F2P Self-supporting Ranger Guide

[voncritic]

Von Critic's F2P Self-supporting Ranger Guide

 

 

 

 

 

Strategy Outline

 

 

 

- Self-supporting arrow flow

 

All targets we train with are having sufficient arrow drop. At every training stage, we retrieve our arrows at 4/5 of chance, getting arrow supplies from the target, and gathering arrows for the next stage.

 

 

 

- 100% immune to arrow theft

 

Put "max hit / average hit calculation" in mind. Try to focus on those targets that could be killed in less than 12 shots with Rapid mode ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ that's about the time for 6 scimmy swings and definitely enough time for you to retrieve your arrows before it become visible to others.

 

 

 

- Multi-combat Advantage

 

An archer's firing speed at Rapid mode with Short Bow, is about 1/2 of the time of 1 scimmy swing. With a max hit over 10 (Level 66 with Steel Arrow), you will be dominating most of the multi-combats against monsters. When you are getting a higher level, or using better arrows, your advantage over warriors and mages will be overwhelming! Thus, "multi-combat" is a key issue when choosing a training spot.

 

 

 

- Optimized XP reward

 

 

 

- Minimal food expending even for pures (enough said =])

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ranger Equipment

 

 

 

Novice Ranger Armor (Level 1-20): There is a pack of items (crafted from leather) that I'd suggest you to buy from stores, other players, or to craft it yourself before you start training from Level 1 ranging. It WILL speed up your growth during the "stone age" of archery.

 

 

 

- Cowl: head gear +1 to range attack

 

- Leather body: +2 to range attack, available in Varrock Clothes Shop. Or:

 

- Hard Leather body: +8 to range attack, requires Level 10 Defence (sorry pures), always available in Al Kharid General Store (lots of f2p crafters cash them here)

 

- Leather Chaps: +4 to range attack

 

- Vambraces: +4 to range attack

 

 

 

Intermediate Ranger Armor (Level 20-40, not for pures):

 

 

 

- Coif: head gear +2 to range attack, requires Level 20 Range, available in Champion's Guild

 

- Studded Leather Body: +8 to range attack, requires Level 20 Range and Defense, available in Varrock Armor Shop

 

- Studded Leather Chaps: +6 to range attack, requires Level 20 Range, available in Varrock Armor Shop

 

- Vambraces

 

 

 

Advanced Ranger Armor (Level 40+, not for pures):

 

 

 

- Coif

 

- Green Dragonhide Body: +15 to range attack, requires Level 40 Range and Defense. You'd need to finish Dragon Slayer quest to wear it, available at Oziach (in Edgeville)

 

- Green Dragonhide Chaps: +8 to range attack, requires Level 40 Range, available in Champion's Guild

 

- Green Dragonhide Vambrace: stats same as above

 

 

 

Pure Ranger Armor (no Defence Level):

 

 

 

- Coif (or Blue Wizard Hat)

 

- Leather Body (or Blue Wizard Robe)

 

- Green Dragonhide Chaps (you could switch to Leather Chaps when you become a high level Mage Ranger, sacrificing Range Attack bonus.)

 

- Green Dragonhide Vambrace

 

 

 

Amulet:

 

 

 

The only suggested amulet for f2p ranger is the Amulet of Power (Enchanted Diamond Amulet, +6 to all) with an estimated price of 10K GP to buy from other players. If you are short of GP at the beginning, get an Amulet of Accuracy (+4 to all attack) instead.

 

 

 

Bows:

 

 

 

All f2p bows are available in Varrock Archery Shop. The best bow for f2p is Maple Bow (requires Level 30 Range). Before that, you could use Willow Bow (requires Level 20 Range), Oak Bow (requires Level 5 Range), and normal Bows / crossbows (novice). At the very beginning, you may find crossbow pretty handy since you could also wield a Wooden Shield or Anti-dragon shield, and the Bolts are cheaper than Bronze Arrows. However, you'd definitely go for maple when you get Level 30 Range.

 

 

 

Always remember that Short Bow fires faster than Long Bow. Always put your ranging attack mode on "Rapid" while training.

