Ranger Archive

First of all, complains are inevitable - this board thrives on them. Ranger has been sorely needing some improvement, and we got a HUGE amount of it yesterday.

THE GOOD ----

AreaTrackis aFantastic ability. I'm Tracking III, and I can pull down information about creatures from almost 500m out, AND their direction. I found numerous babies for taming and creature types that would yield the resources I was seeking. Excellent!!

Earning wilderness xp from crafting tents & traps is long overdue, and greatly appreciated! Fishing is a nice touch!

Camo Kits- exceptional idea. This is the ONLY area I have been unable to test on the new Ranger skills... see below.

THEOTHER ----

1) Foraging - Needs to be more useful, perhaps allowing us to find more of the components we need to craft camo kits (the flora, to be specific).

I SUGGEST: A) Make Foraging grant Wilderness xp. B) Leave foraging how it is for Scouts, except perhaps making the bounty better. As is right now, it's pretty darnuseless. C) For Rangers, allow them to specify what they want to search for (food to eat, wood for camo kits, water for medical supplies, etc). Granted, this is quite powerful, like a built-in survey device (but more general and only useable for natural things), but could be given more power as the Ranger progresses. It is critical for the next issue - see #2.

2) Camo Kits - Hugely prohibitive cost to make. First of all, putting one together requires artisan skills - unless you want to buy the parts. I think that's ludicrous - no Ranger should have to have 15 skill points tied up in artisan to find wood to make a CAMO kit - that makes no sense at all. He should be more than capable of putting one together with his own outdoors skills. The high level tents are a different matter, given their high-tech nature, but Camouflage Kits? Some warpaint/flora camo, hides, bones, and meat requires professional crafting skill?

I SUGGEST: A) Allowing Foraging ability to target specific kinds of things the Ranger is seeking... in this case, wood and flora of various types. It would be the last thing that Rangers need to make Camo Kits without having to resort to Novice Artisan or the bazaar. I strongly believe a Ranger's outdoor skills should be sufficient to put a camokit together. I was on Endor last night, and laughing because I couldn't get my stupid surveyor to hit 'deciduous wood' - and here I was, on the Forest Moon Allowing the Ranger to Forage his flora supplies would be extremely realistic, and very beneficial.

On that note, I don't know how well Camo Kits work (couldn't get the parts together on Endor), but they need to be DARN effective. I mean, 99% stuff. They're exhaustingly expensive to make, and need to not only last a long while (like Buffs from a Doctor), but work fantastically well. I spent 5 hours on Endor last night with a huge group (15 people), and never did get the Avian Bones I needed to make an Endor Camo Kit... They are very hard to make, and the payoff needs to be huge. I sat at a low-% deciduous wood spot for a half hour trying to get the wood I needed, which is pretty rediculous ifyou think about it. And the Ranger needs to be able to makeCamo Kitswith only his own skills - this is logical, and fits the Ranger's profile of being self-sufficient. Spending another 15 skill points on Artisan simply so I can search for wood is not a good solution

Overall, I am VERY happy with the way Ranger is progressing, and look forward to the new Ranger traps and tent ideas. Please consider my ideas, and at least look at the concerns if nothing else. They are legitimate, and shared by most. But I am pleased with the Patch, and look forward to seeing Rangers continue to develop. ~J

Great post! You made me change my mind about the camo kits. Previously I thought it was fair enough - other professions need planet specific flora they cant survey for - but you are right, Rangers should be able to make a camo kit by themselves, in the spirit of roleplaying. I can't see Aragorn thinking "Darn! I should have picked up some wood when I was back in Hobbiton!" or one of our own Army Rangers thinking "Darn! I've run out of dirt to smear on my face! I'll have to go back to the base and get more!" (Laughing) There have been so many complaints I'm sure they'll change that in time. Again, great post.

- Paks, Talus, Radiant Ranger

Here Here!

A note on foraging. Having played around with the medic field for a short bit and experimenting with /medicalforage I can tell you that a /rangerforage skill based on that one would be hell. The problem is this, you forage and get different items. If a camo kit calls for 30 parts wood and you start to /rangerforage you could be getting 10 different wood types. It would be nice to have as an option, however I wouldn't expect to see great things come from it even if they do implement a "like" system.

