Shattered Kingdoms

It is true that there are many defenses that aren't being employed. I'm waiting to see how long it takes people to figure them out before deciding if it's time to start with the nerf bat.

With full armor, a shield and every defensive spell known to man you still get torn a new one within five rounds as a priest. This includes GM mirror images/stone skin - I just stopped trying after the second time I died to it...

Other countermeasures I've picked up random places: "Just blind him!", "Get someone else to mangle his arms!".

...Yeah, it needs to be wimped.

It might be worth to mention that there are measures to -avoid- dying, but only by rendering you completely ineffective. Sure, you can pop etherealform or recall, but when that, and dying, are your only options against ranged combat - it's too much.

There's more to it than that. Also, being ethereal doesn't make you completely ineffective.

Ethereal and a mean charmy works well for me.

Here are the pros of ranged combat:

- range obviously
- cannot be dodged/parried or shield blocked
- accuracy is irrelevant
- extreme damage (seriously I'm seeing 5-6 hit ganks, which by the way are unavoidable, you have to take the damage no matter what, it's roughly two rounds of action. unless you're quick on the draw with an ethereal wand or are already ethereal you're going to die before you can react).
- completely shuts down the swashbuckler class since they have practically no reach weapons and don't have a chance of counterattacking with a crossbow due to their limited number of attacks. Good luck on taunting a ranged weapon user and boosting their damage output.
- locks down other classes in a run or die situation, either you put up etherealform, quaff a word of recall potion or you are dead.
- Most ammo comes in iron which a lot of races are innately weak against. You can boost your damage output versus elves, deep-elves, half-elves and sprites instantly. And considering the fact that unless you have ironguard brewed in a high level vial (good luck on getting those) it's not going to help you much.
- Attacks any rank
- hp trains are highly limited to most classes, given the fact that attacks from a bow/crossbow cannot be avoided without a certain cabal skill, you absolutely must take the damage from these attacks. The only line of defense you have when taking hits is massive hpz, which cannot be obtained by spellcaster classes
- ammo is cheap and lightweight

CONS

-you cannot melee with ranged weapons...oh well.

Actually, you can melee with them, just not very effectively.


Every single cabal has an ability that counters ranged attack. Save the hammer, but one of their abilities allows you to go offensive against ranged foes and another makes your own ranged attackers more devastating than other people's.

When I get back from class I suppose I'll start listing the defensive strategies for ranged attacks since apparently no one wants to think for themselves and spam die against it.

If crossbows were removed from the spec list, it would be much more practical than lowering the speed or damage of them.

If your priest will die in five rounds of ranged attacks to me and Divalni, he will die in five rounds of kama attacks the face from me alone.

Priests should have sanc up and triggers that go:

HP: <20% -> c word