Post by laserpointer on Dec 5, 2011 2:39:25 GMT
Introduction:
The Honeydew Pawprint Tracker is a Bugbear subrace, dual-wielding, melee pure ranger tank. This differs from other ranger open subrace builds because it focuses in both dexterity and strength to gain resistance to both types of ability checks and has a varied skill selection including maxed listen and half-maxed concentration while still striving to maintain decent Saving Throw Bonuses, Attack Bonus, and Armor Class.
For a thorough description of Ranger abilities on Higher Ground, please visit the relevant Higher Ground wiki page.
The play style of a melee ranger includes some of the following (some overlap with that of a tank):
(A spell guide is provided after the build progression to help you understand the various key spells)
The Honeydew Pawprint Tracker is dexterity based with some focus in strength and utilizes dual wielding. Higher Ground contains monsters with ability checks, or checks against a players ability score (with a failed check making you knocked down and unable to tank). The most frequent of these that a new player will encounter will probably be Strength and Dexterity, so this build tries to balance increasing AB (Attack Bonus)/AC (Armor Class) with increasing resistance to ability checks.
Being a pure ranger maximizes the effectiveness of ranger spells, grants Improved Evasion, increases the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker's Called Shot DC (Difficulty Class), and grants the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker the possibility to select a maximum number of Favored Enemies, making it versatile in many areas.
On Higher Ground, dual-wielding weapons as a ranger with light armor (with some other restrictions that do not apply to this build, see the wiki page if interested) will allow them to apply twice their wisdom modifier to AC, capped at half their ranger levels. Therefore, dual-wielding weapons is a great way to keep a high AC while gaining extra Attacks per Round (APR) for more damage output.
After achieving immortality, characters are able to take legendary levels (levels 41-60). Rangers gain +1 constitution every 5th level and also gain Evasion (if they have Ranger 25) and Improved Evasion (if they have Ranger 40) at level 41. This gives the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker extra survivability which is invaluable as an open subrace character.
This build uses handaxes because they are slashing and thus are affected by a normal ranger's blade thirst (which is important to increase damage and provide Enhancement bonus if needed), are able to be finessed, can be dual-wielded at only a -2 AB penalty, and have an x3 critical multiplier (which is mediocre but one of the best choices for martial small and tiny slashing weapons). They are also not some of the most difficult weapons to get through trading.
As a new player, the extra AC (Armor Class) from a focused dexterity ability score helps make up for the lack of AC from gear. On the open subraces, with less feats to spare, the good dexterity bonus to reflex saves opens up feats otherwise devoted to increasing reflex (such as on a strength-based ranger). The immunities provided by Ranger spells (especially the elemental immunity from Protection from Elements) are also invaluable to new players without strong gear, as described above. There are many saving throw checks in Legendary Level areas, and thus this build aims to have all saving throw modifiers at or above 60 in order to be a sturdy tank.
Final Build Statistics:
Any assumptions beyond mundane gear (this build dual wields handaxes and uses padded armor) are listed in parentheses. "Magical" bonus is a bonus applied from a spell or from gear.
Attack Bonus, Called Shot DC, and all saving throws would increase by +1 if using equipment with +14 magical ability bonuses (Specifically, dexterity increases reflex saves, called shot DC, and attack bonus, wisdom increases will saves, and constitution increase fortitude saves). AC would not increase because the maximum dexterity bonus from light armor (changed in Higher Ground) is 21, which the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker achieves without the use of +14 dexterity from gear.
Final Ability Scores:
At level 40:
Format: Unbuffed ability score/Ability score with +12 magical ability bonus
At level 60:
Format: Unbuffed ability score/Ability score with +12 magical ability bonus/with +14 magical ability bonus
Note: Here on higher ground it is possible to get a +14 magical ability bonus from items acquired in the Hells and other legendary level areas.
Build Progression Summary:
Here is a summary of feats, abilities, and skills. For an explanation of each choice and a step-by-step leveling guide, please review the next section.
Race: Human
Subrace: Bugbear (requires Human, grants +2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 CON, -3 INT, -3 CHA, changes Appearance)
Alignment: Any, though some legendary level areas will make you evil if you want to play in them so it can be a bit of a hassle to stay of non-evil alignment if you want to play in these areas.
Ability Scores:
Format: Ability score on creation/with subrace edits
Initial Ability Scores:
While leveling, increase dexterity 10 times (from 1-40), then (in Legendary Levels) wisdom 2 times, then dexterity 4 times, then strength 4 times.
Feats:
NOTE: Favored Enemy Feats are listed in a separate feats section of this summary that comes first
Favored Enemy Feats (in order):
Pre-Epic Feats (in order):
*Note: As a new player, I would drop this for Blind Fight if you are having trouble in pre-Legendary Level areas. Afterwards you can reincarnate to get rid of it when your listen skill is high enough to be better at penetrating concealment than blind fight.
Epic (non-Bonus) Feats (in order):
Epic Bonus Feats (in order):
Legendary Bonus Feats (in order):
Skills:
*Note: If you want to have more AC in your pre-legendary levels you can drop concentration (which is taken primarily to protect against concentration checks in Legendary Level areas) to take tumble from levels 1-42 cross class and later reincarnate to get concentration.
Level-by-Level Build Progression:
Explanations of choices made and why they enhance the build's overall effectiveness are italicized and orange.
Choices that have "(Automatic)" precede them are automatically applied to the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker and are not taken manually.
Note: If you want to have more AC in your pre-legendary levels you can drop concentration (which is taken primarily to protect against concentration checks in Legendary Level areas) to take tumble from levels 1-42 cross class and later reincarnate to get concentration.
