Know now that a ranger is one of the hardest characters you will ever build. Rangers are people who can survive on their own- they are self sufficient. With so many skills to be used, it will be hard to make your ranger. But once you have gotten past the building stage, you will find that your ranger is your most rewarding character.

Skills

Combat

Tactics is a must. This is necessary for all combat skills. That is to say if you want to be effective in your skill.

Anatomy is also a must.Especially if you are using archery. It also boosts your healing power considerably.

Ranger Skills

Camping is good for a few reasons. If you plan on staying in the woods almost all the time,never staying in one place too long,camping will allow you to log out without fear of being attacked. It is also useful if you have cooking as a skill.

Tracking is a fun skill indeed. At first glance it may seem useless,but I have found that it is actually quite useful. If you happen to be following someone with a better connection than you,this will ensure you do not lose them. It is also useful for keeping track of monsters while in dungeons and such. And if ever you are pick-pocketed, just start tracking the thief, even if he hides you will still be able to follow the blinking arrow to him.Plus at 21.1 skill you are essentially GM. After 21.1 there is no difference in how well tracking works.

Animal Taming/Lore. Rangers of legend have always been able to find a bond with nature. Having these two skills mean you will never be alone in the woods. Pets can also be used to fight. But rangers aren't interested in things like gold, so don't camp a spawn. Then you are just a tamer with archery.

Hiding/Stealth. Rangers have the ability to move from place to place without being seen or heard. These skills come in handy when you are hunting in your favorite dungeon.

Bowcrafting/Fletching. A hard skill to GM, but worth it in the long run. Allows you to be as self-sufficient as possible, making your own bows and arrows.

Veterinary makes sure your pets stay alive and happy.

Helpful/Necessary Skills

These are the ones that give you an easier time playing.

Healing. You must have either this or magery to heal. Potions are good but if you are using a two handed weapon like a bow you must first disarm to drink it. And since you will probably already have anatomy,this seems like a logical choice.

Magery. While making my character this skill gave me the most trouble. If I had high magery I could hide myself and heal myself,thus getting more skill for my skills. But how many rangers have you heard of that were proficient mages? Unless you are heavy into role-playing(or just don't like people) it is good to have at least a little skill for recalling. And if you chose to use taming, you will need to be able to gate to take your pets with you.

Magic Resist. While I know of a few people who do enjoy some success in fighting monsters without resist, I would advise you to get at least 90-GM of this skill. This goes double and triple if you think you may PvP at all.

Lumberjacking. You have to get the wood for bowcrafting somehow right? Or you could just buy the wood. But that becomes expensive.

Alchemy. Good for the truly self-sufficient ranger.

Starting Out

STR-40
DEX-20
INT-20

Most everyone will tell you to start with max STR. Stats are really easy to raise if you know how to. In my experience, it is easier to get the desired stats if they are closer in range to each other from the start.

Now, for starting skills it really isn't that hard to decide. The tried and true method is to get 50 of your combat skill (for ranger probably either archery or fencing) and 50 tactics. After that, pick a skill that will give you a newbie item that you will use. I would suggest Tailoring for scissors or Magery for the book and reagents.

I would suggest starting out in either Skara Brae, Britain, or Moonglow. Make your rounds to the shopkeepers to "train" your skills. Of course if you are doing this strictly RP, you might want to skip this. You will need healing and anatomy first and foremost. Go to the healers and get them raised. Then go over to the nearest bowyer and get bowcrafting raised. After that go to a carpenter to get your lumberjacking raised. The last thing is to buy a cheap hatchet to chop wood with. You have just made a cost effective start.For supplies, go to Moonglow. There you can pick cotton for bandies, chop wood for arrows, and there are plenty of birds to provide feathers and food. For armor just look around the bank for leftovers. You will be playing either archery or possibly fencing which are both DEX based. So armor can be a hindrance in some respects.

Skill/Stat Raising

First thing to do is raise your stats to their desired levels. This can be very tricky if you do not yet know what skills you want to use. The best way to raise stats is the see-saw method. This method requires you have all 700 skill points used. So go to Britain Graveyard or the Red NPC fort that is just beyond the mountain pass by Britain for some gold. You must buy all your skills up with the exception of Arms Lore, Musicianship, and Spirit Speak. These will be your "stats skills". Lock all your skills except one which will be pointing down(to lose skill points). Then have one of the three skills mentioned pointed up(to gain skill).

Arms Lore for STR.
Spirit Speak for INT.
Musicianship for DEX.

Use a combination of these skills(or all 3) to gain the desired stat. Raise one skill manually(don't buy it) up to 10 points real skill. Then set that skill arrow down. Then set one of the other skills to "up". Use that skill until all the points from the previous skill are gone. Then repeat the process with another of the three skills. Keep doing this and you will notice your stats going up pretty quick. You don't have to be in power hour either. (Note: for Musicianship a musical instrument is required.) Just remember to have all skills locked except for the three you are "see-sawing".

