Table of Contents
Introduction
Do you want to become a powerful AoE Ranger? Then this guide is for you! Before we get started, here are a few important notes. This guide primarily tailored for free-to-play players, which means we assume you don’t have access to high-end power-ups or may not use consumables at all. We’ll also focus on lower-level upgrades or the minimum upgrades necessary. If your gear is slightly worse, that’s okay. If it’s better, great!
Also, this guide assumes you aren’t heavily supported by high-level buffs. You should already be at Level 60 as an Acrobat since we’ll only be discussing the Ranger class here. If you need help with Acrobat, here is another guide.
Lastly, a crucial point: facetanking AoE generally only works well if you have a healer. Without a healer—whether it’s you or someone else—it becomes much harder to play an AoE Ranger effectively. Rangers, like most AoE classes, rely heavily on healing.
Stat Points "H"
Stat allocation is fairly straightforward for Rangers. You have the option of going full Dexterity (DEX), which maximizes your damage and quickly raises your block and parry rates. However, if you don’t have top-tier equipment, you might encounter issues, especially with tanking a large number of monsters at lower levels.
Adding up to 50 Stamina (STA) is reasonable if you find yourself struggling with survivability. We wouldn’t recommend more than that, though, as you’ll eventually hit maximum block rate and higher STA becomes unnecessary.
Skill Points "K"
The skill choices for Rangers are fairly standard. Here’s what you need to focus on:
- Bow Mastery: Max this out as soon as possible (Attack+100).
- Arrow Rain: Prioritize this skill for AoE damage.
- Fast Walker: Great for pulling monsters. It’s not as critical for non-hit-and-run Rangers but still helpful.
- Dark Illusion: Not needed for this playstyle.
- Perfect Block: Very useful, especially early on when you’re still working on maximizing your block rate.
For AoE skills, Flame Arrow is a no-brainer and essential for AoE Rangers. Ice Arrow is less crucial for facetank Rangers compared to hit-and-run Rangers but can still be useful in certain situations. It’s up to you whether to include it in your rotation. Critical Shot isn’t strictly necessary, but it can help deal extra damage when pulling mobs, especially since Rangers often don’t have 100% Critical Chance early on.
You also have Piercing Arrow, which you can consider an alternative to Ice Arrow, depending on your preference. Nature (+20% range) is an important skill, increasing your bow’s range and improving your overall pull speed. Skills like Silent Arrow, Triple Shot, and Boomburst aren’t necessary for a facetank AoE build. However, Boomburst could be used defensively if you need to protect yourself or your party in high-pressure situations.
Cloak
When choosing a cloak, I recommend prioritizing defensive stats, especially at lower levels. For early game, consider using a cloak with +8 STA (Cloak of Endurance) to boost your HP and survivability. Once you reach higher levels, you can switch to a +8 DEX cloak (Cloak of Precision) for increased damage output. The choice is yours, and either option will work depending on your playstyle.
Pet
For your pet, the clear choice is an HP pet. While pets like rabbits (DEX) or dragons (Attack) provide a small damage boost, we strongly advise against them because the increase in damage is negligible. HP is a much more valuable stat for Aoe fulltank Rangers, especially if you’re building for full damage. Having an HP pet will give you the extra health needed to survive, even with a glass cannon build.
Even at lower levels, using an HP pet is beneficial. Even a low-grade pet that gives just +90 HP can make a difference. It might not be huge, but it could be the difference between tanking 20 mobs or 30 mobs. So, yes, we recommend using an HP pet as early as possible. You can find pets that offer 500–1000 HP for a relatively low cost, which is a great investment.
Jewelry
For jewelry, if you’re going with a full DEX build, we recommend focusing on survivability early on. Equip two Stam ring +7 to boost your HP and tankiness. Once you feel confident in your survivability, you can switch to Dexion +1 rings to further boost your damage output.
For earrings, Penzeru+1 earrings are essential for reducing the damage you take. They make a significant difference, much more than adding 20 STA, for example. Two Penzeru earrings will make you feel much tankier, and I highly recommend them.
When it comes to necklaces, opt for an HP necklace over an MP necklace. You’re more likely to face HP issues than MP issues in AoE scenarios, and having extra HP is far more valuable for an AoE Ranger.
Weapon, Element, Skill Damage, and Sockets
Let’s talk about your weapon. Essentially, any upgrade you make will increase your damage output. Adding DEX to your weapon is beneficial, but elemental upgrades don’t apply universally. Fire +1 is sufficient to boost the damage of Flame Arrow, but it won’t affect skills like Arrow Rain, Ice Arrow, Poison Arrow, or Boomburst. Only Flame Arrow benefits from an elemental upgrade, so investing in Fire +1 is enough.
When it comes to skill awakenings (with Scroll of weapon Bonus), We’d recommend prioritizing Flame Arrow for damage. This is the most commonly seen skill on bows. If you’re facetanking rather than hit-and-run, Arrow Rain is also a strong choice and would be our second recommendation.
