Ranger - Looking for current gear advice.

[Silfer]

Hello Everyone,

I leveled RNG to 75 pre "nerf", used to do RNG only PT's etc. I quit this job sometime before the "nerf" however and have recently decided to re-gear it.

Times have changed though, i am no longer in touch with what's the best.

Can any current RNG's give me gear advice? For say Merit PT gear choice, Dynamis, HNM etc.

Here is a list of some of my gear per slot.

Main/Sub Weapon choices:

Fransisca
Kriegsbeil
Trailers Kukri
Mercurial Kris
Vulcan's Staff

Ranged Weapons:

Othinus' Bow (Holy Bolts, Darksteel Bolts, Acid etc)
Hellfire +1 (Silver Bullets)
Culverin (Cannon Shells - limited use, DL etc)

Head:

Scout's Beret (HP+15, MND+4, Enmity-3, Recycle)
Optical Hat
Wyvern Helm

Neck:

Peacock Charm

Earrings:

Bushinomimi (STR+2, Yes, lolbushi i know )
Triumph Earring (STR +2)
Brutal Earring (DA +5%)

Body:

Kirin's Osode

Hands:

Blood Finger Gauntlets
Seiryu's Kote

Rings:

Merman's Rings (R.Acc +10)
Rajas Ring (STR,DEX, Store TP +5)
Flame Ring

Back:

Amemet Mantle +1
Cerberus Mantle

Waist:

R.K. Belt +2 (STR,DEX,AGI,INT,MND,CHR +2, R.Attack +6 in your nation controlled area)
Swift Belt

Legs:

Byakko's Haidate
Blood Cuisses
Hunter's Braccae (HP+15, MND+5, Enchances Sharpshot)

Feet:

Blood Geeaves (DEX, AGI +4)
RSE1 Feet (STR+3)

This is all gear i own, basically wondering what current vets would advise for TP & WS pruposes. Please do add gear in there i don't have, i am looking to gear better.

Regards,

Silfer

[Shadida]

First off, welcome back to RNG!

A few things have changed but many of the same basics still apply. Your priority for TP gain both on HNM and in Meripo PTs ought to be Ranged Accuracy > Ranged Attack > AGI > STR. A lot depends on which food choices you make, but I prefer to eat meat and wear accuracy gear, since Ranged Accuracy is much easier to come by than Ranged Attack, generally.

For WS, if you have the accuracy to back it up, go for STR > Ranged Attack > AGI/Ranged Accuracy. Obviously those RNGs without merits or eating meat may choose to use more ranged accuracy so you don't miss as often.

A lot also depends upon your subjob choice. In light of the nerf and our non-overpowered damage output, RNG/WAR is a very viable option and is by far my subjob of choice during EXP PTs (and most LS events such as sky gods, CoP HNM, etc), since mobs pose only a small threat and die very fast. In situations where continuous fighting is necessary such as Limbus and Dynamis (and some Assaults), you will find that a SAM subjob will provide you with some new flexibility with Seigan and Hasso, if you mainhand a Fire/Vulcan's Staff, with all the classic TP bonuses. In other situations where you expect to take hate or where dangerous AOE can be blocked by shadows, such as most Sea Jailers and add PTs at Wyrms, I choose a NIN subjob. In the end, it's all a matter of personal preference and what works best for you, but those are my recommendations subjob-wise.

Now gear:

Main/Sub: It is my opinion that Kriegsbeil is extremely overrated for Mithras. The AGI bonus is not as significant since we have such high natural AGI anyway. However, paired with a Fransicsa with a /NIN subjob they make a formidable main weapon set (decent for melee damage as well). As I explained though, I favor WAR and SAM subjobs where I can, so my main weapon of choice is always Vulcan's Staff (which in my opinion provides the best bonuses when single-wielding). When dual wielding, Kriegsbiel, Fransisca, Trailers Kukri, Ifrit's Blade, and the oft-overlooked Jr. Msk. Tuck +2 are all viable choices, depending on your gear setup and opposition.

