Baldur's Gate 3 Ranger Guide - All Subclasses (Hunter, Beast Master, Gloomstalker)

in the spawners game 3 Ranger class guide I'm going to be covering the ranger class including all three subclasses and providing you some useful information I'll be doing more build guides specifically for the ranger soon but for now let's just look at how the ranger functions and its basics Rangers and bg3 are unique because not only do they Excel inside of combat but also outside and have arguably the most proficiencies of any class in the game if you factor in weapons armor and skills Rangers like paladins not only Excel in martial combat but can also cast a select number of spells aiding them both inside and outside of combat many of their spells are nature oriented not unlike Druids such as bark skin Spike growth and plant growth and some have a focus on ranged attacks like in snaring strike Halo of thorns and lightning era also like Druids Rangers have an affinity for animals and can not only find familiar and have Proficiency in animal handling but can cast animal friendship and speak with animals beastmasters can also summon an animal companion every short rest allowing them to bring an ally onto the battlefield [Music] in this section we'll take a look at how to set up your Ranger during character creation for best results we'll begin with abilities first since this is arguably the most important part aside from choosing your subclass your primary ability as a ranger is dexterity though Rangers also use wisdom for the difficulty class of their hostile spells this means all Rangers will likely have some wisdom unless not using any hostile range or spells additionally Rangers can also go the strength route from melee combat if they wish so they don't necessarily have to use dexterity though the majority of Rangers will dexterity increases your attack rules damage rolls boost Armor class and initiative improve sleight of hand acrobatics and stealth checks as well as improves dexterity saving throws wisdom increases the spell do you see of your Ranger's spells and increases your wisdom skill checks and wisdom saving throws Constitution is there to help keep you alive via HP though Rangers have decent HP so you don't need to go too crazy with it for this reason I strongly recommend that you invest 16 index Duty and 14 in Constitution during character creation wisdom will vary depending on whether or not you plan to use hostile Ranger spells or not but if you're not sure I wouldn't go higher than 14 during character creation or 16 if you are sure you will use these you can see on the screen some different stat spreads that I've laid out here for Rangers that will use hostile spells or not and also a strength Ranger if you wish to play one note that I've changed these from the recommendations of the game as it's more optimized for your character during their early killings when it comes to race elf is good for Fey ancestry they also gain dark vision which can help land attacks in Dark Places High Elves also have perception proficiency while wood elves have stealth proficiency and can move further either are a good choice granting one skill proficiency you might likely take anyway deep gnome is also fantastic for Advantage on wisdom intelligence and charisma-saving throws as well as Superior dark vision and they also have advantage on stealth checks this is great if you want to go gloomstalker though the superior dark vision will be redundant Lightfoot halflinks are another solid choice because they re-roll if they roll a 1 on any attack roll ability check or saving throw all but preventing them from ever critically missing they also cannot be frightened easily and they too have advantage on stealth checks which is great for a gloomstalker drow have Superior dark vision Fey ancestry and perception proficiency which are all decent pickups for the Ranger and lastly half work is also a good choice especially for melee focused Rangers since they have dark vision Relentless endurance and Savage attacks for skills Rangers can handle the lock picking and pickpocketing of the group if you don't have a rogue or bark however you can pick up sleight of hand proficiency from natural Explorer if you want so I like the folk hero background to grab animal handling and survival pay attention to your background race and favorite enemy and natural Explorer to make sure you're not overlapping with your skills you can come out of character creation with eight proficiencies if you do it right next let's take a look at General Ranger character progression at level 1 Rangers get to choose a favorite enemy from a list of five this will provide them with an additional skill proficiency and one other feature which you select will help further Define your Ranger for instance if you want heavy armor proficiency then you might select Ranger Knight or if you plan to use in staring strike a lot you might choose Bounty Hunter you'll gain two more favorite enemies as you progress in Ranger levels so keep that in mind when making your selection also at this level Rangers get to choose one from the natural Explorer list this will either provide the ranger the ability to cast find familiar without using a spell slot give them sleight of hand proficiency or give them damage resistance from one of three damage types just like favorite enemy you'll get to choose two more of these as you level up your Ranger at level 2 Rangers can choose one fighting style from a list of four they don't have all fighting styles available to them like Fighters do and they are missing great weapon fighting and protection this makes them less likely to use a two-handed weapon or a shield though they still can if they wish also at this level Rangers will gain the ability to cast spells and will gain two level one spell slots and can select two spells from their spell list many of these spells are utility type spells but some are offensive in nature as well if you don't have at least 14 wisdom I highly recommend selecting spells that Target friendlies rather than enemies or you might have a hard time Landing these spells at level 3 all Rangers choose a subclass and gain features based on their selection we'll go over what these are in the