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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 5530638" data-attributes="member: 996">The one idea that jumped out at me in this thread was that the job of a dedicated ranged defender would be to take the heat of enemy artillery (and ranged controllers or skirmishers) off his allies.  That's pretty specialized, since artillery is hardly a feature of every combat.  It could be a very important take on the role in, say, a modern-era setting where ranged attacks are much more prevelent.  Still, if you wanted to do it, you could create a fighter build for it.  It'd be tough, since, like the archer-Warlord build, you'd need to add a lot of ranged powers, too.The build would trade in the fighter's major defender features:Archer's Challenge:(Replaces Combat Challenge)When you make an attack roll against an enemy, you can choose to mark that enemy until the end of your next turn.  If an enemy marked by you, and within range of your weapon makes a ranged or area attack that does not include you as a target, you may make a ranged basic attack against that enemy as an opportunity action; this ranged basic attack ignores the benefit of any cover (or superior cover) the enemy has at the moment it makes the triggering attack.  If an enemy marked by you and not adjacent to you or any ally moves or shifts to become adjacent to an ally of yours and is within your weapon's range, you may make a ranged basic attack against that enemy as an opportunity action.Command of the Field:(replaces Combat Superiority)You have a field of fire within a close blast of your weapon's short range.  This field includes all squares within the blast that do not have cover or concealment from you, and which are not adjacent to (or occupied by) your allies.  Establishing a field of fire is a minor action, and it is defined relative to you (if you are pushed back, so is your field of fire).  You can change the relative position of your field of fire as a minor action.  When an enemy attempts to enter your field of fire, you can make a ranged basic attack targeting that enemy as an immediate interrupt.  If the attack hits, the enemy is forced back along his path of movement until he is no longer in your field of fire, and may not enter your field of fire again on his current turn.  When an enemy who starts his turn in your field of fire ends his turn there, you can make a ranged basic attack targeting that enemy as an immediate reaction.  Enemies who have cover or concealment from you for any reason (such as invisiblity) are not deemed to be within your field of fire.  The ranged fighter would take the two-handed weapon talent if using a bow or the one-handed weapon talent if using thrown weapons.It would, of course, require a whole set of ranged-weapon powers.When ranged enemies aren't involved in a combat, this character could act as a secondary controller or striker, inconveniencing the enemy's tactical and concentrating fire on whichever enemy seems most vulnerable.  It's mark still works, but it will mostly just give the -2 penalty, much like a conventional fighter in an all-ranged combat.</blockquote>

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