Which is better: Ranger or Ninja?

jsteng · 02-11-2002, 10:11 PM

I have these two classes in my current party.

They have the same EXP but Ranger is level 14, Ninja 13. Ranger levels up earlier than Ninja.

Skill wise, Ranger has 106 in Range Combat and 82 in Bow Skill; Ninja has 52 in Range Combat, 62 in Dual Weapon, 107 in Critical and 78 in Throw Skill.

Weapon wise: Ranger have Tripleshot Crossbow with either Fear Bolts, or Hunter Bolts. Ninja resently got thr Boomerang Shuriken and a handful of Shurikens on the other hand. She has been practicing Throw for a long time with Sling.

On the score board, Ranger has 264 Kills, Ninja has 155. <-- I cant conclude on this because as I have said, Ninja had been using Sling to improve her throwing for a long time while Ranger had been using Bow and Arrow from day 1.

I am not sure if Ninja is worth it or not... Have you played with these two and compared their performance? Coz right now, I am beginning to doubt the capability of the Ninja to do Instakill when Ranger can do just that many times over with the tripleshooter crossbow. The reason why I got Ninja because I was thinking of making her a Range and Melee fighter rolled into one. She has two nunchakus for melee and isnt doing great ... maybe coz I have distributed the skill points way too thin on her.

Nydlari · 02-11-2002, 10:48 PM

I sounds like you are mis-using your ninja if you are comparing it to a ranger. A ninja is front line fighter, martial arts and stealth skill will make your ninja hold up as well as any other melee fighter. The thrown weapons are a nice bonus so your ninja can participate in ranged combat, but you realy should focus on melee.

ice3 · 02-11-2002, 11:53 PM

I have first maxed my ninja in close combat. With speed she can have 12 atacks per round now in ranged (2 throw weapons) or melee. And she makes instant kills once in a while. But a ninja is the killing machine in melee not in throwing. Same goes for the Monk.

Merulus · 02-12-2002, 12:15 AM

Well, I’m trying to do something similar (melee/range ninja), and I think the problem may be that the ninja simply peaks very late in the game. I’m getting decent criticals at 15, but the average damage is still pretty poor… Hopefully the light sword will fix that.

Anyway, I think the bottom line is that if you want ranged criticals, you should be using a ranger. If you want melee criticals, you should be using a monk or samurai. And if you want both and you’re willing to wait until late in the game (or you’re willing to use a very small party), then the ninja is the best choice.

Nix · 02-12-2002, 12:35 AM

I've tried the ninja and was disappointed. In hindsight, my own assessment is that the ninja is basically a [weak] monk with thieving skills and thrown crits. I say "weak" because the monk will generally do better melee damage, especially if you're talking martial arts. The price of the additional thieving skills and thrown crits are longer level-ups that become more significant/noticeable over time. In fact, the ninja's experience ramp-up is exactly the same as the bishop. So you need to ask yourself whether the additional skills are worth all that trouble.

In the case of the bishop, I personally think the spellcasting spellpower is worth the price... I'm not so sure about the ninja. Thieving skills are not as essential in Wiz8 as in, say Baldur's Gate, and the spell equivalents (divine traps and knock-knock) allows you to get along quite well without a rouge or rouge-hybrid. So that bascially leaves the thrown crits, and that's just not enough of a reason for me to accept the slower level-ups.

The other thing about the ninja is that I seem find it a lot harder to kick up spellcasting skills through practice, than say a samurai. Dunno, probably has something to do with the alchemy spellbook, or maybe I just got the wrong spells, but there was no non-combat spell that could be cast just to build up skill. Anyway, these are just my own views and I guess the role-playing factor will still be the most important thing for many people.

jsteng · 02-12-2002, 12:56 AM

I guess I made some very wrong choice of weapon.

I trained her in the art of Shurikens and Nunchakus. Just right now, I found Cane of Corpus - dont know where I got it and ALMOST sold it to Antone. Does Don Barlone the Ratkin boss drop this? I just killed him on my way from Trynton to Arnika.

oh well... I still have my Fairy Bishop that is currently training in the art of Staff and is hoping to convert this fairy into a Ninja after a few more level ups. I think Ninja is the best path for a Bishop, both are shadowy figures.

ice3 · 02-12-2002, 02:04 AM

quote:
Originally posted by jsteng:

I trained her in the art of Shurikens and Nunchakus. Just right now, I found Cane of Corpus - dont know where I got it and ALMOST sold it to Antone. Does Don Barlone the Ratkin boss drop this? I just killed him on my way from Trynton to Arnika.

My ninja is the only character that does often criticals with throw weapons and often with melee. The damange done by the ninja is weak regarding a samourai or monk but my nija get much more criticals then my other chars (depends on SEN).

The Cane of Courpus can be found in the Mountain Wilderness retro dungeon near Nebra. But only ninja feari can use it.

