Brawling/Ambush viable in middle-game?

[graysun]

Am looking at my Voln ranger's training, and am wondering if anyone is using a brawler/ambusher build with any success.

He is 45th and trained similarly to my sword/board ranger, but with brawling instead of OHE. I am mainly focusing on what combination of CM/dodge/ambush/perception to train.

The plan is to Fu undead and ambush the living with a yierka-spur or fist-scythe, but it seems like the TP cost of hiding and ambush may significant compared to the benefits he will realize from them. I am also concerned about not having a strong attack against heavier armor types.

Any thoughts/suggestions, other than switching to ranged?

Thanks.

[Stunseed]

Hunt smart. Your Voln Fu ranger can easily work his way up by hunting wind wraiths in Teras, which are stupidly easy. That'll get you up your 60's easily, with soul golems nearby.

[Sthrockmorton]

I brawl/ambushed as a rogue for a long time, worked as good as any other method...

I can't imagine it'd be much more difficult as a ranger, if not easier

[Stunseed]

Having 618 makes for one sick Fu.

[complac3ncy]

Brawling/ranged is a popular build for a ranger. I'm no volnite but know quite a few and they do fine. The two fighting styles go together very well and this will allow you to pretty much dominate everything that you cannot with your arrows.
It is very viable, but can be very costly at the same time. With a 2x ranged/perception/brawl, 1x dodge/pt/hp/spell base training plan it's going to be tight. If you decide to want to snipe, your going to have to fit in hiding, then its the question of 1 or 2x...then ambush 1 or 2x....(advanced ambush training will add AS too). I play a capped ranger and 2x in ambush stricly for the +25 AS it gives me at cap. However, hiding and ambushing isn't something we rangers really have to do anymore, thats so...gemstone 3ish.

My advice on the sniping thing is don't half ass it, go with it or don't. If you're already 40ish+, your accuracy should be pretty good and a little pushdown your going to get from hiding shouldn't be much of an issue. By this time you should be familiar with sounds and tangle weed and swarm, heh.

If it was me....
2x ranged/perception/brawl and at least 1.5x ambush.
1x dodge/pt/hp/spell (Get 640, then up the MnS as you see fit)
1x armor till 70 ranks for asg15 (I perfer over asg12)
10-20 ranks in swim/climb
And the rest is up to you.

[Anebriated]

Just a note about spell training. At 45 you are going to have to make a decision, you want to have 640 and 107 asap imo. Some rangers will wait to get 640 because it is mana intensive and pick up 120 after getting 618. Either way is good. Since you are already 45 I would suggest getting 107 and then as much of the ranger circle as you can unless you choose to go for 120 first. It would only be another train or two before you would pick up 640 going to first route.

Another note, its easier to FU in lighter weight armor. If your not worried about defense you can survive in Brig. I never trained past the 32 ranks or whatever it was to minimize the spell penalty in brig and really had no trouble on my old ranger.