A happy dilemma... following ding 15 and a glutenous trip to the PoK library in *spell acquisition mode*, I find that my ranger suddenly has a lot more spells than he has room for in the old gem tray.
My question for all you caster and hybrid types is; How do you go about making the decision regarding which spells to mem at any particular time. Some choices are obvious (Hmmm... going on a dungeon crawl so that *invoke lightning* is just taking up space*. Some other choices seem... not so clear.
One finer point that comes to mind is; how heavily does casting cost figure into the selection process? For example, Gee I'd love to load *grasping roots* instead of *tangling weeds* but can't hang with the 35 mana hit.
And is your general *playing style* a consideration? Would you blow off memming a heal spell because you prefer to play a *fighting cleric* or do you stick to basic class strengths?
Oh, yeah... one more thing... any tips on how to organize spells in the gem tray? Do you always keep *ABC* up at the top and *XYZ* down at the bottom or do you move them around?
As always, I welcome your opinions and critiques...
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So many spells... so little spaceFollow
Scholar
23 posts
Have 53 shm here and I load spells based on importance to groups; do I need to be healer or slower? Those go up top for me if I fall into those classes and then any added DoT's below. I reserve last two for haste and regen which I switch out according to buff needs of group:-)
I also memmed spell sets so I wouldn't have to flip through pages to find buff spells or LDoN group spells. This way if we are entering a certain zone and I am buffing, I can say "One sec,memming spells" and be back in a flash to really do that vs. "hang on let me find the ones we need" which may be detrimental to zone in. Have one for healer,groups and buffs but alternate 2 or 3 depending on situation.
Hope this helps some:-)
~Nikohl
I also memmed spell sets so I wouldn't have to flip through pages to find buff spells or LDoN group spells. This way if we are entering a certain zone and I am buffing, I can say "One sec,memming spells" and be back in a flash to really do that vs. "hang on let me find the ones we need" which may be detrimental to zone in. Have one for healer,groups and buffs but alternate 2 or 3 depending on situation.
Hope this helps some:-)
~Nikohl
Basically you don't need to mem buffs that are long lasting, just mem them, buff up, and replace them. On the subject of nukes, I wouldn't even bother with them as a ranger because in the time it takes to cast the nuke you could be doing melee or bow dmg. As for roots, they increase in strength as you get higher ones i.e. may last longer, land on higher level mobs. When I play a ranger i mem a heal spell, snare, root as the basics, then I mem dmg shields and short duration buffs. Hope this helps.
as a ranger, i run my self buffs first, the dememm them. i usually keep heal, ds, my weapon proc, nature's precision, root, burn arrow, swarm & snare up. that way i can self heal in a pinch to help out the cleric & i can also keep mobs from running off, plus a little damage too. as a ranger, you are not a tank,m you are a peeler and quasi protector of the casters. a mob attacks the caster, quick root & caster can move away. also, i don' taunt mobs when there is a main tank ~ but i taunt when they jump the casters. just some tips.
It's just mainly situational. When Mulamen is about to go into an LDoN, I have (let's hope I remember right):
1) Greater Healing
2) ...hmmm. I forget
*edit- it's soothe! how could i forget that?*
3) Yaulp II
4) Wave of Life (for getting aggro from mulitple mobs at once if neccesary)
5)Cancel Magic
6) undead DD
7) Stun
8) Root (for when snare isn't available)
If I'm running through Black Burrow or newbie ground I'll fill most of those up with buffs and low level healing spells.
You can create spell sets when you figure out what you you use most by right clicking on the spells icon menu and selecting the thing looks appropiate (can't remember right now what it is exactly..too early yet.)
God I hope not, don't let me group with that cleric. As a level 5 cleric with no med, my healing spells are pretty useless in a group setting, just for the factor of the small mana pool and the slow regen, that's about the only time a cleric should really not have a healing spell up (I'm sure there are some situations though.
Stick to the basics, don't double up on things that don't stack with each other or are basically the same. Once you're done buffing, remove the buff spell and put in something more usefull during battle.
Look at it from the point of how much impact does the spell have. My greater healing spell drains my mana pool but It's better than casting regular healing three times, tangling weeds (snare right?) will save how many hit points? When you snare something, they're not going to fight back, when you root something they WILL fight back, so take into account the amount of mana you'll spend on healing the extra damage you take from rooting.
Organizing your spells the way that you feel comfortable with, but leave them in a basic pattern, I know if I need to heal someone it's alt + 1.
If that's unclear (still having my first caffeine drink of the day) let me know!
edit- man, 3 people got in while I was typing this, how slow am I?
