paladin or ranger?

[Aaramis]

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

I think you are missing the trick here; mobs don't path back to their spawn until snare fades, so you can use snare to 'root' a single mob at a zonline, provided you can double zone before snare fades.

Yep, I know. Far easier to root it (if a non-caster), and then wave at it while you camp out to reset aggro. Ensnare not required, although you could use it if you'd prefer to park it at a certain spot for when you log back in.

Anyways, we're digressing.

[jolanar]

If you do want to tank I'd say Paladin hands down over Ranger.

Ranger soloing is overrated IMO. Ranger skill caps are sad, especially their defense. Fear kiting as a melee is a miserable existence and Velious mobs have WAY too much hp. Granted, at least you have the option, where as Paladins will be dependent on groups.

[Jimjam]

Kaev what are you spending your mana on in groups (as ranger)?

I find when I have an enchanter with me I have a surplus of mana, which often ends up being used to ineffectively patch heal, or to feed a shaman's canni (so they can cast actually useful/expensive spells like slow).
I'm asking this question from a pre-60 perspective. Snare and flame lick are so cheap!

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

Yep, I know. Far easier to root it (if a non-caster), and then wave at it while you camp out to reset aggro. Ensnare not required, although you could use it if you'd prefer to park it at a certain spot for when you log back in.

Anyways, we're digressing.

Ah, apologies for thinking you were unaware of this.... hopefully someone will find my previous post useful!

[Freakish]

Earthcaller is great and even better when it procs. Velious armor has lots of ac but our def cap is capped at 200 so those mobs hit hard. Dark cloak of the sky doesn't seem to rot / isn't sold so you'll get one if you join a guild that does sky, it just might take a while. They can definitely solo but it's nothing close to a monks level.

[Cecily]

Epics / Dark Cloak of the Sky / Fungi = solo to lv 60 pre-Velious.

[kaev]

Ranger:
1) Make friends with every Shaman you ever meet. Rangers are light duty tanks, Shaman slow makes tanking light duty. Shaman slow is lots of agro, about 2 Flame Licks worth of agro, Flame Lick costs a whopping 10 mana to cast. Snare is also good agro and cheap to cast and useful for its effect. Rangers can tank, they have fantastic agro, but without a slower ranger tanking steadily weakens after low levels.
2) AC is your friend. When your Shaman pal fails to stick his slow on the first cast you are gonna eat some extra attacks.
3) Fun class to play. It's fun figuring out how to solo stuff, it's fun pulling in outdoor dungeons, it's fun tanking, it's fun doing ghetto CC. (Some people like fear kiting and agro kiting. For me, kiting with melee chasers can go drown at the bottom of the deepest ocean and be forever forgotten because chasing mobs around for hours on end is just gawdawful stupid tedious.)

Paladin:
1) Befriend Enchanters and learn how to effectively and efficiently keep them alive.
2) If you ever worry about your dps, you're doing it wrong. You are about agro, so you do want good ratio weapons, you just don't care about the actual damage output as opposed to the agro generated (parsing will make you a sad panda.)
3) AC is king, you always want more of it.
4) HP is queen once you start grouping with L39+ clerics, at that point +Sta/+HP items are very interesting. +Wis/+Mana are ok, but limited in value. The depth of your mana pool doesn't come in to play very often because you will rarely "med full" like the priests and casters sitting all the time (breaking tough camps tho, whether you're doing the paci-pulling or the ghetto CC on the overpull, a deeper manapool can help.) +Agi is such a teeny bit of extra AC that it doesn't really matter. +Str is good for avoiding trashing your AC by being encumbered, after that it's just a teeny bit of extra damage and from mid-levels on your damage will steadily degrade from mediocre to awful. +Dex is of some value when using a weapon with a good agro proc (it'll save on mana.) +Cha is worthy (at least in the form of a couple +cha items available to swap in) due to pacify mechanics.

