Do you need a strong Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranger build? In Baldur’s Gate 3, Rangers are the typical archer archetype. Whether you aspire to be Faerun’s equivalent of Robin Hood or are simply out for blood with the help of a bow and arrow, the Ranger is a powerful Class that can deal damage from a distance. They’re also typically aligned with nature, meaning your trajectory as a Ranger can render you stealthy as you traverse the woods and make your way through the game’s hidden corridors.
However, there’s a lot to consider if you’re looking for the best Ranger build ideas in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you want to make a solid Ranger, you’re going to need to make a lot of character-building decisions that align to make amplify the Ranger’s power. Here’s everything you need to know about building your Ranger character, including the best Race, Subclass, Background, Natural Explorer options, Favored Enemies, and Spells.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranger build basics
The Ranger’s Primary Ability is Dexterity, rendering these creatures a solid choice for a playthrough that emphasizes stealth. A strong Ranger can catch enemies off-guard and strike them before they know what hit them. Rangers boast superior hunting skills and have the skills and capacity to handle harsh climates and conditions. As a Class, Rangers tend to be simple characters, but in Baldur’s Gate 3, you have numerous options to build a powerful Ranger that conforms to your unique playstyle.
Ranger Weapon, Armor, and Class Proficiencies:
- Ranger Weapon Proficiencies: Simple weapons, martial weapons
- Ranger Armor Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, shields
- Ranger Skill Proficiencies (choose three): Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, Survival
- Ranger Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Ranger Natural Explorer options
At Levels 1, 6, and 10, Rangers can choose from several Natural Explorer environment options that are unique to the Class.
- Beast Tamer: You have formed a bond with animals and can cast Find Familiar without using a Spell Slot.
- Urben Tracker: Gain Proficiency in Sleight of Hand.
- Wateland Wanderer – Cold: Grants Resistance to Cold damage.
- Wasteland Wanderer – Fire: Grants Resistance to Fire damage.
- Wasteland Wnderer – Poison: Grants Resistance to Poison damage.
Ranger Favored Enemy options
At Levels 1, 6, and 10, Rangers can choose one of several Favored Enemy options that give them extra bonuses.
- Bounty Hunter: Gain Investigation Proficiency, plus creatures hit with melee or ranged Ensnaring Strike will get Disdvantage on the Saving Throw.
- Keeper of the Veil: Gain Arcana Proficiency and can cast the Spell Protection from Evil and Good.
- Mage Breaker: Gain Arcana Proficiency and can cast the Cantrip True Strike, which grants an Advantage on your next Attack Roll.
- Ranger Knight: Gain History and heavy armor Proficiency.
- Sanctified Stalker: Gain Religion Proficiency and the ability to cast the Cantrip Sacred Flame, which does Radiant damage.
Ranger Fighting Style options
At Level 2, Rangers can select a Fighting Style from the following:
- Archery: +2 bonus to ranged weapon attacks.
- Defense: +1 bonus to Armor Class when wearing armour.
- Dueling: Wielding a melee weapon that is not two-handed or versatile in one hand and no weapon in the other deals a +2 damage with that weapon.
- Two-Weapon Fighting: When attacking with an off-hand weapon, add your Ability Modifier to the attack weapon damage.
Ranger Subclass options
At Level 3, Rangers can choose from the following Subclass options:
- Beast Master: Gain a beast companion with added Subclass Features that strengthen it as you progress. You can choose from a bear, boar, giant spider, raven, or wolf.
- Gloom Stalker: Emphasizes stealth and surprise, including several Subclass Features and actions to render you difficult to detect.
- Hunter: Focuses on hunting mastery and allows you to choose one of three Abilities: Horde Breaker allows you to target two creatures standing near one another in quick succession. Giant Killer allows you to use a Reaction to make a melee attack when a Large or bigger creature attacks you. With Colosuss Slayer, once per turn, a weapon attack deals an extra 1d8 damage if the target is below the hit point maximum.
Best Ranger Race, Background, and Skills
Your Race, Background, and Skills introduce attributes that buff your Ranger character. These are our picks for the best choices you can make for a solid Ranger character.
The best Ranger Race is Wood Elf.
The Wood Elf Subrace endows the player with Fleet of Foot, which results in an increased movement speed of 10.5m (relative to 9m of most other Races). The Subrace also grants a Proficiency Bonus to Stealth checks, which is great for the sneaky Ranger Class.
