That's... not ideal. Would have to use "vanilla" crossbows most of the game.
Yep, war bows look good.
Retraining is cheat . Firearms have blunted criticals, which might not matter too much but I don't like penalties to the thing I try to maximize.
Some of the ranger abilities look interesting. Stalker's link, Evasion roll, the thing that makes projectiles bounce, accurate wounding shot, concussive tranquilizer. I only started playing with builds, so have no idea how it compares with other classes.