this is my experience with split spec ranger:

split spec r8 with +18 skill bonus

42 pf
24 blade (because miss 1 point for 18bow critic shot VI)
25 pierce (for offstun evade, even if i admit never use it)
18 bow
40 cd
32 stealth

this work really really well against tanks (it surprised me) using pierce ( i mean chain users ) but is a bit weaker than full blade (like i was before) against stealthers.

U can open with critic shoot when camo up (and mos3 ofc) and still hit pretty decent. When camo not up, with a bit of practice, u can land critic shot while camping with critic shot up (w/out moving and spamming next target). Most assassins run mos2.

Critic shot against tanks work well too ...

U miss all bow skill, no rapid fire, u'r very slow with normal shot (that hit pretty decent).
I use a very slow bow because is useful only for critic shot at start ^_^

i am running this even if 7l8 and i am very happy.

when i was pure melee blade spec (till around 7l5) i was stronger against assassins, expecially sb's, but was impossible inc mid tanks (resistent to blade).

...

edited ... see below

@Zack
i am reconsidering my spec for 8l (miss 150k wtf!!)
i like my split spec a lot, but re-reading all your wall of text with more attention (lol) i find myself agree lot of things, with u and , i must admit, with Sneakeen too (we don't like eachothers but if someone say something true i must admit it ^_^).

consider i am shar, atm 15str point 10 cont at creation (but i will respec starting points if i change) and consider that atm i run a good teamplate with +11 to everything (bow, pierce, blade, cd, stealth) so i can switch every spec i want.

when i started ranger my aim was be a stealth bm, so i gone shar, blade spec (for higher str and higher con/hp's) and this worked pretty well, expecially when i was low rank (helped me a lot gain rp's , there was lot of stealthers out and ravage's pride add stacking was really good ...)

but, if i go hybrid? as shar?

i think can be good anyway because will no need thoug4 for have 1900 hp's (with thoug3 and red s/c + base con potion i get 1849 hp's) and as pierce damage, on melee, high str (296 with yellow str buff self + red s/c w/out any aug str) is still giving me boost on pierce damage. Ok i will be hurt more from s/c debuff of stealthers than elf/lurikeen BUT, and here is the point, any good stealther that run thoug4/5 - vip3 is a very hard challenge for me ... they have too many hp's ... so the high dmg from critic shoot bow + maybe 1 more shoot should help me a lot

now that i have try pierce spec (even if only with 25) i realized how mutch good is, and, the fact atm not many stealthers out, i am thinking go full pierce on melee should be a good idea ...

so what about:

48path
35bow
32stealth
32pierce
19cd

for have the last d/q self buff (but red af good too, and last dmg add good too) loosing tempest?
this should help me a lot , as shar, with bow damage and pierce damage too and, considering i already have decent amount of hp's, maybe can be pretty decent.
Using red d/q and base dex potion (after respec 15starting pts on dex) i should go over 300 dex and tzaa always told me that using bow , over 300 dex everything is good ; ... )

another option can be:

40path
35bow
32stealth
32pierce
32cd

maybe this is better because i should be lot better on melee than other spec and can use tempest (i am not so bad on side stuns) but i will lose lot of d/q and, as shar, dunno if is a good thing (i think will not gain the 300 dex i told before, even with 15pt's dex at creation ... 280/290, think not more)

ra's the same:

thoug3
pd3
mos4
ip2
purge2 (purge 1 can be a solution if i want get aug dex3 too, i was purge1 till rr7l5)
and the rest will be on mop (maybe 1 pt on falcon eye too)

...

what u think about it?
i'd like try 48path but, maybe, knowing my playstyle the 40path one will be better

on my experience, atm, blade spec is very good for bonuses but i must admit that, after s/c debuff, my dmg become pretty crap (something like 100/110/120 mh on sb's and 90/10 mh on infs) so, at the end of story, getting hurt less with the debuff s/c using pierce even if with malus on leather, maybe don't change so mutch the final damage overall.

i remember u hit me on Imeope for 120/130 with ice storm/tempest before debuff and 90/100 after debuff ...

what i should try?


p.s.
ofc i can't live anymore w/out pierce for fight mid tanks ^_^
before, with blade, was impossible for me, that's why maybe a full pierce melee (no split spec) but being able to shoot hard assassins before the melee fight , at the end of all, is the best way to go

Really I think the spec you choose between the 2 listed above depends on how good you are at the side stun. If you get it off a couple times a fight with very little difficulty then I use the spec w/ 32 CD so you can still spam side stun + followup. If you find that it can be hard to get that side stun off consistantly then I would go with the 48 path, since that extra d/q and dmg add would overall improve your dmg more then raising your CD/Pierce skills. The other advantage of the 48 path is w/ higher dex you would evade a bit more, do a bit more dmg on bow, and would get evaded a little less agasint assasins.

Personally, I would go with the 32 CD Spec, but I'm biased in that I've always trying to be as much "hybrid" in my ranger as I could be, but Taniswolf a long time ago tried out the high Path spec and he said it was the best move he ever did.

