Celtic Heroes

hybrid for best of both worlds, hit the plateu for both and your laughing

1. From personal experience, strength is an easier build to play with. Reasons, dps gear is nice, not much if any need for restos, and easier to dual log if that is possible for you since str rangers are usually auto based. Dex build is catching up slowly to the power of str but unless u have infinite energy lixs and restos, will always suck. Plus with dex build, you become more like a mage where ur skills are the only things that do real dmg which is still below str dps.
2. For a str ranger this is what I use: Double Shot, Rapid Shot, Sharpen Weapons, Steady Aim, Light Heal. I sometimes switch out one for entangle or bolas for bossing, or even use camo to get places without dying.
3. From personal experience, wyld sun ammy is the worst ammy there is for a ranger. 500 dmg max on a mob your lvl doesnt sound too good for the skill, as for the str, it will add only about 1/3 of the amount the str adds, which means it only adds about 27 dmg. Personally, a cheap good ammy would be sunshard dmg ammy, skyglass sunlight ammy, or midnight tally. The only reason u would get the sun ammy is for the hp and regen really. Another factor u may have noticed is that u can only use the skill when close to the enemy, which kinda sucks, especially at boss fights where u have to run up to the boss, use the skill, and run back. For the bow, i would say get adamant, in any possible way, it will have the best dps untill wyrmbone bow. Which means it will out dps a frozen bow as well. Another recommendation for gear is dmg rings like firefang, coldsteel, and stormfist. I got three godly and used a haste ring for my fourth ring.
Thats all from personal experience and what helped me around that lvl.

Really? Str builds dont need restos but dex builds do? Wth is this. Doesnt dex add to defence? I get str is more of an auto attack build but u act like dex builds are worthless unless u have a milion restos. Skills are good for locking. I rarely get lock on any frozen or dl relying solely on auto attacks.

1. From personal experience, strength is an easier build to play with. Reasons, dps gear is nice, not much if any need for restos, and easier to dual log if that is possible for you since str rangers are usually auto based. Dex build is catching up slowly to the power of str but unless u have infinite energy lixs and restos, will always suck. Plus with dex build, you become more like a mage where ur skills are the only things that do real dmg which is still below str dps.
2. For a str ranger this is what I use: Double Shot, Rapid Shot, Sharpen Weapons, Steady Aim, Light Heal. I sometimes switch out one for entangle or bolas for bossing, or even use camo to get places without dying.
3. From personal experience, wyld sun ammy is the worst ammy there is for a ranger. 500 dmg max on a mob your lvl doesnt sound too good for the skill, as for the str, it will add only about 1/3 of the amount the str adds, which means it only adds about 27 dmg. Personally, a cheap good ammy would be sunshard dmg ammy, skyglass sunlight ammy, or midnight tally. The only reason u would get the sun ammy is for the hp and regen really. Another factor u may have noticed is that u can only use the skill when close to the enemy, which kinda sucks, especially at boss fights where u have to run up to the boss, use the skill, and run back. For the bow, i would say get adamant, in any possible way, it will have the best dps untill wyrmbone bow. Which means it will out dps a frozen bow as well. Another recommendation for gear is dmg rings like firefang, coldsteel, and stormfist. I got three godly and used a haste ring for my fourth ring.
Thats all from personal experience and what helped me around that lvl.

Really? Str builds dont need restos but dex builds do? Wth is this. Doesnt dex add to defence? I get str is more of an auto attack build but u act like dex builds are worthless unless u have a milion restos. Skills are good for locking. I rarely get lock on any frozen or dl relying solely on auto attacks.

This post is old. Dex build is obviously better now due to resists, divine damage and the dex skill buff.

1. From personal experience, strength is an easier build to play with. Reasons, dps gear is nice, not much if any need for restos, and easier to dual log if that is possible for you since str rangers are usually auto based. Dex build is catching up slowly to the power of str but unless u have infinite energy lixs and restos, will always suck. Plus with dex build, you become more like a mage where ur skills are the only things that do real dmg which is still below str dps.
2. For a str ranger this is what I use: Double Shot, Rapid Shot, Sharpen Weapons, Steady Aim, Light Heal. I sometimes switch out one for entangle or bolas for bossing, or even use camo to get places without dying.
3. From personal experience, wyld sun ammy is the worst ammy there is for a ranger. 500 dmg max on a mob your lvl doesnt sound too good for the skill, as for the str, it will add only about 1/3 of the amount the str adds, which means it only adds about 27 dmg. Personally, a cheap good ammy would be sunshard dmg ammy, skyglass sunlight ammy, or midnight tally. The only reason u would get the sun ammy is for the hp and regen really. Another factor u may have noticed is that u can only use the skill when close to the enemy, which kinda sucks, especially at boss fights where u have to run up to the boss, use the skill, and run back. For the bow, i would say get adamant, in any possible way, it will have the best dps untill wyrmbone bow. Which means it will out dps a frozen bow as well. Another recommendation for gear is dmg rings like firefang, coldsteel, and stormfist. I got three godly and used a haste ring for my fourth ring.
Thats all from personal experience and what helped me around that lvl.

