best background for base ranged stat

[Noog]

Which one?

[peterebbesen]

Hunter is the clear #1 through having consistently high ranged stat and good overall stats, but there are others that depending on talent stars can rival hunters. (Think of each talent star as equal to +5 skill if you level it every level).

The main contenders are, in order,

Poachers
Witch Hunters
Sellswords
Bowyer
Squires
Militia

The further down this list, the greater the variation in starting ranged skill. E.g. if you recruit a poacher you know you'll get pretty good ranged while if you recruit a squire you probably won't, but you might.

[Tephros83]

Originally posted by WE:

Which one?

____________average_________max
Hunter_______55______________59
Witch Hunter __49______________57
Poacher______48______________52
Sellsword_____48______________52
Bowyer_______47______________52
Squire________44______________51
Militia________44______________50
Wildman______35______________57?


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1k_izGk9h9r3OMlOmnmiOwrmK7EmHu2eni08JpULf-os/edit#gid=604473640

Generally I go with the cheaper of these recruits though, since you may need to hire quite a few to find one with the right talents (stars).

[peterebbesen]

Originally posted by Tephros83:

Generally I go with the cheaper of these recruits though, since you may need to hire quite a few to find one with the right talents (stars).

You listed the wildman, but he should be ignored.

That 57 has got to be a user data entry error in the spreadsheet.

Now, granted that the entries cannot be assumed to be representative of the average character, it is striking that of the 31 wildmen reported, 30 have ranged attack between 28 and 43 - and then there's that single entry with 57, so logic and caution suggests ignoring that outlier lacking corroborating evidence.

[Noog]

Originally posted by peterebbesen:

Originally posted by Tephros83:

Generally I go with the cheaper of these recruits though, since you may need to hire quite a few to find one with the right talents (stars).

You listed the wildman, but he should be ignored.

That 57 has got to be a user data entry error in the spreadsheet.

Now, granted that the entries cannot be assumed to be representative of the average character, it is striking that of the 31 wildmen reported, 30 have ranged attack between 28 and 43 - and then there's that single entry with 57, so logic and caution suggests ignoring that outlier lacking corroborating evidence.

okay looks like ill try out some hunters. I was gonna go with witch hunters originally... thanks for that spreadsheet too tephros... Hunter seems really high value with 416 average overall stats

[Tephros83]

Originally posted by peterebbesen:

Originally posted by Tephros83:

Generally I go with the cheaper of these recruits though, since you may need to hire quite a few to find one with the right talents (stars).

You listed the wildman, but he should be ignored.

That 57 has got to be a user data entry error in the spreadsheet.

Now, granted that the entries cannot be assumed to be representative of the average character, it is striking that of the 31 wildmen reported, 30 have ranged attack between 28 and 43 - and then there's that single entry with 57, so logic and caution suggests ignoring that outlier lacking corroborating evidence.

Yeah that's why I put the question mark. I did figure it was an error given how I assume the stat mechanics work, but I also figured if it wasn't an error somebody might be able to demonstrate a wildman with unusually high ranged stats.

[Lampros]

Originally posted by peterebbesen:

That 57 has got to be a user data entry error in the spreadsheet.

I agree; it must be an error. There were a few like that there I've seen, I recall.

[Hairy Coo]

For archer it is clearly should be hunter or wh with a couple starts in ranged. Othwerwise he is gonna be crap for a while and mediocre at the end.

For xbowman however you essentially need less ranged skill, so lotsa backgrounds with 45+ and 3 stars in ranged will work. My current 90 ranged killer xbowman is a...messenger. =)

[KalkiKrosah]

Hunters are best for a dedicated ranged character, same thing with poachers who are the poor man's hunters. Hunters also have better melee skill too from my experience though not by much.

Personally I like having a Witch Hunter in my band of brothers because his high resolve allows him to double as a Sergeant. Give him the banner and a bow and you got yourself a battle sergeant.

[Tephros83]

Originally posted by Hairy Coo:

For archer it is clearly should be hunter or wh with a couple starts in ranged. Othwerwise he is gonna be crap for a while and mediocre at the end.

For xbowman however you essentially need less ranged skill, so lotsa backgrounds with 45+ and 3 stars in ranged will work. My current 90 ranged killer xbowman is a...messenger. =)

Not really. A poacher at max base ranged can reach 92 ranged by 11 with 2 stars, which isn't mediocre and is only a few less than the average hunter. So it's a question of finding one with the right stars and good base stats, in which case how many you can afford to hire and fire matters (I feel like savescumming hires is cheating, can't bring myself to do it). Unlike melee though we're not comparing hedge knights to brawlers (you can hire like 30 brawlers for 1 hedge knight) but rather more like 2 or 3 poachers per hunter. Basically, to find end game archers you would want to consider hiring either one, and a keeper will need the right stars and near max for a poacher and average for a hunter. More money risked per hunter, but also more likely to be endgame material. But not a lot more likely in my experience since getting the right stars has been a bigger problem than good enough base stats.