Ranger Archive
Thread: the way it should be
I think the ranger class could be improved, but I don't think it's likely that the devs, with all the other professions and patches to work on, will completely revamp our profession. So, considering the skill trees that they've given us, I gave some thought to what seem like reasonable and doable changes. A lot of what follows is borrowed and distilled from other postings, but I wanted to get my thoughts in one place.
General things:
* We should get XP for crafting, since we do a fair bit of it. Traps run out quickly, and camps need to be made.
* Tracking of some form would be nice, but I'm not sure if the game mechanics really allow it the way most people want it. If it could happen, it's certainly a ranger-style ability.
Wayfaring:
* Since we can run up shear cliff faces at a dead run, I think swimming a bit faster would fall within our talents.
* Mask scent is changing, apparently, but even so, this tree has a real lack of abilities, and I think conceal, or some form of it should come back. A chance to snipe at animals, and yes, even npc's without them noticing where you are for a while would be great.
* With regards to pc's, I like the idea of going off-radar, with the range at which that's possible getting better with level. Obviously, in a game where one-shot kills exist and the first blow is so important, this could get seriously abused in pvp, so I don't think that we should be able to attack while in stealth mode. Simply having the sneaking around and spying option would be nice.
Frontiering:
* Getting XP for foraging just plain makes sense.
* Camps should stay in place until intentionally disbanded.
* A purely defensive camp of some kind would be nice. I'm not so sure about the talk of turrets and such that I've seen, but something to provide those inside with combat bonuses would be quite useful.
* Mission terminals in the high tech camp. It's a fairly potent addition, so it should be high up, but going back for missions is one of the main reasons I go back to town. It sure isn't for healing. It''s frustrating to return to town with all of 6 BF, and no wounds, just because I don't have any missions to do. A nice effect of this would be that maybe rangers could then take a chain of missions out well away from town. The farther out missions could be worth more than an average mission, since ordinary folks wouldn't be willing to travel so far.
* The shuttle pad idea is also good. I think it should be reserved for master ranger, but it fits well with the idea of the ranger. They do the exploring, and prepare the way for the group to follow. Set up the shuttle pad module, and call in the backup. Alternatively, we've had a rough fight, town's a long and dangerous way off, call in the rescue chopper type of thing. Both roles fit the profession.
Field Bioscience:
* Examining should reveal if a creature is social and will assist its fellow herdmates ornot.
* Taxidermy would just be a nice flavor addition. I don't know how hard it would be to implement, but the hides and heads are on the walls in the training halls, so why can't we have them?
* A lure command would be excellent. Being able to call an individual away from the other animals by a lair would make life so much easier.
Trapping:
* Traps should be stackable. I don't want to have to keep pulling little batches out of my inventory and putting them up in the command bar.
* Traps should work on pets.
* Ditch or fix rescue.
* Stationary harvester type traps for hide and bone would be useful, although an equally reasonable solution would be to increase the harvesting bonus under bioscience.
* I'm not a fan of group effect traps. I don't want to aggro an entire herd, especially not for the sake of stunning them. Give us better individual traps.
* One new trap idea would be a confusion/enrage type. Not to bring D&D into the mix, but I always liked the confusion spell and having monsters fight other monsters. A trap that makes a mob either attack the nearest target (which if you picked your placement right, would be another mob and not you), or that made them randomly attack one of the available targets (which might be you, but you were probably going to fight it anyway) would be fun to use, I think. Let them fight to the death, pick off the weakened one, harvest away, and be happy.
Anyway, I hope this isn't too redundant of a post, and strikes a chord with the community. Í don't think these changes would infringe on other professions, nor do they make rangers too powerful. I think they help make us a unique and useful profession, and that's what I think most of us want.
Iohel wrote:
* We should get XP for crafting, since we do a fair bit of it. Traps run out quickly, and camps need to be made.
We do. I've had Engineering IV for awhile now, all from making traps and camps.
Other than that, good post and good ideas. Though, most of these topics have been brough up before 