Range bow damage - dex or str?

[Lartanin63]

Yeah you will want Str. I think the dmg calculation is really based off the bows damage more than strength bonus. Like you are only going to hit so hard with the increased attack rating you get. It obviously changes when you get into 50s for double dmg when it's standing there not rooted. I've done a dex build in the past to see if my crits happened more and it seemed worse with the lost damage of my strength gear being replaced.
I feel bow kiting stuff in classic and in other situational stuff later on in expansions is viable. But you shouldn't be doing it in groups and stuff. That's like a druid meleeing because he has a scimitar.

Root and shoot is viable to put your dots on it and med while you bow

Snare and bow to finish off mobs when your hp/mana gets a bit low during melee.

Make a buttload of arrows and solo a red con mob with sow. This sounds like a waste of time but getting a hero bracers way before you can tank and spank, or a short sword of Morin, orc impaler. 6-30 damage and not getting hit is nothing to laugh about in classic.

Tldr: Go strength, use archery as a tool not to define your class.

[gherron]

Originally Posted by Lartanin63 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Make a buttload of arrows and solo a red con mob with sow. This sounds like a waste of time but getting a hero bracers way before you can tank and spank, or a short sword of Morin, orc impaler. 6-30 damage and not getting hit is nothing to laugh about in classic.
.

Cannot stress this enough. I was able to farm Karg Icebear (level 35/36) solo at level 15 using nothing but vendor arrows and sow pots (couldn’t land any spells on him). It felt like a huge accomplishment to get the gigantic zweihander and his cloak. I’m still using the zweihander and I probably won’t ever sell it because it’s my “trophy”. Big game hunting is very rewarding on the ranger.

Also, thanks Lartanin for your awesome guide.

[Tethler]

Originally Posted by gherron [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Cannot stress this enough. I was able to farm Karg Icebear (level 35/36) solo at level 15 using nothing but vendor arrows and sow pots (couldn’t land any spells on him). It felt like a huge accomplishment to get the gigantic zweihander and his cloak. I’m still using the zweihander and I probably won’t ever sell it because it’s my “trophy”. Big game hunting is very rewarding on the ranger.

Also, thanks Lartanin for your awesome guide.

Yeah, I did the same in the low 20s, but without sow/sow pots. Strafe running for 20 mins while snapping back to to shoot without getting caught was pretty tiring on the hands. Bow kited down Quillmane at 30 also, but unfortunately got legs.

Bows are great for targets of opportunity!

I use bow sometimes when I'm soloing xp mobs too. When I need to root and back out to heal, you can weave bow shots during GCD between heals. The extra dmg adds up.

[Sarkhan]

Originally Posted by gherron [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Cannot stress this enough. I was able to farm Karg Icebear (level 35/36) solo at level 15 using nothing but vendor arrows and sow pots (couldn’t land any spells on him). It felt like a huge accomplishment to get the gigantic zweihander and his cloak. I’m still using the zweihander and I probably won’t ever sell it because it’s my “trophy”. Big game hunting is very rewarding on the ranger.

Also, thanks Lartanin for your awesome guide.

I did this too at lvl 17 for my Zweihander from Karg and cloak from Matar! Also got my Peggy cloak around 28 I believe and 2 more for my friends. Orc impaler too soloing that shadowman and ghoul boss. I gotta say those single targets are where bow kiting shines and definitely makes you feel accomplished. Died miserably against Coloth though, do not recommend because he bow kites better than a 30 ranger haha

Extra thanks to Lartanin as everything I've read from him seems spot on.