Regarding sockets, you have several options. At lower levels, socketing isn’t essential, so don’t worry about it too much. However, when you do start socketing, you can choose between STA (Land card) for more HP, DEX (Electric card), or Skill Damage (Volt card). We’d recommend choosing based on what’s more cost-effective. If DEX cards are significantly cheaper, go with those. If Skill Damage cards give you more noticeable damage and are reasonably priced, they could be a better option. STA cards are always a solid choice if you want more survivability.
Important Assist/Ringmaster Buffs for AoE Rangers
The buffs you need as an AoE Ranger are fairly simple and similar to those used by hit-and-run Rangers, just in a different priority order.
- Mental Sign: This should be maxed. Always buff your Ringmaster with Mental Sign twice before buffing your main character. This ensures the Ringmaster’s buffs get their additional boost (every 25 INT).
- Quick Step: While not crucial, it helps with pulling mobs faster. It’s nice to have but shouldn’t be your top priority.
- Heap Up, Patience, and Cats Reflex: These are essential as they increase your survivability by enhancing HP and block rate.
After prioritizing these three buffs, you can focus on Cannon Ball and Haste, which are secondary but still useful. Cannon Ball is the least important of these, but if you’ve already maxed the others, it’s a good buff to increase your damage slightly. Accuracy isn’t as important for Rangers. Lastly, buffs like Protect, Spirit Fortune, and Geburah Tiphreth (GT) are also helpful, especially for facetanking.
Set Upgrades
When it comes to upgrading your gear, the strategy is fairly consistent across levels. At lower levels, +5 or +6 upgrades are sufficient. Anything higher isn’t worth the cost at this point because Rangers already have a good block rate. For example, a +8 set only provides a 10% block rate and a 10% HP rate, which isn’t a game-changing difference.
While block rate is beneficial, especially before reaching the cap, it doesn’t drastically alter your performance. Even the 10% HP rate from a +8 set won’t make a massive impact. So, early on, it’s perfectly fine to stick with a +5 or +6 set and save your money for later.
If you find a set that’s +8 with four Attack sockets, by all means, go for it. But if you don’t have the Penya, don’t worry about it. You can get by just fine with a +5 or +6 set with two or three sockets at lower levels.
Once you reach Level 100, especially around Level 120, having a +8 set with four sockets becomes more beneficial. At this stage, you’ll want to consider using attack (ATK) sockets for extra damage. However, if you’re struggling to survive, don’t hesitate to socket for HP instead. Although uncommon for Rangers, HP sockets can be used in extreme situations when you’re having difficulty tanking.
Sets Overview
Level 50-53 Clockworks (CW) Rorend/Rorient Set
The Rorend/Rorient Set is a staple for facetank AoE Rangers due to its exceptional defensive stats. It provides high base defense and elemental defense against all elements except Wind. Be cautious when fighting Wind-based monsters, as the set doesn’t provide protection against them, making you more vulnerable. Additionally, upgrading your CW Set with Element +5 or +6 can further boost your tankiness.
Level 75 Set (Oska/Okas Set)
The Oska/Okas Set is focused more on damage than defense, offering +15% HP, and +10% Skill Damage, but it sacrifices tankiness. Against Wind-based monsters, this isn’t a big issue, but for other elements, you lose the tank advantage provided by the CW Set. The Oska/Okas Set is ideal for increasing damage but should be used carefully—if you’re struggling to survive, switching back to the CW Set may be necessary.
Level 105 Set (Ranerz/Raze Set)
The Level 105 Ranerz/Raze Set (Block+10%, Def+7%, Attack Speed+10%, Magic Defense +7%, HP +15%, +10% Critical Resistance) is often skipped but can be useful in situations where you need more block rate and HP. Although it includes attack speed bonuses, which are redundant for Rangers who typically max out on attack speed through DEX, it does provide additional defense and block rate. This set is particularly helpful when facetanking tough monsters like those in Darkon 3 Desert.
Level 120 Set (Acer/Acris Set)
The Acer/Acris Set is the ultimate set for AoE Rangers, offering PvE damage +15%, attack +5%, and block rate +10%. It also provides 25% HP and damage reduction +15%, making it a top-tier option. The set continues to be viable even at later stages of the game due to its excellent balance of offense and defense, making it ideal for both tanking and dealing damage in high-level PvE content.
Level 150 Set (Hainure/Hanira Set)
The Hainure/Hanira Set is essentially an upgraded version of the Acer/Acris Set, with better stats across the board. It’s perfect for endgame content, such as Coral Island, offering similar bonuses to the Acer Set but with higher values for PvE damage, HP, and block rate.
Bows
Guardian Bow (Level 60)
The Guardian Bow is essential for low-level Rangers due to its 15% HP rate bonus, which greatly enhances your survivability. While the damage output may not be as high as other bows, the HP bonus makes it a safer choice for early-level facetanking.
