Thanks for the advice rEDs, Delirium, and LiQuiDWaVe

found ur posts most informative.
Some thoughts:
First of all I had no idea that the bow-type served anything more than asthetics... Glad I kept my short bow, and long bow as well

Currently I use a fire wand and flame artifact that increases my energy. My line up is:
- Aura of Restoration
- Flare
- Glyph of Lesser Energy
- Phoenix
- Armor of Earth
- Ward against Foes
- Lava Font
- Fire Storm
Basically I use the flare as my "standard attack" to soften em up, and wait for the enemies to cluster before I use my AOE attacks, reserving Earth Magic for defensive purposes (I find the ward against foes to work really well with the AOE against warriors). I found this strategy generally works with most team setups (I tend to carry the Troll Unguent instead of the glyph for PVP)...
I got the ranger because I figured I could use his powers to "manipulate the environment" back when I really didn't have a clue what the ranger's powers were. Now I realize that includes nature rituals and traps, which is what I would focus on for the ranger. Just waitin to get a hold of some of those powers, I figure with a few good traps on my belt, coupled with some of the more powerful AOE fire magic attacks, and I'll be pretty deadly...
So eventually my attribute points would be focused on:
Elementalist: Fire Magic, Earth Magic, Energy Storage
Ranger: Marksmanship and Wilderness Survival
It's not as focused as some setups, but I like flexibility... I can always use my refund points to focus a bit later on.
Later on I would like to experiment with other combos: Air Magic/Beast Mastery perhaps? I found that pets can be a welcomed distraction. I find them annoying when I hit "C" to look for the closest enemy only to find myself wasting my energy on some rangers pet lol...
My skills lineup are a bit different...
Well i'm only limited to 7 skills actually.Never leave home without a ress siggie..