Ranger main on phinny and boxing

Discussion in 'Hybrid' started by Voss, Nov 24, 2016.

  1. Voss Elder

    I'd box a shaman if I had one, but I don't.

    I have a 60 bard or 60 beastlord. Which of the two would be a better box with my ranger main?

    I assume the bard would be the better box? But then again the beastlord gets a lot of cool tools too
  2. Loviticus Elder

    Tough call man. I'd say depends on how hands on you want to be with the box. If bards have /melody on phinny then it'd be pretty easy to use bard for pulls and then just auto attacks.

    Bst Pros:
    - more healing
    - easier/better slowing
    - pet off tanking
    - stat buffs

    Bst Cons:
    - no puller
    - needs more gear than a bard

    Bard Pros:
    - can single pull easily
    - easy to box (with /melody)
    - CC when needed
    - could charm a pet I guess, but thats dangerous while boxing

    Bard Cons:
    - less dps in total

    Dang. Hard choice.
  3. Karthos Augur

    Go with the bard. A beastlord requires constant attention get good play out of. This is not the case with a bard.
  4. CaptainSkeet Augur

    If it were me, I would use a bst. Assuming ranger has archery aa.

    Bst or ranger can pull, whichever works.

    Bst slows. Pet or bst can tank, depends on gear and how well this era of pets do. Bst on main screen, doing beastlord stuffs.

    Ranger as box, auto fire. Cast snare or whatever when needed.

    Your main doesn't have to be played as main screen, simply because its your main. For instance, my shaman is my main, but I use him as box and main screen my SK when I duo simply because it's much easier that way.

    I play with a laptop on my desk, so if you have dual screen setup or something like that then of course it makes little difference since you won't necessarily have a "main" screen.
  5. Karthos Augur

    I should provide a bit more insight. I have ranger mained nearly my entire EQ existence. Years ago when I was fledgling ranger on test server I decided to create a box to play with my ranger. My final decision was either shaman or beastlord. I went with beastlord and regretted it. Simply put beastlord is a terrible box duo with a ranger. To play a ranger effectively (no, archery bot is not playing a ranger effectively) it requires constant casting of nukes, discs etc. The same can be said of beastlord. There is constant clicking of nukes, discs needed to maintain above average dps. Add to that a pet that constantly needs to be attended to and you will see this is already less than ideal. Throw in a serious lack of real CC and your duo gets easily overrun by pulls of 3 of 4. On these pulls you will not have enough time to ranger/bst cc these mobs before you wipe unless you manage to grab agro and survive through 2 root castings that hopefully do not break and maybe a pet on another.

    With a bard you could single pull in just about every zone and not have to worry about this. On those occasions where pulling fails and you have 3 or 4 in camp just throw a couple mezzes and things are easily in control again. Also, leaving the bard to /melody and autoattack allows you to play the ranger to maximum effectiveness. You can hit all your nukes and discs and do more dps than a poorly played ranger + poorly played bst..
  6. iVALADYANx That's a Necromancer

    u can kite on rng and let bst pet add dps
  7. Bewts Augur

    Is neither an option?

    The only option is main BL and autofire box a Rad Ranger until archery starts to suck again. It doesn't really fix the problems BL face by adding a ranger.

    You're better off doing BL/CLR as a duo.

    Resist the temptation to alt a Ranger....
  8. Shaantara Made of Moonlight

    The OP wrote:
    I'd box a shaman if I had one, but I don't.

    I have a 60 bard or 60 beastlord. Which of the two would be a better box with my ranger main?

    I assume the bard would be the better box? But then again the beastlord gets a lot of cool tools too

    The ranger is his main.
  9. Bewts Augur


    I read it as the ranger would be the new main, my bad.
  10. Draven84 New Member

    I agree with the bard. I see your on phinny so Untill POP launches in feb there is no headshot aa. I main a ranger in phin myself and box a shaman. slows.heals.buffs.dots.small pet. it just works also having a OOG Sham has got me spots in groups like GE over other classes just for the utility. I also have a 60 bst and in order to get the most out of the class you need to be clicking alot ect ect. not so much in SOL but will change in POP> Bard is an excellent choice IMO just for the fact u can use melody and bard can just sit in the group or pull cast melody and switch right to Ranger. Might want to invest the time and roll a shaman. get him to 40 and drag him around with your 60. up to you.