One of the biggest complaints that most group leaders have is that their members do not know how to fight a mob. For a Ranger, learning the best way to fight during group battles can mean the difference between gaining massive experience for the group and wiping out the party within seconds. As a Ranger, you have the ability to pull a mob to your group, keep it from running away and supporting the members who are doing most of the damage. Your bow and spells make you a versatile member of a party and knowing what to do and when to do it will make you an invaluable and sought-after party member.
The first thing any Ranger(or any party member for that matter) can do is be prepared. This means that you are stocked up with arrows, food and water, spell components, and anything else you regularly use when going out to hunt. Nothing annoys players more than having to wait for someone who forgot their bat wings, cloudy potions, or fish scales. If you've been soloing, take a minute to make sure you've put the newest spells in your spell book(along with buying any components that may be used when casting said new spell), used up any recently acquired skill points, and generally preparing yourself for battle. It also helps to know where you're going and several ways to get somewhere safe should the need arise. If you're heading somewhere you've never been before, ask the party leader where safe areas are BEFORE you zone into unknown territory. Questions to ask include: Have you explored this zone beforehand? Is there a Portal back to the Plane of Knowledge? Is there anything special I need to bring? Are there any Fabled mobs that may kill our party on sight? Do you have money to lend me if I can't buy a soulstone to recover my body? If you have any doubts about the zone or the group, DON"T GO! I have grouped with players who said they've been to an area, but after a while, when I wanted to leave to group, I had no idea where I was or how to get back to the Plane of Knowledge. Because I had reached a level that required a more expensive soulstone(something I had not counted on) when I was killed by a mob, I had no way to retrieve my character from the guild lobby, as I had not saved enough money. A frustrating lesson, but well worth the knowledge.
So what are some things can you bring when going out in a group? The first thing are potions that can make you attack faster, regenerate your mana faster, and restore your hit points. Some of my favorites are distillates of alacrity and clarity. These are available at potion merchants found in the Plane of Knowledge and are level specific. A distillate of Alacrity VI will only work on characters that are at least level 40. Alacrity will make you attack faster for a percentage, and Clarity will regenerate so much mana per second. They usually last for about 30 minutes or so in-game. You can equip them in your potion belt and left click to activate them. I will buy a few Distillates of Health for fellow group members in case of an emergency, such as when they need to be healed and I am out of mana. The only downside to distillates is that they can get VERY expensive, so pay attention to how much you're spending. Dropping all your money on a few potions and heading to a zone where money dropped on mobs is scarce can be a hard lesson to learn. Some players will tell you that cloudy potions are a good investment, but as a Ranger, you can acquire the Camouflage spell at level 14, which does the same thing, although it can wear off quickly until you use it a bit. Cloudy potions are expensive for a newbie Ranger and I don't recommend buying more than one or two, if any at all. You'll need your money for other things.
Arrows are another thing a Ranger should never be without. You can stack up to 100 at a time, and I suggest bringing several different ranged-types. Nine times out of ten, you will be asked to bring the mobs to the group (called pulling) and the range your arrow has will determine whether or not you you can fire from a safe distance or sneak up and try to pull only one mob without attracting the attention of its friends. I get my arrows from merchants in Felwithe and I'm sure you can get them elsewhere, not to mention the Fletching Tradeskill lets you craft your own, although you probably won't be able to do this yet. Once again, arrows can get expensive, and the more common ones do little damage, but you'll definitely get a mob's attention even if you miss.
Along with these essentials, you'll want to make sure you have food and water. You can use your forage ability to find additional supplies but I've yet to forage anything that equals a stack of 20 iron rations and water flasks. At this time in Everquest, the Halloween specials are going on, which means that NPCs give out free treats that not only will feed you, but can increase your stats as well. Take advantage of these gifts!
The next item on your to-do list is to prep your spells. I like to have my strongest healing spell on the top, then my rooting spell, and finally any Damage Over Time spells. Next comes the spells that remove any Damage Over Time spells that are cast on my character, such a Cure Disease, or Cure Poison. I put any buff spells that may wear off in battle at the bottom.
All this prep work will become second nature the more you group. The best thing to remember is to prepare for the worst. The last thing I try to get my paws on, especially if I'm hitting an unfamiliar zone, is a Gate potion. Sometimes you can find them in the Bazaar, and sometimes a merchant may have one. These potions will teleport you to your bind zone, and I can't tell you how handy they are to have.
You should go into groupspeak now so you aren't broadcasting to the General chat things you only need your group to know. So you've reached the zone you're going to hunt in. Now what? Ask the party leader! He or she is the one who put this shindig together and, as the leader, calls the shots. This means no arguing or trying to take over. If you think the leader is not doing a good enough job, leave the group. If the leader, let's call him Bob, says 'Okay Ranger, track some mobs that con dark blue and bring them to us!' What the heck does that mean? It means you are the puller and your job is to bring the mobs to your group and commence with the whacking and killin'. Let your group know you're going to get a mob by saying something along the line of 'Pulling' so your group knows to expect a mob shortly. When someone says 'con', that is the color a mob's target circle is. Use your Tracking hot button to find mobs that are dark blue on the list and hit 'track'. You'll begin to see phrases like 'Festering hag is ahead and the right'. Follow the directions until you can see what you're tracking. Click on the mob and use your bow to fire a shot and get its attention. Now run like hell back to your group! There should be a tank(that's the player who has the most hit points and will do the majority of the whacking), a healer(usually a cleric who will hang back and heal the party after battle), and a magic user(an enchanter, shaman, necromancer, or you, the Ranger). The tank will take over and commence with the whacking. You should cast any DOT spells you have on the mob, and then whack away. Keep an eye on the mob's health meter. When it reaches 30%, cast a root spell to keep it from running away and calling for help. Depending on how many players in your group, you can pull up to 3 mobs at a time this way and rack up the experience and loot. Another good idea is to type/autosplit. This lets your group share the money when you loot a corpse. After a mob is dead, if there is any items on the body, ASK if you can have it before you take it. Some groups will give all the items to the player with the highest charisma(how pretty a player is) to sell to get the most money. You'll get the hang of grouping after a while and make some new friends along the way. You can add them to your friends list and look for them when ever you go online. The last and most important thing to remember is to let your party rest between battles. Heal anyone who isn't healing themselves. Replenish any buffs that will help your party, and share and food, water, or potions that will help. The more you can help your party, the better. Remember, this is a team effort and everyone must watch each other's backs. Have fun and good luck!
