[1.xx] Islidox's Build tips/critique section for Rangers

Hi Islidox

First of all thanks for all the helpful info on this thread, really useful stuff which i didn't all know/realize.

I would very much like your opinion on what to do next with my ranger, especially passives.

Overview stats
I'm lvl 75 with 3343 HP, i have 5.7K armor with a physical dmg reduction of 41% with Grace up (i also run Anger).
fire res: 64%
cold res:-21%
lightning:75%
chaos: -60%

Critical strike chance: 18.7%
Critical strike multiplier: 264%



Skills (with 7 frenzy charges)
I use split arrow + mana leech + added fire dmg + faster attacks = 3.55 aps, 2838 dps
Frenzy + life leech + blood magic + faster attacks + incr. crit strikes = 4.57 aps, 4947 dps
I can sustain both skills easily.
I have a standard 5% life leech (awesome quiver), and with Frenzy another added 7.9% on top of the standard 7% life regen i have because of Blood Dance boots. My survivabilty is okayish, i can tank two about 2 (maybe 3) voidbearers in the docks oka, but in the lunaris temple it's a different story. I can absolutely not tank two of the volley firing titty-bitches in lunaris lvl 3 (you know what i mean), my health drops so quickly i have to run as soon as they start firing (1 of 'em i can handle). Piety kills me with 2 or 3 of her ice shots (even back when i had about 20% cold res).

Passives
As i started this char a long time ago (based off this build http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/551279) the passive tree and game have changed quite a bit. My passives:


Items



I plan on using either pierce with split arrow or chain in the future, don't really care, whatever seems most efficient whenever i get another 5/6l item.


Most burning questions:
- Respec out of Iron Reflexes and Unwavering Stance go full-on Evasion + Ondar's Guile?
- Respec out of the 'Evasion and Life' nodes in the start of the tree and take the 'Projectile Damage' route instead?
- some future options i really have no clue about what to go for:
a. Master Fletcher and the 4 life nodes above it
b. Heavy Draw and Deadly Draw (some life % there as well)
c. go for Piercing Shots (some nice dmg nodes before that as well) and forget all about chain
d. go for Fury Bolts and Acceleration


I tried to keep it as easy to read and short as possible, i hope i succeeded. Thanks a lot for your time and effort!

"

Islidox wrote:

@maha099: It looks fine to me. Question is, how are you going to sustain your attacks? I assume 2 5Ls with a BM gem.

That's right, or even just a 5L and a 4L for Frenzy. Thanks!

Hi guys, what do you think of using Burning Arrow as the single target damage skill instead of Frenzy? I find it difficult to keep up with the mana cost of Frenzy especially in Maps with reduced or no Mana Regen.

@pxf31: Frenzy requires Blood Magic support gem, the BM keystone, or a high-quality Mana Leech and mana leech passives. Burning Arrow is good for single-target, but is outclassed by Frenzy once you have charges built up. If you have trouble with half/no-regen maps, the easiest solution would be to switch your single-target skill. Keep Burning Arrow on your weapon swap so that you can continuously level both BA and Frenzy.

_______________


@HerrFlickk: glad to be of help. Of course, a lot of it is a bit outdated (like changes to the auras, new skills/supports), but it's still mostly relevant to new and old players alike. Of course, high-level theorycrafting and play requires a bit more in-depth knowledge of the PoE-verse, that goes without saying.

Before I suggest passives, there are several things I want to clear up on your build. Are you going physical/crit? Or elemental/crit? If so, those are builds that require different gear/passive investment than what you currently have, including your skill choice. Also, 3.4k HP is rather low and should strive for 4k+. You'll also want more armor than that, say 7k+ if possible. Other thing to note, max those resistances! (Chaos is the exception.) Don't ever think you can get away with less than max rez, especially on maps.

Now this is my opinion, but I suggest going the physical/crit route, drop Anger and replace with Hatred - much much stronger. The reason why I say this is because half-assing two different build styles will just gimp your character even more. (ele vs phys) Also, there isn't a problem going IR, although we lose out a bit because we lose the benefit of Dex's inherent +EVR%. The build below is actually quite similar to VictorDoom's, but since he isn't on as often as I am, I'll take the liberty of posting.