subclasses section so for now let's carry on with General Ranger progression at level 4 all Rangers gain their first feat ability Improvement is a great choice for Rangers in order to increase dexterity of wisdom but there are other good Feats as well for instance dual wielder is great for Rangers if you want to use two non-light weapons and game plus one armor class and lucky is great for picking up some uses of advantage and controlling outcomes Sharpshooter is great on Rangers that use bows or crossbows to further boost damage and great weapon Master is good for more attacks even if not using a two-handed weapon at level 5 Rangers gain extra attack which lets them perform a second attack in a turn if they use the attack action this means they cannot cast The General Ranger's spell and then attack but must attack either with the default attack action weapon action or use ensnaring strike also at this level Rangers will gain access to level 2 spells and level 2 spell slots remember that some level 1 spells can be upcast using level 2 spell slots for improved effect and some cannot so make sure you learn which do at level 6 Rangers get to choose their second favorite enemy from the same list try to select something that gives you a new skill proficiency if possible also at this level Rangers get to choose another natural Explorer from the same list consider taking damage resistance if you haven't already at level 7 all Rangers gain a subclass feature and we'll cover those in the subclasses section at level 8 Rangers are no longer affected by difficult terrain and it no longer halves their movement speed when moving through it also at this level Rangers gain their second feat ability Improvement is still good for dexterity or wisdom or are any of the other Feats I already mentioned at level 9 Rangers gain access to level 3 spells and level 3 spell slots and this is the highest level they will learn in bg3 this gives them access to lightning Arrow which can be devastating when set up properly at level 10 Rangers gain height in plain sight allowing them to turn invisible and gain plus 10 to stealth checks as long as they don't move or perform any actions or interactions you can use this as many times per day as you want you just can't move while using it so it's more of a panic button than anything though it can be used to set up ambushes occasionally also at this level Rangers get to choose their final favorite anime from the same list try to select something that gives you a new skill for efficiency if possible Rangers will also get to choose their final natural Explorer from the same list at this level consider taking another damage resistance you simply cannot have too many at level 11 all Rangers gain their final subclass feature and we'll cover those in the subclasses section at level 12 Rangers gain their final feat ability Improvement is still good for dexterity or wisdom or are any of the other Feats I already mentioned when it comes to equipment Rangers and bg3 will use a wide variety of equipment and since they have proficiency with virtually every armor and weapon type in the game you can really use whatever you wish however because you can't take great weapon fighting it's much more likely that Rangers will either dual wield use a one-handed Shield or focus on ranged attacks from afar it's likely most Rangers will use medium or light armor due to their High dexterity and due to their natural inclination towards stealth just make sure if you're using medium armor it doesn't provide disadvantage to stealth checks because some do Rangers will also use a Bow crossbow or dual crossbows to strike from range generally some Ranger spells require a ranged weapon to use even if they don't use dexterity for their spell DC like hail of thorns and lightning Arrow making Rangers lean a little more to the range side of things than a fighter accessory wise look for things that boost damage or increase movement speed Rangers can benefit from movement speed since they are not as mobile as Rogues or monks choosing a ranger subclass in bg3 comes down to how you want to augment your Ranger do you want an animal companion that you can direct on the battlefield choose Beastmaster you just want to generally be a bit better in combat choose Hunter you want to get an additional attack at the beginning of each combat and have a focus on stealth choose gloomstalker all Rangers gain their first subclass feature at level 3 when they select their subclass and then once again at level 7 and finally one more time at level 11. however beastmasters and gloomstalkers also gain a subclass feature at level 5 and gloomstalkers gain another one at level nine let's take a look at the hunter subclass first at level three hunters get to choose one of three passive features that affect what they can do in combat board breaker is great for giving the ranger more AOE allowing them to hit more targets with each attack as long as they are close to one another and works with ranged or melee attacks however you can only use this once per turn giant killer is probably only one you would select if you're playing predominantly a melee Ranger since if you're playing ranged you don't want to be anywhere near large enemies and Colossus Slayer is good for taking up top to kill targets but it only adds 1d8 damage per turn at level 7 Hunters gained defensive tactics allowing them to choose one of three passives that help them defensively in combat of these multi-attack defense is really the best option particularly since by the time you get it many enemies will attack twice each turn at level 11 Hunters gain volume Whirlwind attack allowing them to hit many enemies in an AOE whether from range or in melee combat this can be used as an attack action allowing to use them twice per turn thanks to extra attack next let's take a look at Beastmaster at level 3 beastmasters gain a companion they can summon as an action once every short rest there are five different companions they can choose and each one has its own stats and attacks companions increase in HP Armor class and capabilities as The Beastmaster levels up additionally all Ranger companions gain praise scent that allows them to deal 1d6 damage to enemies the