Tips on ranger Endgame gear

[aucks]

Quick tip:
Instead of looking at stacks of quivers check the prices on individual quivers on your server. I know that since they added the quivers and pouches to the drops from campaign, I've been finding darksteel bolt quivers for roughly 4k on my server. While that's not as cheap as holy's, it's still very cheap for when you're using Obow, and want to get the best bang for your buck in areas where wearing a lot of +mind gear is going to hurt your racc.

[Spider-Dan]

You can wear MND+25 in two slots (Suzaku Sune-Ate, Kirin's Osode) and gain 2.5 RACC over Scout's/Mirke.

My personal recommendation is to aim for a 5-hit O-bow setup, which requires STP+32. If you have Skadi pants then this is easy (/SAM = +15, Rajas+Mekki Shakki+Skadi = +17)... but you have to wear Skadi pants for WS, and GMB will break your setup for the next round (GMB is 140 delay instead of 192 like holy or DSB).

Without Skadi pants, it's more complicated but also more flexible. If you want maximum gear flexibility, I'd suggest something like the following:

/SAM (15)
Mekki Shakki (5)
Rose Strap (4)
Rajas Ring (5)
Skadi's Chausses (7) OR Enkidu's Subligar (5) OR Mirke Wardecors (4) OR Anwig Salade (4)

The nice thing about the above configuration is that for DSB WS, the only swappable gear that you have to wear is Rajas (which you should wear anyway). The point where your options diverge, depending on which of the last row you choose, is what you are required to wear for GMB WS (to maintain 5-hit):

Skadi- nothing
Enkidu's- Rajas
Mirke- Rajas + Mirke OR Rajas for WS + wear Brutal during TP
Anwig- (same as Mirke)

[ringthree]

Oops 3 posts in a row!?

I fail at the expertise others have in advanced forum posting.


Anyhoo...Recently (post patch) I used from 515-520 racc on Ixion and was close but not capped. I've done him many times prior with lesser racc gear (around 503) and got solidly lower racc% still although with the bow and more at 20'. (But that was with Namas so it was a bit harder to calc properly.)

My estimate is you need around 520-525 to cap if one stands just around 15-18'. I did that on gun.

That was the gist of my other post. I think using pot-au-feu is going to display a poor racc performance unless one skips stp and str in lieu of racc gear.

I'd like to see the way it could be done however I remain a skeptic.

Cool, I didn't know if it was an estimate based on some kind of calculation off of another mob (like when people estimate accuracy of mobs based on their experience on Greater Colibri, /facepalm) or if you had tested it out. Thanks for the info, it's very helpful.

[ringthree]

You can wear MND+25 in two slots (Suzaku Sune-Ate, Kirin's Osode) and gain 2.5 RACC over Scout's/Mirke.

My personal recommendation is to aim for a 5-hit O-bow setup, which requires STP+32. If you have Skadi pants then this is easy (/SAM = +15, Rajas+Mekki Shakki+Skadi = +17)... but you have to wear Skadi pants for WS, and GMB will break your setup for the next round (GMB is 140 delay instead of 192 like holy or DSB).

Without Skadi pants, it's more complicated but also more flexible. If you want maximum gear flexibility, I'd suggest something like the following:

/SAM (15)
Mekki Shakki (5)
Rose Strap (4)
Rajas Ring (5)
Skadi's Chausses (7) OR Enkidu's Subligar (5) OR Mirke Wardecors (4) OR Anwig Salade (4)

The nice thing about the above configuration is that for DSB WS, the only swappable gear that you have to wear is Rajas (which you should wear anyway). The point where your options diverge, depending on which of the last row you choose, is what you are required to wear for GMB WS (to maintain 5-hit):

Skadi- nothing
Enkidu's- Rajas
Mirke- Rajas + Mirke OR Rajas for WS + wear Brutal during TP
Anwig- (same as Mirke)

I used to use Holy Bolts (this was a long time ago) and I found that they didn't scale well on Sky gods and things like that (like I said, a while ago). I was using your standard HB set up (Suzaku's Sune-ate and Kirin's Osode) but nothing really out of the way besides that to boost my MND. Have you noticed this on newer mobs? Should I have been aiming for more MND? I currently use E. bow in a six-hit set up (I will go five-hit once I get around to getting a Mekki Shakki, but I am afraid it's just going to be suicide if I actually fire off WS's more often because of it), how do you think it current compares to a HB build?

[Kapao]

Well, I gain 18 Tp per hit with /sam, so maybe if I add a rajas ring and some other stuff I could get it to 20.

Concerning the MND setup, I just disregard everything and just stack up on MND, stuff like /WHM and MND rings and such. I usually don't consider the MND setup for HNMs since they can have a high magic resistance. It does work on Einherjar when fighting undead stuff or bats, stuff that usually are weak to light damage. I don't have racc problems on those kinds of junk mobs either. Aside from that I don't usually bother taking out my MND set.

Taking that into consideration, I'd say leave the Ebow for the big stuff, and play around with MND, STP, and MAB for holy bolts and Trueflight.

[Villian]

I usually use this 5 hits set up for ixion. Looking at all my parse I was at 88-93% racc on tp gears @ 490 acc at 7.5-8.5 range with squid sushi. The lower parse was probably on a higher level Ixion.

