[OH SNAP, HE'S OUT OF HIDING.]
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Specialty FAQ - Dark Ranger Hero.
Version 1.0
Started on 8/21/2005 by Earthshaker, finally submitted on 12/29/2006
Copyright 2005-2006 by Earthshaker (
[email protected])
Anyone may reproduce this FAQ electronically, but do not sell it for
money. If you wish to place this on your website, TOUGH BEANS. The
*only* place this walkthrough will EVER be published is www.GameFAQs.com
(or its affiliates.) If you host without my permission or GameFAQs, you
are hosting without GameFAQs's express legal consent, and I'm fairly
certain that the legal repercussions for that are, at best, undesirable.
You can also email your INTELLIGENT comments, questions, gripes,
suggestions, submissions, love letters, etc. to the above address;
however, I have a special Email now set up that I check every so often
regarding video game help. This email is Honatuto (at) yahoo (dot) com
(spammers begone!)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.) Revision history
2.) "Lolz omg wut is a neutral hero? Kan I kill it?!" (an overview)
3.) Dark Ranger - an Overview
A.) Stats
B.) Abilities
4.) Dark Ranger by Race
A.) Human/Alliance
B.) Orc/Horde
C.) Night Elf/Sentinel
D.) Undead/Scourge
5.) Final Summary
6.) Repeat Copyright
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^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* 1. Revision History *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
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12/29/2006 - Version 1.0. I wrote this FAQ so very long ago and forgot
to submit it. It was originally intended to be an in-depth view of
certain specific heroes that people tend to have troubles using, but
since then, I've looked over it, tacked on some grammatical fixes, etc.
Also, it was very difficult to read as it was rather... long, so it has
been broken up into several sections that will become FAQs in their own
right.
Still, while DotA:Allstars reigns supreme as one of the most played
games on Battle.net, there are still people attracted to the main online
game. This is who the FAQ is for: those brave souls willing to risk it
in a melee map. TO THE DEATH!
[Awesome.]
8/21/2005 - Version Alpha - The madness begins, after a summer of having
worked at a bank. I am also legally old enough to drink, and as such,
*legally* insane. Well, enough about me. On with the show!
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^*^*^*^*^ 2.) lolz omg wut is a neutral hero? Kan I kill it?! *^*^*^*^*
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(Please, PLEASE refer to Dandude's awesome terminology FAQ located under
the Frozen Throne FAQs and Guides here at www.GameFAQs.com. If you do
not, some of this language might scare or disorient you.)
The titling for this section comes because, quite frankly, the
majority of the Battle.net population is comprised of idiots, lowlifes,
and degenerates. Notice that I, the pot, am calling the kettle black,
but I'm sorely offended by the fact that opponents submit hacking
reports just because they wonder how their units keep missing while
bubbles are floating out of their heads (yes, I have had someone attempt
a hacking report because I used a hero skill.)
But maybe you're new to the Warcraft 3 expansion. Well, here's the
concept of where neutral heroes come into play: a neutral hero is a
mercenary hero that, provided you own an altar, can be hired out of a
Frozen Throne exclusive building called the tavern. At this tavern,
eight heroes of various races are boozing around, just waiting to go get
beat up for a pithy amount of resources.
To select a hero from a tavern, you must first build an altar at your
base. Once this is completed (or, more recommended, while it is in the
process of building, move ANY unit under your control (or a partners
control, if shared control has been enabled) near the tavern (a building
with a large, red roof, usually equidistant from any of the starting
locations.) When the unit is within "shopping distance" of the tavern,
the grayed-out portraits of the eight heroes within will become vibrant
and colorful (providing you built that altar!) Click on the portrait of
the hero you wish to hire. There are some things to note about
selection of a hero from the tavern, however! They are as follows.
1.) While the hero is free if it is your first hero, hiring a neutral
hero as your second hero requires a small amount of additional lumber on
top of the original cost (compared to if you hired a hero from your own
altar, where you only need 425 gold and 100 wood.)
2.) YOU CANNOT HIRE A NEUTRAL HERO WITHOUT AN ALTAR AND A SUFFICIENT
SUPPLY OF FOOD.
3.) If you wish to hire a neutral hero as your second or third hero, you
must be on the appropriate "tier" level (refer to Dandude's terminology
FAQ.
