Best Society for Rangers

[danielsh]

I'm back in GS after a long hiatus, and I'm finding scant details on the new Sunfist Society.

I've been in Voln since forever, and have stuck with it primarily because I enjoyed the camaraderie but it looks like the number of people logged in at any given moment has dropped dramatically. I find myself constantly hunting undead to maintain favor, and I'm wondering if it isn't high time I switched societies.

So, between CoL and Sunfist, which one is mechanically superior? With all of the stamina/mana cost combos, it seems like Sunfist was designed for semis. And for an ambushing/sniping ranger, the crit weighting sounds awesome. Then again, the costs seem pretty damn high compared to CoL, especially because some of the durations sound on the shorter side.

Any thoughts? Also, has anyone confirmed that the weighting sigil stacks with already weighted weapons? What about if the weapon is blessed?

Thanks in advance!

- Cloakhe

[graysun]

Nice first post.

My rangers are a Voln archer/brawler and an ambushing Council member. I like both, but haven't done anything in Sunfist yet.

As someone who returned recently and missed a lot of the changes and new areas being introduced, I am going to save Sunfist as an option if I ever get burnt out on the game's hunting areas and traditional-style hunting. For now, I am enjoying some of the things that are still new to me.

Warcamps seem like a fun challenge, and a big change from the usual grind. It will be interesting to hear opinions from long-timers who switched to Sunfist and have a solid basis for comparison to the original two.

[Kitsun]

On the officials there's a bunch of people complaining about having to raid warcamps as a ranged user because of their own low DS against ranged attacks. Unless you can spell tank to avoid it, it may be painful.

[ceran]

Sunfist seems to be aimed more to group hunting. I know camps can be done solo but there seems to be a lot of calls for groups to gather for it. You might like the fact that it is easier to get involved with groups and people in sunfist.
There is an ESP channel for sunfist so you can get in touch with other members of the society that way.
My ambushing Ranger seems to be fine with COL and would not switch to sunfist. As an ambusher you should be getting a lot of crit kills with out the weighting. About the only thing that got me looking into sunfist were the sigils that add padding to your armor for a minute.
COL
adds +35 AS
adds +35 DS
Sunfist
adds +20 AS 3-5 minutes(forget actual duration)
adds +20 DS 3-5 minutes(forget actual duration)
and you can add another 5 AS or 5 DS for one minute using the minor or you can add another 10 AS or 10 DS for one minute using the major

Both Col and Sunfist have the ability to fog yourself out not groups.
Hope that helps.

[Silvanostar]

i think ranged/fu is the easiest way to level a ranger. undead mb are pretty low. and some even have decent treasure.

i'm not too sure how the dmg/crit weighting sigils are for archery, but ranged ds are low enough that you can easily leg something, then shoot it in the eye.

just like kitsun said, unless you can spell tank, soloing in warcamps can be pretty tough. You end up fighting 7-8 mobs at a time that use pretty much every cman and spell you can think (except disarm).

[Mtenda]

Not much official documentation out there on Sunfist but I've been able to find out everything I needed to know just by searching these forums. Sigil info and outpost location info are here somewhere courtesy of the Sunfist pioneers.

I like COL for ease and convenience. Also, wracking is huge for extra carricular activities like imbueing and spelling up comrades. Still, Sunfist gives a nice balance of powers and the ability to hunt anywhere you go regardless of level is nice too.

[droit]

Sunfist is superior to CoL, at least for rangers. First off, you're an archer so the fewer 5 or 10 AS doesn't really matter. Second, the folks who complain about the sigil durations are usually lazy idiots from what I've seen. How hard is it to hit the occasional macro while you're hunting? Granted, you may have some stamina and mana issues in the early levels, but you can get past that pretty quickly, particularly if you train for it. As far as ranged DS being a liability in warcamps, after you master you don't need to set foot in a warcamp ever again if you so choose. And finally, sigil of power is far more useful while hunting than wracking ever was.

