Side by Side worthwhile for a ranger?

[graysun]

I don't know much about the AS/DS bonuses from Side by Side, but have seen it pop up in the news a bit lately.

Am wondering if it is worth 9 or 18 CMP to pick up 2 or 3 ranks, if I am going to have Rank 2 Combat Movement anyway.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

My CM training is posted below. Am waiting on the reduction in cost of Shadow Mastery, and will have the points to train 4th rank CDefense. Am not really looking to pick up more than 18 additional ranks of CM for a good long time.

Skill name Mnemonic Ranks
Combat Movement cmovement 2
Combat Focus focus 2
Shadow Mastery smastery 5
Disarm Weapon disarm 5
Subdual Strike sstrike 2
Cunning Defense cdefense 3

[Nuc]

It is entirely dependent on who you hunt with and your hunting style. If you hide/ambush, practice archery, or are a solo hunter it is pointless to get. I almost always hunt in a group with other people who have side by side I find the extra 20 AS to be really effective. I also don't hide and judging by your five ranks in shadow mastery my guess is that your style will not benefit from side by side.

[zhelas]

Question: If two folks have side by side in a group. Is the bonus that is applied related to the individual with the highest number of ranks?

[Nuc]

It seems to be that some side by side ranks, combat maneuver ranks, the composition of the group, number of side by side ranks in the group, and possibly level factor into the bonus calculation. It also appears that warriors get more of a bonus than rangers, and that achieving the maximum bonus can be done with just 3 people in the group.

[graysun]

Thanks for the good info, Nuc.

I'll go check out the Side by Side research thread, but it sounds like my hiding-heavy build may not see much benefit from it.