Ranger Archive
Thread: Rangers vs. Scouts, Round 3 We need more defense!!!
"Rangers are well suited to defending others in combat..."
The subject quote is taken directly from the SOE website in the one line description of what a Ranger is. In some of my initial rants, I went on and on about how this just doesn't fit what we are currently designed as... and that needs to change... we need to have some better defense.... and here's what I suggest...
The +10 melee/ranged defense bonuses at Master Ranger are big bonuses and this leads me to believe that "they" are what make us well suited for defending others... however unless this is coupled with some sort of combat skills the point is moot... and in case you haven't done your skill calc lately.. going Master Ranger doesn't leave you much room for anything else that is pure combat save for a single elite combat line.
So in light of the proposed change to make /camo a ranger only skill... here's what I think it needs to move towards:
/Camoflauge:
This skill needs to be able to help us with defense... forget about whether or not someone can see you... thats not nearly as important as what happens when they target you. /camoflauge should be very similar in functionality to /maskscent but should work against NPC/PCs as well as creatures.
In the proposed design to /maskscent you can walk up to any non-red without the fear of it breaking even during combat. This means that you will get a slight bonus to creature AI behavior based on your maskscent skill. The cool thing about /maskscent is that you can pick off yellows one at a time without them mobbing you in most cases so long as your /maskscent is up.
In similar fashion, camoflauge should allow you to stand amongst yellows and snipe single targets without mob ai kicking in. Provided you are fighting yellows, this should enable a ranger to be a true one on one fighter and fits within the flavor context of what camoflauge is (hiding you from view).
Against reds you are going to run the risk of detection in both skills... but this should increase with skill points.
The other benefit that /camoflauge should have in my opinion is some sort of combat bonus while in effect ...
Similar to /maskscent, if I'm still, not moving, and prone, I should get a combat bonus modifier. This works perfectly with our prone crawl and allows us to in effect crawl through brush knocking off yellows one at a time while their AI gets a temporary nerf due to our skills..
That is a GREAT way to implement /camoflauge without getting tooo crazy... just make is /maskscent but for PCs.. and add some bonuses to combat.
Defensive Bonuses:
Similar to the combat lines, if a Ranger is supposed to be able to defend others well in combat, then for God's sake give us some combat related skills... or at the very least some increased defense against some of the nastier attacks out there...
Give Rangers:
+10 vs Knockdown
+10 vs Dizzy
+10 vs Poison
And some sort of Counterattack....
That's only fair to a class you claim to be able to defend others in combat.
Now on to my favorite subject <sigh> /Rescue...
/Rescue
This skill is so "borked" (as others have put it) right now that I've given up even using it for fear that I may upset someone.
While this skill isn't quite as bad as /dragincapacitated player.....
... side note... since I'm also a medic... lets examine /drag for a minute... if I'm a true medic that has advanced up the skill tree... why on earth would I EVER drag an incapacitated player instead of simply HEALING HIM!!!! Is this just in the event that mind is blown and you need to drag the player 50m?
This has to be one of the most useless skills in the game... I'm sure the medics just laugh over that one...
...So Rescue..
/Rescue implies that I am going to try to rescue someone... but as its implemented now.. its just used to make the aggressor of your target INSTANTLY start autoattacking you to which you INSTANTLY start autoattacking back... ARGH>> thats insane! and its a skill that can be used to grief and cause stife as it work on ANYTHING in combat right now...
SOOO... whats my suggestion for how to fix /Rescue???
Here it is... the moment of truth from the one Ranger who has killed bounty hunters using /Rescue....
LET RESCUE TEMPORARILY PREVENT DEATHBLOW
Up the HAM cost of /rescueand let me target an incap player and give him a saving grace...
at +10 /rescue if a player is incap for x amount of seconds... let me prevent deathblow for 10 seconds... up to a full 100 second prevention at Master Ranger. This means that at Master Ranger... for a significant cost in a Ranger's HAM (this was in the skill description at one point)... let the Master Ranger simply target an incap player and prevent him from being deathblowed.
Well.. its an idea ... could use some work and testing... but I think its worthy of the word /rescue.
Summary:
You tell us you want Rangers to be well suited for Defending others.. yet ALL we aregiven is camps, jars of bugs, fast crawling speed, a fresh outdoor smell, and traps that don't work on people, and yet you expect us to be able to defend others in combat???
Unreal...
Start giving us some combat related skills if you want us to be a good combat defender.
The +10s at Master is a start... but guess what... we'll still die everytime we hit /rescue.
- Zarn the Ranger
Xio,
Do we need to call this "Rangers VERSUS Scouts"?
How about "Kickass Ranger Ideas"?'
Or "How about some good Ranger defenses"?
Ya'll need to remember where you came from. 
B
Deltaxi65,
It's kind of hard for us to forget where we came from, considering we are all still there, just short a few skill points.
Let us know how you feel when you reach Master Ranger and you still feel like a Master Scout...
These are the intentions of these kinds of posts, not necessarily to Scout bash, but to differentiate the two professions, as they are two professions are they not?
Don't take offense 
On a side note Delta, are you stopping at Master Scout? What are your other plans?
Flynn,
I've been a Master Scout since July 9. I'm 30k Frontiering short of Master Ranger. I'm 3/4 of the way through the third level of Sniper (Rifleman) and I may max out the Rifleman skill as well.
I've got novice squad leader, which I may also do, but I'm not 100% sure yet. Still too early to tell. I've toyed with the idea of going and grabbing 2 hand sword to compliment my rifling, but I'm not too keen on getting smacked around - I do enough of that already.
B
I think the concept here is that these three threads that I've created are attempting to draw a skill line between what a Scout should be able to do versus what a Ranger should be able to do BECAUSE of the fact that we are in essence SuperScouts right now.
I'm hoping to show how a Ranger should be viewed in relationship to a Scout... its not that I"m trying to say Rangers are better... I'm trying to say Rangers are different.
No ill will to scouts... we're all master scouts here..
But we want to be Rangers too.... and we don't want to have redundant skills.
- Zarn
Flynn,
I've been a Master Scout since July 9. I'm 30k Frontiering short of Master Ranger. I'm 3/4 of the way through the third level of Sniper (Rifleman) and I may max out the Rifleman skill as well.
I've got novice squad leader, which I may also do, but I'm not 100% sure yet. Still too early to tell. I've toyed with the idea of going and grabbing 2 hand sword to compliment my rifling, but I'm not too keen on getting smacked around - I do enough of that already.
----------------------
If you are gonna master Rifleman you might as well give up thinking about what else you want to be except for maybe a novice because that will only leave you with 18 skill points left. The way the skill point system is set up, you can only have 3 Mastered professions. I looked up the skill points a couple nights ago and figure out that for the type of character I want to be I've already maxed out my fighting ability.
My final character will look like this:
Master Ranger - which of course comes with Master Scout
Rifle Specialist - For ranged attacks
Range Weapon Support Specialist - Althought I'm debating dropping this
Two-Handed Sword Specialist - For when I can't kill things with my rifle before they attack me
Mix of Medic skills
It kind of sucks that I can't be a better fighter because of the limited skill points but I do prefer this over having every bad ass fighter ALSO be a Master Ranger.