Ranger Archive
Thread: Ranger is Dead! Long live the Spy!
Why don't you go the whole hog and rename the profession Spy and do away with the Ranger forums.
All the useful skills (Super-camps, harvesting bonuses etc.) are likely to be moved to Master Scout so to get the most out of them you are still going to have to use up all your skill points.
And what group would want to hire you now?
"Can you do damage or status effects to help us take down the enemy lair"
"Well I can walk around and spend time planting mines around the base. It might do some damage if the creature walks over it. And please don't kill all the rebels immediately as I might be able to steal stuff from them first."
"I think we'll go with the Squad Leader instead."
Is SOE trying to encourage group play or not? The existing Ranger had abilities that could be used solo or in groups. A bit of tweaking (like introducing a tracking system that works or the group EQII pathfinding bonuses) and a lot more traps could have helped both group play and solo play. All the new skills seem to based purely on solo play. Honestly - how many times are you going to persuade your group to let you camoflage them on the condition that they don't move for a while. I really can't see how any of the new skills are going to fit into the game.
And now I've just spent 1.5m and 8500FP on a suit of Stormtrooper armour will I still be able to use it or can I trade it in for Scout trooper for free?
The existing Ranger will be called Scout and Ranger will have the skills appropriate to an elite profession set in scifi universe that has a rich history of paramilitary organisations called RANGERS. Just get another suit of armour, 1.5mill and 8500fp, thats just a couple of overt space duties to get back, big deal.
GothChip wrote:
As a Master Ranger long awaiting the revamp can I just say W! T! F!
Why don't you go the whole hog and rename the profession Spy and do away with the Ranger forums.
All the useful skills (Super-camps, harvesting bonuses etc.) are likely to be moved to Master Scout so to get the most out of them you are still going to have to use up all your skill points.
And what group would want to hire you now?
"Can you do damage or status effects to help us take down the enemy lair"
"Well I can walk around and spend time planting mines around the base. It might do some damage if the creature walks over it. And please don't kill all the rebels immediately as I might be able to steal stuff from them first."
"I think we'll go with the Squad Leader instead."
Is SOE trying to encourage group play or not? The existing Ranger had abilities that could be used solo or in groups. A bit of tweaking (like introducing a tracking system that works or the group EQII pathfinding bonuses) and a lot more traps could have helped both group play and solo play. All the new skills seem to based purely on solo play. Honestly - how many times are you going to persuade your group to let you camoflage them on the condition that they don't move for a while. I really can't see how any of the new skills are going to fit into the game.
And now I've just spent 1.5m and 8500FP on a suit of Stormtrooper armour will I still be able to use it or can I trade it in for Scout trooper for free?
I'm getting tired of hearing, "This is a scifi universe, this is a scifi universe, this is a scifi universe." Yes, it is, and professions should respect that, but it's a scifi universe with one buttload of wilderness. As much or more time was spent in the wilderness in all six films as in cities (space and the Death Star aside), and I mean--Kashyyyk,Dantooine, Endor, Dathomir, Yavin. No cities at all on those last three! Not even houses.
That means there is a very, very big place for a wilderness oriented class in this game. Luckily, it'll still exist--but as a Novice profession, not an Elite one, which I think is a loss.
I can't believe this...they have destroyed the one prof that I felt was perfect for my pve style of play.
I guess I can stop working my way back up to Ranger again. (I was a Ranger pre-cu...left came back and was going Ranger again). I have zero interest in being a spy/theif...which is all this change amounts to in my opinion. Now what do I do now that the one profI really enjoyed is being removed from the game?
Congrats to all those who wanted paramilitary Rangers...you got what you wanted and ruined the game for the rest of us.
Personally, I see the devs trying to create an uber PvP player type with mines and all the jazz. It means that a ranger would be used to camo up a whole team of people while they wait for a PvP enemy to appear, then pounce with all mines going off etc.
It all sounds very cool, but in the context of the game doesn't really work. I mean, how is it any better when playing PvE to set a trap down and then wait for hours while you wait for your target to walk onto it?
