Gearing a ranger

[Snaggles]

Unless you want to know how a 2h will compare towards two 1h’s on a mob that isn’t trivial to hit. Then the calculator falls apart.

I’m going to work with bcbrown to figure out some Swarmcaller vs Epics math. Frankly that for me is the curious one because part of what we can offer is slowing stuff. I don’t still have a Woodsman Staff or Zek blade, otherwise I’d parse that against other setups.

Stay tuned (it might take a while, my game schedule sucks).

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Originally Posted by bcbrown [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

DPS performance against raid targets is in-scope for this discussion.

Good to know. That wasn't noted in your original message.

Typically a level 51 Ranger is going to be using weapons to level. Raids typically don't want level 51 Rangers DPSing, and will ask you to switch to another character instead. It isn't a leap to assume you are mostly leveling at this stage.

Originally Posted by bcbrown [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

You've been talking a lot about your damage formula but you haven't done anything to answer the original question: which of those five weapons should I be using? The question has been answered to my satisfaction (keep using the Woodsman's Staff), but if you want to talk about your formula, you should explain how it answers my question.

You should actually read my posts and you'd have that answer. You can use a damage calculator and a formula to figure out which weapons have better DPS. DPS is a factor in determining which weapon to use.

Please read next time.

[Snaggles]

Originally Posted by kjs86z2 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

uh hello, human resources?!?!?! theres nerds here getting sweaty over nothing

vulak was killed in kunark gear boys

This is true haha. This is stuff we can figure out once we come to the crossroads. I’ll help a bit if I can…for sake of science /nerdglasses

[Salaryman]

Originally Posted by DeathsSilkyMist [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

And yet people still kill Vulak to get Vulak loot years later. Clearly people enjoy the loot part of the game, even if it isn't necessary to clear content. Also sometimes being over geared for an encounter allows you to do it with a lower player count than normal, or solo.

RED99

This right here is the crux of my argument against PVE only servers.

There is no reason to gear up after you are capable of killing the boss, other then to kill the boss quicker so you can kill the next boss before the competing guilds do.

But if your going to be competing why not just fight each other anyways?

RED99

[Snaggles]

Originally Posted by Salaryman [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

RED99

This right here is the crux of my argument against PVE only servers.

There is no reason to gear up after you are capable of killing the boss, other then to kill the boss quicker so you can kill the next boss before the competing guilds do.

But if your going to be competing why not just fight each other anyways?

RED99

Killing AoW in this state of the game using ranger bumps is far more interesting and skillful than bow hunting a sad rogue on a PVP server. You think people are afraid to try Red, they literally just don’t care it exists.

[Snaggles]

Originally Posted by DeathsSilkyMist [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Good to know. That wasn't noted in your original message.

Typically a level 51 Ranger is going to be using weapons to level. Raids typically don't want level 51 Rangers DPSing, and will ask you to switch to another character instead. It isn't a leap to assume you are mostly leveling at this stage.

Asking if a Woodsman is still viable over X,Y & Z is fair. I don’t recall bcbrown saying he plans to raid at 51. Let’s not enter that into the discussion.

I’ve gone further to say it’s likely even better at 60 than people give it credit for. It was pretty solid when I was using one at 45-58 back in 2017 and with patches has only become better in the high 50’s. These conversations can happen concurrently.

The way I see it, any serious player will eventually hit 60. The ranger isn’t an easy path but it’s a fun one. If you have a viable weapon that will only become better relative to its competitors, is that better than one which will stagnate? What if those more expensive ones are currently seen as “better” when they really aren’t? Thats my curiosity in this whole thing.

The more time you are buying and selling upgrades in EC, the less time is spent plunking xp mobs. I’d rather do anything than sit around in EC or even log in a mile to try and catch a seller. It’s only slightly more fun than doing a CR.

[Salaryman]

Originally Posted by Snaggles [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Killing AoW in this state of the game using ranger bumps is far more interesting and skillful than bow hunting a sad rogue on a PVP server. You think people are afraid to try Red, they literally just don’t care it exists.

RED99

I dont think about you pve nerds at all, I dont want you to play RED99 im glad you have your lawyerquest containment pve servers

I post for PVPers like me (Im the Number 1 #1 TOP PVPER in all of EverQuest History (His Story, My Story, which is written by the Victors (me) and Im Number #1) In all of EverQuest History) So that if a real man sees these posts they know RED99 is Legit.

So keep playing your hello kitty island adventure mmo.

RED99

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Originally Posted by Snaggles [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Asking if a Woodsman is still viable over X,Y & Z is fair. I don’t recall bcbrown saying he plans to raid at 51. Let’s not enter that into the discussion.

I’ve gone further to say it’s likely even better at 60 than people give it credit for. It was pretty solid when I was using one at 45-58 back in 2017 and with patches has only become better in the high 50’s. These conversations can happen concurrently.

The way I see it, any serious player will eventually hit 60. The ranger isn’t an easy path but it’s a fun one. If you have a viable weapon that will only become better relative to its competitors, is that better than one which will stagnate? What if those more expensive ones are currently seen as “better” when they really aren’t? Thats my curiosity in this whole thing.

The more time you are buying and selling upgrades in EC, the less time is spent plunking xp mobs. I’d rather do anything than sit around in EC or even log in a mile to try and catch a seller. It’s only slightly more fun than doing a CR.

I prefer to give people the best factual information possible without bias, and let them figure out what to do with it. Everybody plays the game differently.

I don't want to assume a person wouldn't like using Wurmslayer + Epic over Woodsman staff for fun. That person may decide to avoid having said fun if they think the DPS difference is significant at 51, which it almost certainly isn't given how the game works. Many weapons are cheap enough these days, so it isn't a huge lift to buy a Wurmslayer for 1.5k or w/e and try it out for a while.

This is why I don't like the general rule of thumb "2h is better". It hides a lot of nuance of the game that people may end up missing if they just follow the advise without knowing why it exists. I'm not saying I disagree with the sentiment, 2h weapons post-buff got a significant boost. I just prefer to give out the facts rather than a general rule of thumb.

[spoil]

Just the facts, ma'am.

[Duik]

Dont Spoil his fun factual facts.