Cyl~

Ranger 1/1/2/3

Kettemore Galaxy

That's true, Cylenthia, but I was proposing allowing the Ranger to actually specify what he wanted to forage FOR. So for example, he could specify deciduous wood, or wheat, or whatever, and then find a couple units (3 or4 per try, getting better up to 5-7 with improvement in the Wilderness tree). That way, he's able to look for exactly what he needs, and you won't clutter up your inventory with stuff you didn't want.

I think it's very logical to assume that the Ranger could look for specific items, rather than just picking up whatever he finds. He could forage the camo kit flora components (given time), and harvest the rest of them creatures ~J

Good post. Thanks for upholding the Ranger Forum tradition of discussing issues in a clear, level-headed manner - AND, for offering suggestions vice whining...

Bravo.

I do not agree with foraging or hunting to get every item needed for camo kits. Other professionswith advanced craftables have REQUIRED components only another profession can provide, why should Rangers be any different? This is no different than Talusian water, Dantooinian berries and Lokian Wheat for Doctor enhancements. Doctors aren't artisans.. they can be, just as a ranger can add artisan.. if you want to be selfsufficient you will have to make the sacrifice of 15 skill points for artisan, or, pay credits instead to another Ranger that is harvesting these resources.

I have to agree with Fellstaff on this issue. This game is about being social and there really isn't too many ways around that. I have read many posts about people comparing SWG Rangers to Aragorn from LOTR or perhaps even Tanis from Dragonlance. However, SWG Rangers are SWG Rangers not any of the others. I would agree with the Devs adding additional resources to the /forage ability but not necessarily specific. They don't want any one class to be totally self sufficient. There really isn't a true way to totally balance any class. There is a give and a take. Yesterday the Ranger class was given a lot. Some of us are expanding upon this a lot, while others are living in the past or in a "fantasy" (total pun intended) world of LOTR type Rangers.

Cyl~

You don't need a camo kit to use maskscent..... You never did BEFORE the patch, so why all the grief about it now??Camo kits have the added bonus of being effective against NPC's and being usable on other players.

I do not agree with foraging or hunting to get every item needed for camo kits. Other professionswith advanced craftables have REQUIRED components only another profession can provide, why should Rangers be any different? This is no different than Talusian water, Dantooinian berries and Lokian Wheat for Doctor enhancements. Doctors aren't artisans.. they can be, just as a ranger can add artisan.. if you want to be selfsufficient you will have to make the sacrifice of 15 skill points for artisan, or, pay credits instead to another Ranger that is harvesting these resources.

I can understand that idea, but ultimately is boils down to the Ranger being able to do what he does best, and that's travel. Unlike crafters - for whom crafting is an essential and defining characteristic of their profession - the Ranger is not a 'creator' character. Yes, he does craft, but as an accessory to his primary function: exploration. You can't toss him into the mix with other crafting professions - he's not one of them

His bread and butter ability - now conceal - shouldn't be so rediculously difficult to make work, given the extremely specific and extensive nature of the parts required for each individual world's Camo Kit. Indeed, getting many of those components ALREADY requires the aid of others, without having to resort to Artisanship skills - have you ever tried to get Insect Meat on Endor? Have you ever tried to solo Arachnes?Especailly after the huge harvesting resource reductions after the patch yesterday? You may not agree that he should be able to forage what he needs, but you must admit that the components he needs are remarkably specific and, in many cases, unattainable without the aid of others already as is. I don't thinkallowing him to make Camo Kits withoutpicking up Artisan is asking too much, especially since he is already plenty reliant on others for medical care, battle fatigue, weapons, and everything else. Travel is HIS realm, and should remain so- he shouldn't need help to do what his profession is designed for. Let the crafters survey and craft - that's their defining focus. Let the Ranger travel - and be able to 'survey' in his own way - Forage.

I understand thatDoctors are extremely reliant on artisan skills, buthealers are quite a different bag than Rangers. Everybody needs a healer at some point - period. Not everybody needs Conceal - it is a luxury, and shouldn't be as difficult to make work.

Anyway, that's my opinion. Either way, conceal had better go like CLOCKWORK when it's used, and I get the nagging feeling from other posts that that's not the case. Since it requires such a massive investment of time and effort, I disagree that Ranger's should have to rely on others for it, unless it is really worth the effort, and it works nearly perfectly when you finally get there. ~J