Pyro-Shot(60 Ranger)

[Rain]

Introduction: Have been playing ranger for quite a while and I have to say it's more fun than my staffmaster as a tank, crazy damage, insta killing ability with Called Shot and uni stats make it a solid class. before lvl 40, it could get 90 AC around lvl 25 with the right gear which totally made it invincible for lowbie runs; in LL runs, crit imm and 125ish AC makes it pretty solid in defense as well. As for offense, I'm aiming at max CS dc on a non-zen ranger so both damage and CS are almost the best. Also, with the crafting ingredients being so useful nowadays, maxing search ability on a ranger is becoming essential. But as a note, this ranger is the one I originally had on paper and I'm planning to use soon. Been asked a lot about the one I'm going to reinc into in game when I'm playing my current ranger so this is the outline of it.


What I want in this build:
-- Max CS dc/damage output
-- High self defense (138AC with Strongheart, 66%concealment, Crit Immunity)
-- Uni stats (70str/38dex base, with asmo belt 74str/42dex for checks, enough for any dex check in hell/abo/ely)
-- Decent Saves (65/64/66)
-- Max Search for secrets
-- Enough Concentration skill for abo/ely
-- Crit immunity






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the Build:


This is the ranger I'm playing, it's a Kolyarut version of the salamander one. Sally is nice but without attacking animation it's quite painful to play, plus an ugly appearance. I moved the Sally build below due to not plan to build it with its current animation bug.



This is x3 Demi atm:






60 Ranger

Race/Subrace: Human Kolyarut



Alignment: Any
Stats bonus all go to Strength

Starting stats at lvl1 :
Str:16 (21 after subby change)
Dex:15 (20 after subby change)
Con:10 (12 after ranger bonus)
Int:12 (14 after subby change)
Wis:14 (12 after subby change)
Cha:8 (6 after subby change)

Note: if you plan to play as a non demi, you need to drop 2 con, 2 int for 2 more wisdom so that u can cast lvl 4 spells.


Stats at double demi with +14 item:
Str: 70
Dex: 38
Con: 34
Int: 32
Wis: 30
Cha: 26


Feats:

before Epic:
Blooded
Strong Soul
--Favored Enemy: Outsider
Weapon Proficiency (exotic)
--Favored Enemy: Abberation
Weapon Focus (katana)
Improved Critical (katana)
--Favored Enemy: Shapechanger
Iron Will
--Favored Enemy: Magical Beast
Lightning Reflexes
Extended Spell
--Favored Enemy: Animals

from lvl 20-40:
Great Strength I
--Favored Enemy: Vermin
Great Strength II
--Favored Enemy: Undead
--Favored Enemy: Dragons
Great Strength III
--Favored Enemy: Moustrous Humanoid
--Favored Enemy: Reptilian Humanoids
Great Strength IV
--Favored Enemy: Elf
Great Strength V
--Favored Enemy: Human
--Epic Weapon focus: Katana
Great Strength VI
--Epic Prowess
Great Strength VII
--Bane of Enemies

(Note: the feat with "--" in front means ranger bonus feats)


Legendary feats:
Legendary Skill Affinity (Tumble)
Legendary Weapon Focus (Katana)
Legendary Saving Throw (Hardened Soul)
Legendary Saving Throw (Will)
Great Strength VIII
Great Strength IX
Legendary Saving Throw (Reflex)


Tome: Enchantment
Consumed Artifact: the Hand of Vecna (Strength artifact)
Pandect: Accuracy without sight (call shot+blind fight)



Skills Points(at lvl 60):
Tumble: 60 (only take this after u have LSA:tumble)
Hide: 63
Listen: 63
Discipline: 63
Search: 63
Craft Armor: 63
Craft Weapon: 30
Concentration: 32

Final Save at x2demi:
Fort:65
Reflex: 64
Will: 66






Gear at lvl 60:

Helmet: Visor of Vigilance
Armor: Shroud of the Earth Mother
Cloak: Corruption
Boots: Boots of the Legendary Defense
Belt: Nature's Writhing Waistband
Amulet: Strongheart (Ygrette's Evanescent Locket if you don't have Strongheart)
Bracer: Reach Out and Kill Someone
Main Hand: Crafted Weapon*
Offhand: Stygian Razor
Mote: +5 Listen



