ranger which armor and best "overall" weapon ?

[Aginorh]

Hi everyone,

 

Since my initial post on choosing a new main character I have done pretty well with my barbarian and really enjoyed the game (now nearly level in normal mode.

 

In this run I chose to hire Sagani quite quickly (lvl 4) and specced her in "pet DPS".

 

She now does tons of damage with the fox and even more with predator sense and using Persistence hunting bow (+50% dmg for the fox all the time basically) (http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Persistence).

 

I have a few basic questions :

 

- Which armor should I get for her (I still have the lame fine skin armor) ?

 

I was wondering if an heavier armor would really hamper her dmg output. I see that when my tanks are bypassed she can be put down rather quickly

Also

 

- (side question) when engaged in melee, is it worth to disengage and try to run away while someone else picks the enemy, or shall I switch to melee weapons to hold better ?

 

And

 

- Is this Persistence bow a good choice or are there much better alternatives at this level ? Is it worth speccing in hunting bows ?

 

Thanks a lot in advance !

 

Aginorh

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MaxQuest]

Best overall ranged weapons for a ranger would be Persistance and Stormcaller.

- Persistance because of the DoT increasing pet damage, AND because wounding is very effective vs high DR targets.

- Stormcaller because of the CC component. With Twin-Arrows and Driving Flight you can get a decent proc rate for Returning Storm.

- another possible variant could be quick-switching Arquebuses and Pistols, as that would give you the highest opening burst; plus hard-hitting weapons have better synergy with Wounding Shot.

 

Which armor should I get for her

Depends on your party composition, and if you use bows vs reloading weapons.

Generally for bows you want to have as light armor as possible. And only get heavier one if she starts to fall unconscious more often than you'd like.

 

when engaged in melee, is it worth to disengage and try to run away while someone else picks the enemy, or shall I switch to melee weapons to hold better?

The best variant would be to apply a prone/stun/paralyze/petrify/push/charm/confuse on the enemy who engaged your squishy. And after that re-position him to safety.

[Boeroer]

Persistence is the best bow in the game for dps against single enemies and also because of Predator's Sense

 

Stormcaller is great because of the -6 shock DR, because it works with Heart of the Storm and because of the special procs. Chances to proc Returning Storm go up when you use Driving Flight and Twinned Arrows.

 

I can't say which one is better. It's probably best to keep them both and use Stormcaller against foes who are immune to pierce damage or against groups of mobs - and Persistence against tough single foes. If you like to deal a lot of damage with the pet I would use Persistence as first bow and Stormcaller as backup (if you don't have anyone else who could use it).

 

You can use the Nightrunner armor to gain +15 defense against disengagement attacks and put on boots of speed. That way you can run away quickly without getting killed. You can even put on a Girlde of Mortal Protection. It will prevent that you get one-shotted by a disengagement-crit.

 

As MaxQuest said: for dps it would be best to only wear cloth. You can enchant that with more DR, too. 

Edited February 6, 2017 by Boeroer

[Blades of Vanatar]

I like to equip Sagani with a Med armor that allows for a quick health reboot. Give her Eder' s armor. With all the patching PoE has rec'd enemies tend to bypass tanks for squishies. If they bypass your tanks to reach Sagani switch to a hatchet/shield setup. If she goes down they will turn back to your frontline or other squishy and she will rise back up where you can switch back to Persistence. But with a hatchet/shield setup she just might tank enough to hold the enemy while the rest of your party does their thing.

[Elric Galad]

Also consider that if you don't have a reliable source of DoT (such as endgame chanter) persistence is unvaluable to trigger Predator's Sense.

 

If you have a druid, lowering electrical DR (of several target eith Driving Flight) is really great.

 

If you're low on Upgrading Component (kraken eyes and Durgan Steel) in your endgame weapon planning, Stormcaller is great to save some.

 

So I would say the choice is a bit circonstancial, but both are great.

[Aginorh]

Thanks everyone, good to know that this Persistence is indeed a good option. I will stick to it for a while, and look for nightrunner as well.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Aginorh

[Boeroer]

Take a closer look at Dyrford Village.

[Aginorh]

Take a closer look at Dyrford Village.

Never been there, but this is my next destination !

So many things to do ! I did not yet  even pick up a faction in defiance bay !

[Crucis]

 

- Which armor should I get for her (I still have the lame fine skin armor) ?

 

I was wondering if an heavier armor would really hamper her dmg output. I see that when my tanks are bypassed she can be put down rather quickly

Also

 

- (side question) when engaged in melee, is it worth to disengage and try to run away while someone else picks the enemy, or shall I switch to melee weapons to hold better ?

 

 

When you have a lightly armored ranger or other back liners, it's often helpful to have them have a weapon and shield option for self defense to get some additional deflection from the shield.

 

As for run away vs stand your ground, I suppose that it depends on the situation.  Sometimes it can be helpful to stand your ground so that a team mate doesn't have to chase down the enemy, which he might have to do, if you try to disengage and run away.  Maybe let one of your front liners engage this enemy to draw its attention and THEN have the back liner disengage.  Also, if possible, perhaps you could have a spell caster cast a spell that would temporarily hold or stun or whatever the enemy so that your engaged backliner can more safely retreat without risk.

[Aginorh]

 

 

- Which armor should I get for her (I still have the lame fine skin armor) ?

 

I was wondering if an heavier armor would really hamper her dmg output. I see that when my tanks are bypassed she can be put down rather quickly

Also

 

- (side question) when engaged in melee, is it worth to disengage and try to run away while someone else picks the enemy, or shall I switch to melee weapons to hold better ?

 

 

When you have a lightly armored ranger or other back liners, it's often helpful to have them have a weapon and shield option for self defense to get some additional deflection from the shield.

 

As for run away vs stand your ground, I suppose that it depends on the situation.  Sometimes it can be helpful to stand your ground so that a team mate doesn't have to chase down the enemy, which he might have to do, if you try to disengage and run away.  Maybe let one of your front liners engage this enemy to draw its attention and THEN have the back liner disengage.  Also, if possible, perhaps you could have a spell caster cast a spell that would temporarily hold or stun or whatever the enemy so that your engaged backliner can more safely retreat without risk.

 

Thank you, it makes sense. I become slightly more skilled to protect her has my game time goes on...

 

On a side note, does anyone know if you get a penalty for using a bow in melee ? I.e penalty to defense (compared to having 2 small weapons for example), and/or a penalty to accuracy ? What I mean by that, is are you supposed to immediately switch to melee weapon when engaged ?

Edited February 24, 2017 by Aginorh

[Crucis]

A penalty for using a ranged weapon in melee?  I don't know for certain, but I don't remember there being one.  But I could be wrong on that.