pillars of eternity best companions ranger

Just a thought, but, if playing a ranged ranger and your pet goes down, you'd probably be more useful to the party at that point switching to a melee weapon and going to flank whatever is still alive. Melee rangers tank for their pets, using the pet to flank where tactically viable. Ranged rangers follow their pet's target, and the pet should target stragglers, archers, or targets already engaged. If you're using your pet to 'grab aggro' for the ranger, you're not playing effectively and the ranger will suffer. If the pet dies, the ranger is no longer useful for DPS. You just seriously have to remember: the pet and the ranger are 1 unit. However, rangers are not nearly as bad as some of the complainers would have you believe. With it, they are probably the best off-tank there is. Without it, they are absolutely very weak. If they want to make the ranger stronger, I won't complain, but right now the whole class hinges on a single ability: Stalkers' Link. If anyone is the 'jack of all trades' class when it comes to combat, it's the ranger.Īs for the complaints about the class. Rangers have a palpable lack of specialization, so even though a rogue may provide more DPS, a ranger is far sturdier. Even though the fighter is a better tank, the ranger can deal out way more DPS while tanking than the fighter can. Since pets have to be in melee, this is a problem that's difficult to adjust to. Their pet is deceptively fragile, and if it goes down the ranger's DPS plummets.

They provide more ranged-only buffs than any other class, but every other class has comparable abilities that work at both range and melee. However, as a ranged unit the sturdiness isn't as valuable. They provide less DPS than a rogue but are sturdier. So, it's a toss up on what is better and is based on play style. However, they do have more utility through the fact that they have a pet, which is what no one else has. For example, a ranged rogue does more damage and is easier to manage. Rangers are decent DPS, but when being used at range they require a lot more micromanagement than other ranged classes. A stone beetle or two will burrow past, target your bear, and kill it. It's a massive penalty and you will run into it from time to time. If you rely on Stalker's Link, then you're actually down 40 accuracy. Your pet will most likely die quickly if it is engaged by two creatures, even if it is a bear.

The main thing about making a successful ranger is that you cannot risk your pet. Bear is a pretty solid choice for a ranged ranger, since they're a little more durable. You would likely also want to take the ranger ability that lets their ranged shots bounce, but I forget the name of the ability.Īs far as pet choice goes, it doesn't matter a huge amount. No other ability gained at level 5 is close to as valuable.ĭue to +20 accuracy, bloody slaughter is a fantastic talent to take, since you will be critting frequently. Stalker's Link is almost a must-have, as it provides +20 accuracy so long as ranger and pet are targeting the same unit. Vicious Aim would take more advantage of Marked Prey, and works with any ranged weapon. Swift Aim's description mentions reload speed and melee attack speed, so it's unclear if it works with bows, but it would be a huge boon to take with guns and crossbows. Vicious Aim/Swift Aim depend on weapon choice. Marked prey would lead to higher damage by the end of the fight, though, for a ranger specializing in personally dealing damage. Wounding shot opens up hobble (allowing sneak attacks, which the pet can access) as well as applies a DoT (there is a pet talent that improves it's damage by 1.5x vs targets suffering from a DoT). Might, Int, and Dex will be very valuable, the other stats less so.Īs a ranged ranger, marked prey or wounding shot depends on if you want to focus on the pet or the ranger.

If your pet dies, that window is shut, and your ranger is worthless in a DPS role. Your pet is the window through which all your DPS will come from. If ranged, you need to keep this in mind:

Pillars of eternity best companions ranger