Silverthornne · 02-12-2002, 03:56 PM

Well the Cane of Corpus may be found in that dungeon but I'm pretty sure he got it from the Don, since the Don always has it. I'm thinking it may be randomly generated in the dungeon? I'm a bit miffed some of the best stuff in the game is randomly generated (gah I read that Davy Jones Locker and the Buccaneer Ghosts in Bayjin Shallows can contain some awesome weapons and the best thing I got in that zone was a book of fireballs so doh!) but at least the Cane of Corpus is a sure bet by either PP'ing the Don or killing him.

Nix · 02-13-2002, 01:21 AM

Silverthorne, I did not get the CoC off the Don when I killed him, so I wouldn't count on it being a sure bet the next time you play. I have read somewhere though that it's fairly easy to retry: just reload and rest/camp until it finally shows up with the Don. The Muramasa is the hardest to get, as it is set when you first enter the Rapax Castle, and it would be a real pain to have to go through the Rapax hordes again and again.

Silverthornne · 02-13-2002, 01:28 AM

Well bleh, so is the Bloodlust the only item you can count on getting for real as far as decent weapons go? Funny... ack and those Rapax are a pain now that you mention them. I have pretty much by now perfected the art of surviving a 3 hour long fight against 40 or so Rapax in the castle taking so long only because I'm keeping Ferro alive what a headache. Soon as I can buy the last custom piece from him which I'm missing a bit of cash to do it I think I'm letting them kill him.

02-11-2002, 11:53 PM	#3
ice3 Drow Warrior Join Date: January 15, 2002 Location: Ravenshore Posts: 268	I have first maxed my ninja in close combat. With speed she can have 12 atacks per round now in ranged (2 throw weapons) or melee. And she makes instant kills once in a while. But a ninja is the killing machine in melee not in throwing. Same goes for the Monk. __________________ Knowledge is Power

02-12-2002, 02:04 AM	#7
ice3 Drow Warrior Join Date: January 15, 2002 Location: Ravenshore Posts: 268	quote: Originally posted by jsteng: I trained her in the art of Shurikens and Nunchakus. Just right now, I found Cane of Corpus - dont know where I got it and ALMOST sold it to Antone. Does Don Barlone the Ratkin boss drop this? I just killed him on my way from Trynton to Arnika. My ninja is the only character that does often criticals with throw weapons and often with melee. The damange done by the ninja is weak regarding a samourai or monk but my nija get much more criticals then my other chars (depends on SEN). The Cane of Courpus can be found in the Mountain Wilderness retro dungeon near Nebra. But only ninja feari can use it. __________________ Knowledge is Power

02-12-2002, 03:56 PM	#8
Silverthornne Dungeon Master Join Date: February 9, 2002 Location: A sunny island in the middle of the Caribbean Posts: 87	Well the Cane of Corpus may be found in that dungeon but I'm pretty sure he got it from the Don, since the Don always has it. I'm thinking it may be randomly generated in the dungeon? I'm a bit miffed some of the best stuff in the game is randomly generated (gah I read that Davy Jones Locker and the Buccaneer Ghosts in Bayjin Shallows can contain some awesome weapons and the best thing I got in that zone was a book of fireballs so doh!) but at least the Cane of Corpus is a sure bet by either PP'ing the Don or killing him. __________________ We\'ve gotta hold on to what we\'ve got<br />It doesn\'t make a difference if we make it or not

02-13-2002, 01:28 AM	#10
Silverthornne Dungeon Master Join Date: February 9, 2002 Location: A sunny island in the middle of the Caribbean Posts: 87	Well bleh, so is the Bloodlust the only item you can count on getting for real as far as decent weapons go? Funny... ack and those Rapax are a pain now that you mention them. I have pretty much by now perfected the art of surviving a 3 hour long fight against 40 or so Rapax in the castle taking so long only because I'm keeping Ferro alive what a headache. Soon as I can buy the last custom piece from him which I'm missing a bit of cash to do it I think I'm letting them kill him. __________________ We\'ve gotta hold on to what we\'ve got<br />It doesn\'t make a difference if we make it or not

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
The Enigmatic Ranger-Ninja Class-Combo..	Charmy	Miscellaneous Games (RPG or not)	2	07-18-2003 06:52 PM
Mook Ranger Vs Hobbit Ranger (long analysis)	fung	Miscellaneous Games (RPG or not)	6	07-16-2002 10:13 PM
The Ninja	Viscer Spineshank	Miscellaneous Games (RPG or not)	3	03-07-2002 07:58 PM
Ninja ....	Leon	Miscellaneous Games (RPG or not)	1	02-07-2002 04:57 PM
OK, you got me - and Ninja Qs	realbinky	Miscellaneous Games (RPG or not)	2	01-15-2002 08:25 PM

