Kasenpoint's Hunter Ranger Endgame/Hybrid Build

kasen420 · December 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TbJhoxeWOM - 5v5/20v20 720P video of this build

ATTENTION PLAYER!
Due to the nerf performed on the Master of Archery feat, this guide has become less useful. As a result, i will be revising my PvE/PvP build in order to accommodate the nerf, man things have changed and i will be redoing my build. Thank you. I have uploaded some PvP matches, pre-nerf. Pretty fun stuff.

Player:
Drizzt Do'Urden@kasen420

Build Type

Endgame/PvP DPS
Archery

Play Style:

Strategic Play
Relies on key encounters/at-wills to produce massive damage
Death from a distance
High Crit and Crit Severity

PvP Role:

Buff/regenerate HP for team members, provide sufficient control then deal death from a distance
(Excess control is a waste. Excess damage cannot be made)
Excels in Xv5/Xv4/Xv3 situations

Endgame Role:

Provide AoE Damage
Provide buffs for your teammates if needed
Speed up the time it takes to do a dungeon

Race

Elf - +1% crit chance, Very good starting ability roll (+2 WIS/+2 DEX) 10% resistance to effects that slow your movement - Perfect for an HR; a class which relies on speed and dodging in PvP.
Drow - Darkfire Debuff (With every attack you have a 5% chance when attacking a foe to apply Darkfire for 4 seconds, reducing its defense by 10%.), +2 DEX, +2 STR/+2 WIS
Human - You can never go wrong with 3 extra feat points. Go human if you're planning on decreasing your threat. The reason for this is if you put your three points in Scoundrel Training (Your at wills deal 3%/6%/9% more damage to foes not targeting you) enemies will almost never be targeting you. That is a 9% damage increase at all times, basically.
Half-Orc+5% Crit Severity, +2 DEX/+2 STR, Gain 10% bonus to run speed when you enter combat.

Powers

Note: I'm planning on spending points at next re-spec on Fox's Cunning instead of Cold Steel Hurricane. At the present time Cold Steel Hurricane seems to be about a worthless daily.

Feats

Note: I'm planning on spending points at next re-spec on Nature's Blessing instead of Bloodthirsty. (See below) This is because of the specialization with this build on Ranged attacks. I only go into melee mode to buff my party. Since I went full archery on this build, bloodthirsty has done me almost no good. Nature's Blessing will make the effectiveness of healing 20% stronger on me, so its definitely worth it.

Ability Attributes: DEX > STR > CHA

Stats:
Power (no cap)
Critical Strike (softcap ~2400/hardcap ~3000)
Armor Penetration (softcap ~1750)
Recovery (softcap ~1600)
Life Steal (softcap ~1000/hardcap 1300)

Weapon Enchantment: Vorpal or Plaguefire
Armor Enchantment: Soulforged or Negation

At-Will:

Aimed Shot (PvP)
The most damaging At-Will that should always be used at long distances
(archery tree gets 20% damage increase at maximum range)
Split Shot (PvP/PvE)
Does massive AoE damage, should always be used for DPS on multiple enemies
Electric Shot (PvE)
Comparable to Control Wizard's Chilling Cloud. Usable in PvE but you will achieve more DPS with Split Shot
Rapid Shot (PvP)
Decent DPS but Split Shot achieves the same dmg on single targets because you can charge it.

Class Features

For PvP I use:

Aspect of the Falcon - This increases your overall range to 89' if you put 3 points into it. This is perfect for PvP because you can find that sweet spot where CW's and DC's can't hit you but you can hit them.
Twin-Blade Storm - With this passive you deal an additional 4% damage any time you hit 2 or more enemies.

For PvE I use:

Twin-Blade Storm - See above
Aspect of the Pack - This passive gives you combat advantage anytime you are within 10' of an ally. So if you stick by your team members you will have combat advantage full time. Combat advantage is a major part of combat for any class, and boosts your damage quite significantly.

