Talk: Ranger

Has anyone used this? Ranger seems like one of the few specs that a bow-based Rogue could benefit from. For example, there are 3 beasts you can summon, and the 4th talent makes each stronger. What's the difference between the wolf, bear, and spider? Is the spider stronger than the bear, and the bear stronger than the wolf, or is the difference in their abilities? Servius 04:58, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

I plan to go for this on my Bow-Rogue. Currently level 11, and I chose Duelist at level 7, since it was the only other useful specialization. Also, I think you can only summon one beast at a time, and they have the abilities that the shapeshifter gets, perhaps with the extra skills like overwhelm after you get the 4th talent. 86.125.251.241 16:55, November 15, 2009 (UTC)

Another player told me the Wolf = melee DPS, the Bear = tank, and the Spider = ranged DPS/CC. The complimentary Spec for bow-Rogues is Bard I think, but you can do whatever you want of course. Servius 04:26, November 16, 2009 (UTC)

Setting up tactics for pets

I am not sure about "Animate Dead", but Rangers are able to set up tactics for their pets, as soon as they spawn. You get a message: "1 tactics slot has been added" (or 2 for me with Master Ranger). Tactics cannot be saved between summons, so you will have to reconfigure them manually each time.

• It appears that, if you close the Tactics screen after your summoned pet appears, you cannot get it back. I summoned a wolf, closed the screen, then opened the Tactics page and the wolf was not accessible. I unsummoned the wolf and resummoned it and the tactics page did not reappear. Maybe that was a fluke, but I never used it again. It sounds like I need to give it another try. Servius 22:10, November 19, 2009 (UTC)
  • I can confirm that the Tactics screen is only available once, for a few seconds. Provided you have the Master Ranger talent. It is indeed possible to have a melee rogue with ranger talent. You can also use a 2-hand Rogue with Master Ranger, but it doesn't feel right. As mentioned earlier, you cannot save the profile for your ranger pet. You must reconfigure them each time you summon a new pet. --Da maury 10:20, December 3, 2009 (UTC)Da_Maury

Visible and Hidden Talents

Each pet has access to several talents. Some are visible in the toolbar when you click on the pet while others are accessable only by clicking on the 'x tactics slot(s) added' message that appears when the summoning spell is complete.

Overwhelm is the most important of the hidden talents only accessible through this method. If you have played through the game, you will probably have met at least 1 elite monster with Overwhelm and you understand how powerful this attack is. You can setup a tactic for your pet "Enemy: Any" -> "Use Ability: Overwhelm". It is believed that players were never meant to have access to the 'hidden' talents of their Ranger pets, or to be able to set up tactics for them at all. As such, the method for doing so is technically an exploit, so enjoy it while you can.

The following is a list of pet talents, broken down by visible (in the toolbar) vs. hidden.

• Wolf
  • Visible in toolbar
    • Howl: AOE defense debuff
    • Shred: if it hits, it's a critical hit that may cause bleeding DOT
  • Hidden (only accessible through tactics screen)
    • Growl: single-target Defense debuff
    • Dread Howl: AOE Stun
    • Overwhelm
    • Charge: Knockback
• Bear
  • Visible in toolbar (level 1 and 2)
    • Rage - increases bear's damage output
    • Slam - if it hits, deals critical damage and may cause knockback.
  • Hidden (only accessible through tactics screen)
    • Overwhelm
• Spider
  • Visible in toolbar
    • Web - single-target stun
    • Poison Spit - ranged nature DoT
  • Hidden (only accessible through tactics screen)
    • Overwhelm

I just got the Wolf talent (haven't gotten the other three yet) and notice a small difference. The only visable ability on the hotbar is Howl (didnt' see anyone else mention that so there it is). In his tactics screen he has access to Howl, Dread Howl, Shred, and Overwhelm (no Growl or Charge). Maybe this is because I don't have the Master Ranger 4th talent or whatever it's called. I'll confirm that the only chance to access the tactics for your 'pet' is by clicking the "New Tactics slot added" tooltip immediately after summoning ...and sadly the tactics do reset each time (I haven't yet tried to save a profile for later retrieval, has anyone else?). 4.153.255.63 09:47, December 3, 2009 (UTC)Anonymous

Yes its not possible to keep the tactics at all Kilandor 22:11, December 4, 2009 (UTC)

In my opinion, everyone who considers an Archer Rogue, should pick up the Ranger Talents, as they add a lot of power to the class. A single pet provides the following benefits:

• One more Tank.
• One more Damage Dealer.
• One more Stunner
• One more Debuffer (reduces the fighting prowess of the enemy)

Relative advantage of Ranger to bow vs. melee Rogues

All these significantly improve the Archer Rogue over it's melee counterpart. Overwhelm being seriously able to take out enemy caster bosses. (See Comment below)

• The Ranger pets are mutually exclusive when comparing an Archer Rogue to a Melee Rogue--they may each specialize as a Ranger and a pet's functionality is independant of the Rogue that summoned it. I agree that the Ranger is one of the better specializations, but your statement here is invalid. 4.153.255.63 09:47, December 3, 2009 (UTC)Anonymous)).

Mods that 'repair' Ranger

Does anyone know of mods that address the following?

• Preventing the dismissal of summoned pets when zoning
  • I've figured out how to mod the game so that the cooldown of each summon talent is only a few seconds. This might be an ugly hack that might prevent patches from applying properly, but it does have the desired effect. I did this myself this morning and it worked. This afternoon, Steam applied a patch from Bioware and the mod still works, so I know that the following is not broken by patches. What I don't know is if it breaks patches. Follow these instructions at your own risk.
    • Find the ABI_Base.xls file. My Steam/XP version is in the C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\dragon age origins\tools\Source\2DA\rules folder. Copy and paste a backup version of it somewhere, then open the file in the aforementioned folder. You'll get a bunch of refresh questions. I don't think it matters whether you say yes or no, just clear them one way or another.
    • In column Z (cooldown), look in rows 36 (bear), 38 (spider), and 60 (wolf). Change the value in each of those boxes to the number of seconds you want the cooldown to be. Save and close the file.
    • Go to this page (http://social.bioware.com/wiki/datoolset/index.php/2DA#Extending_the_game_via_M2DAs) and follow the instructions under the heading: Converting XLS files into 2DA files -> Adding 2DA export to the Windows XP file explorer I made the sub-bullet in the middle of that sub-section for Steam users.
    • That's it. Servius 22:47, December 7, 2009 (UTC)
• Granting indefinite access to each pet's tactics screen
• Granting some kind of taunt talent to the bear

Servius 05:06, December 7, 2009 (UTC)