4.) Heroes that are hired from a tavern appear INSTANTLY upon selection.
Make sure you do not miss the proper hotkey or portrait, or else you may
wind up with a Beastmaster when you wanted a Naga.
5.) While heroes appear instantly from the tavern, they CAN NOT be hired
for the first few minutes of a game. It takes almost exactly the same
amount of time to immediately build an altar upon the start of a game
and train a hero from the completed altar as it does for the neutral
heroes to become available in the tavern. Fancy that... having to wait
for them to finish their drinks before they'll die for you.
6.) YOU CANNOT HIRE A NEUTRAL HERO WITHOUT AN ALTAR AND A SUFFICIENT
SUPPLY OF FOOD. The tavern provides the ability to hold off on
production of your altar for a little while, but you *still* need a
completed one. Be sure you have the 5 food necessary for hiring by
building that extra farm/moon well/ziggurat/burrow!
7.) The tavern isn't just used for hiring neutral heroes. Dead heroes
(both neutral and racial) have the option to revive their spirits (pun
intended) at the tavern! Heroes revived in this manner revive
instantly, but there are several pitfalls from using this alternative.
First off, a hero that is revived at the tavern is rehired instantly
with half of his/her maximum health, and NO MANA. Second, it requires a
LOT of resources to revive a hero instantly there, and it escalates
depending on the level. Just for example, and this is off the top of my
head, but I believe that reviving a level 1 hero at the tavern requires
the same amount of gold and lumber as it costs to train a second hero
from an altar (425G100L.) It is obviously VERY inefficient to revive
level 1 heroes at a tavern except in desperation - this feature is best
reserved if you were horrible enough/unlucky enough to lose a level 9 or
10 hero to an opponent.
Now that we've covered the basics of the tavern, let's cover the
basics of a neutral hero. One statement describes the usage of a
neutral hero - ALL NEUTRAL HEROES ARE SITUATIONAL. While true even for
the racial heroes, THEY ARE *SITUATIONAL.* For example, it is POINTLESS
to get, say, a Pit Lord for your first hero as an Undead, since his main
purposes (area damage and a [poor] tanking job) are overshadowed by the
abilities of the other Undead heroes. A Lich will cover the AOE needs
with Frost Nova better than a Pit Lord's Rain of Fire (which has poorer
range, does not slow targets, and requires multiple waves to hit for
full effectiveness,) whereas a Crypt Lord will utilize impale and spiked
carapace to SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the amount of damage he takes.
Instead, try COMBINING the neutral heroes to fill gaps in your army.
Again, let's consider the Undead. Suppose one of their main problems is
the quick onset of enemy necromancers from an opposing UD? Hire a dark
ranger to silence both the necromancers and enemy obsidian statues, then
utilize black arrow to pick off any Raise Dead bait. While she is
performing her duties, use a Lich to Frost Nova any enemies focusing
her, heal her with a Death Knight's Death Coil, or utilize the
Dreadlord's Vampiric Aura to ensure a bit of protection for Dark Minions
raised from Black Arrow.
The trick is to find the neutral hero of your choice's niche in the
army and run with it. With the possible exceptions of Tinker and the
Pandaren Brewmaster, few of these heroes can effectively be utilized as
your primary hero. Still, a little variety never hurts, right?
With all that said, let's get the actual meat of the FAQ completed:
individual analysis (analyses? Analysises?) of the Dark Ranger. First
comes an introduction to the character, an in-depth look at his/her
abilities, an in-depth look at her pros and cons, an in-depth look at
how she can be effectively utilized during online play, with a few
dashes of tips for use.
This FAQ will "borrow" information from Blizzard's official Warcraft
3 Expansion site, www.blizzard.com/war3x
As a final notice for this introduction before we get started... all of
the information FIRST provided is based off of MY personal experiences
and opinions. You are welcome to agree or disagree, or even make some
submissions! Any other views that are not redundant are very much
appreciated (except if they're stupid, in which they are appreciated
after being cleansed in a vat of boiling oil sprayed with Lysol and
Febreeze.)
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^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* 3.) Dark Ranger - An Overview *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
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"So I went on a job interview the other day, and they were like 'ohh,
what's that smell?' And I was, like, 'oh, sorry, that's me.' And then
they figured I wouldn't be able to fit in with the other employees
because they're living, and I'm, y'know, dead, so I wouldn't be a team
player? But then I said that I could work 24 hours and they were like
'Allllright! You can work the graveyard shift!'
