eleemo

The hawk works, it does between 200 and 300 damage per almost sec.
My issue is, if it's supposed to be an UPGRADE, then it should hit harder
for example 300 to 400 , correct ? Yet it does not hit harder ,in fact
it hits for the same rate as tier7 one did. So i spent 16 plat's for a bird
that looks better , white as opposed to blue, but does the same rate of damage , so hhow is it supposed to draw agro??? Nice touch SoE , did we forget the programming ?

Pinski

It's not supposed to draw aggro, and instead it's just supposed to siphon hate off of you.

__________________
How many times do you hear it? It goes on all day long
Everyone knows everything And no one's ever wrong
Until later...
Who can you believe? It's hard to play it safe
But apart from a few good friends We don't take anything on faith
Until later..

Crychtonn - Bylar

Master pets have a better hit rate was always my understanding. Never checked parses to verify but when I went from the Adept 1 to Master 1 it seemed to hit the mobs more often.

It siphons hate from the entire group not just the ranger btw.

Pinski

They hit, slightly harder, along with a better hit-rate. Combined with the fact that it scales even higher levels vs. the old tier one, and also siphons more hate as a master vs. adept.

__________________
How many times do you hear it? It goes on all day long
Everyone knows everything And no one's ever wrong
Until later...
Who can you believe? It's hard to play it safe
But apart from a few good friends We don't take anything on faith
Until later..

Crychtonn - Bylar

Nope, the hate siphon stays at 15% no matter what level you use. Been that way since they introduced the skill. Unless that's been ninja changed sometime recently.

Pinski

Hrm, I could have sworn it was pretty high on the master, like 40% or somethign stupid. Guess I'm seeing things again.

__________________
How many times do you hear it? It goes on all day long
Everyone knows everything And no one's ever wrong
Until later...
Who can you believe? It's hard to play it safe
But apart from a few good friends We don't take anything on faith
Until later..

Crychtonn - Bylar

Damm you respond fast lol. Well I'm at home for lunch atm and decided to log in and double check. And nothing has changed on it. Used hawk and checked the debuff when it hit the mob and still says ' Transfer 15% of group (AE) hate to target ' or something close to that.

It's one of the reasons I never bothered to upgrade it before the melee hit changes. Damm bird was worthless and could hit shit in VP. Got lucky and guildy hooked me up before the change and master bird had same shitty hit rate. But after the melee hit changes it has a very good hit rate and with the ranger change to not break stealth is a regularly used skill.

hooker7101

Hey all, been playing a Ranger since beta and I'm just now getting around to putting something in this forum. I don't troll the forums here and only occassionally pop in to see if anyone has a useful tidbit that I can use to improve my own game experience. Typically I'm a non-confrontational sort that finds a little here and there on Flames amusing and/or useful. I don't think I'm all that great of a Ranger most times, matter of fact I think I'm more along the lines of mediocre with potential to be really good, just don't have the time to hone my craft. Put a lot of thought into it, so it's a little long.

I have some SERIOUS issues with the class of late and maybe I can get a little backing on them. I've submitted several /feedbacks (which is like talking to the walls, I know), but maybe if more were put in or something of that regard, maybe some more changes will come about for us. About as likely as it raining fish, but you never know. Stranger things HAVE happened.

Anyway, my primary issue with the class recently is a complete lack of utility. We're basically a one-trick pony when it comes to groups and raids... DPS and that's it. We soak up more buffs to be truly useful than any other class game-wide. A buffless Ranger in a raid is a useless Ranger just about. As an example (and I have no screen caps to back it up, sorry), I was in a raid taking out Domini that were up on LDL. I was the odd man out, got a healer (extra defiler) and that was it, just the 2 of us in Group 3. Essentially buffless, I was putting out right around 2400 DPS (DT arrows with the fabled epic). A few days prior, running PR for status and the loots that drop less-frequently, in a near-ideal group with a troub and illy, I was putting out just over 4k (my STR sucks at around 750, but generally have 60% crit and 50% DA). Anyway, my point is this: Any group or raid can get the same amount of dps from a rogue class, an assassin, or a caster and get something BACK that they can use in return.... BUFFS!! We have great self-buffs, but all we share is run speed and melee accuracy (short duration) and the damn bird of questionable usefulness (I think it's great when used properly).

