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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 18, 2011 3:58:46 GMT
8 Legs Up on the CompetitionIndex:
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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 18, 2011 3:59:07 GMT
Why Ranger?Rangers have a good mix of defensive and offensive capabilities, which allow them to survive well even with very limited equipment and in solo or less than ideal party situations. Why Wisdom based Zen Ranger?The calling card of the Ranger on Higher Ground is Called shot, and this build is designed to have the highest DC possible by an open subrace, and only 1 point below a BUR subrace. Called shot forces Favorite Enemies to make a fort save vs death, and if they fail it (and aren't crit or death immune) they die. This allows a Zen Ranger to be a very effective sniper, able to take out enemies at range with just a single hit. Being an archer also allows you to stay in the back of the group when there are enemies that you do not want to be near. This is especially helpful for new players who may not have the gear to survive toe to toe with tougher foes at higher levels. Why this particular zen ranger? Called Shot isn't the only ability rangers have, and 8 Legs Up is designed to be as versatile as possible, both to make it as easy as possible for a new player to adapt to the server and do well even with less than optimal gear, and to give as broad an experience as possible to make it easier for them to figure out what they want in a character when they reincarnate to a higher tier subrace or start their next character. Zen Rangers are well known for being very limited, focused so much around a high Called Shot DC (~3 points higher than melee Called Shot) that they give up pretty much else to do so. This build is intended to prove that this doesn't have to be true. From level 1-35+, Zen Rangers generally have a hard time because high damage bows don't exist, and Called Shot doesn't start working until level 35. 8 Legs Up is intended to melee from level 1, and retains effective melee capability all the way up to level 60. The signature Ranger weapon buff, Bladethirst, starts being useful around level 21, and feat selection ensures that a player can cast this buff on any weapon they find at that point, at double duration thanks to Extended Spell. The reliance on a high wisdom as opposed to melee feats also ensures that any weapon found can be used equally well, preventing a character from being handicapped because they haven't found a specific weapon yet. Later on, feats are taken to make sure bladethirst goes all the way to +14 enhancement bonus, which allows it to penetrate higher level damage immunities. This makes 8 Legs Up more valuable to pickup groups, as it isn't uncommon to lack casters that can cast +14 or better weapon enhancement spells. While 8 Legs Up isn't a true tank, it tanks well enough in 90% of the game that a new player doesn't feel frustrated and squishy, and can make an informed decision on wanting to play tanks in the future. As an archer, it will have the option to stand back with a ranged weapon and be at its best performance for those areas where it shouldn't tank. Due to high AC and other ranger defensive bonuses, it can do quite well even as a tank in less than optimal gear. Another useful tool for rangers is the ranger pet, as well as the ability to charm animals in nearly every area of the game. This helps for adding extra damage when good weapons might still be lacking, reduces the number of enemies faced and makes it easier overall to survive areas when leveling up. Finally, it is designed around easy to get permanent consumables (pandects, artifacts, tomes etc), giving a new player a better chance at reaching the full potential of the build So in short 8 Legs Up on the Competition: - Is really good at its primary purpose to the point where it can contribute in any area of the game
- is very versatile, allowing a player to figure out their favorite playing style
- is adaptable, with group friendly abilities
- does not need specific weapons, allowing a new player to be effective with whatever they find
- does not need specific armor, can survive well on minimal gear
- is designed around the easiest of consumables making it easier for new players to get them
