Baldur's Gate 3 features many different classes to choose from when building your party of adventurers. Each of them will cover various aspects that your party will need to plan for to be an effective group. Do not underestimate how devious a game can be with skill challenge distribution. There are many areas that will require you to cover a different set of skills to get through them.

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The Ranger is one of the go-to scout choices in the popular tabletop version of the game, and there have been many subclasses added to it through the sourcebooks. They make the Dexterity Ability their main focus with a secondary focus on Wisdom for spell casting. Rangers offer a lot of different options to playing as a Rogue, each bringing similar and vastly different ways of playing them.

Updated by Chad Thesen on August 21, 2023: This guide has been updated to feature a new section on the choices you should be making while leveling up your Ranger for being a Hunter. This includes all the choices you make at each level up and what pieces of gear you should go out and claim when at each of these levels to keep your performance high. Both the Hunter and Beast Master push further into Ranger levels and gain access to 3rd-level spells. Something the Gloomstaker builds drops in favor of more damage from multiclassing.

Best Ranger Ability Distribution

Your primary Abilities for your Ranger will be the ones you want to be maxed out as soon as possible. You will also have Abilities you will not care to add points into at all, often referred to as “dump stats”. It won’t matter what the values of these dump stats are, because you will have other members in your party that can handle tasks requiring them. Your points are better spent optimizing where you shine.

You will not be using Intelligence to cast spells or need to handle any of the book smarts, nor will you be the face of your group trying to negotiate the best deals. Your role is to be unseen and make sure everything is safe. This means you will need a big focus on Dexterity skills such as Stealth and Acrobatics. Having points in Wisdom will also increase your potency as a spell caster.

• Primary Abilities (Max these out): Dexterity and Wisdom
• Secondary Abilities: Constitution and Strength
• Dump Abilities (Ignore These): Intelligence and Charisma

Best Race For Rangers

It’s no surprise that the best Race for the ranger is going to be an Elf. More specifically, a Wood Elf. Wood Elves will get some increased movement speed, allowing them to persistently stay out of the range enemies' range while attacking them. They also gain two extra proficiencies, both useful in the forms of Stealth and Perception, allowing you to cover a much broader range of options.

Darkvision is incredibly valuable when exploring dark surroundings such as caves and dungeons where there are little to no light sources. Your Ranger will also gain Advantage to their saving throws against being charmed, and they will not be able to be put to sleep through magical means. Lastly, but most importantly, they will boost Dexterity by +2 and Wisdom by +1, both the Abilities you want to increase.

Alternative Race Option

Halflings are the second choice, Lightfoot being the better of the two thanks to its bonus proficiency in Stealth. Their biggest plus is their Lucky feature. This feature lets them reroll when they get a result of 1 on any of their checks, saving throws, and attack rolls. This essentially means all of these rolls have a higher chance of success by removing one side of the die would mean failure. Their biggest con is their lower speed than other races. They give a +2 bonus to Dexterity, but unfortunately a +1 in Charisma.

Best Skills And Background For Rangers

You’re going to be doing quite a lot for your group, so you’re going to want to do it well. Since you are Wood Elf, you already have Stealth and Perception checked off, and that's a great start. You will be able to take 3 skills from a list of options, as well as get 2 more from whichever Background you pick. There is one skill not listed in the list that you really want to have, and only one Background offers it. So you will want to take the Entertainer Background. This will give you proficiency in Acrobatics and Performance. Performance will not be necessary, but that Acrobatics proficiency can be life-saving if you need to balance on some beams or duck and weave through tight spaces. Take Animal Handling, Survival, and Insight for your class selections.

Alternative Background Options

Other backgrounds that are useful for a Ranger can already be covered by their skill selection, such as Folk Hero. The only thing we are giving up is Sleight of Hand, which is what might make the rogue more appealing to some players.