The Dark Ranger is a small-sized, crafty manipulator of enemy forces.
From her own hatred of the living, this undead elf has risen from the
ranks of being a mere banshee and now can inflict the shadowy fears of
death in other opponents, causing them to animate into skeletons when
they fall under the pressures of her Black Arrows. With her will, she
can also halt enemy magicians from uttering the incantations necessary
to perform any spells in a circular area, or she can steal the very
essence of life from a target, replacing her own vitals. Experienced
dark rangers use allure from beyond the grave to Charm their enemies
into defection.
The Dark Ranger was, at first, the only available Neutral hero during
Frozen Throne's beta period. Still, with the other seven heroes to
choose from, this agility-based hero is still a solid choice. She has a
fairly large range on her attack, compounded with a fast move speed.
Best of all, she can provide herself with a tank with a little bit of
micromanagement!
Also, out of ANY hero in the Frozen Throne, or heck, even any of the
other heroes, she is my personal favorite.
=======================
===DARK RANGER STATS===
=======================
(Please note that all stats are disregarding other factors such as
auras, tomes, or items.)
Primary Attribute: Agility
Attack Range: 60
Base HP: 550 Level 10 HP: 975
Base MP: 225 Level 10 MP: 570
Base strength: 18 Level 10 strength: 35
Base agility: 21 Level 10 agility: 34
Base intelligence: 15 Level 10 intelligence: 38
Base damage: 1d11+22 Level 10 damage: 1d11+35
Base armor: 4 Level 10 armor: 8
Base attack speed: 1 ranged attack every 2.42 seconds
Move speed: 320 (Fast)
Special attributes:
UNDEAD - Being Undead, the Dark Ranger can be harmed by Holy Light and
can be healed by Death Coil. Friendlies can not use Holy Light on a
Dark Ranger because of this, and likewise, enemies can use a Death Coil
against her.
===========================
===DARK RANGER ABILITIES===
===========================
~~~~~~~~~
~SILENCE~
~~~~~~~~~
Mana Cost: 75 Cooldown: 15 seconds.
- After selecting this skill, a targeting circle will appear. Upon
placement of the circle, the Dark Ranger moves into range (maximum range
of 90) and places a debuff on every enemy non-magic-immune unit or hero
which prevents magical abilities from being used. Passive skills and
auras will still remain in effect. Increasing levels of Silence improve
the duration and area of effect (mana cost and range remain constant.)
- Silence can be dispelled. Silence lasts for half duration (I.e. 8
seconds instead of 16 at level 1) on heroes or units with spell
resistance.
LEVEL 1 - 16 second duration. Area of effect (AoE) - 20.
LEVEL 2 - 20 second duration. AoE - 27.5
LEVEL 3 - 24 second duration. AOE - 35
EARTHSHAKER'S NOTES
- Fast cooldown - with the exception of heroes or units with spell
resistance, a Dark Ranger can constantly keep a group of enemies
Silenced, even at level 1.
- Interrupts channeling - any ability that requires concentration, such
as Blizzard, Stampede, Earthquake, Starfall, etc., will stop functioning
after Silence is placed on it.
- Because of its area targeting ability, units may be moved out of range
of Silence before it fires off. Take care that your Ranger is in range
before targeting, or she will waste time wandering to the targeted
location.
- Silence's mana cost, while relatively low, may become a problem if you
constantly need to use it in conjunction with Black Arrow. She will
usually have enough for one or two, but in a large melee, mana can run
out at the worst time. Consider carrying a mana potion (200 gold) to
remedy this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~BLACK ARROW~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mana Cost: 6 Cooldown: N/A
AUTOCAST ABILITY - Right clicking the icon will allow this spell to
activate automatically.
- When Black Arrow is activated, a dark aura surrounds every arrow the
Dark Ranger fires from her bow. This aura deals additional damage to
the targeted enemy, and if the enemy dies within a short time of being
struck by one, it will become a Dark Minion under the Dark Ranger's
control.
LEVEL 1 - 2 additional damage per shot, creates a 215 HP Lesser Dark
Minion (9.5 average damage per hit, attacks once every two seconds.)