Really? Str builds dont need restos but dex builds do? Wth is this. Doesnt dex add to defence? I get str is more of an auto attack build but u act like dex builds are worthless unless u have a milion restos. Skills are good for locking. I rarely get lock on any frozen or dl relying solely on auto attacks.

This post is old. Dex build is obviously better now due to resists, divine damage and the dex skill buff.

Yeah however he is right about one thing. Dual logging an auto ranger w bolas is actually a really good dual log. I use rogue or warrior since i cant dual log. At leat w rogue i can solo lock. With warriors i can kill nearly anything if i dont need to compete on a boss.

Whether it is a main that has your full focus, or an alt that is afk auto and just casts buffs. When it comes to end game, a str build will almost always finish behind a dex or hybrid build

Whether it is a main that has your full focus, or an alt that is afk auto and just casts buffs. When it comes to end game, a str build will almost always finish behind a dex or hybrid build

+1

1. From personal experience, strength is an easier build to play with. Reasons, dps gear is nice, not much if any need for restos, and easier to dual log if that is possible for you since str rangers are usually auto based. Dex build is catching up slowly to the power of str but unless u have infinite energy lixs and restos, will always suck. Plus with dex build, you become more like a mage where ur skills are the only things that do real dmg which is still below str dps.
2. For a str ranger this is what I use: Double Shot, Rapid Shot, Sharpen Weapons, Steady Aim, Light Heal. I sometimes switch out one for entangle or bolas for bossing, or even use camo to get places without dying.
3. From personal experience, wyld sun ammy is the worst ammy there is for a ranger. 500 dmg max on a mob your lvl doesnt sound too good for the skill, as for the str, it will add only about 1/3 of the amount the str adds, which means it only adds about 27 dmg. Personally, a cheap good ammy would be sunshard dmg ammy, skyglass sunlight ammy, or midnight tally. The only reason u would get the sun ammy is for the hp and regen really. Another factor u may have noticed is that u can only use the skill when close to the enemy, which kinda sucks, especially at boss fights where u have to run up to the boss, use the skill, and run back. For the bow, i would say get adamant, in any possible way, it will have the best dps untill wyrmbone bow. Which means it will out dps a frozen bow as well. Another recommendation for gear is dmg rings like firefang, coldsteel, and stormfist. I got three godly and used a haste ring for my fourth ring.
Thats all from personal experience and what helped me around that lvl.

Would you still recommend the midnight tali past 150?

1. From personal experience, strength is an easier build to play with. Reasons, dps gear is nice, not much if any need for restos, and easier to dual log if that is possible for you since str rangers are usually auto based. Dex build is catching up slowly to the power of str but unless u have infinite energy lixs and restos, will always suck. Plus with dex build, you become more like a mage where ur skills are the only things that do real dmg which is still below str dps.
2. For a str ranger this is what I use: Double Shot, Rapid Shot, Sharpen Weapons, Steady Aim, Light Heal. I sometimes switch out one for entangle or bolas for bossing, or even use camo to get places without dying.
3. From personal experience, wyld sun ammy is the worst ammy there is for a ranger. 500 dmg max on a mob your lvl doesnt sound too good for the skill, as for the str, it will add only about 1/3 of the amount the str adds, which means it only adds about 27 dmg. Personally, a cheap good ammy would be sunshard dmg ammy, skyglass sunlight ammy, or midnight tally. The only reason u would get the sun ammy is for the hp and regen really. Another factor u may have noticed is that u can only use the skill when close to the enemy, which kinda sucks, especially at boss fights where u have to run up to the boss, use the skill, and run back. For the bow, i would say get adamant, in any possible way, it will have the best dps untill wyrmbone bow. Which means it will out dps a frozen bow as well. Another recommendation for gear is dmg rings like firefang, coldsteel, and stormfist. I got three godly and used a haste ring for my fourth ring.
Thats all from personal experience and what helped me around that lvl.