Unfortunately raising skills are a bit harder. Here is what you can do for the common ranger skills.

Archery - Shoot anything and everything up to 75 real skill. After that, try shooting ogre lords and bone knights. The spawn in the "Bone Knight Room(or The Wall)" has recently been increased so be careful and bring lots of bandies. Tactics will go up with your archery so no worries there.

Camping - Use the 8x8 method. Get a boat. Get a lot of kindling. Take boat into ocean during your power hour. Set sail going East to West. Use camping. When you gain in skill, stop the boat and keep doing it from that spot. Then move 8 tiles forward and do it again. Then repeat. If you stop gaining you have to find a new spot.

Tracking - Don't even waste a powerhour with this one. Just keep using the skill up to 21.1 real skill. At that point you will be able to track just as well as a GM tracker.

Animal Taming - Tame everything you can up to about 60 real skill. At this point tame bulls and grizzlies to GM. It's not as simple as it sounds though.

Animal Lore - Get your boat out again. Tame a few polar bears and bring them onto your boat. Start sailing in one steady direction that will not take you close to shore. Release one bear and have the other attack it. Heal both of the bears. Once you gain,stop the boat. Keep healing the bears until you haven't gained for awhile. Then move on and try and find another spot.

Veterinary - See above. This will also gain you veterinary.

Bowcrafting/Fletching- This is a hard skill to raise. It will take you many hours of practice. Check the Bowcrafting/Fletching Essay for a table of what to make and when for the best gains.

As I have said before, there are many skills that can be considered ranger skills. If I were to list them all here with a complete description of how to gain skill, there would be almost no point in having any of the other Professions Essays. The few I provided are just among the most popular skills used by rangers.

(Note: While I have hunted specific creatures for skill gain in archery and tactics, I have never used the 8x8 method or any other skill gain method that requires you to manipulate the skill gain system. This is perfectly legal and I am assuming it works as so many people do it. But I cannot say first hand that it will work. If nothing else, it won't get you worse gains right?)

Playing Your Ranger

Shadow Ranger: GM- Archery(or Fencing) GM- Tactics GM- Anatomy GM- Healing GM- Hiding GM- Stealth GM- Magic Resist	Pros: Good fighter. When action gets too thick, can always sneak away.
	Cons: No magic for recall or any other spell. Will have to bum gates from others-or run.

Classic Ranger 1: GM- Archery GM-Tactics GM- Anatomy GM- Healing GM- Magic Resist 20- Magery 22- Tracking 80- Camping 40- Taming 38- Animal Lore	Pros: Good fighter. Can recall to get around. Can track as well as a GM Tracker and can safely log out in wild. Can tame own mounts.
	Cons: Pretty basic. Skills are spread a little thin. Not capable of any high level spells. Use of scrolls is required for recalling.

Classic Ranger 2 GM- Archery GM- Tactics GM- Anatomy GM- Magic Resist GM- Bowcrafting/Fletching GM- Healing 75- Lumberjacking 25- Magery	Pros: Another good fighter. Enough magery to recall (with scroll). Enough lumberjacking to provide wood for bows and arrows that you will craft yourself.
	Cons: Won't be able to do other ranger abilities.

Tamer/Ranger GM- Archery(or Fencing) GM- Tactics GM- Anatomy 90- Healing GM- Animal Taming GM- Animal Lore 37- Magery 73- Veterinary	Pros: Can tame anything can hold own when alone. Veterinary can be substituted for GM Magery for Healing purposes. This also can free up Healing and allow for another GM skill. Can gate with scroll.
	Cons: Will not be able to do many other ranger type skills like Camping. Will fail a lot with minimum magery for gate.

Ranger Warrior GM- Archery GM- Fencing GM- Tactics GM- Anatomy GM- Healing GM- Magic Resist 78- Magery 22- Tracking	Pros: Pair this up with a fast connection, and you have a lean, mean killing machine. Enough magery to do most spells. Tracking adds a little flavor and fun to the hunt.
	Cons: Take away Tracking and you don't have much of a ranger. Having 78 magery will almost make you want to go to GM.

Spiritual Ranger GM- Archery GM- Tactics GM- Anatomy GM- Healing GM- Veterinary 78- Magic Resist GM- Magery 22- Tracking	Pros: Can Heal anything in a small amount of time. Mainly used for role playing.
	Cons: Unless you are role playing you will find that having both Healing and Magery is a waste of skill.

These were just some examples. There are many skills that can be used. Being a good ranger is not knowing what you are, it's knowing what you are not. You are not like everyone else. You feel comfortable both alone and in groups. While others may flock to cities you are roaming the deepest woods of the lands. I hope I may have helped you to see a path with this essay.

- Fairfax of Chesapeake