Starting a Ranger

Overview
Every Ranger gets free training to be effective both with a bow, and with paired melee weapons, although most choose to concentrate on one of the two specialties using one of the two powerful Ranger enhancements.

The Ranger Tempest's training in using two weapons at once, progressively reduces the normal handicaps for this style, and eventually ensures that the off hand is attacking 100% of the time. The Arcane Archer learns dedicated archery skills, and in particular the ability to generate magically imbued arrows.

However, even an Arcane Archer knows when to pull out a pair of swords when when their enemies are too close, while the meanest Ranger Tempest can still be relied on to target a distant boss or enemy casters with some well placed arrows when required.

Minimum recommended stats
Rangers get all of their class feats, even if they don't meet the Dexterity requirements. However, there are optional feats (and enhancements requiring feats) that do have minimum requirements. The only way to meet these requirements are by starting with the required characteristics or by increasing them with Tomes and level up bonuses to increase characteristics. Items, spells and enchantments NEVER count for satisfying Feat prerequisites.


 * Strength: No minimum requirement but Strength increases melee damage and ranged damage (because of the Ranger Feat: Bow Strength) so it's always good to have more Strength. Str 13 is required for Power Attack; most rangers will want to start with more than that. Many rangers put their level up points into Strength.
 * Dexterity: 13 is required for the Tempest prestige class. This is because Tempest requires Spring Attack, Mobility and Dodge; and dodge requires a Dexterity of 13. Some rangers start with a higher DEX for more armor class and for attacking with ranged weapons (and some melee weapons with Weapon Finesse feat).
 * Constitution: 14 is a recommended minimum.
 * Wisdom: No minimum requirement; however wisdom is required to cast ranger spells. Total wisdom of 10 + 1 per level of spell is required. Ranger gets 4 spell levels, so 14 is the maximum required. New players can start with 10 or 11 to be safe, experienced players can start with 8 and use items and tomes.
 * Intelligence: No minimum requirement but you will need to increase your INT if you want to take feats that have Combat Expertise as a requisite. For example Improved Trip. INT also increases your skill points.
 * Charisma: No minimum requirement but important for Use Magic Device skill if one chooses to use it.

Race

 * Dwarf: Dwarf rangers are hard to kill thanks to their high Constitution, racial toughness enhancements, and improved saves vs. magic. Their racial weapon feats and enhancements to axe combat do synergize well with Tempest builds.
 * Elf: Elves have great Dexterity but comparatively few hit points due to low Constitution and fewer racial toughness enhancements. Racial bonuses to bows are great for archer builds. Racial bonuses to longswords, rapiers and scimitars are okay.
 * Halfling: Save and AC bonus, great if you are built for defensive purposes. Strength penalty, not so.
 * Human: Good fit to any class.
 * Drow: Drow is a poor fit to many many classes. I don't recommend you to roll a drow ranger just because you are excited with your 400 favor reward.
 * Half-Elf: Good fit, especially for archer build.
 * Half-Orc: Their racial enhancements do not synergize with ranger, which is a two-weapon fighting oriented class. However, the bonus to Strength is nice and increases the damage with their bows and melee weapons.
 * Warforged: Warforged have natural resistances, good constitution and increased hitpoints. Similar to half-orc, their melee enhancements are more suitable for two-handed fighting.

Skills
Skills can vary greatly for a ranger as they are a very flexible class capable of specializing in a number of different directions.

Important Skills
In alphabetical order, these should be maxed out when possible:
 * Balance: How embarrassing if a ranger keeps getting tripped by a dog and getting his ass eaten.
 * Use Magic Device: Reaching as high as 20 makes most restricted items usable. With 30+, raising people from the dead is possible! Keep in mind that you can (temporarily) boost this score with Ranger Skill Boost enhancements.

Secondary Skills
In alphabetical order, improve these skills when you can:
 * Jump: Don't invest too much on this. You can cast Jump spell buff.
 * Hide and Move Silently: Allows you to move through lots of enemies undetected.
 * Search: Allows you to find hidden doors when a rogue isn't available (and also traps, for easier avoidance).
 * Spot: Allows you to spot hidden creatures, and also lets you know when a trap is nearby when a rogue isn't available.
 * Tumble:

Favored Enemies
Possible Favored Enemy choices; you get to choose one at level 1 and an additional one at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20 for five total.
 * Aberration (useful at higher levels - you may choose to drop say Undead or Giant to switch to it then)
 * Animal
 * Chaotic Outsider
 * Construct (occasionally useful at mid and high levels)
 * Dragon
 * Dwarf
 * Elemental (useful at mid and high levels)
 * Elf
 * Evil Outsider (essential at high level)
 * Giant (useful at mid level)
 * Gnoll
 * Goblinoid
 * Halfling
 * Human
 * Lawful Outsider
 * Magical Beast
 * Monstrous Humanoid
 * Ooze
 * Orc
 * Plant
 * Reptilian
 * Undead (useful at low level)
 * Vermin

