Ranged character build

[Blazin]

Hello, i've just started my PoE journey and want to create some hard hitting ranged class with Bow or Rifle that fits Hard/PotD difficulty.

I've read some posts about rangers and ciphers, according to what people say cipher is more flexible and fun to play so i think it will be a better choice.

Share your cipher build concidering latest game patch please.

And also good NPC companion builds would be much appreciated.

[Mocker22]

Many characters can use ranged effectively. There was a recent post from a new user that had a very similar topic. I believe its called "Teach me to gun pillarites". I would read there. Also might want to read Boeroer's build The Mad Hornet. Off the top of my head Rangers are the best consistent ranged dps. Paladins are more of a 1-2 BIG hits, but they bring a lot of other nice stuff to the party. Ciphers are not what I would call, a ranged dps character. Many Ciphers are built for ranged and can do solid damage, but typically many of your actions are casting their abilitites. Some of these do damage, but a lot of the best ones are crowd control and buffs/debuffs. If that sounds good though, than by all means Cipher may be a very fun ranged character for you.

[Raven Darkholme]

Many characters can use ranged effectively. There was a recent post from a new user that had a very similar topic. I believe its called "Teach me to gun pillarites". I would read there. Also might want to read Boeroer's build The Mad Hornet. Off the top of my head Rangers are the best consistent ranged dps. Paladins are more of a 1-2 BIG hits, but they bring a lot of other nice stuff to the party. Ciphers are not what I would call, a ranged dps character. Many Ciphers are built for ranged and can do solid damage, but typically many of your actions are casting their abilitites. Some of these do damage, but a lot of the best ones are crowd control and buffs/debuffs. If that sounds good though, than by all means Cipher may be a very fun ranged character for you.

Disagree on the cipher part.

Ciphers have an inherent 20% damage boost, which make them awesome in any weapons style.

Pre 2.0 this was balanced by them having low accuracy but now they can max PER and if needed even take the gallant focus talent.

Since thy also have higher utility than other damage classes (rogue I'm looking at you) they are an awesome choice for ranged.

 

Hello, i've just started my PoE journey and want to create some hard hitting ranged class with Bow or Rifle that fits Hard/PotD difficulty.

I've read some posts about rangers and ciphers, according to what people say cipher is more flexible and fun to play so i think it will be a better choice.

Share your cipher build concidering latest game patch please.

And also good NPC companion builds would be much appreciated.

Buildwise I would minimise your CON and RES, since the cipher has Ectopsychic Echo, an awesome ability if melee enemies try to swarm your cipher, it melts them right away.

Max PER and INT, put the rest into MIG and DEX.

Depending what weapon you use, you need more MIG or DEX, for guns I would recommend DEX, for bows MIG.

As race wood elf is pretty much the best.

[Boeroer]

Funny - for guns/bows/MIG/DEX I would recommend the opposite.

Especially if you want to use quick switch. But this doesn't matter too much.

It also depends on the weapon you're actually using. For example with Stormcaller you want to shoot as fast as possible.

 

Besides that I would also take a cipher. With one talent he can get +40% damage - nearly as good as the rogue's 50% BUT it always works, not only if enemies have certain afflictions. Their powers can do lots of stuff. Crowd Control and buffing/debuffing are very important parts of PoE combat - much more important than damage. And with a cipher you can have both. Cipher is also a class that can make good use of blunderbusses. They have a power that lowers enemies' DR by 7 and give it to themselves. Combined with Penetrating Shot and the inherent 4 DR bypass of blunderbusses a cipher can overcome a DR of 18 (21 with Ryona's Vambraces, 24 with Lead Spitter). Take an Island Aumaua, Quick Switch and Arms Bearer and you can always shoot at once when you need focus - and your shots will be devastating. One of the 4 blunderbusses can be a pistol that also hurts very high DR targets.

Another plus of cipher+blunderbuss: there are drugs that give +x focus per hit - and since blunderbusses hit six times with one shot...

 

A rogue will do more direct weapon damage and a ranger has some means of attacking different targets at once while also doing lots of direct damage. And he can make use of Stormcaller which then forms one of the best builds in the game.

