Dont you mean dex? Im pretty sure dex was what affected how many things you can carry.
Nah i mean str... Ever played a halfling and had to carry a whole bunch of heavy crap around 
its not the number of how many things you can carry thats the problem, its the amount of weight you can manage that I found effects the ranger much more.
If I have time I will write up something more complete, but I will just make a few general remarks for now.
Beastmaster: While a lot of people consider this the underdog selection, it also takes no extra skill to use. The added wham of a third pet can also make a difference, especially if you use them right. (ie, flee a lot and take advantage of your massive opener rounds). VERY newbie friendly, especially if you are still having trouble keeping up with other aspects of PK.
Archery: This path is fairly easy to get about 50% out of without extra effort (Just make some arrows and they'll fire themselves!). The next 25% is tactical: knowing when to use which arrows versus whom. This means a lot. The last 25% you can get out of this path is all about speed. If you aren't above average in speed it will be difficult to fully utilize this part, the out-of-combat archery part. However, if you are fast enough and get the whole 100% you will make people want to cry.
Tracker: This path has a lot of potential, but it also takes a lot of extra "finicking around", so to speak. Again, if you are still struggling with other parts of PK (keeping affects up, chasing, running, feeling in control in general) don't pick this path. Doublesheath requires a bit of forethought, and than you have to deal with in combat switching. Tracking is certainly nice but again, if you aren't on top of everything else already, you don't want to deal with this. Throwing can also be tedious with keeping shields (and weapons sometimes) and setting aliases for them, etc.
In summary, Beastmaster is basically a standalone path. Archery and Tracker require a lot more finesse/preparation/stuff to do but have great potential if you can manage.
Having a ton of ranger experience, I would say Archery is potentially the strongest path (or was before these scrolls 
). The damage + effects is awesome.
Tracker is useful too, but in a lot of ways it is what I consider the lazy persons path. I say that because it adds almost nothing extra. If you aren't lazy you don't need tracking or doublesheath. (Who says you can't chase and switch weapons already?) Throw is nice but weapon throwing is only useful in very select situations, and shield throwing, while nice for lag, is not particularly reliable.
And all it takes is a dirt kick to stop all that, where as archery will keep firing even blind
And all it takes is a dirt kick to stop all that' date=' where as archery will keep firing even blind
And keep doing jack against my missile shield.
And keep doing jack against my missile shield.
Those scrolls are expensive and don't last very long. A smart PKer would just see your affects and land a timely dirt kick so you won't be able to recite another.
They last a pretty decent time actually. Also, dirt kick would wear off the same hour as missile shield in that case.
Two things: Gold is easy to get, and those scrolls are really only needed against rangers, warriors and the rare melee ninja. Keeping a stock of a half-dozen or so on you isn't hard.
Pali, due to the new change on the who list, good luck trying to keep yourself always prepped for a camouflaged ranger.
An ambush could do some serious harm, absolutely. Just like a blackjack or strangle can lead to serious harm. However, fleeing into a city to heal and recite a scroll isn't that hard against a class that lacks lagging abilities.
An ambush could do some serious harm' date=' absolutely. Just like a blackjack or strangle can lead to serious harm. However, fleeing into a city to heal and recite a scroll isn't that hard against a class that lacks lagging abilities.[/quote']
maybe for you. I had a pretty impressive set on my warrior that would last me about thirty rounds with merlix, but when Triathix ambushed me i ended up getting like 3 rounded.