Spells

 * Level 1
 * Camouflage: Good for when you're feeling all sneaky.
 * Jump: Reach high places more easily!
 * Longstrider: Gets you where you want to go faster.
 * Ram's Might: +2 STR and damage (effectively +3 damage), and stacks with Bull's Strength/+STR items!
 * Resist Energy: Protection from 10-30 points of energy damage per hit
 * Level 2
 * Barkskin: Increases your AC, up to +5 (natural armor bonus).
 * Camouflage, Mass: One person is good; everyone is better.
 * Cure Light Wounds: Primarily for self-healing when a cleric isn't available.
 * Protection from Energy: See: Resist Energy, although it directly absorbs it instead (up to 120 points of damage).
 * Level 3
 * Cure Moderate Wounds: See: Cure Light Wounds, but better.
 * Neutralize Poison: Obviously enough.
 * Remove Disease: Ditto.
 * Level 4
 * Freedom of Movement: A great spell to counter Hold Person or earth elemental's Earthgrab.
 * Cure Serious Wounds: The best healing you can cast yourself.
 * Longstrider, Mass: Everyone gets speedy!

Tempest Ranger (Pure Class)
Race
 * Human - The human race gives an extra feat and it is a solid choice for a new ranger.

Stats (28 pb)
 * Strength: 17 -- Put level increases here.
 * Dexterity: 13 -- Enough to satisfy all the dexterity requirements of the feats Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack.
 * Constitution: 15 -- Nobody likes to die, and until your character becomes immortal, having more hitpoints makes your character harder to be killed.
 * Intelligence: 8 -- Should be enough to cover your skill points needs.
 * Wisdom: 10 -- You should be able to find a +1 wisdom item until level 4.
 * Charisma: 8 -- This is a dump stat unless you are pursuing Use Magic Device.

Feats
 * Toughness
 * Dodge
 * Mobility
 * Spring Attack
 * Improved Critical

Enhancements
 * Toughness enhancements
 * Ranger Sprint Boost
 * Ranger Favored Enemy Attack & Damage
 * Human Adaptability: Strength
 * Human Greater Adaptability: Constitution
 * Human Versatility

Tempest Ranger (Multiclass)
The Tempest is a fast hitting killer concentrating on attack rather than defense. While having good Constitution and enough hit points to survive life in the front line, she prefers not to be the focus of attention for too long. She thinks shields are for wimps and uses Two Weapon Fighting to maximize her Damage Per Second. She also has minor spell casting abilities, giving a few useful buffs and some healing ability. With her keen senses she can detect traps, secret doors or enemies before anyone else. The Tempest wears only light armor but may be dexterous enough to get a high armor class. She is quick in her movements and can sneak past enemies when necessary.

This specialization is recommended to those players who are happier attacking the foe from the edges of the melee, rather than being in the thick of it. The Ranger Tempest's training in used two weapons at once, progressively reduces the normal handicaps for this style, and eventually ensures that the off hand is attacking 100% of the time. Even so, like any ranger she gets certain bow feats for free, so archery is always an alternative for those special situations when her enemies are at a distance.

Tempests need high Strength for melee attacks, but also need Dexterity for the Ranger Tempest prestige enhancement line. This is because Tempest requires Spring Attack, Mobility and Dodge; and dodge requires a Dexterity of 13. Many people take higher Dex to increase their armor class, and some take it higher than STR to use the feat Weapon Finesse with rapiers and shortswords. However, although the attack for these weapons will then be based on DEX, the damage is still based on STR, so this should never be neglected.

No ranger should use a crossbow because the free Bow Strength feat applies the ranger's strength bonus to their damage rolls with a longbow or shortbow, and negates the crossbow's higher damage class.

Note, this is not a pure ranger build.


 * Level Progression
 * Level 1-3 - Ranger
 * Level 4 - Fighter
 * Level 5-7 - Ranger
 * Level 8 - Fighter
 * Level 9- - Ranger

The fighter levels are taken for the two extra feats, as well as an improved choice of armours the ranger can wear.


 * Race
 * Human:


 * Stats
 * Strength: 16
 * Dexterity: 14 Enough to satisfy all the dexterity requirements of the feats Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack.
 * Constitution:
 * Intelligence: 10 Rangers have a healthy supply of skill points, and coupled with the extra skill points that humans get, the extra points are likely to wasted on useless skills.
 * Wisdom: 12 (14 needed to cast all ranger spells, but any additions count so this is easy to achieve.)
 * Charisma: 8


 * Feats
 * Dodge
 * Mobility
 * Resilience
 * Spring Attack: This feat helps a lot against monsters that runs around. Having longstrider allows you to catch up with runaway monsters so you can attack them.
 * Iron Will: Hold Person, Hold Monster, and other stunning or mind affecting spells are an all too common reason for the death of a melee combatant, get this to prevent it from happening to you!
 * Improved Critical: Select this with a weapon of your choice, or if you prefer, a different feat. I chose Slashing weapon since there are a lot of slashing weapons to be found in the game, and helps to trigger the burst effects on weapons.
 * Precision: There are certain monsters with an insanely high AC, such as the drow in Tempest's Spine, use this feat to hit them.