Mythic Silver Bow (Level 105)
At Level 105, the Mythic Silver Bow is an excellent choice, providing 20% HP, 15 STA, and 10% block rate. These stats make it ideal for facetanking, as it gives you the additional block rate needed for survival, which is crucial for AoE Rangers.
Bloody Bow vs. Bloody Obsidian Bow (Level 120)
Once you reach Level 120, you can choose between the Bloody Bow and the Bloody Obsidian Bow.
- Bloody Bow: This is a more aggressive choice, offering +10% attack and HP steal +0.8%, which helps sustain your health in prolonged battles. It also provides Critical Damage +55%, though this stat is less relevant for AoE Rangers.
- Bloody Obsidian Bow: This is the safer, more defensive option, providing +25% HP, 20 STA, and 8% damage reduction. It’s perfect for tanking large numbers of enemies while still maintaining decent damage output.
Luzaka's Bow vs. Nemo’s Fury (Bow of Hernes)
At Level 150, you can choose between the Lusaka’s Bow (for tankiness) and the Nemo’s Fury (for damage).
- Lusaka’s Bow focuses on defense, allowing you to tank even more monsters.
- the Nemo’s Fury offers additional AoE damage through its Water Bomb effect, which triggers additional damage based on your stats.
Ultimately, the choice between these bows depends on whether you prioritize survival or maximizing your AoE damage output.
Aoe Ranger Playstyle
General Playstyle
The playstyle for AoE Rangers is relatively straightforward. Most of your pulling come from auto-attacks. Due to your high attack speed (100% attack speed with gear), auto-attacking is effective even when facing large groups of monsters. However, in certain situations, such as when mobs are clustered closely together, casting a AoE skill like Flame Arrow l can be beneficial. Personally, we prefer to pull with auto-attacks, even when facing large groups of monsters. However, if you’re comfortable with using AoE skills, you can alternate between them based on the situation
Auto-Attack Focus
The playstyle for AoE Rangers is relatively straightforward. Most of your pulling come from auto-attacks. Due to your high attack speed (100% attack speed with gear), auto-attacking is effective even when facing large groups of monsters. However, in certain situations, such as when mobs are clustered closely together, casting a AoE skill like Flame Arrow l can be beneficial. Personally, we prefer to pull with auto-attacks, even when facing large groups of monsters. However, if you’re comfortable with using AoE skills, you can alternate between them based on the situation.
Skill Rotation
Your skill rotation largely depends on personal preference. A typical combo for AoE would start with Flame Arrow, followed by Arrow Rain, and then back to Flame Arrow once it’s off cooldown. You can also incorporate either Ice Arrow or Piercing Arrow into the rotation, depending on your preference and positioning.
- Flame Arrow is a good opener due to its short cooldown.
- Arrow Rain provides solid AoE damage, especially when combined with Flame Arrow.
When choosing between Ice Arrow and Piercing Arrow, it’s worth noting that Piercing Arrow deals more damage but requires precise positioning. Mobs must be aligned for Piercing Arrow to hit effectively. If monsters are scattered, Ice Arrow might be a better choice since it hits enemies regardless of their position.
Piercing Arrow vs. Ice Arrow
The decision between Piercing Arrow and Ice Arrow is situational. Piercing Arrow excels when mobs are in a straight line, allowing you to hit multiple targets with one shot. However, it struggles with enemies positioned out of its line of fire, making it less reliable in scattered fights. On the other hand, Ice Arrow is more versatile, hitting enemies around you regardless of their position. Both skills deal similar damage, so the choice comes down to your playstyle and the positioning of the mobs.
Boomburst for Emergency Situations
Boomburst is a defensive skill that can knock back mobs, providing you with some breathing room. This is particularly useful in emergencies, such as when your Ringmaster disconnects, fails to heal, or buffs run out. Boomburst allows you to temporarily disable mobs, giving you the chance to reposition or escape. However, Boom Burst does minimal damage, so it should only be used as a crowd control tool rather than a damage-dealing skill.
Damage Comparison
When it comes to damage output, Flame Arrow and Ice Arrow are among your best skills for consistent damage over time. Boomburst, as mentioned, does not contribute much to your overall damage, dealing significantly less than both Ice Arrow and Flame Arrow. The cooldowns on Flame Arrow and Ice Arrow are short enough that you can alternate between them, ensuring continuous damage output.
For example:
- Ice Arrow deals around 9,000 damage per hit.
- Boomburst deals around 6,000 damage, but it’s primarily used for crowd control.
Given this, Boomburst is your weakest damage skill, and should only be used in scenarios where you need to regain control of the battlefield.
Buffs and Perfect Block
Make sure to maintain your buffs, especially Perfect Block, which greatly enhances your survivability by increasing your evasion rate. Also, don’t forget to use Nature to extend your attack range, allowing you to hit enemies from a safer distance. These buffs, combined with a solid skill rotation, make Rangers extremely effective in both tanking and dealing AoE damage.
Source: The Guide was originally explained by Spielestyler in his YouTube video in German.
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