Mon Aug 22 21:27:26 2005

At 7 o'clock AM, Day of Freedom, 4th of the Month of the Sun
on the Theran calendar Azerix perished, never to return.

Race:	half-elf
Class:	ranger
Level:	44
Alignment:	Neutral
Ethos:	Neutral
Cabal:	None, None
Age:	120
Hours:	213

Hmm. Yeah.
Bad stuff out of the way first, My ranger frustraition.
Whoever up there is responcible for the balance of the classes in this game best wake up, and best do so soon.
Yes i am new and clueless, yes i suck at PK.. But hey, my previous charecter wasn't this damn helpless!! Yes i had my ass kicked all way to the moon, but even with half the knowledge of the game and much worse equipment than i got with this char, my previous char was able to kick back, and win at times.
Rangers are pk gunmeat. Those "great" and "powerfull" skills i enjoyed hearing about were completely useless, all a ranger can do pkwise is beat down a wounded prey with their "mighty" ambush.. that wouldn't scratch that prey unless it was 90% dead allready.
Stealth should drag somewhat weakened combat skills, but rangers unability to fight is too much. And with all that the ranger help file mentions that rangers are .. "strong warriors"? .. come on, a ranger can't win an even fight with ANY other class in 90% of the cases.

With that let out..
I still love this game.. and for every bad thing there are ten good ones that there isn't point to say because it would be saying the obvious.
I know some imm or a couple watched me at start, because of few unnatural events that took place.. But i think my 'fascinating' advantures eventualy put them into firm sleep.. So if anyone can't contact their imm it's probably my fault ;)
I made this charecter in a hope to explore around places i didn't get to before, and find good equipment.. a ramming failure. I don't even understand what makes "good" equipment good.. What the smart people told me to wear sucked in my opinion.. and most stuff that proved to be good, got into my hands by some break of luck. So for it's original purpose the char was dead.
I had quite a bit of fun playing it too, but id died out the more i realized the helplessness of this class in pk. than i got sick, logged on with high feaver died 3 times in a raw.. realized i don't care if i died 30 times in a raw and understood it's a sign that this char's time is over.. So i rage deleted.. oops relogged, chilled a bit, and deleted formaly.

Few people to say bye to.
Darangen who suddenly dissapeared at early 20 levels, that was a shame.

Celise, you were the best traveling partner i could ask for, and you were really funny.. I can't tell in words how much i laughed when i ran away from Zilopza, asked you if you were ok and you were like "Yeah, i'm yelling at Zilopza for killig you".

Dye You were fun too, but i only got to travel with you early on, and that you were shifted or invised most of the time so we didn't even get to talk.

Numair, you crazy cat. The coolest felar ever. Will never forget our first meeting, When you charged at some conjurer, who had a full conjurersummonedthings-army with him which allmost killed me and Celise with their room attacks, when we weren't even fighting.

Lot more people who i didn't remember of the top of my head.. Or who i didn't know what to say to other than rock on and stop bitching at each other after every fight ;)

Ahh yes.. Zilopza.. I hope she will be cought by some holy order, proclaimed a witch and burned on a slow burning fire, while the monks of that order will ventilate the smoke not to let her choke to death before she is burned to it. (IC of course)

Take care

A ranger is more of a finese class than most people realize. Two PK skills many people overlook are staves and scrolls.

Proper application of these can really turn a fight. Also, proper use of snare is huge.

Secondly, you want to know what equipment to wear? Don't waste time on lore. Buy identify scrolls in galadon and use those. They're like 160 copper and you can buy them at level 5.

Lastly, did you spend the majority of time in the woods? If you lose your fastcamo and wilderness familiarity, yes, your fighting skills are going to suck. In theory, the only problem rangers should have is keeping their PKs from wording or teleporting away.

Five out of my first seven characters were rangers. You'll get the hang of it.

Staves, scrolls, potions, pills... All that combat preperation stuff is good. But it's one thing to use them in order to have advantage over someone who doesn't, and it's totaly different that rangers need to use them to EQUALIZE to other classes who don't. Not to mention you need to know them, and how to get them.