105-point build

The entire path to IG/US/Blood Drinker isn't really optimal imo, which is why I don't include that in this the build I posted above. I also take Piercing Shots, Assassination, Mind Drinker, Nullfication, Mana Flows, Heart of Oak, Acceleration, Leather & Steel, and Fury Bolts.

I think with this iteration, you'll get more armor, +8 all rez, more crit and DPS. You'll lose a bit of life, but you have to supplement that with your gear. For one, your jewelry needs to go. The rings/ammy are bad for your level and mapping, which is also why your resistances are so low. And instead of socketing BM in your Frenzy setup, use mana leech. Since you're using two uniques, you'll need more rez on your quiver/gloves and jewelry.

I hope that helps, or at least give perspective. Considering your bow (that's a decent bow), it would be better going for physical/crit. (Also quality your equipment when you can.)

Thanks for the quick reply! Do you think it is viable for Rangers to go EB and MoM? I'm thinking of using EB to offset Ranger's mana issues and MoM for survivability.

"

pxf31 wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply! Do you think it is viable for Rangers to go EB and MoM? I'm thinking of using EB to offset Ranger's mana issues and MoM for survivability.

I'm sure it can be done. To get the most out of EB/MoM, you'll need some really good gear, not to mention the Str/Int to wear hybrid armor/evasion/ES pieces. EB/MoM may sound easy to build for, but it's quite costly to get good gear for. Petrov's done a VP/EB/MoM/IR/US build, so proof that it can be done.

"

Islidox wrote:

@Sand1972: I took out the Revenge of the Hunted cluster and invested it into Phase Acrobatics and the health cluster next to Mind Drinker. That's why I have less HP and slightly less damage. Phase Acrobatics, IMO, needs to be buffed, but it's better than nothing.

Correct me if Im wrong but according to your build/leveling guide from two weeks ago (Ive been on vacation the past week and a half) you always had Phase Acrobatics included didnt you?

Thanks for the other tips. Looking at gloves now. Then will work on rings and ammy.

I think I've won the auction for a better bow if I can just get the guy to log on so I can collect it.

"

Kalyndrel wrote:

Correct me if Im wrong but according to your build/leveling guide from two weeks ago (Ive been on vacation the past week and a half) you always had Phase Acrobatics included didnt you?

Thanks for the other tips. Looking at gloves now. Then will work on rings and ammy.

I think I've won the auction for a better bow if I can just get the guy to log on so I can collect it.

Yes I have, except now that I took out RotH, I'm able to get PA earlier before serious endgame mapping.

And GL with the bow!

"

Islidox wrote:

"

Kalyndrel wrote:

Correct me if Im wrong but according to your build/leveling guide from two weeks ago (Ive been on vacation the past week and a half) you always had Phase Acrobatics included didnt you?

Thanks for the other tips. Looking at gloves now. Then will work on rings and ammy.

I think I've won the auction for a better bow if I can just get the guy to log on so I can collect it.

Yes I have, except now that I took out RotH, I'm able to get PA earlier before serious endgame mapping.

And GL with the bow!

Gotcha. So how does the build you posted for me to use in your original advice post to me (93 points)compare/differ to the 99 point build in your normal leveling guide which I had been using as my guide?

Im trying to go full phy/crit as you suggest.
For example based on your advice Im looking at a high dmg Harbringer bow for the increased crit versus a faster firing Thicket bow.

No difference really. I take the points spent on RotH (4 points) and reinvest them into finishing off PA. I also spec out of Herbalism. The pathing has always been the same. Some people would consider getting Talons of Murder from the top, but you skip out on a +30 str notable that you need for your Decoy Totem and other str-related supports.

And yes, a thicket is unnecessary. Harbingers are going to be the king for crit-bow builds. A Harbinger's with top implicit crit and top crit roll can get 9.4% crit chance on the bow itself. [50% top implicit roll and the "of Incision" top roll range 35-38% crit chance. 5% base crit * (1 + .5 + .38)]