LEVEL 2 - 10 additional damage per shot, creates a 290 HP Dark Minion
(16 average damage per hit, attacks once every two seconds.)
LEVEL 3 - 20 additional damage per shot, creates a 405 HP Greater Dark
Minion (17.5 average damage per hit, attacks once every two seconds.)
EARTHSHAKER'S NOTES
- This is the Dark Ranger's essential skill. Additional damage for a
low mana cost is great, and if you are skilled with using the alt button
to examine low HP units based on their health bars, you can quickly pick
off dying units to create a skeleton army.
- Caution should be taken using this ability around enemies with dispel.
If you see a priest, destroyer, spirit walker, or an approaching wisp,
consider turning off Black Arrow to avoid feeding your opponents the EXP
obtained from killing Dark Minions. Remember that Dark Minions give the
same EXP as a level 2/3/4 creep (depending on the level of Black Arrow.
Consider Silencing the offending tauren or blood elves, if you can catch
an entire group of them. If the dispeller is a destroyer, you should
take it down BEFORE using the black arrow! If you don't want to turn it
off, you can always take potshots at an enemy hero, as the added damage
bonus is wonderful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~LIFE DRAIN~
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mana Cost: 75 Cooldown: 8 seconds
- When Life Drain is targeted on an enemy, the Dark Ranger moves within
50 range and starts siphoning green energy out of the targeted enemy
(who knew we were all squishy, glowing, and green on the inside?) As
the enemy loses this energy, it loses HP, which is transferred over to
the Dark Ranger, healing her if she is damaged.
CHANNELING ABILITY - The Dark Ranger cannot perform any other actions
while casting this spell to maintain its full effect. Abilities such as
Sleep or Ensnare will stop the effect of this spell.
SPECIAL NOTE: If the targeted enemy moves beyond a range of 80, the
spell will abruptly terminate.
LEVEL 1 - 25 HP transferred per second.
LEVEL 2 - 40 HP transferred per second.
LEVEL 3 - 55 HP transferred per second.
EARTHSHAKER'S NOTES
- I'm not really a big fan of this spell. It's excellent in theory,
really, but it's overshadowed by her other two primary skills in most
cases. The only situation I would ever pick Life Drain over Silence is
if I've already been using Silence for the match and the opponent
stopped using casters altogether. I would buy a tome of retraining at
this point and invest the Silence points into LD.
- It CAN be a great hero killer spell, since the hero resistance factor
seems to be weak on here, but the problem I find with it is that
everything Life Drain can do a Black Arrow can do better in terms of
damage. Really, it'd only be useful for healing the ranger if you have
no other options, which you should as every race (Priests for Human,
Witch Doctors and a Shadow Hunter for Orcs, Death Knight for the Undead,
and... er... Moon Wells for the Night Elves.
~~~~~~~
~CHARM~
~~~~~~~
Mana cost: 150 Cooldown: 45 seconds Range: 70
ULTIMATE SKILL - Can only be obtained when the Dark Ranger's experience
level is 6 or higher.
- Upon using this skill, the Dark Ranger dominates the thoughts of a
targeted enemy unit, causing it to defect and be controlled by the DR's
commander. It is like the banshee spell Possession, with some notable
differences: First, it can be used on aerial units, and second, Charm is
INSTANT, while Possession is channeling, and third, the Dark Ranger does
not die after using this spell.
EARTHSHAKER'S NOTES
- I LOVE this ultimate, but it must be used carefully. You don't just
want to parade into a base with a lone Ranger and charm a tauren... no,
don't even ATTEMPT that unless you're positive you can run the unit away
(otherwise, you'll just feed the enemy hero experience.) It can really
turn the tides of battle if used on a 4-food or higher unit (such as a
knight, mountain giant without resistant skin, or my personal favorite
act of larceny, a frost wyrm.)
- The cooldown for Charm is VERY low - so low, in fact, that a problem
will crop up from repeated use: the Dark Ranger will lack the mana
necessary to cast it. A remedy for this is a 200 gold mana potion,
easily purchased at the tier 2 stage of the racial shop. Also consider
mana-boosting abilities of other races: the Brilliance Aura of an
Archmage, Reverse Mana Siphon from a Blood Mage, or the Mana restoration
ability of Obsidian Statues. Also, consider turning off autocast Black
Arrow and using it only when absolutely necessary.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~A.) HUMAN/ALLIANCE~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OVERALL
While some may consider a Dark Ranger for Human a bit... crappy, they
are correct, in a sense. Really, the only situation in which a Dark
Ranger would be preferable would be when a Paladin is not useful.
