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Newbie question about Hunter Ranger
s1lv3rray
Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 3 Arc User
Hey guys I just started playing this game 1 day ago. I had tried GSW,GF and HR and this is the first time I found "archer class" that fun, so I decide to continue playing my archer its now level 7.
I have some question about HR though..
1.When I am going to be able to use my melee skills?
2.Any skill build / intro about Hunter Ranger?
3.The skills tab are very confusing for me, any way to study it better?
I have some question about HR though..
1.When I am going to be able to use my melee skills?
2.Any skill build / intro about Hunter Ranger?
3.The skills tab are very confusing for me, any way to study it better?
Post edited by s1lv3rray on
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2. There are basically 3 "paths" you can go with the hunter ranger (HR): ranged, melee, or nature skills. While you can mix and match aspects of all 3, it is most effective to focus on 1.
3. The HR skills can be a little confusing, since they list a melee and a ranged version. One thing you can do is to make use of the preview server (see the section further down in the forums) and copy your character there - respecs are free on the preview shard, so you can try different skills or builds out there, with no risk. Also, press P to bring up the powers window and hover the mouse cursor over a skill to get a general idea about what it does. You'll get enough skill points to take each skill once if you want, (but then you won't be able to rank some up to rank 3).
In general, though:
Green skills are "at-will" powers - you can equip 2 at any given time, and they don't have any kind of cooldown/recharge timer.
Red skills are "encounter" powers - they tend to be more powerful than at-wills and/or provide a more substantial buff/debuff/control. These have short to medium recharge timers, and you'll eventually be able to have 3 "at the ready".
Yellow skills are "class abilities" - they provide a passive benefit when slotted. These tend to be smaller bonuses (buffs), but are "always on". You can eventually have 2 of these slotted.
Large circular icons represent "Daily powers" - these tend to be the most powerful, and can really make the difference during a fight. The HR has a special trait where not all daily powers cost the full pool of "action points" - the big circle in the middle that fills up as you fight enemies. Each daily power will list what percent of your total action points it needs before it can be used, and you will be able to have 2 of these ready to go at some point.
Check the class forums for more info.
Good luck, and welcome to Neverwinter!
"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark
Official NW_Legit_Community Forums
All the previous info is spot on! Couldn't have said it better.
Just wanted to add, learn to avoid. HR armor is about the same as a second skin, you will get tagged and HARD.
There are skills, powers, equipment, and potions usable for survival by avoidance. Learn, Use, Survive!
Deuce L 45 HR
Bow Expert
"Death from a Distance"
Deuce HR L 60 Archer Build+Melee
Bow Expert
Blade Proficient
(**Motto of the Texas Rangers, 1823-Present. Dept. of Public Services, State of Texas)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
This is a very important point. While leveling an archery specced HR I was impressed with the amount of damage they can do, but found myself very vulnerable if mobbed. Your experience may differ if you go the combat or nature route though.
I went mainly with the nature powers, as I like being able to buff & heal my team, while also doing good damage. If you want to go melee, consider taking the boar's hide power - it places stacking buffs that grant damage resistance to you and your teammates, and the melee attack knocks enemies down, which can be really useful.
I also like thorn ward - the ranged version places a "turret" on the ground that attack any enemies nearby, and the melee version is an attack that does damaged based upon how full an enemy's health is - so it's a great opener.
Oak skin is one of the key powers in my build - it provides rather significant health regeneration to you and your team, and the ranged attack applies strong grasping roots, which tether an enemy to a location for a short time, which helps keep them off you.
Stag heart is another great power - the ranged version has a longish animation, but it does decent damage and applies a damage resistance debuff and damage debuff on the target - so they deal less damage TO you and take more damage FROM you. The melee version grants you and your teammates extra "temporary" HP, but you can also take a feat that makes it grant damage resistance as well.
Another interesting power to consider is split the sky. The ranged version causes a small storm cloud to appear over an area, and zap any enemies that attack with lightning. The melee version applies a damage buff to you, but also applies a defense debuff to you at the same time - so you are more vulnerable while it's active - be careful with this!
There's an earlier power which helped me a lot while leveling, but I rarely use it at 60 - entangling shot is what I think it's called. It applies a short duration stun to the target, and when ranked up, can apply it again a second and third time, after a brief period of time. The few seconds it buys you can really save your butt.