Race: during character creation, for Race you will select Half-Elf. In the Subrace box, enter "Drider" (without the quotations). After logging in the first time, this should change your appearance and adjust the stats appropriately. Half-Elves (can speak Elven) - All half-elves receive 1 additional skill point per level. Skill points for levels prior to 41 will be granted upon taking level 41 at the Altar of Legends. - All half-elves can acquire Legendary Skill Affinity Spot and Listen in legendary levels. "Drider"- FCs: Highest Class, Barbarian - STR +1, INT -1, WIS +2, CHA -2, free feat: Blind Fighting, Diamond Body, 50% vulnerable fire, increases character size to large, able to walk on quicksand, speaks Drow, speaks Undercommon, knows Drow Sign Language While this may be an oddball and little used race, it is actually very powerful and works very well for a zen ranger. It has a few downsides that the build allows you to get around. The large size may make movement in crowded areas hard, but as an archer you don't need precise manoeuvering as you can just hang back. The fire vulnerability can be a pain, but a dragon blood (easy to get at 40+) will reduce that to 20%, and rangers get a spell that scales up to 30% elemental immunity (to all elements) by level 60. In return, you gain significant benefits over many other subraces. Walking on Quicksand gives you a limited form of levitation, which means you don't need to wear a levitation ring for hazardous terrain, gaining you an extra ring slot for immunities. Diamond body makes you immune to all poisons, including ones that normally ignore item based poison immunity. Blind Fight negates a defensive penalty against unseen enemies, and reduces enemy conceal to allow you to hit more often. What if I hate playing a drider because it's too big/can't customize armor/too uglyThis is a build that's designed for new players to find out what they want and to have fun. So if drider really isn't your cup of tea: "Dryadkin"- FC: Druid - WIS +2, STR -1, CON -1, speaks Animal, speaks Sylvan Your starting stats change slightly, dropping starting Int by 1 and raising starting Str and Con by 1. All feats and skills can stay the same, and you get a smaller race with customizable appearance. You lose your poison immunity, the Blind Fight feat and your sandwalking, but also your fire vulnerability. You are a medium race instead of large, and you can now customize your armor's appearance. The loss that may hurt the most is blindfighting, as it helps you reduce the conceal enemies have, but if you sacrifice ~20 points each of craft armor/weapon and put them into Listen you regain the offensive part of Blind Fight. If you've already leveled up a bit and don't want to start from scratch, at level 21+ you always have the option of Reincarnation to change your race or rebuild your character completely. To avoid confusion, other than starting stats, the rest of the stats in this guide will assume you are going Drider. The only real change for Dryadkin is picking up some listen (as noted above) and choice of Dragon Blood (noted in the Permanent Item section) Pre-Epic Feats (in order): - Blooded
- Intuitive attack
- Zen Archery
- Weapon Focus Shortbow
- Spell Focus Transmutation
- Greater Spell Focus Transmutation
- Lightning Reflexes,
Epic (non-Bonus) Feats (in order): - Metamagic: Extended Spell
- Great Wisdom 1
- Great Wisdom 2
- Great Wisdom 3
- Great Wisdom 4
- Great Wisdom 5
Epic Bonus Feats (in order): - Bane of Enemies
- Epic Prowess
- Favored Enemy
- Favored Enemy
- Favored Enemy
- Favored Enemy
- Favored Enemy
- Favored Enemy
- Favored Enemy
- Epic Weapon Focus Shortbow
Legendary Bonus Feats (in order): - Legendary Skill Affinity: Tumble
- Legendary Spell Focus Enchantment
- Legendary Weapon Focus Shortbow
- Legendary reflexes
- Great Wisdom 6
- Great Wisdom 7
- Great Wisdom 8
Favored Enemy Feats (in order): This list has the most common enemies you'll be facing as you level to 60. - Vermin
- Animals
- Undead
- Elves
- Dragons
- Magical Beasts
- Monstrous Humanoids
- Elementals
- Fey
- Reptilian Humanoids
- Outsiders
- Abberations
Skills point allocation at 60- discipline 63 high discipline can prevent various negative effects, such as having equipment slagged/disarmed at high levels
- hide 63 combined with the spell Camouflage will give you up to 66% concealment
- parry 63 reduces damage taken from critical hits
- tumble 60 gives 12 tumble AC
- craft armor 43 every 40 points gives +1 to AC
- craft weapon 63 every 40 points gives +1 to Attack Bonus
- Animal Empathy 63 will allow you to dominate various animals
- concentration 20 needed to resist various enemy specials at higher levels
Stats at 60 | With +12 gear | With +14 gear | Max | Ranged AB | 97 | 98 | 101 (with +8 craft weapon bonus from gear, vs favorite enemies) | Melee AB | 89 | 90 | 93 (with +8 craft weapon bonus from gear/song, vs favorite enemies) | Ranged AC | 133 | 135 | 136 (with +28 craft armor from gear/song) | Melee AC | 127 | 129 | 130 (with +28 craft armor from gear/song) | CS DC | 57 | 58 | 60 (with PoM gloves and ranger ego item) | Fortitude | 56 | 57 | 60 (With Saves artifact) | Reflex | 56 | 57 | 60 (With Saves artifact) | Will | 68 | 69 | 72 (With Saves artifact) |
