Viability of ranger/cleric duo (at higher levels)
 

Friend of mine is restarting EQ, and is going to pick a class that will duo best with my ranger, both now and most importantly into Velious. I'd like ideally to do difficult 2 man camps with the duo.

I was thinking the best option in the long run would be a cleric, as eventually the ranger will be able to slow (swarmcaller/epic/willsapper) and self-haste (sky cloak/eyepatch).

Shaman seems good also, but the lack of CH, and the eventual overlap of ranger being able to slow/self haste and the ability to get dain hammer/primals seems to negate almost all the buffing benefits of the shaman.

Any thoughts or other class suggestions? I guess necro could be decent also, but won't be able to keep up with velious mob dps.

Yes, cleric would work well. The only things missing are evacs and mezzes...cleric can paci when you can't harmony.

Reconsider shaman...sky cloak/epics may be hard to get. Swarmcaller is easy, but waiting for it to proc while something is eating your face can be painful. Shaman slow + torpor = win. No indoor pulling utilities though.

I always used to duo with a Druid, but then I'm kind of dumb.

In before someone says 'Don't play a Ranger, you won't be able to tank the high level mobs, roll an sk/pally/monk'.

Forget a cleric, any melee can duo with a ranger. Specifically monk/rogue would be good. You're gonna be able to snare/aggro kite mobs while he wacks away at them for sick exp. Not to mention in velious rangers get animal fear which you can use to gain phat exp with a monk/rogue partner in lots of spots.

I agree, aggro kiting with a rogue sounds like the fastest EXP.

As long as the cleric is properly geared for the level you should be okay with Ranger/Cleric duo. One good thing is you will have exp rez for whenever things go bad.

I would also find as many Enchanter and Shaman friends as you can as that would really benefit you and your friend the best. With that said you should have the utility and healing power to be able to handle a lot of creatures, the slow proc strategy isn't too bad though you will find time where you don't proc soon enough and that gets dangerous.

Rangers are extremely squishy, that's one area where their horrible reputation is actually deserved. It isn't so bad until 50 because your defensive skill caps more or less keep up with the strength of mobs. Note that a ranger's defense caps at 200 at level 40, and then it never goes up again. But after that you're going to find that mobs just rip you apart like tissue paper, particularly if they are unslowed.

Let's take a look at these defensive skillcaps:

Ranger:
Defense: 200
Dodge: 137
Parry: 185
Riposte: 150

Rogue:
Defense: 252
Dodge: 210
Parry: 230
Riposte: 225

Shaman:
Defense: 200
Dodge: 75

Under ideal conditions yes, you would be able to make a pull, root any adds, slow the mob with your epic, and then tank it while the cleric heals you. But how often is it actually like that?

Anywhere you're actually going to want to solo is going to be full of casters, who are hard to CC with root. The pulls and camp breaks will likely be difficult, and you're not an exceptional indoor pulling class, and your partner isn't a chanter. If the pull goes south you're dead. Your ranger will be taking tons of damage, and neither of you are packing clarity. The cleric's mana pool will be extremely stressed, and clerics don't get mana recovery abilities. Sometimes slow just won't proc and you're juggling 2-3 rooted mobs.

I would go with a shaman because torpor can be a decent surrogate for c-heal, but more importantly, a shaman can recover their mana through canni to keep up with the excessive damage you'll be taking, and reliable slow on demand will be a godsend. No matter what, you're going to be the weak link.

Alternatively, have your friend roll an enchanter and solo the difficult camps while you watch on your ranger.

Rangers suck, they are a worse version of druid with a better track. Pretty sure druids melee harder. And everything else.


Q: How do you know if a ranger has been in your house?
A: If your cat is camping its corpse.

Hi, dumbass. How are ya.

All i took from this post is rogues are the best