Would you still recommend the midnight tali past 150?

no

So I've recently picked up my ranger again and I have a few questions.

1. Strength or Dexterity?
2. Based on no. 1, what skills should I use?
3. What bow should I use? I have the meteoric bow, but can easily afford adamant.

I am currently using a level 100 ice quiver, and a Wyldgrove Ammy of the Sun, and can afford anything else when it comes to gear.
Thanks!

Really all depends on what point of the game you're at and whats available to you.

If you're lvling, and don't want to worry about energy consumption issues. Go Strength. You don't need all the extra dex to hit mobs if youre sticking to 1-4 stars (i usually stick to 1-3 stars) and alot of their skills excluding 1 or 2 are buffs, so you won't be using much energy compared to any other class.

Your primary skills would be Sharp Shot, Sharpen Weapons, Steady Aim, Rapid Shot, and Light Heal. Now, if you wanted you could Add bolas but I dont fight many enemies that require a bolas to kill, so i dont. Now some may ask "wheres double shot?" You can certainly replace sharp shot with double shot in this lvling build and that would allow points to be placed elsewhere as you level as you wouldnt need to max until the end game. I personally don't use double as sharp shot has instacast, and is a faster recharge so you can go from mob to mob to mob faster. And at later levels were evasion becomes higher, say in the Otherworld and Carrowmore, you should probably replace sharp shot with double shot.

Now, if you're bossing, and can handle the energy consumption that comes with it, go Dex, Bosses have exceptionally high defense, and you won't consistently land autos without an exceptional amount of dex. A Dex build is still more of a caster, but any bit of DPS you can put in, including autos will help.

Your Primary Skills in a Dex Build will be Longshot, Double Shot, Steady Aim, Sharpen Weapons, and Rapid Shot. If you haste while bossing, Replace Rapid with either Entangle, Bolas, or Sharpshot, but Sharpshot will be evaded often at this stage so that would be my last choice.

Gear is dependent on build as well, Dex youre going to want to go for skill damage increases or recast times, attack, and bow ability, Str youre going to want to go for damage increases, bow ability, and Strength.

Ranger is probably one of the most lenient classes with builds you can create, so you could certainly do a hybrid of these two builds.

I haven't read any posts in this thread except the first one. But I have a level 220 Ranger that has been full STR for quite awhile - maybe up to a year. I recently changed to full DEX to try it out. It does exactly what you think it will do - your auto attacks hit for less but everything else is more powerful (attack, defense, skills). Steady Aim gives more of a damage boost with full DEX and that helps offset a little of the damage you lose to auto-attacks. I did a lot of testing and recording of numbers and here is a summary of my results:

Pros of STR:
+480 damage stat (but only +418 with Steady Aim active). Note: in my testing, my auto-attacks did about 350 more damage with a full STR build versus full DEX (with Steady Aim active).

Pros of DEX:
+1065 more Sharp Shot damage
+133 more attack from Steady Aim
+62 more damage from Steady Aim
+419 more health from Light Heal
+1095 attack stat
+2190 defense stat

I did some battle testing and quick summary of that:
1. For mobs that don't do enough damage to be too dangerous - it takes a few seconds longer to kill them
2. For mobs that do dangerous amounts of damage - like the hounds in Arcane - full DEX is better because Light Heal can heal for so much that you can survive
3. For bosses, full DEX keeps me alive for the same reason as #2 - with the normal gear I wear for battle, my Light Heal heals for 2300+ and I can basically be my own support druid (so to speak)

I think about it this way. STR has only one advantage = auto-attack damage. My damage with full STR is around 3600. My damage with full DEX is 480 less. 3600/480 = 7.5; this mean that with full DEX every 7.5 auto-attacks I have "lost" as much damage as one auto-attack with full STR. If you use the formula 3600/350 (350 was the observable average damage loss in my experiments as mentioned above) that means I don't lose as much damage as one auto-attack with full STR until after having fired off 10 auto-attacks (if that makes any sense). Considering all the advantages that higher DEX provides, I can live with that amount of auto-attack damage loss as a tradeoff.

Disclaimer: I experiment with things a lot and this is my feeling at this point in time. Someday I'll probably experiment with hybrid, probably exactly half STR/half DEX and who knows? Maybe I'll like that better. But for now, I can state that I prefer full DEX to full STR. But I never say never, and your mileage may vary.