While the Fortitude and Will saves are a little low for a pure melee, as a Zen ranger they are survivable. My highest character is a zen ranger who has been to pretty much every part of the game, and my saves are 58 Fortitude and 62 Reflex. The Melee Attack Bonus is a little low too, but should be similar to a Tier 2 melee with an open subrace (especially a dual wielder). Randomly browsing other Tier 2 melee builds, I came across the following stats: 95 AB (monk, pure rogue), 94 AB (pure monk, shadowdancer x2), 93 AB (assassin). All builds were single weapon builds, add dual wielding penalties (or just wield a single weapon) and you'll fit right in. The other thing to consider, is that until the mid 40's when most builds pick up Legendary Weapon Focus, this build is only at most 3 points behind on Attack Bonus (lacking the melee weapon focus feats), and makes up for that by having a maxed out primary stat. Even 2 other melee rangers were only 3 and 4 points higher respectively. And while it may be a little low, that's only considering the hardest areas of the game. Most of the game it's fine, and for the hard areas you still have a very good ranged attack bonus for your primary method of combat. Why melee as a Zen ranger? Especially considering how much lower the Attack bonus is vs bow? Damage wise, the answer is in this screenshot. Sniper Ranger of the Woods is a zen ranger using his cold bow against a Pit Fiend, a critical immune nasty that gets more common the deeper you go into the Hells(the cold bow is the best choice). My zen ranger, Lythe Fernrunner, is using 2 clubs. This is an extreme example.. Normal hits against a pitfiend for my zen ranger are closer to 100-110 per hit, in this case the casters in the party have reduced its damage immunities a bit. However, even normal hits do well above what the other zen ranger does with his bow.
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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 18, 2011 3:59:32 GMT
Level 1-20 Progression[/size] Race | Half-elf | Subrace | Drider | Alternate Subrace | Dryadkin | Gender | Your choice | Alignment | Doesn't matter |
Ability | Drider at creation | Drider after subrace | ___ | Dryadkin at creation | Dryadkin after subrace | Strength | 8 | 9 | | 9 | 8 | Dexterity | 10 | 10 | | 11 | 10 | Constitution | 12 | 12 | | 13 | 12 | Wisdom | 18 | 20 | | 18 | 20 | Intelligence | 15 | 14 | | 14 | 14 | Charisma | 8 | 6 | | 8 | 8 |
Level | Feats (Automatic Feats) | __Ability__ | ______Skills:_____
| 1 | Blooded (This is a prerequisit for your level 43 feat Legendary SKill Affinity: Tumble, after which Tumble becomes a class allowing you to get the full +12 tumble AC by 60) Favorite Enemy: Vermin Diamond Body (Makes you immune to all poisons) Blind Fight (from subrace) Negates a defensive penalty vs unseen opponents, and reduces the conceal enemies have Armor proficiency (light) Armor proficiency (medium) Dual-Wield | | +4 animal empathy +4 craft armor +4 craft weapon +4 discipline +4 hide +4 parry | 2 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 3 | Intuitive Attack (Allows you to use your Wisdom bonus instead of Strength to count towards your Attack Bonus for the following weapons:Club, Dagger, Goad, Heavy Mace, Kama, Katar, Light Mace, Nunchaku, Quarterstaff, Scimitar, Shuriken, Sickle, and Spear(Can't use this without Exotic feat)( Using this weapon cancels your Wisdom AC bonus) | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 4 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 5 | Favorite Enemy: Animals | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 6 | Zen Archery (Allows you to use your wisdom instead of your dexterity for Attack Bonus when using a bow) | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 7 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 8 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 9 | Weapon Focus Shortbow Improved Two Weapon Fighting | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 10 | Favorite Enemy: Undead | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 11 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 12 | Spell Focus Transmutation (this is a prerequisit for Greater Spell Focus Transmutation) | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 13 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 14 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 15 | Greater Spell Focus Transmutation (Allows you to cast your Bladethirst spell on all weapon types. Normally Bladethirst only works on Slashing weapons) Favorite Enemy: Elves | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 16 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 17 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 18 | Lightning Reflexes (+2 to reflex saves, prerequisit for Legendary Reflexes) | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 19 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 20 | Favorite Enemy: Dragons | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry |
Guidelines Level 1-20 you will be meleeing, using whatever storebought weapon you can find with the best enhancement or +hitroll and +damage added. After level 3, you will want to use any of the following weapons, as these will use your wisdom bonus for +attack: Club, Dagger, Heavy Mace, Katar, Light Mace, Scimitar, Sickle, and Spear. While 9 strength may appear low for damage, this will only affect you at the lower levels. As you get higher, weapons will have more and more damage added. As an example, a weapon from Dustbone (a dragon) that can be gained at level 40+, will look like this: wiki.hgweb.org/w-hg/images/a/ab/TrinityBeautifier.jpgDustbone melee weapons (and various other melee weapon sets) are available for every type of weapon with this kind of damage setup, letting you pick any weapon type you want with the guarantee that there are good weapons available later in the game. Gear: You will be using mostly storebought gear, with the occasional nice item found adventuring. While you may want to use a shield and medium armor at level 1, you'll want to switch to dual wielding and light armor by level 6. As a ranger you gain an AC bonus from wisdom if you are wearing light armor. For the most part you want to concentrate on getting your AC as high as possible, via AC bonus and maybe Dexterity bonus. As you get higher, +Wisdom gear will help you hit more. Haste items can be found that are usable as low as level 9, and by level 12 or 13 you should have a haste item of some sorts. At level 10+ you may want to start keeping an eye out for items with elemental resistances, especially fire. You may also want to find items with immunity to fear and to mind affecting spells.
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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 18, 2011 4:14:27 GMT
Level 21-40 ProgressionLevel | Feats (Automatic Feats) | __Ability__ | ______Skills:_____
| 21 | Metamagic: Extended Spell (Allows you to memorize spells at 1 slot higher, gaining double duration. Primarily used for Bladethirst) | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 22 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 23 | Bane of Enemies (Gives you +2 attack and +2d6 damage vs favorite enemies) | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 24 | Great Wisdom I | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 25 | Epic Prowess (Gives you +1 attack bonus with any weapon) | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 26 | Favorite Enemy: Magical Beasts | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 27 | Great Wisdom II | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 28 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 29 | Favorite Enemy: Monstrous Humanoids | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 30 | Great Wisdom III Favorite Enemy: Elementals | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 31 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 32 | Favorite Enemy: Fey | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 33 | Great Wisdom IV | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 34 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 35 | Favorite Enemy: Reptilian Humanoids Favorite Enemy: Outsiders | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 36 | Called Shot (As a ranger with 35+ levels, this allows you to instantly kill favorite enemies if they fail a fortitude save) | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 37 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 38 | Favorite Enemy: Abberations | | +1 animal empathy +1 craft weapon
+1 craft armor |
[/color] +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry[/td][/tr] [tr][td] 39 [/td][td] Great Wisdom V [/td][td][/td][td]+1 animal empathy +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry[/td][/tr] [tr][td] 40 [/td][td] Epic Weapon Focus Shortbow [/td][td]+1 Wisdom[/td][td]+1 animal empathy +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry[/td][/tr] [/table] At level 40: Ability | Base | With +12 bonus | Strength | 9 | 21 | Dexterity | 10 | 22 | Constitution | 12 | 24 | Wisdom | 35 | 47 | Intelligence | 14 | 26 | Charisma | 6 | 18 |
Gear: By level 24/25 you will be able to find/buy items that bring AC to +10 for each slot. You will also be able to get items with multiple stats, such as the Champion Belt from the Finely Crafted Imports, which gives +4 str/dex/con, and 2 regeneration. You will want to get your wisdom to +12 as soon as you can. At level 30+ you should be finding decent items while adventuring, better than storebought items.
