Ranger Archive

Hey guys, I'm in the process of dropping skills quickly to make way for Master Ranger.
I've already dropped Expert Bounty Hunter, but want to keep my Greater Sludge Panther (CH 1-1-x-x) as long as possible. The reasoning behind this is that I can't seem to solo anything larger than a Snorbal without a pet.

I hear how wonderful Conceal Shot with Rifleman is, how you can take down a Rancor without it noticing you, but I HATE rifles.

So I'm asking those of you out there who are Ranger/Pistoleer or Carbineer..... what tactics do YOU use to solo big creatures without a pet?

Depends on what you define as big. I define big game is anything that can 2-3 hit kill me with 800 ham's and no armor. for you it might be differant.

Huurton Howlers/stalkers can be a pain to solo but using ranged support from marksman and a good fast rifle/carb/pistol you can easily solo them.

a combination of warning shot , suppresion fire and traps and you can solo quite a bit of stuff.

Now bolle bols, and giant peko peko's are a bit tricky. Cuz they Baf but you can do a combo of maxed ranged bleed and run, warningshot repeat.

I don't mess around with things like rancors/grauls etc, but if your after "big game" don't ignore endor and roba boars (cl50) blurrg's and prong's

As lame as this sounds practice on spiked krevols/greater shaupatson naboo, they baf (or at least they use to) but they don't db. Test methods that work for you

I say that because what works for me might now work for someone else, timing is important, but practice will help, considering the decay on things when you clone.

Master Ranger/Master Pistoleer here...with the new dodge modifiers if you work your way up grips its a bit more feasable to take down higher level game. I've managed to take out single Bolle Bols Males/Females at master pistoleer while pretty much point blank(ie not using the bleed and run method). This gives you a better go against larger stuff. Recommendations:

1) Open with a glow-wire mesh or wire-mesh trap...this makes the creatures more vulnerable to position changes and warning shot.

2) Initiate whatever bleeds you can put on it

3) Immediately warning shot the creature and sometimes after that a single suppression fire is worth a go to delay them more.

4) While the creature is running away, back off and toss in a few bodyshot2s

5) As the creature starts returning towards you fire off another volley of warning shots.

6) repeat 4 and 5 using warning shot more and more frequently as the creature closes the gap with you.

7) When the creature finally gets close enough and warning shot doesn't seem to be pushing it off anymore Pistol Melee defense 1 from the pistoleer tree to knock it down then pull back and go back into 4 through 6.

8) If the critter isn't dead yet by the time it finally closes the gap on you...at this point you go into life or death mode since, with the 30 second timer, you likely won't have another knockdown possible. Your options are either to burst run and pull away and hope the bleeds finish it(not possible on all mobs as is) or unleash heck on the critter. At Master pistoleer this is the point, if the creature is about dead, I start using fanshot, stopping shot, or bodyshot 3 since I can use them fast enough to try and put in the final death blows on the critter by doing max damage.

Bodyshot 2 will get you more damage per second over a stretch of time than any other pistoleer based attack but when something is pretty close to death, a few volleys of Stopping shot, fan shot(which I use exclusively if I've got multiple creature aggro since itsa cone attack), or Bodyshot 3 are preferable because they are bigger damage and are worth it for 3 or 4 shots if the creatures about to keel over.

I don't tend to solo much though since I'm almost always partnered with my wife who is also a master ch, but those times when I have to deal with stuff alone or she has her hands full as is, thats the general method I use...and with the added pistoleer defenses, at a high level I've got better survivability if something closes to point blank.

Conceal works great now. With a few exceptions I'm going to post in the Rifleman board. As far as hunting big game without pets? That's a tough one. With the new CH changes coming down eventually you're going to have to lose the creature pets.

I'm currently trying to get used to battle with Droids. I've got three Probots I'm using which are excellent pals. Unlike creatures they can fight AND can have 10 units of storage capacity. Since they don't suffer perma-death anymore they're very friendly companions.

When the new combat droids come out I'll be upgrading, now they're more of an expensive reusable snare.

"Oh shoot here comes a Fambaa!/throw probot /burstrun."

-WB

Run around like mad and apply bleeds!!! No seriously, my tactics for bigger stuff include avoiding social mobs, kite kite kite, terrain useage, and armor. My LLC doesn't hurt either. I am going to pick my traps back up (I am making factory crates of them to avoid endless crafting) using only adhesive mesh and phecnacine darts. As for my original comment, I took down a rogue fambaa (solo, no pets, I even stored my mount) by hitting it with a mind bleed, switching to my LLC and composite armor, and kiting the heck out of it. I couldn't even use the terrain to my benefit as I was on the plains. I was able to stay far enough away to avoid a lot of the damage it was dishing out, and I never incapped. And for the record, while the mind bleed took off about 95% of its mind ham, my LLC actually finished it off.

I guess I have to ask what you consider big game, too? I'm a native of Tatooine and simply love the planet. I consider mountain squills and grizzled and cannibal dewbacks to be big game. I'm a carbineer (2-1-1-1) and almost master ranger (c'mon friggin' wayfaring!). My tactics are usually different just to keep it interesting. I can take down any of the above just by using mesh traps, stacking my bleeders (action shots 1 and 2) and letting the default attack do the rest. Not easily all the time, mind you. But enough of a benefit that I usually don't hunt anything less than the critters I've mentioned. I will throw in a few specials here and there, like warning shot or suppression fire if I miss the timing on a wire mesh or phecn dart. My advice would be to test out what your specials do, then come up with a system that is fun for you. Don't try a system once and throw it away if it doesn't work. Test it out a few times to see what the success is like. Also, use your /examine skill on every creature you come across. You can use all the tactics in the world on a critter, but if it is practically immune to your weapon's damage type...you'll get frustrated for nothing.

Thanks guys for the replies. To clarify, my idea of "big game" is something larger than.... say.... a dewback.

But these tactics that you all posted sound pretty good. I'll try them out before dumping CH.

Thanks again