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Best Subclass For Rangers

Each subclass will do things very differently, which can make it a very hard choice. However, there is one facet of this build that is going to make the entire game a significant amount easier; this build will be able to do more damage on turn one than anything else in the game, effectively taking out enemies before an encounter can even begin.

When you remove the strongest enemy from an encounter before it starts, it can drop the difficulty from Deadly, down all the way to medium, especially when you remove the very cornerstone of their encounter from the equation. To pull this off, you will need to go Gloomstalker. This subclass will give you extra spells at certain levels, a bonus to your initiative, let you see further in darkness, gain invisibility, resist mind control, and allows you to reroll misses.

What Do The Other Sub-classes Offer?

Beast Master will give you an animal companion, this is great because it means another ally on the field, dividing aggro, taking hits to disperse the damage, and another turn to deal out damage. The Hunter can be circumstantial, rather than all-purpose, but when a very hard encounter comes along that aligns with how you have built the Hunter, it can really perform well.

Best Feats For Rangers

You’re going to want to maximize your damage output for this role, you are essentially a sniper that can pick off an enemy before it has a chance to even act in combat. You will need 2 feats to optimize this task. They are Sharpshooter for your first feat, and Crossbow Expert as your second.

Multiclassing is going to be a key element for this build. You will only get 2 Feats for this build because you’ll be taking 3 levels worth of Rogue, taking the Assassin Subclass, and 2 levels worth of Fighter. To pull this off, start with 5 Levels in Ranger, 4 Levels in Rogue, 2 levels in Fighter, then the rest in Rogue.

Best Spells For Rangers

Rangers are a great utility spellcaster, with some of the best spells for their role being low-level ones. Having a versatile array of options will help out the party in a lot of situations. However, you will definitely want to pick up Hunter’s Mark. This will be vital for this build. The other option will be Goodberry, which lets you distribute items among the party that lets them heal up on their turns without you needing to use your own.

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Best Party Composition For Rangers

It is best to use Hirelings for this, as companions can be built suboptimally. You can always keep companions for their story elements, but combat-wise, get some Hirelings. Building around your Ranger is key. You will find yourself in situations where characters will perform suboptimally and be out of their comfort zone. Build into these areas to cover all your bases.

You’re going to want two heavy Frontliners. Some good options are a Light Domain Cleric and a Fighter. The Cleric will also be providing an extra set of eyes for perception checks if the highest roller fumbles. The Fighter should make Intelligence their second major Ability and become an Eldritch Knight. Lastly, add in a Sorcerer. They will be able to deliver powerful novas through spell casting and replace any need for a Wizard in that area. This will let you cover all major Ability skill areas while also adding a lot of melee-stopping power between your Ranger and Sorcerer.

Rangers In Combat

Here is how you’re going to go from Ranger to Hitman. Firstly, you get to pick a Favoured Enemy. Each offers an intelligence skill, but what you need to focus on is the spell options they offer, with the most useful being “Protection from Evil and Good”. The Gloomstalker will be able to make an extra attack on its first turn of combat with an extra 1d8 worth of damage.

Having 5 levels in Ranger will give you Extra Attack. You will also have a large boost to your initiative to keep acting before your target even gets to move. This means on the first turn when you get the jump on an enemy, you are able to get a total of 5 attacks on them. With those 3 levels in Rogue and Assassin subclass, all of these attacks are going to be rolled with advantage since the enemy has not yet acted, meaning it is very unlikely that any of them are going to miss. Furthermore, every hit is going to be a critical hit, and with that dip into Fighter, you can Action Surge to get an additional 2 attacks with all the same accumulative benefits.

This can outright remove an enemy before the encounter begins and just drops the whole fight in difficulty since there is 1 less enemy dealing damage, meaning you have less healing to use up and less aggro to control. Thanks to that sorcerer you brought into the group, they can cast Darkness, which the Gloomstalker can see through. This means the Gloomstalker can keep attacking while everything else struggles to hit them, and this is before even factoring in the bonus damage from Rogue’s sneak attack.