Race: Human
Subrace: Bugbear (requires Human, gives +2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 CON, -3 INT, -3 CHA, changes appearance) (Bugbear improves the valuable STR and DEX scores that the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker needs to tank while giving a penalty to CHA which the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker does not use and a penalty to INT which is not a big concern because this build can get its core skills with only 12 INT)
Alignment: Any (But some areas of the module make you evil, so it can be a hassle to maintain non-evil status if you want to play in these areas)
Special Build-Enhancing (non-Gear) Items:
Artifact: There are special items in the game known as artifacts. Some of these increase one of a character's ability score by +2 points. If you can acquire one, I recommend applying the Constitution Artifact (The Orb of Dragonkind) to your character. This is because, aside from its +2 Constitution bonus, it grants absolute immunity to poison. There are certain monsters in legendary level areas that have ability checks vs instant death that can only be stopped completely by immunity to poison (even item-level immunity to poison will not prevent death on a failure or autofail (a roll of 1)). One of the important aspects of a tank is avoiding death, and the CON Artifact is a major boon in this aspect.
Otherwise, the dexterity artifact (Mask of Vhaerun) is also a good choice because it increases your Called Shot DC, AB, and AC by 1. You must be level 55 to use an ability enhancing artifact, and you can only use 1 ability enhancing artifact ever on a character.
Pandect: (short for Pandect of Darkest Secrets) There are certain books in the game called Pandects that grant your character a specific extra feat (or feats). I recommend using the Pandect of Blindness without Sight because it will give your character the called shot feat. If you choose to reincarnate the character (rebuild it from scratch), you can choose another feat instead of the called shot feat (In such a case, I recommend taking Weapon Proficiency - Exotic and using kukris). The Weapon Crafting, Armor Crafting, Sneak Attack, and Epic Energy Resistance pandects are also applicable to this build. You must be level 56 to use a Pandect, and you can only read 1 Pandect ever on a character.
Tome: (short for Wondrous Tome of Ancient Lore) There are certain tomes in the game that can grant a character a specific Epic Spell Focus. I recommend reading the Enchantment tome because Epic Spell Focus (ESF): Enchantment will increase the enhancement bonus of your blade thirst spell. The Transmutation tome is also a good choice because it will allow you to keen non-slashing weapons on your allies using blade thirst. You must be level 41 to use a Tome, and you can only read 1 Tome ever on a character.
Dragon Blood: As an open subrace character the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker can drink a dragon's blood to gain a free feat. I recommend drinking the Blood of Dachy if you can find it as it will grant you the dodge feat for free, giving this build +1 AC.
Gear Suggestions:
Armor Class: Armor, Natural, Deflection, and Dodge should always be covered as high as possible. High AC as a dexterity-based tank is vital to survival.
Ability Bonuses: Always try to fit in +12 to Strength, +12 to dexterity, +12 to constitution, and +12 to wisdom from items. You can relax one or two of these (except Wisdom) somewhat if you have better gear options and you feel like casting Bull's Strength, Endurance, or Cat's Grace. Once you get to 60, try to fit in an item with +14 Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, or Wisdom, as this will increase your ability to tank.
Immunities: Immunities to death magic and fear should always be covered by gear. Poison is good for Hells and several other areas, though if you can't fit in poison you can cast Polymorph Self: Giant Spider. Elemental immunities are good to cover from rings, if you can find any immunity rings, for certain areas (especially hells).
Mord/Breach Immunity: There are certain items in higher ground with immunity to Mordenkainen's Disjunction or Breach spells. You will only be able to use these if you are level 40 or above, at a minimum (some items require level 60 or a specific accomplishment in the game to wear). If you know that a legendary level area contains Mord or Breach, I strongly recommend forgoing other gear in favor of Breach or Mord immunity. Breach immunity can be covered by rings or boots and is almost always present in Hell and also present in some legendary level areas. Mord immunity can be covered via rings and won't occur as often in Hell though will be present in Desert, Locathah Depths, and other legendary level areas.
There is a ring that drops 100% of the time in the desert areas called Bauphin's Bulwark that will grant immortal characters immunity to Mordenkainen's Disjunction.
Spell Slots: Any item with extra ranger spell slots (especially 3 and 4) is a good choice, but generally I would recommend against making this a deciding factor for a new player.
Weapons: There is a handaxe that drops at Uroboros Peak (Rimefang) which I recommend trying to get first after you become immortal to replace any shop weapons (unless you manage to get one of the random handaxes that drop in level 35-40 areas). The other two places where good handaxes drop (and also any other weapon) are on Dustbone (one of the Legendary Level dragons, he is the boss of the desert areas) and on Dispater (a lord of the second layer of Hell). There are also ultra-rare handaxes that drop randomly in legendary level areas.
Pre-Legendary Levels, I recommend trying to focus mainly on the ability scores (dexterity and strength especially) and AC from any items you have.
Ultra-Rare Gear Suggestions (Level 40+ Gear):
Ultra-Rares can be acquired in legendary level areas.
Beyond Ultra-Rare Gear Suggestions (Level 60 Gear):
Spell Guide:
Here is a list of ranger spells that are useful to you and their effects/applicability. Bolded and underlined spells are ones that are the most important overall at Legendary Levels.
For the more important spells, I recommend slotting at least 2 of them per rest. If you die, these spells will end and you will need to recast them unless you rest.
Level 1:
Level 2:
Level 3:
Level 4:
Extra Playing Tips:
As a Honeydew Pawprint Tracker there will be some difficulties you will run into. I will try to list the major difficulties I can here and explain how to best cope with them.
Without innate critical immunity you will be succeptible to devastating critical from certain enemies. Remember to ask if anyone in party can provide you with critical immunity (a bard with the epic spell, Dirge of the Deathless) before you try to tank such an enemy (typically a boss or mini-boss). Your maxed parry skill helps alleviate critical hit damage.
