Torn between monk and ranger

[Hallyjade]

Greetings,

Been playing SoD on and off for a few years. My crazy schedule does not let me group much let alone raid, but I still enjoy it very much. Ive gotten to the point however where I am torn between my monk and ranger, both are level 43 now and Im tired of developing both, holding back my husband's shaman. So I am hoping some points of view will help me make a final decision.

Ranger likes--
Variety, can bow blast from distance or get in melee
Tracking
Can use huge variety of weapons (part of the fun of the game is hunting down interesting weapons)
Doesn't have to be puller

Monk likes--
Feign death
Nice combat animations
No spells makes easy to box with shaman when the need arises to
Gets to be puller )

I guess I am asking how they pan out later in the game. Which is more common? Who tanks better or does more damage? Which can duo tough or even low raid mobs better? Who has more interesting AAs. Who has better stances? Is the monk 65 stance very effective?

Argg, someone help me make a decision between two characters, both of whom I like very much but can only play one.

Thanks,

Hallyjade

 

[Thade]

Monks are more common. Rangers tank better, BUT they give up a ton of dps to do it. They do more dps at ranged, less at melee. Both can duo low raid mobs very well. I'd say ranger aa's are more interesting. Both have awesome stances, and the monk 65 stances are awesome. Also ranger /s 4 is amazing. just ridiculously amazing.

 

[Manguadi]

Rangers are one of the few classes I would be instead of a monk.

 

[Jotigidou]

You will have fun with both. As far as roles go, monk role in raiding is more static. As a ranger you will be asked to do some specific tasks on some fights. You might or might not like.

 

[Hallyjade]

Thanks, these replies are very helpful. I think I will go with my first character then, Hallyjade the Ranger. She seems to be lucky anyway ). One question for rangers, is this new spell shield rune 65 spell very useful?

Part of the reason I was leaning monk was that people were saying with shaman/monk and feign pulling you really could do some things that shaman+anyone else could not. Is this much of a factor?

 

[Dinadass]

You would still be able to do plenty of things boxing a ranger and shaman. Grouping is better exp than boxing anyways so you could just find a monk to join (there are tons of monks on the server)

 

[Kazimir]

One question for rangers, is this new spell shield rune 65 spell very useful?

Useful, yes. Usefully for the class...not at all. Really should have been put on another class IMO, but that's not gonna happen. The rune is ONLY for pets, which rangers don't have. Not sure if ToT farhag belt pet can take buffs. If so then it might be..."remotely useful".

With that being said, Is it worth 13k? Not IMO. 1.?k after doing mq, I could justify that after having at least a juggo. Although at the lower levels of raiding it might be more effective as AEs are smaller.

 

[Hallyjade]

Only for pets? Damn, but it did seem a bit too strong ranger throwing up 1400 point runes for the group. O well.

Thanks for the replies, the monk is great fun but I think I'll continue on with the ranger. See you in game!

Hallyjade

 

[Dinadass]

You're also much less likely to have to box a healer as a ranger since it significantly reduces your DPS compared to oh, a monk.

I don't see the ranger rune being all that useful at low tier raiding simply because the players themselves will have low health and resists and as such will need group heals pretty frequently anyway. I'm sure every little bit helps, but it seems like it would be most useful once players tend to reach 500+ of whatever resist they need and it's mostly just pets that still get banged with the AE in question.

 

[Jotigidou]

Thanks, these replies are very helpful. I think I will go with my first character then, Hallyjade the Ranger. She seems to be lucky anyway ). One question for rangers, is this new spell shield rune 65 spell very useful?

Part of the reason I was leaning monk was that people were saying with shaman/monk and feign pulling you really could do some things that shaman+anyone else could not. Is this much of a factor?

If you need some gear holler @ ayesha / Jadelia . Always looking to help my fellow rangers.

 

[Plasmatic]

Thanks, these replies are very helpful. I think I will go with my first character then, Hallyjade the Ranger. She seems to be lucky anyway ). One question for rangers, is this new spell shield rune 65 spell very useful?

Part of the reason I was leaning monk was that people were saying with shaman/monk and feign pulling you really could do some things that shaman+anyone else could not. Is this much of a factor?

Or hit up Aurura, I'll take you along on whatever I may be doing at the time, get you some xp and loot

 

[Rusheeth]

Rangers are a lot of fun. I don't have much experience playing monk, but really anything + shaman works because shamans are the best. I can see some great utilities with ranger + shaman, you have DS, strong snare on ranger and very powerful dots on shaman. Make sure to keep all weapon skills up especially archery.

 

[@steria]

Just know that it is *very* hard to box a ranger on a raid and keep up dps unless you can box without the need to alt-tab. Rangers do the best dps while shooting a bow which means you need to hit the range attack button once every 1 - 3 seconds, if you are boxing a healer you will miss the refreshes and your dps will tank as a result. Just so you know.. but with that being said, I love my ranger and glad i choose that as my main.

Also, you only need a 70k charm and you can stop farming (unless you have class chest and gloves!) since you have your end game charm!


Edit: I just noticed you asked about the pet rune, and in my experience its not all that worth it for 13k. Maybe its just my guild, but casters seem to be lazy and still send pets to attack the front of raid mobs so even though the pets are shrugging off AoEs like no bodys business, they still die due to the fact they are getting reposted on. Also until you get up in the higher tiers, 680 mana is A LOT. You will be oom trying to keep up the rune on raid fights. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Diodimus]

If you need some gear holler @ ayesha / Jadelia . Always looking to help my fellow rangers.

Lies.

Just know that it is *very* hard to box a ranger on a raid and keep up dps unless you can box without the need to alt-tab. Rangers do the best dps while shooting a bow which means you need to hit the range attack button once every 1 - 3 seconds, if you are boxing a healer you will miss the refreshes and your dps will tank as a result. Just so you know.. but with that being said, I love my ranger and glad i choose that as my main.

Also, you only need a 70k charm and you can stop farming (unless you have class chest and gloves!) since you have your end game charm!


Edit: I just noticed you asked about the pet rune, and in my experience its not all that worth it for 13k. Maybe its just my guild, but casters seem to be lazy and still send pets to attack the front of raid mobs so even though the pets are shrugging off AoEs like no bodys business, they still die due to the fact they are getting reposted on. Also until you get up in the higher tiers, 680 mana is A LOT. You will be oom trying to keep up the rune on raid fights. Just my 2 cents.

This is exactly why I haven't bought the spell. For example, my brother is horrible at keeping his pet from eating ramp/riposte. It might help make swarm pets last longer, but I doubt it because they will, without fail, be stuck eating ramp/riposte unless the mage/necro/shaman decides to be tricky and cast swarm pets from behind the mob (which isn't always easy).

As far as boxing while playing a ranger, if you are going to do it, make sure you have a good 2hander because like everyone else has said, you lose a lot of DPS by switching to melee.

A note on something I have seen monks do better than rangers, Tank multiple mobs. I often find myself disgusted when I talk to Grej/Chakekik about farming because he can better hold aggro on multiple mobs with his whirlwind stance than I can with spreading snares. This means that he can spam heal his Monk and not worry about the Shammy taking aggro. So basically, the only reason I would personally take a monk over a ranger is to make farming cash easier. That being said, I love my ranger and will continue to search out neat new toys to play with. (I got a fun one tonight, if only I had been smart leveling and kept all my skills up!)