Daily Powers

Your dailies can be switch according to taste, the only daily i actually don't recommend is Cold Steel Hurricane. As far as i can tell this daily does almost no damage, and has no effect over enemies. (may be broken)

Seismic Shot - This daily provides a huge amount of AoE damage. When timed right (right after a singularity or Oppressive Force on Tab for instance) it will deal high damage, and string the enemies together pushing them back somewhat. You can use this daily to push mobs off of cliffs for instance.
Forest Ghost - This daily does NOT make you completely invisible if you move out from the bushes. But it does give you combat advantage for a short duration and can give you enough time to perform and encounter, sneak away, or charge an aimed shot.
Forest Meditation - I use this in PvP seldomly when i need a health bonus. Between this daily, a healing artifact, and a PvP potion you can almost regenerate ALL of your health. I only put one point into this power. I would recommend putting multiple points into for extra deflection chance, and control immunity.

Encounters

PvP

Marauder's Escape/Rush - In ranged mode this encounter provides an incredibly effective escape route from fights you need to get away from. In melee mode this encounter allows you to rush an enemy in a similar fashion. I prefer to use Marauder's Rush in the middle of my rotation to throw the enemy off and if damage gets to heavy immediately Marauder's Escape out of the situation.
Hindering Shot/Strike - The grasping roots this encounter applies provide sufficient control in PvP for you and your allies to maximize damage. A major part of my rotation is to apply one shot of Hindering Shot, Marauder's Rush in, apply Hindering Strike for even stronger grasping roots, then Marauder's Escape out and apply another Hindering Shot. This is the ultimate troll encounter.
Hawk Shot/Hawkeye - Hawk Shot does increased damage based on how far away you are from an enemy which is the basis for this build! At maximum distance this attack can do massive amounts of damage. I prefer to do it to enemies running away from me because the further they get, the more they're hurting themselves. Hawkeye increases you and one allies damage on your next attack. It also spreads to more allies if you put more points into the skill (with a 50% diminishing return mind you) With Hawkeye i like to be far away from an enemy, apply Hawkeye and then use our fantastic At-Will Aimed Shot to do even MORE damage than it already does.

PvE

Split The Sky/Throw Caution - Split the Sky applies mad decent AoE damage over a huge area. This is due to the fact that it does not apply to the tradition Rule of Five restriction on AoE attacks. (AoEs can only hit five targets at one time) The lightning strikes down individually upon your enemies, not all at once. So the only way the Rule of Five would apply is if 5 enemies struck at you or your allies at the same time, thus proccing 5 lightning strikes at the same time. Throw Caution is also good if you are in a situation where you're not worried about damage. Any increase in damage is welcomed.
Thorn Ward/Thorn Strike - Each attack of Thorn Ward lowers your enemies defense by a small amount. This with Split The Sky form your basis for achieving massive damage in dungeons. Thorn Strike is great for enemies with full health and once you cast your AoE encounters, your very next attack should be switching to melee mode and hitting them with Thorn Strike.
Commanding Shot/Stag Heart - This encounter lowers the enemies defense so its great for mini-bosses and bosses alike. Stag Heart also provides temporary hit-points to you and your party.

Post Scriptum

A plea to Perfect World/Cryptic: Make respecing cost less, and make it cheaper in terms of Gold/AD. Real money for experimenting with builds only hurts you and makes us as leaders more reluctant to help other players by publishing builds like this.

I will be posting videos and updating this guide as soon as they decide to nerf the Hunter Ranger.