Because your spells are a good part of your survivial, after you die it can be very difficult to keep tanking. Try to slot multiple spells of the most important ones (camouflage, polymorph self, invisivility purge) and move away from combat or use a greater sanctuary potion after you die to rebuff. If you play in a penalty area such as Hells where your AC will be decreased, you can cast Polymorph Self: Pixie to regain vital AC before you can obtain another Aura of Vitality, Undeath's Eternal Foe, or Bard Song (spells/abilities from different classes in a party that can increase your dodge AC). Another possibility is using an item with Epic Mage Armor (such as the Immortal Crown)
Another good item to help survival after death is the Belt of Eternal Preservation. Equip this item when you rest (you can un-equip it afterwards until you need to use it) in order to be able to cast Greater Restoration on yourself after you die in a penalty area. This will eliminate all penalties for a short time to allow you to tank with less difficulty. You can also use the special power to give yourself complete critical hit immunity for a short time.
Your strength score of 32 (34 with +14 strength from gear) will make you susceptible to knockdown attacks from Pit Fiends (a monster in hell) and some other monsters. If you have a bard in your party, try to stay inside a Bard's UUU circle (A bard epic standing for Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken). It looks like a circle marked by flashy wispy blue lights going up and down - ask a Bard whether it is up if youdon't know what it looks like. This will make you more resistant to ability checks causing knockdown. With UUU and +14 strength from gear you will only fail on a 1 versus regular pit fiends!
Also, if you can become a demigod, the best choice of a demigod artifact to use is The Serpent's Coil, which can increase your resistance to knockdown attacks.
It can be hard to get hide skill from items as a new player including other points to cover. To get around this try to equip hide skill boost items, cast Camouflage for concealment, then re-equip your better gear. Remember to make sure you are not losing ranger spell slots that you want to keep while doing this!
Reincarnation Suggestions:
Once you get to level 40 and beyond, you will begin to encounter different methods of acquiring new unlockable subraces, more powerful than the standard (called "open") subraces.
If you decide to reincarnate, I recommend you use a subrace that gives you either one of your key feats or improves your Strength/Dexterity scores.
Examples of Secret Subraces that are good choices are Tiefling and Kurai (because of their Str/Dex ability boosts). I recommend keeping your strength at the same as it is for this build and when you hit a base strength score of 20, improve dexterity instead. This is because the strength score is used to make ability checks, whereas the extra dexterity improves AB and Called Shot DC.
Examples of Ultra-Rare Subraces that are good choices are Stinger (have to offset the Wisdom penalty slightly though), Lycan, and Planewalker (Planewalker decreases Strength by -2. But its elemental immunities and free Water breathing/Striding survival abilities are invaluable).
Examples of Beyond Ultra-Rare Subraces that are good choices are Wemic, Kolyarut, Zenythri.
Alternatives and Final Thoughts:
Decent alternate weapon selections would be rapiers (18-20 critical range instead of a 20 range from handaxes, but suffers -4 ab dual-wielding penalty because they are medium weapons) and kukris (18-20 critical range but requires exotic weapon proficiency).
You can also choose to tinker with the ability stat spread a bit. If you can acquire a +14 wisdom item, it would be best to drop 2 points of wisdom allocated during Legendary Levels and instead put those towards dexterity (for AB/AC/Called Shot DC) or strength (to resist strength checks). If you aren't planning to go to the Hells until you reincarnate, you can safely drop Great Dexterity feats and take the dexterity ability bonuses instead of strength ability bonuses on level up to pick up feats such as LSF: Listen (to hit concealed enemies more often) or more Great Dexterity.
Reversing strength and dexterity scores is also possible, but without 40 strength for critical hit immunity via Polymorph Self: Zombie (you would need to pick up Reflex feats to make the reflex high enough to resist important saving throw DCs), it is somewhat lack-luster in comparison. The benefit is that you can resist Strength Checks much more viably, which tend to be somewhat more common than Dexterity ones in Hell, if you want to play there (at least the high checks).
Alternate ranger builds include the Kurtulmak's Chosen, a pure dex based kobold ranger, and the Deadwood Sniper, a zen archery (wisdom-based) ranger that uses a shortbow.
The ranger is a great choice if you like tanks and are new to the server. Its unique self-buffing abilities, called shot special ability, special damage/AB bonuses against favored enemies, free dual-wielding feats, and wisdom AC are great bonuses that help define its niche as a ranger tank. Have fun!
The Honeydew Pawprint Tracker is a Bugbear subrace, dual-wielding, melee pure ranger tank. This differs from other ranger open subrace builds because it focuses in both dexterity and strength to gain resistance to both types of ability checks and has a varied skill selection including maxed listen and half-maxed concentration while still striving to maintain decent Saving Throw Bonuses, Attack Bonus, and Armor Class.
For a thorough description of Ranger abilities on Higher Ground, please visit the relevant Higher Ground wiki page.
The play style of a melee ranger includes some of the following (some overlap with that of a tank):
- Seeks out monsters that are susceptible to the Ranger special ability Called Shot (changed to grant an insta-kill ability on Higher Ground) and instantly kills them
- Focuses on dangerous monsters and tries to keep them occupied off of the less-sturdy casting-focused characters
- Casts spells to improve the effectiveness of yourself and your party, especially as a new player to alleviate the lack of a variety of immunities from gear
(A spell guide is provided after the build progression to help you understand the various key spells)
The Honeydew Pawprint Tracker is dexterity based with some focus in strength and utilizes dual wielding. Higher Ground contains monsters with ability checks, or checks against a players ability score (with a failed check making you knocked down and unable to tank). The most frequent of these that a new player will encounter will probably be Strength and Dexterity, so this build tries to balance increasing AB (Attack Bonus)/AC (Armor Class) with increasing resistance to ability checks.
Being a pure ranger maximizes the effectiveness of ranger spells, grants Improved Evasion, increases the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker's Called Shot DC (Difficulty Class), and grants the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker the possibility to select a maximum number of Favored Enemies, making it versatile in many areas.
On Higher Ground, dual-wielding weapons as a ranger with light armor (with some other restrictions that do not apply to this build, see the wiki page if interested) will allow them to apply twice their wisdom modifier to AC, capped at half their ranger levels. Therefore, dual-wielding weapons is a great way to keep a high AC while gaining extra Attacks per Round (APR) for more damage output.
