Commando Archive

Camo

ATM I find it completely useless. I was testing it out earlier, walking past Krayts and Kimos. They broke it every time. rangers were told that invisibility on the radar or actual invisibility was game breaking, and now two professions have it. This for me is a very big issue, not necessarily because i really want camo but because of the fact that an ability they told us was 100% impossible to implement and still keep the game balanced is now there.

As a master ofthe enviornment around me, I should be able to hide from both creatures and humanoids, including players. I shouldn't have to stay inside the Starport at Nym's when a Kimo is hanging aroundoutside. Since I cannot do this, it's an issue.

Tracking

With the current spawn system, tracking is nearly useless. with the spawn system you are pretty mcuh only seeing what is behind you, and with a radar at 512m you can usually spot any spawns like Kimo's or Krayts you are looking for.

I believe that tracking should be mcuh more interactive- after all, a whole skill tree is devoted to it. Perhaps lures using loot items obtainable by rangers only, who having hunted animals for years have aquired enough understanding of a creatures anatomy to find parts that others may consider uselss, can be made to attract a certain spawn to your area, THEN you have a quest-like tracking, which can be done on foot or on a creature mount. Thus isntead of randomly spending hours looking for stuff you can just invest a little time making lures and then track as it should be done.

Trapping

As it stands there is very little I have to say about this besides the fact that they just arent useful. The warmup with the animation is just way too long- by the time I can pop a PDart at an anvancing Krayt he usually has chewed my head off. The other traps arent useful enough to even bother crafting and throwing. And half the traps still seem liek they cannot do anythins since they cant get mind anymore. I would liek to see useful states which are visibly helpful in combat as well as some traps which perhaps snare or root players who walk into them- this would be great for old school Bestine Achorhead fights, but as BHs and other more PVP oriented professions may want that as well it would have to be thought out more fully.

Also, rescue... it just needs to be fixed.

Camping

Camps are useless. I never make one except when I want to show off the HTFB to a group. I'm all for modular camps on this.

General Concept

The idea of an SWGranger is supposed to be a master hunter and a master of the enviornment. Better tracking to actually seek out and find creatures rather than trust to luck is necessary to make it useful. We need to be better at killing creatures than anyone, with another combat profession we need to be great at killing critters- not so much that it makes others want to switch to it, but it should definitely be better than it is now. I have yet to solo a GDK since the PDart fix because without being able to snipe I can't get enough damage on the Kimo that he doesnt regen, and without a good snare (Pdart only last thirty seconds, and it takes a good eight seconds to throw it if not more), I get eaten up for the most part. Mods verses creatures as well as perhaps some high windup cooldown timer specials against certain creatures- mammals, reptiles and whatnot.

However I just think that above everythign else, even combat mods, we just need to focus on the ranger lifestyle- right now, I never use camo, camps, tracking, or traps. I use mask scent and I harvest really well. THAT is a real issue. The way to fix it?

Camo allows the ranger to move through any enviornment without leaving a trace of himself and with no chance of detection- onlyanother rangers track and site him in this covert state. He can strike at any moment, and while for mor einteligent humanoid creatures this will usually blow his cover (unless he is a trainer sniper of course ), creatures will usually be left in dumb confusion as to where he is.

The ranger, having lived in the wild longer than the city, can produce the best camps, which have uses ranging from mobile R&R healing centers to hunting blinds used to snipe at creatures that would be much to dangerous to get close to or risk detection.

The ranger, by now an expert on animal behavior second only to Creature Handlers, can track even the most elusive of animals, and if necessary lure them to his position.

After hunting in the wild and surviving only by wit and strong nerves, the ranger has learned the weaknesses of all his targets, and uses this knowledge to produce deadly traps. Having varying affects from disorienting a creature tomomentarily immobilizing it to scaring it away, they can be used in combat to out-think the creature and allow the ranger to unleash the deadly damage from hsi weapon. Also having learned animal behavior and of the anatomy of the creatures, the ranger can harvest valuable parts from targest such as glands and phermones to create lures specially designed to attract a certauin creature, and then using his camoflauge,tracking, campingand trapping skills can place a lure, wait in his hunting blind and at the opportune moment ambush the creature(s).

This integrates all of the skills into a single idea- to survive and be an efficient hunter. Things like forage are not mentioned because I actually typed this post in a space of about an hour while playing, but all the same I think our issues come down to this- none of our skills are useful.

So, I am afraid that after over half a year as a ranger/rifleman, I will be respeccing to MBH Master Carbineer once the servers load up. I have always said that I will wait for the revamp, but with the fall semester looming ahead and band to worry about, I don't have time to waste not having fun anymore. I will pop in every once in a while to see how things are going, and I can always regrind it if I feel to terrible, but I think that until the "revamp" I will not see the ranger title again. I want content and fun gameplay, and if SOE cannot give that to in my profession of choice I will just have to conform or quit. And I am not ready for such a drastic measure as cancellation- not yet at least. Has been fun, Rangers. I won't say goodbye to you or the profession- "cya later" seems more appropriate.