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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mneme" data-source="post: 5519033" data-attributes="member: 59248">[MENTION=78116]Aegeri[/MENTION] indeed.  The only real problem with Battlefield Archer is that you have to be an Archer ranger to take it (the ranger build that gives you the least on its own).  Ironically, this means that the premier Archer Ranger build is the Point Blank Archer who shoots stuff from up close and laughs at OAs, wheras archers who are build to hit things from range tend to take other builds.Great at bow and good with a big weapon: Martial Power introduced a series of powers that let you make melee attacks with Dex, not Str -and- can be used with ranged weapons.  (not to mention powers that are designed explicitly for characters switching back and forth).  However, the Dex melee powers don't benefit from dual wielding -- and they go all the way from Fading Strike (an at will that gives you a dex based ranged or melee and a shift) through the 25th level Deadly Sidestep.Also, the suite include the confrontation set -- a set of Dex-based ranged dailies that grant you Wisdom-based riders on melee attacks -- for instance, Commanding Confrontation--a 3W ranged daily that gives you 2+Wis extra damage on melee attacks to the creature you target with it for the encounter. (higher level versions let you weaken, knock prone, or even daze and then stun a target while switching from ranged to melee--and then there's Ultimate Confrontation, which gives you a minimum of 1W extra damage on each subsequent melee attack against the subject).   There are also some dex-based non-dual wielding melee multiattack powers -- at 17, Wolverine Claw Strike is two 2W attacks against two targets plus a Wis bonus to AC, while if you prefer multiattacks to buffs, Scything Blow is a level one dex-based multiattack that moves you, makes two 1W melee attacks against two targets and knocks them prone.I do think that the the DEX/Wis melee/ranged ranger is stronger than the switching twin striker.  If you choose to maximize Dex, you end up with +1 AC, +1 to hit, +1 Initiative, +1 damage (to everything except Twin Strike for that last) (and +2 each for your melee attacks), plus serious synergistic riders on your utilities and your attacks that aren't Twin Strike.  And while it's pretty tough to switch reasonably between ranged and melee with two weapons without being a Hunter ranger (though you might want to anyway) or having a hand familiar (mnn.  Cheese), it's easy enough to buy the ability to switch easily between a bow and a single sword--Ruby Scabbard + Deep Pocket Cloak does it well enough (or even just Quick Draw; use a minor to stow and quick draw to draw), freeing you to take one of the other paths if you want.  I'd probably build this kind of ranger with 10/11/8/20/16/10 as my array, and either go Hunter or Beastmaster.</blockquote>

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