 

But nobody says you can't have both in the party: some of the companions you meet can be a blunderbuss cipher and a stormcaller ranger.

 

Conclusion: cipher

Edited January 13, 2016 by Boeroer

[Raven Darkholme]

Funny - for guns & bows, MIG and DEX I would recommend the opposite.

 

Besides that I would also take a cipher. With one talent he can get +40% damage - nearly as good as the rogue's 50% BUT it always works, not only if enemies have certain afflictions. Their powers can do lots of stuff. Crowd Control and buffing/debuffing are very important parts of PoE combat - much more important than damage. And with a cipher you can have both. Cipher is also a class that can make good use of blunderbusses. They have a power that lowers enemies' DR by 7 and give it to themselves. Combined with Penetrating Shot and the inherent 4 DR bypass of blunderbusses a cipher can overcome a DR of 18 (21 with Ryona's Vambraces, 24 with Lead Spitter). Take an Island Aumaua, Quick Switch and Arms Bearer and you can always shoot at once when you need focus - and your shots will be devastating. One of the 4 blunderbusses can be a pistol that also hurts very high DR targets.

Another plus of cipher+blunderbuss: there are drugs that give +x focus per hit - and since blunderbusses hit six times with one shot...

 

A rogue will do more direct weapon damage and a ranger has some means of attacking different targets at once while also doing lots direct damage. And he can make use of Stormcaller which then forms one of the best builds in the game.

 

But nobody says you can have both in the party: some of the companions you meet can be a blunderbuss cipher and a stormcaller ranger.

 

Conclusion: cipher

Maybe I should have worded it different and said I don't like Might that much to begin with anymore.^^

Ever since PER gives ACC I feel like the MIG stat has gotten less useful, especially on a cipher with soul whip.

But since bows attack real fast already I guessed MIG is a little better than DEX, even tho DEX also buffes cast speed, so maybe DEX is better on both. ;P

[Kaylon]

Being a good ranged chracter isn't just about damage. Ciphers are mainly casters using their weapons to recharge their focus. Blunderbusses are good just for fast recharging focus at the beginning of the fight because their dps is terrible. If you want to use a ranged weapon as your main damage then rangers and rogues can add to the table much more than any other class. Rangers are obvious because their abilities are centered around ranged weapons and by the end they become very versatile AoE damage dealers. Another interesting choice is the rogue for two reasons - their damage and their high critical chance. Rogues are basically snipers dealing high single target damage, but their high critical chance means bows like Borresaine or Sabra Marie become very strong in their hands adding more to the party than just damage.

[Boeroer]

 

 

Being a good ranged chracter isn't just about damage. Ciphers are mainly casters using their weapons to recharge their focus. Blunderbusses are good just for fast recharging focus at the beginning of the fight because their dps is terrible. If you want to use a ranged weapon as your main damage then rangers and rogues can add to the table much more than any other class. Rangers are obvious because their abilities are centered around ranged weapons and by the end they become very versatile AoE damage dealers. Another interesting choice is the rogue for two reasons - their damage and their high critical chance. Rogues are basically snipers dealing high single target damage, but their high critical chance means bows like Borresaine or Sabra Marie become very strong in their hands adding more to the party than just damage.

That's right - although after a playthrough with 6 rogues I find the on-crit-effects to be not very reliable. Even with a hearth orlan crit build. But it's a really nice and powerful bonus if you don't rely on it too much.

 

A cipher with a Blunderbuss and Quick Switch plus Body Attunement does awesome single target dps by the way. Blunderbusses have the highest base damage of all weapons - if you ignore DR. So every way to lower DR greatly improves the performance of a blunderbuss (as you can see in my Engineer Build where Sundering Blow and a Blunderbuss do awesome things). Another plus of the blunderbuss: there are two very good uniques in the game. One is Scon Mica's Roar that lowers the enemy's defenses by 5 per hit. And it stacks! So if you hit 6 times he will have -30 defenses (I'm sure this will get nerfed but still). Then there is Lead Spitter which has 7 DR bypass. So a quick switching cipher could cast Body Attunement, fire Scon Mica's Roar for huge damage and tons of focus, then switch to Lead Spitter and fire again (and most of the time cause 6 crits) for more damage and again tons of focus. Most of the time your focus is maxed now and you can start casting a lot until you have to use the last two shots. Tested and approved.

