[Szkol]

I started RNG recently, and I think it was a great choice. Took it up to 20 tonight, and I'm very happy with my decision thus far. I'd like this to be my main job, and the first that I take to 75. Although since this will be my first to 75, and happens to be super expensive (esp. with NIN sub), I'm looking for equipment suggestions that are not the premium stuff, but is still good.


Assume I will not have PCC, Hairpin, or Leaping/Bounding Boots. I already have a pair of Archer's knives, and maybe one day I'll upgrade to Hawker's +1. While I'd love to have a pair of these, is this a necessary item?

I've got Bone Rings, and will be getting Beetle Ring +1. What should I move to after this?

Is there a better choice than Ranger's Necklace until 40 when I can get Jagd Gorget (other than PCC)?

I've got Centurion Cuisses and Greaves- if I owned the entire set, is this at least decent armor for RNG? I do have other jobs I can use this set with later. If there's better than the Centurion's set, I'd like to know about it.

I have no idea at all what to do for Back/Belt. Any/all suggestions are welcome.

I currently have no earrings, though I will have Beetle Earring +1 in 1 level up if I want. (Attack has a slight effect on R.Attack, correct? Genin Earring looks like a great choice at 30, pricey, but one I might be willing to spring for. How long is this earring good for?

I've got Power Bow +1, then Great Bow +1. After that I was thinking of Shikar's Bow.

Finally, arrows. I currently use Fang Arrows w/e possible, and have Beetle Arrows for backup. If I switch to Silver Arrows for extra damage, where else can I make up that +5 R.Acc. until Horn Arrow? Should I be looking into Elemental Arrows at all?


I think my primary concern with gear has to be consistent accuracy, with damage taking a close second. I guess my thinking is that damage is no good if you can't hit the mob. I also don't want to be burning money by wasting arrows. Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions.

[Mog]

Originally Posted by Szkol

Assume I will not have PCC, Hairpin, or Leaping/Bounding Boots. I already have a pair of Archer's knives, and maybe one day I'll upgrade to Hawker's +1. While I'd love to have a pair of these, is this a necessary item?
.

You want hawkers. +1 if you can afford. These will easily last you until 51 if you decide to go the Fire(Vulcan) Staff route or early 61 when you can get the 61 knifes...even though the hawkers are pretty comparable to them. The only other weapons you want are the Francisca and Kriegsbiel.

Originally Posted by Szkol

I've got Bone Rings, and will be getting Beetle Ring +1. What should I move to after this?
.

Every 10 levels you'll get new rnged acc rings. There's the rings at 35,45,55,etc.. Just keep upgrading every 10 levels and you're fine.

Originally Posted by Szkol

Is there a better choice than Ranger's Necklace until 40 when I can get Jagd Gorget (other than PCC)?
.

Not really. Jagd Gorget is pretty much what I use on ranger. And to be honest, you really don't need a PCC unless you're whiffing up a storm on mobs.

Originally Posted by Szkol

I've got Centurion Cuisses and Greaves- if I owned the entire set, is this at least decent armor for RNG? I do have other jobs I can use this set with later. If there's better than the Centurion's set, I'd like to know about it.

Try to get yourself some Leaping Boots. Those will easily last you a long time. Until your AF feet actually. As for legs, stick with noct(+1) until you can get Jaridah around 50-ish.

Originally Posted by Szkol

I have no idea at all what to do for Back/Belt. Any/all suggestions are welcome.

Nomad's Mantle(+1) really. The agi will help you land shots and until you get Amamet(+1) that's pretty much all I can think of.

Originally Posted by Szkol

I currently have no earrings, though I will have Beetle Earring +1 in 1 level up if I want. (Attack has a slight effect on R.Attack, correct? Genin Earring looks like a great choice at 30, pricey, but one I might be willing to spring for. How long is this earring good for?

Attack has nothing to do with Ranged Attack. Stick with Drone earrings. Genin earring if you can afford. They're both nice and will last you awhile. At 50 you have access to the Vision earring, so you can use that.