I don't know why everyone who spealk about rangers get so exited about wilderness familliarity staff/spear and snare.. None of them is really a skill that can compair to other classes abilities, even if i spend most time in the woods, and i did.
Those skills arn't useless, they help a lot. But not in pk. In pk they don't help even at the "golden" levels. I had to run from a sword using level 31 fighter when i was level 36, after i tried everything i knew on him other than waiting for someone else to hurt him and than try finish him with an ambush (which is all a ranger actualy is capable of)

Rangers are fun to play for many reasons, one of those is that they don't HAVE to get involved in pk thanks to camo, main reason i hoped to explore better with ranger. And i supose that their pk abilities is low because of that ability.. I am just saying that i think it is way too low.

>I don't know why everyone who spealk about rangers get so
>exited about wilderness familliarity staff/spear and snare..
>None of them is really a skill that can compair to other
>classes abilities, even if i spend most time in the woods, and
>i did.
>Those skills arn't useless, they help a lot. But not in pk. In
>pk they don't help even at the "golden" levels. I had to run
>from a sword using level 31 fighter when i was level 36, after
>i tried everything i knew on him other than waiting for
>someone else to hurt him and than try finish him with an
>ambush (which is all a ranger actualy is capable of)

Were you in the wilderness? How were your sword, defense, wilderness familiarity skills? I have played a Ranger and found that, after wilderness familiarity + defenses + any involved weapons were 100% (high dex race), around lvl 35-40 I really couldn't be touched while in the forest vs fighting classes. Also another strength of Rangers is that they do know a lot of weapons. Learn them all and pick one your opponent does not know. Fight him in the wilds, and you'll have that warrior going ... "what the f* just happened?". I've also played a high lvl felar assassin w/ perfected defenses against a similar lvl felar ranger and got like 3-rounded in the forest without doing any real damage (Snare and ambush was involved and executed perfectly). So I know the class has some power.

Am I just smoking dope here? Maybe, I don't know.

bonus:wilderness fam + haste you can take on the world. Its almost like double haste I swear (I just never know how to find haste sources).

You might be right that staff/spear has its limitations for non-felar rangers. You want to dual wield and dish out as much damage as possible quickly.

I also agree with Nivek1 in that that the only problem you should have is your opponent getting away. Rangers are notoriously bad at any sort of effective lagging technique, imho. But that's what snare is for.

And yes, it really can get boring sometimes waiting (and waiting) around for someone to walk through your forest.

Uhmm yeah, learned all the weapons, had all but dagger and whip at 100%, same with wilderness, most time in wilderness too, didn't have any problems with that. And yes, snare ambush can be deadly, there was one time when me and another ranger killed a warrior with practicly two ambushes, first sent him running into a snare second finished him.. Such things happen, but it is verry not often and mostly when you prepare for it and lay down to wait and calculate.
Not to mention that a person who knows the game good can take out a less knowing fighter out with a ranger easily.
I am a new player and i judge by this simple experience.
But for exemple my first char was a warrior, deleted with 4(?) con left. Mostly from being hunted down, but i would say that about for each three times i died i mennaged to kill someone too. Next two were rangers (i liked the class a lot), but my last ranger's kill list is 0, and the times i assisted in a successfull fight could probably be counted by fingers on one hand.
Basicly without A LOT of preperations, or having the target wounded or at some other nonerelated disatvantage before the fight, a ranger can't win in one on one. And when you are the hunted side most of the time, preperations or advantages is not an option, can only cound on what rangers have and that simply doesn't compair to other classes, not even in the "golden levels".

>Basicly without A LOT of preperations, or having the target
>wounded or at some other nonerelated disatvantage before the
>fight, a ranger can't win in one on one.

Don't say that. It's not true.

You will get better with practice and experience.

Sorry for the lateness of this message, but I was having some strange problems with posting. I need to thank Valg for taking care of it. Anyhow, see below.

