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Message: <blockquote data-quote="andy3k" data-source="post: 5548251" data-attributes="member: 6674918">How does a defender with a pet become a ranged defender? Because the pet is not attacking. The pet is a punching bag. The defender is attacking with ranged attacks. The effects of his marks, and of some of his attack powers, is that the bad guys take -2 to hit anyone but the pet. The ranged defender can punish marks from a distance, again with ranged attacks. The swordmage can react from a distance and I believe that the paladin can also, but the ranged defender would be the only one doing it with true ranged attacks. The payoff is more flexibility in who you can mark and punish. The limitation would have to be less damage or weaker effects or conditions from attack powers.A recent post brought up a ranged defender who defends against ranged attacks, but someone else is working on that build. Since that is more of a niche build, I'm concentrating on a ranged defender who handles mostly melee just like all other defenders. That is not to say that he wouldn't also be usable against a ranged attacker.We could do the ranged close burst aura mark with the ranged defender, although that only adds to the strength of the build. Not only can I mark anywhere on the field but I can mark in a close burst 1. That seems rather mighty. If we do the aura, maybe it should go on the pet. The nice thing about the aura is that it gives the controller something into which they can push/pull/shift/teleport the bad guys. But then we ask, what fits the role of defender better? To put an aura on a specific area? Or on a specific person? That takes us back to the concept discussed earlier where the real task of a defender is to defend the squishy players. Let's allow the ranged defender to put an aura on an ally (which can include the pet if the ranged defender has a pet). Now we are protecting whoever needs the most help at the time. If the controller is off in a corner and not getting hassled then we aura the striker. If the striker keeps hiding with a check of 42 and the controller is being targeted, the aura goes on the controller. A mobile aura with ranged punishment.I should probably borrow an Essentials book and read through the basic rules of it. My only experience with Essentials characters are seeing them played in a mostly pre-essentials game and I don't recall seeing the Essentials characters using powers common to the pre-essential builds. They seemed to work very differently. But like I said, I haven't read it so I don't know enough about it.</blockquote>

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