How does Ranger play?

[lufia22]

I hope this isn't a beaten to death topic...

I will be starting RNG soon to have as a sub for my soon to be COR main. I am returning to FFXI after a long absence, but when I played before I knew next to nothing about RNG. I still know very little about how they play and I've rarely grouped with them on my trek to 30. I grouped with one and he seemed to melee a lot, which has got me wondering how RNGs actually play.

My first and most obvious thought was that you guys sit back and shoot the whole fight, but perhaps it is not so. So what is the most effective way to play a RNG in terms of just DPSing for a party?

[Mog]

Re: How does Ranger play?

My first and most obvious thought was that you guys sit back and shoot the whole fight, but perhaps it is not so. So what is the most effective way to play a RNG in terms of just DPSing for a party?

It's mostly shooting and WS. However, when barrage is up, use it toward an end of a fight and you can knock down a decent percent.

[lufia22]

Re: How does Ranger play?

So my initial thought of just sitting back and shooting was correct? Is there any time I should melee? The RNG in my party was also shooting his weapon in melee range, which I knew wasn't right, but I didn't know if you guys meleed and ran back to shoot for any reason.

[Ellipses]

Re: How does Ranger play?

Depending on how long your absence was, the lone Ranger you partied with may have just been a creature of a different time. Way back when, ranged accuracy and attack were calculated the same no matter how far away you stood from the mob, so it only made sense to melee at the same time, for added damage and TP.

But it's been a long time since that was patched, and now there is a "sweet spot" of distance for each type of ranged attack (bow, xbow, gun, throwing) where accuracy is at its best. None of these are inside melee range.

I don't play Ranger myself, so this is open to correction, but I don't think there are many situations at all outside farming/screwing around where you'd want to melee. You might be able to build up TP doing that, but your ranged WSes are always going to beat your melee WSes, and running back and forth in and out of range to WS is counterproductive.

[Malacite]

Re: How does Ranger play?

Read the stickies please on the RNG forums and check the FFXI wiki.

Basically you're going to want to have a stale and hefty income to fund RNG as you'll be carrying both a Bow and a Crossbow, and from 50+ a Gun as well. You typically won't melee in parties until late in the game if you get a Kraken Club (very rare and expensive) since you do a lot more damage shooting and have abilities to speed up your shots.

[Solymir]

Re: How does Ranger play?

Based on his OP I think he is only taking Rng to 37 as a Support Job for Cor.

[lufia22]

Re: How does Ranger play?

Depending on how long your absence was, the lone Ranger you partied with may have just been a creature of a different time. Way back when, ranged accuracy and attack were calculated the same no matter how far away you stood from the mob, so it only made sense to melee at the same time, for added damage and TP.

He was in my group the other day. =P

And money isn't a concern currently. Like I said, I'm returning and previously sold all my old gear during a previous return when inflation was high (and to think, I originally bought Mary's Horn for 90k).

I know I'm probably gonna get some negative feedback on this, but to anyone who uses the Windower Distance mod, what number range is the "sweet spot." And please spare me from any "expert rangers can tell the range just from experience." Trust me, I know. I played BRD and had to learn AoE ranges and knew them by heart. I'd just like to know for convenience while learning the job.

[Tokitung]

Re: How does Ranger play?

I'm a 75 Rng so maybe I can help out.

The demograph of play for Rng has change quite a bit. If you are only planning on taking it to 37, then you will not be getting into the indepth portions of Rng and need to know only the basics:

1. Range - You are going to want to sit back and shoot. Your ranged damage and ranged accuracy is dependant on your distance from the mob in relation to your weapon type. I.e for Bow you would want from 10-12 ft, crossbow you would want 6-7, I believe(not sure though, haven't used one in a while) that gun is 14-16.

2. Ammo is expensive - You won't notice early on, but it can and will get expensive.

3. Food - This is completely dependant on your gear. Ranger has a TON of R. Acc gear as you get higher level. Once 28 and you get Hawker's Knives, I would say switch food from R. Acc to some R. Att to finish to 37.

4. WS - You WS will suck. Rng doesn't get it's high damage WS until 55. The rest of them pretty much blow before that. Work on trying to maybe open a SC for another DD in the mean time.