Ranged:

Obow and Hellfire are still fine choices for Mithras thanks to our natural AGI, but you will find that now since distance-to-target has an impact on your attack power and accuracy, the benefits of using these weapons is often outbalanced by the risks you take being at closer range. Ebow is widely considered the best ranged aside from relic, because of its power, speed, and optimal range. On top of that, most RNGs agree that stacking STR for Sidewinder gives a better punch than stacking similar stats on for Slug Shots. If you can't get an Ebow, try a Selene's Bow, or stick with your Obow or Hellfire.

Head:

I only carry around Optical and Whelm on a regular basis. The Scout's Beret is useful for a MND holy bolt build, but not really much outside that. I also own Htr. Beret +1, which was the biggest waste of Ancient Beastcoins ever and sits on my mannequin.

Neck:

Peacock Charm is great if you already have one. Don't forget though that you also have an opportunity to add ranged attack using a Ranger's Necklace, Jagd Gorget, or Qiqirn Collar. Obviously, the sea torques are the ultimate neck TP slot. I have Faith, but still working on Hope. Finally, no RNG with sea access should be without a Breeze/Aqua/Light Gorget for WSs. Statistically speaking it only boosts Sidewinder/Slug Shot damage by 2%, but the added accuracy is dramatic. Any of the three elements will work for Sidewinder, but Light has the added benefit of working for all your Ranged WSs.

Earrings:

I actually have Bushinomimi myself, and Triumph Earring +1. These are the only two earrings I carry on my RNG. If you care to use a Fenrir's Earring at night, then good for you. Brutal Earring is great for those RNGs who choose close range combat, but I've always preferred to keep my distance so Brutal only comes out for my THF.

Body: You're set. Osode is the best for TP and WS.

Hands:

Great shape. Most rangers report better WS accuracy and damage with Kote, and use Blood Finger Gauntlets for TP gain. If you're really serious, go for a pair of Htr. Bracers +1, which will enhance your Barrage by adding an additional possible arrow/bolt/bullet. Landing a 7-hit Barrage earns you well over 100 TP and does spectacular damage - just make sure you have the accuracy to back it up since you must wear the gloves when firing.

Rings:

Again, looking good.

Back:

Amemet Mantle +1 is best for RNGs, since it has the added Ranged Attack +15 which is rather significant. I would not suggest using the Cerberus Mantle in any situation as a RNG, since an additional STR at the cost of Ranged Attack and added enmity hardly seems like a bargain.

Waist:
R.K. Belt +2 is great, but since most of your EXP'ing will probably occur in TAU areas, the ranged attack bonus will not be active. Don't overlook your Mithra JSE Jungle Sash!! Scout's Belt is probably best overall, but very rare. Swift Belt would only be useful for melee attacks since Haste doesn't affect ranged.

Legs:

Those three choices are generally pretty weak for RNGs. Your best legs pieces would be the Scout's Braccae from Dynamis Sandoria and Pahluwan Seraweels from Mamool Ja Staging Point, with Galliard Trousers in a close third. The Blood Cuisses can be useful during kited fights, and Byakko's Haidate is good for close range combat. Hunter's Braccae is obviously the best choice for an Obow holy bolt ranger, so if you're serious about it I recommend the Htr. Braccae +1 for its added bonuses.

Feet:

Unless you have access to Scout's Socks, your best bets are War Boots +1 for TP build and Savage Gaiters for WS. If you are using a MND holy bolt build, I strongly recommend Suzaku's Sune-Ate.

I hope I helped!

[Raizins]

RNG gear is situational like many other jobs. Even if you break it down between XP/HNM/Dynamis.

I think the previous post covered a lot of good info.

One thing to think about is in merits and dynamis, you may want to consider a TP build that includes a mix of accuracy/haste. You can get some "free" damage/TP with melee swings in between ranged shots. Once you get used to it, you can time it so that you swing your melee weapons right after a WS, almost looking like a high tp gain slug (ie 32 or 37 tp with kriegs/m.kris after ws).

Also, don't underestimate Obow in merit pts. If you can consistently land acids (caedarva), your pt will probably be better off with you using Obow over anything else. 12% defense down for your shots and those other hasted melee will probably make your pt more efficient overall.

