I know it's been asked before but what is the best race for ranger in preparation for PoP? Does mana play a big role ? or is more like bow/weapon dependency ? ( Srt/Dex)
Tunare Elf or Karana Halfling- because they get deity/cultural arrow/bow recipes that make fletching much less of a pain in the buttocks.
Wood Elf, or Karana any race. Wood Elven Fletching (Wood Elf cultural) is Wood Elf specific. Karana-based fletching, however, can be done by anyone who follows Karana, regardless of race. Humans, Half Elves, and Halflings can all do Karana-based fletching. Quite honestly though, Halflings should still get their 5% exp bonus. So that might make them more attractive. There is no real benefit to picking one race over another other than the exp bonus and the special fletching.
I have a wood elf ranger and that is the smallest race I would go with. Short races have hard time running in large-race zones, especially giants' zones like Kael - can't even jump onto a chair or a table or run upstairs. Also, short races have line-of-sight obstructions much more often in a non-flat terrain.
I think Halflings start with a negative (or at least not high enough) faction when starting their Epic quest line (or is that Druids)? I forget.
It was never supposed to be theirs in the first place, they bloody stole it, the thieving little gits. It was actually meant to be a Human trait.
Another bonus for woodelves is Forage as a skill from level 1. maybe not such a bonus on live nowdays, but omg back in the day? forge saved my life so many times.. no food/ no drink, sucks for your mana/endurance..
Specifically, for POP it doesn't matter. You will max melee stats as a raider. The cultural bow is replaced by elemental/POP crafted bows. You won't bow at all before EQ/AM2 or 3. You only need 1 arrow since EQ is the first AA you should get. The crafting is a moot point at this stage of the game. The crafting plays a part in Luclin early stages before you get Seru/VT bows or if you aren't going to get a Seru/VT bow. The cultural one is the most reasonable and best tradeable IIRC (for Luclin). Mana/Wisdom is pretty important as its much harder to max than Str/Dex at 65. You want to use your nukes between bow shots except when you need to range AOE(you will have 3 to weave, 2 ice and 1 fire) The DOT line has been debated endlessly if its worth casting. I always found it pretty useful in Luclin and improved parses but come POP with EP bow/time it certainly was less useful. Wood Elf is best for starting point, forage, and wisdom. The starting point is perfect for getting going leveling and its the best origin in the game putting you right near spires and POK book. Also, a large amount of druids hanging out in Kelethin can punt you out of there usually.
Halflings are evil little creatures that still hate ogres in 2021. They also eat too much and still need to shrink to be the proper size for raids.
Im still waiting for gnomes being able to be rangers and im there! Halflings are a good size i dont have to shrink still cant stand there hairy feet though lol.