Now the positives. Want to be able to continue firing your bow with rank two wounds on your arms, hands, head and eyes? Want to regen 15 more health and 5 more mana per minute while hunting? Want to be able to eat any herb in 3 seconds? Or be able to heal half your health instantly for practically no cost? How about crit weighted arrows? Stacked padding on your armor (yes, you can have both crit and damage padding at the same time)? The ability to hunt like-level anywhere in the game with increased chances for enhancive loot? And last but not least, how would you like to live through sketchy situations more often? Sunfist fills a huge gap in the ranger profession. Of all the semis and squares, rangers are the only ones who are struck entirely helpless by a stun. Sigil of escape is our troubadors rally or berserk. When things get desperate, it's our only choice.

[ceran]

I do have a paladin at 25 trains who is in Sunfist and he is able to keep all the sigils up constantly as well as surge so the stamina issues go away pretty early.
He does hunt with a ranger who is in Sunfist also and she does well. I did miss the archer part so Sunfist should be real nice for someone able to stay hidden and snipe.
Would say try for sunfist sounds like more of what you want with what you mentioned about missing with voln.

[CrystalTears]

I'm too chickenshit to quit CoL to try Sunfist, simply because I'd hate myself if I didn't like it. I'm also too lazy to go through those ranks.

[zhelas]

Range/fu combination is incredible. The only thing I ever had issues with it was the bow ended up being for show more than anything else, since I hunted undead constantly and Ranger FU rocks.

COL Does have its perks.
adds +35 AS
adds +35 DS
Sign of staunching, Sign of Dissipation, Sign of healing all very helpful
Down side is as everyone knows the spirit drain and if you aren't careful some volner or GoS will run by and see your spirit fall.
Sign of Darkness is a last resort for transport.

Droit's post again makes me rethink about joining the Dwarves on the fight.

Currently my Ranger Archer sits at 54 trains. If they ever redesign COL in my Life time, I may very well join GoS.

All Societies have their perks and down sides. Choose the one you think will fit your character the best.

[Renian]

Voln is, by far, the best society that a ranger can be in due to Mobility's epic fu bonus. Don't switch.

But if you're sick of Voln, go CoL. Sunfist is only if you want to grind anywhere in the game at any level.

[kookiegod]

I did Sunfist recently with a polearm bard.

Lot of fun actually.

The biggest issue is the timesink of every 5 levels of having to go to Zul Logoth, what a major time sink. And the rank 5 task is just painful. I was lucky I was under 20 and didn't have to do Teras too. <shudder>

One thing I found useful was stocking up on haste imbeds, a ton of em. Easier to handle the big swarms.

~Paul

(at level 21), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 82 18
Combat Maneuvers...................| 102 24
Polearm Weapons....................| 146 46
Physical Fitness...................| 99 23
Dodging............................| 96 22
Magic Item Use.....................| 54 11
Harness Power......................| 98 22
Elemental Lore - Air...............| 93 21
Mental Lore - Manipulation.........| 10 2
Mental Lore - Telepathy............| 40 8
Perception.........................| 25 5
Climbing...........................| 50 10
Swimming...........................| 50 10

Spell Lists
Bard...............................| 20

Current society status:
You are a Master of the Guardians of Sunfist.

Your Combat Maneuver training is as follows:

Skill name Mnemonic Ranks
Sweep sweep 3

[danielsh]

Thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to table the society decision until I figure out what training path I'm going to take (http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?t=37907).

That being said, I'm leaning towards Sunfist at this point. From an RP perspective, I definitely like how many of the sigils augment your "rangerly" capabilities (particularly Resolve and Mending). And even though its only got a 60 second duration, heavy crit weighting for an ambusher must be golden. Sames goes for damage weighting when mstriking. As a general observation, CoL's higher bonuses seem to be offset by Sunfist's wider range of abilities and general versatility (a core ranger strength IMHO).

Training 1x PT has given me 77 stamina, but its unclear whether I'll be able to effectively sweep while maintaining Offense, Defense and possibly Major Bane.