5. Barrage - Is beautiful. As this will be you main spike damage, make sure you know your R. Acc and keep your hit rate in 85% range for your ranged attacks. Sure it's only every 5 minutes, but it is awesome to see all the arrows hit so you need to stack R. Acc.

That's all for now, lemme know if you have any more questions.

[lufia22]

Re: How does Ranger play?

Distance - FFXIclopedia - a Wikia Gaming wiki

Just found that guide recently after I asked. Your values are slightly different. What accounts for the difference? (seems that chart might be slightly out of date).

[Tokitung]

Re: How does Ranger play?

Well, I can't really speak much outside of Bow usage. I haven't used a crossbow/gun since well before the ranged update. I find that the sweet spot for my E. Bow is between 10-12 feet, that is where I find my best acc and damage.

[lufia22]

Re: How does Ranger play?

I'm just kinda curious how one knows they're in the sweet spot as opposed to maybe slightly off and getting maybe a 5% reduction. Are you parsing your combat log or something to see your accuracy and damage?

I don't mean to be questioning your authority or anything by asking that, I'm just curious how you can tell.

[Amberly]

Re: How does Ranger play?

RNG = All Your Gil

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: How does Ranger play?

RNG = All Your Gil

Thanks for perpetuating the myth.

RNG is about as affordable as any other job when it comes to levelling it as a sub, depending upon how you approach it. If cost is a concern I would consider grouping up with people that do fields of valor, farming and saving those beastmen seals for some money runs.

As for melee, its not terribly common. Both CORs and RNGs who melee pre-Joyeuse or pre-Kraken Club/Ridill respectively are trying to play thier jobs on the cheap and nothing more, which tends to make them poor CORs and RNGs.

If you want to be a good RNG and COR, stick to shooting fo the majority of your levels. If you're fortunate enough to obtain multihit weapons, then you can consider meleeing for TP. Til then, your best DPS and TP gain is from ranged attacks only.

And as I've often said in the past, consider taking RNG to 40 rather than 37 if you're just looking to level it as a sub. The reasons are simple - RNG is awesome for 30 and 40 cap CoP Missions, BCNM 40 Worms turn and your gear will cross over between RNG and COR well for those levels, so you likely won't get rid of it anyway.

[lufia22]

Re: How does Ranger play?

Thank you for the advice.
I am actually considering leveling RNG to 75 as an alternate to my COR main for when I cannot group with my RDM brother. This class intrigues me greatly.

Random question...
Is ranged ATK/ACC determined based on your position at the moment you press your /range macro or the moment the arrow is fired?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: How does Ranger play?

Well that's sort of a chicken/egg question. I'd assume it would be determined by where the mob is when you fire since it can move and plus you can't move once you start firing or you'll interrupt your shot.

I don't know the exact numbers for the range, but you want to be just outside of melee range (enough for it to say the target is too far away) to be in optimal gun range, next furthest is Xbow range which would be a few steps back and then bow is a bit five or six steps from there.

The current formula is rather forgiving and depending on your gear and what food you're using, you might have a bit more leeway in where you can stand. If you're focused on accuracy, you can stand further back with a gun and it won't change things too much, if you're focusing on attack stats, you can stand closer and things won't skew too much.

The problem with the formula before was that where you had to stand was really strict and the forumula didn't account for food or gear bonuses properly. Now it does account for those things, so while they're good to keep in mind, don't worry about them too much. If standing further back means creating unwanted aggro, by all means, fight closer to your target mob.

I had a great experience doing COR and RNG side-by-side to 79, just going back and forth. These days, COR might run you a bit more gil than back when I levelled it. RNG can afford to be a cheapskate in spots (i.e. Holy Bolts are awesome from the moment you get them and you still use them at 75), but COR never has that luxury.

If you want to level COR and RNG my best advice is to take it nice and slow or you'll always be tight on gil. Both are very fun jobs. COR is awesome support and supports mage classes better than BRD does, RNG is a total powertrip and it only keeps getting more fun when you get into each facet of the ranged weapons (learn to love that crossbow).