Why is ranged so bad?

[canis74]

1. The range is ultra short for a big rifle.
2. The damage is low.
3. Ammo is expensive/time consuming.
4. Can't use my slow stanza with crushing ammo.
5. Taunt is more effective than ranged - you don't have to switch weapon.

This should be fixed, plus making the shooting animations better also when running.

[katriell]

making the shooting animations better also when running.

I agreed with that part.

[khyle]

1. The range is ultra short for a big rifle.
2. The damage is low.
3. Ammo is expensive/time consuming.
4. Can't use my slow stanza with crushing ammo.
5. Taunt is more effective than ranged - you don't have to switch weapon.

This should be fixed, plus making the shooting animations better also when running.

1: Range seems short (I mean come on, 30 meters for a rifle?), but it's not really an issue, as you can (and should!) keep moving while fighting, so your opponent won't hit you as much as in hand-to-hand; faster opponents get to hit more often, of course.
2: The damage per shot may seem low, especially at lower skill/weapon levels, but you're going to pump out shots at increasing rate with increasing skill level, forcing you to fine-tune stamina and health credits for your actions.
3: I'm inclined to say this depends on point of view. Granted, ranged combat is not a skill to be powerleveled like mêlée or magic, but if it's too slow for you, don't use it. Speaking for myself, I like the complex interdependency of range/forage/craft, and the sheer power of the rifle. It's a discipline that depends more on player skill (as opposed to character skill) than the other skill branches. I find it very rewarding to be able to kill beasts of much higher levels than I (think I) could best with mêlée at the same level.
If you're absolutely not into crafting, you might find a crafter who would happily churn out ammunition if you provide the materials (have done it myself on occasion so as to gain crafting experience without having to dig). If you're not into digging as well, then... well... yes, range combat requires a lot of resources. Maybe there's a guild out there that provides for young recruits - on Leanon (german server), you might want to go and see the First Pyr Rifles, don't know about the other servers.
4: No need to use the stanza, as critical effects depend solely on the ammunition used and the body part hit. You can use aim stanzas to increase your chances of hitting eg. the legs, thus slowing your opponent more often, or head to stun etc.
5: No need to switch weapons, just keep running around your opponents in big circles, pumping pieces of choice bark into them
6: There are no shooting animations while running when in 3rd person view. If you switch to first person ("v" key), you get sounds and particle effects.

I agree that ranged combat could do with a little love from the devs, but I wouldn't say it needs to be fixed, because it isn't broken; it's different, and a little less accessible than hand-to-hand combat, but it's a challenging and powerful skill to learn.

Hope to help.
PS.: All the above opinions come from a level 130 rifle user, 70ish mêlée, 60ish def mage, around 40 off mage

[kibsword]

I am focusing on the Autolauncher right now, and I havn't had so much fun in Ryzom for ages. Its such a cool skill

At at the top levels really competes with the traditional trees.

[vguerin]

I am focusing on the Autolauncher right now, and I havn't had so much fun in Ryzom for ages. Its such a cool skill

At at the top levels really competes with the traditional trees.

It competes (in the roughest sense), that I agree on... to not hear anything about the ranged tree for as long as we have tho... makes it seem unloved. It doesn't have the sparkle of being new (fixing stuff) so it has to be a labor of love. Old timers and old skills don't get the love that the hope of new folks does... it's a damned shame !

[philu]

It competes (in the roughest sense), that I agree on... to not hear anything about the ranged tree for as long as we have tho... makes it seem unloved. It doesn't have the sparkle of being new (fixing stuff) so it has to be a labor of love. Old timers and old skills don't get the love that the hope of new folks does... it's a damned shame !

Couldn't agree more.

As for the issue of the actual range of ranged weapons; way back in beta the distance you could shoot was huge (might even have been unlimited). I remember targetting gingos on the starter island, running all the way back to stand next to a guard at the edge of the village (just in case) and shooting the gingo. Only on rare occasions would it reach me before I killed it, that's where the guard came in.

Eventually they 'fixed' the distance you could shoot and shortened it considerably. Too much IMHO. OK maybe the range of pistols should be shorter but shouldn't rifles have a longer range than anything else? How about the Karavan teaching us how to make scopes so that we can see (and shoot) targets further away? That would be a nice upgrade to ranged weapons; maybe even another crafting skill.

[norvic]

I think a little more "Range" would be in order to the std 40m on a rifle but would like to see a new stanza posibly to do it, "Sniping" would add range over and above std but you would have to be immobile and could be used no closer than say 20m.

A tiny hike in damage percentage maybe <10%

Love the Idea of "First Pyr Rifles" I may have to create a toon on Leannon and see if they would have me although mastering ranged again would be scary.

Edit: Gallows, damage is an issue with ranged just curiuos if you are using max dammage 100/100 ammo anything else really isnt worth it. I use Becker/Koorin and Dung cos its what i can get hold of easily but many other combos work.

[rushin]

I've found range the most fun to level, even though i dont find time for it very often... running round maiden grove with a bowrifle picking off targets is very satisfying.

I heard you come over to ML last night gallows with lv21 ranged.. what you need is a good weapon, and great ammo, and an understanding its a little different to level than other skills and you'll be enjoying yourself in no time..

[frustro]

I'm an utter newb and so far I've only seen ranged up to 51. I decided early on that I wanted to make my character a Hvy ranged/Hvy armor sort of character. The system seemed flexible enough to allow this and even though it might not be the most effective I decided to stick with the concept.

The sad truth though is that the way ranged works now I doubt I'll be sticking with my original plan. Ranged combat at low levels are so laughably weak that it just isn't a viable option for me right now. Sure, I can level up easily enough in a team...but I'm not pulling my own weight in a fight.

Soloing is possible with the run-and-gun technique, but the way this works kills off every shred of immersion I have with the game. The run-and-gun way to use ranged (in my case a rifle atm) is utterly silly, and definatly not what I had in mind when coming up with my character concept.

Unfortunatly using rifles without running is almost as silly. The lack of damage means it takes forever to down a mob, and the extra time doesn't just mean extra damage recieved, it's also more de-buffs and the likes, as well as increased risk for adds while fighting.

From what I've seen so far I'd say ranged needs a complete overhaul system wise. Perhaps along the lines of greater range, no running while shooting with anything bigger then a pistol (and ALL weapons should require you at least to FACE whatever you're shooting at). Increase damage, but maybe add penalties for using ranged within melee range (again with the exeption for pistols which should in turn do less damage).

I'll probably keep trying to level ranged hoping it will get better later on, but I think for now I'll put my energy into melee.

[kyesmith]

Ranged in my opinion is a skill to be taken up when you first start the game, its a gun tree which is very rare to see completed, for alot of people i know who have mastered other melees it is something they come back to as a fun skill, now they have a bigger HP pool and the ability to dig and craft their own ammo, yes ranged needs working but lets face it, it is a far more effective tree than staff and no one is yet to complain about that