For those who have mastered Sunfist, how long did it take you? I remember it took FOREVER to master Voln, and as much as I'm tempted to go Sunfist, I simply don't have the spare time anymore to slog through something like that again.

- Cloakhe

[droit]

Training 1x PT has given me 77 stamina, but its unclear whether I'll be able to effectively sweep while maintaining Offense, Defense and possibly Major Bane.

I don't know how viable it is for your training plan, but overtraining PT is incredibly useful. I'm 2xed in PT, but I was already in my 90's by the time Sunfist was released. If you can afford it, I'd recommend it. At cap, I've got 163 stamina and can regenerate 30 health per minute with mending up.


For those who have mastered Sunfist, how long did it take you? I remember it took FOREVER to master Voln, and as much as I'm tempted to go Sunfist, I simply don't have the spare time anymore to slog through something like that again.

It depends how determined you are and how much help you seek from others. Rimalon, Belnia and I mastered Sunfist in within 48 hours of its release--and that was when rank 15 still required 15 warcamps. There are some folks who are willing to help you out if you ask.

[danielsh]

I don't know how viable it is for your training plan, but overtraining PT is incredibly useful. I'm 2xed in PT, but I was already in my 90's by the time Sunfist was released. If you can afford it, I'd recommend it. At cap, I've got 163 stamina and can regenerate 30 health per minute with mending up.

How does that impact your redux? I remember PT being the primary skill that determined how much redux you got, but it was a pretty complicated formula. I don't suppose you know the % improvement over the redux you gain from a more standard 1x training path?

- Cloakhe

[Stunseed]

CoL.

It's easy and not and a pain in the ass like Sunfist.

[droit]

How does that impact your redux? I remember PT being the primary skill that determined how much redux you got, but it was a pretty complicated formula. I don't suppose you know the % improvement over the redux you gain from a more standard 1x training path?

- Cloakhe

A quick calculation puts me at about 40. I don't know how that compares to other capped rangers, but I doubt it's spectacular because I'm also fully 1xed in spells. I seem to recall my redux being in the mid-30's a while ago, so take that as you will.

[danielsh]

I had decided that CoL was simply the more expedient path. Even though Sunfist was extremely appealing from both a sigil versatility and RP perspective, I just couldn't see myself putting in the time to master.

I'd actually already resigned from Voln, and gotten up to the second rank of CoL before running into Belnia.

Let's just say that I'm working on my second Kiramon extermination task...

Which actually raises the question - how important is it to do the task that you're assigned? Are recognition points the only thing that really matter? I.e. I can go about fulfilling those tasks any way I see fit?

The bonus recognition points I got from fulfilling the task was great, but I wonder if razing warcamps wouldn't earn even greater bonus points.

- Cloakhe

[danielsh]

A Grimswarm giant fighter hurls itself at you and connects!
A Grimswarm giant fighter pins you to the ground!
Roundtime: 11 sec.

...wait 11 seconds.

You say, "Gah..."

A Grimswarm giant wrathbringer swings a claidhmore at you!
AS: +346 vs DS: +225 with AvD: +28 + d100 roll: +98 = +247
... and hits for 124 points of damage!
A mighty hit turns your insides to outsides!
The dim aura fades from around you.
The silvery luminescence fades from around you.
The powerful look leaves you.
You lose your extra internal fortitude.
You seem to lose the thorny barrier that surrounds you.
You no longer feel so dextrous.
You feel the aura of confidence leave you.
The deep blue glow leaves you.
You are no longer moving silently.
The air about you stops shimmering.
You feel the inner strength leave you.
The brilliant luminescence fades from around you.
You return to normal color.
You become solid again.
The light blue glow leaves you.

It seems you have died, my friend. Although you cannot do anything, you are keenly aware of what is going on around you...

You mentally give a sigh of relief as you remember that the Goddess Lorminstra owes you a favor.
...departing in 10 mins...

The guiding force leaves a Grimswarm giant wrathbringer.
A Grimswarm giant wrathbringer bellows in victory, holding his claidhmore aloft!

Ah, the joys of Sunfist!

- Cloakhe