Is Tigeraptor armor worth the price for a Ranger?

[Loadsamoney]

Iksar Necromancer
Iksar Monk
Barbarian Shaman
Barbarian Rogue
Dark Elf Wizard
Gnome Magician
Erudite Enchanter
High Elf Cleric
Half Elf Bard
Ogre Warrior
Troll Shadowknight
Dwarf Paladin
Halfling Druid
Wood Elf Ranger

In this case though, even though the Wood Elf Ranger has 10 more stat points overall than a Human/Half Elf Ranger, the Human Rangers stat spread seems to fit the class just a bit better. So it's a tough decision.

If I were Human, I'd go all Stamina, bringing it to 105, and if I were Wood Elf like last time, I'd put 5 into Strength and 15 into Stamina, bringing them to 75 and 90 respectively.

I honestly think I'd still prefer to go Wood Elf not just for the overall higher total stats, but also because it'll have (very marginally) the best mana pool, access to two different armor sizes, and having higher Agility, according to the way it works, means more enemy hits will miss, which probably isn't a bad thing for a class that's largely melee based and expected to do some tanking at times. And Wood Elf just fits the class lore better, IMO.

And no, I'd never play Ogre as a Shadowknight, one because I'd prefer a race that has innate regen to shorten their downtime since they lack the heals that other Hybrids have, and two because I don't feel like Ogres are a truly "evil" race, more that they're just big, stupid, and feared by others out of misunderstanding. They're certainly not on the level of malevolent as Dark Elves or Trolls. Trolls are evil incarnate.

[Kirdan]

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

Iksar Necromancer
Iksar Monk
Barbarian Shaman
Barbarian Rogue
Dark Elf Wizard
Gnome Magician
Erudite Enchanter
High Elf Cleric
Half Elf Bard
Ogre Warrior
Troll Shadowknight
Dwarf Paladin
Halfling Druid
Wood Elf Ranger

I can only get behind like 2 of those lol. To each their own, this is why fashion is the true endgame in EQ.

[loramin]

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

In this case though, even though the Wood Elf Ranger has 10 more stat points overall than a Human/Half Elf Ranger, the Human Rangers stat spread seems to fit the class just a bit better. So it's a tough decision.

If I were Human, I'd go all Stamina, bringing it to 105, and if I were Wood Elf like last time, I'd put 5 into Strength and 15 into Stamina, bringing them to 75 and 90 respectively.

I honestly think I'd still prefer to go Wood Elf not just for the overall higher total stats, but also because it'll have (very marginally) the best mana pool, access to two different armor sizes, and having higher Agility, according to the way it works, means more enemy hits will miss, which probably isn't a bad thing for a class that's largely melee based and expected to do some tanking at times. And Wood Elf just fits the class lore better, IMO.

Look, usually I make this argument with regards to gear, but it applies just as much to starting stats by race: STATS (almost) DON'T MATTER.

If you're a soloer, your soloing efficiency is almost completely unaffected by your stats, because your rate of XP is based on regeneration rates, not maximums. The only exception is with certain specific types of soloing (eg. to quad you need a "minimum max mana" ... but above that amount stats are again meaningless).

If you're in a group then technically stats do matter (eg. a Warrior with 10 more strength will do slightly more damage, and thus will increase the group's overall kill speed by a tiny amount) ... but you will never, as a human being, ever notice the difference. Don't believe me? I challenge you to play a non-melee in a group and determine whether your melee party members have ten more or less Strength [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Fashion, gear restrictions, and racial abilities: those all really matter. Starting stats? Not much.

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

And no, I'd never play Ogre as a Shadowknight, one because I'd prefer a race that has innate regen to shorten their downtime since they lack the heals that other Hybrids have, and two because I don't feel like Ogres are a truly "evil" race, more that they're just big, stupid, and feared by others out of misunderstanding. They're certainly not on the level of malevolent as Dark Elves or Trolls. Trolls are evil incarnate.

They eat other races! Isn't there like a dwarf on a spit in Oggok or something? Or at least in some Ogre zone?

[Loadsamoney]

That's wrong though! They don't give that much benefit until you reach the higher levels, sure, but to say that it makes almost no difference whatesoeverin combat parsing, overall kill speed and downtime between kills is an outright lie.

That's why my preferred Ranger weapons are two Lamentations. The ratio is not only decent at 9/19, but it has +6 Str/Sta and +20 HP. That's more important to me than the 9/19 ratio. If I had to choose between a 9/19 Lamentation with 6/6/20 Str/Sta/HP and a 14/24 Guardian's Mace with no stats, I'm taking the Lamentation, especially once bonus damage starts coming into play.

[kaev]

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

If you're a soloer, your soloing efficiency is almost completely unaffected by your stats, because your rate of XP is based on regeneration rates, not maximums. The only exception is with certain specific types of soloing (eg. to quad you need a "minimum max mana" ... but above that amount stats are again meaningless).