Ranger Outside Of Combat

You are a scout. Take the Urban Tracker Natural Explorer at creation, so you can pick locks and disarm traps just like a Rogue. You will be sneaking around ahead of the group, trying to notice things with perception that might be laying in wait. Before an encounter get to a good advantage point and let your companions get into a flanking spot.

Gloom Stalker Ranger Leveling Choices

The Gloom Stalker is when you want a sniper that can pick enemies off from the shadows while remaining a hard target to hit. They also allow you to do a ton of damage on turn one and remove a threat very early making the difficulty of the encounter as a whole much easier.

• Race: This is the race you should choose at character creation.
• Background: This is the Background you should choose for character creation.
• Skills: These are the skills you should choose for character creation to cover what your Background does not.
• Favored Enemy: Gaining Ensnaring Strike is very valuable, and just having it as an option can turn the tide when it is an ideal spell to whip out. You are only taking Ranger up to level 5, so you will not be gaining a second one Favoured Enemy at level 6. Your final benefit from Favored Enemy comes from level 10. Take Sanctified Stalker for the cantrip it gives, Sacred Flame.
• Natural Explorer: Find Familiar is the perfect utility spell for a Ranger. Same as Favoured Enemy, you will not be gaining a second benefit from this ability due to your limited number of levels in Ranger. At level 10, you will get one final Natural Explorer, make this one Wasteland Wanderer: Poison.
• Fighting Style: It's a no-brainer to go with Archery since you'll be building a sniper.
• Spells: You will want to take Hunters Mark to put on whatever it is you will be attacking. Goodberry allows you to give healing items to other party members when they need them. Later you will get Spiked Growth and Misty Step. Hunters Mark is the most important of the lot, and it is never a bad thing to use all your spell slots for it.
• Subclass: This is the Subclass you should choose when given the option to pick one.
• Feat: Take the corresponding feat for each of the corresponding levels.
• Rogue: You will want all the extra damage that comes with Sneak Attacks and surprising your enemies. This will happen for all 5 attacks before the enemy can even react.
• Rescue The Duke: Completing this Quest will give you a bow that you will just fall in love with.
• Fighter: You want this to bump those 5 attacks up to 7, all before your enemy can do anything about it.
• Haste Helm: When combat starts, you will have 3 turns of Momentum to help you perfectly position yourself where you need to be. You can find this item in a chest at Blighted Village. Which you will need to lockpick.
• Crusher's Ring: You can get this ring from Novice Crusher in the goblin village, how you choose to do that is up to you. This ring gives you +3 to your movement.

Beast Master Ranger Leveling Choices

The Beast Master is a phenomenal choice for players as it lets your Ranger have some utilities outside of combat, purely focus on ranged attacks, and have an animal ally to help split up aggro as an extra frontline. Enemies' attention broken up among more characters means a reduced likelihood of an ally going down.

• Race: This is the race you should choose at character creation.
• Background: This is the Background you should choose for character creation.
• Skills: These are the skills you should choose for character creation to cover what your Background does not.
• Favored Enemy: Gaining Ensnaring Strike is very valuable, and just having it as an option can turn the tide when it is an ideal spell to whip out. At Level 6 you will be able to take another Favoured Enemy. This should be Ranger Knight for the Heavy Armor proficiency. Your final benefit from Favored Enemy comes from level 10. Take Sanctified Stalker for the cantrip it gives, Sacred Flame.
• Natural Explorer: Find Familiar is the perfect utility spell for a Ranger thanks to Beast Tamer. At level 6, you should also pick up Wasteland Wonderer for the Cold Resistance. This will be the most useful for the game. At level 10, you will get one final Natural Explorer, make this one Wasteland Wanderer: Poison.
• Fighting Style: Go with Archery. You will be using a bow more than other weapons while your beast tanks for you.
• Spells: You will want to take Hunters Mark to put on whatever it is you will be attacking. You will want Cure Wounds over Goodberry as this lets you heal up your beast at range if it needs it. Later you will get Spiked Growth and Misty Step. Hunters mark is the most important of the lot, and it is never a bad thing to use all your spell slots for it. Lesser Restoration will be great if anyone has something nagging at them to remove when you need it, and when you don't need it, keep applying that Hunters Mark. Revivify is something you want for the same reason you have Lesser Restoration. It is a "Just Encase" spell that you will definitely want if something goes down and leaves your Beast Master with the attention of their Aggro.
• Subclass: This is the Subclass you should choose when given the option to pick one.
• Feat: Take the corresponding feat for each of the corresponding levels.
• Rescue The Duke: Completing this Quest will give you a bow that you will just fall in love with.
• Haste Helm: When combat starts, you will have 3 turns of Momentum to help you perfectly position yourself where you need to be. You can find this item in a chest at Blighted Village. Which you will need to lockpick.
• Crusher's Ring: You can get this ring from Novice Crusher in the goblin village, how you choose to do that is up to you. This ring gives you +3 to your movement.

