Spifflove’s Hard Core League Melee Rangers

[spifflove]

This is a sandbox for HCL Ranger ideas. Some may not wai but will be tested in the future. This is sketch format. Editing will occur.

SURVIVE

Dwarf 20 Dark Ranger
15 str
14 dex
19 (if 28 pts) or 20 con plus level ups

Feats
6) spring attack
9) ics
12) Knight’s Training
15) precision
18) icr
Dual battle ax or picks and medium armor
Key enhancements:
Dwarf throw your weight around
Most Tempest
Dws: Sniper shot
Drawback: no traps. I first thought of going dwarf ax and medium shield with this but decided that works much better as a barbarian. As a ranger you will simply have to learn to “fight like an elf” albeit a fat and slow one.

The Cornered Bear Ranger
8 Druid 12 Light Ranger
Race iconic Aasimar Scourge
20 wisdom + level ups final 36
14 con final 24
14 dex
12 strength for exceptional thf with +5 tome
Feats
1)dodge
3)mobility
6)spring attack
9)natural fighting
12)ics
15)icr
18)natural fighting
Key enhancements
3 tier 5 in nature’s defender
Paralyzing and construct bane arrows from arcane archer, all imbues.
Wisdom to hit and damage from Falconry.
Skills:
You will need points in spellcraft.
Downside: weak at low levels. Still this was my first ranger to make level 20 in hcl, often forced to group short man and in low reaper.
Upside: The best melee Ranger ranged dps and crowd control. Iconics begin hcl as 32 point builds.

STEAL
Drow or SDK 2 Rogue 18 Dark Ranger intelligence Ranger
Int 20
14 dex

Key feats
6) spring attack
9) icp
12) icr
15) insightful reflexes
18) precision
Key Enhancements
Harper tree for to hit with intelligence.
41 pts vkf
Strategy: Ride the group invites to victory
Downside: Since melee rangers are not new player friendly this will work better as an inquisitive build with a wolf especially in hcl.

DESTROY
The Samurai
Horc 2Barb 18 Dark Ranger
19 or 20 str (if 32 points)
6) Spring Attack
9) ICS
12) thf
15) ithf
18) gthf
Falchion or Great Ax
Key Enhancements:

Blade Specialization: Multiselector: You gain a +1 Competence bonus to Critical Damage Multiplier or Threat Range with your weapons.
Barbarian: blood tribute
Dws: Advanced Sneak Attack: +1 Sneak Attack Die. +10 Positive Spell Power. You gain a +1 Competence Bonus to Critical Threat Range with your equipped weapons, including handwraps. (This does not apply to Shields or Unarmed). Your attacks now bypass 10% fortification(if possible)
Drawback: No traps

[unbongwah]

Dwarf 20 Dark Ranger
15 str
14 dex
19 (if 28 pts) or 20 con plus level ups

You also have the option of going DEX-based with handaxes or light picks: DEX to hit from Tempest, CON to damage from TYWA. Pro is getting to dump STR for more DEX and/or INT (e.g., DEX 16 CON 20 INT 10 for 28-pt build); con is pigeon-holing yourself into light weapons which don't benefit from Knight's Training (silver lining is freeing a feat).

Key enhancements:
Dwarf throw your weight around
Most Tempest
Dws: Sniper shot

If you haven't got access to an Universal tree's Battle Trance, then you'll want 41 Tempest (capstone) / 21 DWS (+1 crit range) / 18 dwarf (TYWA).

The Samurai
Horc 2Barb 18 Dark Ranger

I was going to try something similar as pure ranger (max STR, high INT): 41 Dark Hunter / 24 DWS / 8 Harper (Know the Angles) / 8 Vistani or Tempest (Haste Boost).

[spifflove]

You also have the option of going DEX-based with handaxes or light picks: DEX to hit from Tempest, CON to damage from TYWA. Pro is getting to dump STR for more DEX and/or INT (e.g., DEX 16 CON 20 INT 10 for 28-pt build); con is pigeon-holing yourself into light weapons which don't benefit from Knight's Training (silver lining is freeing a feat).

If you haven't got access to an Universal tree's Battle Trance, then you'll want 41 Tempest (capstone) / 21 DWS (+1 crit range) / 18 dwarf (TYWA).

That’s some nice alternative theory crafting! Buffing intelligence makes a lot of sense to enable trapping.

I was going to try something similar as pure ranger (max STR, high INT): 41 Dark Hunter / 24 DWS / 8 Harper (Know the Angles) / 8 Vistani or Tempest (Haste Boost).

I may also try this setup! The two levels of barbarian were suggested by a wise man to mitigate the weakness of rangers in HCL and that’s why it’s presented as such here. I initially wanted to keep this build under wraps but it became clear early on that great ddo minds think alike.

[C-Dog]

The two levels of barbarian were suggested by a wise man to mitigate the weakness of rangers in HCL ...

+150 HP on demand helps immensely thru mid-heroics, but by end-heroics (and certainly into Epics) when mobs can do hundreds of damage, it's just not enough of a safety net on its own.

In HC, hopefully one has farmed some gear to help with their survivability by then. In standard play, deeply diving away from Ranger Core 18 (and even 20) may not be worth it unless you're just going to 20 for a quick TR/RR, since you're not missing those enhancements for many quests.

The question always becomes - "Does this change make it faster/easier/more fun to get to the goal?" If the goal is 20, that could well be the case. If the goal is 30, then probably(?) not. If the goal is "get to 20 and then farm some stuff", then it becomes more a judgement call.

[unbongwah]

The two levels of barbarian were suggested by a wise man to mitigate the weakness of rangers in HCL and that’s why it’s presented as such here.

Obviously the priority in HCL is not dying, which is why barb 2 splashes are so darn ubiquitous. There's simply no other way to obtain temp HPs so cheaply for so many different builds. Gaining +10% runspeed and access to Sprint Boost and extra action boost is pure gravy, as they used to say.

But on live I want to try a pure Dark Hunter which *gasp!* actually focuses on the Dark Hunter tree. The problem is tier-5 Tempest is so obviously superior for dual-wielding and Dark Hunter isn't focused on ranged DPS; so the only semi-viable solution IMO is to use THF - or maybe SWF - instead. Tier-5 Dark Hunter + DWS gives you +1 crit range & multiplier, same as most melee builds; but you'll also have +20% Doublestrike and +20 Melee Power from Killer & Slayer in the Dark when it's fully stacked. Add another +20% Doublestrike and +10 Melee Power from capstone & Ferocity. I still don't expect the pet to be useful beyond Hard, but I can probably afford to squander two feats on summoning buffs and find out. Need to figure out if it's worth grabbing Improved Feint or just rely on Exposing Strike.

[spifflove]

There’s a piece of Maria in every song that I sing
The price of a memory is the memory of the sorrow it brings
There is always one last light to turn out and one last bell to ring
And the last one out of the circus has to lock up everything
Oh the elephants will get out and forget to remember what you said
And the ghosts of the hinterworld will linger inside of your head
The Ferris wheel junkies will spin there forever instead
When I think of you I fall asleep in my bed