Feel free to add me on Neverwinter. My @ handle is @kasen420.

hidahayabusa · December 2013

Thanks for this. Questions incoming:

a) Aimed Shot in PvP? The cast time is HUGE! How ofter are you able to go the full way (I don't speak about lolsnipping from the rock in node 2, but it actual situations).
b) No Aspect of the Pack? It's like constant combat advantage for all your team-mates, especially in the first and decisive battle in mid node.
c) Have you tested this build in level 60 PvP at all? I think that given the dominant classes right now, you are going to spend much more time in melee than in ranged.

kasen420 · December 2013

I PvP quite often with this build, and will post some youtube videos for everyone to see. i have great success with this build. I do like the buff that aspect of the pack gives you, but when queueing with pugs i like to go for kills rather than winning. If i was PvPing with my guild, however i would definitely go with what you are saying.
As for your question about Aimed Shot a majority of my kills come from this skill. It is probably my favorite for PvP to be honest. I wanted to make a build that maximized your amt of damage with ranged skills. Obviously, it is preference if you choose to go with the combat route but i much more enjoyed the archery aspect. On the Preview Shard i tested all three trees with most damage coming from the archery tree. The melee mode provided almost no damage even when specced into the full combat tree!
Thanks for your questions

hidahayabusa · December 2013

So why the melee mode doesn't provide damage? Any particular reason? What gear are you using?

kasen420 · December 2013

It just doesn't provide the DPS I look for. I'd rather do much more DPS and stick with archery.

hidahayabusa · December 2013

Ok...since HR is the only class I've not pvp'ed extensively with (i.e. i am not lvl 60 yet), I will be trying out a full Combat spec entirely streamlined for PvP, since the t1 vendor gear and the feats I am reading in combat seem to be the most viable PvP spec.

So the second question still remains, what kind of gear do you use? It seems that you must be using really good gear in order to be successful in PvP with lvl 60s that are 6 months ahead of your gearing.

Is it t1 PvP or something else?

kasen420 · December 2013

I've been strictly using T1 PvP Gear, with Negation Enchant/Lesser Vorpal for now.
To me the reason it was important to go archery was because this is a hybrid build. In order to get back maximum damage in PvE AND PvP, the melee mode does not provide the damage needed to support your team properly in PvE. I'm sure it would be an asset in PvP to spec with certain combat feats as well, but then you would be wasting them in terms of PvE. Archery provides everything you need at this point.

kasen420 · December 2013

add me and we will PvP sometime. i love playing with people that know what they're talking about, haha. @kasen420

hidahayabusa · December 2013

Will do, when I am back from work!

Thanks for the guide.

kasen420 · December 2013

I'm not sure i understand what you mean. Extend the skillbar hotkey? post this question in the questions forum. a build is no place to ask questions, sorry. There are other threads for questions like this.

mconosrep · December 2013

mochacoffee wrote: »

and also im started the attribute with 19dex,16wis,13str,11con,11cha,11int ..is it good and balanced or is it ruin lolx ?? and what does wis do for us i dont really understand

Those stats looks decent, although perhaps slightly higher in DEX than some, but more damage is never a bad thing

BTW for rangers ONLY, WIS gives +1% crit chance over 10, so 16 is a nice number.

shadow5930 · December 2013

Hi there!

Thank you for the guide, it's nice to see people putting out offers to aid others in the new class.

One of the questions I have is why do you not having disrupting shot? a 25% AP use, that stuns, dazes? It is a daily on a 9 sec cool down, so on top of that you could use the class feature that reduces cool down when doing a daily. It seems completely win win to me.

That was the one main thing I was curious about. I'm finding as I level up, that I run into 'too many toys' for what all i want for powers. split the sky, however, is not as useful if you're a solo'er, I've come to find.

mochacoffee · December 2013

mconosrep wrote: »

Those stats looks decent, although perhaps slightly higher in DEX than some, but more damage is never a bad thing

BTW for rangers ONLY, WIS gives +1% crit chance over 10, so 16 is a nice number.

ok thx alot for the info

mochacoffee · December 2013

and what about the aspect of the lone wolf and aspect of the pack which is better

rabbinicus · December 2013

mochacoffee wrote: »

and what about the aspect of the lone wolf and aspect of the pack which is better

Depends on how you play. I prefer aspect of the pack for dungeons and with guild groups where can can more easily coordinate positioning. If you're always solo then lone wolf could be of greater benefit.

