Comprehensive Ranger Guide
About the Guide
This guide is maintained by Kithus but brought to you by members of the GS community from discussions via various forums, Discord chats and direct player input on gswiki. It is ALWAYS open for contributions from the community.
Last Upate: 2/8/2018
Race and Stat Considerations
| Race | Strength | Constitution | Dexterity | Agility | Discipline | Aura | Logic | Intuition | Wisdom | Influence | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aelotoi | -5 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | -5 | +20 |
| Burghal gnome | -15 | 10 | 10 | 10 | -5 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | -5 | +25 |
| Dark elf | 0 | -5 | 10 | 5 | -10 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -5 | +15 |
| Dwarf | 10 | 15 | 0 | -5 | 10 | -10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -10 | +15 |
| Elf | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15 | -15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +20 |
| Erithian | -5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +25 |
| Forest gnome | -10 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | -5 | +25 |
| Giantman | 15 | 10 | -5 | -5 | 0 | -5 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | +10 |
| Half elf | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | +15 |
| Half krolvin | 10 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -10 | 0 | -5 | -5 | +5 |
| Halfling | -15 | 10 | 15 | 10 | -5 | -5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | -5 | +20 |
| Human | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | +15 |
| Sylvankind | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | -5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +15 |
AgiDex
Roundtime is quite simple. Strength and encumbrance can be a factor but that can be managed by carefully managing inventory. The most important factor is AgiDex, or the sum of the bonuses of a character's Dexterity and Agility. This combined total helps reduce the Roundtime of a physical attack by a specified amount:
| Agility + Dexterity |
Roundtime reduction |
|---|---|
| 8 - 22 | 1 |
| 23 - 37 | 2 |
| 38 - 52 | 3 |
| 53 - 67 | 4 |
| 68 - 82 | 5 |
| 83 - 97 | 6 |
| 98 - 112 | 7 |
| 113+ | 8 |
| Roundtime reductions above 5 are not achievable without enhancive items. | |
Pairing that table with the stat table above we can break it down to see each races theoretical maximum AgiDex, before enhancives:
| 5 RT Reduction | 4 RT Reduction | 3 RT Reduction |
|---|---|---|
| Halfling | Aelotoi | Erithian |
| Burghal gnome | Dark elf | Human |
| Elf | Forest gnome | Dwarf |
| Half-elf | Giantman | |
| Sylvankind | ||
| Half-Krolvin |
This is important because weapons have a minimum RT, and a base RT. By taking the base RT and subtracting the bard's AgiDex we can find that bard's unencumbered swing RT.
This is important to bards who use polearms because of their high base roundtimes:
| Weapon Type | Weapon Name | Base RT | Min RT |
|---|---|---|---|
| THW | Claid | 8 | 5 |
| Polearm | Lance | 9 | 5 |
| Polearm | Awl-Pike | 9 | 5 |
A Human, Dwarf, or Giantman cannot use a lance with minimum RT unless they use enhancives. Those in the middle columns can grow into a lance but their stats will not likely be placed for growth, so they will eventually want to invest in a fixstat. Halflings, Burghal Gnomes, and Elves are able to reach the highest AgiDex totals and will have a far easier time swinging a lance in at the minimum roundtime.
Dexterity is also important as the AS stat for the Archer Bard.
Strength
Strength bonus adds directly to melee AS. Any melee bard is going to want a decent Strength stat. Polearm bards will want to pair that with a decent AgiDex possibility. The table below compares the Strength stats of those races capable of using a lance at minimum RT:
| 5 RT Reduction | STR Mod | 4 RT Reduction | STR Mod | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halfling | -15 | Aelotoi | -5 | |
| Burghal gnome | -15 | Dark elf | 0 | |
| Elf | 0 | Forest gnome | -10 | |
| Half-elf | 0 | |||
| Sylvankind | 0 | |||
| Half-krolvin | 10 |
As we can see from the table an elf is likely to be the most balanced polearm user between their high AgiDex and lack of a strength penalty. Half-Krolvin, with their +10 strength bonus and reasonable AgiDex value can also be a good choice. Any race will make a viable polearm bard but those wanting to maximize their efficiency should look to those two, as well as the sylvan, half-elf, or dark elf.