Silence, while an excellent anti-caster spell, pales in comparison to
both the dispel abilities of a Priest or a Spell Breaker. In fact, Life
Drain might be necessary for early healing if you obtain her first for
some reason, since she can not be healed by a Paladin's Holy Light (only
a slower heal from a Priest.) Consider Life Drain as a combination
attack with a Blood Mage using Banish.
Bear in mind that friendly dispel spells do not affect your own summon
units, so do not be afraid to dispel a buff-happy group of casters in
the fear that your Dark Minions will bite the dust. DO bear in mind
that Dispel Magic WILL remove Silence from enemies (although Spell Steal
will not!)
WITH A PALADIN - Just avoid this combo. The only worthy thing coming
off of a Paladin would be a Devotion Aura boosting the armor rating of
the Dark Minions; however, if and when the Ranger gets focus-fired, she
will need to carry additional Healing Potions or do her pitiful death
scream that sounds COMPLETELY out of character with her voice.
WITH A MOUNTAIN KING - This combination can function decently well as
a hero killer, with a combination of Storm Bolt/Bash and Life Drain.
However, every moment you Life Drain is a moment you could be picking
off weak enemies with a Black Arrow; what's more, with a decent attack
speed through Gloves of Haste or an attack bonus from Claws of Attack,
you may be dealing MORE damage with Black Arrow on a hero than you would
with that spell. If you want to experiment, you can, but the MK works
better with other heroes.
WITH AN ARCHMAGE - Brilliance Aura is a lovely aura, and can ensure
that a Dark Ranger can Silence an additional time or two during a
battle. In addition, the Dark Minions summoned from Black Arrow make an
excellent addition to a Water Elemental. Just be wary on a purge/dispel-
happy opponent with this combination.
WITH A BLOOD MAGE - The Blood Mage currently has the stigma of being
a weak hero, and it is shown through this matchup. Flamestrike can not
be decently linked to any of the Dark Ranger's spells unless she Life
Drains from one direction while he casts Flamestrike from the other, and
is just as likely to nuke Dark Minions as it is enemies. Still, an
interesting combination from this hero link-up is combining a Dark
Ranger's Drain with a Blood Mage's Mana Siphon, ESPECIALLY if coming
from two different directions. If you must use this combo, consider
casting Banish on a hero or strong unit, then cast Life Drain on the
Banished unit. Make sure to replenish the Ranger's mana on occasion with
a Reverse Siphon Mana (leave enough for Banish, however.)
UTILIZING THE ARCANE VAULT'S ITEMS - The Dark Ranger can definitely
get away with not having to use Mana Potions if a Blood Mage or Archmage
is on the battlefield, but keep a lesser clarity potion on hand during
the early game in case you need a boost traveling from, say, one creep
camp to another. It's useful for her to carry a Staff of Sanctuary also,
ESPECIALLY if she reaches level 6. Using Invisibility on her and a
sorceress, waltzing into an enemy base, and charming something like a
Chimera or a Tauren and sending it back home with the staff JUST before
having Invisibility recast by the sorceress and sneaking back out leads
to some priceless comments along the lines of "omg u hor give dat
back!1"
Oh, and as with every race for the Dark Ranger, do NOT purchase the
race's orb (in this case, the fire orb.) First, the fire orb SUCKS, and
second off, an activated Black Arrow will override the Orb's effect.
Thus, it is USELESS. USELESS, I SAY!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~B.) ORC/HORDE~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OVERALL
The Dark Ranger's Life Drain ability, while seeming subpar using
other races, really shines in a matchup with Orc. Use immobilization
tactics, utilizing abilities like Ensnare, Stasis Wards, or a Tauren
Chieftain's War Stomp to ensure the opponent will stay put. Dark Minions
can replace Wolves as scouts and aid in buffing up the usually small
(but beefy) Orc army in the early game, and since Spirit Walkers are
something of a no-show despite their usefulness, Silence provides a bit
of necessary anti-casting should the need arise. really has no practical
use in this matchup with the exception of immobilization tactics like
Ensnare, Stasis Wards, or a combination with a Tauren Chieftain's War
Stomp.