Dude. I really liked having you around because you seriously just had the heart to both play learn. But let's talk briefly via my post.

I was there when we took out that warrior. And really, I considered letting you take the kill - but it was even more out of character to do so than stealing the kill was. But the fact remains that you could have without too much assistance beyond what I had done.

What you may have missed, that keviN alluded to, was the magic potential of rangers. Want to see someone use what magic a ranger naturally has to kill? Watch Kareena spam entangle and rack up kills. Want to see how else magic can hook you up? Go back into the log of when we took that giant in Darsylon. I read a scroll and all of a sudden he's slowed. If you don't think that a ranger can beat a fighter, look back. Not alot does more damage than a fire giant axe warrior. You were rocking him. Why? Because scrolls/staves for COMBAT AND NOT ONLY PREP can easily turn the tide of a battle. Start with slow, blind, poison, plague, weakness, faerie fire, energy drain, curse fireball, iceball, chain lighting, or some combination (up to three max via scrolls, or one via staves) of all of the above. That changes the tide of a fight. Then you still haven't ambushed them and they can't complain about you nailing them in a cheap one-trick kill (which shouldn't bother you much anyhow). Or you can flee, return, and ambush them for some heavy finish-off damage. Recently I've been using ambush/waylay once they get to gushing or writhing somewhat like how a warrior would use disembowel. The biggest problem with rangers that people say is their lagging ability. I've tried to figure out wtf bearcharge is doing exactly, and I can't. Sometimes it's solid and sometimes it's worthless. So fight them normally like a crippled warrior until they're a bit hurt, then give them some heavy damage with an ambush to make them either dead or really wondering why they're still there spamming commands.

As a ranger you have the largest set of options available to you that people commonly overlook. You have the best* stealth in the game. (* meaning that its alot better than hide but alot more limited) You also have a very good set of weapons and fighting skills, and a few very nice in-combat options. You have staves, scrolls, potions, pills (battle ranger isn't for the faint of heart) and a few really useful spells. The magic option is BIG for both preparation, utility, and offensive combat - but only after wknow where to find it all. I don't think you knew much, but you knew some. Furthermore you have really great escape options - if you can't flee and quaff, flee and get past your snare. Camo and heal, walk off scotch-free. Your defenses out in the forest or against shifters is incredible. Pop a shield, sword, and watch what parry/dodge/shieldblock/wildernessfamiliarty can do. I tanked five ragers for about ten rounds that way once. Champions of Theran warfare. Say you got really hurt. Herbs and camp pretty well have you healed faster than any other lone character short of an orc that knows what he's doing. And if you really know what you're doing, there are some healing items out there which will make you heal even faster (from 1% to 100% in under a tick). Now tell me that rangers suck.

You want to talk about exploring? I haven't found more than about ten things that I'd expect you to find without knowing what was coming that you couldn't either flee-camouflage from or tame on the spot. Granted that I think tame got tweaked way down, rangers still have a ton of exploration potential. I did my fair share. It's about a fourth of why I rolled one.


So - let's wrap this up. Why did you not succeed at killing?
A) You chose opponents who were experienced enough to take you out first.
B) You never looted gear while playing a majorly gear-dependent class (DAMROLL).
C) You didn't know enough about where to get preps or other incredibly useful magical items.
D) You didn't really try too hard to kill instead of rank and RP.

I wager some combination of all four of the above things. None of these makes you a bad player or a bad person. But really don't blame the class. I'm as much for Nepenthe revamping it as the next guy, but it doesn't need a huge push because the class is /alright\ as it stands. Not great, but it's not shafted. I think that if you play another one and do some more exploring and killing in between ranking sessions, you'll appreciate the class alot more.

Feel free to email me also if you need some pointers, just don't go asking where to find the items that I discuss, because I don't share that kind of thing.

