Ranger Archive

A Clouded Guide to Rangers.

Everyday some one posts more and more suggestions about what to fix with the Ranger. Enough is Enough already, yes there are some flaws and they need to be addresed but reworking the system isn't gonna fix that.

Here are my thoughts on this matter, This is my view PERIOD, flame me all you want. My mind isn't gonna change.
My intention is to not be little anyones thoughts or ideas and to each there own view. This is nothing personal with anyone so if you see your name don't hate me for expressing some views. I'm just gonna try to make a valid effort to show things in a differant light.

My examples come from Galaxy Radiant/Naboo

TopicEV Suggestions
Hmm how many posts about this. TOO many. It seems that everyone wants the game to be how they want it to be. You don't like how it works, then make your own game. Stop comparing the SWG ranger to EQ ranger or D&D ranger. It clouds the effort that the developers made in creating this elite class.

Malborka made some vaild suggestions today one of the more thought out and developed idea set yet seen.

To review some things often forgotten
Example A Survial XP : What is the function of a camp??

Is not a camp your home away from home, you rest , you can heal and does offer modest protection from aggressives(pending the challenge lvl and ferocity). Camps Cycle around 6-7 minutes healing wounds etc. Its no where near what a medic can do but its better then hoofing it back to theed when your on the souther coast of naboo. You can craft, contact your armorsmith/weaponsmith for hide/bone sales, we are harvesting bone/hides aren't we. Forage for food. If everything goes well then around 20-25 minutes you should have max xp for that camp size. 1 person 600xp scales up +200xp (approx) per camp size. I'll even go cook dinner or play with my cat. If you have the skill points you can pick up novice artisan and even sample for metal/polymers much needed for traps. Or better yet find a artisan to group with, double the people in camp + metals = WIN WIN
Does this need a fix NO, maybe we need to pay attention more before dropping our camp.

Example B Trapping Xp: My Traps won't work.

Now I haven't seen a post on this yet but here is somethings to ponder. So you make a bone spur, 4 bone here 2 bone here 2 hide here. you start crafting you notice that percentage crafting expermention. 4-8% aver. just before the final ok button. make your trap and use it. Mess with things, try differant bone, try differant hides , differant metal, differant polymers. do this untill you have a nice formula for a 12% or higher trap. I've found those traps are more effective. by a huge amount no, but the last thing i need when A greater shaupaut is charging me is to have a trap fail. Test yout methods 2, not on lite blue cons but blue cons, nightspiders or rabid shaupauts are good examples even the hermit spiders.

Fix: a extra trap or two would be nice, but we can already damage mind pool, lower melee and range defense, snare, dizzy, adhere , shock etc. What else is left?

Example C Wayfaring/FieldBio: Maskscent/Multi Harvest.

Too many complaints about Maskscent being undone by yellow cons. Have you done /con to the target before you complain. Honestly does anyone think that a giant peko peko can't see me.
Maskscent from my experanice is a life saver. Leading a party to a target and all of a sudden 14 scout experiance flashes on the screen
FUDGE
2 seconds later reds fill my screen. I just saved my group from death as well as me. Does it always give xp no, that might need to be addresed.

As for the multiharvest views expressed in a few posts. What is this gonna do the Hide/Bone Market. Its hard enought earning the cash to pay for way3 buy selling hides, So now make it so Rangers can harvest everything. Oh thats nice now how are scouts gonna earn cash. much too much power in a Rangers hands if you ask me. It takes all of about 30 min to get 1k avian bones already. Make us any more efficent and you kill our own bread and butter.

Fix: Yes Raise the XP requirements on Everything.

Teaming: The Heart of the Ranger
Leading Groups. yes scouts can do it , ch/bh can too but this is where no one is better at it then a ranger? Add rescue and better camps. No complaints from anyone i've ever played with. A nicely time Rescue can save the day as well. It has worked for me, but requires single attacker on victim from my experiance.

Help the newbie scouts, show em the ropes offer to go hunt with them. Let them Camp. You never know when they might have something that you need. The reason for Scout helping is two fold. You help them learn how to play the class, and you can help them hunt bigger game. Anyone working on R/C/P knows that 125,000+ xp Takes a long time every bit helps.

If helping isn't your style, No Problem here, nothing is more frustrating then having someone yell at you because they where capped because they where running around not paying attention to the maulers on the hill 90m away, even though you said something.

