TOPIC: Looking for a decent "ranged" ranger build

Looking for something acquirable for relatively small investment ($100-$200) so mostly good reds. I do plan on getting a PYP but not till next year (so I it appears I will miss out on the sniper specs since that's a 2012)

Anyone out there run a decent red build for a ranged focused ranger?

I don't play Ranger but some time with the token database and it seems to me you have three options for a rare level ranged build.

You can either go with the Double Barrel Blunder Cannon (2013), the Mighty Sling(2010), or any of the 3 +1 Longbows (+1 Darkwood Longbow(2009), +1 Elven Long Bow(2010), +1 Long Bow(2006,2007))

With the cannon the only token I could find to help you is Lens of the Hawk(2012). For the other slots go with whatever defensive tokens you can manage to get ahold of or possibly with the strength items listed under the sling to boost your melee.

With the sling you are going to want Lens of the Hawk(2012), Belt of Ogre Power(2010), Gauntlets of Ogre Power(2003-2008,2012), and Wicked Charm(2012,Completion) (or possibly the Ioun Stone: Onyx Sphere(2013,Volunteer), though I would guess that is going to be harder to come by). Necklace of the Oak(2009,Completion) would also help but is going to be very hard/expensive to get ahold of.

For the +1 Long Bows I couldn't find any tokens to help offensively, so again defensive tokens and/or the str boosting tokens to help melee.

All 3 builds have the same hit bonus. The Blunder Cannon will give you 0-16 dmg (8-16 if you don't misfire). The Sling will give you 7-10 dmg (8-11 if you manage to get a necklace of the Oak). The Long Bows will give 4-11 dmg (+3 vs Orcs for the Elven Long Bow) The sling build also has the advantage of boosting your melee (though the +str slots don't conflict with anything the other 2 builds need so you could get those items anyway)

As I said I don't play Ranger and just browsed the database to come up with this. I'm sure someone will speak up if I am wrong or missed something obvious.

I want to start off by saying that Ranged builds don't compete with Melee builds. 2 weapons and strength bumps trump the +4 to hit/ +4 to damage Ranged Rangers get. That said, here's a Red Ranged Ranger build with some options:

Helm: Footman's Cap* (uncommon from 2012)
Neck: Amulet of Thorns, or Armor, or Torc of Natural Armor
Armor: Chainmail of the Vale, or Ram Totem Armor*
Back: +2 Cloak of Resistance*
Wrists: Bracers of Archery*
Hands: Gloves of Dexterity* (UR less than $100) or Gauntlets of Ogre Power
Waist: Belt of Ogre Power
Feet: Boots of Free Action*
Ioun Stones: Beryl Prism*, Iridescent Spindle, Ruby Prism, Copper Cube, Mithral Pyramid
Charms: Cadaver Charm


Anything with an asterisk (*) (Footman's Cap, Ram Totem Armor, +2 Cloak of Resistance, Bracers of Archery, Gloves of Dexterity, Boots of Free Action, Beryl Prism) is an item you don't want to forgo, if you can avoid it.

Bracers of Archery are simply a must. They are the equalizer between Ranged and Melee builds. Without them, don't bother.

Here's an ebay listing:

Ram Totem Armor you trade 1 point of AC for the ability to not be stunned.

Gloves of Dexterity You can find them for cheaper, just be patient, and look.

gloves of dex on ebay: holy crap thats expensive. if you are wanting gloves of dex, i will sell them to you much cheaper than that. in fact, for a next year PYP, i will trade a gloves of dex and some other rare/uncommon tokens (i have to look to see what i have extras of from that list you might be interested in). though, to be completely honest, i expect there will be an UR from next year's set that you will want more than gloves of dex. hopefully we will find out soon

For me, this thread really highlights how powerful the +1 Mighty Longbow is for the Ranger. It seems to me that if you don't have a +1 Mighty Bow, you're really better off building a Ranger for melee.

Not to get up on my soapbox, but this is exactly why those two tokens need to be on a re-print cycle, as it evens the playing field, and more importantly, gets someone relatively new to the game, like the OP, to put in an order for that PYP. This has a domino effect, as well, because once you know that the +1 Mighty bow (long or short) is available, it also makes it much more tempting to go ahead and do another PYP so you can get those sniper spectacles.

Nah, Ranged Rangers don't compete with Melee Rangers on any level. Again, let's compare stats:

4th level Ranger (Red Build) Melee:
Wicked Charm (uncommon completion 2012 +1 Str/ -1 saves) total to hit damage: +2/+2
Belt of Ogre Power (+2 STR) hit/dam +3/+3
Gloves of Ogre Power (+2 STR) hit/dam +4/+4
Bracers of Fire (+2 Melee Dam) hit/dam +4/+6
that's x 2 (for 2 weapons) and you can raise the Hit by +1 with a magical weapon.

4th level Ranger (Red Build) Ranged:
Bracers of Archery (+2 Damage) hit/dam: +3/+4 (includes Sharpshooter and Dex Bonus)
going with the Mighty Sling you can add all the damage modifiers for Strength from above for a total of +3/+7 hit/dam
with 1 weapon

or you can instead go with a +1 bow for a +4/+4 hit/dam with 1 weapon.

