rangers? worth it?

[Cristian]

ok i now drizzt do urden is a ranger and blablalalalla but what are rangers good for ? spells? the mage is much better and they cant get so many proficenses in weapons and to have a fairly good ranger must he use a bow?
what are they good for really?

[Xero279]

No, rangers arent used for spells. Ranger are very good, IMO. very very usefull. Minsc is a ranger. Rangers are protecter-people of a certain community (such as a forest, desert, etc.) that watch over and protect it. Rangers are very good with ranged weapons (hence the kit, archer), and usually specialize in protecting their environment they protect from a certain monster (dragons, liches, golems, umber hulks, etc.) which is why they get Racial Enemys. Rangers have the stealth ability, meaning they can be scouts and sneak up on enemys. They are also very good with melee weapons, not just ranged. Rangers have a affinity for animals, which is why they get charm animal. Rangers get lots of other skills, such as Tracking (where they check the environment around them to see whats around, think about Aragorn from LoR, the second movie, when he uses tracking). their main skills are spot, and listen, but you cannot get those in bg 2, sadly. they are very good warriors, and get a few priest spells at higher levels.

Did i forget anything?

[ 03-23-2003, 01:05 PM: Message edited by: Xero279 ]

[Cristian]

one thing can they be a good tank?

[Xero279]

ya! they make great tanks. Minsc is the second best tank in the game, other than Korgan. Valygar is also great tank, he a ranger class (stalker) that gets backstab too. another plus.

[Cristian]

ok last thing what should they do dual wield 2 hand single sword ans shield?

[Rataxes]

http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=020116# 000000

Think you might find that thread interesting.

A Ranger does IMHO not have much going for him compared to a regular Fighter or any classes under the Fighter branch. Stealth is their most obvious and most useful ability, though they also automatically get *** in Two Weapon Style, which might help if you're short on proficiency points in the beginning.

To conclude, if you want a tank, you'll be better off with a pure Fighter or Paladin than with a pure Ranger.

[ 03-23-2003, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: Rataxes ]

[Pirengle]

Originally posted by Cristian: what are they good for really?

A pureclass ranger is nothing to write home about, but a cleric/ranger is a formidable force. Imagine having a racial enemy and being the only cleric class that can cast druid spells. Yowza!

[IronDragon]

A Ranger dueled to a Cleric is a force to reckoned with.

Minsc is the second best tank in the game, other than Korgan.

Minsc is not a great tank. Korgan, Keldorn, Valygar and Anomen all work better as tanks. Heck given the right equipment Jaheira is a better tank than Minsc.

[Alson]

Originally posted by IronDragon: ... Heck given the right equipment Jaheira is a better tank than Minsc.

It hurts me to say that, but... don't underestimate Jaheira. She has probably the best always-on (= not temporary, a la Defensive Spin) AC potential in the game, and Ironskins are much, MUCH better than one or two extra AC points.

[SixOfSpades]

Jaheira's 17 DEX, Full Plate + Shield ability, and her Ironskins potential are indeed formidable, but in my last game she took beating after beating, because her Saving Throws and her hitpoints simply couldn't compare to my other 2 Tanks (Keldorn and myself, a Wizard Slayer(24)->Thief). Even when I made sure Keldorn got to the front line before she did, Jaheira always died way more than anyone else. The good thing is that she had lots of offensive spells memorized, so I could Ressurect her in the middle of a battle and she could still be useful. Eventually I just left her as a Backup Tank, kicking ass with GWW and a Sling, only bashing people that got too close.

(Regarding the WS->T: Jan's armor makes quite the combo with a Potion of Defense. Not upgrading the Staff of the Ram until after you enter the Monastery makes one hell of a difference, too.)