Hunter Ranger Leveling Choices

The Hunter subclass adds some extra damage throughout combat, and this is great for longer-running encounters. The Gloom Stalker is all about that early damage and added personal protection. Beast Master adds an extra frontliner and has added safety. However, the faster you drop enemies, the more damage you mitigate to your party and steadily increase the odds of success.

• Race: This is the race you should choose at character creation.
• Background: This is the Background you should choose for character creation.
• Skills: These are the skills you should choose for character creation to cover what your Background does not.
• Favored Enemy: Gaining Ensnaring Strike is very valuable, and just having it as an option can turn the tide when it is an ideal spell to whip out. At Level 6 you will be able to take another Favoured Enemy. This should be Ranger Knight for the Heavy Armor proficiency. Your final benefit from Favored Enemy comes from level 10. Take Sanctified Stalker for the cantrip it gives, Sacred Flame.
• Natural Explorer: Find Familiar is a great spell to give you some extended range and be able to send some extra eyes scouting in another direction. At level 6, you should also pick up Wasteland Wonderer for the Cold Resistance. This will be the most useful for the game. At level 10, you will get one final Natural Explorer, make this one Wasteland Wanderer: Poison.
• Fighting Style: You will want to go with Archery. Rangers are brilliant ranged attackers, it's right there in their name.
• Colossus Slayer: After your target has taken damage at least once and is no longer at its total number of HP, you will deal an additional 1d8 damage to it each turn. This will stack up fast and is the best choice among your options.
• Spells: You will want to take Hunters Mark to put on whatever it is you will be attacking. You will want both Cure Wounds and Goodberry as this lets your party members each be able to look after themselves, but you have the utility to save the day in dire circumstances. Later you will get Spiked Growth and Misty Step. Hunters mark is the most important of the lot, and it is never a bad thing to use all your spell slots for it. Lesser Restoration will be great if anyone has something nagging at them to remove when you need it and Protection from Energy is a good way to bolster a frontline who is about to get hit by something heavy. You can only have 7 known spells, and this one benefits being a hunter more than Revivify, so stock up on scrolls to cover that. Remember, it is not a bad thing to use Hunters Mark for every spell if you don't need to call on the others.
• Escape the Hoard: There will be times when something you don't want is right up next to you, this will give Disadvantage to Opportunity Attacks made against you.
• Subclass: This is the Subclass you should choose when given the option to pick one.
• Feat: Take the corresponding feat for each of the corresponding levels.
• Rescue The Duke: Completing this Quest will give you a bow that you will just fall in love with.
• Haste Helm: When combat starts, you will have 3 turns of Momentum to help you perfectly position yourself where you need to be. You can find this item in a chest at Blighted Village. Which you will need to lockpick.
• Crusher's Ring: You can get this ring from Novice Crusher in the goblin village, how you choose to do that is up to you. This ring gives you +3 to your movement.

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