Requesting QUICK opinions on a Ranger/Archer build - minor tweaking
dreamrider
Member Posts: 417
Let's see if I can get some advise in a few minutes, while I still have the character creation unfinished.
I just rolled a 99 on a character initiated as an Elf Archer.
I have, of course, already maxed out the primary stats, STR, DEX, CON.
I also maxed out the (imho) secondary stat, CHR. (It aid purchases/reactions so much.)
So I am looking for advice on how to distribute on the tertiary stats, WIS & INT.
For a CHAR that I will play into the sequel, and also store away for re-plays.
INT base is 8.
WIS base is 14.
I have 5 points to distribute.
INT needs to go to at least 9, for literacy. So, 4 points left.
Considerations:
1) INT should probably really be at least 10, to avoid negative impact on Lore. So 3 points left.
2) In a BG playthrough, CHAR can pick up as much as 1 INT and 3 WIS from tomes.
3) AFAIK, neither INT nor WIS affect Ranger's druid spell numbers or ability at all. Please advise if this is a wrong understanding.
4) Best I could raise INT to initially would be 13. Not enough to affect Lore.
5) Best initial WIS (with a 10 INT) would be 17. Gives a Lore start value of 7, which means CHAR Lore might achieve a useful level fairly early in the sequel.
6) I don't know if subsequent Tome bumps to INT & WIS also bump the base Lore value. If anyone knows this, please advise.
7) Mind flayers drain, AFAIK, 5 INT from a solid strike. INT of 11 would enable insurance vs up to two hits, when mind flayers encountered in the sequel.
So, opinions? Where to put the points?
I just rolled a 99 on a character initiated as an Elf Archer.
I have, of course, already maxed out the primary stats, STR, DEX, CON.
I also maxed out the (imho) secondary stat, CHR. (It aid purchases/reactions so much.)
So I am looking for advice on how to distribute on the tertiary stats, WIS & INT.
For a CHAR that I will play into the sequel, and also store away for re-plays.
INT base is 8.
WIS base is 14.
I have 5 points to distribute.
INT needs to go to at least 9, for literacy. So, 4 points left.
Considerations:
1) INT should probably really be at least 10, to avoid negative impact on Lore. So 3 points left.
2) In a BG playthrough, CHAR can pick up as much as 1 INT and 3 WIS from tomes.
3) AFAIK, neither INT nor WIS affect Ranger's druid spell numbers or ability at all. Please advise if this is a wrong understanding.
4) Best I could raise INT to initially would be 13. Not enough to affect Lore.
5) Best initial WIS (with a 10 INT) would be 17. Gives a Lore start value of 7, which means CHAR Lore might achieve a useful level fairly early in the sequel.
6) I don't know if subsequent Tome bumps to INT & WIS also bump the base Lore value. If anyone knows this, please advise.
7) Mind flayers drain, AFAIK, 5 INT from a solid strike. INT of 11 would enable insurance vs up to two hits, when mind flayers encountered in the sequel.
So, opinions? Where to put the points?
0
Comments
Extra wis only grants lore really, but int will help vs 1 annoying enemy type, which hopefully you'll either short bow or crossbow to death!
Btw, I don't think 9int=literacy. 9-10 is average, and I think more than 50% of the population is capable of learning to read, even in a medieval setting. Sure, maybe not even 50% gets taught, but I think they're capable regardless.
@meagloth:
re literacy. If you click on the ability label "Intelligence" in the ability roll & distribute screen of the character creation sequence, you will get a note in the right hand information panel that TELLS you that characters with INT of 8 or less are illiterate and cannot use scrolls or do other actions that require reading.
Maybe I'm too late for a quick enough opinion to be any use, but nevertheless ...
Don't worry too much about Lore on an Archer. Yes, subsequently improving INT/WIS with Tomes will also improve your Lore BUT actually not enough for it to become very useful. You need to get Lore up to around 30 before it'll identify anything much, and you need to get it towards 100 before it'll identify some things. An Archer (or any other Warrior class) only gets +1 Lore per level, so they never get terribly high - even with Tomes etc., you're still only going to get your Lore up to 50-ish by the very end of the sequel, which is enough that your Archer will be able to identify his own ammo but still not enough to identify a lot of major equipment. You get much better Lore with your party's Mage or Thief (+3 per level), and terrific Lore on a Bard (+10 per level) (if you have one), so you'll inevitably be relying on them to do your identifying, not your Archer.
