[Class Build] Firearm Ranger

[MasterCipher]

 

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Apex Predator

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Difficulty: PotD v. 3.02

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Class: Ranger

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Race: Aumua

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Background: The White Lands - Colonist

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Stats:

 

MIG: 21 

CON: 03

DEX: 18 

PER: 15

INT: 18

RES: 03

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Skills: Stealth 5, Athl. 1 (class +1, brothel or gear to reach minimum of 3), Lore 0, Mech. 0, Surv. 12  

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Talents (a=auto, r=recommended, !=important)

Vicious Companion

Merciless Companion

Penetrating Shot ®

Apprentice Sneak Attack

Lesser Frenzy

Scion of Flame (!)

Bloody Slaughter

Gunner

 

Abilities

Marked Prey

Predator's Sense

Stalker's Link ®

Wounding Shot (!)

Driving Flight

Vicious Aim 

Powder Burns (!)

Vengeful Grief

Armed to the Teeth (a)

Second Whind (a)

 

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Items (*=additional echantments by me; !=important, r=recommended):

 

Weapon set 1: Silver Flash (!) , fire lash®

Weapon Set 2: Pistol with annihilation, fire lash®

Weapon Set 3: Pistol with sneak bonus, fire lash®

Twinsting for Alacrity 1/rest

 

Boots: 4 DEX

 

Head: Eyepatch with 10% damage vs flanked and blind immunity, but -2 accuracy

 

Armor: Leather with Alacrity 1/rest

 

Neck: Stalker's Link

 

Belt: Coil with 1 DEX (suppressed), but -1 second weapon switch

 

Rings: 3 MIG, Bartender Ring with 20% damage vs spirit/vessel

 

Hands: Ryona's Vembraces -3 DR

 

Quick slots: Ruatai Sweet Pie, Farmer's Spread, PER food, INT food (haste potion for tough fights)

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Long Time Reader, First Time Build Poster

 

Designed to optimize damage output and a party that synergizes with buffs/debuffs/crowd control (Fighter/Paladin/Chanter/Cipher/Priest).

Powdered Burns converts your ranged damage into 100% fire and attacks Reflex ! The cone for blunderbuss is incredibly wide, 100+ damage and blindness for everyone. Triggered Immunity BP on your Paladin and ability on Fighter means you can bunch and blast.

Throw your stag pet on the barbie too and the Paladin can ressurect after Vengeful buff.

 

If that's not enough heat, Wounding Shot will hit your main target normally in addition to the flame of death cone.

DR -5 penetrating shot, -1 sacrifice rogue NPC, -3 gloves, -8 Fighter, -3 base = total of -20 DR

Survial 18 after class 2 background 2 quest reward 1 boon 1, 30% flank bonus.

Boots 10%, neck 50%, bless 10%, recall agony 30%, MIG 34 (gear/rest/food/gift of machine/group buffs - can be higher with single targets) 42%

end result: simple, conservative numbers 300 (100 fire + 100 lead + 100 wound) damage to wounding target and 100 to everyone else in cone.

Divine Mark can proc for another 75 damage.

All the pet talents/abilities are maximized too so that's 50-75 damage to his target and adjacent targets.

 

2 pistol shots with Vicious Aim toggled are handy for cleanly removing casters or archers from the board.

 

FYI I don't think stunning shots worked with the flame cone, but did work with Wounding Shot.

 

[update] Reason for Driving Flight: it doesn't work on powder burns, but does work on your wounding shot + power burns combo; the bullets bounce and should be able to trigger Divine Mark proc but won't inflict wounding.

 

Unfortunately, I haven't had time to complete playthrough yet with this build.

Edited April 29, 2016 by MasterCipher

[MaxQuest]

How does Triggered Immunity work in practice?

 

I've read somewhere in the Tech Forums, that you can't have two immunity procs at the same time.

For instance you get hit with high burning damage, and get immunity to it. Than an enemy hits you with crush damage over the  threshold, and you lose your burning immunity, but get the crush one.

 

Kind of: if the damage types do alternate triggered immunity might do close to nothing. Is that so?

[Blunderboss]

Nice build , i always wanted to try out Powder Burns , why pistols not 3 blunderbuss tho ?  with -20DR on target blunderbuss should be devastating especially if driving flight works with all blunderbuss shots .

I always loved the idea of using Vicous Aim + Quick Switch as it literally gives free damage if you micro it a bit 

 

Edit : also in other thread i read that Vicious Aim works with Projectile Scrolls , which works with all the -DR stuff might be great addition after you fire all 4 guns of yours 

Edited April 29, 2016 by Blunderboss

[Elric Galad]

Pistols vs Blunderbuss is a choice you won't have to make. It is the same talent.

 

But I think the OP thought the blunderbuss cone was better for his taste. The 3 firearms have indeed different length and width for their cone attacks.

[nem0]

For reference these are my powder burns cone/range test number based on comparison of similar abilities(and holding ruler up to screen):

 

Blunderbuss: 2m burn, 135° arc/ 8m regular shot range

Pistol: 6m burn, 30° arc/ 8m regular shot range

Arquebus: 5m burn, 45° arc/ 10m regular shot range

 

The burn hits everyone in range and the shot hits the target separately.

 

The cone length is modified by intelligence, hits everything including allies in the cone, and does not apply on hit debuffs of the weapon. The silver flash is special in that it adds the blind affect on its own in a cone, not dependent on powder burns(there were bug reports about this but it is supposedly intended they just have not fixed the description yet). The powder burns damage also seems to be independent of the gun acting like you are simply firing a fan of flames with every shot.  The blind effect of powder burns on your character for me lasted approximately 5.5 seconds, but I do not know if it is modified by anything like intelligence.

Edited April 29, 2016 by nem0

[Blunderboss]

So , blunderbuss has 3 times lesser powder burns range than pistol ? okay.. 2m isnt much at all even with such wide arc 

Edited April 29, 2016 by Blunderboss

[MasterCipher]

Thank you for feedback. Reasoning behind pistol switches is primarily itemization. +50% damage on crit and +25% on sneak attack puts the raw damage ahead of what's available for aquabus and arbalest. Leadsplitter may be worthwhile for Rending. Paladin aura and Priest spell mastery buff I run give group +25% hit to crit conversion along with a lot of +accuracy.

 

I didn't know that about the arcs. I am updating to swap PER and INT. 18 INT extends length of blunder burn 40% from 2m to 2.8m. Thrown on an overseer ring for another 10%. Food is another 5% or 10%.

Edited April 29, 2016 by MasterCipher

[rheingold]

I reckon boots of speed would really help with positioning. And the cone length wouldn't be such an issue.

[dainbramage]

For reference these are my powder burns cone/range test number based on comparison of similar abilities(and holding ruler up to screen):

 

Blunderbuss: 2m burn, 135° arc/ 8m regular shot range

Pistol: 6m burn, 30° arc/ 8m regular shot range

Arquebus: 5m burn, 45° arc/ 10m regular shot range

In terms of area,

 

Blunderbuss: 4.71 m^2

Pistol: 9.42 m^2

Arquebus: 9.82 m^2

 

Which puts blunderbusses well below the others in terms of effectiveness. Especially since a 45° cone at 5m is almost as wide as 135° at 2m

[QuiteGoneJin]

How does this measure up to bow rangers?  Play-style difference? What if you dislike swapping weapons? What pet do you suggest?