Final Comments
Although this build was originally designed for damage, in practice, it is quite defensive and the feat selection reflects this. This build is most effective against spellcasters type monsters.

I hope you will enjoy playing a melee ranger in the future, as well as dissolving the stereotype image of a ranger as an archery specialist. The majority of the warriors I have partied with are often shocked at how quick my character can mow through hordes of mobs taking little to no damage, and spellcasters are often thankful when I leap over monsters to their rescue.

Archer Fighting Tips
Other fighting classes can hide behind their heavy armor and extra hit points but Archers need to play smart. The point of using arrows is not damage, which over time is usually less than melee damage, but the enormous advantage of being able to hit enemies who cannot hit back at you because you are out of reach. Pick off vulnerable foes one by one to minimize damage from return fire, unless you are using a paralyzing bow, in which case spread the affect around.

There are also explicit situations where the ability to hit the enemy from a distance means more than safety. The most obvious is in returning fire to ranged mobs standing out of reach, but even more useful is the ability to grab the 'aggro' of enemy casters or the boss from a distance. You may be able to destroy them from afar with manyshot, but if not, have a good plan for how to deal with them afterward.

The combination of Improved Precise Shot with Manyshot can be like a machine gun on a group of vulnerable foes. The technique needs practice, as you have to get the timing right, have them nicely lined up, and target the one at the back.

Lastly, don't forget those Two Weapon Fighting feats that you get for free. Consider leaping over the frontline fighters to attack high priority targets like casters, or the enemy archers standing at the back.

Kite wisely!
Kiting is getting a monster to chase you, while you run backwards firing at it. This is a common tactic for solo archers, and can work well in groups if you can kite them through a firewall, a blade barrier or a waiting group of your fellows. But careless kiting in a group will anger your fellow players since they will typically not be able to hit a monster while running after it and you. Tell them what you are planning, and if you are in trouble, run towards your friends, not away from them.

Building an Archer
The Archer is an agile and skilled scout with minor spellcasting abilities. With his keen senses he can detect traps, secret doors or enemies before anyone else. Once combat starts the archer usually stays behind to support the party with his bow, but even in melee he has learned to wield two weapons with deadly precision. The archer wears only light armor but is quick in his movement and can sneak past enemies when necessary.

This specialization is recommended to those players who prefer smiting enemies from a distance rather than close up. Even so, any ranger can fight effectively with two weapons, so melee fighting is always an alternative when your enemies are within striking distance. Once Manyshot has run out, Rangers often do more damage with two weapon fighting than using a bow, even if they have gained the Point Blank Shot feat. A special caveat on bow damage: Adding Seeker or burst effects may greatly increase your damage on critical hits, justifying greater use of bows.

Archers need high Dexterity for unfailing ranged attacks, and so may take the Weapon Finesse feat to enable attacks with rapiers and shortswords to enjoy the same bonus. However they should also keep their strength up because it improves the damage for both.

The Arcane Archer has dedicated archery skills, and in particular the ability to generate arrows with special effects.

No ranger should use a crossbow because the free Bow Strength feat applies the ranger's strength bonus to their damage rolls with a longbow or shortbow, and negates the crossbow's higher damage class.


 * Recommended enhancements
 * Ranger Action Boost
 * Ranger's Dexterity
 * Warforged only
 * Construct Thinking
 * Warforged Constitution
 * Elf only
 * Elven Dexterity
 * Elven Ranged Damage
 * Aerenal Elf Melee Damage
 * Elven Enchantment Resistance


 * Feats
 * Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapon
 * Point Blank Shot
 * Precision (Useful for high armor enemies and bows with special effects on critical hits)
 * Weapon Finesse (keep in mind only rapiers and light weapons are affected by this feat; resupply accordingly if investing in this feat)

Archer sample build
See also - I would like to create an Archer. Should I pick a Ranger or a Fighter?

Halfling Ranger
 * 12 str
 * 18 dex
 * 14 con
 * 14 wis
 * 8 int
 * 8 cha

Bonus stat points into str.

Favored Enemy:
 * Undead
 * Giant
 * Evil Outsider
 * Abberation (you may choose to switch when at higher levels, when usually-deadly abberations become frequent in quests)

Feats:
 * 1 Luck of Heroes
 * 3 Iron Will
 * 6 WFocus: Slash (Makes no sense unless you will be meleeing, if not, WFocus: Pierce)
 * 9 Improved Critical: Slash (Same idea from last line)

Enhancements:
 * Ranger Dex
 * Halfling Dex
 * Ranger Action Boost
 * Halfling Luck

Skills:
 * Concentration
 * Search
 * Spot
 * Heal
 * Tumble CC