Almost 50 ranger advice on what to use.

Hi all,
I'm now 49.5 and relatively new to the class, I leveled him during the event where you don't really learn much because you are fast leveling.

What I'm a bit confused is what are the essential items I need for rvr? I will get a template so I'm not talking about that but mainly what potions, items, clickies etc I need . This server is a bit different than others.

One more question i seen the combined forces potion, is it better or equal to PF buffs ? If so then wouldn't be better to use CF and put the points that you would put on PF for bow or cd for example?

Thanks for any advice and for the record I made a shar ranger.

Sat 23 Jan 2021 1:42 AM by daytonchambers

My ranger is currently in the rr7s and I'm playing a spec right now that skips PF and uses forces instead.

In short, it's a mixed bag. Sure you free up a lot of points for improving bow, offhand, etc but you lose the baked in damage add that helps with both bow and melee damage without having to rely on a charge or proc for one. And using a charge to guarantee you have it means that you give up using that charge cooldown for a heal or debuff.

I would STRONGLY suggest heading to TNN damage test dummies, and respec a bunch while hitting the lv 50 dummy for damage. You have unlimited respecs and the trainer is standing right there so you can see for yourself how much the DA adds with your current spec vs how hard you hit with increased spec in your weapons alone all within a matter of minutes. Even better if you can do it with a forces pot so you're getting as accurate numbers as possible

Sat 23 Jan 2021 3:56 AM by alusnova415

daytonchambers wrote: ↑
Sat 23 Jan 2021 1:42 AM
My ranger is currently in the rr7s and I'm playing a spec right now that skips PF and uses forces instead.

In short, it's a mixed bag. Sure you free up a lot of points for improving bow, offhand, etc but you lose the baked in damage add that helps with both bow and melee damage without having to rely on a charge or proc for one. And using a charge to guarantee you have it means that you give up using that charge cooldown for a heal or debuff.

I would STRONGLY suggest heading to TNN damage test dummies, and respec a bunch while hitting the lv 50 dummy for damage. You have unlimited respecs and the trainer is standing right there so you can see for yourself how much the DA adds with your current spec vs how hard you hit with increased spec in your weapons alone all within a matter of minutes. Even better if you can do it with a forces pot so you're getting as accurate numbers as possible

Thanks I didn't think of testing the dummies.

I'm being told that since there is no PD for rangers that meele isn't an option so it seems bow is the only way to go, what would you say I have to take bow and pf to? And since sins and you will see each other at the same range then fighting them means what a losing proposition since you can't crit them before they engage you? How do you fight sins ?

Lastly I got to rr3 during the event what are the must have RA to start rvr?

Thanks for any advice

Tue 26 Jan 2021 1:08 AM by stewbeedoo

There are a bunch of fundamental choices for your Ranger.

You can be sniper, hybrid or melee. The right fit depends on playstyle.
Sniper is really for the folks who like to zerg keeps. Your melee will be so bad that you have no chance against sins, but you will be able to hit casters pretty hard with your bow.
Hybrid is my choice where you can do decent bow damage, but still beat many sins in melee (with purge and IP up). At RR 8L5 my spec is 35 Bow, 32 stealth, 42 PF, 39 blades, 20 CD. 35 Bow gets you Rapid Fire which is great for interrupting casters.
Melee is great for fighting sins, but obviously you lose the utility that comes with the bow.

You can choose PF or Combined Forces.
High PF gets your str/dex/qui stats much higher than potions can, especially when combined with MoArc4. Plus the damage add and extra AF is very nice.
The alternative to PF is combi pot and going high CD.
Opinions differ on this, but to me higher PF outweighs the extra offhand probability.

Blades or Pierce
Many argue that since Bow damage is Dex based you should be pierce, but more of your probable opponents are weak to blades.
Since you are Shar I would go Blades.

In terms of items, many Rangers use the Shadowwalker Blade you buy with feathers and the player-crafted 5.5 spd bow. Heart of Legion and superior elixir of instant healing are good for insta heal. I like to run an ablative charge from my backpack - the Fairich Sgath bracer you can buy with feathers.

Tue 26 Jan 2021 4:33 AM by gotwqqd

stewbeedoo wrote: ↑
Tue 26 Jan 2021 1:08 AM
There are a bunch of fundamental choices for your Ranger.

You can be sniper, hybrid or melee. The right fit depends on playstyle.
Sniper is really for the folks who like to zerg keeps. Your melee will be so bad that you have no chance against sins, but you will be able to hit casters pretty hard with your bow.
Hybrid is my choice where you can do decent bow damage, but still beat many sins in melee (with purge and IP up). At RR 8L5 my spec is 35 Bow, 32 stealth, 42 PF, 39 blades, 20 CD. 35 Bow gets you Rapid Fire which is great for interrupting casters.
Melee is great for fighting sins, but obviously you lose the utility that comes with the bow.

You can choose PF or Combined Forces.
High PF gets your str/dex/qui stats much higher than potions can, especially when combined with MoArc3. Plus the damage add and extra AF is very nice.
The alternative to PF is combi pot and going high CD.
Opinions differ on this, but to me higher PF outweighs the extra offhand probability.

Blades or Pierce
Many argue that since Bow damage is Dex based you should be pierce, but more of your probable opponents are weak to blades.
Since you are Shar I would go Blades.

In terms of items, many Rangers use the Shadowwalker Blade you buy with feathers and the player-crafted 5.5 spd bow. Heart of Legion and superior elixir of instant healing are good for insta heal. I like to run an ablative charge from my backpack - the Fairich Sgath bracer you can buy with feathers.

Regardless of PF or not....you want the additional buffs of combined forces

Wed 27 Jan 2021 6:46 AM by stewbeedoo

gotwqqd wrote: ↑
Tue 26 Jan 2021 4:33 AM
stewbeedoo wrote: ↑
Tue 26 Jan 2021 1:08 AM
There are a bunch of fundamental choices for your Ranger.

You can be sniper, hybrid or melee. The right fit depends on playstyle.
Sniper is really for the folks who like to zerg keeps. Your melee will be so bad that you have no chance against sins, but you will be able to hit casters pretty hard with your bow.
Hybrid is my choice where you can do decent bow damage, but still beat many sins in melee (with purge and IP up). At RR 8L5 my spec is 35 Bow, 32 stealth, 42 PF, 39 blades, 20 CD. 35 Bow gets you Rapid Fire which is great for interrupting casters.
Melee is great for fighting sins, but obviously you lose the utility that comes with the bow.

You can choose PF or Combined Forces.
High PF gets your str/dex/qui stats much higher than potions can, especially when combined with MoArc3. Plus the damage add and extra AF is very nice.
The alternative to PF is combi pot and going high CD.
Opinions differ on this, but to me higher PF outweighs the extra offhand probability.

Blades or Pierce
Many argue that since Bow damage is Dex based you should be pierce, but more of your probable opponents are weak to blades.
Since you are Shar I would go Blades.

In terms of items, many Rangers use the Shadowwalker Blade you buy with feathers and the player-crafted 5.5 spd bow. Heart of Legion and superior elixir of instant healing are good for insta heal. I like to run an ablative charge from my backpack - the Fairich Sgath bracer you can buy with feathers.
Regardless of PF or not....you want the additional buffs of combined forces

For sure - Combined Forces is a given. I was referring to those that don't spec PF and only use pots.