After achieving immortality, characters are able to take legendary levels (levels 41-60). Rangers gain +1 constitution every 5th level and also gain Evasion (if they have Ranger 25) and Improved Evasion (if they have Ranger 40) at level 41. This gives the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker extra survivability which is invaluable as an open subrace character.
This build uses handaxes because they are slashing and thus are affected by a normal ranger's blade thirst (which is important to increase damage and provide Enhancement bonus if needed), are able to be finessed, can be dual-wielded at only a -2 AB penalty, and have an x3 critical multiplier (which is mediocre but one of the best choices for martial small and tiny slashing weapons). They are also not some of the most difficult weapons to get through trading.
As a new player, the extra AC (Armor Class) from a focused dexterity ability score helps make up for the lack of AC from gear. On the open subraces, with less feats to spare, the good dexterity bonus to reflex saves opens up feats otherwise devoted to increasing reflex (such as on a strength-based ranger). The immunities provided by Ranger spells (especially the elemental immunity from Protection from Elements) are also invaluable to new players without strong gear, as described above. There are many saving throw checks in Legendary Level areas, and thus this build aims to have all saving throw modifiers at or above 60 in order to be a sturdy tank.
Final Build Statistics:
Any assumptions beyond mundane gear (this build dual wields handaxes and uses padded armor) are listed in parentheses. "Magical" bonus is a bonus applied from a spell or from gear.
- Attack Bonus: 95 (with +12 magical dexterity bonus, +20 magical AB bonus, and +1 Craft Weapon Bonus); 97 vs favored enemies
- Armor Class: 138 (with +12 magical dexterity and wisdom bonus and using level 60 gear that gives +17 to AC), 134 (with +12 magical dexterity and wisdom bonus and using level 40 gear that gives +16 to AC)
- Fortitude: 61 (with +20 magical saving throw bonus and +12 constitution)
- Reflex: 64 (with +20 magical saving throw bonus and +12 dexterity)
- Will: 58 (with +20 magical saving throw bonus and +12 wisdom)
- Called Shot DC (the fortitude saving throw that favored enemies must succeed against or be instantly killed): 53 (using +12 magical dexterity bonus)
- Access to 4th and lower ranger spells
- Improved Evasion
Attack Bonus, Called Shot DC, and all saving throws would increase by +1 if using equipment with +14 magical ability bonuses (Specifically, dexterity increases reflex saves, called shot DC, and attack bonus, wisdom increases will saves, and constitution increase fortitude saves). AC would not increase because the maximum dexterity bonus from light armor (changed in Higher Ground) is 21, which the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker achieves without the use of +14 dexterity from gear.
Final Ability Scores:
At level 40:
Format: Unbuffed ability score/Ability score with +12 magical ability bonus
- Strength: 16/28
- Dexterity: 34/46
- Constitution: 10/22
- Intelligence: 12/24
- Wisdom: 14/26
- Charisma: 5/17
At level 60:
Format: Unbuffed ability score/Ability score with +12 magical ability bonus/with +14 magical ability bonus
- Strength: 20/32/34
- Dexterity: 44/56/58
- Constitution: 14/28/30
- Intelligence: 12/24/26
- Wisdom: 16/28/30
- Charisma: 5/17/19
Note: Here on higher ground it is possible to get a +14 magical ability bonus from items acquired in the Hells and other legendary level areas.
Build Progression Summary:
Here is a summary of feats, abilities, and skills. For an explanation of each choice and a step-by-step leveling guide, please review the next section.
Race: Human
Subrace: Bugbear (requires Human, grants +2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 CON, -3 INT, -3 CHA, changes Appearance)
Alignment: Any, though some legendary level areas will make you evil if you want to play in them so it can be a bit of a hassle to stay of non-evil alignment if you want to play in these areas.
Ability Scores:
Format: Ability score on creation/with subrace edits
Initial Ability Scores:
- Strength: 14/16
- Dexterity: 16/18
- Constitution: 8/10
- Intelligence: 15/12
- Wisdom: 14/14
- Charisma: 8/5
While leveling, increase dexterity 10 times (from 1-40), then (in Legendary Levels) wisdom 2 times, then dexterity 4 times, then strength 4 times.
Feats:
NOTE: Favored Enemy Feats are listed in a separate feats section of this summary that comes first
Favored Enemy Feats (in order):
- Vermin
- Animals
- Magical Beasts
- Dragons
- Monstrous Humanoids
- Undead
- Elves
- Elementals
- Constructs
- Reptilian Humanoids
- Outsiders
- Abberations
Pre-Epic Feats (in order):
- Blooded
- Strong Soul
- Weapon Finesse
- Weapon Focus: Handaxe
- Improved Critical: Handaxe
- Greater Weapon Focus: Handaxe
- Called Shot
- Iron Will*
*Note: As a new player, I would drop this for Blind Fight if you are having trouble in pre-Legendary Level areas. Afterwards you can reincarnate to get rid of it when your listen skill is high enough to be better at penetrating concealment than blind fight.
Epic (non-Bonus) Feats (in order):
- Armor Skin
- Great Dexterity I
- Great Dexterity II
- Great Dexterity III
- Great Dexterity IV
- Great Dexterity V
- Great Dexterity VI
Epic Bonus Feats (in order):
- Epic Weapon Focus
- Bane of Enemies
- Epic Prowess
- Favored Enemy
- Favored Enemy
- Favored Enemy
- Favored Enemy
Legendary Bonus Feats (in order):
- Legendary Skill Affinity: Tumble
- Legendary Hardened Soul
- Legendary Weapon Focus: Handaxe
- Great Dexterity VII
- Great Dexterity VIII
- Great Dexterity IX
- Great Dexterity X
Skills:
- Concentration: 30*
- Craft Weapon: 40
- Discipline: 63
- Listen: 63
- Parry: 63
- Tumble (increase ranks starting at level 43): 60*
*Note: If you want to have more AC in your pre-legendary levels you can drop concentration (which is taken primarily to protect against concentration checks in Legendary Level areas) to take tumble from levels 1-42 cross class and later reincarnate to get concentration.
