[4e] First Character - Ranger help

[Thomo]

Hi all,

Am starting in my first 4e game shortly, an exsisting game where the players are already level 5. Now, I have only just started looking at the rules, and would like to make sure I am on the right track.

Now, the party is, I've been told, in need of a striker - which suits me fine as I was planning to play either a ranger or warlord, so the ranger won out. As it stands I have come up with the following and would appreciate some feedback:

Eldarin Ranger, Level 5
Two Blade Fighting Style, Hunters Quarry, Prime Shot

STR: 16
CON: 12
DEX: 16
INT: 12
WIS: 13
CHA: 11

Feats:
Toughness (from two-weapon style), Eldarin Soldier, Two Weapon Fighting, Quick Draw

Skills:
Nature, Stealth, Perception, Acrobatics, Athletics, Thievery (not sure about this one)

At-Wills:
Twin Strike, Hit and Run

Encounter:
Two-Fanged Strike, Shadow Wasp Strike, Fey Step

Daily:
Jaws of the Wolf, Frenzied Skirmish

Utility:
Yield Ground (not sure about this one)

So what do you think? Playable? Effective? Useless?

[tcrudisi]

Pros: Great feat selection. Good non-encounter power selection.

Cons: Your stat array makes me weep. An Eladrin as a TWF Ranger? I just died a little bit inside from an optimization perspective.


Solutions:
Level 3 encounter: Disruptive Strike - this will always trigger, and its an out-of-turn attack, which is great... save your main turn for multi-attacking Twin Strike
Level 1 encounter: Off-Hand Strike - Strictly speaking this is better than Two-Fanged. With Two-Fanged you only get bonus damage if you hit with both attacks, which won't always happen. With this, you do good damage as a minor action. So do a Twin Strike + this. It's more damage overall.

I really... well, okay, here's the thing. You really want an 18 in your primary stat after racials. Since your primary stat is Strength and your racial does not increase Strength... this means putting an 18 there. I would do this before your level 4 increases: Str 18, Con 10, Dex 15, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 10. As a rule: always increase Strength. Other than that, I'd probably alternate between Dex and Wisdom. So at level 4, make Str 19 and Dex 16.

Or... go Longtooth Shifter.

One last suggestion: at level 6 take Weapon Expertise to get an extra +1 to hit.

[Mando Knight]

What weapons did you choose? Longswords? Twin Tratnyrs (Adventurer's Vault)? Javelins if you don't have Adventurer's Vault?

Are these the final stats, or did you already apply your level up bonuses from level 4?

Normally, I don't consider using Eladrin for a Ranger (usually go for Dragonborn, Half-Orc, Elf, etc.), but the build looks like it should work, at least in theory if not in practice.

If you have access to someone with Martial Power, Adventurer's Vault, and/or PHB2, there's some good options in there to consider. If you don't have access to those, don't sweat it, since they don't offer too much of a power boost, especially at your level. Dragon magazine also has some decent options, so the advice I can give you is limited mostly by what material your DM lets you access.

[SSGoW]

Pretty good actually and although some people will tweak it to hell i think it will be fine. I dont have the phb on hand is any of your powers ranged? Unbalnaced parry would be another good feat to take enstead of yield ground (although yield ground is good also)

[Mando Knight]

I dont have the phb on hand is any of your powers ranged?

Twin Strike, at least, off the top of my head, is both a melee and a ranged power, perfect for a Tratnyr-Ranger. (Though, really, it's perfect for every Ranger)

[Thomo]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies.

Firstly, to explain the Eldarin Ranger - I didn't want to focus on shooting but instead on close combat, I could have used a half-orc, but the eldarin is a thematic thing I am going for, and their proficiency with longswords is a boon - hence why I took Eldarin Soldier (for the bonus damage etc it gives when using longswords).

Weapon wise he will be using 2 Longswords and a Longbow.

SSGoW - yes, twin strike is ranged and melee. I am also caught between Unbalanced parry and Yield Ground. Not sure as to which one I will take.

Mando - Whoops, I forgot about the level 4 stat increase. These stats will probably change anyway - waiting on the DM to get back to me about how he prefers them done (i.e. 'standard array', rolling etc). So they will get tweaked a bit.
And yes, weaponswise I'm thinking about twin longswords and a longbow (plus daggers. Lots of daggers. Why? Because I like them)

tcrudisi - Thanks for the tip about Off-Hand Strike - it's something to look into.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I would suggest to forget about the longbow. Go TWF and the daggers, that should cover any range you need. A longbow is just too much hassle, and a ranger really can't split between the two builds effectively. So focus on TWF, and use daggers for ranged (a longbow is too much work to use for ranged, you have to sheathe a sword, then take out a bow, load an arrow, then attack...that's three minors and a standard, I think...whereas you can grab Quick Draw and use one minor to sheathe the sword, then a standard to throw a dagger).

Eladrin Fey Step will be mucho useful as a ranger. *port* when you need to take down that pesky enemy.

[Asbestos]

I'd drop TWF for Lethal Hunter, especially if you plan on playing a mix of melee/ranged.

[Oracle_Hunter]

I'd drop TWF for Lethal Hunter, especially if you plan on playing a mix of melee/ranged.

I'd pick anything aside from TWF - even swapping for Power Attack would be better. Actually, Power Attack is a fine idea for TWF Rangers; that's an extra +2 on your Twin Strike - just be sure to use it when you have CA

Now, it looks like you're just using Core I, right? If not, there are lots of tweaks we can make.

Also: I'd swap out Shadow Wasp - it's a singe-attack power, instead of a multi-attacker. The main benefit of the Eladrin Ranger is being able to stack up those modifiers - this is why 2(1[w]+Mod) is better than 2[w]+Mod.

BTW - why Thievery? Is it thematic, or something? If not, Dungeoneering is probably a more useful choice - unless you plan on doing a lot of lock-picking.

[Asbestos]

BTW - why Thievery? Is it thematic, or something? If not, Dungeoneering is probably a more useful choice - unless you plan on doing a lot of lock-picking.

They're getting Thievery as an out of class skill. Dungeoneering is not one of those.

[Thomo]

Thievery is largely a thematic thing. I had an extra skill from being Eldarin, and the other characters have healing etc covered. That and, with my dm's consent, I want to set my character up as a bit of an Alchemist later on - depending on how the campaign unfolds - and craft several useful items (i.e. Alchemists Fire/Acid/Whatever ammunition etc - not terribly effective perhaps, but terribly fun.)
In the meantime, even regardless of whether I can get Alchemist or not, Thievery suits the 'skulker' background I'm working on and can, in some instances, be quite handy

Oracle - what would you suggest instead of Shadow Wasp?

Carpe - I think you are right about the Longbow. I'll look into that.