Ranger Archive
Thread: Ranger Role Post-CU
The topic the Ranger's Manifesto is also addressing this.
Jolandir
Almagill wrote:
We were outside the scope of the CU so dragging in that diagram has as much relevance to the current state of Rangers as pulling up a list of intended changes to the Entertainer or Chef profession.This is the short-sightedness that has led to us going nowhere fast. If you want Ranger to be in the same boat as ID, Politician, Entertainer or Dancer, then by all means ignore the CU schematic, as it only appies to COMBAT professions which Ranger right now is cleary NOT. A Ranger revamp that leaves us as a non-combat profession is ultimately a meaningless revamp and not worth our time. I do NOT want to cement us in as a non-combat profession. As such, Ranger MUST find a place in the schematic or it will always be way in the background.
We only recieved attention during, not as part of, the CU because it was patently obvious that we would end up with negligable health no increase in CL other than from the ONE combat skill we could specialise in.Because we are already VERY close to being a combat profession right nowas we have native abilites that can aggro mobs, which is something no other NON-combat profession can claim.
As a sop we were thrown a boost to health, a boost to CL and then pretty much left alone while the CU dev team concentrated on what they were meant to be concentrating on. The professions that WERE within the scope of the CU.
Ranger needs to be added in the scope of the CU because we, like the combat professions must deal in combat to be fully effective. We need to KILL mobs to harvest, make traps, and/or make camo kits and camps.
Maybe we shouldn't have complained and petitioned QUITE so well. If we'd been left well alone and then popped up after the CU 'implementation' saying "Okay, now you can't deny that this profession is well and truly rolloxed" we might have got different attention. As things seem, at the moment at least, we're somewhere in the "well we did somethign for them within living memory so what's their problem" category.
Rangers ROle Post CU? Let's face it, we're still super-scouts with some big old tents and a few obscure skills. We are creature centric, but having a 'normal' combat skill lets su compete against NPC's and, if you're mad enought, to get into some PvP if you can find a role there.
Pre-CU our role was not clearly defined, the Rangers themselves created their own roles (note the plural), post-CU we still lack a clear defimition and we still create our own roles.
Ranger is neither a combat nor a non-combat profession, it is a UTILITY profession that one way or another enhances, or at least alters, the way a player uses whichever other skills they've got. Until we see some sort of discussion from the dev team of where they see Ranger it's pretty pointless trying to second guess them.We will NOT see discussion from the dev team because it is SOE policy to keep discussion under their hat until they make a choice, so waiting to hear from them is pointless. We wouldnt hear a thing until the changes are on TC (ala Squad Leader)
Yes we are a utility profess but then again so is Squad Leader, they, like Ranger have no specials that actually do direct damage, yet they are a full fleged combat profession also (with a full set of offensive.defensive skill mods, as well as weapon certifications. The Squad Leader example alone show the arguing that we are a utility profession and thus dont need to be in the CU schematic is wrong.
Hell, Squad Leader specials dont even draw aggro to the SL! A Ranger tosses one trap and we can have a whole pack on us. SO who really needs the defense mods?
We have just as much utility as a SL and deserve the same consideration. Ranger is not a passive profession like ID or Dancer! We generate aggro, we get hit, we have to kill things, and we need to have the full benefit of the CU applied to us too!
Anyhow, that's just my opinion, rant, venting, whatever. Feel free to disagree. No doubt most will as that seems to be the main focus of the forum these days.If you cant handle disagreement, then public discourse is not for you :-) Show me a forum, any forum w/o disagreement and Ill find you a a place selling surfboard wax in Barrow, Alaska.
The role of Ranger is never really addressed in the Star Wars universe, you have folks that do "rangery" things but there are very few folks that live the whole ranger lifestyle for any period of time.