For HNM, you can always tweak your setup according to what food you eat and what HNM you're fighting. I rarely eat sushi, but I will also admit that I do miss slugs once in a while. The thing is, I don't think that eating sushi would land that slug anyway. I know there's no true way to tell, but I think its more to the randomness of slugwinder. There are times where I pop a sushi, and I'll still miss a WS here or there. To me, squid won't make the difference on most HNM.

[Silfer]

Thankyou very much for the in-depth reply, i love it.

I forgot to include Suzaku's Sune-ate, i do have them. I think i might go with an O.Bow build, i always loved that weapon.

Which of the Sea gorgets go with which weaponskill? (Slug/Sidewinder). From what you listed, Breeze is the only one i have.

Much appreciated.

[edit] Raizins, you mentioned there TP from melee swings, do you advise just being at melee range like the old days? Does it hamper DMG output doing Ranged Attack and WS too much or not?

[VZX]

Slugwinder = Reverb Transfixion Detonation -> Aqua Light or Breeze

[Shadida]

Another thing about Obow holy bolt builds, a lot of people don't realize that Apollo's Staff will augment your holy bolt procs by 15% much like it does for light-based spells. On top of that, it has STR+2 AGI+2 MND+2 which isn't half bad. However, this pretty much precludes you from meleeing.

I love Obow and I had a great deal of fun playing around with it. I even got a Korin Obi for Temenos and got excellent results: http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg319h/images/holy97.PNG . Just keep in mind that as a Mithra your MND is pathetically low naturally, so you may have to overcompensate if you're going for maximum holy bolt damage. Then again, just going with a combination of Acid Bolts and Darksteel Bolts is feasible also.

If you want to take a look at my MND Holy Bolt setup check here: http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg319h/im ... lygear.PNG

Finally, to address your comment, I feel like if a RNG is able to focus well enough on his Ranged Attacks, there's no need to be at melee range and your performance is the same if not better at a distance. Since you have Mercurial Kris at your disposal, I'd suggest playing around with a melee-TP and Hellfire+1 setup. If you go this route, items like Pahluwan Kazaghand and Sniper's Rings are good things to have along with you.

[Raizins]

In merits, I am usually engaged on the mob and within melee distance. The lower damage due to distance is there, however, its not nearly as great as it was pre-unnerf patch.

I don't have parses really, but I would notice a difference of about 100-150 damage in a 1500+ slugwinder in merit pts. To me, having possibly 37 TP after ws makes up for that. Plus, I'm just too lazy to run back before firing a WS. I play more along the lines of burning my TP.

Try both and see what you like. There were times in city dynamis pre-recent patch that I hated playing by the 2.5 hour mark. Constantly repositioning myself to be at the "sweet spot" got annoying. I find that melee/ranged combo keeps thing slightly more interesting. When tping, I do ask myself who the heck is pulling hate all over and making me be "out of range" hehe.

Some items that can help you with accuracy/haste that aren't too pricey or hard to get are wal. turban, swift belt, and life belt. If you have access to items such as snipers, haidate, speed belt (lol) then even better.

[vegetaa]

Precise belt and Venturer's Belt are 2 situational waist items that can be pretty usefull, too.

Talking about RNG gear, am I the only one being annoyed by the lack of very good legs gear for RNG ?

[Ironhide]

Well, as Shadida already mentioned, Pahluwan Seraweels, Scout's Braccae and Galliard Trousers are all solid choices for leg equips, and can be worn full time. We likely don't get as many choices as other jobs in the leg slot, but each of these is a significant improvement over regular AF. I guess the trick is they require a little more work to get, not just something you can pick up casually from the AH.

I find worthwhile RNG gear takes some time to compile, but the results are generally worth it in the end.

[Rishi]

Dusk, AFv2, Pahluwan, Galliards, AF+1, Skadi .. even Haidate for melee, so what do we have to complain about in the leg slot again?

