Returning player - archer ranger questions

[Quetzacoala]

I've recently returned to the game after a hiatus, and I'm looking to TR into an archery focused ranger for my next life. I've got two questions around that which I hope the good folks on this forum can assist with:

1) I see that there is now a universal bow tree in Horizon Walker. How important/valuable are the contents of this tree assuming I play a pure ranger? I had originally been expecting to be splitting between DWS and Arcane Archer, but knowing this exists probably impacts my point distributions.

2) Any must have bows I should be looking out for in the leveling process? I'll have a Barovian longbow (I'm assuming longbow is still the preferred bow?) but not sure beyond that what's desired in archery, it isn't really a playstyle I've explored before.

Thanks in advance.

[Discpsycho]

I haven't tried Horizon Walker yet and it's been a couple of years since I've played an archer, so I'm not going to try to answer 1).

For leveling bows, I recommend Silver Longbow (BTCOE and drops from a f2p quest) or Sapphire Sting (TOEE, so only if you're lucky/committed). Bow of Sinew is a decent replacement at 14, though either of the others will still do fine.

For epics, there are a few good options on this page (just look for anything with an expanded critical profile), but I'm not going to specifically recommend any of them because farming them won't be pleasant.

[C-Dog]

First, welcome back!

1) I see that there is now a universal bow tree in Horizon Walker. How important/valuable are the contents of this tree assuming I play a pure ranger? I had originally been expecting to be splitting between DWS and Arcane Archer, but knowing this exists probably impacts my point distributions.
...
(I'm assuming longbow is still the preferred bow?)

Slow down- there are more to consider, and it may not be.

The Falconry tree works with any Wisdom build, and also allows extra damage against "Helpless" opponents, among other perks. Many work that in, at one level or another. Falconry can be earned for free, near end Heroics (700 favor).

Then there's the fotm Inquisitive tree, using (non-repeating) crossbows. Dovetailing Ranger with that (and often multi-classing) can create a powerful end result. (In fact, it's so strong that almost any class can result in a strong build, but Ranger's auto-granted feats and other trees perhaps synergize the best, along w/ Arti.) Inquis can be earned for free by completing the Masterminds of Sharn (L15-16) chains.

Then there's low-hanging fruit from some others that can get tossed in the mix - ymmv whether those are "important/valuable".

Here are some sample builds and discussions:
o April '21 "max" damage (Harper/Falconry/Vistani) https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6424414
& Aug '21 Updated for + Horizon Walker https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...21#post6452921

o best splits https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6236801

o https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6408700

(And I have more links depending what you're interested in.)

[Quetzacoala]

First, welcome back!

Thanks! I've back a month or so and been enjoying the new content. I came back briefly a year or so ago (or was it 2 - my perception of time is completely off since the pandemic) and got to try out Ravenloft, and more recently I've been enjoying the Feywild. Looking forward to trying Saltmarsh and Sharn this coming life.

Slow down- there are more to consider, and it may not be.

The Falconry tree works with any Wisdom build, and also allows extra damage against "Helpless" opponents, among other perks. Many work that in, at one level or another. Falconry can be earned for free, near end Heroics (700 favor).

Then there's the fotm Inquisitive tree, using (non-repeating) crossbows. Dovetailing Ranger with that (and often multi-classing) can create a powerful end result. (In fact, it's so strong that almost any class can result in a strong build, but Ranger's auto-granted feats and other trees perhaps synergize the best, along w/ Arti.) Inquis can be earned for free by completing the Masterminds of Sharn (L15-16) chains.

Then there's low-hanging fruit from some others that can get tossed in the mix - ymmv whether those are "important/valuable".

Thanks for the heads up. I've dipped into Falconry and Inquisitive in the past to get Wisdom/Intelligence to hit and whatnot, but never really explored them beyond that. And I've certainly been functionally under a rock when it comes to knowing what builds are meta/good, so it's good that you brought these up.

Almost certainly not the optimal decision, but I'd like to limit myself to bow-based combat while a ranger and leave the crossbows for any later artificer or rogue lives. Are bows viable enough such that this is viable, or am I really hindering my damage by avoiding crossbows (or even throwing weapons, no clue if those are in a good place right now)?

Here are some sample builds and discussions:
o April '21 "max" damage (Harper/Falconry/Vistani) https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6424414
& Aug '21 Updated for + Horizon Walker https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...21#post6452921

o best splits https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6236801

o https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6408700

(And I have more links depending what you're interested in.)

Thank you for these resources! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to compile them and I'll have to spend some time looking them over. From a cursory look, it seems like multiclassing is the name of the game for optimal ranged play - is that an accurate takeaway? Are there any pure Ranger 20 builds out there that you're aware of? I would imagine it'd be rather simplistic comparatively, but even that I'm trying to wrap my head around spending points in 4+ different enhancement trees.

[C-Dog]

... Are bows viable enough such that this is viable, or am I really hindering my damage by avoiding crossbows (or even throwing weapons, no clue if those are in a good place right now)?

Others are better qualified to address this fully, but afaiu crossbows (not repeaters) are #1, followed by repeaters, followed by bows - which got some love recently, and so are not too far behind. Thrown weapons are... odd - and I think largely got nerfed to unpopularity (tho' that could be a "qualified" judgement).

Are there any pure Ranger 20 builds out there that you're aware of?

Here are 2 strong pure rangers, one DPS (Dex), one a discussion re paralyzing (Wis-based - those link is mostly just the AP split) - there are others along the same lines.

o Strimton's https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post5745317

o https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...=1#post6131982

[Carpone]

Pure Ranger is suboptimal for bows both from a damage perspective, and you lack any run speed. For ranged, run speed = life.

Here's a first life bow build that's gear friendly: https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...Life-Bow-Build

Doesn't require Horizon Walker, but you do more damage with it.

[Melkazar]

I dropped into Horizon Walker just the other day to check it out. Normally I run in Falconry. It was fun and my damage did seem to be higher, but I missed my little Assassi-Owl and went back. Main issue for me is that I have my WIS maxed to take advantage of the damage from Falconry. Horizon works better with a DEX build. Why would you give it up if the damage was higher? Because the bird's Death from Above is pretty solid and if it's dead it doesn't matter how much damage you do it it. The Falconry tree also increases damage to helpless foes as someone else already mentioned. Combined with Burst of Glacial Wrath which freezes enemies solid, the damage jump is significant. Blind the group with Coordinated Shot and if any actually reach you, freeze 'em and drop 'em. (This is why the Saltmarsh wilderness frustrates me so since it has my least favorite mechanism: the "Until I actually activate and acknowledge your presence you can't hurt me even though you clearly saw me standing on this hill from a half a mile away."

As to bow, well, that is most of my inventory although in practice I use only a few. The Silver Longbow is a solid choice for most heroic leveling and I have a Greensteel as well for levels 12 -23 or so. I then switch to Pinion and as cap I have Void and the Morninglord bow from Barovia. I was using the Morninglord but switched the jewel and the enhancements over to Void for the extra cold damage. The augments stacked on it are mainly Shadow...(can't remember the name but it bumps up the assassination for the little bird.) For the early epics the Borderlands weapons are also solid. It used to be quite a gap from 15-25 or so.

For other enhancements I use the acid powers from Arcane Archer. It can be pretty significant secondary damage. Shiradi and Primal for arrow and acid damage.