Bow Ranger....most powerful class in the game?

[Stalker0]

I was having a discussion with a friend of mine and we were talking about some character builds. He showed me a particular build of ranger, and afterwards I was honestly astounded by its power.

Rangers have great skills, terrific mobility, and above all....extraordinary range. The longbow has a range that pretty much dwarfs every other weapon in the game, almost all spells, and certain most monster effects.

In open terrain, the ranger can continuously move back and pelt his opponents with arrows. Combined with a plethora of powers that give him extra moves and shifts, he can create a huge gap between himself and everything he fights, and then destroy them from range. And of course, they have great damage as well.

An elf ranger at paragon can run every round and still fire without a problem, and is practically uncatchable.

So what are your thoughts on the ranger?

 

[jensun]

It is only really an issue if your combats take place on a flat featureless plain.

Terrain makes all the difference. It is however tricky to pin down a bow based ranger which is, I think, as it should be.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Lurkers are their emeny. I had a player playing a elven bow ranger for a while and as you say awesome. But he also liked the additional stealth and security if cover.
He was caught a couple of times because there was someone else in the cover already
On the other hand, other than that, yeah, they are something else.

 

[Prism]

Also in groups without maybe two other front liners the ranger has some responsbility to take some hits too. If its just a single defender holding the line against melee types and the ranger is avoiding most of the damage that really starts to hurt. So I would say as an out and out damage dealer its great but the melee ranger is more flexible over a range of different fights and parties. I know in our current party if my melee ranger wasn't in there taking the pain along side the fighter it would be the less armoured or dex inclined PCs getting it

 

[Thanee]

I have the feeling that Cleric is (once more) the most powerful class.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Plane Sailing]

I have the feeling that Cleric is (once more) the most powerful class.

Bye
Thanee

Why so?

Is it the ability to use area attacks on places where your friends are without worrying about hurting them (or having better area damage attacks than the wizard), or other things?

 

[mlund]

Rangers have some fantastic damage potential now - especially with the Great Bow and full access to Weapon Focus and all that rot. The down side they've suffered from is cover. Melee combatants seldom need to worry about their enemy gaining +2 AC from where they stand.

Even then, raw damage output is only one part of the combat equation. The Ranger's need to operate at far range to maximize his personal benefits decreases his ability to support his team. He can often find himself out of the range of his Leader's abilities if he's completely out of reach of the monsters, and he almost never helps another character in the part gain Combat Advantage.

But while he is less of a help, he's often less of a liability too - seldom needing healing or assistance. In that respect the Ranger is a lot like Artillery Monsters.

The Ranger's enhanced features like range and movement, however, do make him more vulnerable that many other characters to effects such as Slowed, Immobilized, or Dazed. I seldom see Melee characters impeded by such effects to the extent that Ranged characters are.

As far as solo characters go, the Ranger is easily the most powerful and survivable. As far as party characters go, however, the Ranger is one of the most dispensable.

- Marty Lund

 

[Zsig]

...compared to other strikers? Most likely.

Compared to classes from the other roles? Definitely not true. I don't think you can even compare.

 

[Thanee]

Why so?

Gut feeling...

They have few but strong area attacks, their other attacks are quite good as well.

They have the best healing powers.

They have good defenses.

They are just good all around. There is nothing they really lack.


A party could consist just of clerics and do more than fine.
Try that with most of the other classes...

Bye
Thanee

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

A party could consist just of clerics and do more than fine.

I think you could do this with a party of paladins as well. But it boils down the same thing: staying power.