ranger has marked with Hunter's Mark and they all have dark vision and a movement speed of 9 meters so there is no difference between them in this regard I've summarized what each one of these companions gains at each level here on the screen for you so you can compare them directly [Music] at level 5 beastmasters add their proficiency bonus to the armor class and damage rules of the Ranger companions this makes them even more efficient in combat particularly because all Ranger companions gain HP and more features at this level as well at level 7 the beastmasters ranger companion can Dash disengage and help as a bonus action this allows them to move more freely in combat and still attack in the same turn and being able to help a downed Ally as a bonus action is quite strong in a pinch at level 11 the beastmasters ranger companion can also make an extra attack in combat making it a total of four attacks between Beastmaster and companion Ranger companions also gain more HP and features at this level and some gain increased armor class as well next let's take a look at gloomstalker at level 3 gloomstalkers gained red ambusher giving them a plus 3 bonus to initiative and on their first turn of combat their movement speed increases by 3 meters and they can make a free attack that deals an increased damage 1d8 this is incredibly powerful but remember it only applies to the first turn in combat and no subsequent turns also at this level gloomstalkers will be able to hide as a bonus action similar to Rogues allowing them to attack and hide on the same turn also at level 3 gloomstalkers gain Superior dark vision allowing them to see 24 meters in Dark Places helping with their hit chance from long range in dark areas gloomstalkers of this level can also become invisible for 10 turns as long as they are at least lightly obscure this can only be used once per short rest and lastly at this level gloomstalkers gain the disguise self-spell that can be used at will outside of combat at level 5 gloomstalkers learn the Misti steps spell which allows them to teleport as a bonus action at level 7 gloomstalkers gain iron mind granting them proficiency and wisdom and intelligence saving throws making them much more easy to succeed in at level 9 gloomstalkers learn the fierce spell allowing them to frighten a large group of enemies and at level 11 gloomstalkers can make a free attack if they miss a weapon attack in combat this drastically increases the chances of Landing attacks and is a really powerful subclass feature in this section our Baldur's Gate 3 Ranger class guide will take a look at multi-classing arranger in bg3 and what other classes you might multi-class with please keep in mind this is not a complete list but just rather helpful suggestions on how to make good pairings multi-classing a ranger can be a bit trickier than some other classes because each subclass is so different however there are a couple things that make it a bit more clear both hunters and gloomstalkers gain their best features at level 3 making this a great place to multi-class them additionally Rangers gain extra attack and level 2 Spells at level 5 so this would Mark another good place to multi-class them however a beastmasters companion gets stronger and stronger as they level up and dipping three levels into Beastmaster to get a companion that will likely die in a turn doesn't seem worth it for this reason it's unlikely beastmasters will multi-class more than a few levels of another class in order to get the most from their companion let's take a look at multi-classing Hunter first I like five levels of Hunter and seven levels of nature cleric this allows you to gain the extra attack from Ranger as well as horde breaker or Colossus Slayer whichever you prefer and level 2 spells for the ranger you'll also gain access to cleric level 4 spells which also use wisdom have tons of spell slots game shillaily so you can attack and melee with your wisdom modifier and you'll gain proficiency and survival animal handling and nature that's two attacks access to level four cleric and level 2 Ranger spells and 11 skill proficiencies if you plan accordingly next let's take a look at multi-classing Beastmaster I like nine levels of Beastmaster and three levels of wave the Open Hand monk this allows you to hit the second to last breakpoint and HP upgrades for your companion still gives you exceptional training and companions Bond and you have extra attack from the Ranger and level 3 Ranger spells monk will give you the option to use dexterity to make melee attacks even without finesse weapons and will allow you to add your wisdom to your armor class if not using armor it'll give you dash and disengage as bonus actions if you have the key for it and give you patient defense you also gain deflect missile and fluria blows which can further bolster your damage with your bonus action next let's take a look at multi-class and gloomstalker I like five levels of gloomstalker and seven levels of thief this gives you dread ambusher height as a bonus action umbral shroud and Misty step on top of extra attack and level 2 Ranger spells on the Ranger's side Thief gives you an extra bonus action you can use to hide or to dual wield and attack with your offhand and you gain 4 D6 sneak attack damage at this level which is still pretty good you could also go five levels of gloomstalker for the same reasons and go seven aboard the main cleric in order to be able to use your bonus action to attack again this would give you four attacks on the first turn of combat and access to level 4 cleric spells so that wraps up our Ranger class guide I hope you guys learned something Ranger is an incredibly fun class to play I learned something new putting these guides together every time I hope you guys do as well really makes me want to see what else we can do and I cannot wait to get to the full end game builds as always if you have other tips that I didn't mention please leave them in the comments and if you have questions Post in there as well and I will try and answer them when I can [Music]

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Id: riaWRN_ZKmk

Length: 16min 46sec (1006 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 03 2023