Ranger Archive

I realize many speculate that a ranger is a support profession and isnt supposed to have its own weapon type...however in order to be a true hunter as the title may suggest...a specific weapon would be in order...

Here is a list of ideas/reasonings for my post:

- This weapon would be ranged and would yeild NO combat or weapons xp for the kill...

- For my example i will use the bow and arrow (for simplisities sake)...the ranger would craft his own weapon and own ammo from the resouces of nature...thus forcing constant resouces to keep the weapon fixed and loaded...

- The main idea behind it would lead to suggest ammo types: tranquilization (for knocking out the animalfor hides killing the animal but yeilding no xp...only hides), Status+Damage (for when hunting with groups to offer an attack of some kind)

- I see the Ranger as being 1/2 combat and 1/2 crafter...we should be able to experiment on ranger only weapons and ammo (useable only by the crafter...as theWeapon Smiths sigh in relief)and be given different typesof poisons traquilizersand the like and we must actually USE examine to get only an IDEA of the right traquilizer or poision...

- Different ammo types have different status affects on different creatures thus makeing knowing ur target invaluable...

These are simply ideas i had and needed to put out there...many consider the ranger a support class, but i feel he should be a primal package of multiple classes...giving him the edge on borders of planets as he hunts creatures others would find too far out there to consider going...

Conclusion: He's a Hunter...give him a weapon------He's a support class...dont give him combat or weapons xp------He's a loner and survivor...give him the tools to survive while doing his job as resouce collector and should be able to do it alone.

All posts are welcome as long as they logically and intelectually belong...

(And I know my Spelling is off in multiple sentences)

Yeah, Ranger screams bow to me. I hunted for years, but only really became a hunter whe I first took a bow afield.

I just can't get behind this idea.

I have been waying it in my head, and the fact is, as a hunter you buy your weapons, they can be the same weapons used by a police officer, but you are using them for hunting. The weapons in game provide for hunting, if Ranger (Hunters) should get something no one else gets I would rather see it be the ability to harvest everything from an animal, HIDE, MEAT, and BONE, not just one.

I took up Riflemen to augment my Ranger (Hunter) skills. Simply put I thought it was the best way to get where I wanted to be, which was the equivalent of a modern day Marine Sniper.

....now if they would only make conceal and camo work on players.....

Hmm...Thanks for the input so far... and i see where you are coming from however somethings are still to be considered...

Such as being a man of the wilderness and hunter/survivor, logic would dictate that one creates a method of surviving by using imediate resouces (i.e. bones hide ect) to create a suitable weapon for ur situation...

much like a jedi crafting his own saber...the ranger would natrally be comfortable with it..more effective...more potent...

I feel this would suit the individual much greater than a rifle (or carbine in my case) made by a weapon smith crafting only for the intent of selling rather than its application in the field...

just some more food for thought...

Again, all posts are welcome

Maybe the Bow itself could be weaponsmith crafted, but us Rangers make our own types of arrows.

How about we make our own bows, but weaponsmiths get the option of making "enhancement" components that we can use to make a better bow. Additionally, we could have multiple bow types ranging from short durni-hunting bow to High-Tech combat bow (TekBow- anyone here everplayed Turok?). We could make basic string and bow, but a Weaponsmith could make cams, high tensile bowstrings, some kind of specialized scope for bows (maybe pin sights if you're against outrageous ideas on bows), etc. This way we get to feel like we're not combat inept. I do believe, however that the bow should appear in the Scout tree (survival anyone?) and the different bow types range up through master Ranger (High-Tech bow). Have the bow load ammo much like the fishing pole so that you can have ammo enhancements. I don't know what the weapon damage/speed would be, I'd leave that up to the devs, but I'd hope for special abilities against animals. All in all, I just like the whole idea of using a hunting bow.

A bow is a nice option or an alternative would be a trap that actually is useful and can cause some serious damage to a creature... Naturally doing damage to it will take away from your weapon xp so that is the tradeoff there. This has the added effect of making the ranger trap tree more useful and giving us the ability to be better hunters than other more powerful classes.

