Ranger or Paladin?

[Barlik Longbeard]

Yeah the Archer or the Cavalier kits are the best. You have good bonuses and hardly a dent on your disadvantages (wow you are really gonna miss the fact your souped up paladin with a Casomyr and kick rs armour cant use ranged weapons. Oh and put the boots of speed on him to add insult to injury)

As the Archer I would choose the Heartseeker for the start cuz you get the 4+ bonust to your THAC0 and then a further 7 after you use its ability, then add the called shot with +2 (+4 in ToB) arrows and you will hurt almost nething. The only downpoint is that against things like dragons, those tiger thingys (forgot their names) and other powerful creatures shooting does not effect them in any way. This is when your cavalier would come in use and as they both use priest spells and advance in them in the same way, along with xp levels, the only difference is that the cavalier can have a better AC, use the Casomyr and turn undead. The archer shoots better than any NPC and gets the:

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Cerebi Statue which works like the spider statue you pick up in the catacombs under the graveyard district. Thats it.
I've tried both and found that the Archer is more fun, but I hadn't beaten the Red Dragon yet!

[Glorfindel]

I personally like the Stalker Kit, with Grandmaster Armour, Boots of Elven Kind, Cloak of elven kind, and u got urself a killing machine

I'd go for a paladin - I don't know why exactly, I just prefer them.

[SixOfSpades]

Well, in the game I'm running now, I've got an Undead Hunter and an Archer, and the Undead Hunter has proven to be WAY more valuable. Even magical arrows can't hit some of the beasties I've been facing, and the more intelligent monsters seem to sense that the Archer has a weak AC, and is vulnerable to Level Drain. My Undead Hunter, on the other hand, has an AC of -12, godly Saving Throws, and is pretty much invincible while she whacks away with that +3 Bastard sword she got off that Drow dude. (My first time through--am NOT good with names yet.)

I can't definitively say which class is BETTER, but I do know that I'm having more fun with the Paladin. Undead Hunters are better: Their immunities mesh nicely with the Ring of Gaxx, they can use bows whenever they want, they don't need Negative Plane Protection whenever they see a Vampire, and their kit drawback is: no Lay On Hands. Oh, boo hoo! (That being said, Cavaliers are also strong--IF they've got a great Throwing Axe.)

[Nifft the Nimble]

Paladins are good, and so are Rangers. The difference is in the type of good they do.


Rangers are rugged individualists, walking the line between civilization and nature, guarding wolf cubs and toddlers alike. In military service, they are scouts and special forces units.


Paladins walk the line between the nobility and the priesthood. They watch over the fortunes of aristrocrats and the fates of peasants. In military service, they are officers and cavalry units.


So pick whichever matches your personality. Are you a commander or a commando?

-- Nifft

[Morgan_Corbesant]

well, if you want to play with the over-rated corsamyr, then be a paladin. if you want to use missle weapons, or like to dual-wield, go with a ranger. personaly if i play a ranger, its an archer. if i want to dual-wield i got fighter, put three prof. in two weapon style, then max out my choice of weapons to grand mastery. usualy though, i just go barbarian, and get me the most awesome weapon in the game........CROM FAEYR!!! (i know i probably spelled it wrong, so what?!) so to answer your question, it depends on your style of play to say which class you should choose. keep in mind you find i believe two rangers in the game, minsc and valygar. keldorn is a paladin, so you might want to pick a different class, get them both, and still be able to check out which one you like. just my opinion however.

[F. Gottwald]

if you want a tank, i´d go for a paladin (any kit, they´re all better than the true class).
straight rangers are decent tanks as well, but not nearly as useful or interesting as stalkers or archers, both of which excel in roles other than tanking.
also keep in mind the ability scores of the npcs... valygar is close to perfect, minsc is decent enough (and a good choice if you have many fighter types as he doens´t need any strength enhancers) while keldorn leaves a lot to be desired.

[Dundee Slaytern]

Heh... I have soloed with a Cavalier, and am in the process of soloing with an Archer( level 25 now).

Cavalier:
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Despite all the hoo-ha of Carsomyr, a weapon and shield combo is actually better for a Cavalier. Carsomyr is only great if you are partying, as you can then do a flank attack.

No missile weaponary? Boo-hoo, what a great loss. [img]tongue.gif[/img] If you really need to use a range weapon, Adzuredge +3( returnable throwing axe) will be more than enough for your needs.

Immunity to Poison, Charm and Fear.

20% resistance to Fire and Acid.

Can cast Remove Fear several times a day, allowing your party Mages and Clerics to save their spell slots.

+3 to hit and damage against Demons and Dragons.

Archers:
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Can choose a racial enemy to gain combat bonuses. I chose Demonic/Fell, as you will encounter them very frequently.

Dragons are a joke against Archers if you have the Boots of Speed... ... Snipe, run, snipe, run, snipe, etc... ...

Dragons are even better if you have somebody to tank for you, as you can then rapid-fire without needing to run now and then. Hell... Cerebus( from the Moondog Figurine) with Improved Invisibility and Mirror Image, tanked Firkragg for my solo Archer and guess what? We both survived. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

My Archer also used two scrolls of Fire Resistance for 100% Fire Resistance. II and MI were innate abilities of Cerebus.

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Both classes are cool in their own respect. It now just depends on what type of combat you prefer.

[Dreamer128]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern:


Cavalier:
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Despite all the hoo-ha of Carsomyr, a weapon and shield combo is actually better for a Cavalier. Carsomyr is only great if you are partying, as you can then do a flank attack.

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I was planning on dual wielding in my next time through. Are you saying sword and shield would be a better choice?

[Iqbal_khi]

I'd say go with the paladin... specifically the inquisitor kit

He has immunity to charm and hold
Extremely useful when fighting mages

He has true sight and dispel magic
True sight is priceless against mages and dispel will serve you well in a party

With a bastard sword(foebane or purifier)/ Flail (of ages)/ Axe (of the unyielding)/ Crom faeyr and a shield, clad in full plate he can bash through anything

Or forget the shield and go for Carsomyr (50% MR, yum!).

As an added bonus, you can wear some cool paladin only items [img]smile.gif[/img]