Level-by-Level Build Progression:
Explanations of choices made and why they enhance the build's overall effectiveness are italicized and orange.
Choices that have "(Automatic)" precede them are automatically applied to the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker and are not taken manually.
Note: If you want to have more AC in your pre-legendary levels you can drop concentration (which is taken primarily to protect against concentration checks in Legendary Level areas) to take tumble from levels 1-42 cross class and later reincarnate to get concentration.
Race: Human
Subrace: Bugbear (requires Human, gives +2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 CON, -3 INT, -3 CHA, changes appearance) (Bugbear improves the valuable STR and DEX scores that the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker needs to tank while giving a penalty to CHA which the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker does not use and a penalty to INT which is not a big concern because this build can get its core skills with only 12 INT)
Alignment: Any (But some areas of the module make you evil, so it can be a hassle to maintain non-evil status if you want to play in these areas)
Level | Class | Abilities | Skills | Feats |
1 | Ranger | 14-Strength 16-Dexterity 8-Constitution 15-Intelligence 14-Wisdom 8-Charisma | +4 Concentration (Prevents spells from being interrupted while casting; also allows you to resist concentration checks versus disarm and instant death in legendary level areas) +4 Craft Weapon (On Higher Ground, Craft Weapon grants 1 ab for every 40 modified points of Craft Weapon) +4 Discipline (Protects against some knockdown, slagging (losing weapons/armor), and other checks) +4 Hide (Increases your concealment when casting the spell Camouflage) +4 Listen (On Higher Ground, listen lowers the effective concealment of enemies for your attacks; at higher points of this skill (above 60) it is better than even blind fight) +4 Parry (On Higher Ground, parry grants partial immunity to the damage from critical hits) | Blooded (Qualifies you for Legendary Skill Affinity: Tumble at legendary levels, allowing you to take tumble as a class skill then. You will gain +6 AC by doing this because otherwise you would have to take tumble as a cross-class skill) Strong Soul (Increases your fortitude and will by +2 and also qualifies you for Legendary Hardened Soul to increase your saving throws to resist many high DCs) Favored Enemy: Vermin (Vermin are common in the very lowest levels in the game, especially beetles and rats. They also appear scattered throughout legendary level areas, especially the Hive.) (Automatic) Armor proficiency (light) (Automatic) Armor proficiency (medium) (Automatic) Dual-Wield |
2 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
3 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Weapon Finesse (Weapon Finesse will allow you to apply your dexterity bonus to AB, increasing you chance of hitting enemies and thus dealing damage) | |
4 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity (As you level up from 1 to 40, dexterity will be most important because it increases your AB and AC, two of the most vital statistics for a tank) | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | |
5 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Animals (Many enemies especially in low-level areas have animals in them. In Legendary Levels animals are scattered throughout many areas) | |
6 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Weapon Focus: Handaxe (This increases your AB with a handaxe by 1, to allow you to hit enemies more. It also qualifies you for more AB enhancing feats, including Epic Weapon Focus and Legendary Weapon Focus) | |
7 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
8 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | |
9 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Improved Critical: Handaxe (Increases your chance of scoring critical hits, therefore increasing your damage as a tank against non-critical hit immune enemies) (Automatic) Improved Two-Weapon Fighting | |
10 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Magical Beasts (Magical Beasts, such as basilisks, manticores, and other strange beasts, occur occasionally in pre-Legendary Level areas and are present in some Legendary Level areas) | |
11 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
12 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Greater Weapon Focus: Handaxe (This increases your AB with a handaxe by 1, helping you score damage on enemies) |
13 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
14 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
15 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Called Shot (Called Shot has been modified on Higher Ground to give Rangers the ability to mark a Favored Enemy. When they land a hit on this target they must make a Fortitude Save vs Death. This is a core ability for a pure ranger to make them an instant killer) (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Dragons (Dragons occur as bosses in many areas like Ssithrak and Avernus, both before and after immortality. They are also present as regular mobs in Uroboros and Elysium) | |
16 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | |
17 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
18 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Iron Will (This will grant you +2 to will saves, helping you resist saving throw DCs throughout the mod)* *Note: If you are a new player who is struggling in pre-Legendary Level areas, I recommend taking Blind Fight instead because it will give you a higher bonus than your listen skill until legendary levels. You can then reincarnate to take Iron Will at level 40 or above when Blind Fight is no longer worth taking. | |
19 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
20 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Monstrous Humanoids (Monstrous Humanoids occur infrequently throughout legendary level areas and are also heavily present in the Aboleth legendary level areas) |
21 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Armor Skin (Increases your AC by +2 to avoid getting hit) | |
22 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
23 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Bane of Enemies (Grants +2 AB and 2d6 damage against your favored enemies.) | |
24 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Great Dexterity I (It is important to maximize your dexterity for AB, AC, and Called Shot DC) |
25 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Epic Weapon Focus: Handaxe (Grants +2 AB when wielding a handaxe and is a prerequisite for Legendary Weapon Focus, which adds more AB) | |
26 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Epic Prowess (Increases your AB by 1, and grants another +1 AB with Legendary Weapon Focus (for that specific weapon | |
27 | Ranger | +1 Concentration +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Great Dexterity II | |
28 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | |
29 | Ranger | +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Undead (While undead cannot be targeted with Called Shot, there are numerous undead in both in pre-Legendary Level and Legendary Level areas, such as the Hall of Kings, Catacombs of Dulvuroth, and Desert/Dustbone. You will get bonus AB/AC against them by choosing this feat.) | |
30 | Ranger | +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Great Dexterity III (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Elves (Elves are common in the Drow areas where you will need to go as a precursor to immortality. They are quite tough and having them as a favored enemy will help you defeat them quicker). | |
31 | Ranger | +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
32 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Elementals (Elementals are common in many Legendary Level areas including the elemental planes, desert, and Locathah Depths) |
