Divinity: Original Sin 2 is in full swing, and one of the major issues players are having with the game is Builds. What Build do I use? What’s a good Build for a Warrior? Ranger? Mage? etc. Since the game is extremely difficult this has come much more into focus than one would expect. In this Build Guide were going to cover the hybrid: Ranger. Let’s jump into this Build and see just how it works.

Ranger – Archer/Summoner Build

The Ranger is a hybrid Build that focuses on ranged damage with a Bow or Crossbow and Summoning some form of “Pet”. The reason it is advised that you use a ranged character when Summoning is because Summoning tends to take up the bulk of your character’s AP per turn, which doesn’t leave much for Movement. Taking a ranged approach will allow you to both summon and attack in the same turn. Note: you can also make a magical version of this Build called a Druid, which I will get into in another Build Guide. For the purposes of the Ranger, Ifan ben-Mezd works the best as he comes with a pet Wolf, which works great with this Build because Summoning will increase its effectiveness. However, players can really use any Race or Origin for this Build if they wish.

Ranger Attributes and Equipment

Ranger’s are going to focus on Finesse and Wits as their primary Attributes with a bit of Constitution. Finesse will increase your damage with Bows and Crossbows, and Wits will increase your Critical Chance and Initiative. There is not an Attribute that increases the damage of “Pets” so there is no need to focus on that here. I would distribute points on a 2:1: ratio here.

As a Ranger you’ll be using Armour that requires Finesse, which gives a balance of Magic and Physical Armour. That’s great for this type of play because you won’t have really any way to buff your Armour unless you place points into other Abilities. Because you’ll have rather high Wits, you should get to go close to first in combat often, which will allow you to use Skills to position yourself high and away from melee enemies, making your only real danger other archers and casters.

When it comes to Weapons you’ll want either a Bow or Crossbow. The difference between the two, is that Crossbows deal more damage at the same level, but reduces Movement by 1. Since you won’t be moving much, a Crossbow is recommended here, but be sure to take whatever does the most damage from what is available.

Ranger Abilities and Talents

One of the hardest parts about making a Build in Divinity: Original Sin 2 is getting your Abilities distribution correct. It’s easy to get spread too thin, and often people make the mistake of not spreading points around enough. The bonuses you gain from Abilities in this game are somewhat different than the original, so it’s easy to see why people can get confused. Let’s take a look at what Abilities and Talents you need for a Ranger.

For a Ranger Build you will be focusing on Warfare and Summoning. You’ll want to get both Warfare and Summoning to 10, Huntsman at 3 and then dump any leftover points into Ranged to increase your physical damage. The order in which you place points into Warfare and Summoning will really depend on how you like to play. Do you want to deal more damage with your Crossbow with sort of a pet as and after thought? Do you want to split the points evenly? Or do you want a really powerful pet while you use your Crossbow to not be completely useless? It’s all really up to you, and you can always respec if you don’t like the decision you have made after Act 1. If you’re not sure, I’d recommend splitting them until you get a feel for it.

As far as Talents go I’d recommend the following:

Far Out Man – This will increase the range of your attacks by 2 meters (basic attacks included). Since you won’t be moving a lot, being able to hit from as far away as possible is excellent.

Elemental Ranger – This Talent will add 40% damage to your attacks of the element that your target is standing in. This is additional damage, on top of your normal damage.

Executioner – Archers have some the best long range damage in the game, and as a result they frequently get kills. Taking this Talent will give you 2 more AP if you get a kill, however, it doesn’t trigger more than once per turn.

Arrow Recovery – Gives you a 33% chance to recover special arrows you fire at enemies. You won’t be using these as much as the first game, and that’s why it is prioritized less here. Still more useful than most Talents for a Ranger though.

Pet Pal – What kind of Ranger would you be without being able to converse with animals? If chose Ifan ben-Mezd during Character Creation, then you will come with this Talent already.

Hothead – An excellent way to increase your Critical Chance and Accuracy, which are both important to a Ranger. Since you will have high Initiative, you should be able to get some good use out of this Talent.

Ranger Skills

Now that you’ve decided which Talents and Abilities you want, you’ll need to identify just which Skills work best with this kind of setup. Rangers are one of the more simple Builds to play, and you can really use just about any Skills from Huntsman or Summoning you want, but we’ll cover the important ones here. Since Builds evolve over the course of the game, I’m going to put the Skills in order from earliest obtainable to latest, because you won’t be able to get them all right way.