[Jimjam]

Yea, I think I jumped between his lists a bit.

It's still a good question for rangers, I'm finding it hard to spend my mana at regenerate when buffed.

[Stonewallx39]

From a more meta "what will make me happy" perspective,

As a paladin you will have a clear role in a group and have the capacity to be a truly magnificent tank once your skill sets develop. You will always feel sad without a group around you, but will have a chance to be the hero deep in a dungeon one day.

Rangers will never have a very clear role/need in a group. They can do many things suprisigly well but no one thing (shy of tracking) that another class couldn't do better. A great ranger can be a amazing asset in a group and fill a variety of needs, you will just have to open some eyes to be given the chance.

Rangers experience a lot of unique adventure that others may miss. Tracking, invis, sow, and levitate means that you can see things and go places that many others can't or won't experience. In a game as vast and amazing as Everquest that's a pretty potent combo.

In the end do what makes you happy.

[kaev]

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

Yea, I think I jumped between his lists a bit.

It's still a good question for rangers, I'm finding it hard to spend my mana at regenerate when buffed.

I've been in groups with my Ranger where I was fm most of the time, because enchanters are silly OP and also hate +dmg roots, and you don't want to pull agro off the warrior like some spoony monk twink, ..., it does get boring playing ranger in a group that needs nothing more than an occasional snare from your lovely toolbox. I mean, it just isn't very special to outdamage a Warrior by a bit.

Of course, the Ranger hate on p99 is very very strong, so most of my Ranger's xp has been gained solo. (The XP penalty hurt, a lot, when it was in force.) v0v

But Shamans, man. Ranger+Enchanter synergy is limited, and Clerics get very whiny about Ranger damage intake, but a Shaman is a Ranger's bestestest friend. Sadly, you are in competition with Warriors and Monks who mistakenly believe that the Shaman is their best friend. But when you get the action going outdoors with Shaman+Ranger the fun doesn't stop until you pass out at the keyboard.

[Jauna]

Being a Paladin while leveling up:
YOU ARE THE QUEEN GOD KING OF SNAP AGRO FROM LEVEL NINE TO LEVEL FIFTY-NINE YOU CAN MAKE BOTH DRUID AND SHAMAN HEALERS WORK BECAUSE YOU CAN ALSO FUCKING HEAL AND YOU GET THIS BITCHING HOT AT FIFTY-NINE AS YOU ROCK SHIT WITH SELF SYMBOLS, LULL PULLING, ROOT CC AND STUNNING CASTERS UNTIL THEY DIIIIE

Being a paladin at level 60:
You are a Divine Strength buffbot who can provide somewhat poor to mediocre raid heals when you get put into the straggler group with a druid and nonrogue/monks. People may allow you to tank hate/fear trash if you are in full w/ntov geared however, maybe.

Now..

Being a Ranger while leveling up:
JESUS GOD WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME STOP FUCKING HITTING ME OH SHIT EVERYTHING SLOWS DOWN AT LEVEL 20 AND I CANT BUFF, ATTACK OR HEAL WORTH A SHIT FUCKING CRAB SHIT CAKES FIFTH SNARE RESIST WHY AM I A THING FUCK YEAH BEING A PULLER IN OUTDOOR ZONES LIKE MISTMOORE, COM AND KARNORS HARMONY IS AMAZING UNTIL I RUN OUT OF ARROWS

edit: Once you get to level 22 you can fear kite animals to level up which makes this whole ordeal somewhat easier and quite enjoyable when you realize most older exp zones are taken over by fungi twinks and PL bots

Being a Ranger at level 60:
Strength of Nature, Call of the Predator and Call of Earth buffbot for the real DPS/tank classes, you do alright damage, your heals still suck and your snares still get resisted but you provide three great buffs for a raid. Your clicky cloak is nice for 6man groups but bards/shams can pump out the same haste % while enchanters will make your cloak a bagspace takerupper