User:Rastamon/buildarchive/Build:R/W Choking Gas Ranger

The Choking Gas Ranger utilizes the combination of Practiced Stance and Choking Gas to indefinitely interrupt spells with your arrows. It's specifically aimed at shutting down targets that cast spells. It also uses Seeking Arrows to ensure interruptions on the Ghostly Hero in the Hall of Heroes.

Attributes and Skills

 * Optional slot can be Debilitating Shot, Concussion Shot, Whirling Defense, or Frozen Soil, depending on the team build.

Equipment

 * Your armor of preference, Druid's Armor is nice for the Energy bonus.
 * Best vigor rune possible. All minor runes to conserve health.
 * A good Bow, preferably a Recurve Bow and a Shortbow since you need fast recharge and/or fast arrow travel times.
 * A Recurve bow should be used when interrupting the Ghostly Hero, a Shortbow should be used with Choking Gas.

Usage

 * When only little time is left until start, use Practiced Stance.
 * Make out your target.
 * Once you're almost in range and the battles are starting, cast Choking Gas.
 * Use Flurry whenever possible after Choking Gas is applied. - Practiced Stance lengthens Choking Gas when applied, the stance doesn't need to be kept up all the time.
 * Use Practiced Stance as a cover.
 * Use Distracting Shot on enemies that use Resurrection Signet, Healing Signet, or Troll Unguent.
 * Use Savage Shot on regular basis whenever you can interrupt something and your energy allows you to do so.
 * When attacked by warriors, activate Whirling Defense or Lightning Reflexes (if you have either) or run away.
 * When in Heroes' Ascent on an Altar match or in the Hall of Heroes, use Seeking Arrows and Distracting Shot/Savage Shot to guarantee interrupts on the enemy Ghostly Hero.

Counters

 * Interrupt choking gas.
 * No defense makes it dependent on being healed by someone else.
 * Empathy, Spiteful Spirit or any other anti-attacking hex.
 * Aegis, Guardian, or similar skills (assuming you can't interrupt them).
 * Note: If an arrow is blocked it can still interrupt due to Choking Gas.
 * Blindness and Crippled.
 * You can time 1 sec cast time spells through arrow hits even when they have Flurry up.

Variants

 * For PvE-Content, switch Seeking Arrows with Favorable Winds and use Troll Unguent as the optional.
 * Switch Practiced Stance and Choking Gas with Broad Head Arrow and Apply Poison for a cover condition for single target Dazed effect.
 * Flurry can be replaced by Heket's Rampage. Then the secondary class can be changed (e.g. to Paragon with Song of Concentration).
 * Using Dual Shot as the optional, one can replace Flurry with Flail for extra damage.