What is the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranger build? There are few classes who are as attuned to nature as the Ranger – they take to the wilderness like a fish to water and can use all of the wild’s advantages to strike fear in the heart of their enemies. Some BG3 Rangers exclusively hunt the most dangerous prey, and others skulk in the shadows, waiting for their target – which will you be?
It’s time to start thinking about which BG3 class you’ll be picking and how you’re going to build them. For this Ranger build, we have a mixture of ranged damage, animal companions, and powerful magic. Here is the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranger build.
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranger build
The best Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranger build is:
- Subclass – Beast Master
- Race – Wood Elf
- Background – Outlander
- Skills – Dexterity and Wisdom
- Weapon – Longbow
Best Ranger Subclass
The best subclass for Ranger is the Beast Master due to the animal companion.
What is a Ranger, really, without their animal companion? You can choose to stomp around with a bear at your side, clawing at anyone who looks at you weirdly, or you could employ a raven to be your eyes in the sky, exploring the area so you’re safe to travel.
Best Ranger abilities
Here are the best abilities for the Ranger:
- Strength – 12
- Dexterity – 17
- Constitution – 13
- Intelligence – 8
- Wisdom – 15
- Charisma – 10
You have a fairly even spread of abilities as a Ranger, with a high starting dexterity stat, especially if you choose to play as an Elf. Having points in Wisdom will help massively when it comes to animal handling – something that is a key part of the Ranger’s kit.
Best Ranger race
Wood Elf is the ideal race for this class due to its backstory, the fact that they give bonus dexterity and their excellent base movement speed. You’ll be nimble in a fight, whilst also having enough where it counts to wield your longbow to deadly effect.
Best Ranger background
The best background for Ranger is Outlander.
The Outlander background story is that of someone who lives in the wilds and as a Ranger, that’s exactly where you’ll feel most comfortable. Outlander grants you proficiencies in both athletics and survival.
Best Ranger spells and leveling
As a Ranger, you do have some arcane control over the wilds, if you so choose. The most powerful of these spells come at level 5. Before then, try to focus your combat skills as much as possible, with the archery class passive coming in very useful at level 2.
Level 1
- Mage Breaker
- Urban Tracker
Level 2
- Archery class passive
- Speak with Animals
- Hail of Thorns
Level 3
- Beast Master subclass
- Ensnaring Strike
Level 4
Level 5
Best Ranger equipment
The best equipment for a ranger is light armor and a longbow.
With the amount of dexterity your Ranger has, and the archery class passive, you’re going to be deadly at any distance. Utilize the Mobile feat gained at level 4 to give your enemies the run-around in a fight, all the while piercing them with arrows.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranger character creation overview
The Ranger class can be a fantastic jack of all trades if you build it correctly. They can take elements from several other classes and put them all into one deadly package. You can have an animal companion, if that’s what you’re into, or you can take the thieves route. There is even a path for those who wish to wield magic.
Class features
- Strength saving throw proficiency
- Dexterity saving throw proficiency
- Light armor proficiency
- Medium armor proficiency
- Shield proficiency
- Simple weapon proficiency
- Martial weapon proficiency
Natural Explorer Ranger options
- Beast Tamer: You can cast Find Familiar as a ritual.
- Urban Tracker: You gain Sleight of Hand proficiency.
- Wasteland Wanderer Cold: Gain resistance to cold damage, taking half its damage.
- Wasteland Wanderer Fire: Gain resistance to fire damage, taking half its damage.
- Wasteland Wanderer Poison: Gain resistance to poison damage, taking half its damage.
Favored Enemy Ranger options
- Bounty Hunter: Gain proficiency in investigation and learn the Thieves’ Cant passive.
- Keeper of the Veil: Gain proficiency in arcana, and gain the ability to cast Protection from Evil and Good.
- Mage Breaker: Gain proficiency in arcana, and the True Strike cantrip.
- Ranger Knight: Gain proficiency with history, and heavy armor.
- Sanctified Stalker: Gain proficiency in religion and the Sacred Flame cantrip.
Beast Master subclass
The Beast Master subclass allows you to keep an animal companion. Your companion stays with you in and out of combat, and you share an intelligent bond with them that can flourish over time. The animal companions you can summon are:
- Bear
- Boar
- Giant Spider
- Raven
- Wolf
Hunter subclass
Hunters live to take on the most dangerous of prey, no matter how large, deadly, or numerous. You must choose a specialization within the Hunter subclass, each with its own advantages in battle.
- Colossus Slayer
- Giant Killer
- Horde Breaker
Now that you have the best Ranger build, the only thing left to do is don your best cloak, grab your bow, and start hunting evil. If exploring the wilderness isn’t for you, we also have the best BG3 Cleric build, or even the best BG3 Wizard build – for those who enjoy firing lightning bolts out of their fingers and cooking their enemies from the inside out.