Early ranger troubles

[DeviousAlpha]

When I say early, I'm talking about the blacksmith's mithril bar q.

Is there some way to allow me to see in the dark or something? Getting extremely frustrated having to pull every enemy back to alight source.

There are so few places in which I can put a torch and pull them to.

[xolotl]

Yeah, rangers (esp. in Book 1) can definitely have some trouble underground. The solutions are largely magic-based, though you can get them in potion form, too. Predator Sight is a great spell/potion which should eliminate all darkness-based penalties when firing. Cat's Eyes can help illuminate things in general (also available in potion form), and Gravedigger's Flame will make a magical flame hover over you (that one's available as an amulet or something, which will be permanent so long as you're wearing it).

Which isn't to say that the beginning of the game might not remain rather difficult since you may not have the XP/money necessary to level some magic/alchemy, or buy the items. I actually never have played a ranger-type char in Book 1, so I don't really have any specific bits of advice. You may just want to try and stay aboveground until you can acquire the resources/experience to handle the dungeons.

[Painted Lady]

Do you have some sort of melee weapon as well as your bow? The problem with playing a Ranger early on is the dungeon issue. If you have a dagger or sword available you can hold a torch while whacking away at the enemy.

Unfortunately, Predator Sight potions are fairly rare and are quite expensive. You can buy the Mage's learning scroll in the second town you get to. It is possible that one could turn up as random loot, but I wouldn't bank on it. It is never in the shops in Aridell early on. Pretty much the same thing can be said for Cat's Eye. If you have Mage abilities you might add Gravedigger's Flame which will help your vision in the dungeons. The problem there is that the Flame burns until it is done, and sometimes you don't want to be seen by everyone in the area.

So, either pick up a weapon ability or keep running back to a light source. Challenging little situation, isn't it

[Kreador Freeaxe]

The third possibility is to keep some demon oil on you. Tossing that in the path of oncoming creatures slows them down or blocks them, and also provides you a light source for killing them with your bow.

[SpottedShroom]

I remember this problem un-fondly for my no-magic Book I ranger. Learning one of the vision enhancer spells (Predator Sight, Gravedigger's Flame, Cat's Eyes) is the easiest way out. Potions are probably not cheap/plentiful enough to use as a real strategy given how many dungeons there are in the game. Later in the game you can find an amulet that gives you permanent Gravedigger's Flame, but you'd have to delay completing a lot of quests to get it.

I think my solution was just to build up my bow skill so high that I could hit things in total darkness. So carry a torch until you see an enemy, then fight in the dark, then light back up when the enemy's dead. The good news is that darkness also messes up most enemy's chances to hit you.