33 | Ranger | +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Great Dexterity IV | |
34 | Ranger | +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
35 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Constructs (Constructs appear scattered throughout legendary level areas, including Toyshop, Ssithrak Dimension and even the Hells. While you can't use called shot on them, taking this feat will increase your damage and AB when fighting them.) (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Reptilian Humanoids (There is one group of Legendary Level areas almost exclusively filled with Reptilian Humanoids. They are also common in Locathah Depths) | |
36 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Great Dexterity V |
37 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
38 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Outsiders (This is a common type of enemy you will see in many legendary level areas such as the Hells, Pit of Moliation, and Elysium) | |
39 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Great Dexterity VI | |
40 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Bonus Feat) Favored Enemy: Abberations (This is a common type of enemy in Legendary Level areas, including Penumbra with Illithids, Beholders, Aboleths, and Pit of Moliation) |
41 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | (Automatic) Evasion (Automatic) Improved Evasion | |
42 | Ranger | +1 Wisdom (In Legendary Levels, your will save becomes much more important. Also, as a level 40 ranger, you will be able to add more Wisdom modifier to your AC, capped at a +20 bonus from 30 wisdom. | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Legendary Skill Affinity: Tumble (You will be able to take tumble as a class skill, effectively allowing you to gain +12 AC from tumble instead of +6 AC by taking it as a cross-class skill) |
43 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +46 Tumble (Tumble gives +1 AC for every 5 ranks spent in the skill. As a tank, AC is vital to survival and thus it is wise to raise tumble to 60 ranks for a total of +12 AC) | ||
44 | Ranger | +1 Wisdom | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | |
45 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | Legendary Hardened Soul (With many Will and Fortitude DC checks in Legendary Level areas, it is important to raise the will and fortitude saves to a high score early on) | |
46 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | |
47 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | ||
48 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | Legendary Weapon Focus: Handaxe (Grants +3 AB with Epic Prowess when wielding a handaxe, maximizing the potential to hit enemies) |
49 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | ||
50 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | |
51 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | Great Dexterity VII | |
52 | Ranger | +1 Dexterity | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | |
53 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | ||
54 | Ranger | +1 Strength (Raising strength helps avoid being knocked down by powerful monsters in end game areas such as the Hells) | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | Great Dexterity VIII |
55 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | ||
56 | Ranger | +1 Strength | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | |
57 | Ranger | +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble | Great Dexterity IX | |
58 | Ranger | +1 Strength | +1 Craft Weapon (60 ranks in tumble grants the maximum AC bonus possible from the skill. Extra points are better spent on Craft Weapon to help increase AB) +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | |
59 | Ranger | +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | ||
60 | Ranger | +1 Strength | +1 Craft Weapon +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry | Great Dexterity X |
Special Build-Enhancing (non-Gear) Items:
Artifact: There are special items in the game known as artifacts. Some of these increase one of a character's ability score by +2 points. If you can acquire one, I recommend applying the Constitution Artifact (The Orb of Dragonkind) to your character. This is because, aside from its +2 Constitution bonus, it grants absolute immunity to poison. There are certain monsters in legendary level areas that have ability checks vs instant death that can only be stopped completely by immunity to poison (even item-level immunity to poison will not prevent death on a failure or autofail (a roll of 1)). One of the important aspects of a tank is avoiding death, and the CON Artifact is a major boon in this aspect.
Otherwise, the dexterity artifact (Mask of Vhaerun) is also a good choice because it increases your Called Shot DC, AB, and AC by 1. You must be level 55 to use an ability enhancing artifact, and you can only use 1 ability enhancing artifact ever on a character.
Pandect: (short for Pandect of Darkest Secrets) There are certain books in the game called Pandects that grant your character a specific extra feat (or feats). I recommend using the Pandect of Blindness without Sight because it will give your character the called shot feat. If you choose to reincarnate the character (rebuild it from scratch), you can choose another feat instead of the called shot feat (In such a case, I recommend taking Weapon Proficiency - Exotic and using kukris). The Weapon Crafting, Armor Crafting, Sneak Attack, and Epic Energy Resistance pandects are also applicable to this build. You must be level 56 to use a Pandect, and you can only read 1 Pandect ever on a character.
Tome: (short for Wondrous Tome of Ancient Lore) There are certain tomes in the game that can grant a character a specific Epic Spell Focus. I recommend reading the Enchantment tome because Epic Spell Focus (ESF): Enchantment will increase the enhancement bonus of your blade thirst spell. The Transmutation tome is also a good choice because it will allow you to keen non-slashing weapons on your allies using blade thirst. You must be level 41 to use a Tome, and you can only read 1 Tome ever on a character.
Dragon Blood: As an open subrace character the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker can drink a dragon's blood to gain a free feat. I recommend drinking the Blood of Dachy if you can find it as it will grant you the dodge feat for free, giving this build +1 AC.
Gear Suggestions:
Armor Class: Armor, Natural, Deflection, and Dodge should always be covered as high as possible. High AC as a dexterity-based tank is vital to survival.
Ability Bonuses: Always try to fit in +12 to Strength, +12 to dexterity, +12 to constitution, and +12 to wisdom from items. You can relax one or two of these (except Wisdom) somewhat if you have better gear options and you feel like casting Bull's Strength, Endurance, or Cat's Grace. Once you get to 60, try to fit in an item with +14 Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, or Wisdom, as this will increase your ability to tank.
Immunities: Immunities to death magic and fear should always be covered by gear. Poison is good for Hells and several other areas, though if you can't fit in poison you can cast Polymorph Self: Giant Spider. Elemental immunities are good to cover from rings, if you can find any immunity rings, for certain areas (especially hells).
Mord/Breach Immunity: There are certain items in higher ground with immunity to Mordenkainen's Disjunction or Breach spells. You will only be able to use these if you are level 40 or above, at a minimum (some items require level 60 or a specific accomplishment in the game to wear). If you know that a legendary level area contains Mord or Breach, I strongly recommend forgoing other gear in favor of Breach or Mord immunity. Breach immunity can be covered by rings or boots and is almost always present in Hell and also present in some legendary level areas. Mord immunity can be covered via rings and won't occur as often in Hell though will be present in Desert, Locathah Depths, and other legendary level areas.
