the path less traveled

[loxe]

I have always preferred to hunt from the shadows. until lvl 40 i was a S/B ambusher, then i tried open archery for a while, and even though i loved the killing power, i missed the shadows, so i switched back to S/B ambushing.

Now im LvL 60 and have been hunting darkstone with no troubles, and the stronghold with no troubles except even with 2x S/H and 5 ranks of Smastery i couldnt not hide in front of mastiffs.

This got me thinking about the bonus to stealth aspect of 601 with added blessing lores, so i started playing around with the trainer trying to find a viable plan with the best possible stealth for my level, and this is what i came up with.
at lvl 60

70 ranks Armor use
2x ranged, Perception, S/H,
1x ambush, PF, HP(60), survival, ranger spells(60)
45 ranks cman (5 ranks smastery)(stopping here to get blessing lore up to 1x)
.5x dodge, SMC, SL blessing, FA, climb, swim,
10 ranks of MIU.

And i have to say so far im having fun again. granted my ds in offensive is sucky, but my defensive ds is fine, and with the current set up i have been able to hide in front of mastiffs, (not every time) but still before i wasnt able to at all. And if they cant see you they cant hurt you.

I currently hunt self spelled, wearing 10x augmented chain, using a +22 ipantor longbow, and am in sunfist.

anyways just my ramblings
John

[Overlordz]

I'm surprised just adding blessing lores would make a significant difference. You could always cast 609 at them, learn dirtkick and use that, or aim for the head/eye before hiding in front of em.

[loxe]

you are correct all those tactics do work, but my goal was to try to see if it was possible to increase my stealth ability so i could hide without having to do any setup tactics.

and i dont think its just the blessing lores, also i think the added ranger ranks,(going from 40/20 spells up to 60/0), plus having 5 ranks in shadow mastery.

on another note i was hunting in the stronghold last night with another ranger who had a vine more powerful than mine, so on a whim i tried casting call swarm when we got swarmed, and to my very pleasant surprise it was very effective, now granted i hadnt tried call swarm alot in there before because it seems the few times i had tried it all i got was the faint buzzing message. either way im gonna try it out some more.