All rangers should come with a miniature giant space hamster that takes up a quick item slot and get a spell called "go for the eyes, boo" which inflicts blindness and 1d4 damage to the target
Replay Neverwinter Online, get the Throne of Boo, Minsc as companion, and whatever else that ugly rodent propagated about itself! 🤣 `Even a newbie can hear Minsc shout thru Protector's Enclave, when a character arrives after the tutorial (edge of level 1 to 2)! ´
I think axes are ok for Beastmaster. The one thing I enjoy about Artisan's adjustment to it, your Beastmaster can where Ankheg plate. I think it was a fix, not a glitch, because they never changed it. If someone prefers to melee their Rangers, this can be a game changer. Of course, in 2 it doesn't matter as much because the Beastmaster will have better by the time he gets Ankheg. Enjoyed this video a lot because I have not played Rangers near as much as fighters, barbarians and paladins in the last 20+ years!
I would say that this is probably true, but I'd say that just having the two-weapon fighting bonus just for one character seems... silly? You're probably correct though.
Correct me if I am wrong, but as an Archer kit I always chose the longbow proficiency so i could use the composite longbow for the strength damage bonus on top of the other Ranger bonuses and kit bonuses to damage (especially if I rolled an exceptional strength of 18/85 or better), and there are at least 5 magical composite longbows in the game (not including +1 to +3 variety). I know the damage dealt is per the ammunition but on an uncompleted play-through of BG1 I was taking down most humanoid mobs with one shot around character level 6. This was on the Enhanced Edition of the game.
Composite bows do not add strength to damage in 2nd edition. They give a static +2 damage. In terms of base stats, with the extra attack per round, it is the best ranged weapon, except maybe slings or throwing weapons with an extremely high strength character. The problem is itemisation. They are fine in BG1 (gets +2 hit and +3 damage as early as a Beregost), but whilst archery in general is gutted in BG2, composite bows get absolutely shafter. Longbows never get +4 ammo and dont even get +3 ammo in Shadow of Amn. That means you simply cannot hit a significant number of enemies. Also, the damage bonuses of the bows suck. Shortbows get an unlimited +3 ammo (albeit very low damage) Bow in trademeet and the most damaging bow in the game with Gesen (averages +4.5 damage and counts as +4 weapon). You get a +1 hit damage and APR shortbow very early on also, which is stronger than any early game longbow. Crossbow is the best bet if you are fine with going to Watchers Keep at the start of SoA just to grab firetooth from the merchant.
I think archers should be more "civilized" than the other Ranger classes, just because they are amazing with bows doesn't mean that they need be ONLY wilderness experts, an archer is an asset to any army.
I would take quarter staff on Archers as my melee weapon. The extra reach allows you to fight from behind your tanks (usually requires micro, but it does make them less likely to attack you). Also, you definitely want crushing damage on your melee weapon. If you cannot do crushing damage somehow (and no bow or crossbow can), your archer will be useless in some fights. And pre-enhanced edition, its very inconvenient to switch from bow to dual wielding.
That's not bad, the reach is a good point but number of attacks is good too, so I would say for blunt damage that two flails or maces might be a good option too?
If you plan on using hide, use the AI script so the ranger always attempts to hide when idle. You'll attack from stealth and have increased thac0 on that first strike or shot, which you could combine with a poison arrow/bolt or dagger.
That's actually really smart, I would strongly recommend taking a high Charisma character to be the face of the party with you (since you won't be chatting with folks if you aren't visible) but this would be great!
Nice! I feel like this does make sense, even though there's a bit of overlap with the arcane spells. That'd be a very interesting combo, you'll have to let me know how it turns out.
So I've noticed that when I leave candlekeep, there are a few bears I can charm. So my question is if I charm a bear and we get into a fight with a wolf and my bear gets the killing blow will my party get the xp?
To be honest, the base ranger is pretty naff. Any warrior with decent stats is effective, but in terms of class features, ranger is the worst warrior (well, not if you count monk as a warrior). Stalker is decent, Archer is excellent (and the strongest class in the BG1 portion of the game).
Never could handle rangers, as I was too #LOTR imprinted AND the official focus on that BS Arcane Archer was simply too one-dimensional. Shaman-Rogue mix or Druid-Rogue mix would still be my choice to mix a less urban survivalist. Plus: Redjoy rulez!
