Ranger starting in prophecies

[Dorling]

Hey all, my friend got GW recently and he started his ranger. He's not so sure about it at the moment but I think it's starting to grow on him. I'm helping him through the game and I was wondering what skills he should pick up on the way to keep his interest? ;)

[Epinephrine]

Ugh, prophecies start for a ranger sucks.

You have no expertise really to spare, you have limited skills and all that. Dual Shot/Ignite was my staple back then, since you can't afford to do much other than put a decent damage prep up and spam arrows. No traps, no poison, not enough energy to do much if you want any bow damage, pet skills and damage suck at that point... I'm amazed we stuck it out. Given that rangers aren't really damage powerhouses, but lack the skills and energy to do what they are good at (spread degen, interrupt etc) they have a tough time.

Good luck, tell him it gets better when you have enough points for some expertise, marksmanship and a third attribute, and that better skills will make it much more fun later.

[haggus71]

Heh, Ignite Arrows. Charr going pew-pew-BOOM! As soon as he gets to North Kryta Province, hit up Greywind for apply poison. He'll get some fun outta sharing degen with his friends.

I think we did better as rangers going through Prophecies. You have a better learning curve to really know your class's strengths and weaknesses. Tell him to enjoy the story and not be too impatient to get through it.

And if he becomes an R/E.....please, PLEASE... don't use Fire Storm or Mark of Rodgorts.

[Dorling]

Thanks guys. Yeah I was looking through the skills and I was thinking how I would've managed, hehe. Being a Warrior back then done the job well, and I appreciate the strengths of Rangers aren't so much in power but in battlefield awareness. I'll be there to help him every step of the way until he can manage to make decisions for himself, hehe, oh and no offensive spells on my watch!

Also I was wondering when is the earliest instance he could capture an elite skill?

[Szymaa]

The first place you can get Capture Sigs is from a quest in Lion's Arch. As for elites to capture, I would suggest going with Poison Arrow first. You can cap it in Whitman's Folly which is a pretty easy area right off of Droknar's Forge and filled with mostly lvl 20-22 Grawl, no problem for henches. Poison Arrow will do just fine until you can cap Barrage or one of the more useful elites.

[Toutatis]

The earliest point in Propheices where you can cap an elite skill is in the desert missions. Your friend will be able to get Marksman's Wager from those missions. Admittedly, it's not the best elite skill in Prophecies, but it'll last him through to the places where he can cap better ones to play with.