Further, Elves gain Darkvision, and therefore can see in dark and dim settings. They also gain Elven Weapon Training for Weapon Proficiency with longswords, shortswords, longbows, and shortbows. Fey Ancestry grants an Advantage on Saving Throws against being Charmed. Magic also magic cannot put Elves to sleep. Elves also get a Perception Proficiency.
The best Ranger Background is Charlatan.
As masters of manipulation, Charlatans get Deception and Sleight of Hand Proficiency Bonuses. Deception helps you hide the truth about matters, while Sleight of Hand grants checks on acts of manual tricks such as lockpicking, pickpocketing, and hiding items.
The best Ranger Skill Proficiencies are Nature, Stealth, and Survival.
Nature allows your Intelligence check to improve your ability to address information relating to terrain, plants, and animals in the wild. Stealth allows you to make a Dexterity check when attempting to hide, slip away, or sneak up on someone. Survival grants a Wisdom check when faced with the opportunity to follow tracks or traverse difficult terrain.
Best Ranger Natural Explorer environments
The best Ranger Natural Explorer environment for Level 1 is Wasteland Wanderer: Fire, as fire is a common enemy attack damage type, and Resistance will allow you to take only half damage from those attacks. At Level 6, select Wasteland Wanderer: Poison, as poison becomes more common later in the game can be extremely debilitating, so Resistance to it is also powerful. At Level 10, we recommend Wasteland Wanderer: Cold, as it’s generally helpful to have Resistance to Cold damage, too.
Best Ranger Favored Enemy
The best Ranger Favored Enemy to choose at Level 1 is Mage Breaker, for Arcana Proficiency and the True Strike Cantrip, which grants Advantage on your next Attack Roll. At Level 6, choose Bounty Hunter for the Investigation Proficiency, and so enemies will gain Disadvantage on a Saving Throw against the Ensnaring Strike attack. At Level 10, choose Sanctified Stalker for Religion Proficiency and the Sacred Flame Spell.
Best Ranger Fighting Style
The best Ranger Fighting Style is Archery for +2 damage to ranged attacks, as these nimble characters lend themselves well to distance combat, which also allows them to sneak up on and surprise their enemies.
Best Ranger Subclass
The best Ranger subclass is Gloom Stalker, which grants the Umbral Shroud Action. This action shrouds the Ranger in shadows, which turns them Invisible when obscured. This is then extremely powerful for sneak attacks, though you will lose it if you attack, cast another Spell, perform an Action, or take damage.
This Subclass also grants Superior Darkvision so you can see further distances and Dread Ambusher for a +3 bonus to Initiative and increased movement and damage on your first combat turn.
The Subclass gets even stronger as you progress. At Level 7, you’ll earn Iron Mind, which gives Proficiency in Wisdom and Intelligence Saving Throws, and at Level 11, you’ll earn Stalker’s Fury and can also make a free Weapon Attack when you miss a strike.
Best Ranger Spells
Rangers gain access to a limited number of Spells, and their Spells only go up to Spell Level 3.
Best Ranger Spells
These are the best Ranger Spells by Spell Level:
Level 1: Ensnaring Strike, Cure Wounds, Enhance Leap, Longstrider
Level 2: Pass Without Trace
Level 3: Lightning Arrow
Best Ranger Feats
Ranger can choose Feats at Levels 4, 8, and 12. The best Ranger Feats are:
- Level 4: Sharpshooter
- Level 8: Lucky
- Level 12: Tough
Sharpshooter causes ranged weapon attacks for weapons with which you have Proficiency get a -5 penalty to their Attack Roll but deal an additional 10 damage. These attacks also don’t suffer low-ground penalties, making it an essential Feat for an archer. Lucky grants three Luck Points, which you can use to gain Advantage on Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, or Saving Throws. You can also use them to make an enemy reroll their Attack Rolls. Finally, Tough is useful because it increases your Hit Point maximum by 2 for every level you have gained, which is retroactive and applies going forward for 24 points by the time you reach Level 12.
That’s everything you need to know to develop the best Ranger build possible in Baldur’s Gate 3. Once you’ve mastered your Ranger, you may also want to check out our guide to multiclassing in the newest game from Larian Studios, or perhaps you just want to learn about how to romance a companion in the game. If you’d like to try an entirely different build, you can always respec your character with our Baldur’s Gate 3 respec guide, and if you plan to choose a new Class, you’ll also want to see our best builds guide for a complete overview.
Disclosure: Former RPS deputy editor Adam Smith (RPS in peace) now works at Larian and is the lead writer for Baldur’s Gate 3. Former contributor Emily Gera also works on it.