WITH A FAR SEER - While a great hero on his own, the Far Seer really
can't do anything useful with a Dark Ranger. Dark Minions can scout just
as effectively as Feral Spirits, while Chain Lightning has the nasty
tendency to kill off weakened enemies that you may otherwise be picking
off with Black Arrow. The only benefits he has over her are that his
wolves are more damaging and he can carry the awesome racial orb.
WITH A SHADOW HUNTER - This makes for an interesting combination, one
you might consider retraining your Dark Ranger from. Hexing a target
during/before Life Drain will make its movement speed HORRIBLE so the
target will not be able to get out of range effectively, and where the
Shadow Hunter provides powerful glass cannons for summons, the Dark
Ranger provides meat to prevent the enemies from reaching them. Healing
Wave can easily keep both heroes alive, too, since neither hero has high
HP.
WITH A TAUREN CHIEFTAIN - Awesome. Endurance Aura's attack and
movement increase will ensure that, except in the cases of Stun or a
one-track-minded Death Knight, an enemy can NOT chase down the littlest
archer. He provides excellent tanking support with high HP, and can
freeze a group of fleeing units with War Stomp, allowing the Ranger to
pick off weak units with Black Arrow. If you wanted to use the TC
because of Shockwave, consider picking a different hero combination,
because with the Dark Ranger, she cannot provide AoE spam which seems to
be effective in larger team games.
WITH A BLADEMASTER - Personally, I hate the Blademaster, but this
combination of heroes can allow for one heck of a startling moment for
an enemy. Keep him under the effects of Wind Walk outside a battle, then
move close with the Dark Ranger to activate Life Drain. If the hero
sticks around before his/her health starts getting lower, utilize the
Backstab damage for a ridiculous amount of pain. Most likely, you will
have a dead hero using this combination if the Life Drain is high
enough.
UTILIZING THE VOODOO LOUNGE'S ITEMS - ALWAYS carry a Scroll of Speed
- it grants the burst of speed necessary for her and her skeletons to
chase down fleeing units or heroes, and can also allow for a quick
getaway should the need arise. Healing Salve is a must for any Orc
player, as is the Orb of Lightning; however, you must avoid, at all
costs, putting this on a Dark Ranger - while the orb is EXCELLENT, it
will A.) be overridden by Black Arrow when Black Arrow is in effect, and
B.) purge any silenced targets if you use it with Black Arrow
deactivated. Removing debuffs that you cast is NOT a fun thing to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~C.) NIGHT ELF/SENTINEL~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OVERALL
Being a former elf, you'd expect the Dark Ranger to be excellent with
this superior-range race. You'd be right ;). The Night Elf army is
fragile by nature with poor anti-casting abilities, which the Dark
Ranger can remedy easily by using Dark Ranger to provide meat shields
and silence to stop the nasty evil spell casters. You'd still run into
problems due to Night Elves overall weakness to units with siege damage,
too, so make sure you use her ranged attack and groups of skeletons to
focus on any stray mortar teams or demolishers first. The only thing a
DR CAN'T provide is healing, which becomes limited for Night Elves until
their Moon Wells become improved with a T3 upgrade (or a Keeper of the
Grove gets his ultimate. As a side note, if you're smart enough to
ACTUALLY utilize wisps dispel capabilities, please, for the love of all
that is holy, DON'T use them on silenced enemies unless you're positive
his/her mana will be damaged enough to prevent the more damaging of
spells (Inner Fire/Bloodlust/Polymorph/Cripple/Slow/etc.)
WITH A WARDEN - This combination would mainly be used for
assassination. Have the Warden blink in front of a fleeing hero or
strong unit's path, and shadow strike it. Use the movement speed
decrease to focus Black Arrow shots or Life Drain on it. Fan of Knives
can also be used, if the Warden has the mana to spare (which, let's face
it - without mana potions, she usually doesn't.) Sadly, this combination
lacks what a good elf needs - a steadily reliable tank for absorbing
damage and drawing fire from archers. Consider a different hero
combination.
