Ranger
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The rogue calling has an
amazing range
of versatility amongst its souls, and the Ranger may be as far from
the typical stealthy backstabber as one can get. Relying on range,
quickness and their deadly companion, the Marksman is
at its best when the enemy is kept at a comfortable distance.
Pros
- Powerful pet is like having an extra party member
- Can unleash massive damage from afar
- Exceptional DPS
- Excellent soloing soul
Cons
- Relatively one dimensional
- Poor survival skills if pet is taken out.
- DPS diminishes when forced to move
Overview
The Ranger is a melee based ranged damage dealing soul in the rogue
calling. Similar in approach to the Marksman, the Ranger prefers to
keep their enemy at a distance and becomes less effective when the gap
is closed. Unlike the Marksman however, the Ranger has a combat pet
companion to help maintain that distance, but in turn sacrifices much
of the raw damage output of the other archer soul.
Solo
Play
The rogue calling is a veritable playground for those that love to
strike out on their own as nearly every soul excels at it, but few can
match the Ranger in solo prowess. By keeping foes at a comfortable
distance and allowing their powerful pet to absorb the lions share of
incoming damage, the Ranger chews through enemies and has little to no
downtime. Players that enjoyed the Hunter in WoW would feel right at
home with the Ranger
Group
Play
As we have discussed many times before in these overviews, the beauty
of the Rift
soul system is that you are never locked into playing one role. While
the Ranger is perfectly capable of contributing to a group setting,
they lose effectiveness in anything more advanced than an instanced
dungeon or a basic rift. As a secondary pr tertiary soul however, the
Ranger is a solid choice for practically every rogue due to a combat
pet with zero points invested.
Pairs
Best With
Marksman
It is hard to think of two souls that pair better in
style="font-style: italic;">Rift than the
Ranger and the Marksman. Both rely on the exact same type of damage and
both use very similar armor and weapons to get the job done. Many
powerful ranged builds will use dip heavily into both souls to maximize
effectiveness. Adding Single Minded Focus, Penetrating Shots, Increased
Fire Power and Sharpshooter for a total of 18 points will net the
biggest gains and push you over the threshold to achieve Marksman
Pedestal which is the real prize of this pairing.
Assassin
There is some debate as to the other prime pairing for the Ranger, with
the camps divided between the Bard and the Assassin. I side with the
Assassin advocates on this one as it serves to increase the main
purpose of the Ranger flat out damage. For a nominal amount of point
input you can net some substantial gains. Consider investing in
Murderous Intent, Magnify Pain and Cruel Vengeance for increased
damage, a reactive damage increase for 10 seconds after scoring a
critical hit and a flat 20% increase in critical hit damage
respectively.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our RIFT Game Page.