Gear Setup at Demi:

Helmet: Visor of Vigilance
Armor: Leather of Betar Underhill
Cloak: Corruption
Boots: Mordenkainen's Mockery (Add a fear imm augment)
Belt: Asmo Belt
Amulet: Strongheart/Ranger's Medal
Bracer: Reach Out and Kill Someone
Main Hand: Crafted Weapon*
Offhand: Stygian Razor
Mote: +5 Listen or Fear Imm



*For Crafted Weapon, check it on the 4 Crafted Weapons on this thread:
highergroundpoa.proboards.com/ind....ay&thread=16190

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Note:
1. I'm definately going to use asmo belt on this cuz the +4 check to con/dex is a big deal. also +30search, unlimited GS is very useful on a pure ranger who canot UMD or scrolls.


2. At demix2, drop 2 wisdom since ur base wisdom will go to 18, the extra 2 points of which don't make sense anyway. 16base wisdom is enough to use extended crit imm. And put it into 2 more Con.


3. No parry at all cuz of the crit imm spell. Even at lvl 50 with only a ranger's belt and armor the crit imm can last long enough before I rest everytime.

4. the other 2 feasible subraces might be Kolyarut and Wemic. As for Wemic, the lack of feat and also large size makes it not comparable to salamander if I'm aiming for 70str; As for Kolyarut, -2wisdom, no bonus beneficial feat is its problem though you can still hit 70str/36dex but with less skill point. Salamander on the other hand not only has enough stats to get 70str/36dex but one more useful epic feat:armor skin, also firewalk and 25%fire imm.

5. Gear setup will be posted once I lvl this there. It's currently lvl 50ish.


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Salamander Version:

60 Ranger

Race/Subrace: Human Salamander

Salamander" (secret Beyond UltraRare; changes Appearance)
- STR +6, DEX +2, INT +2, free feat: Dodge, free feat: Mobility, free feat: Armor Skin, +8 lore, 25% immune fire; can firewalk; speaks Ignan


Alignment: Any
Stats bonus all go to Strength

Starting stats at lvl1 :
Str:16 (22 after subby change)
Dex:15 (17 after subby change)
Con:10 (14 after ranger bonus)
Int:12 (14 after subby change)
Wis:14
Cha:8

Stats at double demi with +14 item:
Str: 70
Dex: 36
Con: 32
Int: 32
Wis: 32
Cha: 28


Feats:

before Epic:
Blooded
Strong Soul
--Favored Enemy
Weapon Proficiency (exotic)
--Favored Enemy
Weapon Focus (katana)
Improved Critical (katana)
--Favored Enemy
Iron Will
--Favored Enemy
Lightning Reflexes
Metamagic (Extend Spell)
--Favored Enemy

from lvl 20-40:
Great Strength I
--Bane of Enemies
Great Strength II
--Epic Weapon Focus (katana)
--Epic Prowess
Great Strength III
--Favored Enemy
--Favored Enemy
Great Strength IV
--Favored Enemy
Great Strength V
--Favored Enemy
--Favored Enemy
Great Strength VI
--Favored Enemy
Great Dexterity I
--Favored Enemy

(Note: the feat with "--" in front means ranger bonus feats)


Legendary feats:
Legendary Skill Affinity (Tumble)
Legendary Weapon Focus (Katana)
Legendary Saving Throw (Hardened Soul)
Legendary Saving Throw (Will)
Great Strength VII
Great Strength VIII
Legendary Saving Throw (Reflex)


Tome: Enchantment (at lvl 41)
Consumed Artifact: the Hand of Vecna (Strength artifact)
Pandect: Accuracy without sight (call shot+blind fight)



Skills Points(at lvl 60):
Tumble: 60 (only take this after u have LSA:tumble)
Search: 63
Hide: 63
Listen: 63
Discipline: 63
Craft Armor: 63
Craft Weapon: 30
Concentration: 30



Final Save at lvl 60 double demi:
Fort:65
Reflex: 63
Will: 67

AC without strongheart is 137, with strongheart AC is 140.