[vegetaa]

I don't know, seems to me that most jobs have a wider variety of legs gear. I'm using AF2 99% of the time, and I'm fine with it...just wish we had a new kickass legs piece sometimes

[SamanosukeShiva]

anyone tried the INT, +MaB set with elemental arrows yet?

works pretty good if the mob weak to the arrow's element =D

[Shadida]

anyone tried the INT, +MaB set with elemental arrows yet?

works pretty good if the mob weak to the arrow's element =D

I experimented very briefly with this once my friend and I discovered that it was possible to augment the add'l effect of the new set of elemental arrows. My conclusions were decent, I got something like 70-80 damage procs on Attercops outside with Wind Arrows. The only problem I saw was that we RNGs are *very* limited in our selection of INT/MAB gear. Aside from Osode and Htr. Beret +1, you're mostly going out of your way to add any more INT. I used Crimson Blades, a pair of Diamond Rings I borrowed from a RDM friend, and had a BRD friend sing INT songs, and the results were decent but mostly comparable to Holy Bolt damage.

To me personally it seemed like a lot of work, especially considering the price of materials for the elemental arrows at the time. Now that prices have mostly settled in it may be easier to justify using them, but I still dunno. Maybe I should give it another shot now. :wink:

[Mufferino]

Heres another question for you rangers. I'm leveling sam and plan to try out sam/rng with Soboro for Tp. What would you recommend for lets say colibri / normal Toau exp mobs. Well I just planned on meleeing for Tp with soboro (Meat/sushi doesnt matter I can hit either way) and then ws'ing with Winder. My question was should I / Could I hit with a meat build and total racc ws? Or do you think It would be better with sushi and racc? Sushi and ratt? I have no idea about ranger stuff :/

Also if meat which food is best for the levels. I just figured subs would be good >.>; I know people use them at 75

[Shadida]

With the proper R.acc gear I don't think you should have any issues hitting things like Colibris or Caedarva mobs with Sidewinder. On Mamools and other higher level mobs, you're probably better off subbing THF or WAR. Shigeto Bow is really solid and you have a lot of R.acc options and WS Acc options which should help you out. Again, if you have sea access, a Breeze/Aqua/Light Gorget for Sidewinder is a must-have.

I personally eat Coeurl Subs most of the time, unless I'm sure I'll be out for 3-4 hours, and there's no chance I'll die - then I eat Marbled Steaks. I'm not rich enough to go for the Red Curry every time.

[Mufferino]

Shit i'm sorry i forgot to mention i'm only level 53 and wanted to know about sam/rng around level 56-60+ >< Sorry

[Shadida]

Oh, haha. At that level unless you have some Archery merits somewhere, I'd strongly suggest using Sole Sushi. You won't have all the stuff I talked about to support your R.acc, so you'll need to rely on your food more than you would at 75. On top of that, PTs usually make it a habit to fight VT-IT++ mobs at those levels, so you'll have a much harder time than a 75 would fighting T-VT in Caedarva or Bhaflau.

- Shadida

[Mufferino]

So you would recoment sole + racc gear for ws? or sushi and str stuff?

[Raizins]

Leg slot isn't too bad. Straight tanked hnm, I go with dusk or af2 braccae (not sure if -emn is placebo or not...). Melee you can go with haidate, or if you need accuracy galliards (I dont have the pah. legs, not sure if I'll get).

I think the bigger beef is in the body slot. Osode is nice, but what the heck is up with Archer's Jupon and MINUS accuracy. Again, I guess you really can't complain about osode but when you glance over to what melees can get with a mix of str, acc and atk, it doesn't really compare.

[Shadida]

Sushi + R.acc is playing it safe. You could probably get away with subbing in STR in certain slots but I wouldn't touch things like your ring slot at that level. In the end it's up to you to experiment and see what works best.

Oh, and a BRD for Minuets will always add that special something to your Sidewinders. :wink:

I think the bigger beef is in the body slot. Osode is nice, but what the heck is up with Archer's Jupon and MINUS accuracy. Again, I guess you really can't complain about osode but when you glance over to what melees can get with a mix of str, acc and atk, it doesn't really compare.

QFT. Everything that gets added is lacking somewhere, the new Denali has no acc, the Archer's Jupon is - acc, Pahluwan has no R.atk, Skadi's Cuirie is hard as balls to obtain (and fugly).