We have none! We've got Pathfinding and the now-enhanced Focus Aim that increases melee offensive skills and accuracy for 10-15 seconds. That's all! Now why would an intelligent group want to pick us over say... A Wizard? In any logical world, they'd be retarded to... or just being nice, or have a lack of other options. I'm noticing it's a growing trend WW. I used to be on Befallen and transfered recently to LDL, it was near-impossible to find a group for anything because we don't bring anything to the table other than raw damage output. Even our kin the Assassins have something to offer a group apart from their SICK (overly so in some cases, but cheers to them) DPS in a hate transfer.

Don't read me wrong at all, there have been some significant changes in the class recently and thank goodness too. Some were way past due. Arrow changes, adding to the short-buff so others get some benefit off it, the bird no longer breaking stealth. Excellent changes just reaching into recent history. However, MORE changes are needed, and they ought to be relatively simple to implement (or at least one would think). Either change some of our self-buffs to be more group/raid-friendly or give the predator subclass 1 or 2 to give something back to the other players that really help our classes shine!

What do you guys think? I know there's more than one other person out there that's been LFG and been burned by a group looking for one other dps class because we either bring nothing to the table in the form of buffs or crowd control or whatever or because some of us have no semblance of agro-management and that gives the entire class a bad name (And if you don't know what I'm talking about here, you're probably one of the guilty parties.)


/flame ON
For any of the developers that troll this forum:
FIX THIS FUCKING BROKEN CLASS ALREADY!!! STOP GIVING US THE GOD DAMNED NERF BAT UP THE ASS EVERY TURN YOU GET BECAUSE ONE CLASS OR ANOTHER SAYS WE'RE OVERPOWERED! We're so far from it it makes me truly wonder what people's definition of overpowered is. When I can stand there and button-mash on a class I've never played before in Kor'Sha and meet or beat my own parse as a Ranger (which I have to time my CAs so I can get autoattacks out in between them and constantly reposition so I can get a Coverage off), something is WRONG! Thanks a million for some of the changes you've made, but your work isn't done yet!!! STOP TROLLING THIS FORUM AND ASK THE PLAYERS THEMSELVES YOU LAZY, UNIMAGINATIVE, OVERPAID BASTARDS!!!

I really enjoy this class, so anyone that's going to flame me instantly saying "Reroll," go to hell straight off. You're probably one of the tards that button-mashes like the fat kid at my local arcade talking about his "leet Street Fighter skillz" calling it a good performance. This class takes work and skill unlike some others to do well with. And the ones that don't require as much work or skill as us do SO much better with a skilled player at the keys it's amazing.

The second half of this post (much shorter, promise) is for you, the jackass that rolled a Ranger thinking it was an easy class to play. GO BACK TO THE SHIT YOU PLAYED BEFORE YOU ROLLED A RANGER, YOU SUCK! Pisses me off more than anything to actually get in a group and hear about "the last Ranger we invited." I left Befallen because it's so Ranger-saturated that you could probably cross from one continent to the other (take your pick which ones) and not get your feet wet stepping on all the shitty Rangers. Damn few good ones on that server, and I didn't necessarily count myself among them. I'm still new to LDL, but I'm sure in time I'll know the few that actually know how to play the class better than I'll ever be able to and the rest that don't have a god damned clue.

/flame OFF

Summation: Everyone involved with this class, devs, good players, mediocre players, suck-ass-ought-to-consider-a-change-of-class players, forum trollers... Get up and do something about all this stuff, PLEASE? Make this class more appealing/useful.

__________________
Linolwen Spiritchaser 80/140 Ranger/Alchemist/Tinkerer
Sophakin Uglieukrai 75/112 Paladin/Weaponsmith/Transmuter
Mabia Will'Mabiawont 75/114 Mystic/Sage

Safana

First failure - thats like using T7 spells or even worse for ranger's DPS.

I really hope you used ferrite arrows... btw, i checked your gear, screw that belt and cloak, get the haste belt of the blue shiny collection and use the marr cloak - selfbuffed dps is some very important point for ranger dps.

Roll a bard, if you want some fucking buffs. Sure wizzard is awesome support for a magegrp (<3 velium gift). But why take another one except for another magegrp with illu to put TC on him? The ranger with IA on it will always own the 2nd wizz with no TC, if he does not fucking suck. Btw, what utility does an assassin offer? Aggro transfer? lol, how nice, he can put it on the troub or the priest in the grp... Ah well, i forgot about poison weapon, put it on the bard, he will enjoy it (well that buff is nice).

