Ranger Archive

Iwas thinking about how to improve the ranger and i came up with an idea to make it really awesome. I see it right now as a master of creatures which is pretty much what a creature handler is. Most people's complaint is that the ranger is of little use in group play.

I was thinking that you could change the focus from master of creatures into covert/black ops. sort of like a star wars navy seal. a navy seal is trained for every threat so master of creatures and harsh environments still applies but master of covertcombat would be an awesome addition.

I would say change Wayfaring to something like Stealth. Still give the bonuses to terrain negotiation but also include some attack bonuses or specials. Something like stealthattack that can only be used once whileconcealed and deals a great deal of damage. Like an instant 1/3 loss if successful.

The tripwire trap that was mentioned by the devs should have a variation that explodes but is harder to craft or something similar.

Another thought was an area effect ambush attack where the ranger must be concealed and could sneak into a group of enemies and have the same effect as stealth attack but either harder to successfully complete or less damage and conceal of course would be broken after the attack is started.

That is all i got. If anyone else has an idea feel free to post what you are thinking. Thanks

Goshenki- soon to be ranger

Sounds cool for a seperate profession,since I like the Ranger the way it is. In a group, I'm the only ranger most of the time. Mytechnique uses traps to slowanimals down, and to camoflage everyone in my group so we can get close (provided we move slowly). I also move through terrain quicker so I can view the objective first. I also inform everyone how many targets are at the objective. They wouldn't be able to have as many successful raids without a ranger at their side. Since I'm also Teras Kasi, I help in the tanking dept. Aside from that, if anyone says the Ranger profession isn't useful, one of two things are possible:

1. They're not Rangers.
2. They were a Ranger but hadn't figured out how to use strategy.

My $.02

Master of creatures? What the hell? We get no creature bonuses anywhere! How doesRanger in ANY way compare to CH's? We can trap creatures, but that's killing, not taming. The tracking line helps us kill more creatures. Again, this is hunting, not creature handling. The Wayfaring and Frontiering lines have nothing at all to do with creatures.

The Rangers in this game are best compared to fantasy-based Rangers. Think Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. Also, Rangers are in Everquest as masters of the environment. They are most certainly not "Army Rangers" (go be a commando).

And to the statement that most people believe that Rangers are of little use in group play, I respond with a resounding "Pfft." I have gotten dozens of requestsfor me to go hunting with a group so I can /areatrack for them. Everybody loves the Field Bases! Lots of "ooh"s and "ah"s. The HTFB allows entertainers to heal battle fatigue! How is this not useful to groups? And /conceal allows you to apply a powerful camouflage to your teammates! Ranger traps lower creature defenses, allowing your other teammates to do more damage! There is not a single part of the Ranger profession that is not of use to groups. Rangers are frequently sought out for big hunts and the like.

What you are asking for is nota Ranger, at least not in the way that it is currently implemented. You are asking for a spec-ops profession. The players that are already Rangers, for the most part, want the profession to stay what it is: a master of the environment.

Cool idea. I too have had pretty good luck with the ranger profession and never have a hard time finding a group to raid with. People are pretty willing to have me run ahead of the group and scout out the area. Using tracking skills I'm able to give a head count which comes in handy

In terms of pvp, I agree that the Ranger skills could be looked at as pointless. I think the idea of a trip-wire trap would be killer. I also think that the ability to use /conceal in PVP would be very helpful to us.

The HTFB allows entertainers to heal battle fatigue!

HUH? Since when?

since i got my facts mixed up.

I agree mostly with Vriko, that rangers are great the way they are and should be masters of the environment. But I also think that that mastership should carry over to more things than just camping and tracking. Firstly, making traps more effective I think everyone can agree on... but making them effective against NPCs and other PCs... I think that would definately be applicable to the class, and make us more respectable. Also, camo should work against NPCs and to some extent against players.

As far as RL Army Rangers being commandos.... not really. Like I said in a different post, it's important to note when comparing the ranger profession to RL, that RL rangers would have the ranger profession, but that most of the combat stuff they do (explosives, sniping, etc) is because they would also have second professions, such as rifleman, squadleader, commando, etc. Ranger is not an MOS, it's got lots of different MOSes, with the addition of the ranger training.

