Ranger grouping

[YendorLootmonkey]

Xegony represent!

If you can wait to start your ranger, level him up to about 22 and then wait until the Velious patch when the XP penalty is lifted and you get Panic Animal at 22, in case you need to solo. Unless you're betting that Velious won't be out anytime soon.

Otherwise, your bread and butter as a ranger is in 3-4 man groups where they actually need your versatility to fulfill multiple roles while keeping the group small. Full groups can just get the specialists (rogue for DPS, monk for pulling, enchanter/bard for CC, etc) and can better justify not adding a ranger, especially if there are some min-maxers in the group that loathe the thought of adding a hybrid that will soak up their XP.

Primarily, best advice is to be proactive and start your own groups. You're still a decent tank in classic zones, and rangers can hold aggro like a champ. You build up a solid group of people you level up with in various zones that match your play time, /friend them, and start sending them tells to see if they want to join up when you log in.