Huntsman Skills

First Aid – This skill is just frankly wicked good. Heals you or a party member and removes many different Status Effects. All Rangers should have this skill, regardless of what sort they play.

Ricochet – Not the greatest Huntsman skill, but you should learn it early in order to have some attack other than just your basic one. Consider unslotting it later in the game when you have more access to Skills.

Tactical Retreat – This is another must have skill for any Ranger, as it will allow you to move much further than you possibly could for 1 AP. Use this skill to get up high, get bonus damage from elevation and get out of harm’s way.

Sky Shot – This skill is good for getting extra damage when you can’t be elevated. It’s got a quick cooldown, and it only costs 2 AP. You might find this skill less useful later on when you find you are more tactical than at the beginning.

Ballistic Shot – Better than Sky Shot because you can be elevated and still get extra damage from this skill. Get up high using Tactical Retreat and then launch this for massive damage.

Marksman’s Fang – Great for penetrating Armour and hitting multiple targets. Even better when used in conjunction with Ifan’s Soul Wolf, because it’s special attack Vicious Bite pierces Armour as well.

Arrow Spray – This skill deals amazing damage if you are close enough to hit your target with all 16 arrows and will essentially deal 6.5x the damage of a basic attack. A great boss killer!

 

Summoning Skills

Conjure Incarnate – This is your go-to summon for the better part of the game. Can be infused with elements to change damage types and Skills. Get this one early and always cast at the beginning of combat.

Farsight Infusion – Grants your Incarnate Magic Armour and a ranged attack. A great skill to use if you’re facing a lot of mage type enemies, or if the battlefield is a shit show and your Incarnate can’t really move without dying.

Power Infusion – Grants your Incarnate Physical Armour and an AoE as well as a knockdown. Just a great all around skill, that can help you take one turn away from the opponent.

Soul Mate –  This skill clears many Status Effects and creates a connection that gives half of your healing and Armour restoration to the target. This is a great way to help keep your pet alive.

Dominate Mind – Control target enemy for 2 turns. This is resisted by Magic Armour, which isn’t the greatest for this sort of Build. However, this skill is too good not to slot, as you can always cast on targets damaged by your Mage.

Final Tips

Consider adding some points into Necromancer and taking the talent Living Armour if you find yourself using Soul Mate often. This will ensure you get the most from this skill and having a few points into Necromancer is always good for any character anyway. This will also provide you access to the summons of the Necromancer line as well, though you shouldn’t need them.

The only way to buff damage of summoned characters, besides putting points into Summoning, is by increasing the actual Attributes of the summoned character with buffs. Encourage can give your “Pets” around a 10% damage increase, which isn’t a lot, but Encourage hits multiple targets so it’s very useful. Make sure at least one member in your party has this skill.

Since Rangers often need to spend a lot of AP on the first turn to get out their summons and get into position, consider putting 1 point into Scoundrel to get the Adrenaline skill. This will give you 2 extra AP to get what you need done at the cost of some AP next turn. Also, if you don’t want to pick Ifan ben-Mezd, I strongly suggest picking an Elf for the Flesh Sacrifice skill, which will also give you 1 additional AP to get you going. Flesh Sacrifice also has great synergy with Elemental Arrowheads, as you will gain a physical damage bonus from the blood you will create, so be sure to slot this if you play as an Elf.

You can get the skill Summon Cat Familiar if the Black Cat chooses your character, and you help it escape Fort Joy. You can get Summon Condor from Featherfall in Stonegarden (Act 2). You will need Pet Pal and some Persuasion in order to get this skill. You can get the skill Summon Dragonling much later in the game in the Dream Portal in Arx if you have The Red Prince in your party. None of these are required for this Build, but if you’d like to try out some different summons, these are some you could choose from. Note: you can only have one active summons at a time per character.

Lastly, if you don’t mind putting a point into Pyrokinetic, Haste is a really good skill for a Ranger. You can either use it on yourself or on your “Pet”, but the Movement won’t do you a lot of good. Your Incarnate, Wolf, Condor or what have you can make good use of it though getting where they need to go without spending much AP. It also only costs 1 AP, which isn’t much.

Check out our other Build Guides and good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!