There is a ring that drops 100% of the time in the desert areas called Bauphin's Bulwark that will grant immortal characters immunity to Mordenkainen's Disjunction.
Spell Slots: Any item with extra ranger spell slots (especially 3 and 4) is a good choice, but generally I would recommend against making this a deciding factor for a new player.
Weapons: There is a handaxe that drops at Uroboros Peak (Rimefang) which I recommend trying to get first after you become immortal to replace any shop weapons (unless you manage to get one of the random handaxes that drop in level 35-40 areas). The other two places where good handaxes drop (and also any other weapon) are on Dustbone (one of the Legendary Level dragons, he is the boss of the desert areas) and on Dispater (a lord of the second layer of Hell). There are also ultra-rare handaxes that drop randomly in legendary level areas.
Pre-Legendary Levels, I recommend trying to focus mainly on the ability scores (dexterity and strength especially) and AC from any items you have.
Ultra-Rare Gear Suggestions (Level 40+ Gear):
Ultra-Rares can be acquired in legendary level areas.
- Light Armor: Leather of Betar Underhill (gives ranger slots, good ability bonuses, physical immunities and DR)
- Light Armor: Pads of Cruamros Trickfoot (while not ranger-specific, is padded armor and still has decent immunties/abilities)
- Boots: Aasgart's Aversion (Breach immunity with physical immunities)
- Amulet: Lich-King's Phylactery (Gives most all standard immunities you need without having to worry about covering them elsewhere)
- Belt: Nature's Writhing Waistband (ranger slots and good abilities and saves)
- Gloves: Death Grip (good physical immunities, abilities, and saves)
- Helmet: Sylvan Diadem (Ranger slots, abilities, saves)
- Cloak: Parson's Preserver (exotic resistance and physical immunities)
Beyond Ultra-Rare Gear Suggestions (Level 60 Gear):
- Light Armor: Shroud of the Earth Mother (Padded armor for maximum dex bonus, ranger spell slots, nice skills, abilities, and immunities)
- Boots: Mordenkainen's Mockery (Breach immunity and physical immunities)
- Amulet: Amulet of the Pharaoh (Physical resists, fear/poison immunity, elemental immunities)
- Belt: Coil of Grabduk (Exotic resistance)
- Gloves: Manacles of Mephistopheles (Regeneration, saves, spell level immunity, constitution/strength ability bonuses, fire/physical immunity) or Gauntlets of Transposed Energy (High physical damage resistance, also physical immunities and strength ability bonus)
- Helmet: Visor of Vigilance (Great skill boosts and free Epic Skill Focus: Listen, also gives wisdom/strength ability bonuses)
- Cloak: Corruption (Elemental Resists, physical immunity and dexterity/wisdom ability bonuses)
Spell Guide:
Here is a list of ranger spells that are useful to you and their effects/applicability. Bolded and underlined spells are ones that are the most important overall at Legendary Levels.
For the more important spells, I recommend slotting at least 2 of them per rest. If you die, these spells will end and you will need to recast them unless you rest.
Level 1:
- Camouflage: Grants you conceal based on your hide skill - remember to equip hide skill bonus items before casting!
- Resist Elements: 4/- damage resistance to all elements, good if you have no other source
- Grease: Ccan slow enemies and knock them down on an autofail
Level 2:
- Bull's Strength: Adds a magical bonus to strength; good until you can get +12 strength bonus from gear
- Cat's Grace: Same as Bull's Strength except grants dexterity
- Endurance: Same as Bull's Strength except grants Constitution
- Protection from Elements: Grants 1% damage immunity to all elements per 2 ranger levels (including legendary ranger levels) once the character reaches ranger level 21. This spell is invaluable for you because as a new player it will be hard to cover all your damage immunities and can get a free +30% immunity to Fire, Acid, Electric, Cold, and Sonic at level 60 just by casting this spell.
- One with the Land: Transports you to a safe resting spot so that you don't have to use your rest ring. The rest ring is an item you will find throughout your journey that allows you to rest in certain areas but only has a limited number of charges. This will only work in outdoor areas, so areas like the Hells won't have a use for this spell, but it can be useful in Elysium and Rona (two other legendary level areas).
Level 3:
- Aid: Grants you a +1 attack bonus, some temporary hit points and a +1 bonus to fear. This spell is good to gain a +1 attack bonus, which will stack with other sources of magical AB to a cap of +20. In areas that apply a penalty to AB and when you don't have a good source of magical AB (like a cleric), this spell is handy to use.
- Invisibility Purge: This will apply an aura around you that will lower enemy concealment by 8% at level 60. This should always be active when possible in areas with monsters that have high concealment, such as in the hells. Coupled with a maxed listen skill, the Honeydew Pawprint Tracker has a great advantage in damaging concealed opponents. Note: This spell will only last 6 minutes, unlike other buffs, so remember to recast it when it wears off.
- Remove Disease: This spell will remove any diseases off of you or a party member. In legendary level areas there are dangerous special diseases that monsters can inflict upon you and your allies that can only be removed with a high-level remove disease spell. If someone else in your party can cover using this spell, then it is recommended you slot Invisibility Purge and Blade Thirst instead. However, it can come in handy if your party has a limited source of high level remove disease and needs it.
- Blade Thirst: This spell empowers slashing weapons with keen. Also, when applied to your own weapons, it will give you a positive damage die bonus of up to 4 when you reach level 51 (this means that any positive damage bonus on your weapon has its number of dice increased by 4, so a 2d12 positive damage bonus will become 6d12. If there is no positive damage bonus, the spell will apply a 4d4 bonus instead).
Level 4:
- Freedom of Movement: This spell will increase you or your party member's movement speed by 2 m/s at level 60, which is a huge noticeable boost. It also protects against some domination and entangling effects and other miscellaneous effects that occur in Legendary Level areas.