I have not yet tested to see if it makes a difference with companions.

kasen420 · December 2013

Disruptive Shot is a good daily for PvP dont get me wrong, but i'm depending with the archery build to apply damage to multiple enemies at once. Working the group down as a whole, rather than individual damage. If i was strictly going for PvP build i would probably spec into Disruptive Shot. Split The Sky is good for situation like gauntlgrym, dungeons.

shadow5930 · December 2013

I find having an at will ability to stop someone from doing something, no matter PVP or PVE is never a bad thing. I wonder how much it can stop. I have to keep leveling to find out. I'd agree completely, split the sky is marvelous in group play. That's the reason why I said for solo play.

kasen420 · December 2013

I know, wasn't disagreeing with you. Disruptive Shot is great, but Seismic Shot and Forest Ghost are just too important to me haha. they are maximized by this build.

calorien · December 2013

Why didn't you take the paragon feat that extends the duration of Split the Sky, since that encounter is important to you?

darkunia · December 2013

shadow5930 wrote: »

split the sky, however, is not as useful if you're a solo'er, I've come to find.

StS is pretty amazing for solo if you have a tank companion, and infinitely better while in a group. You can stack StS's if you crit enough and Disruptive Shot on cd.

kasen420 · December 2013

I feel that it does its job well enough. Half the time i find that we hunter ranger's kill things so quickly that towards the end of the fight as the mobs die, Split the Sky is still activated.

rebelae · December 2013

Looks good man, I'll have to try that out. And thanks for the help with the gold, really appreciate it.

obsidiancran3 · December 2013

If you are planing to be a hybrid why aren't you using Aspect of the Serpent?

Serpent + Twinblade seems to be maximum DPS for Hybrid.

kasen420 · December 2013

i put in the build that i do use aspect of the serpent.

quite often. thats probably my favorite passive.

kasen420 · December 2013

obsidiancran3 wrote: »

If you are planing to be a hybrid why aren't you using Aspect of the Serpent?

Serpent + Twinblade seems to be maximum DPS for Hybrid.

"Class Features
For PvP I use:
Aspect of the Falcon - This increases your overall range to 89' if you put 3 points into it. This is perfect for PvP because you can find that sweet spot where CW's and DC's can't hit you but you can hit them.
Twin-Blade Storm - With this passive you deal an additional 4% damage any time you hit 2 or more enemies."

ottoarc · December 2013

ok may i ask aspect of lone wolf more better or aspect of pack more better.. i usually solo dungeon alone and i like to pvp a lot..so which one suit me better ? andi saw voltomey guide said that aspect of lone wolf does not work correctly am i correct ?

kasen420 · December 2013

Correct. Aspect of Lone Wolf is broken currently. I specified which one should be used at what times. Read where i said what passives to use and it will tell you what to use for PvE and what to use for PvP.

voltomey · December 2013

If you slot stormstep action and forest ghost you can refresh all you encounter powers and forest ghost works even when you Me though a pack of mobs.Arguably you can free up all that recovery you have for power or more crit.

ikeepit3hunna · December 2013

hidahayabusa wrote: »

Thanks for this. Questions incoming:

a) Aimed Shot in PvP? The cast time is HUGE! How ofter are you able to go the full way (I don't speak about lolsnipping from the rock in node 2, but it actual situations).
b) No Aspect of the Pack? It's like constant combat advantage for all your team-mates, especially in the first and decisive battle in mid node.
c) Have you tested this build in level 60 PvP at all? I think that given the dominant classes right now, you are going to spend much more time in melee than in ranged.

U can get aimed shots off a lot but its harder to do in premades. Also that class feat is bad. Combat advantage is weak vs other class feats. And u want to keep distance from your targets but u can survive at close/mid Send me an ingame message if u wanna play with a ranger, I'm usualy bored solo queing.

willadarkeagle · December 2013

Nice write-up @kasen420! Truly appreciate you sharing your knowledge!

kasen420 · December 2013

What is your @ handle?

Kasenpoint's Hunter Ranger Endgame/Hybrid Build

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