5th level (purped) Ranger the gulf is huge. Melee (my build at the end of this year) is:
Ioun Stones Onyx Sphere/Cube (+3 total Str)
Girdle of Frost Giant Str (+5 Str)
Mithral Gauntlets (+4 Str)
Orb of Might (+2 Str)
Necklace of the Oak (+2 Str)
Crown of Might (+1/+1 melee . . . not STR)
Bracers of Fire (+2 Melee Dam)
Random +2 Weapon (+2 to hit)
Boots of North Wind (+3 Dam)

So a total of +12/+14. (again with 2 weapons)

Meanwhile, the Ranged Purped Ranger:
Sharpshooter goes up to a +4 Damage
loses Orb of Might,as it is a Melee only Equip. (bringing Str to 27 = +8 damage from Str)
Mighty Longbow (+1 to hit/ + STR Dam)
Bracers of Supreme Archery (+2/+2)
Mithral Boots (+1 to hit)
Sniper Spectacles (forgot these: +3 to hit)

So total: +11 to hit/ +14 damage. With one weapon. (although, they get a +1 to AC. Whoopie!)

Unless I miss something, there is no way with top of the line equipment the Ranged Ranger competes in any fashion with the Melee Ranger. (Neither calculation considers the Draco-Lich Claw Charm or Rune Stones, as it benefits both builds equally)

Honestly, the Bracers of Archery and Bracers of Supreme Archery are more necessary than the Mighty Bows.

Seth Murray wrote: For me, this thread really highlights how powerful the +1 Mighty Longbow is for the Ranger. It seems to me that if you don't have a +1 Mighty Bow, you're really better off building a Ranger for melee.

Not to get up on my soapbox, but this is exactly why those two tokens need to be on a re-print cycle, as it evens the playing field, and more importantly, gets someone relatively new to the game, like the OP, to put in an order for that PYP. This has a domino effect, as well, because once you know that the +1 Mighty bow (long or short) is available, it also makes it much more tempting to go ahead and do another PYP so you can get those sniper spectacles.

instead of reprinting to put people on a level playing field, i am in much more support of coming up with a new item in the same slot that will compete with those older tokens so that people will have a decision to make in building their characters. that way we won't all have the same cookie-cutter builds and it benefits TD because the owners of the old reprint are almost definitely not buying any more copies of the reprinted token but they are a little more likely to pick up the new token to diversify their build options.

Question:

Doesn't the strength bonus get added to the damage of compound weapons? (those that can be either used in melee or thrown once, such as a spear) This is the case for many tabletop RPGs but I don't recall specifically for True Dungeon, and I can't find it mentioned anywhere in the Players Guide or Coaches Guide.

If it is, then the +1 throwing hammers are nearly as good as any of the mighty bows. Only 0.2 less average damage than the mighty longbow (better damage than the mighty shortbow, and better than either if fighting a construct/giant), and getting a handful of those would be much cheaper than tracking down a mighty bow.

Garrison, that is correct. They don't get the sharpshooter bonus though.

darkangel866 wrote: Nah, Ranged Rangers don't compete with Melee Rangers on any level. Again, let's compare stats:

So a total of +12/+14. (again with 2 weapons)

So total: +11 to hit/ +14 damage. With one weapon. (although, they get a +1 to AC. Whoopie!)

Unless I miss something, there is no way with top of the line equipment the Ranged Ranger competes in any fashion with the Melee Ranger. (Neither calculation considers the Draco-Lich Claw Charm or Rune Stones, as it benefits both builds equally)

Unless you can slide with both hands at the same time really well range is fine. My build I have +12 hit and +18 damage with range. (this is without runestones, but includes draco-lich charm).

Since I don't slide well with both hands I go range.

Seth Murray wrote: For me, this thread really highlights how powerful the +1 Mighty Longbow is for the Ranger. It seems to me that if you don't have a +1 Mighty Bow, you're really better off building a Ranger for melee.

Not to get up on my soapbox, but this is exactly why those two tokens need to be on a re-print cycle, as it evens the playing field, and more importantly, gets someone relatively new to the game, like the OP, to put in an order for that PYP. This has a domino effect, as well, because once you know that the +1 Mighty bow (long or short) is available, it also makes it much more tempting to go ahead and do another PYP so you can get those sniper spectacles.

For me it highlights the LACK of ranged based options out there.
We need to press for more +dex and +to hit with ranged stuff.

Kaledor wrote:
Unless you can slide with both hands at the same time really well range is fine. My build I have +12 hit and +17 damage with range. (this is without runestones, but includes draco-lich charm).

Since I don't slide well with both hands I go range.

This is my problem. I am terrible at sliding both pucks. usually by the time i get a decent slide in, the monster is pretty close to dead and ive done nothing to help.

This past GenCon I was forced to use ranged on a monster and single-handedly destroyed a beholder with two crits in a row with my bow. The GM said he had never seen a single person take down a monster before. At that point I decided to stick with ranged

I was borrowing bracers of archery from someone so this helped a bit.