Brig vs Doubles for open ranged / caster

[Samire]

Years back when I first started researching a ranger, the consensus seemed to be that if you were going to hang out in the open that you should work toward hauberk with brig being a risky compromise for heavy spell casters to reduce hinderance. Lately, on lnet chat, I’ve been seeing a lot of “doubles for life” commentary and that brig is overkill and a waste.

Has something changed - perhaps dreavenings/invoker? - or is there just a more vocal minority? I certainly would appreciate the TP reduction and the spell hinderance reduction since I am casting more and more. Is it fairly safe to drop to doubles while staying in the open if I have liberal use of setup spells?

On another note, it does appear to be far easier to come across decent starter brig (like 5x SWCP) vs doubles.

[Taernath]

I don't think anything concrete has changed. Rangers got a few more setups and playing a more caster-oriented ranger has become (I assume) more viable, so there are more people running around in doubles nowdays. Also the prevalence of outside spells, as you guessed, and ease of getting crit padding. That being said, open archers/casters WILL facetank more attacks, spells, and maneuvers than ambushers. Whether that's safe or not depends on what you hunt.

[loxe]

My open archer uses aug chain, and gets armor fluidity from a paladin to reduce the hinderence my ohe ambush ranger uses brig but have been toying with the idea of dropping back to lighter armor

[Drazaan]

It has been a big shift in the ranger armor dialogue. I almost never hear rangers talk about hauberk anymore. I chalk it up to a few factors, but primarily, druid builds being so much more prevalent. It also speaks to how broad a range of armor (doubles to hauberk) rangers can use and be successful. There's an increasingly caster-centric view of a ranger and I see this in rangers with a ton of lores than I would consider important given their current experience. I bet these perspectives are connected. For someone in a full druid build, I get the movement towards lighter armor kit.

I'm a little shocked there aren't more ranger singing the praises of torso chain. It's a very modest step in terms of hinderance for spell casting from brigadine, but has CvA and crit divisor advantages.

I've settled on the idea of having two sets of armor: augmented chain/hauberk for survivability in settings where I need that and a set of brig that enhances archery and spell offense through reduced spell hinderance and enhancives. This allows me to select the most appropriate armor for the situation. It's a luxury for sure, but it's a nice one to have. A ranger more casting-centric than I might use this strategy for doubles and brigandine.

[Izzy]

For me, it came down to two deciding factors:
1) I never liked the idea of my ranger in heavier armor, so for RP reasons double leathers fit my aesthetic
2) Hindrance + post cap spell focus (not a true druid build, but magic heavy). It's the worst, so I want 0 of it.

Rangers have absolutely bonkers DS, and when you consider things like 640, 605, and general ranged DS I have yet to find a situation where having heavier armor would've saved me. Nearly always a death is due to my stupidity, or RNG open rolls of doom.

That said, I'm also considering the 2 sets approach. I have been toying with the idea of chasing after TWC katars + aug chain as a secondary build when I want to do something different.

[Lavastene]

Nearly always a death is due to my stupidity, or RNG open rolls of doom.

This. My ranger is in Brig. Mainly because I have a nice set of Voln Brig that I am working on building up.

[Dendum]

I wear Brig...I could probably wear doubles. We don't get the rogue bonus to light armor but we do get the lower spell hindrance.

I tried chain and felt the AP hit was noticeable, but I have always said that could just be me but I was getting eaten up in chain even with the proper training. SMR v2 has really made AP a concern for my character and I do whatever I can to lower a chance any of those dozens of deadly maneuvers will connect.

If someone were to hand me some Shandarl Doubles I would probably wear that but I can't see myself going back to chain. Even with the nice crit divisor.

[Samire]

Thanks, everyone. I have some 4x doubles in my locker. I'm going to throw them on and see if I notice the difference. With invoker, I'm up hunting 5+ levels and not even close to getting touched in brig. I know that will change as I level up.

[Samire]

So far so good. I wasn't getting touched in brig and I'm still not getting touched in doubles. With good spell castings, the mobs don't even get off a swing. But, I'm only in my 30s. I assume at some point I will be in for a surprise.

[Ysb]

I'm past 2x cap and almost never get hit. I use VHCP brig, but I'm sure doubles would work just as well. With the DS rangers have, plus outside spells from the invoker or dreavenings, the main dangers for me are maneuvers or spells. I can be on the ground, stunned, in offensive, with 5 bandits in the room, and not get scratched. I mainly hunt bandits or pirates though. I guess it depends on what you hunt, where you hunt, how you hunt, and just what feels best for you. Hindrance, AP, CvA, those might factor into your decision. For what it's worth, Town Crier had a ranger survey a couple of years ago. Of 60 rangers surveyed, 11 wore leathers, 33 brig, 16 chain of some kind. Less than half were capped though, so that might have had an impact on the results. https://gstowncrier.com/special_reports/towncrier-ranger-survey-responses-part-3-physical-skills/

[beols]

My ranger uses VHCP chain (actual chain, just one step up from brig) and I've never regretted the step up from brig. It's a nominal number of armor ranks and, because rangers do spiritual stuff, the spell hinderance is still much lower than, say, a bard.

[Asha]

I keep forgetting the massive DS boost my rogue gets from going from plate down to brig, or better - doubles, or crazy better - robes, doesn't apply to semis. Its a real shame.
So I'm guessing training up to full plate would be a waste of time for a ranger.

[Taernath]

GIVE RANGERS ARMOR SPECIALIZATION YOU COWARDS