There is a misunderstanding here. The only "good" ranger point originated in D&D.The D&D ranger was Aragorn. Damn.im old.They removed that in 3rd Edition. There were no kits in D&D. So view the kits with this in mind. Its just laziness by the programmers. The HiS is not only to scout ahead. It was designed so that ranger can acompany your rogues. Beastmasters use slings or bows(if they can). U dont do melee with a beastmaster. Sadly dragons are not really dangerous...even with 700 hps firkraag is not a real challenge. Just tank them and dispel them. Even four in a row (ascension) is not that hard. They just have not enough actions per round to hold up against an entire party
True about Dragons (though they're tough for a bum like me!) though I would say that Dragons are more dangerous than Ogres, Elementals, Golems, or Skeletons. You have a good point though, once you dispel them with the right spells, Dragons can be fought. I would say Demonic/Fell isn't a bad choice though, lots of Magic Resistance, Spells, and Immunities. That's good advice for Beastmasters, Slings aren't terrible but just about any other non-metal choices are pretty bad. If my edition knowledge is correct, kits were developed as part of BG2. Editions afterwards used 3.5, which kinda had kits but they were more associated with the different feats and skills taken (such as Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2). I still think that there are plenty of Archers in history who were mercenaries, such as the Italian Crossbowmen or the Free Company Longbowmen, who could be good or evil. I get why they connected D&D Rangers with Aragorn but I'm not fully convinced that they should always be goodie-two-shoes.
@Redjoy123 Oh sry u are right. I totally forgot that kits were already in vanilla BG2. Still, i think i was just laziness because kits are a subgroup of the class and if not all rangers have to be good they would have to split this subgroup up. Reorganize char creation sheet for example. Beginning with the D&D third edition rangers no longer need to be good. So they caught up with that. Evil rangers can choose their own race as favored enemy
All rangers should come with a miniature giant space hamster that takes up a quick item slot and get a spell called "go for the eyes, boo" which inflicts blindness and 1d4 damage to the target
I mean... yes! Why isn't this a thing?
Replay Neverwinter Online, get the Throne of Boo, Minsc as companion, and whatever else that ugly rodent propagated about itself! 🤣 `Even a newbie can hear Minsc shout thru Protector's Enclave, when a character arrives after the tutorial (edge of level 1 to 2)! ´
I think axes are ok for Beastmaster. The one thing I enjoy about Artisan's adjustment to it, your Beastmaster can where Ankheg plate. I think it was a fix, not a glitch, because they never changed it. If someone prefers to melee their Rangers, this can be a game changer. Of course, in 2 it doesn't matter as much because the Beastmaster will have better by the time he gets Ankheg. Enjoyed this video a lot because I have not played Rangers near as much as fighters, barbarians and paladins in the last 20+ years!
Barbarians and Paladins are great choices! Rangers are just... challenging (except for Stalkers and Archers, they are great!)
Monks gain no additional hitpoints from constitution beyond 16.
I’ve always thought that rangers getting the Two-Weapon Fighting bonus was mainly for Drizzt’s sake.
I would say that this is probably true, but I'd say that just having the two-weapon fighting bonus just for one character seems... silly? You're probably correct though.
hope to see more of this video soon
Absolutely! Each Monday we'll have a new class guide!
Correct me if I am wrong, but as an Archer kit I always chose the longbow proficiency so i could use the composite longbow for the strength damage bonus on top of the other Ranger bonuses and kit bonuses to damage (especially if I rolled an exceptional strength of 18/85 or better), and there are at least 5 magical composite longbows in the game (not including +1 to +3 variety). I know the damage dealt is per the ammunition but on an uncompleted play-through of BG1 I was taking down most humanoid mobs with one shot around character level 6. This was on the Enhanced Edition of the game.
Composite bows do not add strength to damage in 2nd edition. They give a static +2 damage.
In terms of base stats, with the extra attack per round, it is the best ranged weapon, except maybe slings or throwing weapons with an extremely high strength character.
The problem is itemisation. They are fine in BG1 (gets +2 hit and +3 damage as early as a Beregost), but whilst archery in general is gutted in BG2, composite bows get absolutely shafter. Longbows never get +4 ammo and dont even get +3 ammo in Shadow of Amn. That means you simply cannot hit a significant number of enemies.
Also, the damage bonuses of the bows suck. Shortbows get an unlimited +3 ammo (albeit very low damage) Bow in trademeet and the most damaging bow in the game with Gesen (averages +4.5 damage and counts as +4 weapon). You get a +1 hit damage and APR shortbow very early on also, which is stronger than any early game longbow.
Crossbow is the best bet if you are fine with going to Watchers Keep at the start of SoA just to grab firetooth from the merchant.
I'm enjoying these new guides. Looking forward to Paladin.
me2. I'm a Cavalier in bgee now and try to roleplay as best as I can. It's really fun
@tammo100 I'm going through as an Undead Hunter atm.
