Deadly archers, the Glimmerdusk Rangers patrol edges of the Fae Wood hunting any foolish enough to enter uninvited. With the rise of the Dark Consul and the Nether Rifts advancing into their lands, the rangers have begun to venture from their woodland realm. They offer their considerable skill to any who will take the fight to the Dark Consul.
Stats
- Type: Elf Hero
- Crystal Affinity: Emerald
- Abilities: Surefoot
- Unique Actions: Sparkle Burst, Herbalist
- Potions: Pixie Dust
- Movement Points: 7
- Action Points: 3
- Strength: 1B 1R (Melee: 1)
- Armor: 3B (Defense)
- Willpower: 2B
- Dexterity: 2B 1R (Missile: 8)
- Hearts: 5
- Potion Quantity: 1
Gameplay
Stats:
The Glimmerdusk Ranger has high offense with 2B 1R DEX and average defense with 3B ARM. Like most Elves, she has an above average 7 movement, but also has Surefoot, which allows her to kite most monsters as long as she has space to maneuver.
Abilities:
Sparkleburst is an iconic ability in SD:E and the standard for AOE attacks. Range 8 Burst 1 gives it a reach of 9 squares and up to 9 targets with perfect positioning. Like most AOE actions, it does not add additional offense, but Glimmerdusk can drink Pixie Dust to increase her offense to 3B 1R DEX (3.17 avg/9 max). Sparkleburst is very powerful in Arcade b/c it has high range and the AOE bypasses Expendable, allowing Glimmerdusk to wound elites directly. Likewise, as a range 8 Burst 1 abilities, it is very difficult for the Consul to position to completely avoid the AOE.
Herbalist is often overlooked, but can be extremely powerful in certain situations when the party is being overwhelmed by status effects. Range 6 allows Glimmerdusk to stay at range and Remedy other heroes. She can use also use it on herself, but Ice will prevent her from using it and status effects like Fire and Knockdown will resolve during upkeep before she can use Herbalist. Using an action to Remedy Poison cancels out the action it reduces so Herbalist is primarily useful on Glimmerdusk herself when she's suffering Bane, Hex, Slow, or Immobile.
Potion:
Pixie Dust is most often used by the Glimmerdusk Ranger and other DEX heroes to increase their DEX for attack. Heroes that defend using DEX may also use it to increase their defense. It can also be used defensively to grant Stealth to any Hero. For Glimmerdusk with Surefoot, high movement, and Stealth can make her very difficult for the Consul to engage and attack from melee or range in either Explore or Arcade. Being able to give any hero Stealth in Arcade can be used to the Hero's advantage by giving the Hero with the most Wrath Stealth and then retreating such that the pursuing monsters will not be in range of any of the heroes during their Unique/Fight commands.
Strategy:
Glimmerdusk is an offensive missile AOE DEX hero that has light Support abilities. As most players like to equip Glimmerdusk with additional action points when possible, it is not uncommon to see her use Sparkleburst twice in a single activation or simply drink Pixie Dust and rely on her basic ranged attack to defeat monsters. She is not considered a Blaster b/c her increased DEX is relatively low compared to other heroes and is reliant on her potion which allows for a strong opening activation, but is not reliable or consistent depending on the party's luck at rolling potions later on. Glimmerdusk only has access to 1 Red offensive dice before buffs and gear so is generally reliant on other heroes and equipment to generate enough potions to allow her to consistently use her potion.
Equipment/Buffs:
DEX improves Glimmerdusk's offense and ARM improves her defense. She will typically never need STR or WILL. In most cases, Glimmerdusk typically works best when equipped to be a glass cannon and rely on her movement, range, and Stealth to keep her out of harm's way so she doesn't need to focus on defense. If loot starved, Glimmerdusk may not be able to consistently wound bosses and may need to fall to a support role and use Herbalist to keep the stronger party members free of debuffs.
Limitations:
The Glimmerdusk Ranger is a straightforward, ranged hero that is often mistaken as a Blaster due to her common glass cannon builds. Her Sparkleburst AOE is reliant on a Burst: 1 pattern so the Consul should position monsters to avoid this pattern, but should also be cognizant of other AOE patterns the heroes may have access to. Glimmerdusk is reliant on other heroes to reposition monsters or for the Consul to oblige in order for Sparkleburst to have the most effect. To defeat Glimmerdusk, the Consul will typically need to corner her when she doesn't have her potion available to grant Stealth so ranged monsters can also focus attacks her or potentially use Stealth on the monsters to force Glimmerdusk to closer range.
Party:
Glimmerdusk fills the offensive DEX role in a party. Her Herbalist ability is not sufficient to fill a devoted Healer role. She will ideally have another hero with Control abilities to group monsters to maximize the value of her Sparkleburst. Although her Pixie Dust benefits other heroes that utilize DEX, most matches will not have sufficient DEX equipment to completely outfit multiple DEX heroes for offense.