Personally, I think that traps should still be throwable, or even AOE to give the ranger a good edge in combat. I mean they use flashbangs in the miltary to disorientate an entire room of people, why cant we use the same in SWG?
I could see the camo / stealth stuff being quite cool for infultration type missions, but where are they applicable in the game as it stands?
With the bio tracking would we become a BH's best friend? What use does that have in PvE? Stealing? WTH would I use that for? To get a small handful of credits? A bit of fun with a 'capture the flag' type of game? I could see it being pritty cool to be able to steal 'an important item from a highly guarded location' but then, in the game in its current form, where would we have a need to use that skill freqently?
IMO the devs have tried to cram a whole lot of 'that would be cool' type of stuff, without even thinking about those skills in the context of the game environment, in both PvP and PvE. Im just glad they have posted this info before they wrote it, because it feels like a joke as it stands at the moment.
GothChip wrote:
As a Master Ranger long awaiting the revamp can I just say W! T! F!
Why don't you go the whole hog and rename the profession Spy and do away with the Ranger forums.
All the useful skills (Super-camps, harvesting bonuses etc.) are likely to be moved to Master Scout so to get the most out of them you are still going to have to use up all your skill points.
And what group would want to hire you now?
"Can you do damage or status effects to help us take down the enemy lair"
"Well I can walk around and spend time planting mines around the base. It might do some damage if the creature walks over it. And please don't kill all the rebels immediately as I might be able to steal stuff from them first."
"I think we'll go with the Squad Leader instead."
Is SOE trying to encourage group play or not? The existing Ranger had abilities that could be used solo or in groups. A bit of tweaking (like introducing a tracking system that works or the group EQII pathfinding bonuses) and a lot more traps could have helped both group play and solo play. All the new skills seem to based purely on solo play. Honestly - how many times are you going to persuade your group to let you camoflage them on the condition that they don't move for a while. I really can't see how any of the new skills are going to fit into the game.
And now I've just spent 1.5m and 8500FP on a suit of Stormtrooper armour will I still be able to use it or can I trade it in for Scout trooper for free?
you were doing well until you got to the highlighted portion....
eqII = bad mojo...lvls....bleh...who needs em.
cl0kwerq wrote:
A bit of tweaking (like introducing a tracking system that works or the group EQII pathfinding bonuses) and a lot more traps could have helped both group play and solo play.
you were doing well until you got to the highlighted portion....
eqII = bad mojo...lvls....bleh...who needs em.
Just using as an example. If you're not familiar with the skill I will elaborate here.
If a scout "casts" pathfinding all players grouped with them get a noticible movement bonus as long as they are not in combat. A group buff to terrain negotiation would be the kind of skill a Ranger should have. They've given more group buffs to SL now but this is the kind of thing that is useful to bring to a group.
GothChip wrote:
Just using as an example. If you're not familiar with the skill I will elaborate here.
If a scout "casts" pathfinding all players grouped with them get a noticible movement bonus as long as they are not in combat. A group buff to terrain negotiation would be the kind of skill a Ranger should have. They've given more group buffs to SL now but this is the kind of thing that is useful to bring to a group.
Phenix1050 wrote:
GothChip wrote:
Just using as an example. If you're not familiar with the skill I will elaborate here.
If a scout "casts" pathfinding all players grouped with them get a noticible movement bonus as long as they are not in combat. A group buff to terrain negotiation would be the kind of skill a Ranger should have. They've given more group buffs to SL now but this is the kind of thing that is useful to bring to a group.
Squad Leaders have that EXACT thing. Group terrain navigation + 50. Will be granted at SL 2000. Squad Leaders are the group enhancers, not Rangers.
And smugglers should be the thieves and criminal underclass but we're getting their abilities.
Phenix> Why did you pick up Ranger in the first place if you wanted to play a paramilitary? Didn't you check out the skills beforehand and realise this wasn't the class you were looking for?
GothChip wrote:
Phenix> Why did you pick up Ranger in the first place if you wanted to play a paramilitary? Didn't you check out the skills beforehand and realise this wasn't the class you were looking for?