GameBanshee Forums

i am a new player to nvn and i am trying to make a successful ranger which only uses arrows... just want to ask whether it is possible to create such a character...

I don't see why not, although you will probably become frustrated if you come across creatures with a resistance to piercing weapons. Your going to want to get levels in the Arcane Archer prestige class though if you are planning on stick just with arrows, or at least I would. You'd need an expansion for that, I can't recall which you need though.

Make sure you have "Point blank shot" as a feat. Also, you may want to grab a few levels in bard or sorcerer until you get haste, or at least make use of "Expedius retreat" in order to bail out of being overwhelmed when using your bow in a crowd. I believe you still incur attacks of opportunity when using a ranged weapon when being confronted by an opponant with melee attacks (I.E. shooting at someone right in front of you will let them get a free swing at you). If you can't raise your tumble skill to a high level, then I'd suggest investing in 3 feats to get Dodge, Mobility and Spring Attack so you don't get overwhelmed with attacks of opportunity. Although...that may end up only protecting you from AoO when moving around in combat and not all AoO.

Were you playing in the original chapter or one of the expansions right now?

Well that right now is the major problem coz i don't have the expansion... I want to get it though... There seems to so much more to do in the expansions.

*nods* Then, you CAN try playing with just a bow as your weapon for role-playing purposes. However, chances are it will be tough, as anyone who reaches you and starts swinging a sword at you will end up getting free shots on you whenever you try shooting at them again. If you get surrounded by 5 goblins, when you nock that arrow in front of them and go to fire each of them will get an extra swing at you. That could be enough to kill you right there if you are low level and unlucky.

My suggestion, is to carry around a melee weapon, if not a shield too for just that reason. If you end up with one or two enemies you KNOW you can handle with ease, by all means keep your bow and pick them off up close. However, when you get swarmed, that sword or whatever and shield could be your only means of coming out alive.

A missle ranger is entirely possible, however make sure you get point blank shot as this reduces any close range penalties.

Secondly, get hide/move silently. A good tactic is to hide, get into line of sight of an enemy get of a couple of shots off then move out of sight again and hide. (this is because as soon as you attack you become visible again).

The biggest drawback is that arrows don't cause a lot of damage. This means you will be running around a lot to stay out of range. Crossbows are better but they are SLOW even when you get more attacks per round. I use them only on doors and chests.

-By sticking with a pure missile character you forsake a brilliant skill and that is the dual wield ability when wearing light armour. By far the best way to play a ranger is to stalk your enemies (especially spellcasters) until they get near and then switch to dual wield and finish them off with melee.

Thats what i though... However, i wasn't thinking of carrying a shield though... To make use of the Dual Wield ability, i suppose i would be trying to use two weapons. Which weapon would be recommended? Shortsword?

Well, since you aren't a fighter and can't get weapon specialization (unless you multiclass to do so), you could always grab a say, longsword, or scimitar and then have a smaller weapon, like the short sword, or even a mace in your off-hand. That way, you have slashing in one hand, and peircing or bludgeoning in the other and minimize your penalty by holding one medium, and one small weapon.

Would a fighter mix with a ranger? Supposedly, a ranger requires its skills in searching and stealth... But a fighter is more like, run headlong into the battle and kill everything in sight. With a ranger, is there any good feats to be learnt after point blank shot?

Fighter would mix well if you wanted Weapon specialization and extra feats. Keep in mind though, your 'core classes' can affect your experience if you have levels in two classes that are too far apart. You could always go for the Champion of Torm prestige class and not worry about that so long as you're non-evil. No weapon specialization there, but you get bonuses to saving throws.

I'd go with rapid shot, can't remember if there are any other feats to use with bows to be honest right now.