RonELuvv wrote: ... The other advantage of the 48 path is w/ higher dex you would evade a bit more, do a bit more dmg on bow, and would get evaded a little less agasint assasins

u sure about this or is just what u think?

expecially about the "... would get evaded a little less against assassins ..."

99.9999% positive. The higher the dex difference the more evades a person will get. If your ranger has 285 dex vs an assasin w/ say 310 dex will get evaded more and you will evade less then a ranger w/ 315 dex vs the same assasin. This is why I think if and when my hunter gets to 8L0 specing w/ 32 spear, 32 stealth, 35 bow, and 50 bc just so I can have more dex to help w/ evading more and also help mitigate the amount of evades I see.

RonELuvv wrote: . . . This is why I think if and when my hunter gets to 8L0 specing w/ 32 spear, 32 stealth, 35 bow, and 50 bc just so I can have more dex to help w/ evading more and also help mitigate the amount of evades I see.

. . . No Backstun ? O_o

Well, if I get better at getting off the backstun then I would keep w/ my current spec and even raise spear to 44 for the followup, but as it stands I suck at getting off the backstun. I thought the mechanics would be the same as the side stun for ranger, but they are not.

With the side stun for rangers its easy to do a run threw and be within the arc to still keep opponent visible and still count as being on the "side". With the rear stun you have to be on the back 180 degree arc AND face and even when doing all that it still always seems to show "Enemy is not visible" followed by an unstyled attack. I've tried to work on this, but if I dont get better I think I will see better improvement by increasing my dmg w/ higher d/q buff.

RonELuvv wrote:With the rear stun you have to be on the back 180 degree arc AND face and even when doing all that it still always seems to show "Enemy is not visible" followed by an unstyled attack. I've tried to work on this, but if I dont get better I think I will see better improvement by increasing my dmg w/ higher d/q buff.

Learn on reaver video and their anytime Leviathan

run trough your target (doesnt matter if the target is sticked, or faced or whatever).

just when you are behind the target (i think the radius is bout 70-80 locs) you can make a backstyle, whereever you will look to, doesnt matter.
works perfect, just need good timing. only one disadvantage: in this ultra small radius the target can block,parry n evade 360°
aaand its livelike i call it "forcing"
the run arround and insta /face and side/backstyle is not possible on live if you run behind to the other 180°. the so called "strafing"?

RonELuvv wrote: I thought the mechanics would be the same as the side stun for ranger, but they are not.

well, everyone told you that, but you didnt believe us run through > face/stick > perform requires fast swing speed if your enemy is already stuck to you or using face constantly. if you use two slow weapons with dual wielding classes its the same, you will fail positionals most of the time. when it comes to back style, its harder than side styles. nearly impossible with 2h swing speed if your enemy is not afk or lagging hard. anyway i respect your effort with your hunter, keep up your good work!

weapon speed has nothing to do with strafing, just ur timing is different.

I have to agree with Ima on this one. Weapon speed is a huge issue for me. I'm aware of the mechanics of how to perform the back stun just fine, but I have problems with 2 things and you guys hit both of them. The first and most important problem is timing. I'm used to swinging every 1.6-2.0 sec on my ranger and now i'm swiging at about 3.9-4.3 sec per swing. The other problem is that when I do run threw and face to perform the style, even if they havent faced or turned around, I get the message, "Target is not in view" then the very next hit is unstyled.

I realise this does work, but as of right now I'm lucky if I get it off once every other fight. The problem w/ that is every time I try it and I get the message then I'm hurting myself on dmg by doing unstyled dmg. I've found it to be great for dmg to just do the 2 style anytimer w/ snare. If I see an opening or I'm winning by a good margin then I will try it a couple times.

pweet wrote:weapon speed has nothing to do with strafing, just ur timing is different.

faster swingspeed makes it easier if your enemies know how to counterstrafe

RonELuvv wrote:The other problem is that when I do run threw and face to perform the style, even if they havent faced or turned around, I get the message, "Target is not in view" then the very next hit is unstyled.

You can do it without running threw
Do the same move like if u were running threw, but stop while you are still in front of your target and the closest possible. With lag (there's always a little lag due to latency), your opponent should see you going through himself. Since /face and /stick are "solved" by game client, he will turn around to face you and will present you his back.
Then your back stun will succeed.
Once again, due to latency, maybe you won't see him turning around before you stun him.
I'm not used to do 1v1 melee fight but on one of my very few duel i did in BG with my merc, i did this against a warden, succeed at first try. One hit to BT, fake run through, back style shield stun

If he doesn't use face or stick, your run through + face is good solution. BUT you have to wait a little bit after the face, to be in the little time window where server has "validated" your positionning but not yet the move of your opponent (which is delayed a little due to his own latency).

very good post.. I was one of the Rangers that ran millions of lines -it seemed- of tests working with the Ranger TL Wyrd and others back in the day..