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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 18, 2011 4:14:47 GMT
Level 41-60 ProgressionLevel | Feats (Automatic Feats) | __Ability__ | ______Skills:_____
| 41 | Evasion Improved Evasion | | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 42 | Legendary Skill Affinity: Tumble (Allows you to put points into tumble as a class skill) | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry | 43 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +46 tumble | 44 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 45 | Legendary Spell Focus Enchantment (Important: You can only take this feat if you've already read a Wonderous Tome of Ancient Lore: Enchantment. If you haven't read this tome, continue to take Great Wisdom feats until you have. This will upgrade your bladethirst spell to give +14 enhancement bonus) | | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 46 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 47 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 48 | Legendary Weapon Focus Shortbow (gives +2 to AB, and an additional +1 if you already have Epic Prowess) | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 49 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 50 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 51 | Legendary Reflexes (Gives +7 to reflex saves, requires Lightning Reflexes) | | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 52 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 53 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 54 | Great Wisdom VI | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 55 | | | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 56 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 57 | Great Wisdom VII | | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry +1 tumble | 58 | | +1 Wisdom | +1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry
+1 tumble |
[/color][/td][/tr] [tr][td]59[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]+1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry[/td][/tr] [tr][td]60[/td][td] Great Wisdom VIII[/td][td]+1 Wisdom[/td][td]+1 animal empathy +1 concentration +1 craft armor +1 craft weapon +1 discipline +1 hide +1 parry[/td][/tr] [/table] At level 60: Ability | Base | With +12 bonus | With +14 bonus | Strength | 9 | 21 | 23 | Dexterity | 10 | 22 | 24 | Constitution | 16 | 28 | 30 | Wisdom | 48 | 60 | 62 | Intelligence | 14 | 26 | 28 | Charisma | 6 | 18 | 20 |
Notable gear to watch out for: At level 40+ you will be able to find and wear items where the AC goes up to +17 for all slots and +12 to all stats (you can ignore intelligence and charisma). You also want to round out your immunities: it will be handy to have at least 10/- to slashing/piercing/bludgeoning, 20/- to all elements, 10/- to all exotics. It is also handy to have immunity to a variety of effects including knockdown, death magic, fear, paralysis, level drain, ability drain and quite a few other things. Death magic and fear are probably the key ones, but it is quite doable to get most if not all. Item wise, the main advice is to go with what you find. This build can do well with less than optimal gear, so if you don't find a specific armor or pair of boots, you'll still do fine. wiki.hgweb.org/wiki/Aftershock wiki.hgweb.org/wiki/Bilefang wiki.hgweb.org/wiki/Kiss_of_Flame These weapons always drop on the run Desert, and few people pick them, so they are good melee weapons starting out until you can find better. wiki.hgweb.org/wiki/Tormentilwiki.hgweb.org/wiki/Mandrakewiki.hgweb.org/wiki/HelleboreThese bows can drop on the Uroboros run, and will be your main weapons once you have them. The elemental damage will scale up based on your wisdom, and should hit 6d8 once you have 58+ wisdom. These bows automatically produce unlimited ammo when equipped. If you don't have a good bow yet, there is a bow called Huntress in the Finely Crafted Imports shop that gives +15 to hit. For arrows, you may want to ask in game if someone can help you find the ranger secret items. This you can probably get to at level 35, and you will find several items including a quiver of endless arrows plus a nice set of armor (usable at level 39). wiki.hgweb.org/wiki/Nature%27s_Writhing_WaistbandThis belt can randomly drop in any level 40+ area, and will be the best item you can wear for spellslots. Between your high wisdom and this belt, you should easily have enough spellslots for any setup and don't have to worry about finding ranger specific items for your other slots. Once you enter the Hells, Abyss or Hades, you can find items randomized with +14 to individual stats. Stats from multiple items cap at +12 when added together, but Level 60 items can have up to +14 to a stat and when they do, you get the +14 bonus from them. Immunity ringsOne huge key to survival is rings that give immunities to various elemental and exotic damage types. While the rest of your gear may not change much from run to run, rings tend to get swapped out between runs or even mid fight to cover whatever immunity you may need most. For instance, some Rare immunity rings give some immunity (50%-75%) to 2 different elements, or 25% immunity to one exotic and either +12 to a stat or +25% to an element. Ultrarare immunity rings give 50-75% immunity to 2 elements and 25% to 1 exotic. Beyond Ultrarare immunity rings (level 60) give 75% immunity to 2 elements, 25% to 1 exotic, and 10% to all other elements. All these percentages are a starting point that tends to get modified by the randomization of gear. Having the right immunity rings can be key to surviving most higher level areas. You will want to build up a collection of rings of all types, and many veteran players often only have 1 set of good rings that they swap onto whatever character they happen to play.
