Starting up a charecter

[Surge]

So I am starting a Ranger and gonna need guidance.

Where are the leveling hotspots right now for grouping?
Any guilds take in a scrubs such as myself at such newb lvls?
What is the guild scene looking like (Major raiders/casuals)?

Any and all help is appreciated.

[xCry0x]

Crushbone/ec
oasis/unrest/mistmoore
frontier mountains/OT/Solb/lguk
kc/seb

Lots of low level guilds recruiting everyone who can accept the invite.

TMO controls everything, army of other guilds doing fear/hate/sky

Rangers get 40% hybrid exp penalty, so take that any way you want.

[Surge]

Thank you.

[Malice_Mizer]

Rangers get 40% hybrid exp penalty, so take that any way you want.

Such overwhelming encouragement!

That being said, the one thing I've learned from this server is that everybody apparently loathes rangers. There's literally a single ranger for every twenty players of any other class, it seems. Asking a higher-level ranger about their experience finding groups is like talking to a victim of assault.

I always loved rangers on classic. Played one myself to ~40. I thought they were fun.

It's kind of like a bard from D&D. They're pretty good, but every person seems to have an arbitrary and unconditional hatred for them.

[Surge]

Never really got into a ranger, dabbled here and there on live. It's what I wan't to level up and experience classic content with. Already lvl 10. It's not bad its just I find myself listening to music and not having any play pals. Wingin it something fierce.

[Tappin]

From my own experience I've played with a few rangers here on P99 that were amazing to have in group, but it was just due to being super twinks.

[xCry0x]

Such overwhelming encouragement!

That being said, the one thing I've learned from this server is that everybody apparently loathes rangers. There's literally a single ranger for every twenty players of any other class, it seems. Asking a higher-level ranger about their experience finding groups is like talking to a victim of assault.

I always loved rangers on classic. Played one myself to ~40. I thought they were fun.

It's kind of like a bard from D&D. They're pretty good, but every person seems to have an arbitrary and unconditional hatred for them.

?

A lot of people do not realize there are class/race exp penalties so I was just highlighting that for him.

Given that this game is known for having a slower leveling timeline than traditional MMO's understanding that your class has an additional 40% penalty ontop of that is something new players should be aware of. There is already a large churn rate of people around level 40-50 not to mention 50+ so picking a class you enjoy is important.

To expand on what you said, that 40% exp penalty ends up diluting the exp gains of groups so people frequently avoid hybrids in groups, especially rangers since they are easily avoided due to the large number of monks and rogues around that fill the same group role of dps.

[lecompte]

Play a ranger. We are awesome.

[fadetree]

Rangering is fun, but you do have to be prepared for some prejudice and discrimination. This makes showing what a ranger can do when played well kinda fun tho. The 50-60 grind is going to be very, very difficult for you as a ranger, so keep that in mind as well.

[Swish]

Rangering is fun, but you do have to be prepared for some prejudice and discrimination. This makes showing what a ranger can do when played well kinda fun tho. The 50-60 grind is going to be very, very difficult for you as a ranger, so keep that in mind as well.

I've yet to come across a group in KC who welcomed a ranger in as soon as he LFG'd. Velious is another issue though with the hybrid penalty gone... great time to level one.

[boudicca]

Be someone who starts groups, and you'll be fine. There are alot of situations where a bunch of ppl are LFG and no one wants to take the initiative.

As I've been levelling, when a DPS spot opens up in groups, no one has discriminated against a ranger vs keeping the spot open. I haven't leveled to the point of KC, though, on p99. On Live, I don't remember any problems with grouping with rangers.

Playing a halfling gives a racial exp bonus, which can be used to make the class penalty not as bad.

[Gadwen]

Be someone who starts groups, and you'll be fine. There are alot of situations where a bunch of ppl are LFG and no one wants to take the initiative.

As I've been levelling, when a DPS spot opens up in groups, no one has discriminated against a ranger vs keeping the spot open. I haven't leveled to the point of KC, though, on p99. On Live, I don't remember any problems with grouping with rangers.

Playing a halfling gives a racial exp bonus, which can be used to make the class penalty not as bad.

There are no halfling rangers here and there never will be.

[Swish]

Every time someone tries to make a halfling ranger on blue, Kithicor crashes on red :(

[Treefall]

How is a Ranger solo?

People always say they have a tough time finding groups. It'd be nice if some (the?) pro Rangers put up a good solo guide for someone that really wants to play a Ranger to follow.

The two guides on the wiki are fairly weak, IMO.

I'm assuming it would be expensive, but it seems fairly reliable that a ranger could solo xp relatively quickly in the outdoors with a mix of bow kite and melee?

Finding a good duo partner might be something to look into too. I think Rogue would make a great partner.

[lecompte]

Ranger does great in Duos... I duo'd with a shaman up to 40 or so, then an enchanter from 45-54.

It takes some tactics but basically you are interested in focusing on the strengths of a ranger -- pulling, snaring, dps. I would play in zones with lots of mobs that are light blue and just in the window of dark blue and kill hundreds of them very quickly to achieve a level. We kill those mobs because they don't hurt too much. When you start grouping with the enchanter, it is the same but pet, snare, fear, melee. I would always start pulling a second mob when the first was at 40% in order to keep the flow going.

[Malone88]

I played a Ranger on Live to 65 and love the class, but I think most people here would recommend starting
with a less gear dependent class as your first char (like a druid, for instance). Rangers with real good gear
(haste + fungi) can solo fairly well. Without the gear, it will be tough to solo. I personally love Ranger pullers
in outdoor zones like Unrest/Mistmoore/City of Mist/Karnor's where they can use harmony to pull.
You will have to endure alot of LFG time if you can't solo, however, so keep that
in mind. Lots of monks on this server who typically pull for groups. Rangers and
Paladins are the rarest classes here.

[webrunner5]

Dude just give it up. I have had a Ranger on here for like 2 1/2 years and it is still in it's 20's. I have had Fungi, CoF, etc on it and it still sucks. You will NOT get groups, you have to bow kite the mobs down to 60% to even begin to Tank them. You will get so damn tired of running to buy or make arrows you will puke.

On paper they seem to be the best class in EQ. Shame, they are close to the worse in reality on here.

[Surge]

Huge kick in the nutts guys. It's a class I want to play, and told I am not gonna get grps and I might as well slit my wrist now.

Most of the other classes I have played and raided with multiple times and a ranger would be something new, but if noone will want me in grps or raids then there is no point. GREAT!

[Surge]

A ranger solo guide on the Wiki is a great idea for those that want a solitary ass fucking.