And last but all but least important,
Good luck with your next man. I gave you a harsh reply but I really liked the guy behind the character from what I saw. You've got good heart and I look forward to good things from you.
-Zarth
wantingtofollow@yahoo.com

You were fun early on, I remember always trying to group with you when I started moving up, but you were always grouped, heh. You were always my first pick looking to group. After I got my forms..the exploration bug hit me, and I was hard to get ahold of. Sorry. See you in the fields somewhere.

The thing is, the imms balance all classes over ALL 51 levels. Meaning if a class is weak early, they will be powerful late, and vice versa.

Unfortunately, Rangers gain almost all their power between 30 and 35, and at 35, because of the combination of creep/camo/ambush/herbs are pretty much at the top of the heap (in wilderness**). For so much power early on, they have to suffer later.

For a ranger to rank above 35, is often NOT the smartest choice for someone who wants to learn the ins and outs of pk with the class.

everyone gets more hp, warriors get a second spec, legacies. Conjies get nightgaunts and stronger servitors, trannies get disrupts, assassins get mount and rpk, ap's get stronger weapons and iron grip, necros start walking around with elite storm armies, shamans get rot and wither, invokers get shields, shifters get final forms...

Rangers wait 5 ranks to get snare...then nothing..aside from slightly stronger ambushes (which in my opinion do not keep pace with the target's growing hp and protection options).

The fact that you powered past the thirties, might be somewhat coloring your view of rangers, as you never really got to spend time in the "golden ranks" of rangers.

Personally, I would love to see rangers toned down in the mid 30's range, to get something to help them compete better at hero range.


**As for fighting out of wilderness, this is utterly useless for any ranger unless they absolutely have to. Let's take a warrior.

Let's say he does something REALLY horrid rp wise, and the imms drop a really bad penalty on him.

They take away half his known weapons, take away his specs and legacies, take away fourth attack/enhanced reactions, reduce his hp by a third, Take away bash and trip and feint and offhand disarm, and a number of other in-combat options.

Would you expect that warrior to mop up in a pk? no. Well, that is a ranger out of the wilds, except with a ranger it's worse because every second you are fighting out of the wilds, your ability to fight IN the wilds gets worse.

The conjuror... hah I remember that one. Without those elementals I would've eaten him!! ...Numair sometimes just gets too hungry I suppose.

Dang it seemed like you were having fun, too. Enjoyed being around your character, although in all honesty, he made me feel a bit too "nice". Heh.

You're kinda right about Rangers being dull at higher ranks. I'd liked to have seen you make it to 51 to really let us know how it is though. And I could see how having no new skills to learn after 40 might be a bummer.

Anyways hope Azerix is sitten in that old rocking chair in some quiet forest, smoking a pipe with a bunch of little Azerix whippersnappers running around.

Peace dood hope to run into you with another...still searchin for those steak-trees .. for a bit longer...

Heya fantastic Ranger Hero !

Bleh, sad to see you delete as well, but you where the best travel companion anyone would ever ask for. A true life saver, Bleh, sad to see you delete as well, but you where the best travel companion anyone would ever ask for. A true life saver filled with vast knowledge and a hero of epic proportions. I really enjoyed your company when traveling the lands and you have my sincere thanks for spending so much time walking around with me.

Now hurry up and reincarnate your self, as you still owe me one of those fantastic ranger steak dinners !

Or better yet, we’ll just have a small spirit (life after death) party.
I’ll bring the wine, you bring the steaks, then we’ll invite some of our old friends and have an allnight forest party. Perhaps do some chain rattling and hollow voice echoes on the winds to give Zilopza a scare hihi.

Take care my friend, until we perhaps see each other again.

I am sorry, I tried to help you, but you seemed so stubborn(yes, I know as Zoel I Was a pansy, but I have played a few rangers, not very good ones mind you, but I know what the skills do at least)...ah well, sorry about your frustration. Rangers seemed to get weak past level 40 or so. See ya in the fields again, maybe.

But i didn't really know what to say to or about you other than what i said in your farewell post. I was stubborn because you told me things i simply didn't want to hear ic or ooc, i just desperatly wanted to change subject. But overall you helped me more than enough. Thanks a lot, and see you around.