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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 18, 2011 20:17:10 GMT
Permanent items that benefit your character: These are permanent items that bind to your character without taking up a gear slot and improve your character when used. You can only ever use 1 of each type, and once used there is no way to unbind them. Artifact: Higher Grounds has 2 types of artifacts: wearable, and permanent. At level 55 and higher you can bond to a permanent artifact and always get the benefits. You may only ever have 1 artifact in your inventory, and you may only ever bond to 1 artifact, but once you've bonded to an artifact you can pick up and wear a wearable artifact again. For this build the saves artifact gives the most benefit ( Tymora's Lucky Charm) The saves artifact is also the least used artifact on the server, making it the easiest to win in a loot split or cheapest buy. Pandect: Pandects (short for Pandect of Darkest Secrets) are items that when consumed, give 1 or more feats. They are found on a level 60 run (Minauros) and can be used at level 55+. Only one such item can be used on a character. The best pandect for this character is the Rapid Fire pandect, which will give you the feat Rapid fire (giving you an extra attack with a bow). Tome: (short for Wondrous Tome of Ancient Lore) Characters can get an Epic Spell Focus feat by reading the appropriate tome. The Enchantment tome with Epic Spell Focus (ESF): Enchantment will increase the enhancement bonus of your blade thirst spell to +13. This build requires you to read this tome before taking the feat Legendary Spell Focus Enchantment, after which your bladethirst will give +14 enchantment and allow you to better penetrate higher level damage reduction. You must be level 41 to read a Tome, and you can only read 1 Tome ever on a character. Dragon Blood: An open subrace can drink a dragon's blood to gain a free feat or reduce an elemental vulnerability. Any dragon blood should reduce a Drider's 50% fire vulnerability to 20%. You can only ever drink 1 dragon blood, and they can be found in level 40 areas. Both the blood of Dachy and the blood of Sissy should be attainable by a group of level 40 characters. The blood of Uroboros is a little harder to get at that level, but Uroboros is often slain by small groups or solo players of higher level, so may also be easy to get. If you have a dragon's blood, you can drink it at any level. If you are a Dryadkin or other race without elemental vulnerabilities, you may want to drink a specific blood. The Blood of Dach'xilith'az'ichityl (Dachy) in this case would give you the feat Dodge, while the Blood of Uroboros would give you the feat Cleave.
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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 18, 2011 20:21:10 GMT
Spell Guide:This guide lists only the spells I commonly use at higher levels. Level 1:- Camouflage: Gives you concealment based on your hide skill and ranger level, capping at 66% at level 60.
- Summon Monster I: Summons an ally to aid you. Useful at higher levels, allies get improved to elementals. Summon Monster 1 elementals can be almost as powerful as Summon Monster 4 (4th circle). You can use Barkskin, Cat's Grace, Bull's Strength, Greater Magic Fang and Bladethirst to buff your summons.
Level 2:- Protection from Elements: Gives you immunities to all elemental damage of level/2, capping at 30% at level 60
- One with the land: Lets you rest safely in natural areas where you would otherwise not be able to rest by taking you to a safe map. (note: if solo this would despawn the map you are on)
Level 3:- Bladethirst:This keens your weapon, gives it an enhancement bonus, adds to the positive damage on your weapon (vs favorite enemies), and adds vampiric regeneration at higher level. You will want to use extended versions that take up 4th circle slots and last twice as long.
- Invisibility Purge: This will lower the conceal of enemies near you. Works best at high levels, short duration
- Remove Disease: Very handy in various high areas, can cure diseases that Restoration can't. Some diseases (those that discolor your health bar) are better removed with Saintsblood Pearls (lesser restoration) from the item shop.
Level 4:- Freedom of Movement: Lets you run faster and provides immunities to various effects that would otherwise slow you down
- Polymorph Self: Doesn't actually transform you, but gives you an benefit from whatever form you pick. Multiple polymorphs can be active at the same time. The most commonly used one is Troll, gives regen equal to wis modifier, so at high levels can give +26 to regen that stacks with any other regen.
- Mass Camouflage: Works like camouflage, except that your partymembers also get conceal based on your ranger level and their hide skill.
