Thread: Rift Marksman (Ranger) Raiding

This will be a short guide on how to raid as a Ranger/MM. This play-style focuses on heavy ranged physical damage and the utility of your pet. This build is meant strictly for DPS and outside of that brings minimal utility to the raid, however, this build should be one of the top DPS builds out of any calling/class.

Optimal Build for Single-Target DPS:

Pet Choice

This build will utilize either the Greater Dire Wolf or Greater Razorbeast, if anyone knows which is better please let me know and I will update this section.

How to DPS - Single Target

First and foremost understand that you are a ranged class, you should try to stay at max range during boss fights and within range of the healers. Your top priority is to stay alive so you can DPS, a dead DPS is no DPS. With that I will explain here how to DPS, this is all subject to change in the future and open to criticism and suggestions.

This build uses a priority system to DPS and you must keep certain abilities up if you want to do as much DPS as possible.

Abilities to Maintain - Priority System

1. Beastial Fury via Head Shot - 5% Damage for you and your pet use at 5 CP's to increase for 60 Seconds
2. Rapid Fire Shot - Increases Attack Speed by 30% use at 5CP's to increase for 60 Seconds
3. Piercing Shot - Awards 1 CP and Reduces Targets Armor for 15 Seconds
4. Shadow Fire - Awards 2 CP and Increases Attack Speed by 20% for 10 Seconds
5. Splinter Shot - Awards 2 CP and causes the target to Bleed (Increases pet's damage by 10% via Blood Rage)
6. Deadeye Shot - Use at 5 CP's deals the most damage
7. Empowered Shot - Awards 2 CP deals the most damage

Starting DPS Rotation

Check-List before starting fight:
Pet is out, Feral Instinct's is on, Marksman Pedestal is down, I am at max range and within healer range

1. Piercing Shot - Awards 1 CP
2. Shadow Fire - Awards 2 CP
3. Splinter Shot - Awards 2 CP
4. Head Shot - Now you have 5CP to use this.

Check to see that Piercing Shot, Shadow Fire, and Splinter Shot are still up, if not use one of them.
If Piercing, Shadow, and Splinter Shot are up, use Empowered Shot and then back to Steps 1 to 3 till you have 5 CP's.
At 5 CP's use Rapid Fire Shot, as seen under the priority list. From this point on stick to the priority list and use your Cooldown's when you can.

Now you may be asking yourself how do you maintain a rotation with the way energy works?

Simple, support classes provide buffs/abilities that increase energy regeneration, provide energy, etc. Under ideal raid circumstances you should have a Bard or Dominator in the raid.

Cooldowns to Use

• Feral Instinct - 3% Crit for you and pet, use before fight
• Hit and Run - A maneuver that allows the execution of ranged Auto Attacks while moving, causes Empowered Shot and Deadeye Shot to become instant cast and causes Empowered Shot to have no cooldown. Lasts 15 seconds.Use this after Step 4 under Priorities
• Marksman's Pedestal - Creates a pedestal at the Rogue's location for 3 minutes. The pedestal increases the Rogue's damage with ranged weapons by 10%. You can only have 1 pedestal active at a time. Use when you position yourself for the boss fight.
• Divert Rage - All threat generated is transferred to the Rogue's pet for 10 seconds. Use in emergency cases only when you have no choice. You should watch your threat and if you lose it allow your tank to pick it up.
• Bull's Eye - Causes the outcome of the next Marksman's damaging ability to be a Critical Hit. This ability does not trigger global cooldown. Use with 5 CP Deadeye Shot with all buffs/debuffs active.
• Hellfire Blades - The Rogue enchants their weapons with Fire, and each weapon attack has a 20% chance to deal 9 Fire damage. Lasts 1 hour. Only 2 weapon enchantments can be applied at a time. Use before the fight starts, place it on your ranged weapon.

How to DPS - Multiple Target

1. Lightning Fury - The Rogue fires lightning-charged projectiles to the enemy and up to 3 other enemies around it, dealing weapon plus 59 to 62 Air damage. Affected enemies become vulnerable, increasing damage taken by 10% for 10 seconds.
2. Trick Shot - A ranged attack that ricochets across 5 enemies, dealing weapon plus 31 to 34 Physical damage. Awards 1 Combo Point.
3. Weapon Flare - A fiery attack that deals weapon plus 16 to 19 Fire damage to the enemy and up to 8 enemies around it.

Why Go Ranger

30% Damage via Prey on the Weak
20% Attack Speed via Shadow Fire
5% Damage via Head Shot for 60 Seconds
4% Ranged Damage via Killing Focus
5% Crit via Eagle Eye
6% Reduced Damage (Helps healers)
Piercing Shot (Armor Penetration/Reduction for the entire raid)
25% Chance for free autoshot via Doubleshot
Finishers add 1 Combo Point via Opportunity
Greater Dire Wolf or Greater Razorback pet with 10% Damage Increase and 3% Additional Crit
Feral Instinct 3% Crit for you and pet

Flat Damage Increase = 39% (Prey on the Weak, Head Shot, Killing Focus)
Flat Critical Increase = 8% (Eagle Eye, Feral Instincts)

Needs to be Tested

1: What is more DPS: Using Lighting Fury and slowing the process of using 5CP abilities, or avoid Lightning Fury on Single-Target fights and build 5CP quicker. Does the damage of the abilities following Lightning Fury outweigh the damage of getting those 5CP abilities out quicker? Possibly, use Lightning Fury before 5CP abilities to maximize their damage.

2: Build by L2R - Test to see if the following build provides more DPS:

3: In the future decide how much Hit is needed and where the points of Hit Rating can be moved to

4: Build by Sev and me - Test to see if the following non-pet build provides more/equal DPS :

If Pets indeed do die too easily in raids and Trion for whatever reason doesn't do anything about it (IE Ranger class will be near useless, along with others), then this will be the build to go.

Since current level is 30 use the following build:

by Fury