Starting stats for ranger

[Lyta]

Hi

I'm creating a new human ranger and i'm unsue where to put my stats

The plan is to mostly solo and play alone, when i reach endgame and have my epics where would i wish i had put my stats?

[Goregasmic]

Stamina is the best choice for min/maxing but if you're not oozing with money and don't plan on grouping/raiding much, STR is also a valid choice since it is hard to get decent AC/hp while maxing out STR with EC gear and no raid buff. 20str or 84hp won't make or break your character though so it is up to you.

[kjs86z2]

It is a looooooooong road to end game. Epics are just a tickle in that regard.

The answer is STR. You'll notice it right away and will help for likely a year or more of playing / raiding quite a lot.

Don't let the turbonerds tell you STA. They live in a world where BiS loot is available on a conveyor.

[Snaggles]

20 stamina is 84hps at 60.

I think maxing Strength with Focus of Spirit is necessary no matter what at end game and often you will have resistance or other gear equipped that might not have any strength (hammered golden loops, etc).

Worst case, you cap strength and attack without even needing Focus. I’d rather even have 20 points in Dex at that point than Stamina. Bow crits and proccing Avatar more consistently > 84hps.

And yea, outside raiding and end game it’s really nice to just carry around stuff and make sure you are doing as much dps as possible when a shaman isn’t around.

[sajbert]

You'll eventually cap all relevant stats self-buffed, at least with primal, except stamina so go with that. Besides, hp is always good.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

According to my DPS calculator, a level 60 Ranger using Argent Protector and SCHW will get +0.5-1.0 DPS against a level 45 target with +20 STR.

Starting stats won't give you a very noticeable boost. STR gear and buffs are easy to get if you want more carry weight. STR and DEX is easy to cap by endgame via buffs.

STA is a safe bet, as you may change your mind about the character later on. Everquest is a long game, and your ideas about your characters may change over time. I made my Monk years ago, but didn't start seriously playing him until recently.

WIS is also a decent choice, as that stat is harder to come by on melee gear. Velious melee gear tends to be generous with STR and STA.

[Jimjam]

Str is super handy for carry capacity. My ranger has a full set of hot quest armour, epics and a few tov pieces but still doesn’t self buff to max but he easily raid buffs str past max. Meanwhile sta is still a little below cap even with shaman buff.

Personally I find str a little bit more useful, but that is a judgement/play style call. If you plan turning the toon into a raid zombie and don’t mind having to chuck a lot more cash/loot on the way from being weedy then probably go for sta.

[Duik]

Str always handy for early game lootz especially if le poorz.

If you do end up raiding and have 65 less HP than the top ranger dog nobody will care.
Your journey to 60 (should you even get there) will be easier early on. If you dont end game equip your toon it will still be able to carry more gear as you level. If you do get phat lootz, all the better.

STR. And what DSM said part str part wis wouldnt be totally silly either.

[Goregasmic]

On the other hand casters with like 60str do alright carrying their loot. They're not running around with imbued granite spaulders and 10wt 2handers but with the cheap WR bags my chanter is fine with about 30wt of carrying capacity. It helps but I wouldn't call it a massive boon. Str is definitely more useful on the way to 60 than 84hp, which is not 84hp when you start out, probably like 20hp if even.

[Liteninghoof]

RED99

STR

RED99

[kjs86z2]

Everyone always forgets just how long it takes a normal person to level on P99.

Until you have a ton of STR from gear....every time you log in you'll benefit from that extra carrying capacity. Its a tangible benefit right from level 1. The slightly higher melee swings is icing on the nerd-cake.

This is a no brainer with the only exception being if you're going to bee-line straight to 60 and acquire tons of DKP in a top end raid guild....and by then its trivial anyway.

[Jimjam]

I think the value of str largely depends on how fastiduous you may be in visiting vendors to dump trash.

If you go super often and never get encumbered it loses a lot of value. If you go super rarely and get little value out of trash loot it loses a lot of value.

If you go frequently and are limited to what you can carry by str then that is the sweet spot - you'll often be getting an extra 20pp (four fine steel weapons) of loot, which isn't a lot, but it will add up if you do it fairly frequently.

With rangers having sneak/harmony they can be quite aggresive shoppers, selling pretty much anywhere.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Everyone always forgets just how long it takes a normal person to level on P99.

Until you have a ton of STR from gear....every time you log in you'll benefit from that extra carrying capacity. Its a tangible benefit right from level 1. The slightly higher melee swings is icing on the nerd-cake.

This is a no brainer with the only exception being if you're going to bee-line straight to 60 and acquire tons of DKP in a top end raid guild....and by then its trivial anyway.

There are plenty of ways to offset weight. There is a lot of cheap STR gear, and everybody gets WR bags.

STR is an ok choice if you are specifically doing something like a solo self found run, or this is your very first char. Then it will be more difficult to come by STR gear and WR bags.

Otherwise in 2025, most people have enough plat to twink their new char with some cheap STR items and WR bags.

I think the value of str largely depends on how fastiduous you may be in visiting vendors to dump trash.

If you go super often and never get encumbered it loses a lot of value. If you go super rarely and get little value out of trash loot it loses a lot of value.

If you go frequently and are limited to what you can carry by str then that is the sweet spot - you'll often be getting an extra 20pp (four fine steel weapons) of loot, which isn't a lot, but it will add up if you do it fairly frequently.

With rangers having sneak/harmony they can be quite aggresive shoppers, selling pretty much anywhere.

Correct.

[bcbrown]

Hi

I'm creating a new human ranger and i'm unsue where to put my stats

The plan is to mostly solo and play alone, when i reach endgame and have my epics where would i wish i had put my stats?

Depends a bit on what you mean by endgame I suppose. If you're mostly solo does that mean you aren't going too hard after raid gear? Or do you mean gearing up with raiding and then playing solo?

I went strength and I'm happy with that decision at 54 with pretty good EC gear. Stamina might be theoretical min/max but I think you'll be pretty darn far into the endgame before capping strength self-buffed. If you're planning to optimize for BIS gear then you can draw up a magelo with your planned gear and see what stats are uncapped. I'd only recommend stamina if you're the sort of person whose enjoyment of the game is substantially impacted by regret from overcapping strength when you're fully BIS.

Wisdom is a fine choice and more mana is always better, but I've never once felt mana-constrained. Right now the stat I most want to upgrade is dex. Especially solo, being able to reliably proc Swamcaller or Earthcaller at the start of the fight is a big benefit, and there's several other weapons with useful procs you may pick up along the way. I don't think I'd trade the 20 into strength with dex but it's the only other allocation I'd consider.

[sajbert]

WIS is also a decent choice, as that stat is harder to come by on melee gear. Velious melee gear tends to be generous with STR and STA.Good point.