Originally Posted by Szkol

I've got Power Bow +1, then Great Bow +1. After that I was thinking of Shikar's Bow.

As for bow's just stick with each new bow you get every 10 levels. At level 55 you have access to Eurytos/Vali's bow, which is indisputably the best bow in the game, save for relic. Only problem is that it has a pretty heavy pricetag and it's pretty difficult to get, so I would suggest trying to get the Selene's bow at 60 as an alternative. It's a pretty nice bow and it'll last you until 75.

Originally Posted by Szkol

Finally, arrows. I currently use Fang Arrows w/e possible, and have Beetle Arrows for backup. If I switch to Silver Arrows for extra damage, where else can I make up that +5 R.Acc. until Horn Arrow? Should I be looking into Elemental Arrows at all?

Just stick with R.Acc arrows and be sure to upgrade whenever you can. Stay away from elemental arrows, they don't stack and they're not that great. I forgot the level, but eventually you can use Patriarch Protectors arrow, which is the best arrow for weaponskill. You don't want to actually use it though, as there's only one... I made this mistake once.

Originally Posted by Szkol

I think my primary concern with gear has to be consistent accuracy, with damage taking a close second. I guess my thinking is that damage is no good if you can't hit the mob. I also don't want to be burning money by wasting arrows. Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions.

As for body, Noct gear(+1) is awesome for ranger once you hit 30.

You can use that until you have access to Shikaree Aketon and AF body. The aketon might be difficult for you to get due to promies, so I wouldn't worry about it for now. Just stick with Noct until you can wear rng AF body. And eventually you can wear Osode/Kyudogi but that's not for a long time. =p

I usually stick with rnged atk gear and use sushi for accuracy. However, other rangers use lots of rng acc gear and rng atk food. Just depends on your playing style really. There's lots of different ways to play ranger, so just test around with gear until you get something that works.

[Malacite]

I highly suggest finding a way to either make a good flow of cash and/or make your own ammo.

RNG is not a job you want to go cheap on. Any RNG worth their salt will carry at least 1 Bow and Crossbow, and at 50+ a gun as well. It's imperative that you always buy the +1 versions whenever possible, unless it's outrageously expensive (like Ebow).

There are two reasons for this. One is that perhaps more than any other job, RNG will really show what you put into it. If you're cheap on gear and ammo, your damage will suck and that's all you really have going for you outside of utility bolts and shadowbind.

The second is, think of it as an investment; If you're constantly missing or not hitting as hard as you can, that means you have to use more ammo. So think of it as getting the most out of your gil. The more pain you can accurately dish out, the less you'll end up spending on ammo in the long run.


For your earrings, a pair of Drone Earrings (AGI +3, fairly cheap) since there are few if any ranged attack earrings and they are fairly high level.


Now, keeping in mind what I said about ammo, later on it is perfectly fine to TP with scorpion arrows as they're fairly cheap (arrows get really pricey later on) and to use Demons and later Kabura arrows to WS/Barrage with.


Apart from all that, the best advice for any RNG is to learn very quickly how to ride the hate line. Too many RNG don't pace themselves and end up pulling hate. Learn when to unload on the mob. RNG don't start fights, they end them >;3

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Originally Posted by Mog

You want hawkers. +1 if you can afford. These will easily last you until 51 if you decide to go the Fire(Vulcan) Staff route or early 61 when you can get the 61 knifes...even though the hawkers are pretty comparable to them. The only other weapons you want are the Francisca and Kriegsbiel.

Hawker's knives are frivelous, Archer's knives will do him just fine til he can get Trailer's Kukri, Fire Staff and an Axe Grip. For Weaponskills, Fire/Vulcan Staff + Axe Grip is going to be better in general than Francisca + Kriegsbiel, but I would still go for Francisca anyway when you're able to.

Not really. Jagd Gorget is pretty much what I use on ranger. And to be honest, you really don't need a PCC unless you're whiffing up a storm on mobs.