 

 

 

 

 

Desirable Targets

 

 

 

Novice Stage (Range Level 1-40, Bronze Arrow)

 

During the "stone age" of archery, the target is clear:

 

1. Level up to 40;

 

2. Be self-supporting, every arrow counts, sustain your arrow supply by chicken feather / cowhide and make as much profit as possible. So:

 

 

 

Range Level - Target ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ Level ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ HP ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ Profit

 

Level 1 to 20 - Chicken - 1 - 3 - Chicken Feather (0,5 or 15)

 

Level 20 to 40 - Cow - 2 - 8 - Cowhide (1)

 

 

 

Stage 1 (Range Level 40-57, Max Hit with Bronze/Iron 6-7, Average Hit 3)

 

Comparing to all other low level ranging spots, Barbarian Village Pub is the best I'd say. It is a multi-combat area so you'd never lose your target. It has big herd of quick re-spawning targets. There's even Cooked Meat re-spawn on the bar table! The alternative spot with thief is in Varrock ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ Phoenix Gang Hideout. If you are not able to get in there, however, you could go for the Guards. Another great spot at this level would be the Dark Wizard Circle south of Varrock. You will get a great load of all F2P runes except Death Rune, but you won't get any arrow drop.

 

 

 

Target ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ Level ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ HP ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ Droppable Arrow

 

Barbarian - 9 - 20 - Bronze (15)

 

Barbarian - 10 - 18 - Bronze (15)

 

Barbarian - 14 - 24 - Bronze (15)

 

Barbarian - 15 - 24 - Bronze (15)

 

Gunthor the Brave (Barbarian) - 29 - 35 - Bronze (15)

 

 

 

Location: Barbarian village pub

 

Popularity: Sometimes crowded

 

Safe spot: YES

 

Inventory suggestion: None

 

Alternative targets:

 

Thief - 16 - 17 - Bronze (7)

 

Guard (Falador Wall, Guards with bow and arrows) - 22 - ? - ?

 

Guard - 21 - 22 - Mith (1) / Steel (1,5) / Iron (1) / Bronze (1-2)

 

 

 

Stage 2 (Range Level 57-66, Max Hit with Bronze/Iron 8-9, Average Hit 4)

 

I could go straight to Moss Giant (Stage 3) since it is too crowded here at Hill Giants. However, I'd be frustrated if my range level was not high enough to dominate the multi-combat competition and get all the loots, probably took too long to take out a Moss and got my arrows stolen too. So, I decided to spend some time here. There's a major disadvantage here - Since it is not a multi-combat area, if you attempt to retrieve your arrows here, you'd probably only being able to handle 1 giant while others may quickly take all the nearby targets.

 

 

 

Target ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ Level ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ HP ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ Droppable Arrow

 

Hill Giant - 28 - 35 - Iron (3) / Steel (10)

 

 

 

Location: Edgeville Dungeon

 

Popularity: Over crowded

 

Safe spot: YES

 

Inventory suggestion: 4-6 food, hi-alch runes/fire staff

 

Alternative targets:

 

Zombie (Draynor Village Dungeon) - 13 - 23 - Iron (5,8) / Steel (5)

 

Barbarians (Barbarian Village Pub) - see Stage 1

 

 

 

Stage 3 (Range Level 66+, Max Hit with Steel 10+, Average Hit 5+)

 

Now here comes the last stage. As a strong archer with max hit over 10, standing at the super cool safe spot in the narrow corner of Varrock Sewers, and with the joyful multi-combat policy, I will get most of my fortune here with minimal (almost 0) food cost. I love those Moss Giants, as they are great steel arrow makers too! Arguably, you'd end up being the winner of this multi-combat competition (only high level warriors could take your kill away from you, but most of them are in Karamja killing Lessers. LOL)

 

 

 

Target ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ Level ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ HP ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ Droppable Arrow

 

Moss Giant - 42 - 60 - Iron (15) / Steel (30)

 

 

 

Location: Varrock Sewers

 

Popularity: Ignorable

 

Safe Spot: YES

 

Inventory suggestion: A Weapon for slashing (IMPORTANT), Varrock teleport runes, hi-alch runes / fire staff

 

Alternative targets: Never mind, just switch worlds

 

 

 

Finally, when you have certain amount of arrows that you want to get rid of, use it on Lesser Demon locked in the Wizard Tower. It is a multi-combat area that you should dominate when you have sufficient range level.

 

 

 

Happy ranging!