Correct, INT and WIS don't affect a Ranger's spell ability. High INT improves how many spells a Mage or Bard can learn per level, and high WIS gives bonus spells to a Cleric or Druid, but neither of these bonus effects apply to a Ranger (nor to a Paladin, nor indeed to a Sorcerer).
Yes, having INT11 lets you survive two drains from a Mindflayer (instead of only one with INT10), so that'll be a small (but nevertheless worthwhile) protection in the sequel.
Conclusion: set INT to 11 (or to 10 and then bump it to 11 with the Tome) to improve your chances against Mindflayers in the sequel, and then you might as well spend all the rest on WIS for the minor benefit to Lore (even though the latter doesn't really matter for an Archer).
Oh. Huh.
Is that new? I don't think I've seen that before. Interesting. For all the discussions we've had about intelligence and stats in general we've had around here, this has never come up. Interesting.
Thanks for the insight.
FWIW everyone: I ended up setting INT to 11 and WIS to 16.
3 WIS Tomes will take it to WIS 19, + level 8 at end of BG => Lore 20 shortly after start of sequel. That will at least allow this guy to ID most of his favored ammo...and Archers go through a LOT of ammo.
(It actually gets kind of "Hawkeye the Avenger" or "Legolas" wierd at about level 6+ when it begins to make more sense for the Archer to still SHOOT the Ogre that is standing 1 meter away...because the Archer's THAC0 is, like, 3, he's got Called Shot, he can hit him 2-3 times in the round, and the arrows are doing 10 to 15 damage apiece.)
Your Archer's THAC0 and RoF might indeed be so good that he still gets his best DPS when using his bow, but with the AC penalty he's likely to be pretty vulnerable if that Ogre manages to swing his morningstar before you've put him down. Switching to a melee weapon would probably be safer, because the Ogre would be less likely to clobber you, even if it takes you an extra round to drop him.
Thanks. I did not know FOR SURE that point blank shooting was made more vulnerable, though I thought it probably was. Seems to be working acceptably well for me so far, but I'm not fighting instantly lethal opps.
Couldn't recall from 20+ year old DnD memories, and there are DM playstyle variances. It does logically follow from the caster interrupt rules, but "logically follows" and DnD rules sometimes don't belong in the same sentence.
Part of the issue is that I'm trying to roleplay/make use of the Ranger dual-wield big bonus, one of the classes "hidden strengths", but of course it is always awkward to pause and switch from a missile weap to Two Weapon Style. I almost always do it when facing skellies, just cause taking them down with missiles is time-consuming and wasteful, but generally with other opponents I just manage the battle to keep some shooting room.
REALLY wish there was a button or toggle that would make the switch to TWS. I think I'll have to investigate the Customize options some more.
Any Ranger who doesn't dual-wield in melee is obviously missing one of the major advantages of the class. However, if dual-wielding is the main focus of the character, then an unkitted Ranger would be better than any of the Ranger kits.
In BG1ee, the Archer's restriction to only one point in melee weapon proficiencies is not too serious a handicap for melee effectiveness, especially with dual-wielding. However, once you get to BG2ee, having to rely on melee weapons in which you have only one proficiency point will soon leave you lagging well behind the melee power of some other warrior classes. Thus in BG2ee, an Archer ought to stand well back and use his bow, and avoid melee (unless an ambush gives him no choice).
Simply because the default ettercap "ambush between areas" over in the Cloakwood areas is RIGHT ON TOP OF YOU, and happens a LOT.
I've had cases where I was trying to get through a largely cleared Cloakwood to get to the Mine, and had to abort after ettercap ambush to resurrect, rest, & recuperate 2-3 times before I got all the way through.
vs Ettercap ambushes,mif you arent immune to web, dont move till they are dead. Annoying!
Don't get too close to the tree, however, as the web trap will home on the party even if only one character gets close enough to set it off.
The spiders I don't mind. The first one dies from the first party volley before it can do anything, and the others THAC0 is low enough that they will die from concerted efforts of a reasonably protected party with not more than 1 successful bite. 2-3 antidotes among the party members fixes that quickly.
The wyverns are more of a handful, but you can often get one with focused fire, while distracting the other. Then the decoy leads the other around while the balance of the party pours it on. An few heals, maybe an antidote, and you are good. And, hey!, wyvern heads!
But e-caps...! They are tough, they are very close, they split up efforts to focus on weak party members, they poison, AND they aren't worth dink! I HATE those guys!