Ranger/Shaman Duo

[SenseiPikachu]

Friend and I are thinking of doing a shaman ranger duo, both of us are completely new so zero twinkage. Will the Ranger have difficulty tanking while leveling up?

Also, I've been reading in the forums that monk/rogue dps is higher than ranger. How much higher are we talking at lvl 60? Like will the they be putting out twice as much dps as a ranger or just 10% higher kinda thing (with comparable items of course)?

Thanks for any/all responses!

[SenseiPikachu]

Sorry duplicate post - please ignore this one.

[Malone88]

Ranger + Shaman will work well in any outdoor zone/dungeon.

Harmony for single pulls.
Slow all incoming mobs.

Ranger will just need a set of banded, some HP rings, and decent
weaps.

Will be a challenge in some higher-level dungeons though, with no harmony.

[Jimjam]

Might not be the best DPS, but there will be plenty of content for you to do, taking you all the way to 60 if you want.

To get started, use inner fire to heal. Save your plat to buy a nice weapon for the ranger (try pick up something like a silver swiftblade or green jade broadsword for 50pp, that will last for a while and would be better than anything you would have had on live for dozens of levels). From there add banded ~100pp then some hp/ac rings (55/5 or better) for a few hundred more pp. Upgrade your weapon if you can do so cheaply, otherwise save up a few k for haste.

At early levels the shaman won't care so much about equipment, but maybe get him a nice weapon if you have the cash to spend because for the first dozen levels or so his melee won't be completely useless. For armour he should get by with whatever you can loot (raw hide, cloth, chain, mesh, etc).

[darkreap]

My buddy and I did this combo starting out on this server. As stated above, get a Silver swiftblade, 5ac/55hp rings and a banded armor set as soon as possible. Also if you can save up enough plat, try to get a sword of skyfire and green jade broadsword. Both are pretty cheap options 1h weapons which will last you a while. Make sure you keep all your combat skills leveled as you go. The shaman shouldn't need too much gear to shine. Try to hunt in places where quest pieces for ivy etched armor drop and quest as much as you can of that armor set as it increases AC and the stats aren't terrible. Eventually you will need a good 2h weapon to replace the swiftblade once the damage cap is lifted at lvl 20. Look for a springwood stave. Its a pretty cheap option and its probably the best 2h weapon you will find for less than 500 plat.

Honestly though, a monk/shaman combo is probably going to be easier in the long run. As much as I love my ranger and refuse to make a monk because of the severe overpopulation on this server, gearing/pulling/leveling will all be much easier as a monk. At level 60 you will be hard pressed as a ranger to get close to a monks DPS with comparable gear. Monks have better offensive skills, damage mitigation, and require much less gear starting out plus monks get the mend skill which lets them heal during the fight with a fairly quick timer. Also, there are a TON of cheap monk weapons.

[Smurn]

When considering the buff situation i think this combo is ideal given the other options you mentioned

[Harmonicdeth]

Ranger is awesome for this because of flame lick to grab agro back off the shaman when he slows it.

Other than that, do what the others have said. Stock up on some arrows, fletch if you have to. Not a bad idea to pluck a few arrows at it till the shaman has it rooted and slowed.

As for pulling..Unrest/MM/CT/CoM/KC you will out pull a monk by leaps and bounds with harmony alone. Inside, you can help CC with roots..ranger is an amazing class if played correctly. Remember you're utility DPS not just a straight facesmash rogue/monk.

Wish you the best, if you need any shaman or ranger advice, hit me up in game, see below.

Good luck!

[Pyrion]

Be aware that the shaman will probably tank as good as the ranger if needed. A ranger is not a real tank, but with shaman slow you should be fine most of the time.

Monks do more damage, thats a fact. But it's not like double damage, more like 10 to 20%. Rogues do a LOT more damage, but only from behind (so your shaman would need to tank).

[RDawg816]

I've done the rogue/shaman duo 3 times. Ranger will be fine.

Depending on gear/mana, either one can root until it's slowed. The ranger should tank to let the shaman med.

Also, in addition to using inner fire to heal (until 19) you will also want to play with your root and slows. The level 1/5 roots will suffice for holding the pull/adds until slowed. The extra mana isn't worth the extra slow percentage until later levels. Use a slow that is "good enough" so you can handle slowing every mob and deal with resists. If you're struggling with mana and only slow certain mobs you'll spend that mana you "saved" on heals anyways. If the ranger is taking "too much" damage or you're keeping up on mana, go up one level of slows.

I'd also recommend using something for buff timers. Not having to swap spells mid-fight or holding pulls to refresh a buff adds up. Being on top of buffs makes a notable difference.