 

 

 

P.S. There's an ongoing discussion about where Level 80+ Rangers should train. Personally, I'd stick to Moss Giant instead of Lesser Demon. With the overwhelming advantage during multi-combat, I'd be happy to retrieve more arrows, getting more big bones, and totally without having any target stolen from me. Like I said above, if you have any arrow that you don't want to retrieve, just go to the Wizard Tower. =]

[heart_o_gold]

hey thats a great guide, wat is ur range level?

[Faint]

Yes, that is a good guide for f2p but how about for people in f2p with 80+, they could train on lesser demons in Karmaja.

[voncritic]

Yes, that is a good guide for f2p but how about for people in f2p with 80+, they could train on lesser demons in Karmaja.

 

 

 

Well, not quite. Let's see:

 

 

 

Moss Giant vs Lesser Demon

 

 

 

Range XP: Moss Giant has 60 HP that gives 240 XP; Lesser Demon has 79 HP that gives 316 XP. However, Lesser Demon takes longer time to re-spawn. Moss Giant wins.

 

 

 

Player Competition: Lesser Demon is located in a single-combat area. There's chance that you may lose your target. There isn't much chance for you to control more than 1 target when there are several players around. Moss Giant is located in a multi-combat area. You won't stop shooting and you will lead the competition as a good archer. Moss Giant wins.

 

 

 

Other Skill Developing: Undoubtedly Moss Giant. You can get big bones constantly.

 

 

 

Self-supplying & Profit: Lesser Demon has occasional Rune Med drop, no arrow drop. Other than that, it is similar to Moss Giant. Moss Giant drops 15 iron arrows or 30 steel arrows, plus a lot of Runes and Steel Bars. I prefer Moss Giant.

 

 

 

Food Supply: Ignorable. You can use safe spots at both location. However, Lesser Demon will attack when you run out of the safe spot to retrieve arrows.

 

 

 

Banking: Ignorable. At Lesser Demon, most of the loots will be hi-alched onsite and all the rest are stackable (runes). At Moss Giants, it's about the same. But if you want those steel bars, that's a different story.

 

 

 

So, overall, I prefer Moss Giant even at high level of Range. However, as I said in my guide, if you have a couple thousand of bronze or iron arrow that you don't want, you could just dump them at the Lesser Demon locked in Wizard Tower. That's just a teaser, not the main course. =]

 

 

 

Thanks for the advice.

[voncritic]

May I apply to move this thread into the nice Archive of Wisdom board?

 

 

 

P.S. My ranger (which is my main too, LOL) has Level 88 Range now. Mostly trained at Moss Giants in Varrock Sewers for B-bones and Nature Runes. I go to Lesser Demons in Karamja every now and then, mainly for GPs to buy more arrows. :)

[eestirula]

Nice guide ;)

 

 

 

My noob ranger is lvl 88 ranged too,but im training on blk knights in lava maze \

[Goobore]

Looks like a nice guide!

 

 

 

A couple of things that you should consider adding...

 

 

 

1) Estimated arrows usage.

 

If you pick up "p" portion of your arrows after every kill

 

then you will get 1/(1-p) times the number of shots out of them.

 

 

 

Example: If you have 1024 arrows and pick up 80% of them

 

then you can get about 1024/(1-0.8) = 5120 shots out of those arrows.

 

 

 

2) Curse pulling.

 

If you cast a Curse spell on the monster first, then the monster will

 

walk over to stand next to your safe spot. After the monster has

 

arrived there you then start to range it. This way, all of your recoverable

 

arrows will be in the loot pile when the monster dies. That way you don't

 

have to run around to many places getting your arrows back.

 

This works best in a single combat area like the top of Crandor Island.

 

 

 

Hope this helps

[D. V. Devnull]

Actually that IS pretty helpful...

 

 

 

Dang, I would like to see this get to the archive!!! :D

[nicrune007]

very nice guide...

 

move it to archieve !

[Doomster]

The stronghold is also a pretty hot training spot, with the Minotaurs dropping Iron (occasionally bronze) arrows, noted essence, copper, tin. Also bronze med helm.

 

 

 

Everything except the helms stacks, and safespotting behind the fence means no food usage.

 

 

 

It's multicombat, non-aggressive, and if the level 12's go down too quickly, move on to the level 27's near the end of the level - just portal to the end room from the entrance, after completeing the level, then move one room back.

 

 

 

It's ranger paradise.