Gearing a lowbie ranger

[Bengala]

Aside from getting the best haste I can afford, what should I be looking for gear/stat-wise? I went through pages and pages of the melee forums and deduced that either I get a Swarmcaller or Woodsman's Staff and I'll likely never get the opportunity to do epic, so... options are limited lol

For context, I duo with my wife on her cleric 99% of the time and we are currently only lvl 23. I only have full Blue Wicker armor from Stonebrunt Mountains (cause it looks hot, and we farmed it while leveling our ENC/DRU duo) and am wielding MH Lamentation OH Wakizashi of the Frozen Skies (have a second one for looks, but I believe the Lammy is better due to ration).

As a wood elf ranger tank, should I gear towards: AC>HP>STA>STR? A mid-range gear list would be most appreciated if anyone has the time to curate one. I have around 10k plat across my main toons to work with.

Thanks ahead for the insight!!

[Garnaak]

I think you have it correct for any tank types with AC>HP>STA>STR

[Kich867]

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

Aside from getting the best haste I can afford, what should I be looking for gear/stat-wise? I went through pages and pages of the melee forums and deduced that either I get a Swarmcaller or Woodsman's Staff and I'll likely never get the opportunity to do epic, so... options are limited lol

For context, I duo with my wife on her cleric 99% of the time and we are currently only lvl 23. I only have full Blue Wicker armor from Stonebrunt Mountains (cause it looks hot, and we farmed it while leveling our ENC/DRU duo) and am wielding MH Lamentation OH Wakizashi of the Frozen Skies (have a second one for looks, but I believe the Lammy is better due to ration).

As a wood elf ranger tank, should I gear towards: AC>HP>STA>STR? A mid-range gear list would be most appreciated if anyone has the time to curate one. I have around 10k plat across my main toons to work with.

Thanks ahead for the insight!!

If you're duoing with a cleric, I mean definitely AC helps, but I'd probably lean more towards a haste item and strength and the best weapons you can find. The cleric will keep you alive, and rangers aren't that tanky to begin with compared to a warrior/paladin/sk.

Haste > Great weapons > Strength/AC/HP/Stamina in that order imo.

[Keebz]

AC isn't great here, especially as you're leveling as it's capped by level.

Haste/Weapons > HP > STA > AC > everything else.

The first half of the epic is very easy. I'm sure you'll be able to do that part if you tried.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

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

AC isn't great here, especially as you're leveling as it's capped by level.

Haste/Weapons > HP > STA > AC > everything else.

The first half of the epic is very easy. I'm sure you'll be able to do that part if you tried.

It does depend on level. For the first 40 levels or so I would say:

Haste/Weapons > HP > AC > STA > everything else.

Simply because STA, INT, and WIS all scale poorly early on. The AC does help quite a bit on level 1-39 mobs, since they are balanced to be weaker. Mobs get a big power boost 40+ generally speaking.

After that I agree with:

Haste/Weapons > HP > STA > AC > everything else.

You are getting good returns on STA at that point. You also need to start worrying more about Resists. They are situationally more important than AC/HP/STA.

[Garnaak]

When you are leveling a toon, are there really many different paths for +HP? I think it is kind of universal, melee, caster, or hy-brid.

2x 6/65 rings
2x 2/35/25 ears
Best HP cloak you can afford
Velks Belt & Face.

That is kind of your goto HP buffage early on (at least mine). Maybe a piece or two elsewhere. All of these are also pretty high on the AC front as well, so not really sacrificing one over the other.

If I am incorrect please let me know, but isn't the AC cap (6*lvl)+25 worn AC? That is going to be very hard to hit once you reach your 20's without major endgame gear.

[Jimjam]

I’d value str much more than sta while levelling a ranger, especially with a cleric.

[darkreap]

I would get 1x jade mace, 1x lammy (or 2 for looks), a lupine dagger, Swarmcaller and Woodsman’s Staff. Keep all your skills up as you level but you will probably only use the woodsman’s after 30 until you get first epic sword. If a cleric is always around, I would prioritize hps over AC as the returns you get from AC aren’t as good as other classes and once she gets CH, it might be more mana efficient. No matter what you pick, it will be rough on your healer.

[Snaggles]

These days if you use a 2h to 60 you aren’t lacking too much with solid haste. They have gotten much better on blue at least with Chardok 2.0 patch.

I’ve always done:
STR > MR > HPs (stam is fine in the high levels with proper conversion) > AC.
Of course with the best ratio weapon(s) possible.

If you can max str with a self buff you will always have max attack. With proper MR you won’t get blinded, rooted, snared, or slowed which really helps with pulling and tanking since slow sucks.

The Woodsman is a touch better than an Exquisite 2h and slightly worse than an Herbalist Spade. You don’t always want to root stuff though. You could technically go silver swiftblade to Exquisite 2hs and never look back. The Swarmcaller is a no brainer. It will keep your team’s healing mana MUCH higher. The 2h slow to 2h dps is a quick and easy swap.

I wouldn’t count out the epic for good. Even as a casual player in most guilds it’s a very easy one to get, at least the Swiftwind. I’m just frankly not sure it’s much better with EC tunnel weapons over a Woodsman or Exquisite 2h. I had a Wood until 58. Mixing in nukes solo put down stuff easy. That or a tolan bracer and a 30dmg bow. Bow rotting isn’t fun when they have over 4k hps but putting down HK nobles is rather quick.

[Snaggles]

Sorry rambled BS as usual [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Treeweave
Black ice legs and arms
Blackened Alloy Helm
Hooded Black Cloak
Hero Bracer + maybe a Granite Bracer
Silver Chitin Handwraps
Spider Fur Collar
Earring of Essence + orc fang/cougar claw
Grotesque Alloy Mask or Sarnak Hide Mask
Dwarven Workboots maybe
Wedding rings
Something random as a range, maybe a Runed Oak Bow to get your skill up with vendor arrows. Flight arrows are 150 range and can be bought in Surefall Glade for pulling.
Thick Banded Belt eventually

Prioritize haste and weapons. Silver Swiftblade is such a great buy. A swarmcaller when you can just to make sure you have it for good. Upgrade to a Velium 2h or Woodsman later. If that’s a struggle a Springwood Stave would be a nice intermediate.