- Foebane: Short duration, gives you a bonus of +2 to your next Called Shot attempt. Useful to cast just before a fight where you know you need to (and can) take out a specific enemy very quickly with CS.
Ability Guide:The ranger has 2 abilities that stand out. Called Shot, which deserves its own subsection, and Animal Empathy. Animal Empathy lets you dominate enemies of the Animal, Beast or Magical Beast subtype, giving you one more ally and one less enemy. It can be used at all levels of the game but really comes into its own at higher levels, where hostile animals can be very common and very powerful. To use it, all you have to do is right click on an enemy, and then select Animal Empathy from the radial menu (if this is greyed out, that particular enemy can't be dominated). You have to be fairly close and not be fighting, and gear can be worn to increase your skill and your success rate. If your 'pet' dies, you can just dominate another.
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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 18, 2011 20:21:25 GMT
Called ShotAs the primary ability of the Zen ranger, Called Shot (CS) deserves its own section. Called shot, when used by a ranger with 35+ ranger levels, marks a target. This only works on favorite enemies. If you have the enhanced graphics, you will see a green mark above the head of the target. This mark will remain for 12 seconds, or until the ranger who marked the target lands a hit. If the latter happens, the target (provided it is not critical immune, death immune, or has 120 parry) makes a fortitude save vs the DC of the CS. If it fails the save, it dies. If it makes the save, it still loses Constitution equal to 1/10th (rounded down) the number of ranger levels the ranger has (non-stacking, so only on the first save). For a level 60 ranger, this means that the target has a base 3 lower for the next fortitude save it has to make, thus making additional CS attempts more likely to succeed. A ranger can only mark a target every 6 seconds. It has to be a favorite enemy, and has to be vulnerable to CS. Attempting to mark a critical immune target will give a floating message indicating so, and the ranger still has to wait 6 seconds until being able to mark a new target. The target does not have to be one that the ranger is currently engaged with. There are 3 ways of activating CS. 1 - Hotkey set up via radial menu. Right-click on an empty hotkey, click on "Assign Special Attacks", click on "Called shot" (arm or leg, doesn't matter). 2 - Hotkey macro. Right-click on an empty hotkey, click on "Custom Text Macro". At "Enter Label" type what you want to show up on your hotkey bar (I use CS). At "Input command" type in "!action CS opponent" (no quotations) 3 - Right-click on an opponent, hit Numberpad 3,3 All 3 ways are useful, and I always use them all, depending on the situation. How they work: Method 1 - when this hotkey is hit, your cursor changes, and you have to left-click on your opponent. You do not have to be engaged to the opponent, and this action does not engage you. If you click left-again, you engage that opponent. This can be the fastest way of engaging (and killing) a target, but can be hard when you want to get specific targets in a crowded group. Method 2 - when this hotkey is hit, it automatically targets whatever opponent you are engaging. It does not work if you haven't attacked an opponent yet, or if you are in melee and they are running away. This is best used when you know what target you are fighting, and just want to mark them (or mark them again). Method 3 - this sequence marks an opponent, but does not engage them. This can be very useful if you are trying to pick out a specific opponent in a crowded group. You still have to engage them to attack them. The fun part about called shot (other than watching healthy enemies drop) is that it engages you, requiring more than just to attack an enemy and wait for them to die. A good ranger learns to prioritize enemies, and mark (and kill) enemies as fast as possible. Because you can only mark a target every 6 seconds, key to success is timing. For instance, if you are finishing up an enemy, or busy quaffing a heal potion, rezzing a partymember etc, you can go ahead and mark the next enemy before you are engaged. With the right timing, you can attempt a CS on the first hit, and then immediately CS again should the opponent survive the first attempt. The downsides:Called Shot is based off of the highest stat: Strength, Dexterity or Wisdom. The downside of being a Zen ranger, and the reason 90% of rangers are NOT zen rangers, is that it only counts Wisdom if a ranger is using Zen archery. Using Intuitive Attack and meleeing, the DC calculation for CS uses the Strength bonus. So with a Strength score of 24, the CS DC for 8 Legs Up drops from 58 (ranged) to 49 (melee). The formula is ranger levels (not including legendary) plus 1 for level 45, plus 1 for level 55, plus (attack stat bonus divided by 2), plus (wisdom bonus divinded by 8 if using zen archery).