So to recap my endless rant. Insted of complaining, why not try differant tactics, differant methods. Rangers are in my eye one of the most powerfull Elite Classes. No Class is as rounded and diverse. Can you kill things as fast no, can you pvp good no, can you run around with 3 rancors yelling at them no (well some can). But you can play to your own strengths and utilize it to your advantage. weither teamed or team or solo.

Is the ranger class perfect? ahh no there are some small things that would be nice. Those have been suggested in previous posts.
We are all here to learn/help all Rangers its time to show some class and act like it.
I'm Blunt and too the point. To each there Own, Happy Hunting

Frustrated Ranger

Gunnar
3rd Tier Ranger, Keren,Naboo Radiant

For the most part I agree. Just two comments.

1) Survial XP: Its just boring to get. You either sit in your camp and wait (doing surveying or something else possibly) or you get with a group of people. For the former, it encourages AFK playing. I'll drop a camp and then go "do something." In a Group, you are now competing with others who are also working on survival XP. (I realy wish that Bounty Hunter did not require Scout Mastery, there would be fewer but more dedicated Scouts)

2) Rangers needs a "Gimmik" to make people say, "Lets get a Ranger in our group instead of just a scout." Players would rather have a real Doctor or Combat Medic instead of Novice Medic. Even the Elite Entertainers will help shorten the down time. Our better camps are not (IMO) so much better then Master Scout camp such that groups would ask for Rangers by name. Even our Ranger traps don't seem to produce much more Wow effect.

-gustavef

...and flame I shall...

"Enough is Enough already, yes there are some flaws and they need to be addresed but reworking the system isn't gonna fix that."

Reworking the system wasn't asked for. What was asked for was some enhancements. A little tweak here, a little there.

"...My mind isn't gonna change."

/sarcasm Well now, that is constructive.

"Stop comparing the SWG ranger to EQ ranger or D&D ranger."

Sorry, going to have to... they are better balanced compared to the other classes. THAT is the point. Not what they do but how they compare in GAME BALANCE. A more direct anologymight be1-4 level rangers (AD&D) getting 1d10 HD/level then suddenly 3 hp/level after 4.

As far as camps go, I have no problems with them. I do have a problem with the "repells hostile creature" bit in the discription. Camps for a Ranger should be our home. Creatures should not be able to spawn in them and not attack unless you attack them. Granted, you should also be a certain distance from lairs and things, I would not mind that bit being added (similar to trying to drop a camp too close to a building). Some creatures should even fear the fire of a Scout camp. As it is now, there is little point to dropping one except for healing and being a Scout is fine for that. I don't mind this, but what then is the diff for a Ranger to do this? Ihave been inlarge groupsand camps were dropping so fast I never even got to the function key. 19 out of 20 can drop one and what do I have to offer? A nice looking camp that heals a little bit faster. What do they need me for? (I was actually asked this too) It does not promote peeps asking me into groups.

"Example B Trapping Xp: My Traps won't work....
...a extra trap or two would be nice, but we can already damage mind pool, lower melee and range defense, snare, dizzy, adhere , shock etc. What else is left?"

I'm sorry but have you been paying attention? Ranger level traps DO NOT FUNCTION. AT ALL. Are you saying by this we don't need them? ...that the devs should just remove them?

"Example C Wayfaring/FieldBio: Maskscent/Multi Harvest...."

I don't mind how maskscent works now. It's a little funky, however. Having itturn "off" on detection might not be the way to go but I can get used to it I suppose. I thought changing it to timed like "burst run" and not allowing successive exp from the same creature when it fails would be more realisting but I'm a software type myself and I can see how shutting it off is easier to code. I do have issue on harvesting... again: No point in going beyond Scout. I have actually been told by my friends that they veiw this as a total waist of exp. Trust me, the markets won't be flooded, the prices will come down AND THEY SHOULD. I know of only two other Rangers on my planet. What is so wrong with getting a*specials* harvest that only a Ranger can get out of a creature? Bet you it would no longer be a "waist of exp" then. Bones are popular and so are Meat. Hides are there because EVERYONE has Scout and Armourers need them (probably the Armourers themselves... see where this is going?). Scout should be the entry level harvester, Ranger the pro. I don't see this as "unbalancing" to give Rangers more harvest ability. If you don't want the market to "flood" then do what they did do surveying and make Scouts less capable at the same time.

And to revisit the group thing... No one beats a path to my door asking me to group with them. They have determined that a Scout in the group is enough. Just why do you suppose that is? I don't see this "Ub3r l33tness" comming out of a Ranger as is... unless it's Ranger/TKA/CH... but wait, not enough skill points for that, gonna have to go Marksman/TKA/CH... oh wait, that's half the server already...