I currently am a 51 ranger. I have not any problems finding any groups or getting xp at all. Yes exp does slow down when you get to 51 only because you can split up exp with earning AA points. I have been called from solong rockhoppers in DSP to come to POI to group with people. The ranger has the best DPS than any other class. If you think that they suck do some LDONs with a 51 Ranger or high and you will see for yourself. I have many friends that are Ragers from 51 to 65 and they to never have a problem getting into groups. Couple your bow with your epic and you can be one damage wielding Ranger. Our Epic do give you some advantages that some do not get. Earthcaller gives you a 50% slow and a 500dot spell. Swiftwind gives you 40% haste. I currently have my epic and use a Swiftwind in off hand and Long Sword of the Ykesha in main hand. I can tell you with this I do a lot of damage so I get called alot for groups. With tracking I get some calls from guildie and other friends because I can track mobs almost to the other side of the zone. So my advice is keep at it. Make as many ranger friends that will encourage you and give you dvise as you raise in levels. That is my 2cp..

yes you did, lol

Playing a ranger, I had few problems getting a group until I hit the 50's, ( although I soloed 47 through 52 in JP ). 52 to 60 was very rough going, tough getting groups, and not a lot of ranger friendly zones to solo in. But I stuck it out, got to 60, and grouping became a lot easier. Now, at 65, with EQ and AM3, I am glad that I stuck it out. When you find yourself doing 220+ sustained DPS without using TS, it makes all the work worthwhile. That's 220+ with a bow, not swords, which I seldom pull out of mothballs anymore, although I keep epics equipped simply for the stats ( or landing a slow when the 60 shammy can't seem to do it...hehe). With Harmony of Nature, and "outdoor" zones, you come back into demand as a puller as well. Archery also allows you to stay out of swatting range of the mob, making the clerics happier. As for tanking, we were never meant for it, none of the chain classes are. Having said that, I watched two rangers take down Gaukr in BoT, grouped with a cleric, and yes, one of the rangers was tanking. A high end ranger is a puller/DPS/crowd control class, those are the things we are meant for, not being a meat shield, although some rangers can be with enough AA's under thier belts. In the end though, it just depends on which class suits you best.

"I don't have to outrun the mob, I just have to outrun you."

Derthe
65th Hunter of The Tribunal

about 6 months ago i had a 56 ranger, just started up again with new account. i had no problems finding groups at all in pop, i dunno if things changed since then though.

Being a level 41 Ranger myself, I also have never never had any touble finding groups. Since LDoN came out, I in fact find people asking me to join their group even before I have /ooc or shouted for one. Rangers are an intergral part of any group,able to sneak-pull/snare/SoW, and when decently buffed, with a good group, can take the place of a tank. My Ranger is by far, my favorite toon.

Very nice post, Rangers actually are the toughest PVPers in the game imo, at high lvl's and with the right Archery training :o) you too can kick some butt.
I highly reccomend the Ranger, fun fun.

Rangers are not worthless over 51. I am a 65 Ranger who does not have any problems getting groups.

A few things, we are DPS and pullers (outside via HoN) not tanks. At high lvls, a Ranger that gets agro can turn into a dead Ranger. By not using your snare and DD right away, you give the Tank a chance to establish agro and no problems. Later with the proper AAs you will be using your bow most of the time doing tons of damage.

With good ac and HPs, mine 1280ac and 5200 hps buffed, I can tank when needed, but Clerics do use extra mana vs main tanking classes.

I can also solo very well. Go to Natimbi or Jagged Pine Forest and fear kite. I also solo ME, amd many other zones using snare, root, dots and tons of arrows (get yourselve a Tolan's Bracer to summon arrows).

Here's my take. Very few classes can solo to 65. Ranger is one of them, although most rangers have to make their own god very mad to do so. They have insane dps, track, and a soloers best friend, Panic Animal. Find an animal that cons white, snare it, panic animal it, run behind and beat on it, when it turns on you, run out of range and re-Panic Animal. I have a friend who did this on stuff all the way to 65 to prove that you could. Also, with rampage in the game, most raid guilds like to have a few rangers because the ranger can stand back with a Stonewood Compound Bow, launching a rediculously nasty arrow at stuff until it dies with Endless Quiver, and the clerics don't have to waste heals on the AoE Rampage. There are so many options, and as said by many people, try to beat them for dps. You can't. I am currently restarted on the Stromm server, many people dislike my original Ranger because I was a prick when I was playing him, so no name will be said, but already I get into pickup groups for things such as Lost Dungeons, and Pallies can't keep aggro off me in Mistmoore sometimes with that rediculous proc and stuns, because I'm hitting for 50's with a 1 hand slasher in each hand with 31% haste. And we're not talking a massively expensive piece of eq here, Centi Longsword. I have MAYBE 30k plat worth of gear, half of that is my belt. You can make that with about a week of farming pretty easily. Anyway, Rangers may not be as important to a group as a Warrior or a Cleric, and no, in the high end game you can't tank. But you will beat stuff to death, and you should have no trouble getting into a competant group as long as you know what you're doing, because the competant groups will want the damage with a little bit of backup potential. Oh, and they want you to suck the harm touch, always the ranger sucks the harmtouch.:)