[phalthallus]

Very nice looking build. I was thinking of doing something very similar once I demi my (currently Dex) Wemic Ranger. I had even thought of using Salamander, because I really like some of the abilities and stats.

One question: what's the calculated AB on this at 60, double-demi, etc? I'm wondering if you're better off dropping 2 Great Strength feats to pick up Greater Weapon Focus and Power Crit or something along those lines. You wouldn't lose much, but would gain some offensive benefits. That's something I've been looking at with a few of my tank reincarnations, since the addition of those feats, since Greater Weapon Focus is equal to 2 Great X feats for AB stat points. Granted, Rangers typically have great AB anyway, so it's likely not necessary, but you don't lose much at all really (1 Discipline point and 1 damage point). Maybe take Power Crit and Brutal Throw (for ranged attacks). One thing I've really liked about my dex Ranger is the ability to throw on a bow to CS stuff far away(like Rak's in Malb, Spinagons, etc); Brutal Throw might fit nicely on a strength Ranger for that reason.

Regardless, it seems like dropping 2 GrStr feats for some combo of GWF, Power Crit, or Brutal Throw might be worthwhile. What do you think? The final AB is likely the determining factor for which 2 of those 3 are the most beneficial.

The only other change I would likely make is to swap Craft Armor and Craft Weapon, again for more AB. At 137 AC, and having crit immunity, AND your own concealment, I wonder if maxing Craft Armor is really necessary.

Those are just a couple of my thoughts. It looks like a great build, and those are just some of the considerations I'll probably make when reincarnating my Ranger, to provide more food for thought to others who might use this build.

Nice work!!!

[Rain]

Thanks for the reply phal. The reason why I'm so into the 70str is that 70 is the min stat to get DC59 CS(with pom bracer and ego item). the DC of CS is boosted by 1 per 4 str I get, so dropping 2 str to 68 means 1 less CS dc as well as 1 less ab, 1 less slashing damage.

The first attack ab of this toon at x2demi is 99, 101 if it's a flank attack. I didnot post the calculation earlier it cuz I thought 70str+LWF:Katana+Epic prowess explained all for the ab part .

I agree that Craft Armor might be overrated for a toon that can get 137AC, but the AC gap between a non demi and a demi can be huge for a ranger(+2 from dex, +2 from wis, +3 from asmo arti) so craft armor ac indeed helps for a non demi ranger. But after x2demi, I agree that it's good to drop CA for something else. Actually you can just drop Int for more Con if you want, or rather, drop Int for 1 more dex so you can save the Great dex feat for Great Weapon Focus:Katana or Power Critical:Katana, or even LSF:enchantment for +14blade thirst.

[phalthallus]

Ah, I completely forgot about the Strength-to-CS thing. You're right then, I wouldn't drop the strength either.

Are the 137/140 numbers at double-demi then? If so, then I could see putting more points to CA than CW. I know what you mean, about the additional AC for Rangers (and Monks) on demihood, and agree on that as well. And if you're going to play the "reincarnate at 2x demi" game anyway, that would be the best time to swap those two, or make another change like you mentioned.

[Rain]

Yep, 140AC is at x2demi. and AC difference between a non demi and a x2demi can be huge for a ranger, non demi it's high 120, low 130 depending on how it's geared I think.

But as for the build itself, it doesn't matter whether it's demi or not to make it work. Although as in the note part, at x2demi I'd strongly suggest dropping 2 Wis for 2 more Int or 2 more Con since 18 base wisdom is the same as 16base wisdom for ranger(only difference might be a few more spellslot but that's not a biggie compared to 2 more Int or 2 more Con). However If you donot have +14wisdom gear sorted, 18 base wis will help a lot.

[MightyKhan]

I once made a salamander ranger (back when salamander was about the only BUR race I had) and i really hated the fact that it doesn't show any attack animations when dualwielding...

[gandoron]

I will be reinc'ing my wemic 64/44 ranger to 66 str 42 dex soon. I still like Wemic for ESF Hide/Listen. Gives me more freedom on gear and nice self-conceal %. Stilly high saves, think my fort is 70. 59 CS is silly high on a melee ranger and should be awesome. My Dex assasin is only at 59, of course my brownie runs through the legs of my Wemic. lol.

