Originally Posted by
Aell
Dump melee?
Differentiate crossbow from bow?
You people are deranged. Or you should all go roll demos.
First - a ranger is not a ranger because he fights at range. A ranger is a ranger because he ranges - ie he moves around, he is a scout, a skirmisher. A skirmisher who can't fight hand to hand is dead meat.
Second - the moment you make crossbow different from bow you introduce a different and exclusive set of mechanics in one class. This means that essentially, you no longer have to balance twelve classes; you now have to balance thirteen classes. This adds an order of magnitude to the balancing calculations which are already nuts what with all the AAs and gear boosts and perks and the rest of the bullshít.
Third - no two classes are equal. None. Nothing is balanced. So really, you're asking for crossbow to be more powerful than bow, or vice versa. Which is bloody stupid and you should be embarrassed at how dumb you are.
Fourth - without melee, a ranger is just a spellcaster. If I wanted a wizard I would play a wizard. Just because melee is too hard for you doesn't mean it's beyond the wit of other players.
Jesus. Back when I was ranger advo, there were some truly terrible rangers. I see those are the ones that stayed.