Just to start off, I always liked being a covert, snipe from a long ways, marksman type of player. Whether is FPS or RPG/MMORPG, taking the enemy out at long range with a gun or crossbow/bow has been my calling. Not been a foo-foo magic caster fan really and melee is fun but I still go back to move fast, keep them away, take them out. So then I started EQ2 as a ranger. Then I heard over and over rangers are looked over, dirges and swashy/brigand taken more, etc... So I rolled a swashy and love it but my ranger part of me wants to hit from afar. What I am trying to say is, I like to play as the best ranged class player but yet, tons of others do too. And so ends my rant. By the way, I know wood elfs make great rangers but couldn't a high elf be a great one too?
Davfor7 wrote: There's quite alot of rhetoric in your questions! That aside i think i can interpret what your saying. You are saying that your play style is to range from far sneak around but in eq2 you just gave up the ranger class having read all the negatives about the class and went for a stronger more desirable class, but really you wish ranger was more desirable otherwise you'd be playing it. Well i've been a ranger for almost 6 years now 5 on my main and had an alt ranger for a year before that. The ranger class wasn't always bad back in DOF T6 we we're very good however when pvp came into the game certainly some notable changes started to happen, like not being able to cast on the run etc. Its all been pretty much down hill from there as far as the raiding community has been concerned. The issue is the mechanics which i'm sure you can read up somewhere else, but basically soe haven't got the balance right then the second issue is the lack of utility vs the amount of dps output mainly compared to what "USE" to be our rival class the assassin that has hate xfer and higher dps. Everyclass has their own issues but from the ranger perspective we've always felt a little more hard done by if its not been the issues of utility its been the lack of dps or the high end bows (t7 springs to mind) dropping from the hardest mobs at that time. I personally love the ranger class, i don't like crafting 2000 + arrows as a woodworker and i'm use to the ranger jokes. There are some min / max raid guilds who won't consider a ranger at all and make sure everyone knows it quite often with their assasins being an ex ranger and probably drumming that point out more than most in the guild! Then there are those guilds who have good rangers probably not topping parses due to mechanics but invaluable to the guild either as a person / raid leader / contributor or someone who's pretty consistent in what they do dps wise etc. I don't think the ranger class is awful by any standards there's issues and there has always been issues the ranger community as a whole has suffered badly most if not all posts / thoughts / forum discussions end up trolled or turn into arguments as some people just won't accept certain issues and those issues are probably down to the nature and character of the individual. We're always being compared on a parse and you'll always get those people who have very little spirit for the game and only really want to max that parse and chase numbers and trust me it doesn't matter what class you are after 5 years of raiding chasing numbers soon gets boring and you soon realise its not about the individual or ego in eq2 its about working as group making friends and making the game fun for you. Rangers are imo a great all round class possibly more well rounded than alot of people think, solo wise with room we're excellent, in Battleground we are a very good class fun to play and often do well on the scores, in grps we do very well our ae dps is good as is our single target dps in grp situations and we do offer some very very limited utility with natures focus! In raids we're good to a certain degree we do offer ranged dps with a slighty different perspective to mage classes, we can do well in the parse quite often in the top 4 or 5 some rangers are in the top 2. The guilds that have the largest or most notable issues with rangers are the top end raid guilds they tend to have very well geared players and quite often good players who can min max their classes thats where the assasins outshine the rangers, however bear in mind assassin and wizard dps is very good at the moment. For me i'd like to see the mechanics fixed as its only fair that we get a chance to shine in raids and have working mechanics, but i would take alot of the ranger community with a pinch of salt. The ranger class is extremely fun to play and if your good and people like you you will certainly be able to find a guild. Top end guilds will min max and those are the players most likely to moan about your dps, but bear in mind there also the most likely to burn out and quit the game and then moan about that as well after they've posted their parses at how great they are only for another expansion to come round the corner and rinse repeat the whole scenario again. Finally if you enjoy the class and its your play style give it a whirl i won't say from my own experiences its been plane sailing i've betrayed quit the game at least 5 times said i'm done but i always come back and i always come back to the ranger class. Get a good guild around you make some good friends enjoy the game enjoy the class and avoid those guilds WHO don't want a ranger because their are some guilds that do!
Mono wrote: Thank you for that post. You have a good point. Many actually. I usually do what you said and take it with a pinch of salt. My problem was seeing so many say they cannot get into guilds, guilds don't want rangers...if you going to raid, reroll, etc. So, that was really making me think that I would just be looked at by my class and not what I can do. Or do better maybe. You read my post the right way and nailed it. I have some friends I run with and they told me go with what I enjoy doing/playing. I just has issues be wanting to be an asset as well as doing the best at my role. Thats why I was seeing the swashy and dirge but after a while, I still try out the ranger again. This will be my 3rd or 4th rolling a ranger go and this time I will level it. And try not to be disheartened by those negative posts.
The ranger class is doing quite well. As the above poster said, its the min/max guilds that are going to burn out anyway that don't like using rangers. Everyone else I know loves them for the most part. I just did library the other day on my 81 ranger (group wanted any 6th person and decided to drag me along). Against 89-90 mobs I was only trailing the other DPS by 1-2k on the parse. Not too shabby for them being 9 levels higher and fighting mobs 8-9 levels higher. Then again groups are where rangers really shine. As for a high elf, any race works. Why stop at high elf? Dark Elves can start as rangers now too. I wish they could 2 years ago when I made this SK, would have fit his story better.
I'm a raiding ranger and I've been playing all year. Most likely to 'burn out' yes but its not common, majority of a raid guild stays intact even through down time except for a select few. They can't all burn out or else they would all be gone right now and not restarting for 4 months. But I have to agree, if your going the casual route, lots of soloing grouping and some BG's you should be fine. Thing is you could say that for all classes, some trade off pvp/BG for better grouping though. Just caution if you ever plan on trying raiding, won't do to well, unless compared to underskilled players.
