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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Ranger and Mage (Ranged DPS): a bit of feedback
Artharion
Member, Alpha Two
I little bit of feedback from my part regarding classes, specially between Ranger and Mage. Instead of playing what people say is S-Tier on Discord, I decided to try it myself: these past two weekends, I've been focused on leveling three classes to 10: Fighter, Ranger, and Mage. Next weekend, I'll concentrate on just one, so I need to decide which one. However, I've had the chance to get a feel for each class's dynamics and concept. For those who main one of these two classes until +20, correct me if I’m wrong , since, as I said, I've only reached level 10 and things might change by level 20, but in my opinion, both Ranger and Mage can be focused on single-target damage, or at least their kits have options for it.
That said, I see that each class plays a different role. The Ranger has excellent burst damage but relies heavily on crits (something typical for this class type in other MMORPGs), and those crits often depend on applying marks like the Tiger mark, which increases crit chance by 25%. The cooldown for this mark is 1 minute, and it only lasts 8 seconds, so it seems like the Ranger is designed for situations where it goes in, deals a lot of damage, and then retreats until that cooldown is ready again. In long encounters I’ve noticed that I deal a lot of damage at first, but then I drop off until I have the mark again to crit. On the other hand, the Mage seems to have a range of skills that allow it to deal more sustained damage over time where I can repeat my rotations and they will deal more or less the same damage.
In Group PvP, this is going to define each class’s role: I think the Ranger will be used to jump into battle, try to take out strategic targets, and then retreat until the cooldowns are up again, while the Mage will hold a more consistent presence on the battle line due to its steady damage output.
That said, I see that each class plays a different role. The Ranger has excellent burst damage but relies heavily on crits (something typical for this class type in other MMORPGs), and those crits often depend on applying marks like the Tiger mark, which increases crit chance by 25%. The cooldown for this mark is 1 minute, and it only lasts 8 seconds, so it seems like the Ranger is designed for situations where it goes in, deals a lot of damage, and then retreats until that cooldown is ready again. In long encounters I’ve noticed that I deal a lot of damage at first, but then I drop off until I have the mark again to crit. On the other hand, the Mage seems to have a range of skills that allow it to deal more sustained damage over time where I can repeat my rotations and they will deal more or less the same damage.
In Group PvP, this is going to define each class’s role: I think the Ranger will be used to jump into battle, try to take out strategic targets, and then retreat until the cooldowns are up again, while the Mage will hold a more consistent presence on the battle line due to its steady damage output.
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Comments
Slight tangent…
I’m hoping that there will be some cross-class buff synergy, such as class A can apply a bleed debuff easily, while class B & C deal increased damage against bleeding targets. Classes B & C can apply a temporary bleed from special cool-down abilities, but they greatly benefit from the constant bleed applied by class A, providing incentive for group play. If this were the case between Fighter, Ranger and Rogue, for instance, that’d be cool.
I like how Mage has the status effect-combo system and it reminds me somewhat of FFXI or Anthem, when you would use abilities in a certain order to get burst damage or apply a special debuff for a short time. The Mage rotation looks like it will be just fine in long duration fights, with only a mana battery sort of support needed.
Well, herre you can see the amount of crit damage that a ranger can do: https://streamable.com/5d3fju
While I agree that mages can do more in the damage department than rangers, remember that rangers do also bring a lot of utility.
We are also great at tagging mobs from afar.
We bring movement speed buffs and debuffs (marks) on the enemy that *affects anyone targeting that enemy.*
single target healing buff? u mean the 3hp a second at lvl 14? on a 2.2k hp ranger? Only utility realy is the speedbuff atm however i dont even want to take the group buff version cause it cant be applied to mounts anymore if you do.
They do chase people down better though in PvP
Sure. And I am assuming that numbers will be tweaked as we go, so that currently 3hp per second might be more reliable in due time.
You dont lose your regular movement buff if you choose the group version as it is right now. And you can have that one up on multiple targets as long as you remember to juggle the CD/duration.
I love both the speed buff and the marks of the ranger and believe those two alone makes for good arguments as to why a group would one. :]
ex: Pathfinding +5% movement speed to self & party; 10% when out of combat; doubled when outdoors.
We can give a 10% flat movement speed bonus that lasts for 15 minutes.