Darythe Amlaurian
Ranger of 32 Seasons
Saryrn Server

Are you guys talking about Everquest???



You quit a 43 Wood elf ranger to restart a Half elf ranger? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard.



hmmmmmmm, if you are taking agro from the tank you are a bad player, and nobody will appreciate grouping with you.


To sum up Rangers have a bad area where they are not really outstanding at anything. Average DPS, Average Tank, Average CC, and groups tend to want the best, so you end up LFG alot. However at 59 you are able to get EQ/AM3 and this will up you DPS to an acceptable level. It will also greatly help your soloing ability. So yes Ranger are kind of crap for about 8 levels, but many have said that it is well worth it once you get there.

LOL a 4 year old thread. 4 Years ago Rangers didnt have EQ/AM3. AA's were introduced with Luclin which was released in 2001 I think. Back then Rangers WERE a tough class to play 51+ because they just didnt have the DPS as pure melee as Rouges, Monks, and not enough DPS over Warriors Sk's and Pallys to warrent giving up a tank class. At the time Verant(no longer around) didnt know what to do with Rangers and we suffered. When Luclin came out Archery AAs gave us a HUGE DPS roll. So that we eclipsed even Rouges in DPS. SO all these comments are to an original post that had, at that time, a legitimate point. Now of course it is an irrelivant discussion. I responded below before I looked at the date on the original thread and busted out laughing. I will leave them in case someone can use. LOL 4 year old post.

51 to 59 can be difficult for some getting groups. Wasn't a problem for me because I soloed to 58 in JPF beteween LDON groups. Rangers are very valuable in LDONS as auxillery CC, Tanks, and situational pullers... ie root pulling. I was NOT one to stand around LFG for long... a few minutes of no takers for LDON and I was off for JPF if I hadnt logged there the night before. JPF Jagged Pine Forest is a solo heaven for Rangers... the Dblue mobs start to get thin at level 57, but its better than sitting doing nothing waiting for a group.... that and the loot is AWESOME ...Griffon/Annaconda meat and Foraged Plant Shoots.

Once a Ranger invests the time in AA points to achieve Endless Quiver(EQ) and Archery Mastery3(AM3) a Ranger becomes one of the top DPS melee classes in the game. EQ/AM3 is a huge selling point for groups... I didnt wait long for LDONs or groups once I got EQ/QM3. A Ranger with EQ/AM3 and a few other AA's will out damage ANY melee class when Trueshot discipline is on....period. So its really how you see things. Yes, it can be a little painfull and discouraging getting there, but the higher end Ranger is a whoot to play

95% of the time I can grab aggro off the warrior in my groups with a single taunt. I'm using a friggin' wurmy too! When a caster is dumb enough to grab aggro I can peel it off of him in a heartbeat, I have saved atleast 25 lives in 30 LDoNs just because I was smart and soloed for awhile and got my taunt up. I have been playing rangers for more than 4 years off and on and I can honestly say they are the most unboring class around. At 65 with the appropraite AAs you can beat basically ANY class at 65 regardless of their AAs, the bow is just that gosu.

Oh, and why th ehell would you revive a 4 year old thread? Dude, this thign was made when my ranger was, heh.

The best source of AA info I know of is on Rangers Glade http://forums.interealms.com/ranger/forumdisplay.php?forumid=5
There is one "guide" for normal AA and one for PoP AA.

In general from my personal observations Combat Fury 3 will get you about 10-15% crits with a bow. Adding Fury of the Ages3 to the mix will get you around 25-30% Procs with your bow. Dex maxed at 305 with Planer Power 5 seems to drag that up about 5% or so. From observation only I am Criting about 1/3 the time. I need to do some parsing, but just keep forgeting.

Mellee wise I bet CF3 and Fury Ages 3 only gets me about 10% crits at most with melee weapons.

During TS i said.

During the 2 minutes of TS a Ranger WILL out damage a rouge... period.