- Polymorph Self: This spell has been changed to give different effects (each individual effect will stack with other distinct Polymorph Self effects, so you can have a Polymorph Pixie effect and Polymorph Zombie effect active at the same time) based on the polymorph selection. Giant spider will give you poison immunity (good if you can't cover it through gear), troll will give you regeneration (not that great compared to other forms), Umber Hulk will give you stun immunity for a short time (Good when there are stunning effects present because this is hard to cover via items), Pixie will give you levitation and dodge ac equal to half your wisdom modifier (so +5, which is great for areas that apply a penalty to dodge AC), and Zombie will give you waterbreathing. This spell, like Protection from Elements, is immensely useful to provide yourself with immunities that you can't cover easily with gear as a new player.
- Mass Camouflage: This is an area of effect version of camouflage. Since this is a level 4 spell (where other spells are more valuable), I recommend using camouflage instead, unless your party requests a mass camouflage.
- Foebane (requires HG Enhanced): Gives you +2 DC to your next Called Shot attempt. Not that great because it only works for one attempt, so I recommend slotting another Polymorph Self instead.
Extra Playing Tips:
As a Honeydew Pawprint Tracker there will be some difficulties you will run into. I will try to list the major difficulties I can here and explain how to best cope with them.
Without innate critical immunity you will be succeptible to devastating critical from certain enemies. Remember to ask if anyone in party can provide you with critical immunity (a bard with the epic spell, Dirge of the Deathless) before you try to tank such an enemy (typically a boss or mini-boss). Your maxed parry skill helps alleviate critical hit damage.
Because your spells are a good part of your survivial, after you die it can be very difficult to keep tanking. Try to slot multiple spells of the most important ones (camouflage, polymorph self, invisivility purge) and move away from combat or use a greater sanctuary potion after you die to rebuff. If you play in a penalty area such as Hells where your AC will be decreased, you can cast Polymorph Self: Pixie to regain vital AC before you can obtain another Aura of Vitality, Undeath's Eternal Foe, or Bard Song (spells/abilities from different classes in a party that can increase your dodge AC). Another possibility is using an item with Epic Mage Armor (such as the Immortal Crown)
Another good item to help survival after death is the Belt of Eternal Preservation. Equip this item when you rest (you can un-equip it afterwards until you need to use it) in order to be able to cast Greater Restoration on yourself after you die in a penalty area. This will eliminate all penalties for a short time to allow you to tank with less difficulty. You can also use the special power to give yourself complete critical hit immunity for a short time.
Your strength score of 32 (34 with +14 strength from gear) will make you susceptible to knockdown attacks from Pit Fiends (a monster in hell) and some other monsters. If you have a bard in your party, try to stay inside a Bard's UUU circle (A bard epic standing for Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken). It looks like a circle marked by flashy wispy blue lights going up and down - ask a Bard whether it is up if youdon't know what it looks like. This will make you more resistant to ability checks causing knockdown. With UUU and +14 strength from gear you will only fail on a 1 versus regular pit fiends!
Also, if you can become a demigod, the best choice of a demigod artifact to use is The Serpent's Coil, which can increase your resistance to knockdown attacks.
It can be hard to get hide skill from items as a new player including other points to cover. To get around this try to equip hide skill boost items, cast Camouflage for concealment, then re-equip your better gear. Remember to make sure you are not losing ranger spell slots that you want to keep while doing this!
Reincarnation Suggestions:
Once you get to level 40 and beyond, you will begin to encounter different methods of acquiring new unlockable subraces, more powerful than the standard (called "open") subraces.
If you decide to reincarnate, I recommend you use a subrace that gives you either one of your key feats or improves your Strength/Dexterity scores.
Examples of Secret Subraces that are good choices are Tiefling and Kurai (because of their Str/Dex ability boosts). I recommend keeping your strength at the same as it is for this build and when you hit a base strength score of 20, improve dexterity instead. This is because the strength score is used to make ability checks, whereas the extra dexterity improves AB and Called Shot DC.
Examples of Ultra-Rare Subraces that are good choices are Stinger (have to offset the Wisdom penalty slightly though), Lycan, and Planewalker (Planewalker decreases Strength by -2. But its elemental immunities and free Water breathing/Striding survival abilities are invaluable).
Examples of Beyond Ultra-Rare Subraces that are good choices are Wemic, Kolyarut, Zenythri.
Alternatives and Final Thoughts:
Decent alternate weapon selections would be rapiers (18-20 critical range instead of a 20 range from handaxes, but suffers -4 ab dual-wielding penalty because they are medium weapons) and kukris (18-20 critical range but requires exotic weapon proficiency).
You can also choose to tinker with the ability stat spread a bit. If you can acquire a +14 wisdom item, it would be best to drop 2 points of wisdom allocated during Legendary Levels and instead put those towards dexterity (for AB/AC/Called Shot DC) or strength (to resist strength checks). If you aren't planning to go to the Hells until you reincarnate, you can safely drop Great Dexterity feats and take the dexterity ability bonuses instead of strength ability bonuses on level up to pick up feats such as LSF: Listen (to hit concealed enemies more often) or more Great Dexterity.
Reversing strength and dexterity scores is also possible, but without 40 strength for critical hit immunity via Polymorph Self: Zombie (you would need to pick up Reflex feats to make the reflex high enough to resist important saving throw DCs), it is somewhat lack-luster in comparison. The benefit is that you can resist Strength Checks much more viably, which tend to be somewhat more common than Dexterity ones in Hell, if you want to play there (at least the high checks).
Alternate ranger builds include the Kurtulmak's Chosen, a pure dex based kobold ranger, and the Deadwood Sniper, a zen archery (wisdom-based) ranger that uses a shortbow.
The ranger is a great choice if you like tanks and are new to the server. Its unique self-buffing abilities, called shot special ability, special damage/AB bonuses against favored enemies, free dual-wielding feats, and wisdom AC are great bonuses that help define its niche as a ranger tank. Have fun!