WITH A DEMON HUNTER - Despite everyone else IDOLIZING this hero, I
think he's rather subpar in general... being supported by a Dark Ranger,
on the other hand, becomes demi-godlike. Silence and Mana Burn used in
conjunction punish the use of ANY casters, and while Immolation is
terrible, focusing both the demon hunter's strong melee abilities (high
attack with evasion to reduce damage) and the Dark Ranger's Black Arrow
on low Max HP units such as Ghouls or enemy archers can quickly form a
skeleton army. Of last notice is Metamorphosis... that Chaos ranged attack
is godlike. Using it with Black Arrow will completely WRECK any
opposition.
WITH A PRIESTESS OF THE MOON - A Priestess of the Moon is a pseudo-
assassin with an emphasis on ranged damage. And.. Hey, guess what, the
Dark Ranger is a ranged hero! Trust me on this one - a Black Arrow /
Searing Arrow / Trueshot Aura combination is just plain BRUTAL for the
enemy on the receiving end. Even without immobilization, these two
heroes can make short work of any non-magic-immune unit out there. Scout
can also be used to keep an eye on the opponent, but it's really not
worth it to pass up this massive damage bonus, and besides, Dark Minions
can always double as scouts.
WITH A KEEPER OF THE GROVE - These heroes work well enough together,
I suppose. The combination of Entangling Roots and Life Drain works
surprisingly well on non-heroes, but should not be attempted on enemy
heroes at low levels of Entangle (it would barely last 3 seconds, if
that.) Another interesting combination, providing the opponent is
lacking area dispel capabilities, is a Dark Minion / Treant swarm.
Experiment, and have fun! Just don't get Thorns Aura by conscious choice
unless the Keeper is above level 7; as of the time of this writing, it
sucks.
UTILIZING THE ANCIENT OF WONDER'S ITEMS - Unless the opponent doesn't
yet know you're an elf (if you picked Random, that is) try to keep using
Moon Stones often. They're cheap, and they allow your moon wells to
refill a tiny bit, helping to heal a hurt DR without Life Drain. Try to
avoid using the Moon Wells if your mana is low - use the lesser clarity
potion first. A Staff of Preservation works just as well as the Human's
staff of Sanctuary - pick one up after level 6, sneak into a base, and
Charm a unit. Afterwards, immediately send it home using the staff.
Isn't petty theft fun? As with every race, however, DON'T USE THE VENOM
ORB. It does not stack with Black Arrow, dangit!
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~D.) UNDEAD/SCOURGE~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The earlier comment for elves goes for the Undead, too. You figure
she'd be an excellent addition to the Undead? You'd be right ;). Undead
are the only units without a dispel until tier 3(.25, if you consider
researching the upgrade at tier 3 an additional portion of a tier.)
Black Arrow makes excellent tanks for the essential tier 1.5 unit, the
crypt fiend, especially if you're vehemently anti-necromancer (like me,
for some reason) As for Life Drain, it really has no situations in which
it would be useful. If you're going to use a Ranger as Undead (which is
an alternative, if you're tired of the Undead's awesome heroes) then
leave that ability well alone until level 8.
WITH A DEATH KNIGHT - The DK, regarded as the essential Undead hero,
is a decent choice for a hero to use with a DR, as all of his abilities
nicely complement hers. Death Coil provides healing without the usage of
Life Drain, and if the DK himself gets hurt, he can always Death Pact a
Dark Minion or two. Unholy Aura enhances the Dark Ranger's running
speed, which is excellent if she needs to flee in a hurry. The only
abilities that don't work well together with a DR, in fact, is Animate
Dead - Black Arrow consumes enemy corpses. If you intend to use that
horrible ultimate, you can, by all means! Just turn off Black Arrow for
a bit beforehand so you don't wind up raising two stray ghoul corpses,
or something.
WITH A LICH - I love the Lich, but I dislike how he pushes my
favorite hero into the role of a support whore. Sure, you can nuke a
target you're attacking with Black Arrow with a Frost Nova, creating a
minion, but what is the Lich going to provide if either he or the Ranger
get attacked? Neither can heal each other except if the Ranger gets Life
Drain (just don't.) In reality, neither hero should be getting hit by
melee forces, but if they are, and if you INSIST on using this hero
combination, consider investing in a point of Frost Armor to run away if
the need arises.