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Post by m3chladon on Dec 21, 2011 11:38:11 GMT
Amazing guide, wish this was around a few months back when I first started, definitely would have been one of my first chars I played on HG.
Lythe, if anybody, knows his Rangers. Seriously if you are new here and want to learn to play a Ranger on HG play this one.
Again great guide, the mini-guides were good reads as well.
Thanks Lythe
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Post by Restos on Dec 21, 2011 13:56:55 GMT
I'm kind of loving this build (started playing here a few ago). I find it really interesting to play. Too bad I already lvl'd a sorc to 20 . Meh, maybe I will start over! One thing to point out: Level 1-20 progression table you wrote Intuitive Attack twice, when the first (or second, dunno) should be Zen Archery. Other than that, I think this build will be pretty fun to play. Meh, can't decide to drop my sorc or not! Anyway, gj. Edit: AB stated in table is only vs FE? I wonder what AB you'll have vs non-FE's and how often you face non-FEs..
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Post by uncanny on Dec 21, 2011 14:26:11 GMT
There are 3 ways of activating CS. 1 - Hotkey set up via radial menu. Right-click on an empty hotkey, click on "Assign Special Attacks", click on "Called shot" (arm or leg, doesn't matter). 2 - Hotkey macro. Right-click on an empty hotkey, click on "Custom Text Macro". At "Enter Label" type what you want to show up on your hotkey bar (I use CS). At "Input command" type in "!action CS opponent" (no quotations) 3 - Right-click on an opponent, hit Numberpad 3,3 All 3 ways are useful, and I always use them all, depending on the situation. How they work: Method 1 - when this hotkey is hit, your cursor changes, and you have to left-click on your opponent. You do not have to be engaged to the opponent, and this action does not engage you. If you click left-again, you engage that opponent. This can be the fastest way of engaging (and killing) a target, but can be hard when you want to get specific targets in a crowded group. Method 2 - when this hotkey is hit, it automatically targets whatever opponent you are engaging. It does not work if you haven't attacked an opponent yet, or if you are in melee and they are running away. This is best used when you know what target you are fighting, and just want to mark them (or mark them again). Method 3 - this sequence marks an opponent, but does not engage them. This can be very useful if you are trying to pick out a specific opponent in a crowded group. You still have to engage them to attack them. One additional way that I've found handy with my melee ranger, and that is using !voicebind to bind in a voice command. As I use a few different voicebinds during combat, my fingers are always around the left side of the kb. Just thinking out loud
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Post by Restos on Dec 22, 2011 3:59:48 GMT
Not to be a jerk, but could you post the spell list you currently use and why? I've been playing this build around and I have too many slots, lol (yea, duno what's best to memo -_-).
Oh, and in your 1-20 lvl progression table you list FE: Undead twice.
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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 29, 2011 1:44:36 GMT
Sorry, will do final edits and updates soon, things got a bit busy, but should ease off by this weekend
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Post by Lythe Featherblade on Dec 29, 2011 5:38:45 GMT
Edit: AB stated in table is only vs FE? I wonder what AB you'll have vs non-FE's and how often you face non-FEs.. In the hells pretty much everything you fight should be a favorite enemy, the main exceptions is constructs and you don't melee many of those. Outside the hells/abyss/aboleths 90+ AB is plenty for melee, if you do become a serious abyss runner, you may want to tweak (1 or 2 favorite enemies and better subrace), though my zen has completed the abyss once and then some without an ideal favorite enemies setup. LL runs most mobs will be favorite enemies, with a few exceptions (like on Myco runs). Not to be a jerk, but could you post the spell list you currently use and why? I'll go into depths on buffs later, though one thing I found is I don't wear much +slot gear on this, due to all the extra slots I have from wisdom. You'll want camouflage, protection from elements, freedom of movement, invisibility purge, extended bladethirsts (more if you're buffing groups), a few polymorphs, remove disease, mass camouflage (x1 or 2 if group members have hide and need conceal), and any slots you have left, foebane (this is cast just before a fight where you expect CS'able nasties)
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Post by Restos on Dec 29, 2011 12:20:59 GMT
Thank you for the insight. I've been fooling around with this build to lvl 35 (dryadkin instead of drider tho) and it's really fun!
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