New Ranger Looking for Advice

[Ennewi]

Oakwynd would be the undeniable exception, the one ranged weapon to shoot down the debate above, not that the bow will likely ever find its way into anyone's range slot on p99. That said, early on bows can be decent, mostly risk-free damage. With a Runed Oak Bow and cheap vendor arrows you can strafe around NK and shoot willowisps, farming greater lightstones for plat. But there are quite a few ranger-only weapons that don't cost much and will be more reliable damage which is expected in group settings.

In these discussions it's worth considering the last few patches up ahead, specifically the patch that gives hybrids a much-needed boost. With their defenses adjusted, rangers should be a bit more well-rounded as group tanks and their damage output should be better with the two-hand damage increase, but to what extent? Having an aversion to math, I can only speculate. But if at that point snap aggro tanking becomes the main reason rangers are sought after, than the traditional knight setup could be a viable alternative to dps. Stacking hp/ac and possibly even equipping a shield in off-hand + stat item in ranged slot, so the real dps classes can rush the mob as soon as it's in camp.

But given that rangers have very few quality shields to choose from and plenty of two-handers thanks to Kunark/Velious, it seems reasonable to assume that most will choose to wield the latter, possibly neglecting dual wield outside of high ac raid targets.

Right now rangers still feel ambiguous. A filler class lacking any definitive role except in outdoor dungeons. So the entire time you're grouped with minmaxers, it's like interviewing for your own job but with dps reports instead of tps reports.

Yet, with the right gear, rangers can adjust to most situations well enough and even excel in unconventional groups when fulfilling more than one role is a must. The more multitasking involved, the more useful the class proves itself to be, despite its egg carton tankiness, its butter knife dps, and its sticky tack cc. The problem with this is, many players on p99 have a variety of alts they can switch to in order to keep a group functioning properly, which leaves rangers with very little to contribute.

No, it's not the botb or most synergistic class but it gets the job done, especially when all aspects of its design are put to work. Having levitate, camouflage, bind sight, harmony, sow, and track at your disposal, plus bfg/trueshot, you will feel like a predator drone.