Players have a lot to think about when it comes to creating a character in Divinity: Original Sin II. They have to think about what type of character they want to make and what role they'll play in battle, whether they'll be supportive of offensive and how versatile or specialized they'll be as warriors.
The Ranger is one of the pre-defined template classes that DOS2 has for players to choose from. This is a long-range class that will excel when using bows and is a great starting point for a versatile damage dealer. Here's what you need to know about building a Ranger.
Ranger Attributes & Abilities
The first choice a player must make when creating a character is picking a race, and each has different strengths. While it may be tempting to pick an Elf for their thematic closeness with rangers in fantasy, being a Human will grant a nice bonus to Critical Chance. Rangers will want to deal as much damage as possible, so improving their critical hit rate is a great idea.
Similarly, a Ranger's attributes are quite easy to work out. Prioritize investing in Finesse and Wits to improve their ranged damage and Critical Chance respectively. The basic Ranger starts with two points in Finesse and one in Wits, which is a great start. From there, the player needs only put points into Memory if they plan on building a versatile magic archer and Constitution if they feel a little fragile. Intelligence may be important for players who want to cast offensive spells, but their bows will usually do just fine.
Ability-wise, the Ranger will focus on Huntsman. This will be their main skill while also improving the damage bonus they get from being at a higher elevation than their target, an advantage that the Ranger will want to leverage whenever possible. The default Ranger also has a point in Pyrokinetic, which isn't a terrible choice but might be better spent in a different skill school like Aerotheurge or Geomancer.
Ranger Skills
There are plenty of skills entirely within the Huntsman school which make the Ranger a really effective warrior on the field of battle. Elemental Arrowheads provides versatility by allowing a Ranger to infuse their bow attacks with the element of a nearby puddle. This is similar to the Conjurer's ability to use puddles for elemental superiority and is great in many situations. Additionally, Huntsman has a self-heal in First Aid, a great movement ability in Tactical Retreat and even an overwatch-style move in Reactive Shot.
The other Hunstman abilities will likely be a Ranger's main source of damage. There are some great options that handle both single-target and area damage, with abilities like Ricochet and Ballistic Shot encouraging players to think about the Ranger's positioning. The ultimate Hunstman ability Arrow Storm is an incredibly powerful nuke that gains power as the Ranger's Finesse increases, making it an attractive choice for opening battles and finishing off weak foes.
Other skill schools also have great options for a Ranger. Aerotheurge gives the Ranger fantastic movement options in Nether Swap and Teleportation, which can be used in multiple ways to turn the tide of battle. Skills like Apportation and Evasive Aura also fit into a Ranger's toolkit, bolstering their support options. Peace of Mind is also a great skill for downtime and can be found in the Pyrokinetic school; it's one of the Ranger's default skills. It grants a boost to the user's stats and is handy to have in a pinch.
Summoning makes for a great secondary skill for the Ranger, as they can help gain control of a fight by adding their summoned minions to it. Since Rangers are likely to find elevated vantage points, they can make great use of these skills to contribute more to battle without having to get into the fray. Even a single-point dip into the school will give the Ranger access to Summon Incarnate and Elemental Totem, which at least provide enemies with extra targets to contend with.
Ranger Talents
The Ranger class' default Talent is Arrow Recovery. This is by no means a bad choice for the class, but it may be a good idea to swap it for another Talent early on and switch back later in the game. After all, the player is unlikely to have many special arrows in the first portions of the game.
Instead, options like Hothead and Duck Duck Goose are really good choices. Hothead will increase the Ranger's Critical Chance by 10 percent when they are at full Vitality, and this is likely to be active more than it isn't thanks to the Ranger's predilection for staying out of close combat. Duck Duck Goose can also help with this, as it allows the Ranger to avoid attacks of opportunity, which is very useful in those situations where close proximity to enemies is unavoidable.
Other great Talents for a Ranger include Elemental Ranger, which will imbue their attacks with the element of the puddle they are currently standing in, and Savage Sortilege if the player is going for a hybrid build where they make use of offensive spells.
Ranger Builds
Stealth builds are popular with Rangers, and for good reason. They can make use of sneak attacks and avoid the attention of brutish enemies that tankier characters are better off facing. Investment in Scoundrel is vital for a great stealth build, and it's definitely worth it. Adrenaline is a great skill to have in case of emergencies for the extra AP, and Cloak and Dagger is a fantastic movement ability that sustains stealth and invisibility. Starting battles in stealth and being able to get to wherever they need to be while staying hidden is a great boon. Top this all off with Chameleon Cloak (which requires Polymorph) and the Ranger will be nigh-untouchable.
Making a magic archer is another great build idea. A few points in the four elemental skill schools will provide more than enough spells to make the Ranger a versatile phenomenon. This build would likely sacrifice some investment in Wits for Intelligence to up their spell damage and then outfit their toolkit with whatever they want. This way, the Ranger can make use of the strengths of each skill school whilst always having their trusty, powerful bow as a backup.
Ranger Gameplay Tips
Rangers are masters of using of everything they possibly can to turn the tides in their favor. A good tip is to have multiple movement abilities available and prepare the ones that will be most useful in upcoming battles. Teleportation can be used to knock foes off their feet, Tactical Retreat is fantastic in case of an ambush, and Nether Swap can really upset an enemy formation. Most importantly though, getting up high and making use of Huntsman's bonus damage is the main draw of these abilities.
Making use of elemental arrows is also a great way to keep the pressure on enemies. Having many different arrows doesn't just give the Ranger a full complement of elements to work with, but a ton of status effects to boot -- all without investment into elemental schools and all having their damage boosted by Finesse. Once the Ranger starts to use these arrows in earnest, they will definitely want to have the Arrow Recovery Talent.
When it comes to bows versus crossbows, bows win out quite easily. While crossbows tend to be more powerful, they unfortunately come with a movement penalty. Rangers love movement and will rely on it whenever they come up against a particularly determined close-range fighter. As a result, keeping a bow to hand instead is a more reliable strategy that requires less movement ability usage, freeing up AP for offensive maneuvers.
Building and using a Ranger will teach any player of the sheer power of movement and elevation, giving them a deeper appreciation of Divinity: Original Sin II great combat system. Not only that, but they'll come out with a great character that can turn enemies into pincushions before they're even scraped by an antagonistic sword or singed by an opponent's spell.