Irritating Prime Shot!

[NeoNick]

I guess that Wizard gave Archer Rangers Prime Shot for the same reason as the TBR; to help the tanking/healing/striking roles. As there is no such thing as "aggro" as in WoW, I think Wizard tried to solve that issue by small but rather effective techniques.

(Another example is the so much debated Stealth-implementation. It's there for the same reason; to help tanks keep aggro and help the strikers not getting squashed right away.)

That said, I understand game-technichal reasons BUT I still thinks it's irritating.

I want to shoot effectively on weak targets in the back and I want to use to best effect the long-bow's range, I want to have tactical choices on whom to target in the back - BUT when I do the irritating "Prime shot" is always whispering in my ear "Now you are doing something wrong! You should learn to use your class abilities to the best instead!" (In WoW you always got to hear "learn to play your class" and this is what my question is about.)

How on earth are you supposed to use Prime Shot effectively on more attractive targets than the front tank-enemy? Looking on Wizards pre-made adventures "Keep on Shadowfell" I find most maps very cramped and it's hard if not impossible to get behind or sideways to the enemy. There is no way I want to give opponents OA while I move to a position behind them.

And the fact is that bonus to attack rolls are hard to get and thus valuable. The Prime Shot's /+1 to attacks/ is the class ability I think rangers wants to use as often as possible.

Any thoughts or ideas on how to tackle this? Or do you perhaps choose to shoot at the mob closest to you?

 

[theNater]

Prime shot doesn't care about where the monsters are relative to each other, it cares about where the ranger is relative to her party. She needs to be as close to the monster as any of her allies. If she is on the front line, she can freely get the bonus on any monster she likes.

 

[NeoNick]

Umm, I actually missed that I don't need to shoot at the one closest to me. Thanks theNater!

I guess I this means my ranger should try to be at the front when things start much more. I've kept from doing that as I tend to get charged and it's not fun to try shooting while being OA by meleers around you. Difficult, hmm.

What if I stealth and mark somebody while stealthed? I've interpreted the rules that this would be automatically noticed and therefore breaking my stealth (and getting me in a mess). Correct?

 

[bardolph]

Umm, I actually missed that I don't need to shoot at the one closest to me. Thanks theNater!

Not exactly. Hunter's Quarry only works on the target closest to you.

Prime shot is situational at best. The way I envision it is that the Ranger scouts ahead, using Stealth to keep unnoticed and Perception to spot hidden enemies, and when the battle breaks out, you're getting Prime Shot during the first round, before your ranks are defined by the Defender(s).

Another time for Prime Shot is when a stray monster breaks through the ranks and engages your Archer. You can then Quarry/Shift/Shoot, using Prime Shot, until either your Defender lands a mark, or until your quarry is dead.

 

[theNater]

I guess I this means my ranger should try to be at the front when things start much more. I've kept from doing that as I tend to get charged and it's not fun to try shooting while being OA by meleers around you. Difficult, hmm.

Yup, finding a good shooting point is pretty rough. Too close to your defenders and the enemies' front-liners get opportunity attacks on you, too far away and the enemies can get to you during their turns.

Depending on how much room you have, you might be able to use move and fight powers like Nimble Strike and Evasive Strike to move closer(say, as close as your defender is) and fire, then use your move action to move back to safety. I haven't tried this tactic, but it sounds plausible in theory.

What if I stealth and mark somebody while stealthed? I've interpreted the rules that this would be automatically noticed and therefore breaking my stealth (and getting me in a mess). Correct?

I'm not sure on this. The enemy is aware of what conditions you have applied, but I don't know that that includes an awareness of your location.

In any case, Hunter's Quarry is a minor action, so there's very little incentive to apply it before the turn in which you start firing, and that's probably going to give away your position regardless.

 

[kouk]

If you really want to get around the battlefield at your leisure, consider changing your race to Eladrin; multiclassing into Rogue for more movement powers; or otherwise coordinating with your team to move enemies around or stop their OAs temporarily.

 

[bardolph]

In any case, Hunter's Quarry is a minor action, so there's very little incentive to apply it before the turn in which you start firing, and that's probably going to give away your position regardless.

There's plenty of incentive if there's a particular target you want to kill first. Once you quarry a target, you can keep it as a quarry, even if it moves away from you. If you wait until you shoot, you may get stuck with a suboptimal target if it happens to be closer. This is especially true if your closest target is a minion.

 

[theNater]

There's plenty of incentive if there's a particular target you want to kill first. Once you quarry a target, you can keep it as a quarry, even if it moves away from you. If you wait until you shoot, you may get stuck with a suboptimal target if it happens to be closer. This is especially true if your closest target is a minion.

Good call. Hadn't thought of that.

 

[NeoNick]

Not exactly. Hunter's Quarry only works on the target closest to you.

Ah, this is the source for my problems. It's Hunter's quarry you need to target your closest enemy, not for Prime Shot. I mixed the two up - now this is the reason of my frustration.

I want to shoot enemies at the back using both Prime Shot and Hunter's quarry. Hrmff

It seems I'm best off ditching my group and hunt alone. Then I will always have them.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Prime shot is to stop your turns degenerating into hiding at the back of the party and picking out the biggest [w] score and firing that at your marked target each round.

It's supposed to make you move around the battlefield to try to set up the best shot.