The Ranger of Baldur's Gate 3 is a unique class built for niche players. With a playstyle that encompasses the worlds of magic and weapons, you'll be able to adapt to any circumstance. And above that, you'll be able to do it in style with one of Dungeons & Dragons' edgiest classes.

RELATED: Baldur's Gate 3: Complete Guide To BardsWith subclass options allowing to have beastly companions or specialize in ruining the day of one creature in particular, the Ranger certainly gets points for style. Although they lag behind a little in raw combat potential, you certainly will never be bored playing a Ranger, and combat is only half the battle in Baldur's Gate.

Ranger Overview

"Far from the bustle of cities and towns, past the hedges that shelter the most distant farms from the terrors of the wild, amid the dense-packed trees of trackless forests and across wide and empty plains, rangers keep their unending watch."

The Ranger class is a strange combination of melee and magic. Although their feats make them specialists against certain enemies, they're a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to standard combat without being particularly good at any one thing.

As a result, while Rangers are rich with opportunities for roleplaying and unique problem-solving, they are lackluster compared to other classes on a combat level. The best summary for a Ranger is to be a melee-oriented Druid with far fewer spell-slots and evenly distributed stats.

In exchange for falling behind a little in combat potential, the Ranger is given a horde of feats to collect. This allows for even greater customization and building your backgrounds as well as opening the door for unique interactions with certain creatures.

Skills, Proficiencies, And Starting Equipment

Rangers are typically a physically-built class first and a spellcasting class second. For this reason, their Saving Throws and overall build are first dedicated to those physical stats.

They are allowed a d10 + their Constitution modifier at the first level. Then, gain 6HP + their Constitution modifier for every level above first.

• Saving Throws: Strength and Dexterity
• Skills: Choose three from Athletics, Animal Handling, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival
• Proficiencies: Light armor, Medium armor, Shields; Simple and martial weapons
• Starting Equipment: Shortbow, Shortsword, Arrow of Ice, and Leather Armor

As Ranger is primarily a roleplaying rich class above a combat-savvy one, their skills lean more towards those you'd practically make in any standard encounter. Being aware of the world around them is a major trait for any Ranger.

Beyond their traits, the Ranger gets to begin with a fairly average equipment load to start with the unique addition of a single Arrow of Ice.

Feats

The Ranger's feats have been overhauled from their original form in the Player's Handbook of Dungeons & Dragons. Arguably, they've been made better and more reliable for your standard adventure and overall combat - especially in the option to gain damage type resistances.

Each feat comes with a list of choices, making them one of the most customizable classes in the entire game. You can take a Ranger one way in a playthrough and entirely new way in another. No two Rangers are exactly the same.

As far as action-economy goes, most Ranger skills are also passive, meaning their skills have amazing synergy without overlapping or costing you valuable actions on your turn.

Illithid Feats

Spoilers Are Ahead!

When activating your Illithid Powers enough times, you'll gain a special feat specific to your class.

The Ranger's Illithid Power is "Force Tunnel." It's an extremely niche ability with a usefulness that sorely depends on your playstyle. It can be useful for forcing people into traps or for high-tailing a bow-using Ranger out of a mob area. The drawback is in its taking of a full action and dealing no damage.

Name	Type of Action	Effect(s)
Force Tunnel	Action	Charge forward 9m and push back enemies in the way 4m.

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Spells

Rangers choose a limited amount of spells from the Druid spellcasting class. As a Ranger, this means your spellcasting ability is Wisdom. Therefore:

• Spell Save DC = 8 + Proficiency bonus + Wisdom modifier
• Spell Attack Modifier = Proficiency bonus + Wisdom modifier

Unless given by a feat or another similar method, Rangers do not have access to Cantrips.

Ranger spells, like Druid spells, are regained after a Long Rest.

Full Spells List

Subclass: Beast Master

The Beast Master class is very straightforward: you get a companion beast that you control. You can summon it at the 3rd Level, and at the 5th Level, you gain the feat "Companion Bond" that adds your Proficiency Bonus to its Armor Class and damage rolls (giving it far more usability than its Player's Handbook counterpart).

Of the beasts you can control, you can summon one of the following at a time as a full action in or during combat:

Subclass: Hunter

The Hunter subclass is a specialized class that, like the rest of the overarching class of Ranger, will ask you to choose between several feats to further customize your character. It's a more combat-focused, weapon-using type of Ranger.

Compared to the other classes, the Hunter is a more one-size-fits-all sort of subclass, and if you're not interested in the Ranger's more niche subclasses, the Hunter is the best way to go.

For "Hunter's Prey," you get to choose one of the following features when you become a Hunter:

Subclass: Gloom Stalker

The Gloom Stalker Ranger is a truly unique, niche subclass that specializes in all things dark - a class perfect for the Underdark they're associated with. They get access to more magic as well as interesting ambush-style feat mechanics.

NEXT: Baldur's Gate 3: Complete Guide To Fighters