weaponry: Meticulous Fletching I, Action Boost: Sprint I
Conditioning

Frenzied Berserker (9 AP)
Die Hard
Die Harder III, Athletics I
Blood Tribute III, Extra Action Boost I

Arcane Archer (6 AP)
Arcane Archer, Morphic Arrows
Conjure Arrows, Shock Arrows

Leveling Guide
AA0 Arcane Archer; AA1 Conjure Arrows; Elf0 Elven Accuracy
DS0 Far Shot; DS1 Stealthy I, II, III
FB0 Die Hard; FB1 Die Harder I, II, III
FB1 Athletics I; FB2 Blood Tribute I, II, III
Elf0 Elven Dexterity; Elf1 Aerenal Weapon Training
Reset Deepwood Stalker
Elf
Phiarlan Dragonmark Focus III
Lesser Dragonmark of Shadow
Greater Dragonmark of Shadow

Deepwood Stalker: Far Shot
AA1 Shock Arrows; AA0 Morphic Arrows; DS1 Increased Empathy I
DS1 Stealthy I, II, III; DS0 Sneak Attack
DS2 Melee/Range Power Boost I, II, III; DS2 Faster Sneaking I
DS0 Sniper Shot; DS2 Survivalist; DS2 Faster Sneaking II
DS2 Faster Sneaking III; DS3 Survivalist; DS3 Favored Hunter I
DS3 Aimed Shot; DS4 Killer I, II
DS4 Killer III; DS4 Survivalist; DS3 Favored Hunter II
DS0 Advanced Sneak Attack; DS3 Favored Hunter III; DS4 Merciful Shot
DS5 Strikes Like Lightning; DS5 Improved Archer's Focus
DS5 Heavy Draw; DS5 Head Shot
Fal0 Summon Avian Companion: Falcon; Fal1 Out in Nature I, II, III
Fal1 Hunter's Knowledge; DS5 Extra Favored Enemy: Giant; Fal2 Action Boost: Sprint I
Fal2 Meticulous Weaponry: Meticulous Fletching I; Fal1 Rugged I, II, III
DS0 Mark of the Hunted; Fal3 Conditioning; FB2 Extra Action Boost I



Destiny (24 AP)


Shiradi Champion
Healing Spring III, Illusion of Well Being III
Pin II, Fey Spring I, Fey Form II
Otto's Whistler II
Stay Good III
Stand and Deliver, Nerve Venom III
Audience with the Queen, Rain of Arrows, Hunt's End

Twists of Fate (26 fate points)
Sense Weakness (Tier 4 Fury)
Grim Precision (Tier 3 Shadowdancer)
Rejuvenation Cocoon (Tier 1 Primal)
Primal Scream (Tier 1 Fury)

If you don't use stealth, then instead of Faster Sneaking take Thrill of the Hunt. Falconry provides +15 heal amp, +6 PRR, and +5% HPs as well as Sprint Boost (could also take it from Berserker) and an extra Favored Enemy (Animal). It might be overkill, but on HC it's better to have too much survivability than too little. If you don't have Falconry, you can put those 12 APs elsewhere, like Arcane Archer for more imbue damage; or Vistani Knife Fighter for Undead Hunter, Mist Stalker, and Quick Reflexes (+5% Doubleshot, free Quick Draw).

[Dark_Lord_Mary]

Bows are still terrible unfortunately - they did not fix them - it baffles me why they cannot just make bows work like xbows - inquis is still very good. why one cannot do inquis with a bow is beyond me too.

[duey]

On my 9th or not sure life. And died again. I want to play only a elf ranger. Need some advice. I don’t like to plan anything. Just want to play and have the ability to not die. Can someone give me a build with all the details. Like what feats and when with the new ranger changes. What do I need to wear and carry on me to try and stay alive. I was paralyzing. But some things can’t be. Help.

Bow changes or not, rangers on norm servers are mainly dps, dps/cc. HC is different and it looks like you too are realizing that survivability takes priority over dps, or dps/cc.

I respect your choice in playing 1 race one class. To survive on hardcore without splashing classes or changing race, you will want to diversify your build though enhancement lines. If you are looking for a cookie cutter pure elf ranger build on HC, after the bow changes, it may be hard to find though maybe next season there will be some fleshed out. With that in mind here is an approach-

You like paralyzing, so you focus on wisdom and con. You get evasion later and will have to choose between int or dex for save. Dex you can add points to through enhance trees, but you can take advantage of rangers getting all the essentials, feat wise for bow without pre-requisite dex stat, and using int for reflex save. As ranger you can afford insightful reflex feat, and int has the bonus of giving you skill points, that you can use to up your umd, for low lvl arcane buffs like blur, expedious retreat, shield wand.

The only bow feats bang for buck that you would take are point blank shot, and improved crit ranged. Weapon focus or power crit does not pay as good as enhancement line ranged power increasing feats.

