I've done some searching here but cannot find what I'm looking for, so I apologize if I missed it. I'm a new (1-week) player who plans to start new characters when my boxed set arrives this week. I'll be looking to create a mage, a fighter, and a ranger.

What concerns me about the ranger is that the enemies surround usually her before she can get off more than 2 or three shots. Is it possible to keep them at bay, making the ranged attack more efficient?

Thanks in advance for any advice.



Edited by BabyBoomer (07/07/08 09:10 PM)

Use monster bait. You can also use Chill bill with or without monster bait, depending on how many slots you are willing to use on those selections. Chill bill is at his best when used with twigs and snow globe. Monste bait is at its best when used with extra crispy monster bait. As you can see that is 5 of your 10 skill slots used up. The benefit of those 2 things is you will have far fewer mobs after you since both draw aggro and chill bill can do decent damage. Downside of course is half your skills invested in 2 aggro reducers.

One trick i like using is go shoot a mob to get aggro of the whole group and then run away a little, lay down monster bait and use penetrating shot as they are all lined up heading for the bait. You can knock down quite a few and if coupled with barf o rama can leave many of them taking damage and knocking themselves back. Of course this advice has nothing to do with being an Ice Druid.

1) Welcome to DR! We like newbies, but don't be a n00b or we'll kick you in the nuts .

2) It seems like the real basis for your question is "How do I keep mobs away from me?", which Rok helped to answer. I'll add my opinion to his:

Monster Bait - great for keeping mobs away from you and for keeping most of them aggroed. Use Extra Crispy for additional bait HP

Noxious Shot - can be useful in taking down hordes of little fodder mobs (orok spawn, for example). Caveat - requires INT to cast and the amount of damage depends directly upon your INT score. The good news is there's a lot of +poison gear.

Putrid Penetration - I love this skill! It has a narrow cone and long range. I like to pull mobs then shoot at them Putrid Penetration once they're all bunched up and running towards me. It's great for mobs like Blademasters and Hulks. Caveat - the goal is to knock down the really irritating mobs like Blademasters and try to kill them before they get back up and reach you, but the little speedy mobs tend to keep coming and get in your way. Use in conjunction with a skill like Monster Bait, though. MB can aggro mobs and PP can keep them off MB long enough for it to do it's job.

Shiver Shot - I'm not a big fan of Shiver Shot unless I have a ton of mana to burn. It's damage is negligible, so it should really be considered a utility skill. Even then, you have to hit three times and burn quite a bit of mana in order to activate it's full slowing potential. That being said, with the right build, it can be very effective (I just wish they'd cut the mana cost, personally).

Chill Bill - I have mixed feelings about Bill. He's not very reliable, since he can't be controlled and doesn't aggro mobs like Monster Bait, but he's fun and can dish out quite a bit of fairly random damage. For both rangers and mages, however, the biggest problem with Bill is that he doesn't attack unless you wade into damage. If you're shift-firing from afar, he'll just stand there stupidly until mobs get close enough to you. Once they do, however, he'll swing into action.

FYI - none of these skills are available at the beginning of your career, so you'll need to buy lots of pots and try to maximize your DPS by ensuring that your use of skills and gear is consistent with one type of damage (piercing bonuses in conjunction with a crossbow, for example).

Good luck and have fun!

Yeah, if your goal is specifically to make an Ice Druid, I believe CB and his buffs are directly and exclusively related to that title.

If you're just looking for a way to keep your distance from mobs for a longer time, extra crispy bait (as suggested) does wonders. I prefer it to CB, because it is, in my opinion, a more reliable aggro puller. With decent gear and a decent build, you can pretty much clear a normal mob before your turkey leg is a chewed up mess.

EDIT: Doh! Ripper strikes again!

I have played as a ranger for the most part out of all 3 characters and I have to say he never had any problem being surrounded. Remember the range of your weapon and that monsters mob to you. Shoot the closet one when you are far away and then kill them as they come. I typically could kill all mobs in 2 to 3 hits excepts bosses. I then would use righteous stomp to knock em off me and then finish the job.

Edited: Wow I am slow!



Edited by Tazjon (07/07/08 10:09 PM)

Doh! Sorry guys!

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. A lot of what you say is pretty much what I suspected, but as I've examined the game, it seems to me that most of the skills are not available until Level 16 or higher, right? I don't know how long it takes to get there.

I shall enjoy experimenting with my characters. I tend to like RP'ing something other than the typical archetypes that are probably the most efficient to play. Then again, I really don't mind dying while I'm having fun.

Perhaps one day I'll get up the courage to try grouping with some of you. Thanks again.

The nice thing about this game is you can use any skill you want no matter what your class might be. There really is no specific classes, you choose your class by the skills you want.

At one point I was working on a ranger with AOE up close skills for mobs that come in packs and get close. You can make anything you want and mix and match the skills to the way you want to play.

From now on, I will never again threaten to kick someone in the nuts. I will kick them in the pistachios.

Now I see where this post comes from How to become famous on the internet! LOL

More seriously, though, babyboomer, I would spend some time checking both of these sites.

Horrific Domain of Legends a Dungeon Runners Fansite

and
The Townstons a wiki page

I found the information at both to be crucial in making my first Ranger Tazjon
Have fun and I look forward to seeing you in the game.