Guess what's next week?
Paladin has some spoiler-attitude, but the class is effing impressive!
I think archers should be more "civilized" than the other Ranger classes, just because they are amazing with bows doesn't mean that they need be ONLY wilderness experts, an archer is an asset to any army.
I think, that is so fighter archers & rogue archers are more clearly a separate topic to handle (by DEVS and their lackeys).
I would take quarter staff on Archers as my melee weapon. The extra reach allows you to fight from behind your tanks (usually requires micro, but it does make them less likely to attack you). Also, you definitely want crushing damage on your melee weapon. If you cannot do crushing damage somehow (and no bow or crossbow can), your archer will be useless in some fights. And pre-enhanced edition, its very inconvenient to switch from bow to dual wielding.
That's not bad, the reach is a good point but number of attacks is good too, so I would say for blunt damage that two flails or maces might be a good option too?
If you plan on using hide, use the AI script so the ranger always attempts to hide when idle. You'll attack from stealth and have increased thac0 on that first strike or shot, which you could combine with a poison arrow/bolt or dagger.
That's actually really smart, I would strongly recommend taking a high Charisma character to be the face of the party with you (since you won't be chatting with folks if you aren't visible) but this would be great!
Isn't Lindin the name of one of the bandits you encounter in BG1?
That sounds right... Yup! he's one of the Waterdavians who hangs out at Mutamin's Garden... thus he must perish.
I installed tweeks. Dual classing a ranger... Stalker\mage.
At what level did you dual?
@Antilluminati Lol I haven't yet but the plan was at 17. I also installed no xp cap.
I'm messing around with all the potential builds on black pits. Trying to do a barb\druid as well. Might not go as desired.
Nice! I feel like this does make sense, even though there's a bit of overlap with the arcane spells. That'd be a very interesting combo, you'll have to let me know how it turns out.
So I've noticed that when I leave candlekeep, there are a few bears I can charm. So my question is if I charm a bear and we get into a fight with a wolf and my bear gets the killing blow will my party get the xp?
Yep, you'll get the XP!
To be honest, the base ranger is pretty naff. Any warrior with decent stats is effective, but in terms of class features, ranger is the worst warrior (well, not if you count monk as a warrior). Stalker is decent, Archer is excellent (and the strongest class in the BG1 portion of the game).
Never could handle rangers, as I was too #LOTR imprinted AND the official focus on that BS Arcane Archer was simply too one-dimensional. Shaman-Rogue mix or Druid-Rogue mix would still be my choice to mix a less urban survivalist. Plus: Redjoy rulez!
Thank you so much! You are awesome Fridge!
There is a misunderstanding here.
The only "good" ranger point originated in D&D.The D&D ranger was Aragorn. Damn.im old.They removed that in 3rd Edition. There were no kits in D&D. So view the kits with this in mind. Its just laziness by the programmers.
The HiS is not only to scout ahead. It was designed so that ranger can acompany your rogues.
Beastmasters use slings or bows(if they can). U dont do melee with a beastmaster.
Sadly dragons are not really dangerous...even with 700 hps firkraag is not a real challenge. Just tank them and dispel them. Even four in a row (ascension) is not that hard. They just have not enough actions per round to hold up against an entire party
True about Dragons (though they're tough for a bum like me!) though I would say that Dragons are more dangerous than Ogres, Elementals, Golems, or Skeletons. You have a good point though, once you dispel them with the right spells, Dragons can be fought. I would say Demonic/Fell isn't a bad choice though, lots of Magic Resistance, Spells, and Immunities.
That's good advice for Beastmasters, Slings aren't terrible but just about any other non-metal choices are pretty bad.
If my edition knowledge is correct, kits were developed as part of BG2. Editions afterwards used 3.5, which kinda had kits but they were more associated with the different feats and skills taken (such as Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2).
I still think that there are plenty of Archers in history who were mercenaries, such as the Italian Crossbowmen or the Free Company Longbowmen, who could be good or evil. I get why they connected D&D Rangers with Aragorn but I'm not fully convinced that they should always be goodie-two-shoes.
@Redjoy123 Oh sry u are right. I totally forgot that kits were already in vanilla BG2.
Still, i think i was just laziness because kits are a subgroup of the class and if not all rangers have to be good they would have to split this subgroup up. Reorganize char creation sheet for example.
Beginning with the D&D third edition rangers no longer need to be good. So they caught up with that.
Evil rangers can choose their own race as favored enemy
@@grimdawn9843 Oh man, that would be great, or just the ability to choose Humans as a favored enemy? Absolutely devastating!