 

You are ablolutely right about the ciphers though: They don't want to fire all the time but from time to time to recharge focus. I think a blunderbuss can be one of the best weapons for that. Since you just need to fire between casting 4 shots from a blunderbuss (or pistol) are more than enough focus for a fight AND do a lot of damage. You have to concentrate on low DR targets or lower DR by yourself or with a comrade (Body Attunement, Expose Vuln., Sundering Blow etc.) though. But if you do that you will have very good damage and lots of focus.

 

I also wouldn't dump RES and CON to 3 on a blunderbuss cipher. The range of a blunderbuss isn't too big and you will get targeted from time to time. A thicker armor also doesn't gimp you as much if you quick switch guns: if you switch right after a shot your recovery will be really short - doesn't matter which armor you wear. I do this all the time with my paladins and I really don't know why it is the case - but you can skip recovery if you switch right after a shot, before the recovery bar appears. So there's no reason not to protect your quickswitching blunderbuss cipher with an armor.

However - like others I also would try to max PER since ciphers have not the best ACC and blunderbusses have the biggest ACC malus there is. Since I would go for Island Aumaua this cipher also wouldn't have the advantage of a wood elf.  

 

On a ranger or rogue I agree with you that other weapons are better for pure DPS or even CC. The Stormcaller Ranger or a ranger with Persistence are really great. Rogues - as you said - are really good with all these on-crit weapons. But I warn you to use Sabra Marie: all this confused enemies can be really annoying in not so tough fights.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Boeroer

[Raven Darkholme]

Boroer the lord of Echo is afraid of 3 CON and RES?

[Boeroer]

It's called "Threeconresphobia".

[rheingold]

To be honest Sabra Marie while great comes really late game. In general I don't like builds which rely on equipment or talents that arrive really late. Most of the game is gone by then. Though obviously you'll get more use out of the high level talent abilities and equipment once WM 2 is here.

[Blazin]

Thnx everyone for the info, it's much more clear for me now. 

 

Question about Island Aumaua, so the advantage of extra weapon set + quick switch is that it allows you to shoot 2 times at the beginning of the fight with 2 different blunderbusses and then to switch for the bow to make more efficient dps for the rest of the battle?

 

And what cipher spells do you recommend to take as i level up?

 

My character build for now : 

Class : Cipher

Race : Wood elf/Island Aumaua not sure yet

Starting stats : 15/3/19/19/18/3 (decided to dump my CONS for first playthrough because it will be on hard)

Starting spells : ?

[scottii]

kinda a noobish question, but does the ranged weapon matter for the ranger or cipher?  i like guns in the game because they hit hard, but are slow.  was going to try and put a gun on a ranger.

[evilcat]

kinda a noobish question, but does the ranged weapon matter for the ranger or cipher?  i like guns in the game because they hit hard, but are slow.  was going to try and put a gun on a ranger.

Not sure what are you asking about. But as Ranger class player can use any ranged weapon, also many of abilities works with melee weapons as well.

You can make firearms ranger and it is quite fun. Firearms have some extra synergy with Wounding Shot. You cant use firearms with twinned arrow (must be visious aim or swift aim).

[scottii]

yeah that's what I was thinking.  haven't tested it out yet, but thanks for the headsup.

[Mocker22]

Rangers can shoot guns faster than any other class with Swift Aim.

[Blazin]

Thnx everyone for the info, it's much more clear for me now. 

 

Question about Island Aumaua, so the advantage of extra weapon set + quick switch is that it allows you to shoot 2 times at the beginning of the fight with 2 different blunderbusses and then to switch for the bow to make more efficient dps for the rest of the battle?

 

And what cipher spells do you recommend to take as i level up?

 

My character build for now : 

Class : Cipher

Race : Wood elf/Island Aumaua not sure yet

Starting stats : 15/3/19/19/18/3 (decided to dump my CONS for first playthrough because it will be on hard)

Starting spells : ?