Ranger's necklace is still fine at 75, really, though you could upgrade to Qiqirn's Collar or even use Chivalrous Chain for more STR.

Try to get yourself some Leaping Boots. Those will easily last you a long time. Until your AF feet actually. As for legs, stick with noct(+1) until you can get Jaridah around 50-ish.

Leaping Boots are nice, but not needed. Don't sweat these if you can't get them, because there's always tons of competition for Lizzy. Depending on your race, you can also likely gain AGI or STR off your RSE feet. But yes, Noct Legs til Jaridah.

-------

Belts seem to be overlooked. Before any nifty endgame gear, I'd say R.K. Belt+1 is one of the best options out there for the STR, AGI and MND stats all in one slot. Some of the assault belts also work well.

[Szkol]

Thanks for all the tips-

As for body, Noct gear(+1) is awesome for ranger once you hit 30.

Noct +1 set was an excellent suggestion- I had no idea that set of armor even existed. It looks like it's right up my alley, along with Jaridah/Akinji set later on.

I highly suggest finding a way to either make a good flow of cash and/or make your own ammo.

I have been making my own arrows for the most part- the exception being the Fang/Beetle Arrows- but I've only burned 3 stacks of Fangs from 15-20 (thank god for XP bands). I'm just a few WW levels away from being able to make my own Fangs, and I just finished skilling up on Silver Arrows- which is why I asked if they were a viable option. It seems that they will not be, so I'll prob just sell these. The WW helps a little with the cash flow- I'm fortunate that Blind Bolt prices seem to be extremely inflated on my server, while Blind Bolt Heads are still rather cheap- but they don't sell reliably or quickly.

Right now it looks like my BEST option will be to mine my own Iron ore in Zeruhn to make ingots with, and maybe moat carp. Once I get my level a little higher I have a few items that I plan on farming for cash, so cash flow should be improved in the near future.

Apart from all that, the best advice for any RNG is to learn very quickly how to ride the hate line.

I've had an extremely diffcult time with this- I'm constantly asked to pull, and its not that I mind doing it, but whenever I so much as breathe I take hate from the tank. My damage at level 18-20 has been in the 45-60 range depending on the mob, which I've been very happy with. In VD that seems like good damage for a single hit, and I think it would make the mobs go down much faster if I could get even 1 extra shot on every mob.

Leaping Boots are nice, but not needed. Don't sweat these if you can't get them, because there's always tons of competition for Lizzy.

I've camped Lizzy a few times, but it can be such a waste of time if you're sitting on a long pop. I think Lizzy will be the NM camp for an hour here and there while I'm waiting on LS or party members.

I think VE will be largely the same for the hairpin-

I'm confident that I'll get these items eventually, but whether or not I'll have them in time to be useful for RNG remains to be seen.

Attack has nothing to do with Ranged Attack.

Ranged Attack = {( 8 + Combat Skill + STR/2 + (+attack from gear) + (+attack trait/ability/minuet)) * berserk effect (if available)} * (1+ percentage increase from food )

Am I reading this wrong? This looks like Attack affects R.Attack to me, but I don't know if "Attack" in that formular means Attack or R.Attack. I also don't know if this formula is correct (from FFXIclopedia) but it doesn't seem to factor in AGI at all...


Thanks!

[nanatsu]

Originally Posted by Szkol

Ranged Attack = {( 8 + Combat Skill + STR/2 + (+attack from gear) + (+attack trait/ability/minuet)) * berserk effect (if available)} * (1+ percentage increase from food )

Am I reading this wrong? This looks like Attack affects R.Attack to me, but I don't know if "Attack" in that formular means Attack or R.Attack. I also don't know if this formula is correct (from FFXIclopedia) but it doesn't seem to factor in AGI at all...

Attack in that formula refers to Ranged Attack. And also AGI has no affect on Ranged Attack, only Ranged Accuracy.