If your soloer is using weapons to kill things this is simply false. STR affects damage per hit of any weapon (including bows on p99). Dex affects crit frequency for Warriors (admittedly soloing a warrior sucks, especially now that rootnets are nigh useless) and bow crit frequency for Rangers. Your other stats won't affect solo combat meaningfully (well, AGI has a tiny effect on defense in melee), but STR & DEX matter because they affect avg dmg per attack.

[loramin]

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

That's wrong though! They don't give that much benefit until you reach the higher levels, sure, but to say that it makes almost no difference whatesoeverin combat parsing, overall kill speed and downtime between kills is an outright lie.

That's why my preferred Ranger weapons are two Lamentations. The ratio is not only decent at 9/19, but it has +6 Str/Sta and +20 HP. That's more important to me than the 9/19 ratio. If I had to choose between a 9/19 Lamentation with 6/6/20 Str/Sta/HP and a 14/24 Guardian's Mace with no stats, I'm taking the Lamentation, especially once bonus damage starts coming into play.

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

If your soloer is using weapons to kill things this is simply false. STR affects damage per hit of any weapon (including bows on p99). Dex affects crit frequency for Warriors (admittedly soloing a warrior sucks, especially now that rootnets are nigh useless) and bow crit frequency for Rangers. Your other stats won't affect solo combat meaningfully (well, AGI has a tiny effect on defense in melee), but STR & DEX matter because they affect avg dmg per attack.

To be clear: I'm not saying gear doesn't matter! I'm also not disputing that STR and DEX matter ... in the sense that they add to the damage calculations, and thus matter for your overall XP rate.

What I'm saying is ... does the difference a haste item makes matter in the sense that you will notice it? 100% yes! Heck your fellow group members may even notice the difference between an FBSS and no FBSS.

Does the difference between a crappy weapon and just a decent (not even an especially good) weapon matter? Yes! If there's any significant change in ratio compared to your old weapon, you'll likely notice it.

But if you get those cool new shoulder pads with +3 Dex or Str more than your old ones, will you, the human player ever notice it? I know the calculations in the computer will change, but will it matter in a way you can actually detect? Will you perceive yourself or your group killing faster in any way?

I submit no. Now starting stats can have more dramatic number differences, and they matter for the life of your character (or at least until you hit caps), so they matter more than those shoulderpads ... but still the core principle is the same. You won't really care in the long run if your melee character starts with 15 more strength or whatever, but if you pick a race you (say) hate looking at, or hate looking through (because of poor eyesight) ... basically if you put stats over anything that "really matters", I think you'll regret it.

I say base your racial decision on stats ... if you've narrowed your choices down based on everything else, and now you're trying to pick between your favorites [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Loadsamoney]

You've technically already narrowed it down for me. Humans have no racials at all. Wood Elves get Infravision, Hide and Forage, all minor since all Rangers learn these at some point in their lives (though having them earlier is nifty I suppose, saves time on skilling up as well), but can also wear small and medium armor, which is more significant as it opens up their equipment options quite a bit.

Wood Elf it is. No smelly racist Humans for me.

[loramin]

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

You've technically already narrowed it down for me. Humans have no racials at all. Wood Elves get Infravision, Hide and Forage, all minor since all Rangers learn these at some point in their lives (though having them earlier is nifty I suppose, saves time on skilling up as well), but can also wear small and medium armor, which is more significant as it opens up their equipment options quite a bit.

Wood Elf it is. No smelly racist Humans for me.

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

To be fair, despite their lack of abilities or night sight, if you were into the Human look I'd 100% say go Human ... but it sounds like Wood Elf is the correct choice here.

[kaev]

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

You've technically already narrowed it down for me. Humans have no racials at all. Wood Elves get Infravision, Hide and Forage, all minor since all Rangers learn these at some point in their lives (though having them earlier is nifty I suppose, saves time on skilling up as well), but can also wear small and medium armor, which is more significant as it opens up their equipment options quite a bit.

Wood Elf it is. No smelly racist Humans for me.

Human can start with 100str base. NBD on blue, but helpful on green.

[Sicc]

I did this on my ranger. In mid 30s now, no regrets. Full set of Tigeraptor except face (crafted) and belt (fbss).

I have upgraded to cocw so unfortunately not wearing that really nice cloak, and have tbb on waist. Will faction for Velious chain later.

Non issue soloing with snare fear, for pulling I slap on ikky BP to help counter chip damage, and when dpsing I usually over aggro but don't drop like a rock. Self healing will ease stress on your healers.

Went wood elf wisdom on creation. So not optimal but still effective enough.

That's cool that people are still trying to bleed a turnip but if you're considering decking out in Velious gear you're already going to smash bears and cats until the 50s. This game is easy, look good and enjoy yourself. Don't forget to fletch.