I also like eagle eye or w/e it's called. The melee version applies a damage bonus to you and your teammates next shot, and the ranged version is a "sniper" attack that does more damage the further you are from the target. In PvE, (especially when soloing), the buff then the ranged attack make a great opening attack.
A few other notes - the melee and ranged versions of your encounter powers have separate cooldowns - so you could use a melee version of an encounter power, then immediately switch stances and use its ranged counterpart. This is very useful as a survival strategy - keep a buff ability or 2 on your bar - switch and activate them mid-fight if needed, then switch back and continue to deal damage.
Other strategies I like:
-The extra HP granted by stag heart do not appear to wear off over time - only by taking damage (or logging out, etc). So activate the power before beginning a fight, to give yourself a little more wiggle room.
-HRs tend to have a lot of powers that deal damage in a fixed area - so learn to kite enemies around that fixed point, to maximize the effect of said power(s).
-You can queue-up an additional dodge if you double-tap a direction while in mid-dash, or by pressing shift and a direction key twice.
-When you hit level 20, you'll get a quest to select an artifact. I like the water because it's an extra heal, and can really save on potion use as you play. Between that and oak skin's regen, (I took a feat to extend how long it lasts), I rarely need to use potions. As long as you survive combat, just hit oak skin to keep the regen going between battles.
-There is currently a problem with seismic shot's animation persisting after using it, and causing lag for other people in the area. I have removed it from active use for the time being, as a courtesy. The stealth power and disruptive shot are very useful, anyway. There's a melee-ish daily you get later which does good damage and can root enemies, so if you're going melee anyway, consider using that as well.
-I have gotten some pretty good pieces of equipment from the Shadowmantle campaign so far. When I hit 60, it only cost me around 1000 astral diamonds to get very good blue gear off the auction house, which jumped up my gearscore to over 9000, and start me in the right direction to get epic (purple) gear. While you can spend gobs of money on getting epic gear right away, I suggest you ease into it and consider the cost vs benefit for doing so - the class is still new, so the supply on the market isn't as high as for other classes.
-Similar to the above, don't bother using anything higher than rank 4 enchantments in your gear until you get epic pieces. Rank 4's drop from enemies at end-game, so you shouldn't have a problem getting them.
-To-date, the hardest fight I've had while leveling up was vs the Rime Hound in Icespire Peak. To that end, I suggest getting a party to fight it. There's usually people advertising for just this reason, so getting on a team shouldn't be a problem.
-Once you get a decent stockpile of gold, (like maybe 10 or so), consider also buying the cleric companion, (you can buy other companions from the emporium in protector's enclave). While she's not too helpful in combat, she can also help greatly reduce downtime between fights, and her magic rating isn't bad for the sword coast adventures game on the gateway. Eventually, that 2G investment will be well worth the potions it saves you from having to use.
-Become accustomed to not just firing off split shot as often as you can. By allowing the cone to narrow, (as you hold down the mouse button), you limit the area it hits, (which helps avoid unwanted aggro), and it does more damage.
Again, good luck!
"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark
Official NW_Legit_Community Forums
This had just made my mind cleared. Thanks for the detail explaination !!
About the skills is there better skill on the future so that I need to replace my current skill? for example "Red skills are "encounter" powers " there are only 3 slots for these skills, so is there more choices at higher level so that I need to choose which skill to put on my skill tab? Or there are just only 3 ? Same goes to those buff and the daily powers
thanks in advance =D
When you begin to pickup the "Paragon Path" skills at L 21 you be able to better "fine tune" the character. As stated above, "Archery, Melee, or Nature" will be your choices as a HR. Each having benefits in the Path so named.
With the addition of "Mod 2" all original 5 personas got an additional path to follow complete with new and different skills, the CW added a fire/flame caster, the DC added one with more offensive type damage, etc. With this new module the newly added HR only has the one to follow. (sorry the name escapes me)
Tho my "join date" is late in the year, I have been playing regular since open beta and to answer your question, the amount of "slots" has not changed, 2 at-will, 3 encounter, etc.. We've been given an additional slot with Mod 2, the newly added "artifact" slot. So in the future more might be added.
Deuce HR L 60 Archer Build+Melee
Bow Expert
Blade Proficient
(**Motto of the Texas Rangers, 1823-Present. Dept. of Public Services, State of Texas)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]