I've been playing a monk since the game started, but I dabbled with an illusionist and have fun with a wizard now and then too. Never played the scout (or priest) archetype before, so tonight I rolled up a Sarnak ranger and see how things work. I know that scouts are all about providing DPS, buffs, and debuffs. I know that rangers focus on ranged attacks while assassins just deal massive spike damage (I remember having trouble pulling agro off assassins quite a lot back in the KoS and EoF days). I know that troubadors are weak but provide great party buffs, and dirges are slightly less weak but provide debuffs. I don't know how the rogue classes work at all. For a low level toon, I'm looking for good solo possibility. My ranger is currently 11, but I'm finding very few options to actually start trying ranged combat. I'm still in the Monk/Fighter mindset of getting up close and punching everything to death, and I know this game's combat mechanics generally don't allow for snaring your enemy and kiting them efficiently. It's also not easy to get behind an enemy to backstab them after combat starts, so any helpful advice would be appreciated.
beastlord... if that doesnt appeal to you then prolly swash or brig. i only know about the bst as oppsed to the rogues... bst can tank quite well for soloing, you shouldn't have any problems once you obtain spiritual stance
As someone who has dabbled with a ranger for awhile, I recently picked up a brig...haven't touched the ranger since..the hassles of getting behind mobs are gone as you just fire up walk the plank and the mob turns his back to you, the DPS is there as well..try it out, I really think you will like it. Oh, and unlike the ranger that brings nothing to the group but damage, the Brigs debuffs help cripple the mobs quite effectively.
F2P doesn't affect your ability to buy the BL class. Even All Access have to buy it if they want to play it.
I plan on buying All Access once I recover my old account, but I'm currently waiting on customer service to get back to me on the next step of helping me out with that. For now though, the beastlord isn't worth buying just yet. I'll keep it in mind.
For the ranger, you won't get most of your bow spells until your 20s+. Almost all of them can be used in close up situations as frontals, and you can use all of them as you're running backwards at range. I like my ranger for the graphics more than the combat mechanics. They do decent dps. Brig is like playing a tank and you may enjoy it since you appear to have liked your monk/fighter. Walk the Plank, as mentioned, turns your mob around for you. That and the stun spell give you two opportunities to do your backstabs. Usually you can hit 2-3 backstabs after walk the plank, if you have your timing right. You also have a defensive-type stance to help you stay alive.
I wouldn't call Bards weak TBH while a bit more complex to play, they solo better than assassin/ranger. But yes, Rogues (Brig/Swash) are the best "free" scouts for soloing.