[Malacite]

You're still fairly low level so tanks (especially PLD) won't have all their hate tools yet which makes it difficult to keep up with a RNG's damage output (that and most PLD's just turtle...) so you'll get the hang of it.


Also, here's a few suggestions if you've got the cash for it. For Qufim, keep archery capped but try to stick to crossbow or gun. Acid Bolts are critical to fighting crabs and pugils out there since they will remove their defense up ability.

From 22-29, Guns will just destroy everything, especially mandragora in Yuhtunga and Yhoator jungles since they are vulnerable to piercing damage (+25% damage). I was personally shooting bullets for 120 a shot since I was also eating Rice Dumplings.

That's another thing I meant to mention sooner, eat dumplings early on. They give a whopping ranged attack +30% capping at +45 and you won't find anything comparable until you're much higher in level.

Sushi is nice, but RNG already has a crapload of accuracy from gear and traits and not much in the way of ranged attack gear. Now I realize this is gonna make you a hate magnet but does it really matter when you are taking off as much as 15-20% of a mob's HP per shot >_> utsusemi will keep you alive for a bit.


Here's a general breakdown for which ranged weapons to use for each level range (keeping in mind you should always keep both skills capped and carry all 3 weapons)


1-12: Crossbow will have the highest DPS over bows.

12-15: Bows start to make a come back.

16-21: Kind of a toss up. Power Bow +1 is very strong, but you also have access to acid bolts now which increase everyone's damage.

22-29: Guns will absolutely destroy. Stick with Crossbow for crabs and pugils, and guns for beastmen and mandragora. (use venom bolts btw for DPS and WS, with acids just to lower def)

30-40: Crossbow's shining moment; holy bolts! With these babies and acids you will really put the hurt on. Sadly, guns suck until 50 now.

40-49: Not much new except myhtril bolts for barrage/WS, while bow damage is going way up. switch at your own discretion.

50-54: If you're in kuftal tunnel stick to the crossbow for a bit longer because that def down is critical, but by now you can use silver bullets to really hurt mobs. at 52 you can get an Iron Musketeer Gun +1/2

55-67: Eurytos' Bow. Arguably RNG's best bow (highest DPS) plus demon arrows means serious pain. By now you're fighting colibri and puks which are resistant/immune to acid bolts so you can stop using crossbows for a while unless you move to fight crawlers. If you don't have Ebow, you can try for an S-Bow at 60 (it's very close in terms of power and way easier to get) or keep pounding away with silver bullets. You also get slug shot and sidewinder at 55, RNG's deadliest weapon skill. The accuracy isn't very good but it has a damage multiplier of 5. That plus low def, weak to piercing colibri = good times.

68-75: By now you should really know the drill. However I do want to note that you can now camp for the Orthinus' Bow, which is the strongest (well, not counting the Mythic) crossbow in the game. I highly recommend getting it, even if you don't use crossbow much because it has such high base damage that you'll want to have it on you should you ever need it (like say, in the early levels of Caedarva Mire)

[Szkol]

Ok- quick update:

I happened upon a pair of Bounding Boots, but my question is this: should I continue wearing these at 30 instead of the Noct gaiters +1? Is the Noct sets one of those where you get an additional stat bonues for having the entire set equipped?


Along the same lines, if I happen upon an Empress Hairpin, should I wear that or go with Noct +1 gear?

In both circumstances my gut tells me to go with the BB/EH over the Noct set. Am i wrong on this?

[Malacite]

Originally Posted by Szkol

Is the Noct sets one of those where you get an additional stat bonues for having the entire set equipped?

Any and all sets that have a set bonus explicitly state as such on the each piece of gear in the set.

As for the Noct +1, stick with The Band and Boots. The stats are clearly better and it'll save you some cash. The rest of the Noct +1 set will last you up until your Artifact Armor. How far into CoP are you though? If you have access to Phomiuna Aqueducts I strongly recommend trying to get the RNG/COR subligar for the Shikaree Aketon.

