Advice for my switch hitting ranger.

[Saiman]

I made the ranger with the idea that he was going to be my Season 5 heavy hitter. Year of the Demon, So 1st favored enemy, Evil Outsider. With Archery combat style.

He will be L2 after I play him on Oct 6th. And I'm hoping by the end of the month he'll be L3.

With the two first games, he bought Darkwood (Auto MW quality) Composite Longbow (STR +4). It's going to take another 2000 gold to make it +1 so that I can add Bane (Evil Outsider) to it at a cost of another 6,000.

I'm pondering if I shouldn't slow level with 1/2 an experience point so that he has more time to make money to upgrade his weapons and be able to afford a second bane for a second favored enemy.

So, should I just level normally or slow level?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[TGMaxMaxer]

By playing slow level, you also get half the normal gold. So it doesn't help.

The wealth by level is (supposedly) the same whichever way you level. The only way you get more gold faster is by playing in higher tier games.

Such as your level 2 playing in a 1-5 tiered scenario with several 4th/5th level characters (and consequently 4-5th level monsters/traps/dangers). Then you get extra gold equal to half the total of the low tier and the high tier.

Luckily, an archer is a viable character to play up with, since you won't get mauled (usually) by the bigger badder enemies.

[Snowleopard]

Saiman wrote:

I made the ranger with the idea that he was going to be my Season 5 heavy hitter. Year of the Demon, So 1st favored enemy, Evil Outsider. With Archery combat style.

Are you saying there is another style then??????? ;)

I like using quick draw and quickdraw shields in order to switch weapons real fast. Another option is to strap a buckler to your offhand arm as this will not penalize your ranged attack and enables you to quickdraw your melee weapon and be ready with your shield instantly while being able to hold something else in your offhand (some light maybe).

[Saiman]

Thanks, I didn't know, or forgot, that slow level meant half the gold.

I'll just have to do the best I can and decide later what my next favored enemy is. If I had to pick now, probably go with undead.

Cheers and thanks again.

[Saiman]

Snowleopard wrote:

Saiman wrote:

I made the ranger with the idea that he was going to be my Season 5 heavy hitter. Year of the Demon, So 1st favored enemy, Evil Outsider. With Archery combat style.

Are you saying there is another style then??????? ;)

Of course, the two weapon fighting, but that doesn't appeal to me as much.

Plus I put it on a fighter that I haven't gotten around to play yet.

[Snowleopard]

Saiman wrote:

Snowleopard wrote:

Saiman wrote:

I made the ranger with the idea that he was going to be my Season 5 heavy hitter. Year of the Demon, So 1st favored enemy, Evil Outsider. With Archery combat style.

Are you saying there is another style then??????? ;)

Of course, the two weapon fighting, but that doesn't appeal to me as much.

Plus I put it on a fighter that I haven't gotten around to play yet.

check the ;) at the end of the sentence, I just meant that it's my favourite choice as well.

[rangerjeff]

Yeah, playing slow also costs you twice the consumables, so you end up behind. Only play slow if you really enjoy playing a character at that level range (some builds peak...)

Also, get wands of Falcon's Aim and Gravity Bow (use FA 1st, GB if you have time for 2 rounds of buffing.) Also get a Pendant of the Blood Scarab. x3 crits are awesome to auto-confirm.

And don't worry about Banes on your bow. Just with the feats and a +1 adaptive bow you'll be solid, even better with FE Evil Outsiders. Totally sick and broken if you put bane EO on your bow, you don't want the other players at your table to feel completely useless, now, do you?

More importantly, what are you doing for the level 4 Animal Companion decision? My biggest mistake as an archer Ranger was not going for a horse. Went with the thing that lets me give my allies half my favored enemy bonus, haven't used it yet (at level 10.)