Best starting stats for a Wood Elf Ranger?

[Vallanor]

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

Or it's the difference between dying or not, or the difference between getting low hp aggro or not. It's not crucial for every single fight, or even most fights, but leveling 1-60 it occurs often enough where if you were standing for one more swing you just might have killed the mob or you just might have got that heal that's about to land on your corpse and all of those situations add up to wasted time that could be avoided right from the start.

More DEX could be that one extra proc that finishes off the mob. More WIS could be that one extra root spell allowing you an easy escape when you get a couple adds. More STR could be extra damage throughout the fight that killed the mob faster and prevented the need for 40 extra HP at the end.

Overall I agree, from a min-max perspective, STA is probably the way to go just because it's more difficult to compensate for with gear, but I think it's really a pretty minor consideration at the end of the day. I did a piss-poor job creating my paladin (erudite to start and mostly STR at character creation) and I've never once felt bad about it. Most people won't even notice the difference.

[paulgiamatti]

I didn't want to go full nerd on this thread, but you nerds leave a nerd little option.

I put exactly 0 points into dex and with a few pieces of extra gear I can easily surpass 180 dex unbuffed. You don't need to put starting points into dex, even if you're soloing 100% of the time. I also put exactly 0 points into str and I'm at 200 unbuffed with normal gear. I have never been encumbered - I hate being encumbered, so I planned in advance to always avoid it, and because of this I never have to experience it. You don't need to put starting points into str.

Ranger is a hybrid class, not a caster - spellcasting should always be secondary to melee, even when soloing. The minuscule different a couple points of wisdom or dexterity will make in your solo game is simply not worth the sacrifice to your most crucial stat: hit points. Lots of people argue it's a preference of playstyle - that you should put some points into these stats if you want to solo, or put some points into these stats if you just want to tank or raid, etc. I don't buy that line - HP is most important, 100% of the time, in 100% of situations.

Dump the points into sta and thank me later. Or you know, don't, and listen to these other people.

[paulgiamatti]

And I mean, I'm a complete min-maxer, but I don't see that as some ghastly, atrocious offense to the well-being of P99 nerdiculture or killing the enjoyment of the game or something. I like to play the game in the smartest way possible to allow for the best gameplay experience on all fronts. Some people don't care about being efficient - that's fine, but in a thread where someone is asking what the best starting stats are, I'm absolutely going to take a giant min-maxed dump all over the thread because I'd like the OP to receive good advice.

So do other things, I don't care - I'm just telling you what I would do and unpacking the reasoning behind it, just as others are. And as a self-proclaimed frothing rabid min-maxer, I can also confidently say that I'm a fun person to play the game with and I never shove my ideas down anyone else's throat.

[brecon]

So....what most people are saying is 'we have opinions on our preferences.' There's no winner here, so do what you want. But the other interesting thing that people say is that it is also about gear choice.

I've personally found it harder to raise dex without sacrificing others stats. I find it relatively easy to add HP and Str in combination on gear, and I find it pretty easy to add to MR/CR/FR along with Wisdom. For someone who likes to solo, both while leveling and at 60 to farm stuff, I prioritize conserving HP. That means reliance on regen, procs, and bows. Which is why I wear lots of resist gear and prioritize dex for procs.

If you are an end-game raider that is min-maxing, then I don't know why you are rolling Ranger in the first place. Min-maxing a Ranger is a little like trying to be a main healer as a Paladin. But nonetheless, in that context, then you will assume that you always have lvl 60 shaman buffs (Str + Dex + Focus), which adds a ton of stats (though I find most shamans ignore me if I ask for dex+str+focus anyway and just give me focus). Also in many raid situations you won't want to use proc weapons to avoid pulling aggro. And you want to survive AE damage, since healing a ranger will never be a priority. In that case, and only that case, do I see a justification for stamina.

But if that was your mentality I sort of doubt you would be asking the P99 forums for stat allocation advice, and if you are untwinked, you are heavily gimping yourself until higher levels and better gear.

[paulgiamatti]

Well, my ranger began as a fairly overgeared alt which got hand-me-downs from my main rogue, and that turned into a full-scale twinking project - I probably wouldn't roll ranger as my very first character when starting on a new server, unless I was feeling particularly masochistic.

I'd say the primary reason I decided on ranger is tracking, and I'm pretty happy that I stuck with it for that reason alone. Also, it's just a fun class to play. If you gear yourself like a tank, and if you have plenty of HP, you can easily tank anything a shadow knight or paladin can, and ranger snap aggro is basically the best in the game.

[gkmarino]

Not ranger related but i put all points into strength and I'm still mad at how often I'm over encumbered. Not ranger related but imagine it as an evil race/deity who can't vendor everywhere. Also being my first char untwinked I carry pelts and weapons to sell and craft. I'm always finding a balance between value and weight. Not to mention wanted to train skill in all weapon types without WR bags. STR has payed off immensely. Even having 90 STR sucks a lot. I'm level 20 and just got my first item that has STR on it.

My armor and a few weapons and a shield puts my starting weight at around 55-60 and that's without plate armor.

[LordRayken]

Too late. I'm level 7 and already dumped my points into Stamina.

Dun dun dunnnn

[Ravager]

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

Too late. I'm level 7 and already dumped my points into Stamina.

Dun dun dunnnn

Good call.

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

If you intend to play the ranger so you can raid later, sure, sta may be the thing to do. But if you are not heavily twinked, i would consider putting all into str. Str is needed so you do more damage and dont have to sell things so often due to overload. Not putting your points into str can lead to too much frustration so you dont even get to high level.

Ignore all that if you have a good amount of twink gear, getting your str up that way.

And then he gets to level 50, realizes his str is way beyond capped with a single buff and some cheap gear and wishes his 20 points were put somewhere else.

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

That is the opposite though because sta only helps when you or your group is doing poorly. If you are extra careful you don't need any extra hp^^ High top speed and sta are both conditional benefits though, so there is consistency there ^.~v

I would choose the pink car too though, but only because it's pink ^^

If you're extra careful, you don't need a seat belt either, but you probably want one anyway.

[Pyrion]

If you intend to play the ranger so you can raid later, sure, sta may be the thing to do. But if you are not heavily twinked, i would consider putting all into str. Str is needed so you do more damage and dont have to sell things so often due to overload. Not putting your points into str can lead to too much frustration so you dont even get to high level.

Ignore all that if you have a good amount of twink gear, getting your str up that way.

[paulgiamatti]

Did anyone play the original F-Zero for SNES?

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I always chose the pink racer and annihilated my competition, because even though it had the lowest acceleration, it had the highest top speed. Meaning if you ran into a wall and came to a dead stop, you were pretty much screwed because it would take you longer to accelerate back to top speed again. But if you played well - if you were confident and knew the course well, and could make all the turns without clipping the walls - you were much more likely to take first place.