By the way, don't underestimate Dark Ritual on a Dark Minion. While
it will not replenish a lot (if any) mana at level 1 Dark Ritual on a
Lesser Dark minion, try a level 3 ritual on a Level 3 minion and see
what happens. Enjoy your unlimited Frost Nova.
WITH A DREADLORD - No. Just don't. These heroes work HORRIBLY
together. Sleep might be immobilization, but casting it on something the
Ranger is attacking turns her attention away. Sleep might have a
practical use here in the form of skeleton surround, but if you're
surrounding an area attacking hero like a Tauren Chieftain or a Mountain
King, you're just asking to feed it experience. Carrion swarm doesn't
work too well in this combination either, since the Dark Ranger doesn't
have any AoE damage skills, and finally, while Vampiric helps the
Minions a little bit, it's nothing too wonderful unless you combine BOTH
a Ranger and a Dreadlord with a Carrion Beetles using Crypt Lord.
Finally, Infernal overshadows Dark Minions, and I don't like that. :-(.
Dreadlord rocks otherwise, just for the love of all that is (un?)holy,
don't use him with a Dark Ranger.
WITH A CRYPT LORD - This matchup is a maybe. The Crypt Lord's whole
focus point is to be a tank, and while the Ranger's Dark Minions can
help with that task, he really does it better with Spiked Carapace and
Carrion Beetles. Still, if the idea of mass summons is feasible (I.e.
you're fighting a night elf far from base, you're rushing another
Undead, etc.) you might want to give this combination a try. Try to
avoid using Impale in conjunction with Life Drain (if you even use it at
ALL, which you really shouldn't as an Undead) as Impale will interrupt
the middle of a casting of Drain.
UTILIZING THE TOMB OF RELICS'S ITEMS - She's undead, and so are her
minions, so if you're sitting around doing nothing for some ungodly
reason after a battle, consider bring a cheap sacrificial scroll along
for some added healing. Also, do NOT underestimate the potential of a
Dark Ranger with Minions and a Scroll of healing. However, do not
forget, and I will repeat myself here again... NO ORBS FOR A RANGER. It
DOES NOT WORK, NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE ORB OF CORRUPTION MAY BE.
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Bear in mind that the Dark Ranger is NOT BUILT FOR ARMY SLAUGHTERING.
If you want something like that, go for a Chainwave orc hero combination
or the mass Human AoE triple threat of doom (Blizzard, Flamestrike, Rain
of Fire.)
The Dark Ranger is NOT MEANT to absorb damage - that's the job of her
summons. She might have decently high armor at higher levels, but if a
melee force starts chasing after her, run them in circles. Try to avoid
hero nukers too, unless you can pick up a health boosting item or two
somewhere. In fact, there is an advantage on your side: out of ANY hero
in Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne, the Dark Ranger has the smallest collision
size (meaning she can fit through a gap of units that a larger hero,
i.e. a Keeper of the Grove, would not be able to.) The only time a hero
will EVER have a smaller collision size than her is if A.) a hero is
under the effects of Hex and B.) if a Blademaster or Wind portion of a
Pandaren Brewmaster's ultimate uses Wind Walk and receives a ludicrous
zero collision size.
In case it hasn't been stressed enough in the racial matchups, DO NOT
USE ORBS WITH A DARK RANGER. Black Arrow is awesome, and its awesome
levels of awesomeness will awesomely... knock out the abilities of an
orb, even if said orb is equally awesome. HOWEVER, Claws of Attack are
excellent, and even recommended, because every damage point dealt is
another greater chance of raising a Dark Minion.
With the races, if you're one for variety, it is wise as either a
Night Elf or an Undead to choose her as a supporting hero (and heck, she
even makes a great primary hero with the elves!) Orcs and Humans should
look elsewhere unless they're playing her for fun or desperately need
some additional anti-caster backup.
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^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ 6.) Repeat Copyright ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
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Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Specialty FAQ - Dark Ranger Hero.
Version 1.0
Started on 8/21/2005 by Earthshaker, finally submitted on 12/29/2006
Copyright 2005-2006 by Earthshaker (
[email protected])
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[And now, for some parting words of wisdom from a fellow gamer -]
"Did your eyes have a circumcision? BECAUSE IT APPEARS YOU LACK
FORESIGHT!!1"