Don't get me wrong, rangers have always been very gear dependant, more then other classes... if you call that bugged, ok.
Just to make it clear, RANGERS DON'T NEED NO FUCKING UTILITY! we are predators, made to kill stuff. It's always the people who don't know how to play their class complaining how bad their class is and how it sucks compaired to others.

If you have the potential, use it... instead of writing stupid posts, learn to play, improve your skill and enjoy playing one of the greatest classes of Everquest 2 (my personal opinion) - it's not that difficult, you're welcome to send me a tell, i am always willing to help people who want to get better.

__________________

hooker7101

I think you missed my point a little. Figured there'd be at least one. Yes, we're predators, our job is damage... but of late that's EVERYONE's job. Endgame raid content seems to be about how high on the parse the TEMPLARS can get (not really, but still kind of validates the point). Our DPS has been nerfed over the years (remember poison procs on every strike of Triple Shot anyone?) and other's boosted to the point that the one needy ranger soaking up buffs becomes a near-exercise in futility. In order for me to come up in the parse above the majority of casters, rogues and sometimes fighters I need IA, Rapidity, Fortissimo, any STR buffs that I can get, CoB, procs and a whole slew of others. It borders on ridiculous. Last night in VP (using ferrite arrows, I use the DT ones when I feel like being cheap) I was hitting right around 3800-4100 on the oranges. I was happy with that to an extent because the mobs conned higher and the rules change for oranges, but still felt mediocre and like a burden on the raid. I was taken in just before Kluzen because a Brigand had to drop suddenly (mass debuffs and approximately the same DPS with the same buffs that I had-UTILITY AND DAMAGE OUTPUT!). The class does need a little more utility if these trends are going to continue where everyone's DPS output ends up being nearly the same. I was third or fourth on the parse most of the night behind a wizzy with mythical, TC and a shit ton else, and the main assassin (when he wasn't being all emo) who also has his mythical and a similar set of buffs to what I had, they're also much better geared on both counts. Can't recall who it was that occassionally jumped ahead of me. The DPS output isn't an issue really. I'm happy with it, though our severe dependence on gear and buffs is a pain in the ass, never called it a bug, but it is a little unfair when other classes don't have the same dependence. Class-balance is an intangible concept to most, but I think I get it, simplified. We do damage, have mid-range avoidance and HP, and don't take hits very well. That's not our role anyway (though I miss the way it was back in EQ1 where I could tank as a Ranger and do a little crowd control if I had to). The fighters take the hits (or outright dodge them), so they're set up for that and are buff needy to help them hold agro against the sorcerors and predators. The casters each have their own roles, too many to want to list and the healers are really the main buffers and keep us all alive, both need the buffs to help them do their job a little better than they can without them. The big difference here is that even a fighter gives something back to his group in exchange for the buffs that help him function better. So do casters, priests and all the other scout classes. Predators really don't, plain and simple. Then the lines that separate us begin to blur into just how much damage we all do (like they are now). That's when I start getting upset because now our class's role isn't so special anymore. The buff idea was a suggestion, I'm still thinking of ways to potentially make us a little more useful/attractive OTHER than how to improve other class's buffs or changes to equipment and combat rules, leave that stuff alone. This class reaps the benefits of changes to other classes pretty well. Gear changes were only required with, for example, the recent arrow changes. It was messed up and NEEDED to be fixed. There's probably a couple other pieces that need fine-tuning, but by and large it's just fine in that regard. All I'm really saying is just because we parse high isn't going to be enough forever, trends going the way they are.

I'm under-geared for the stuff I try to take on, no doubt, like I said I just don't have a great deal of time to dedicate to the game sometimes. That's an issue with me that I can fix on my own time. I hold my own against guys that have a much better equipment setup, and I know after a couple more pieces and completing my mythical (damn you VS!!!) I'll be kicking their asses. It just continues to suck getting passed over time and again because all I bring to the table is high damage output. I don't need more than that, but everyone else around me does.

Far as rolling a bard, fuck that!!! Tried it and it's just too boring for my tastes.

This is a great class that actually requires more than half a brain to play well, but thanks for calling the post stupid. I was trying to pick some brains and get some opinions from the community here and make sure I'm not the only one who feels this way, pretty sure that's what these forums are for.

__________________
Linolwen Spiritchaser 80/140 Ranger/Alchemist/Tinkerer
Sophakin Uglieukrai 75/112 Paladin/Weaponsmith/Transmuter
Mabia Will'Mabiawont 75/114 Mystic/Sage