Thing is... you really need the creature from the beginning so that a ranged build will work. Otherwise, there simply isn't a way to cc large groups so you can plink away.
It's disappointing to go that route and find that you get mobbed so much that melee is pretty much the only thing you can do (seriously, who other than ranged enemies, is going to sit and let you plink away and kill them?)
(cc = crowd control)