02-11-2002, 10:11 PM	#1
jsteng Dungeon Master Join Date: January 20, 2002 Location: Manila Age: 57 Posts: 66	I have these two classes in my current party. They have the same EXP but Ranger is level 14, Ninja 13. Ranger levels up earlier than Ninja. Skill wise, Ranger has 106 in Range Combat and 82 in Bow Skill; Ninja has 52 in Range Combat, 62 in Dual Weapon, 107 in Critical and 78 in Throw Skill. Weapon wise: Ranger have Tripleshot Crossbow with either Fear Bolts, or Hunter Bolts. Ninja resently got thr Boomerang Shuriken and a handful of Shurikens on the other hand. She has been practicing Throw for a long time with Sling. On the score board, Ranger has 264 Kills, Ninja has 155. <-- I cant conclude on this because as I have said, Ninja had been using Sling to improve her throwing for a long time while Ranger had been using Bow and Arrow from day 1. I am not sure if Ninja is worth it or not... Have you played with these two and compared their performance? Coz right now, I am beginning to doubt the capability of the Ninja to do Instakill when Ranger can do just that many times over with the tripleshooter crossbow. The reason why I got Ninja because I was thinking of making her a Range and Melee fighter rolled into one. She has two nunchakus for melee and isnt doing great ... maybe coz I have distributed the skill points way too thin on her.

02-11-2002, 10:48 PM	#2
Nydlari Manshoon Join Date: November 23, 2001 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Age: 50 Posts: 181	I sounds like you are mis-using your ninja if you are comparing it to a ranger. A ninja is front line fighter, martial arts and stealth skill will make your ninja hold up as well as any other melee fighter. The thrown weapons are a nice bonus so your ninja can participate in ranged combat, but you realy should focus on melee.

02-12-2002, 12:15 AM	#4
Merulus Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: January 17, 2002 Location: The Bleak Shore, Nehwon Posts: 47	Well, I’m trying to do something similar (melee/range ninja), and I think the problem may be that the ninja simply peaks very late in the game. I’m getting decent criticals at 15, but the average damage is still pretty poor… Hopefully the light sword will fix that. Anyway, I think the bottom line is that if you want ranged criticals, you should be using a ranger. If you want melee criticals, you should be using a monk or samurai. And if you want both and you’re willing to wait until late in the game (or you’re willing to use a very small party), then the ninja is the best choice.

02-12-2002, 12:35 AM	#5
Nix The Magister Join Date: October 23, 2001 Location: Philippines Posts: 104	I've tried the ninja and was disappointed. In hindsight, my own assessment is that the ninja is basically a [weak] monk with thieving skills and thrown crits. I say "weak" because the monk will generally do better melee damage, especially if you're talking martial arts. The price of the additional thieving skills and thrown crits are longer level-ups that become more significant/noticeable over time. In fact, the ninja's experience ramp-up is exactly the same as the bishop. So you need to ask yourself whether the additional skills are worth all that trouble. In the case of the bishop, I personally think the spellcasting spellpower is worth the price... I'm not so sure about the ninja. Thieving skills are not as essential in Wiz8 as in, say Baldur's Gate, and the spell equivalents (divine traps and knock-knock) allows you to get along quite well without a rouge or rouge-hybrid. So that bascially leaves the thrown crits, and that's just not enough of a reason for me to accept the slower level-ups. The other thing about the ninja is that I seem find it a lot harder to kick up spellcasting skills through practice, than say a samurai. Dunno, probably has something to do with the alchemy spellbook, or maybe I just got the wrong spells, but there was no non-combat spell that could be cast just to build up skill. Anyway, these are just my own views and I guess the role-playing factor will still be the most important thing for many people.

02-12-2002, 12:56 AM	#6
jsteng Dungeon Master Join Date: January 20, 2002 Location: Manila Age: 57 Posts: 66	I guess I made some very wrong choice of weapon. I trained her in the art of Shurikens and Nunchakus. Just right now, I found Cane of Corpus - dont know where I got it and ALMOST sold it to Antone. Does Don Barlone the Ratkin boss drop this? I just killed him on my way from Trynton to Arnika. oh well... I still have my Fairy Bishop that is currently training in the art of Staff and is hoping to convert this fairy into a Ninja after a few more level ups. I think Ninja is the best path for a Bishop, both are shadowy figures.

02-13-2002, 01:21 AM	#9
Nix The Magister Join Date: October 23, 2001 Location: Philippines Posts: 104	Silverthorne, I did not get the CoC off the Don when I killed him, so I wouldn't count on it being a sure bet the next time you play. I have read somewhere though that it's fairly easy to retry: just reload and rest/camp until it finally shows up with the Don. The Muramasa is the hardest to get, as it is set when you first enter the Rapax Castle, and it would be a real pain to have to go through the Rapax hordes again and again.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)