[Omni]

Don't sweat the gear for rng too much. really, I mean it.

As you get your way to 75, theres not many must have items like other jobs that are hard to come by.

Though, I do want to say that for your ranged weapon, get the +1 version of whatever you're getting if possible. When it comes to ranged weapons, the +1 is always a lot better (usually they have stats the nq doesnt).

When it comes time for E-bow, if you cant get one, an S-bow will do the trick and is easier to obtain.

You'd want to get yourself a O-bow as well when it comes time for it. lv. 67 iirc. It is by far the best cross bow you can get. This you will need help with.

You dont need hawkers (+1), rings are w/e you're only missing out on +2 rng acc btwn the nq/hq for that lvl. so if you cant get the +1, dont worry.

I still use my rng necklace at 75. I actually like my rng necklace because I stack all str/rng atk for my rng. pcc is not necessary for any job.

belts; you can get a royal knights belt at 50 (hq@52) then a precise belt at 60. the belt slot is always sorta weak for rng until you're able to get a scout's belt or bucaneer's belt but you have a long long way to go before any of that so dont worry. stuff before 50, i dont even remember what I used but I dont remember anything really notable

earrings; drones work, vision earring at 50. all cheap earrings.

back: again, nothing good until 61 where you'd want to get an amemet+1. the +1 is worth it because, you get +1str/+5rng atk and you can use it for a good variety of other jobs as well. I use mine on my mnk, rng, cor, and nin. until then, nomads(+1).

head: nothing really great until af then after af its o-hat then wyvrens helm... or that new quadav helm piece but again, that's for way later.

also, to add on what bbq said... if you want to go dual axes but cant find the funds for a kreigsbeil, you can go francisca+woodsville for the +4str on woods. its a bit og rng-esque but if ur looking for str, it works.

feet: wear those bounding boots... its kind of hard to find good boots for rng...i wore bounding boots until af, then wore taru jse at 63, then got some scout's socks.

hope this helps

[Szkol]

OK- Update time, and a couple of additional questions:


I've got 51 RNG right now, and still going with a Fire Staff / Axe Grip / Ebow build- but for my armor here's the route I plan to take, and I'm just looking for people to poke holes in it, mostly to tell me where I can add Racc b/c I'm not sure if Sole Sushi will be enough on its own. Also, please let me know if Sole Sushi is the wrong food for me to use-

Head: Hunter's Beret - I think it was mentioned before- there's not really an alternative here-
Body: Shikaree Aketon - My alternative if I find I'm missing way too many hits is the Hunter's Jerkin for the +10 Racc
Hands- Akinji Bazubands - +3 Racc - Again This seems like the best, until Deadeye gloves maybe. I don't know if there's any STR gloves instead
Legs Akinji Salvars- +3 Racc +4 Ratk
Feet Akinji- Nails - +3 Racc - best I think until RSE boots, Marine F Boots for 3STR and 2 AGI


As for everything else I'm planning RK Belt -> Precise Belt (if I need it)
Thunderer's Mantle -> Amememet Mantle (probably the NQ at first)
Drone/Vision Earring
Rings: I think this is where I'll change my stats around a lot since there are so many options- Victory rings, Garrulous Ring, and Scorpions +1 for Racc if needed

The big question mark for me right now is whether or not Sole Sushi is going to give me a big enough Racc bonus to make up for my prefernce in STR / Ratk gear. Is this just going to be a situation where I need to tweak my gear around until I find the optimum setup?