Edited, Wed May 12 09:59:40 2004 by Mulamen
Edited, Wed May 12 14:22:21 2004 by Mulamen
1) Greater Healing
2) ...hmmm. I forget
*edit- it's soothe! how could i forget that?*
3) Yaulp II
4) Wave of Life (for getting aggro from mulitple mobs at once if neccesary)
5)Cancel Magic
6) undead DD
7) Stun
8) Root (for when snare isn't available)
If I'm running through Black Burrow or newbie ground I'll fill most of those up with buffs and low level healing spells.
You can create spell sets when you figure out what you you use most by right clicking on the spells icon menu and selecting the thing looks appropiate (can't remember right now what it is exactly..too early yet.)
Quote:
Would you blow off memming a heal spell because you prefer to play a *fighting cleric* or do you stick to basic class strengths?
God I hope not, don't let me group with that cleric. As a level 5 cleric with no med, my healing spells are pretty useless in a group setting, just for the factor of the small mana pool and the slow regen, that's about the only time a cleric should really not have a healing spell up (I'm sure there are some situations though.
Stick to the basics, don't double up on things that don't stack with each other or are basically the same. Once you're done buffing, remove the buff spell and put in something more usefull during battle.
Quote:
One finer point that comes to mind is; how heavily does casting cost figure into the selection process? For example, Gee I'd love to load *grasping roots* instead of *tangling weeds* but can't hang with the 35 mana hit.
Look at it from the point of how much impact does the spell have. My greater healing spell drains my mana pool but It's better than casting regular healing three times, tangling weeds (snare right?) will save how many hit points? When you snare something, they're not going to fight back, when you root something they WILL fight back, so take into account the amount of mana you'll spend on healing the extra damage you take from rooting.
Organizing your spells the way that you feel comfortable with, but leave them in a basic pattern, I know if I need to heal someone it's alt + 1.
If that's unclear (still having my first caffeine drink of the day) let me know!
edit- man, 3 people got in while I was typing this, how slow am I?
Edited, Wed May 12 09:59:40 2004 by Mulamen
Edited, Wed May 12 14:22:21 2004 by Mulamen
A lot to answer here, but I'll pass on what helps me.
Uses the most powerful version (there are some exceptions that play style and whether you are in a group, may change this) of a spell, regardless of mana. A full mana pool is of no use to your corpse.
But my best advice is to use "Spell mem sets". You can right click on the little spell book at the bottom of the spell gems and you will see Save spell set. This will save the current spells that you have memorized. Save it and name it whatever you like. This way when you figure out how you want to organize your spells you can change them out quickly.
I use Saved spell sets all the time, it saves a lot of time. No hunting in the spell book for whatever you are looking for.
I have Saved
Solo
Solo Buffs
Group Buffs
Group Battle
When I Ding a new level I just change out the old version of a spell for the newer one where appropriate.
Hope this helps
Load a set of spells for buffing and then save them as "buff" or something else you like to call it.
Load a set of spells for fighting, and save them as "fight" or something you like.
Once a spell set is saved it is easy to swap back and forth between spell sets.
I think you have the ability to save 10 different sets of spells. To save a spell set, right click on the book icon at the bottom of the spell gems and choose "save". To access a set of spells...right click on the book icon and load whatever set you want. Also experiment with organizing your book, like spells on the same pages or current level spells together...something that you will understand when you have 30 of your 50 pages full.
I suggest that however you do this you leave at least an extra page in between each grouping in your book, even that is turning out to not be enough for me, I apologize if this information is already known by you, but I stumbled across it later in the game myself, so I know it isn't self evident.
Load a set of spells for fighting, and save them as "fight" or something you like.
Once a spell set is saved it is easy to swap back and forth between spell sets.
I think you have the ability to save 10 different sets of spells. To save a spell set, right click on the book icon at the bottom of the spell gems and choose "save". To access a set of spells...right click on the book icon and load whatever set you want. Also experiment with organizing your book, like spells on the same pages or current level spells together...something that you will understand when you have 30 of your 50 pages full.
I suggest that however you do this you leave at least an extra page in between each grouping in your book, even that is turning out to not be enough for me, I apologize if this information is already known by you, but I stumbled across it later in the game myself, so I know it isn't self evident.
Over the last 15 months, we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.
Barack Obama
Laen - 105 Dru
Haam - 105 Sk
Laosha - 105 Shammy
Lutan - 105 Bard
Barack Obama
Laen - 105 Dru
Haam - 105 Sk
Laosha - 105 Shammy
Lutan - 105 Bard
I'm not a Ranger but here is how my book is set up.