With all due respect, rangers know how to track and hunt game, and they know how to survive in the wild. That doesn't mean they know how to tame the wild beast. Bad example right now, but Steve Irwin, the croc hunter, and Sigfried and Roy, animal trainers, are two totally different kinds of professions here in the real world. Steve knows the animals he hunts down and helps, but train them? No way. He may get near a croc and be able to pet it, but train it? No way. We, as rangers, can use our skills to get near creatures and pet them. I pet kimogalias on Lok all the time. I think the devs did a good job at rationalizing that rangers are one thing and creature handlers are another. The only thing I do hope the devs look at is with our knowledge of creatures, we do get some better combat bonuses and we are able to control slightly higher level tamed creatures.

I agree with Makkaio. If I wanted to train em, I would be a CH. Instead I want to harvest them, and that's why I am a Ranger.

I made the proposal a ways back that Rangers who get an elite/elite.. that is master another elite besides Ranger should get the title of Antarian Ranger, but that idea fell by the wayside. Oh well.

As to being bad in combat - We are combat support. Pickup another profession to be bad in combat. Unless you can kill something with traps, we are relegated to being pretty wimpy unless and until we pick up a combat skill, like pistoleer, rifleman, CH, etc. I can't wait til we can use traps on pets, CHs will fear seeing us in PvP, the perfect balance if there ever was one.

RL Rangers are very highly skilled, trained and motivated Grunts.It's not the tab that makes ya bad, you get the tab because you proved you were bad. I would equate them more with SL and commandos in this game, not Rangers as the Devs have envisioned them.

JB

As nice as it would be to use traps on pets. What good is that really? Unfortunately, traps aren't a magical thing that makes things dead. We still have to kill em with our combat profession. And while you're busy dealing with the pet, the CH or other enemies are taking pop shots at you.

For the amount of skill points we need to gain Master Ranger (140!!) we are still pretty limited even for a support class.

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ThGilsRooc wrote:

Sounds cool for a seperate profession,since I like the Ranger the way it is. In a group, I'm the only ranger most of the time. Mytechnique uses traps to slowanimals down, and to camoflage everyone in my group so we can get close (provided we move slowly). I also move through terrain quicker so I can view the objective first. I also inform everyone how many targets are at the objective. They wouldn't be able to have as many successful raids without a ranger at their side. Since I'm also Teras Kasi, I help in the tanking dept. Aside from that, if anyone says the Ranger profession isn't useful, one of two things are possible:

1. They're not Rangers.
2. They were a Ranger but hadn't figured out how to use strategy.

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I guess I'd fall into category #2, but I've never said Ranger isn't useful. I admit I'm just new to it, but I love it so far. Do you know of any guides that could help me?

I agree.. the word "Ranger" has many connotations. But even the US Army Rangers have taken their name from "Rogers Rangers" who fought in the French-Indian war in the 18th century.

And those guys were NOT Spec-Ops. They were sneaky backwoods fighters that could live off the land. They had no army provisions and hunted and trapped for what they needed along the way. Their ranks were comprised of seasoned trappers and professional hunters, not veteran soliders or "Rambo" types.


The US Army Rangers today are more "shock troops" than they are "Spec-Ops" in my opinion. They don't operate in the small quiet units SEALs and Special Forces groups do. Special Forces (Green Berets) were designed to be inserted in a foreign culture, living among the natives, training them in military tactics, weapons, and guerilla resistence. SEALs are sneaky bastards and their groups are designed more for kidnappings, demolitions, and surveilance of the enemy.

The US Army Rangers operate in much larger groups and designed to attack swift and fast, projecting maximum firepower on foot... using paratroop drops and other fast insertions to secure airports, entire city blocks, etc. without the use of full armored or supply support.

I don't see SWG Rangers as guerillas, but certainly they can act as trackers and with some dev improvements surveilence experts. In this game, they are intended to be frontiersman, hunters and creature experts of a sort.

There are certainly some things that need to be fixed with the profession....

Ranger traps should stick... period.
Stationary traps are a must... as is PvP and PvE trapping.
Ad mesh sux bad and needs more snare time and it should stick more often.

Camo should work in PvP and PvE. You should be invisible to enemy targeting and radar as long as you are not engaged in combat. If you fire on someone while camo'd, maybe that person should be able to see you on radar, but it shouldn't break. I think the exception should be against other Rangers. Other Rangers should be able to pick you up when tracking (Track IV required).

Our creature harvesting as a Master Ranger should allow us to harvest meat, bone, and hide all from the same creature.

As a Master Ranger, I should be able to attack any HAM pool with any weapon. They don't have to be uber shots, but I should be able to select my pool attack being such a creature expert.

I could go on and on, and I am sure I am not saying anything that hasn't been said, but Spec-Ops belongs under the name Commando (and that current profession should be renamed HEAVY WEAPONS. They are not "Commandos".)