Path of Exile is a game that prides itself on letting players choose any build they want. New players hear this and get overly excited. They imagine being a Necromancer with full plate armor and a shield or they picture becoming a spell-slinging Duelist that moves like a blur on the screen. While these builds are possible, they're not realistic because of the massive experience it would take to invest in all of these passive skills.
And that's where the pros show up to save the day. No class needs pro advice more than the Ranger. With literally the first choice to make, the outcome will determine the destination of the Ranger going forward. There are so many ways for a good Ranger to be built, but there are even more ways that it can go wrong. These are a few tips from the experts that will guide new players away from making any innocent but fatal mistakes.
10 Pick A Type And Don't Look Back
Although the Ranger has many tempting choices, they don't all synergize well. Right away, players will be looking at either dual-wielding daggers, using a sword and shield, or going ranged with a bow. There are a few areas of overlap, but not enough to try and do two builds at once.
There is enough to be enraged about, especially with the nerf to harvesting, so don't make things harder by halfway investing into two builds. Choose one of these prototypes and find the gear and gems to match it.
9 Evasion Is The Best Defense
All things considered, if skills are factored out, the Templar is by far the superior tank. So why would somebody choose the Ranger? The answer among many top-tier melee enthusiasts is that evasion is an incredible means of defense.
By stacking the right gems and selecting the appropriate passive bonuses, enemies will be missing their attacks over 60% of the time by the middle of the game and even higher later on. If the right items are hard to come by, don't be afraid to learn how to trade for them.
8 React Quickly
Path of Exile didn't become one of the few looter games still alive in 2021 by being boring. If action is what the players want, then it doesn't get more intense than the Ranger, which requires a gamer with lightning reflexes.
Dagger Rangers and bow Rangers will both have to dodge projectile attacks and run away from melee slices. Tank Rangers need to keep a careful eye on their health for when blows land that aren't blocked or evaded.
7 Pile On Damage
To stack defensive capabilities that aren't evasion, one would have to crawl all the way over to the opposite end of the passive skill tree. That's not reasonable or efficient. That might work in another isometric action RPG people are playing while waiting for Diablo 2: Resurrected, but not this one.
The evasion is all gamers should need to prolong the battle long enough to finish the fight. The best defense after evasion is a good offense. Choose passives and skill gems that reflect the need for lots of damage.
6 Strike Fast
Thankfully, passive bonuses that increase attack speed are put directly into the Ranger's path. Beginners might still be learning about the game, but even they can see that this is low-hanging fruit that is foolish to pass up.
Additionally, choose weapons and gear that boost attack speed further. No other class should be able to compete with a Ranger's blinding animations and passing up on these skills is like passing up on the reason to pick the Ranger at all.
5 A Warning About The Pathfinder Ascendancy
Healthy debate is natural when discussing the best Ascendancy selections in the game. Players can probably trust their gut instinct whether to choose the Raider for tanking, attack speed, and evasion or whether to choose Deadeye to make ranged attacks really pop.
Generally speaking, the Pathfinder is considered the worst Ascendancy in the game, but there is a caveat; if players build their entire character based on flask bonuses then the Pathfinder selection becomes relevant. Just be sure this is the desired path before taking it.
4 Proc And Damage Gems
Due to a blistering attack speed, the best active skill gems for the Ranger are ones that either have a proc chance tied to them or raw damage. More swings mean more damage. One or two traditional spells for mobility or defense are alright, but don't go above that.
Characters with bows will get the option of several elemental damage choices to tie onto their arrows. Melee Rangers have even more choices, but a great gem that works well both early and late is the Double Strike.
3 Balancing Damage Output
Now it might sound laughable, especially to somebody who is learning about the game for the first time, but there is such a thing as too much damage. Of course, it's not a big deal to kill everything in sight in one or two shots.
But after about 200,000 DPS, damage doesn't matter as much as surviving encounters. Evasion is still the best defense, but after maxing that out and getting to this damage threshold, it's wise to tack on a few resistances with support gems and armor.
2 Fulfilling The Role
Parties count on the Ranger for either DPS, tanking, or, in some cases, support. Because Rangers are so versatile, when forming groups, it's imperative for players to tell their teammates what build they've decided upon.
After that, it's critical to play the role chosen. Deadeye Rangers should not be getting themselves into trouble or going into rooms first and Raider tanks should be on the front lines and not hanging out by the spellcasters.
1 Viper Strike For Dual Wielding
The passive tree feels lackluster for dual-wielding Rangers. While other Ranger builds get three or four areas to shoot for, the double dagger holders get stuck with only one or two. Yet it's important to note that this is not an imbalance.
In fact, it's a potential advantage. The extra passive skills can be used for protection or creatively going into another area of the tree. The Viper Strike ability gem allows both weapons to attack at once, it causes chaos damage, and it poisons targets. These three effects more than account for a few missing passive skills.