The modular nature ofPathfinder Second Editionputs rangers in a strange place compared to their contemporaries in other systems. Animal companions are optional. Spellcasting is optional. Doing acrobatics while dual-wielding swords is optional. The system gives the ranger a lot of choices, but each one closes off other options.
The best approach to building a ranger is to start from the concept of what you want your character to be rather than thinking about traditional RPG classes and roles. Whether you’re imagining Strider from Tolkien or Rexxar from Warcraft, the ranger class is flexible enough to cover all bases.
Ranger’s Class Identity In The Remastered Pathfinder 2e
Rangers have a wide toolkit but fewer specializations beforesubclasses and class feats. In a straightforward battle, the fighter outperforms with their strong starting features and access to better armor and proficiency scaling. In purely exploration sessions, the ranger has fewer skill advancements and skill feats than the rogue.
Compared to these other classes, rangers have morepowers bundled into features they canchoose or opt into. All rogues have access to sneak attacks, while the ranger must choose to gain their equivalent feature against other options.
This means certain character concepts for a ranger areequally doable while playing as another class, depending on your preferred mechanics.
Ranger Subclasses in Remastered Pathfinder 2e
Rangers canperform similar roles to other martial charactersby building around different class feats and equipment sets. The three main paths are determined by the ranger’s subclass,their Hunter’s Edge. These change how the hunter’s core ability, Hunt Prey, works.
Straightforward attacker
Dual-wielder
Flurry rangers live the dream of the blade-dancing martial artist. You want to spend all three actions on most turns striking and eventaking feats and flourishes that let you strike more times per action. For most characters, the -10 penalty would be crippling,but flurry cuts that nearly in half at first level.
Precision
The first strike each turn against your prey gains bonus damage.
Crossbow/Firearm snipers
Animal Companion builds
Multiclass builds
Precision wants to makelarge singular attacks for massive damage. They benefit from other things they can do with their remaining actions, such as setting up attacks or managing an animal companion.
Animal companions copy the bonuses of Hunter’s Edge, allowing them to make a second precision strike.
Precision rangers benefit from multiclass dedications that give them non-attack actions or canuse the extra actions to reposition themselves,diving in and out of combat, while other party members hold a more rigid frontline.
Gains defensive and non-combat bonuses against your prey.
Skill and Stealth specialists
Animal Companion Builds
Outwit takes a more defensive style and focuses more on out-of-combat utility. Your prey will struggle to wound you, and you’re able to more easily hide from, intimidate, or recall knowledge about them.
Animal companions share the defensive and stealth bonuses against prey, makingoutwit animal companions good at absorbing damage.
The Hunt Prey actionhas no detectable components like auditory or visual,meaning you can use it with impunity during situations that flavor-wise may be dubious,especially as an Outwit ranger.
If you’re trying to swindle someone with deception, declare in your head that they are your prey, and you’ll gain a +2 circumstance bonus.
Think of everyone in the world as your enemy, and Outwit Ranger will play at their best.
Attributes And Ancestry For A Ranger
Rangers have a few different priorities to juggle when placing their attribute boosts.They should broadly dedicate themselves to the three physical attributes and one mental attributeto fit a concept for roleplaying or skill usage.
Applications
Strength
Rangers using dexterity weapons (even firearms and crossbows) will still wantstrength for athletics checks and to offset armor penalties.Flurry rangers will want strengthto add it as a damage bonus to as many attacks as possible.
Dexterity
Rangers don’t gain heavy armor without investing in feats, so they willalways need to invest a couple of boosts in dexterity, even if using strength-based weapons. It also helps you sneak and dodge explosions, which rangers enjoy doing.
Constitution
Hitpoints are nice to have, butRangers already have good hitpoint growth. Rangers in melee will want extra for obvious reasons.
Intelligence
Rangers looking to use lore skills want a high intelligence. Theoutwit ranger wants to use recall knowledgeagainst their prey, and a high intelligence both gives them a strong modifier and lets them learn more skills to cover the different types of recall knowledge checks.If you plan to use consumable snare items, you’ll need intelligenceand crafting proficiency.
Charisma
Outwit ranger is again the best at using this attribute. Gaining social bonuses against your prey makes it easier to deceive and intimidate them. Other rangers might still want charisma toenable certain skills or multiclass dedications.
Wisdom
Will saves are the ranger’s weakestdefense, which a strong wisdom can balance out. Wisdom isalso used for tracking,which will be good for rangers during exploration.
Ancestry choices can lean into your playstyle with their boosts, especiallyvia their ancestry feat options:
Orc
Frontline Melee
Orcs offer a good number ofmelee featsthat any martial character can make good use of. They also get some animal training feats that can kickstart an animal companion build that lacks skill feats.
Elf
Sniper
The elven flaw in constitution makes them a liability in most melee-facing positions. They make good archers.Their feats can round out a ranger’s weak will savesby giving resistance to emotion and control spells.
Goblin
Skirmisher/Sniper
Goblin feats are strong, with a mixture of mobility and debuffing options viagoblin scuttle, goblin song,and their upgrade feats.
Goblins also gain access to the dogslicer andspoongun if you want to shoot people with cutlery.
Best Feats For Rangers
The modular format that Pathfinder presents feats in lets youtailor your abilities and skip past the ones that don’t interest you. Characters can be optimized while building in very different ways, making it easy to get decision paralysis.
Start with the concept you want to achieve, then look for feats to support it.
Feats and Archetypes
Notes
I want to hit things a lot.
Twin Takedown or Hunter’s Shot,Skirmish Strike, Dual-Weapon Warrior (archetype), Sentinel (archetype), Disrupt Prey
Flurry
Dual-Weapon Warrior offers multi-attacking feats, while Sentinel expands your available armors to heavy.Taking both will be taxing if not playing with free archetypes.
Hunter’s Shot and Twin Takedown both give you two attacks as a single action, depending on your preference for ranged or melee combat.
Disrupt Prey gives you your reactive strike and lets it disrupt actions on a critical. It comes down a few levels later than the fighter’s but can halt movement.
Crossbow Ace, Gunslinger Dedication (archetype),Deadly Aim, Hunter’s Aim, Running Reload
If the machine-gunning archer doesn’t have appeal, you canspecialize in slower reloading weapons like crossbowsand firearms. Feats specialized towards these weapons give you a lot of ways to stretch your action economy to work around the limitations of having to stop and reload.
Hunter’s aim and deadly aim let you choose between extra damage and accuracy depending on the enemy you’re fighting.
I want to be a Witcher.
Monster Hunter, Monster Warden, Master Monster Hunter, Legendary Monster Hunter,Additional Recollection
Outwit
The Monster Hunter feat and its upgrades are all about using specialist knowledge to defeat every enemy at rock-paper-scissors.Outwit gives you a bonus to the recall knowledge checks, while Additional Recollection lets you string them together against multiple enemies.
