Ranger Lord
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 9:42 am
I finished up my game as a Ranger Lord. My other second level class was Shugenja.
The Hawkeye ability (kill shot with one arrow) is the reason to ascend to Ranger Lord. I finished with the skill at 10 and wasn't about to go any higher due to the cost. The critical hit works for all ranged weapons - Bows, Knives, and Shuriken.
The Ranger Lord quest boss uses the Bow of Vines, so it can be gained that way and is a decent weapon for the Hawkeye skill (it will stop most targets allowing several chances for the kill shot). I picked up a Necrotic Battle Bow in the Naga Temple, or maybe the Tomb of Souls (?) and used that more then the Bow of Vines. The Winter Shuriken works well also, stopping most enemies at a distance, particularly in close quarters.
Unless it is a boss type enemy with a name (rather then enemy type), I believe that it can be hit with a critical. I don't remember getting a critical hit on one of the larger demons (cacodemon?) in the Demon Realm, so that is still questionable. It seems like most of the enemies that have a large amount of HP will not be hit with a critical until their HP is low. I do remember killing a demon in the Druid Temple with the first hit though, so it may just be the odds (though maybe close to 10,000 to 1). I think your odds of getting a critical hit get better the fewer HP the target has remaining as you'll find that weakened enemies and low HP get critical hots more frequently.
In the end, is it worth it?
It works, you can take out drakes with the bow but there are better ways to do it. You don't need to be a Ranger Lord to kill a drake with a bow if you want either. It is nice when you see a horde of skeletons coming toward you in the swamps, you pull out the bow and drop the first 3-4 before they get close enough that you need to move.
One regret I had was no ability to use heavy weapons or heavy armor. I made lots of cash selling heavy items, but I would rather have been able to use them.
I relied on the bow for much of the game after getting the Hawkeye ability. Lots of shoot and move, keeping my enemy away from me while firing off arrows as fast as possible. That went out the window in the Maze. About the time I got to the spawning Minotaurs the bow was put away for good. I only used it to take out Irkella from the window after that. No, correct that, I did use it to shoot down the creatures that fly in the Demon Realm, but only because I didn't want to use magic and couldn't hit them with a sword.
Ranger Lord is tons of fun for most of the game. But when you are surrounded by Barrowgrims men and trolls at Talendor, you better have something other then a bow. And that thing at the end? You'll be there a long time trying to kill it with a bow (a few cataclysms work so much better).
Maybe Ranger Lord/Battlemage would work out for more balance (looking back I'd trade in the Ninjitsu of the Shugenja for the Heavy Weapons/Shields/Armor of a Battlemage, though I like the Eastern Heraldries). Ranger Lord would certainly be something to consider for a MP game.
The Hawkeye ability (kill shot with one arrow) is the reason to ascend to Ranger Lord. I finished with the skill at 10 and wasn't about to go any higher due to the cost. The critical hit works for all ranged weapons - Bows, Knives, and Shuriken.
The Ranger Lord quest boss uses the Bow of Vines, so it can be gained that way and is a decent weapon for the Hawkeye skill (it will stop most targets allowing several chances for the kill shot). I picked up a Necrotic Battle Bow in the Naga Temple, or maybe the Tomb of Souls (?) and used that more then the Bow of Vines. The Winter Shuriken works well also, stopping most enemies at a distance, particularly in close quarters.
Unless it is a boss type enemy with a name (rather then enemy type), I believe that it can be hit with a critical. I don't remember getting a critical hit on one of the larger demons (cacodemon?) in the Demon Realm, so that is still questionable. It seems like most of the enemies that have a large amount of HP will not be hit with a critical until their HP is low. I do remember killing a demon in the Druid Temple with the first hit though, so it may just be the odds (though maybe close to 10,000 to 1). I think your odds of getting a critical hit get better the fewer HP the target has remaining as you'll find that weakened enemies and low HP get critical hots more frequently.
In the end, is it worth it?
It works, you can take out drakes with the bow but there are better ways to do it. You don't need to be a Ranger Lord to kill a drake with a bow if you want either. It is nice when you see a horde of skeletons coming toward you in the swamps, you pull out the bow and drop the first 3-4 before they get close enough that you need to move.
One regret I had was no ability to use heavy weapons or heavy armor. I made lots of cash selling heavy items, but I would rather have been able to use them.
I relied on the bow for much of the game after getting the Hawkeye ability. Lots of shoot and move, keeping my enemy away from me while firing off arrows as fast as possible. That went out the window in the Maze. About the time I got to the spawning Minotaurs the bow was put away for good. I only used it to take out Irkella from the window after that. No, correct that, I did use it to shoot down the creatures that fly in the Demon Realm, but only because I didn't want to use magic and couldn't hit them with a sword.
Ranger Lord is tons of fun for most of the game. But when you are surrounded by Barrowgrims men and trolls at Talendor, you better have something other then a bow. And that thing at the end? You'll be there a long time trying to kill it with a bow (a few cataclysms work so much better).
Maybe Ranger Lord/Battlemage would work out for more balance (looking back I'd trade in the Ninjitsu of the Shugenja for the Heavy Weapons/Shields/Armor of a Battlemage, though I like the Eastern Heraldries). Ranger Lord would certainly be something to consider for a MP game.
