Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two Phase II testing is currently taking place 5+ days each week. More information about testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two Phase II testing is currently taking place 5+ days each week. More information about testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Ranger need some serious changes.
Demostrathe
Member, Alpha Two
First off, Ranger. While the mobility and utility it offers are really fun, its damage rotation feels stagnant and limited. For me, the primary issue lies in how its damage abilities are distributed. Right now, it relies heavily on just five main damage-dealing skills: Barrage, Snipe, Thundering Shot, Scatter Shot, and Kill Shot. Not to mention how frustrating it is to have Snipe canceled so easily if the person who's head you're trying to knock off isn't caught off guard, or how somewhat hard it can be to pull off a concentrated Scatter Shot at times.
While mobility-focused skills like Air Strike and AoE abilities like Raining Death exist, for air strike it pushes it into utility-only roles and raining death is basically useless. As I was playing, this created a repetitive combat loop where I kept cycling through the same few abilities while a huge part of the kit felt like situational tools rather than essential options. I’m not saying Air Strike needs to hit like a truck since it’s clearly built around movement and space building with its movement debuffs on the opponent, but just a damage buff would make it more viable in combat. It would be nice to have a meaningful choice between using mobility for damage or as an escape tool.
The status effect system, especially bleeding and hemorrhaging, feels like it’s being wasted. Right now, it’s more of a chore than something rewarding. Compared to Fighter and how it uses bleeding wounded etc, which feels smooth and intuitive, Ranger’s status effects just don’t hold up. They should be more than just damage-over-time effects. Why not let them interact with skills, add combat advantages, or open up combo opportunities? If done right, applying and managing status effects could go from being a maintenance task to a key part of how the class plays.
Like the synergy between imbuement barbs and vine fields effect where if they are bleeding they are now hemorrhaged felt very nice and more things like that should be implemented.
The Hunt and Mark system also feels like it’s missing something. Instead of being passive buffs for your burst of initial damage to try to burn down the opponent as fast as possible before falling into the loop, they could offer dynamic combat options. Imagine if different abilities gained new effects based on which Hunt or Mark was active, encouraging players to switch mid-combat depending on the situation. It could go even further, with bonuses for hitting marked targets from certain positions or while moving, making it feel like a more integral system.
I know i said it before but seriously, the repetitive nature of the rotation is a big problem. Ranger needs more damage-dealing abilities that interact with its existing mechanics in interesting ways. Adding new skills that reward mobility or chaining abilities together could go a long way. I’d love to see a proper combo system where stringing abilities in the right sequence unlocks extra effects or bonus damage.
Honestly, I think the class would feel better with a resource system beyond just cooldowns. This could tie in perfectly with Hunt and Mark. For example, landing hits while moving or applying status effects could generate resources to spend on big finishers or enhanced versions of current abilities.
I also think positioning could feel more rewarding. While the range already benefits the Ranger, it’d be cool to see abilities gain extra damage based on how far you’ve moved or from hitting targets at specific angles. It would make movement and positioning feel like they actually matter beyond just dodging attacks or creating space to use skills.
In conclusion, despite my current dislikes of it I goddamn love the aesthetics of it and the strong foundation Ranger has. Its mobility and utility options—like Disengage, Air Strike, Vine Field, and Bear Trap—are so much fun to play with. But to make the class truly shine, it needs work to make gameplay more engaging. Deepening the status effect mechanics, reworking Hunt and Mark into something more interactive, and introducing new ways to play with its mobility and utility would turn it into a class that’s not just fun but endlessly rewarding to master.
While mobility-focused skills like Air Strike and AoE abilities like Raining Death exist, for air strike it pushes it into utility-only roles and raining death is basically useless. As I was playing, this created a repetitive combat loop where I kept cycling through the same few abilities while a huge part of the kit felt like situational tools rather than essential options. I’m not saying Air Strike needs to hit like a truck since it’s clearly built around movement and space building with its movement debuffs on the opponent, but just a damage buff would make it more viable in combat. It would be nice to have a meaningful choice between using mobility for damage or as an escape tool.
The status effect system, especially bleeding and hemorrhaging, feels like it’s being wasted. Right now, it’s more of a chore than something rewarding. Compared to Fighter and how it uses bleeding wounded etc, which feels smooth and intuitive, Ranger’s status effects just don’t hold up. They should be more than just damage-over-time effects. Why not let them interact with skills, add combat advantages, or open up combo opportunities? If done right, applying and managing status effects could go from being a maintenance task to a key part of how the class plays.
Like the synergy between imbuement barbs and vine fields effect where if they are bleeding they are now hemorrhaged felt very nice and more things like that should be implemented.
The Hunt and Mark system also feels like it’s missing something. Instead of being passive buffs for your burst of initial damage to try to burn down the opponent as fast as possible before falling into the loop, they could offer dynamic combat options. Imagine if different abilities gained new effects based on which Hunt or Mark was active, encouraging players to switch mid-combat depending on the situation. It could go even further, with bonuses for hitting marked targets from certain positions or while moving, making it feel like a more integral system.
I know i said it before but seriously, the repetitive nature of the rotation is a big problem. Ranger needs more damage-dealing abilities that interact with its existing mechanics in interesting ways. Adding new skills that reward mobility or chaining abilities together could go a long way. I’d love to see a proper combo system where stringing abilities in the right sequence unlocks extra effects or bonus damage.
Honestly, I think the class would feel better with a resource system beyond just cooldowns. This could tie in perfectly with Hunt and Mark. For example, landing hits while moving or applying status effects could generate resources to spend on big finishers or enhanced versions of current abilities.
I also think positioning could feel more rewarding. While the range already benefits the Ranger, it’d be cool to see abilities gain extra damage based on how far you’ve moved or from hitting targets at specific angles. It would make movement and positioning feel like they actually matter beyond just dodging attacks or creating space to use skills.
In conclusion, despite my current dislikes of it I goddamn love the aesthetics of it and the strong foundation Ranger has. Its mobility and utility options—like Disengage, Air Strike, Vine Field, and Bear Trap—are so much fun to play with. But to make the class truly shine, it needs work to make gameplay more engaging. Deepening the status effect mechanics, reworking Hunt and Mark into something more interactive, and introducing new ways to play with its mobility and utility would turn it into a class that’s not just fun but endlessly rewarding to master.
Referral Code : 8GTVW547SYDTHE6Nashesofcreation.com/r/8GTVW547SYDTHE6N
1
Comments
https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/categories/ranger-archetype
Most optimal dmg output it seems for shortbow ranger is
AA,AA,AA,AA barrage, AA,AA,AA,AA barrage and u mix in lightning reflexes to double barrage aswell as throw marks from time to time. this is due to arrowstorm basicly double ur barrage dmg (4xs it with mark of the raven it seems which u can get off 3 times withing a mark duration)
It you doing aoe use a long bow and it basicly the same rotation as shortbow but instead of barrage u use scatter shot. I dont find lightning arrow does enough dmg for the cast time and u cant chain it with arrow rain for bonus dmg cause all shoch charges get used up by party members by the time u cast the skill :P So often ur better off using AA to reset CD on scater shot by 6 seconds and use scatter shot when u have heartseeker/bulleye active for the big hit.
kill shot good though when there below 50% to mix in but CD rather long like every ranger skill with exception of barrage/scatter since the ranger reduce that CD by AA (Tbh this CD reduction should be applied to all ranger skills to be honost and maybe increase lightning shot CD by like 5-10 seconds cause it would be a little to short with the change but it would make the rest of the ranger kit CD feel appropriate with AA reducing them since there so flipping long)