[Mog]

Originally Posted by Szkol

OK- Update time, and a couple of additional questions:
I've got 51 RNG right now, and still going with a Fire Staff / Axe Grip / Ebow build- but for my armor here's the route I plan to take, and I'm just looking for people to poke holes in it, mostly to tell me where I can add Racc b/c I'm not sure if Sole Sushi will be enough on its own. Also, please let me know if Sole Sushi is the wrong food for me to use-

Head: Hunter's Beret - I think it was mentioned before- there's not really an alternative here-
Body: Shikaree Aketon - My alternative if I find I'm missing way too many hits is the Hunter's Jerkin for the +10 Racc
Hands- Akinji Bazubands - +3 Racc - Again This seems like the best, until Deadeye gloves maybe. I don't know if there's any STR gloves instead
Legs Akinji Salvars- +3 Racc +4 Ratk
Feet Akinji- Nails - +3 Racc - best I think until RSE boots, Marine F Boots for 3STR and 2 AGI


As for everything else I'm planning RK Belt -> Precise Belt (if I need it)
Thunderer's Mantle -> Amememet Mantle (probably the NQ at first)
Drone/Vision Earring
Rings: I think this is where I'll change my stats around a lot since there are so many options- Victory rings, Garrulous Ring, and Scorpions +1 for Racc if needed

The big question mark for me right now is whether or not Sole Sushi is going to give me a big enough Racc bonus to make up for my prefernce in STR / Ratk gear. Is this just going to be a situation where I need to tweak my gear around until I find the optimum setup?

I used Subs and Meat Mithkabobs leveling up. I noticed a substantial increase in my sidewinder damage. (Like two-fold increase with comparable gear) I would go from doing 800- 1000 on lessers to 1600-1800 (depending on the party setup). This means you need to load up on a bit more ranged accuracy leveling up.

I believe I used Francisca/Hawkers until I hit 70...then used Kriesbeil. For body head and feet, I used hunter's. For rings, just stick with whatever ranged accuracy rings there are for the level. If you feel like you have too much rAcc then try macroing in one or two STR rings. For gloves, you can get away with using Noct +1. Try to get into a sky linkshell and you can shoot for Seiryu's Kote or Crimson/Blood finger gauntlets. Everything else is fine as far as I can see.

Don't underestimate the power of good food though. You can pull a lot of good sidewinders with the right food. However, you need to make sure you back it up with the RAcc gear.

[Wise Donkey]

I have always been a fan of getting my +Acc from gear and my +Atk from food. I just seem to get a better punch that way. I will not fake intelligence in RNG gear though, so that's all I got.

[nanatsu]

You're usually better off with going with attack food. RNG has a ton of accuracy traits and access to a quite a bit of ranged accuracy from gear. So it only makes sense to take advantage of that acc gear and stay with meat. Only in circumstances where your pt is fighting things way above your level (which they shouldn't be doing, but oh well) will you actually need acc food and there is a better option for that than sushi at your level if you can find it.

Flounder Meuniere - FFXIclopedia - a Wikia Gaming wiki

The amount of ranged attack you can get from food generally trumps anything you can get from gear, plus what you can easily get in ranged accuracy balances it out. You also have the option of stacking both ranged attack food and ranged attack gear if you are naturally hitting low evasion on your target. Even when you get Sidewinder, I'd resist the urge to use sushi. Waiting until 150% tp usually takes care of any problems you might have connecting with it. The right way to gear for Sidewinder in most situations is to stack on ranged acc gear and go for meat.

Of course, the proper way to do things is to go without food on mobs for a bit, /check them to see how their evasion and def rates, and get a feel for how good your acc is against them. Then adjust your food situation accordingly. I always carry attack and acc food with me so I can switch up depending on the situation. But I stand by the idea that attack food + acc gear is a better combination, especially when you throw a brd or cor into the mix.

[Szkol]

I guess the reason I'd like to pile on the STR and Ratk gear is because it seems like there aren't nearly as many places for RNG to get it, and for a lot of the food options I'm wondering if I'm going to run up against the cap. Flounder Meuniere caps at 25 for example- I'm using Rice Dumplings currently and I'm already wondering if I'm running up against that cap at level 51. It seems like I can get loads of Racc in a variety of slots so I'm tempted to take advantage of Rath and STR where I can get it.

Maybe I'd have an easier time running calculations if I understood how to calculate damage properly-

My archery combat skill for example, is that the same as my base ranged accuracy and/or ranged attack?