First 12 pages are current spells or most frequently used.
Ex. Page 1 and 2
Gate
Levant
DMF
Invis
Lich
etc.
Ex. Page 3 and so on
Dots by category
Lifetaps
Undead
Crowd Control
Buffs
etc.
Starting page 40 and so on
Old spells by category see above
After organizing my book I then have "spell sets" this makes life easier.
Once you load 8 spells you can right click on the red icon book and it will give you an option to save, load or delete. I save various sets to accomodate situations.
Ex.
Buffs Set
PK Set
Traveling Set
Solo Set
LDON Set
Maiden Eye Set
Undead Set
etc.
When I want to buff I simply load the set I need takes about 30 seconds, buff up then reload my next plan of attack which takes another 30 seconds.
On occasion I may have to change a spell or two out to accomodate a changing environment. If it is something I feel I will repeatedly use I save that set prime example "Maiden's Eye". I solo there and use a lower grade cling then normal along with a very slow agro dot so ME has it's own set saved.
Hope this helps....I was level 55 before I found out about spell sets!!! Life just got easier.
First 12 pages are current spells or most frequently used.
Ex. Page 1 and 2
Gate
Levant
DMF
Invis
Lich
etc.
Ex. Page 3 and so on
Dots by category
Lifetaps
Undead
Crowd Control
Buffs
etc.
Starting page 40 and so on
Old spells by category see above
After organizing my book I then have "spell sets" this makes life easier.
Once you load 8 spells you can right click on the red icon book and it will give you an option to save, load or delete. I save various sets to accomodate situations.
Ex.
Buffs Set
PK Set
Traveling Set
Solo Set
LDON Set
Maiden Eye Set
Undead Set
etc.
When I want to buff I simply load the set I need takes about 30 seconds, buff up then reload my next plan of attack which takes another 30 seconds.
On occasion I may have to change a spell or two out to accomodate a changing environment. If it is something I feel I will repeatedly use I save that set prime example "Maiden's Eye". I solo there and use a lower grade cling then normal along with a very slow agro dot so ME has it's own set saved.
Hope this helps....I was level 55 before I found out about spell sets!!! Life just got easier.
Well, thats the trick isn't it. To figure out which 8 will best serve you in a given situation. Welcome to the world of spell casting! I have never played a ranger, but I have a few other hybrids as well as pure casters.
My Enchanter would love to have like...8 more slots!
You will get the idea which ones you NEED when you are running away from something saying, boy I wish I had that XX spell memmed...
In general do not keep long-term buffs memmed. I usually have one spot reserved for switching these in and out. One exception (when you get it) is my Druid and Shaman usually keep SoW loaded when outdoors (in that reserved spot). SoW has a habit of wearing off at the worst times!
I also use the best version of a spell I have, unless fighting greens, or healing lower level PCs. Mana usage can be an issue sometimes but I prefer the insurance of the better spell. Since you will not be main healer, you wont need to have different levels of heals memmed to efficiantly use mana.
As long as you are not getting hit, do not hesitate to stop and mem a spell if it is in dire need.
You can also have 'partial' spell lists saved. Say at your current level you have 5 spells which you ALWAYS want. Save these on a list (with the other spots blank). Then fill in the 3 other spots manually depending on the situation.
My Enchanter would love to have like...8 more slots!
You will get the idea which ones you NEED when you are running away from something saying, boy I wish I had that XX spell memmed...
In general do not keep long-term buffs memmed. I usually have one spot reserved for switching these in and out. One exception (when you get it) is my Druid and Shaman usually keep SoW loaded when outdoors (in that reserved spot). SoW has a habit of wearing off at the worst times!
I also use the best version of a spell I have, unless fighting greens, or healing lower level PCs. Mana usage can be an issue sometimes but I prefer the insurance of the better spell. Since you will not be main healer, you wont need to have different levels of heals memmed to efficiantly use mana.
As long as you are not getting hit, do not hesitate to stop and mem a spell if it is in dire need.
You can also have 'partial' spell lists saved. Say at your current level you have 5 spells which you ALWAYS want. Save these on a list (with the other spots blank). Then fill in the 3 other spots manually depending on the situation.
Mistress offered:Off thread, but I will group with you anytime! A true ranger and not a mana sink...
Quote:
you are a peeler and quasi protector of the casters
You have 8 spell slots. I broke them down into the following:
4 Always memmed
2 Like to have memmed
2 swap spots
The 4 spells that I always have up for the emergency situation are heal, ensare, gate/evac, and root. Those four spells will never be um-memmed. If the group is jumped by a pop or train, it is guaranteed I will have these spells up and able to contribute to the group.
