While trolling around the internets for Aion information the past couple months, one topic that seems to come up time and time again is the comparison of the Ranger and the Sorcerer. If I had a dollar for every thread in Ranger forums comparing the two classes I would buy NCSoft so I could be playing the game right now.
We see so many threads with topics like "OMG Sorc or Ranger! Help me pick!" or "WTF... Ranger damage sucks! I pix Sorc". So in hopes of dissolving any false stigmas (no pun intended) of our class, I am writing this article to clear some things up. Many of you already dedicated Rangers will know this information all too well but hopefully this will educate some.
First of all, Sorcerers destroy our DPS. There... I said it. The sorcerer is the king (or queen) of ranged DPS. We cannot come close to them in a simple pew pew contest. Is the poor ranger broken then? Absolutely not. Let's look at why we are perfectly fine.
Rangers have more natural armor, having leather, increasing survivability. We also have plenty of traps, roots, and snares up our sleeves to slow our enemies down or in some cases completely stop them from doing anything. We have chance on crit stuns. We are built to survive while using hit and run tactics.
Sorcerers are built to primarily stand in one place and blow things to kingdom come. The second they get focus fire, they are in severe trouble because they are squishy clothies.
Now which is better? Which class is superior? The answer is "none of the above". I am here to tell you, fellow Aion community, that comparing the two is like comparing apples to tomatoes. They may both be red (sometimes) but they are not the same. Rangers and sorcerers are both DPS classes but they are not the same and should not be compared solely on their DPS.
The name of the game is play style. Play style is where these two classes are a world apart. So make your class decisions on that, and that alone. If you are a DPS whore, then by all means, pick the Sorcerer and enjoy it. No one will think lesser of you. If you enjoy hit and run, while staying mobile in combat, then pick the ranger.
The point that many players are missing is that when a class excels in something, it must give up other attributes. Sorcerers excel at DPS while sacrificing survivability and defense. Rangers excel at survivability, while sacrificing DPS. There is no right or wrong answer when picking classes as long as you fully understand how the class you are picking is built to be played and want to play that way.
The ranger is a hard class to play. There is no denying this. It requires much more strategy and interaction to make things click in PvP. You must constantly be on your toes and be aware of your surroundings. That is the allure of the class for many of us though. The rewards of outsmarting your opponent and wearing him/her down is a very rewarding thing in my opinion.
Hopefully some of you ranger/sorcerer fencers can take this information and make an educated decision. Always remember that games are meant to be entertaining. Pick what you think sounds fun, not what you think will dominate. That being said, rangers are better than sorcerers. Just kidding!
13 comments:
Well said sir. :)
..or ma'am. Thought about that after I hit the submit. oops.
It's sir... LOL. =) But I plan on playing a chicka on launch so ma'am works too I guess!
well said :)
While I totally agree with all that, I the whole thing is about large scale battle is what they're complaining for. Yes, we have our uses in it, as do all classes. But the ranger is a little more geared to 1v1 or small group. And yes I know, that's what the class description is. But if you're basing a game on giant side vs. side, it's hard to justify why you would want to have a more small group oriented class in there. Most are trying to justify to just pick the sorc because you can nuke them before they get there with templars and everything else in front of you. A ranger you kind of got to hop around and what not which triggers your brain to see the moving thing and then the enemy's allies come to help.
Dear jeebus I hope that makes sense, 'cause I think I may of started rambling. Also, I do plan to play a ranger and I do enjoy the playstyle, I'm just stating why I think people are trying to justify to just pick the sorc if you want "fun".
That is a valid point. In large scale battles no one is going to notice who is pwning who anyways though IMO.
I just don't understand when people expect a class to play a different way than it is intended. You said it yourself: "that's the class description". People need to understand what they are getting themselves into and if it doesn't seem fun then roll another class. That's what I was trying to get at in the article.
We are a more solo oriented class for sure. But we won't necessarily be outcasts in the Abyss. In large scale war, people will take what they can get.
Good post. I'd only add that if a person is having doubts about which class they want to play. Then they should try both.
That's always been my approach. I've ended up with a better understanding of the games that I have played because of it.
Also, you will probably have a lot of fun no matter which class you choose.
Great Blog you got here man, keep it up!
You should roll a Ranger so I can come here and learn how to be 1337. <3
(Nice blog btw :D)
@Sihn
Oh, I completely agree. I do plan to roll a ranger, with no regrets. I just felt like stating what those kind of people are probably thinking, and for the sake of argument lol. It's no fun just always agreeing and sucking up "omg u r so rite ur totalee my idol!!" Heh sorry for ranting lol.
thanks for your blog m8. Keep it up !!!
@matt actually the large scale battles are not a disadvantage in any way for a Ranger. Let me tell you although the Ranger is a bit of solo oriented class, we are much much powerful in a good group. Large scale or not a good group can divide the chaos in a working strategy and that's where the Ranger comes in.
We are like the old wise man in the back of a group, we let others take decisions until everything go wrong. We are capable to get things back on track because a good Ranger always has an overview of the battle situation and know how to react. And that is in my opinion the greatest difference between Sorc and Ranger, the Sorc just hit buttons to do as much as dps as possible. :)
Sihn, you've changed the game for me!
My main is a 29 cleric that's recently been waiting for friends to catch up. One of my alts is a ranger that I parked a few weeks ago at lvl 13. Over the past week I managed to get almost to 16, but MAN was it a PITA! I was about to move to a different alt because this was way too much work for so much death. I figured that I should give it one last go and focus on my manastones.
I found your blog and one other (can't find it now). Between your blog and his (great how-to and videos of kiting), I have to say that I now love this class! In little more than one hour, I went from 16 to 17 killing lvl 19/20 slinks and cresaurs around Morheim. After that the Mau (and anything else) were no match for me at all.
I think the only thing missing from your blog is an article on the mechanics of kiting. This would then be the perfect one stop introduction to the Aion ranger class.
Keep up the great work and I hope to see more here in the near future!
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