My thoughts on a ranger specific weapon:

- 'Balancing' it by causing it to give no XP is not balancing at all...once you become a master or advance as far as you plan, XP has no value anyway.
- Such a weapon should have a Star Wars feel to it. Bows and crossbows really don't....it's too EQ or D&D. The weapon should be more technological. A power bow that looks like a suped up modern composite bow might work. Crossbows tread too much into the bowcaster space I think.
- Do we really want to be weapon crafters? Wouldn't it be better for weaponsmiths to make them?Commandos and BH's have weapons very specific to their professions...but they don't craft them. Don't forget that if weaponsmiths make the weapon, the devs will feel more comfortable making it more powerful.
-The cert for the weapon andskill bonuses for itshould logically go in the Trapping line, since it is a device (and since Frontiering and Wayfaring don't make sense, and Tracking is already the most popular line). Making the purpose of it to launch traps at long range seems natural to me...I'd love to fire an adhesive mesh or sonic pulse at 60m with a good chance to hit. Firing arrows would be ok, and I'd love to have a weapon that doesn't break mask scent or conceal. (attacking will break mask scent in the next patch, according to the notes) Plain old arrows aren't very 'Star Wars', but perhaps the look and sound of the weapon could be made technological enough.

All IMO.Maskscent breaking when you attack is theone thing that has made me change my mind about a ranger specific weapon; before those patch notes I didn't think it was a good idea. Now I feel that weare going to need a quiet weapon to hunt in areas populated with lots ofaggro mobs.

Jamga Gibbrad

Master Ranger
Novice Pistoleer
Novice Medic

Such a weapon should have a Star Wars feel to it. Bows and crossbows really don't....it's too EQ or D&D. The weapon should be more technological. A power bow that looks like a suped up modern composite bow might work. Crossbows tread too much into the bowcaster space I think.
_________________________________________________________________________________

If you read the EU novel Tales of the Bounty Hunters (think it was this one), there is a story of Bobba Fett in which he hunts his target with a Bow and Arrow, because he wanted tpo use the element of surprise and stealth.

By the way what do you think a bowcaster is. It is a space age crossbow.

Im not flamming you just bringging some (useless) SW EU info.

Anyways to keep on track with the post. I would be happy if we could just use our traps on everyone, PvP, PvE. Since when are humanoids not capable of getting hurt with a trap. Its so anoying when I go Squill hunting and I cant use my traps. (In jungle warfare plnty of traps are set to incapacitate ones opponent.

By the way how do you guys get the quality of your traps to improve. No matter what I do the Qlty of mine is alwais a big fat 0.

I am torn on this issue. One side of me feels that it would be "cool" if we Rangers had our own unique weapon ("You are not special, you are not your own unique snowflake...." Tyler Durden - Fight Club) however, a larger part of me looks at this in a different light. I view my Ranger as more of a modern day Army Ranger rather than a survivalist type Ranger. Military Rangers don't come in to the Army AS Rangers, they have to earn this title. Before they get to that point though, they have alternate training (Rifle, Pistol, Carbine in our case). Military Rangers are elite fighting units trained in tough terrain, able to take down large facilities, and bring down massive firepower. ("On my mark...Unleash Hell" - Gladiator). I think that it should almost be a prerequisite to Ranger to have Master Marksman skills. HOWEVER, not every views the Rangers in this particular light. Some view the Ranger as more of the woodsman/ecologist type personification out to play with the wildlife and preserve nature. Personally I take my Rifle and put a hot piece of let in the forhead of any passing wildlife that I see, but that's just me. I think that a "Bow & Arrow" created by Rangers, usable by only Rangers...would not be beneficial for the game. I don't mind someone else making my weapons. I can harvest more than others, I can use /masksuicide better than any class, and my /showallNPCs (/conceal) where I am feature is unmatched by any other class.

For hunting animals some sort of Ultrasonic weapon dealing stun damage would make sense. There could, of course, be different types of damage and Ranger weapons since some creatures may not have ears to hear in the first place!

A bow is too primitive on it's on but what about a Laser Bow akin to the Wookie Bowcaster? A cattleprod, updated in technology for the Star Wars universe. A tranquilizer gun ( already suggested above. A harpoon gun for hunting water-based creatures ( should they ever make an appearance ). What about throwing weapons, e.g., high-tech darts?

There are so many things that could be done but probably won't.

I really like the idea of a high tech compound bow, but to be fair, the weaponsmiths should create the bow. I also hunt in real life and I have never made my own bow and dont know anyone who has. The ranger focus should be the animals and environment and not manufacturing. However, I think that in the line of trapping, the ranger should create their own arrows, adding traps, poison, or different type of arrowheads for different effects.

just my opinion

Draknev
Master Ranger
Pistoleer

"the weaponsmiths should create the bow"

I have no problem with the bow schematics being added to the Weaponsmith profession.

It makes sense, considering that most modern bows are made of advanced materials (and nota simple branch with a string attached ).

We of course would retain the ability to create the arrows / traps that will be used.