The "I like to have memmed" are a nuke and a dot. While not "life threatening" like the first group, they help out.
The last two are swap spots. During combat, I might have a nuke, dot or debuff in these slots, but if I accidently still have a buff up, it won't get the group killed (like forgetting to have snare memmed).
Sounds like everyone else has a similar setup.
4 Always memmed
2 Like to have memmed
2 swap spots
The 4 spells that I always have up for the emergency situation are heal, ensare, gate/evac, and root. Those four spells will never be um-memmed. If the group is jumped by a pop or train, it is guaranteed I will have these spells up and able to contribute to the group.
The "I like to have memmed" are a nuke and a dot. While not "life threatening" like the first group, they help out.
The last two are swap spots. During combat, I might have a nuke, dot or debuff in these slots, but if I accidently still have a buff up, it won't get the group killed (like forgetting to have snare memmed).
Sounds like everyone else has a similar setup.
The 'always have memmed' got me to thinking. I was in an LDoN with a very...shall we say...'poor' group. Typically I do not waste a spot with GATE. After the second 'bad pull' where the team had deaths, I memmed GATE, just in case. Didn't HAVE to use it thankfully, but nevertheless, I thought it important enough in the situation to take up a slot.
Quote:
One finer point that comes to mind is; how heavily does casting cost figure into the selection process? For example, Gee I'd love to load *grasping roots* instead of *tangling weeds* but can't hang with the 35 mana hit
You tailor it to where you are and what you're doing.
Apart from those two spells doing two very different things
you want a snare and a root up all the time. Even Snare and Tangling Weeds do different things. Snare lasts about 4 mins IIRC. Tangling Weeds about 35 secs. Snare is a real snare while TW is either an "Oh God I forgot to snare" or a very cheap aggro getter since mobs hate being snared repeatedly. Some options relevant to low level rangers:
If there is no druid or mage in the group you will want your own DS memmed.
If you have any kind of healer then your heal is probably wasting a slot (although I have been saved by ranger heals more than once they weren't Minor Healing
). Once you get Healing or Greater Healing then you might reconsider this depending on the group. Your DD is almost always a waste of space in groups. Solo the spell might be useful once in a while.
Flame Lick is a wonderful aggro getting spell. Don't pull with it and expect a tank to take aggro off you. They have a hell of an uphill struggle. However if you need to peel a mob off a caster it can be really useful. Just don't do it if there is an enchanter about to mezz as you will quite possibly learn some new words. TW may be better for this as it is not a DoT and won't break the mezz.
Roots are very useful for parking adds. Annoy the mob, move away into a clear area and root it. Even solo you may escape by rooting the mob and backing off to recover or flee.
Outdoors Harmony makes you the puller of choice at your level. Get the hang of using it. If you are indoors or you are not the puller then no need to load it.
On the "cost" issue:
This is a biggie.
I am still smarting over an LDoN we lost the other day because the enchanter insisted on using their highest slows and debuffs on mobs that lasted a few seconds against a 65 Paladin. We kept stopping for her to med up and eventually ran out of normal and then extra time. early in the adventure when this was evidently slowing us down I had a chat with a high level enchanter and he suggested the lower level spells that would cost less and get us through faster. I put this to her in tells (to avoid embarrassment) and her response was "If they aren't prepared to stop for me when I need to med they can damn well fail". One for the no-group list I'm afraid.
There are many times in your levelling when you get new spells and either the mana cost or the fizzle rate means they don't suit the circumstances. There is no use in the mob being really, really slowed if it doesn't live long enough to do any damage and the healer is sitting on full mana.
I often switch to a lower, cheaper slow on LDoN if we have high dps.
As an SK I use the spells that enable me to keep aggro but maintain mana. Once you have aggro there is no point in burning more mana than you need. The group doesn't want to stop for you to med. So my snare may not do as much damage as it could but I keep going longer on it. In a restricted mob situation (doing The Hole entrance atm) then I can switch in the heavier spells because med time is going to happen anyway.
Wherever I go - there I am.
Actually, this is one of the more important skills of the game for caster/hybrid types. (More important for casters obviously, but still quite essential for a Ranger as well).
The skill is in knowing what to have loaded for which occasion.
Which obviously also means having a thorough understanding of how your spells work, what they do and what they cost (not PP, in terms of time, mana and opportunity).
This is an enormously broad subject and not one that can be covered in a short post here. Really it is something you need to study experiment with and practice.
