I feel like a lot of professions have an armor type they're "expected" to be in. It's designed for and makes sense thematically. Warriors and Paladins aspire to wear plate. Rogues have two supported paths when it comes to armor, the heavily armored plate brigand and the lighter armor stealth build supported by some of their more recent skill additions. Bards are typically expected to train up to chain, but nothing that covers the head. Monks typically shouldn't be in anything but robes. Sorcerers and wizards fall into the robes to doubles group, with wizards more likely to lean towards fulls. Clerics and empaths range up to brig.
Ranger armor implementation seems different to me. With our armor training costs and relatively low spell hindrance, most older rangers seem to feel that chain armor is not out of the question. On the other hand we have 620 which does not work on metal armors. Yet, unlike rogues, we do not have any other skill incentives to push us towards lighter armor. There is no armored stealth, evade mastery, etc. The design direction seems far less clear than many other professions.
With that in mind I am hoping someone on the development staff could share the intended design of rangers in respect to armor. Are we meant to eventually outgrow 620 and get into heavier armor? Is the fantasy of a ranger supposed to be a non-metal wearer? Is it just meant to be a choice we make based on our personal role play and whatever feels most beneficial to us?
To be completely frank I am asking these questions because, as a brig wearing ranger, I am finding that the brig "path" is under-incentivized. The only real benefit we get is the ability to personally use 620, as long as we don't own good armor. There are no other bonuses, like lighter armor rogues get, to promote the lighter armor ranger. Basically, if the design is to have us in chain then 620 is broken. Alternately if the design is to have us in brig, or make it a compelling choice, it is falling short.
I am starting to feel like I am sacrificing mechanics by committing to the "fantasy" of the ranger. It's not like I can even use 620 on my brig, because it has padding. If given the chance going forward I will probably have it changed to chain. Which makes me sad because I specifically dropped down to brig to be more rangerly, in my mind. I would love to see some love given to lighter armors for the "stealth" ranger build, whether that comes in the form of an increase to the hide bonus given by 601 and 617 for lighter armor, a blanket penalty to hide based on maneuver penalty, or something else entirely.
That's my two chain links.
Keith/Brinret/Shiun
Keith is correct
Wyrom, APM
http://forums.play.net/forums/GemStone%20IV/Help%20for%20Players/Policy%20Discussions/view/246
KITHUS
JASON006
Re: What's the Brig Deal?
12/13/2016 01:53 AM CST
620 is just such a weird spell. I'd love to know what's considered typical usage of the spell. To me, it seems incredibly powerful in its small niches, if you can find one of the few capped rangers who 1x blessings lore and you're hunting an area with lots of one element. My bard loved it in when he was hunting that firey/steamy area northeast of the Jungle on Teras. Outside of those niche situations, it seems pretty underwhelming. Wutaki has been wearing doubles for a long time (wore hauberk in the Rift because VVrael... switched back to doubles after that) and doesn't even bother putting 620 resistance in them - at postcap, there's not a lot of elemental things that will kill you... besides, of course, lightning.
I used to think of brig as the natural endpoint for rangers, being the highest AsG leather based armor, and the release of 620 sort of reinforced that thought. I bet Ransom's guide to being a ranger says "get yer yon arse in brig!" But mechanically brig feels like an ugly stepchild. Benefits of downgrading from brig to doubles... you are completely free of hindrance, in a game that is often decided on who got the first move. Upgrade to chain mail and you can get an extra 8 TD in a game where a 101 end roll can kill you, also get better damage factors, and a better crit divisor on your torso, all for just 1% more spell hindrance and 1 Action Penalty. And you can't use 620, which you're probably not using anyway.
I feel like if you're not gonna be in some kind of chain you might as well drop down to double leathers... not having any spell hindrance is a pretty good mechanical benefit IMO.
This kind of loops around to another underutilized training path -- blessing lore. Vast majority of rangers train up summoning lore. Maybe blessing lore could be doubled down on for a leather-based ranger path? What if blessing lore bonuses to stealth, TD, bolt DS, etc doubled if you're in leather armor?
-Wutaki
I used to think of brig as the natural endpoint for rangers, being the highest AsG leather based armor, and the release of 620 sort of reinforced that thought. I bet Ransom's guide to being a ranger says "get yer yon arse in brig!" But mechanically brig feels like an ugly stepchild. Benefits of downgrading from brig to doubles... you are completely free of hindrance, in a game that is often decided on who got the first move. Upgrade to chain mail and you can get an extra 8 TD in a game where a 101 end roll can kill you, also get better damage factors, and a better crit divisor on your torso, all for just 1% more spell hindrance and 1 Action Penalty. And you can't use 620, which you're probably not using anyway.
I feel like if you're not gonna be in some kind of chain you might as well drop down to double leathers... not having any spell hindrance is a pretty good mechanical benefit IMO.
This kind of loops around to another underutilized training path -- blessing lore. Vast majority of rangers train up summoning lore. Maybe blessing lore could be doubled down on for a leather-based ranger path? What if blessing lore bonuses to stealth, TD, bolt DS, etc doubled if you're in leather armor?
-Wutaki
GS4-TAMUZ
Re: What's the Brig Deal?
12/21/2016 09:53 AM CST
Doubles are where it's at. Who needs crit divisor if you never get hit? And that sweet, sweet utter lack of spell hindrance. Mmmmmm!
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ASGM
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ASGM
SHEN1
Re: What's the Brig Deal?
01/02/2017 08:08 AM CST
One rangers opinion
Except that 'never getting hit' is not reality. There are always voids, maneuvers, etc that are going to get a ranger stunned, prone, etc and then beat on. While we have great defenses. Expecting to never get hit and therefore not need better armor, is all fun and games until you are buying deeds.
Post cap: Aug chain, and working on over training armor skill to 200 to off set any maneuver penalties, and then getting fluidity when you can is my advise at the moment, unless something drastically changes.
Aurach
