I played a ranger as my main from just after release until I quit the game (L80...I forget which expansion b/c they all blended together toward the end). I agree completely with everything Yendor says. He gets it.
One thing that no one has mentioned, though, that a well-played ranger brings to the table is his/her ability to unf*ck (can I say that here?) things when the shiat hits the fan. Tank goes down, ranger steps in. Clothies or healers get aggro, ranger pulls it quick. Looking like a wipe, ranger has a million tools to give the rezzer time to camp. Slower bails (or one is unavailable) Swarmcaller/Earthcaller slows ftw. Overpull, ranger kites/roots/offtanks/or otherwise performs crowd control. Lousy heals, lousy buffs, lousy dots, lousy nukes, mediocre dps (right now), a bit squishy, but unparalleled as an un*fucker. That's part of why I loved playing the class.
Currently, I am playing a monk b/c I could not stomach another untwinked run to 60 w/the exp. penalty. What a joke. But I find monking a good deal less fun than rangering.
That said, the Kunark era is the nadir for rangers in EQ. It does get better, even in velious. But even now, a well-played ranger brings tons to the table...and a lot of it happens in the background (which is another conversation entirely).
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