The general concept for survivabilty here, is much of what is already listed above and on other posts. This build in particular would rely on low lvl arcane scroll and wand usage, feats to bolster health and saves, like toughness and resilience. Dmg mitigation and hit points from deep stalker tree, fear/paralize from arcane ( with minimal cores), and area CC and single target damage from falconry. Skills are important, prioritizing umd, bluff, heal, spot and lessor extent balance, jump, diplo, tumble. One race one class requires some dynamic play.

Really, a blended path will suite you better than a one trick pony, ie cc or dps. Survive to kill, not kill to survive. Some classes and builds give the illusion that killing fast = less chance of dying. It is a dice roll, how many time can you kill things? Ad infinatum, how many times can you die? Zero.

So this approach is based on korvaire elf, though wood elf I think offers more survivability and utility racials.
dump str and dex,
14 con (16 with 32pt, get hp from trees and toughness, but putting into con is good too)
14 int
16 wis
10 char
with all lvl up and enhancement stat going into wis,

Feats= pb shot, resilience, insightful refx, empower heal, tough, tough, improv crit

It takes higher lvl to reach the first CC in arcane line at 11-13 ap (fear), where you can get one in falconary at 6-8 (diving attack). Using bluff, sniper shot and diving attack offers about the same utility as fear/paralize but gives you way more in survivability enhancements getting there.

These are ideas to consider, and ultimately you're looking at an even split amongst the enhancement lines. If you have to focus on one or take to tier 5 I think falconry is better at lvl 19. Ofc if you don't have falconry, then DWS with AA up to paralize.

Regardless as you lvl you will earn tp through favor, and spending them on some essential augments like fear immunity, deathblock, feather fall, water breathing and heavy fortification will reduce chances of 'opps!' and allow for more gear choices are you progress. Keep eyes out for false life, vitality, disease ward, high prr/mmr items and lessor extent poison ward, diversion, elemental absorbtion ( very handy at low lvls) -acid, sonic, electric, fire then cold. Through a combination of enhancements, augments, gear, UMD items, ship and house p buffs, you can duplicate most, not all, of what other splashes offer.

Keep in mind though while you can be immune or mitigate some damage, bane damage will hit you hard, and only defense is having as many hp as you can get ( and making sure something else is the target:P )

You don't have a hp buffer or booster, so I would get familiar with using a teleport wand from the store for when things go south. Anti beholder crystal good too.

[Coffey]

Indomitable Wrappings
Mimics love you

[arcattaii]

I don't think Rangers are unplayable in HC. In fact I played a pure halfling ranger just after U49's release, and I think it outperformed my 12rog/6rgr/2arti.
Overall, after playing this character in these days, I think only FvS and Bard can outperform my ranger.

IMO, gears are not most important thing to a pure ranger, I farmed a Nicked Longbow in The Sharn Syndicate chain and used it until Lv10 when I got a free Barovian's Longbow. What you need on your body are mostly DEX/CON/HP/Fortification/Devotion and either one type of Elec/Acid spellpower gears. Even saves are not so important to me.

I think, the MOST important thing for playing a ranger is to to know how to play a ranged character, some advises here (some of them are common advises): 1. be familiar to quest, 2. do not risk, 3. buffs(elem res/prot), 4. shoot foes far away, 5. archer's focus are nothingness (don't stand still), 6. Sniper Shot and Manyshot are marvelous.

[Tsutti]

Bows are still terrible unfortunately

I'm sorry, but this is simply false. They play differently than before, but they are one of the strongest ranged atm at cap (if not the strongest, possible competition with thrower but I think bows win) and looking to also be one of the strongest in heroics once you hit 6 (probably only inq is stronger, assuming they actually are stronger lol).

[Dark_Lord_Mary]

The new manyshot is great - fun - i dont think you should have to activate it though - i think for rangers to be equal to melee dps finally it should just trigger once every 5 seconds or something.

Also for HCL IV - because of the champions who can insta kill - paladin splash has been very effective to get full immunity.
Paladin is the only class completely immune to the Symbiont of Ysgithyrwyn because the plague is supernatural. No source of supernatural disease immunity exists outside of paladin presently. For the Valaara's Legs champ you can slot a fear immunity topaz, but not until lvl 8 - paladin is granted fear immunity @ lvl 3. There are other ways to get fear immunity early - tieflings are granted fear immunity @ lvl 1. Aasimar can take a racial that allows them to shrug off fear effects quickly that will save you from the Legs dot.

the other champ, Stained, are very deadly too, and cannot be mitigated unless you have some sort of chaos absorb, and even then - the stained curse you and do chaos dmg to you - I've seen people 1 shotted. Again the paladin with its layhands can heal up quickly. Barbarian blood tribute also would be effective.