However (
, my first tip is to settle on a sequence and then always have them memmed in the same order. The time will come where you will need to be able to hit the right spell with a key stroke without time to think or look. It will need to be a reflex action.
Not a lot of good is going to come from diving for an emergency patch heal, only to find that you just snared yourself.
I always have my fastest/best patch heal in slot 1, and always have my best root in slot 8 for example.
Second tip is to use the "saved spell set" facility. Right click on the button at the bottom of the spell gem window and you get a drop down window with the options to save and load spell sets. Use this to arrange a series of spell combinations that you will use in different tactical situations. Name them in a meaningful way. Then when you need to change a spell line up, right click the button and load the saved set you need for the occasion.
This works even with the need to swap in just a couple of spells, as it does not take up the mem time for spells that are already loaded.
If you are needing to lust swap one in a hurry, of course you can right click the actual spell gem twice to drop the old spell and bring up the drop down window to quick select the spell you need.
I keep one slot (no.2) as always my "hot swap" spell, so again in tactical situations I can swap in an alternative with the minimum of thought. (This is mostly on Celeni though, at higher levels a Ranger does not have too much need to make mid battle spell swaps, although beween battles I am oftem swapping in buffs for those poor deprived tanks
)
My Ranger line up usually looks like so;
Heal (always here, chloroblast)
Hot swap (Call of Fire proc buff)
Feet like Cat (so sue me, I need that 5 AC) or Eagle Eye
Nuke (Calefaction)
Flame Lick (crowd control essential)
DoT (Drifting Death)
Snare (always here, crowd control esential)
Root (always needed, crowd control essential)
I have a "buffin" spell set and a "battle" spell set and a "standard" spell set. Celeni has a few more sets with emphasis on healing, nuking, or DoTs as the situation demands.
The skill is in knowing what to have loaded for which occasion.
Which obviously also means having a thorough understanding of how your spells work, what they do and what they cost (not PP, in terms of time, mana and opportunity).
This is an enormously broad subject and not one that can be covered in a short post here. Really it is something you need to study experiment with and practice.
However (
, my first tip is to settle on a sequence and then always have them memmed in the same order. The time will come where you will need to be able to hit the right spell with a key stroke without time to think or look. It will need to be a reflex action. Not a lot of good is going to come from diving for an emergency patch heal, only to find that you just snared yourself.
I always have my fastest/best patch heal in slot 1, and always have my best root in slot 8 for example.
Second tip is to use the "saved spell set" facility. Right click on the button at the bottom of the spell gem window and you get a drop down window with the options to save and load spell sets. Use this to arrange a series of spell combinations that you will use in different tactical situations. Name them in a meaningful way. Then when you need to change a spell line up, right click the button and load the saved set you need for the occasion.
This works even with the need to swap in just a couple of spells, as it does not take up the mem time for spells that are already loaded.
If you are needing to lust swap one in a hurry, of course you can right click the actual spell gem twice to drop the old spell and bring up the drop down window to quick select the spell you need.
I keep one slot (no.2) as always my "hot swap" spell, so again in tactical situations I can swap in an alternative with the minimum of thought. (This is mostly on Celeni though, at higher levels a Ranger does not have too much need to make mid battle spell swaps, although beween battles I am oftem swapping in buffs for those poor deprived tanks
) My Ranger line up usually looks like so;
Heal (always here, chloroblast)
Hot swap (Call of Fire proc buff)
Feet like Cat (so sue me, I need that 5 AC) or Eagle Eye
Nuke (Calefaction)
Flame Lick (crowd control essential)
DoT (Drifting Death)
Snare (always here, crowd control esential)
Root (always needed, crowd control essential)
I have a "buffin" spell set and a "battle" spell set and a "standard" spell set. Celeni has a few more sets with emphasis on healing, nuking, or DoTs as the situation demands.
Just to add to Iluien's "sets"
I have a "Travel" set with the Camo, See Invis, Levi etc spells that are useful for travel buffs for self or group.
As you level remember to save the new sets. It can be quite embarrassing to swap to what you thought was your current set and find the heal at the top is doing 100 instead of 300.
I have a "Travel" set with the Camo, See Invis, Levi etc spells that are useful for travel buffs for self or group.
As you level remember to save the new sets. It can be quite embarrassing to swap to what you thought was your current set and find the heal at the top is doing 100 instead of 300.
Wherever I go - there I am.
Quote:
Hope this helps....I was level 55 before I found out about spell sets!!! Life just got easier.
Heh, I just turned 55 and am just now finding that out *blush*
Woot I can't wait to get home and check it out!!!
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