Up Close or Far Away: Path of Exile Ranger Guide

The tree-hugging resident of Path of Exile, the Ranger is the game’s dexterity class. Despite being one of the game’s classes that rely on a single attribute, her destiny is not exactly cut to her favor. Thus, it’s up to you to guide her. For that, here is a, well, guide. With this, you’ll know which items to spend your PoE Currency on.

Many-Armed and Dangerous 

Just because the Ranger wields a bow early game doesn’t mean she should stick to such a weapon – unless you really want her to. Not feeling the bow? You can dual-wield daggers or go with a sword and shield setup. Whichever your choice may be, you should be aware of the pros and cons.

For dual daggers, you get to make the most damage out of her, but at the cost of being within reach of your enemies. On the other hand, you can give her a sword and shield setup, which means less damage but is safer, thanks to the shield allowing her to block. Last but definitely not least would be the bow and arrow, which will let you attack from a distance.

To decide which one you’ll go for, try them all out and then commit with the one that suits your play style best. On the other hand, you can try out all the Ascendancies later on.

Evasion and Offense is the Best Defense

While going with the bow and arrow allows you to safely kill enemies without them touching you, it’s not always a guarantee that you’ll always be in a safe distance. Heck, there are times when there’s no such thing as safe distance. That is where evasion comes in.

If your Ranger has gone melee, then evasion going to be an even more helpful to you. In fact, the Ranger is designed to have Evasion as its defensive attribute. Thankfully, it’s not rare for modifiers to have this bonus, so no need to use an Exalted Orb.

Once you feel like you have enough Evasion, it’s time to pump up damage. You’re better off killing your enemies before they hit, or worse, kill you. Aside from damage, Rangers should also stack on attack speed. Thankfully, because of the Ranger’s passives, this is going to come naturally.

Always On Your Toes

Another thing to keep in mind with the Ranger is that you always need to have presence of mind when playing one. This is because Evasion can only keep you living for so long – eventually, you’ll have to keep moving and repositioning in order to survive and then just bounce back later on. This is truer for Bow and Arrow rangers, as they are more vulnerable, and that they’re supposed to be dishing out damage from afar.

While it may seem like a disadvantage, this is actually a plus to certain players, as this allows them to be more hands-on with the game. After all, Path of Exile is meant to be exciting – and playing as a Ranger certainly delivers.

Evasion and Offense is the Best Defense

The Paths Rangers Take

Now let’s go to its Ascendancies. Let’s begin with the Pathfinder, as there needs to be some caution about it. According to some players, this is arguably the worst Ascendancy in the game. Exceptions, however, can be made for players that are able to make good use of its Flask-related passive abilities. Thus, it’s important for players that they have a long and hard think which Flasks they’re going to utilize.

For the Raider, its best self can be achieved by dual-wielding and using Viper Strike as the bread-and-butter skill. While it may seem like it only has very few bonuses for dual-wielding, it’s actually a plus, as it allows you to allocate points to other better things.

Finally, for the Deadye, it’s pretty self-explanatory: just stay away from enemies if possible and take them out from afar. The class deals with amazing damage, so most hordes should be dead before they can come close.

The Ranger isn’t for everyone. Those that do find it to their liking, however, will have a blast with this versatile and highly enjoyable class. Hopefully, this guide helps them in having more fun with it.