What are Rangers like now? Wanted in grps?
 

I haven't been around much since Velious released, was just wondering what has changed with Rangers since then. I know the 40% exp bonus is gone and they got a couple new spells, but has the general opinion of them changed much? Do they get groups much easier now than before? Has their dps changed any / gotten better, making them more appealing to group with on the way to level 60?

Personally I love a good ranger while leveling. Great pullers semi decent dps and honestly if played well feel like they can tank as well.

Dps was never the issue, it was the 40% exp penalty. Any group now looking for dps and not taking a ranger with decent gear is dumb.

Shear stat wise... dps / tanking. Nothing to write home about inferior to monks and rogues in dps, and inferior to everyone except rogues in tanking.

Their spells offer them some versatility and handy group tools if used correctly and of course harmony in outdoor zones is pulling made EZ-mode. Their epic is at least in my opinion one of the stronger melee (well hybrid) epics in that it can proc slow, which helps them solo / group in groups without a sham or enc a lot better. I believe their epic is a lot easier nowadays with VS remains too.

Like all melee classes (hybrids included) leans heavily on gear dependence. But if your not tanking which monks and warriors do better anyway then some good weapons and a haste item is really all you need.

A twinked ranger with epics is the king of KC and a nobody anywhere else.

If anyone is interested in what they do on raids:
Call of the Predator, Strength of Nature, and Call of Earth are all wanted buffs. Rangers also save the day by weaponshielding if a tank goes down so the next tank can pick it up after heals start landing. Multiple rangers will even make a list for who will weaponshield first. DPS wise they do not get triple attack which is a pretty big deal and usually parse just under or at monks. Attack buffs for the raid are very strong, but you only really need one ranger there to do it.

A common misconception is that rogues are a low-defense squishy melee class like rangers. Rogues actually have insanely high defense skill (which doesn't make a lot of sense considering we spend most of our time avoiding aggro), and aside from disciplines and the taunt ability, they're pretty much on par with warriors in the tanking department. My rogue is fairly beefy despite lacking NToV and other end-game gear - easily north of 1,100 AC and 4,500 HP with group buffs. I carry around tank weapons such as Infestation and Trochilic's Skean on my rogue in case the opportunity presents itself, but lacking a proc or a rooter things can go south fairly quickly. So if you do decide to try rogue-tanking, you'll want to either call post-proc assists or have a dedicated rooter.

Rangers are actually completely unique in their shitty defense cap, which is paradoxical to their superior snap aggro which is the best in the game.

So there should really be two criterion for comparing tanking proficiency: the ability to take hits, and the ability to draw aggro. Warriors, monks, and rogues are the worst in the latter, and hybrids are the best in the former, with rangers simultaneously occupying the zenith of snap aggro and the nadir of durability. Because of this, gear is usually a huge factor when considering a ranger as a tank, which is why rangers are often still groupless post experience penalties. Sometimes the biggest factor in a ranger's groupability is their personal reputation - their notoriety for being well-geared or a solid player. I think the main reason for this is because they're primarily a utility hybrid - they don't specialize in any one role that a group might be looking for.

I can't remember who, but someone once described rangers as the oil in a well-oiled machine - the additional component in a mechanical system that, when utilized well, allows everything to flow more smoothly. They fill in the empty gaps in the group by picking up the slack in a bunch of different roles such as pulling, buffing, DPSing, crowd-controlling, and tanking. So a ranger really needs to be extremely proactive in groups in order to carry their weight, which isn't necessarily true to the same degree for other melee and hybrid classes. They're the jack-of-all-trades of melee classes.

Paul, your agro problems are due to your shit ratio weapons. Get a Nightfall or Thornstinger for tanking. Very few people can pull off my rogue and that's what backstab agro is for.

If you're playing a ranger to be wanted in groups then don't.

Plya one of these:
Enchanter
Cleric
Monk
Rogue
Warrior
Wizard
Shaman
Necromancer
Magician

This was tallied from server data during original content, maybe 2010-11.

Tehse classes don't tend to survive at the highest levels:
Bard
Ranger
Druid
Shadowknight
Paladin

Notice the 4 hybrids?

I played a ranger when there were dinosaurs. I played them when gimp was our last name.

Play a ranger because you like them. Period.

Bards might wear plate but I swear rangers hold up better in a tanking situation, just from a cleric's point of view...not sure if its having gear more suited to it (HP/sta/etc) or not, whether AC "works as intended" or not, or just based on the rangers I've had vs bards.

Rangers are good pullers and particularly since the hybrid XP penalty disappeared I love having them in a group...never played one past the 20s myself :p