CS Ranger build from infancy

[Alashir]

Anyone else care to comment on the bolt AS? Is it doable but painful? Not doable at all?

[BriarFox]

I tried it, but bolt AS is not currently viable unless you also use 607/117/etc first. I had about 350 Bolt AS with 2x SA at cap, which was unworkable. I would avoid it. Mestys has mentioned there may be something eventually as part of Ascension that makes it more viable, but that's a long ways off.

[Alashir]

I tried it, but bolt AS is not currently viable unless you also use 607/117/etc first. I had about 350 Bolt AS with 2x SA at cap, which was unworkable. I would avoid it. Mestys has mentioned there may be something eventually as part of Ascension that makes it more viable, but that's a long ways off.

Right on, thank you.

[Shaps]

Pulled out the Ranger (late 60s) to test some - I was hunting Minos 4-6 levels above me - my observations so far:

Runestaff is doable if want to (only using 4x gear). With just elementals DS is over 500 in guarded. I'm sure those higher level know what's needed with regards to Brawl/Shield - but it's at least reasonable for me. If were to play my Ranger it's the "vision" I have for him, so nice to see feasible in the 70s at least.

I ran the evoked version of 650 Porcupine - The bonuses to Wall of Thorns seemed best to me for hunting. If someone has a better recommendation open to try it.

Learn what situation to use Sunburst (CS), Tangleweed (spell ranks-room control), Moonbeam (SMR) prior to casting Spike Thorn. Helps on saving mana and noticed each setup is uniquely effective depending on the creature/situation. Able to save a few points of mana per kill if utilizing the one that is most effective for the mob you are killing. Most kills hunting Minos is 1 cast of Sunburst or Moonbeam (found Moonbeam most effective personally on them) - then 1 cast of Spike Thorn and they're usually dead. I had to do 2 casts of Spike Thorn very few times following the setup.

Agree with a poster above, I tried Sweep, Dirtkick, and Feint. None are needed as with enough spell ranks Moonbeam and Tangleweed are effective enough control and setup mechanisms. I may go back to Dirtkick, as the 2 second RT along with no loss of effectiveness from guarded stance was very nice for a fast stall when low on mana. By no means necessary though.

I haven't ran into anything where I need to cast Entropy first, then Sun/Moon, then Thorn. I just go Sun/Moon then Thorn. That may change 80+.

I plan on doing some more testing, but feels very different than what I normally play and seems extremely effective. I still want to move some points around and refine it a bit, but thought would give my perspective on it.

Edit: Thinking about it - If they were to make 611 as a Maneuver (SMR) able to hit multiple mobs (similar to 1602 or 1614) that would be amazing. Place it under lores to open it up - but if could open cast 611 and stun up 4-5 creatures at once then 635 it would be insane.

[GSIV Rogue]

Happy beyond words to see all the druids...I would really encourage everyone here to tune into #mechanics on the Gemstone IV Discord server. People are on there complaining about the new ranger spells due to getting killed by them. Please speak up when you see this and tell them to "Get Nature Resist on their armor" or "Get more TD via Ascension / Enhancives" or anything else you can think of. Please don't let them nerf our spells! Also a great place to discuss suggestions for new spell implementation...make sure to keep up on surveys and things on the officials. Let's not let our profession get 20 years behind again.

*nudges Nuadjha*

Hit me up if any of ya'll ever need any help or guidance I would love to assist.

[Gamdillo]

About what training is it visible to hunt like this with no wands? And what is the “best” training regiment for it?

[TheLastShamurai]

About what training is it visible to hunt like this with no wands? And what is the “best” training regiment for it?

If you mean only using spells to kill, you can reliably do it level 40+. It's very mana intensive. I posted my training in this thread earlier if you want to take a look; I use a runestaff. You don't have to do anything special with it. It's the same way I trained when I used UAC, but with more spell ranks.

[Shaps]

To back up what TheLastShamurai said - it is very mana intensive.

One supporting system that I would recommend, specifically for Rangers over any other class, is look into mana flares. With the revamp they are very nice from my perspective. Getting full mana return on a Spike Thorn cast is extremely nice and helps prolong hunts. Fortunately, mana flares are pretty cheap right now comparatively speaking.

[Orthin]

Finally capped my main and am dusting this guy back off! Changed it up a little bit for now but plan to move FT come level 19-20.

(at level 7), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 40 8
Shield Use.........................| 40 8
Brawling...........................| 66 14
Physical Fitness...................| 40 8
Dodging............................| 40 8
Harness Power......................| 66 14
Spirit Mana Control................| 45 9
Survival...........................| 20 4
Perception.........................| 40 8
First Aid..........................| 15 3

Spell Lists
Minor Spiritual....................| 2

Spell Lists
Ranger.............................| 8



Currently hunting with 603 and the occasional troll-claw kill