(I don't use windower macros)

Main/Sub: Mekki/Rose Strap

Ranged: Obow
Ammo: DS bolt/CP bolt
Head: anwig 4str, 15ws acc/10racc/5ratt
Neck: PCC/Light Gorget
Ear1/2: triump/brutal
Body: ACP body with Racc+10 and Snapshot +5
Hands:Whands/Seiryu
Rings: Rajas ring/behemoth ring
Back: Amemet Mantle +1
Waist: Scout's belt
Legs: Scout+1
Feet: Cobra leggings/ (Brutal earring let me ws in hachiryu)

I slugwinder in hachiryu b/c I want the racc since I don't own skadi legs. I have 4 gun merits, looking foward upgrading to hachi legs/feet. I do use pot when I have a cor in my pt.

[Asdrabael]

I'm not a ranger, but why is being inside 10 distance death on Ixion? His rampant stance only hits roughly 7 distance from him, and you can see when he charges the other moves with way more than enough time to walk the 15 distance away.

You have to really really watch your distancing but getting into perfect range would seem to be doable, to me at least.

[Spider-Dan]

I used to use Holy Bolts (this was a long time ago) and I found that they didn't scale well on Sky gods and things like that (like I said, a while ago). I was using your standard HB set up (Suzaku's Sune-ate and Kirin's Osode) but nothing really out of the way besides that to boost my MND. Have you noticed this on newer mobs? Should I have been aiming for more MND?

Holies are generally effective on most ZNM/SCNM mobs. I also tried them on SCNM bosses and, IIRC, they were right around the DSB break-even point (~21 holy damage for every 100 physical damage, when using O-bow+holies).

I currently use E. bow in a six-hit set up (I will go five-hit once I get around to getting a Mekki Shakki, but I am afraid it's just going to be suicide if I actually fire off WS's more often because of it), how do you think it current compares to a HB build?

There are a few different things to consider.

The first is the idea that holy damage generates less enmity than normal physical damage. Based on my experience with Machine Xbow, I'm fairly certain that holy effect does not generate zero enmity, but I cannot say for certain how much it actually generates. If it actually does generate less enmity, then (when DPS is similar) it's probably a better solution.

The second is the idea (commonly cited by FailureMidgard) that against most non-time-limited HNM, whatever gear you use (save -enmity) is irrelevant because you are ultimately constrained by tank enmity anyway, and having better gear just means that you have to start holding back sooner.

If you consider both of those to be reasonable arguments, then the best solution is probably max -Enmity/+MND/+Recycle on most HNM, with max -Enmity for WS... particularly since holies are much cheaper than any other TP ammo.

[ronin sparthos]

I'm not a ranger, but why is being inside 10 distance death on Ixion? His rampant stance only hits roughly 7 distance from him, and you can see when he charges the other moves with way more than enough time to walk the 15 distance away.

You have to really really watch your distancing but getting into perfect range would seem to be doable, to me at least.

Ive had times where id be midway through an /ra, Ix turns on the sparkle cannon and by the time I can move again there is no time to avoid the Zeus and then it's curtains.

I guess that's one argument towards using Bow on Ix at least.

[Villian]

It's pretty easy to run away from ixion's lightning attack. Start to run to the side when it charge up. I never got hit with Zeus @ 13-14(depending on terrain) unless I wasn't paying attention, 20+ for spear.

[Kapao]

After experience with over 50 Dark Ixions... most of the time it's hard to dodge. It's not because of bad reaction time or anything, sometimes I might run up for a WS and ill see him charge his horn, I might get far enough to avoid Zeus... but since Spear is such a wide angle I won't have enough time to run to the sides or get 20+ away from him.

For that reason I stay 14'-15' away from him to TP then run up to WS, the racc impact isn't that much and you get to stay alive.

[Vodou]

I usually use this 5 hits set up for ixion. Looking at all my parse I was at 88-93% racc on tp gears @ 490 acc at 7.5-8.5 range with squid sushi. The lower parse was probably on a higher level Ixion.

(I don't use windower macros)

Main/Sub: Mekki/Rose Strap

Ranged: Obow
Ammo: DS bolt/CP bolt
Head: anwig 4str, 15ws acc/10racc/5ratt
Neck: PCC/Light Gorget
Ear1/2: triump/brutal
Body: ACP body with Racc+10 and Snapshot +5
Hands:Whands/Seiryu
Rings: Rajas ring/behemoth ring
Back: Amemet Mantle +1
Waist: Scout's belt
Legs: Scout+1
Feet: Cobra leggings/ (Brutal earring let me ws in hachiryu)

I slugwinder in hachiryu b/c I want the racc since I don't own skadi legs. I have 4 gun merits, looking foward upgrading to hachi legs/feet. I do use pot when I have a cor in my pt.

I count 499. Are you missing merits then?

Regardless, if you have 490 and get 88% at 7.5', that means it would be the same racc% as 504 at 15', which means you'd need 518 to cap. Similar as what I said.

Of course, if you are really 499, then its more like 527 to cap (on the 88% parse) and 517 on the 88% parse which matches what I said.


As far as standing at 7.5', its a strategy but there are considerations:

1) your chances of dying (weakened) or worse double weakened are severely increased. Animation lock occurs at various times and sometimes out of the players control. Dying once unless you are raised immediately will cost 3% of your damage if it takes 1 minute to get raised in a 30 minute fight, etc. Double weakness raises the ante to 15+% which wipes out the 7% racc gain from standing close.

2) dodging and running out of range (assuming you can) uses up time and perhaps interrupts shots. At 15-18', you never have to move except on a charge that appears very close to you. Otherwise you can spam shots. I'm not able to calculate the offset between lost shots standing up close to racc lost standing farther away, but its certainly plausible the two offset. That makes the issue of #1 more than significant.

3) standing farther out enables you to step outside the 25' range to spam berserk, meditate, sharpshot, etc and invoke no enmity. This enables you to do more damage before topping the hate list.