-G

[Rain]

Actually before I posted this I had all wemic/koly/zenythri/salamander ranger builds on paper cuz I wanna make a comparasion and see which is obviously over the others. And it turned out sally is the best so there's no need for me to post the other versions out considering it's not hard to get salamander tagged.

I don't really have much benefit from wemic feats, called shot can be gained from pandect, ESF:listen from VoV( I don't think I need to explain how awesome this helmet is, just defensive awareness is enough for me to choose it, not to mention str/wis/cha/listen bonus. the only other better hat I might take into account is problly the scarlet lense from aboleth for confuse imm or the ely hat for weird imm). ESF:hide is good stuff.

However, the point of my build is to get 70str/36dex. So if you want to use wemic which has only +4str bonus, you have to start with 18str on creation which wastes quite some points; Koly has the same problem especially considering koly has -2 wisdom, you have to start with 17str/16wis which leaves not much points for the other stats.

[Lythe Featherblade]

I see the enchantment tome, but no legendary focus... just wanted to point out that you can get a helmet (from hive I think) that gives you the same for +13 bladethirsts, just swap it in when you buff. Then you can use transmutation tome and cast on clubs (for instance, vs asmo when your katanas would get slagged).

[Rain]

That's a good thought. The problem is, most time when I need to refresh bt, it's in a battle, so I don't really feel like swapping item around for that. (Personally, I'm using an ego ranger belt with GSF on all school so doesnot really matter which tome I use, though enchantment tome can give me flexible on belt.)

Actually, after getting demi x2 stats, you won't need a base 14wisdom to start with, you can drop wis to 12 when creating at demix2(note you need base15+wis to use extended lvl 4 spells), thus you can create ur toon with 16base dex/12base wis/10 base int to use the Greater Dex I feat slot for LSF:enchantment for +14bt.

I have even thought of grabbing Butal Throw for some fun when discipline can become a problem(like x1demi pen in nessus). I havenot fully tested with this feat yet but will do if I get there.

[MightyKhan]

for bonus to damage&skills reasons, aren't you best off picking your FEs as soon as possible? for example, you can move BoE to level 40 and perhaps recieve +1 more bonus to all your enemies.
note that I am not sure about this: I have only heard a few times that the 1st few enemies receive the biggest bonuses.

[Rain]

Yeah, so I heard of too though not really tested it yet. I chosen Bane of Enemy that early cuz I wanted to get CS right at lvl 35 and also wanna get more damage/ab when lvling this toon. Didnot really think of the order of choosing fe to get more bonus yet. Will take the tip, thanks for the input

[MightyKhan]

now that I take a better look, the same goes for ewf and eprowess. and since youll be reincarnating anyway.. if you move ewf, eprowess and BoE to levels 40, 38 and 35, since all of your FEs will be moved up 5 levels (some more), this will mean at least another +1 to all of those. perhaps minor, but every bit helps

[gandoron]

I am making a Koly version of this build. I just saw that Rain had already posted one. If you start with 16 str 15 dex, and drop armor skin for Gtr Str, you can hit 70/38. That means one less AC, but 2 more dex for checks (one more reflex). I think overall that's a better value. I find that taking 17 or 18 as base stats on creation is almost never worth it, those 3 stat points are almost always better allocated in other areas.

I'm actually trying to decide between Extend and GWF. if I max CraftW my ab will be 102 (iirc) so maybe dropping one ab for extend would be worth it. though lvl 5 slot gear is very hard to come by for extended crit imm. I normally rely on EP belts.

-G

[Lythe Featherblade]

Been playing around with a str version, short a blindfighting pandect right now and strength artis are kind of out of my reach.

Main things I'm not happy about is I'm hoping to fit in at least 1 or 2 more favorite enemies, would love higher saves (or at least reflex), and higher dex. Personally I feel dropping parry is the wrong way to go, but limited points means sacrifices.

also considering the abyss, you want to fit in brutal throw, you want a reliable AB ranged attack as a CS ranger.