Rangers - misunderstood or actually bad?

[Tayen]

Hey everyone,

I'm going to be starting up a new main character on blue, and I was considering a number of different classes, but I keep coming back to the idea of cranking the nostalgia factor up to 11 and creating a Ranger, as that was the first character I ever created when I started up EQ for the first time.

That being said, every guide I've found on the wiki essentially warns against making a Ranger, as they're not very desirable in groups, and in fact don't really have much ability to solo either. I'm just wondering if there is truth in this, or if this may have changed slightly since Velious was released? Are Rangers still a dead end choice for a main character, or are they just misunderstood? I don't mind if I'm not the number 1 pick for groups, but I'd rather not also be a loner for my entire leveling experience either. Any Rangers out there able to give me their two copper on this?

Thanks in advance!