[Aaron]

Ranger bosses are evil! They're harder to kill than most Monk bosses . Dervish bosses are hard too!

[Goto]

Yeah, the classes that can be self-sufficient tend to be nasty as bosses. I mean something like an ele or rit boss can cause ridiculous amounts of damage, but at least they tend to die without too much trouble.

[Rylkan]

Especially with PI.

But yeah. Self sufficient bosses can be troublesome.

Lately I've been kind of upset over EW again. I would like to use it more, and trap with it, but it was nerfed horribly. I don't understand why a skill mean to lower energy cost of things must cost as much as it does, for so little time. There is barely any net gain out of place a max level EW down, given it's duration. Sure, expertise sets back the 15 cost, but it still destroys it's purpose a good deal.

[Aaron]

Especially with PI.

But yeah. Self sufficient bosses can be troublesome.

Lately I've been kind of upset over EW again. I would like to use it more, and trap with it, but it was nerfed horribly. I don't understand why a skill mean to lower energy cost of things must cost as much as it does, for so little time. There is barely any net gain out of place a max level EW down, given it's duration. Sure, expertise sets back the 15 cost, but it still destroys it's purpose a good deal.

EW was nerfed? I haven't trapped for a while, so I didn't notice.

[Rylkan]

The duration is MUCH shorter. At max, you get maybe 20 something seconds I seem to remember. And it is 15 energy now.

So solo trapping is no longer possible.

[Zoo]

Funny... I was just coming to dig up this topic .

Yeah. People telling me there's one way to play the game, and it's their way. Apparently I don't fill any useful role because I don't barrage or interrupt, and I don't try to squeeze every last ounce of dps out of what I've got. Is it really so wrong to like my build to be elegant too? Why does it matter if it doesn't have high dps, if it's effective?

Doing something different is... *gasp*... fun!

Think I've said this before , but this kind of thing makes me glad I've got you insane people around.

[Aaron]

So solo trapping is no longer possible.

[Goto]

Personally I do like trying to squeeze out that little bit of extra DPS from my build, but not at the expense of the build being fun or flowing well. I guess I just find big numbers pretty when it comes to damage.

Yeah, it sucks about EW... There seems to be too many energy management skills around these days that barely even pay for themselves, due to duration. Most of the Dervish ones are elites and even then not very good, so I usually rely on a prot monk spamming on me and on one of two energy-giving scythe attacks (which give very little return, but since they're an alternate for an attack that would cost energy they end up being kinda worthwhile).

[Rylkan]

Well, not sure if you have a monk, or a spare hero, who can maintain an enchant, but Succor might help you more. Free energy pip.

And I like high damage too, but I also find builds that are simple and stream lined are more fun. Perfect example is playing with Asuran Scan. I can hit for ALOT, even more if I ignore my energy and put everything into one big attack. But it is a complex layering of skills, and it takes timing. And I feel it is too much work. Where as my Haud Dissolutus build hits for a bit less, but is MUCH more fun and simplistic.

Dunno. Guess I am a mix of liking damage and simplicity.

[Zoo]

And I like high damage too, but I also find builds that are simple and stream lined are more fun. Perfect example is playing with Asuran Scan. I can hit for ALOT, even more if I ignore my energy and put everything into one big attack. But it is a complex layering of skills, and it takes timing.

Yeah, that's how I felt about an abandoned beastmaster build on PvX (was gonna see if it was worth saving), it used ferocious strike (I believe that was it) to offset the cost of a really expensive pet attack. It worked, but even after playing with it for a while, I messed up the skill order too often since pet attacks don't queue up. It worked better (but still too expensive to work) trading the armor the author proposed for my usual armor (full radiant as opposed to beastmaster's, and different runes [my "bad" pair of superior runes -.-... I actually swapped one out for a minor and I missed the energy much more than I benefitted from the health]) and not worrying about the ferocious strike.

[Goto]

To be fair, conventional wisdom about the game is usually right. You seem to cope okay with two sups, but that's almost never a good idea for other Rangers. Different people play differently though, so it happens to work for you.

Complex layering of skills can be a pain, certainly. I find Dervish builds focusing on that are easier than some, because most of their spells have very short casting times. Still not sure how well that Asuran Scan thing would hold up, though. There's the added issue that Dervishes will typically be targeting multiple enemies at once, whereas Scan is mostly for taking out single targets. Then again it's probably a waste except against very tough targets like bosses, anything else tends to die fairly quickly regardless. In that situation you'd be more worried about the hex resistance that bosses have.

[Rylkan]

Beast Aggro System.

I can solo the Vaettir with certain skills in HM as a beast master, but the bird won't keep aggro. It runs back to me.

I think if I switch Melandrus Strike for a faster recharge skill, I can keep it in their midst. I wanted Melandru so I can AoE.

Annoying bird. >< Making me in the mood for some chicken at dinner tonight.

[Goto]

Whereas phoenixes are self-cooking.

[Rylkan]

Mine doesn't even burn when it dies! At least it could cause burning to enemies when it does!

[Neraphym]

After doing Fissure of Woe enough times, I realized something I'd like to add to this list. Monks from one patrol aggroing you to heal something from the patrol you are attacking. In the burning forest, this can lead to triple or quadruple aggro, which isn't very fun.