I welcome you to the guru! I went through the game several times with its release and I want to go now with all the DLCs. There have been many patches! I want to ask for your help in the  Pure Ranger build. I will play with companions, I really like them. I will play on the POTD difficulty. I’m interested in what stats to choose at the start?What type of weapon is good now?What pet? I am waiting for your recall !!!

Step 1: Install the Ranger Deadfire tweaks that make the ranger class a lot more fun to play.

Two "secret" tips:

 

Hunter's Claw works with ranged weapons, most importantly blunderbusses + Driving Flight. Just put a melee weapon into your offhand and enjoy superfast buildup of the bonus with up to 8 hits per use.

 

Whirling Strikes is the same: try Fire in the Hole with Driving Flight + Scordeo's Edge in the offhand. You will do insane AoE dmg (because every AoE hit from WHirling Strikes will trigger an AoE hit from mortar + Powder Burns). Wear Defiant Apparel to be immune to your own distraction. With this trick Sharpshooter is best. Max INT.

 

Besides that: try Heaven's Cacophony with Avenging Storm (or Avenging Storm scrolls). Use either Frostseeker + Driving Flight or dual mortars with Blinding Smoke(! triggers Avenging Storm) and Chain Shot + Driving Flight. Use Twinned Shot for total obliteration of everything around you (mortars) or far away (Frostseeker). Mortars is way more powerful but also more risky. For mortars I'd use Sharpshooter and for Frostseeker I would use Arcane Archer.

 

Also Arcane Archer with Essence Interrupter as general "basic" weapon is great (great weaopon per se, no ACC malus with Arcane Archer's auto-attacks). Switch to Watershaper's Focus or Fire in the Hole with Chain Shot or Kitchen Stove with Wild Barrage + Driving Flight + Fireballs and later Death Ring. Jumps (Watershaper's Focus/Fire itH + Driving Flight = 2 jumps, Kitchen Stove + Wild Barrage + Driving Flight = 3 jumps) trigger imbue spells! That means 3 or 4 Fireballs/Death Rings per imbue shot which is a ton.

Edited January 31, 20197 yr by Boeroer

Step 1: Install the Ranger Deadfire tweaks that make the ranger class a lot more fun to play.

Ehhhh... 

Ehhhh... 

That's the problem with gameplay related mods.

They might indeed improve the balance or make gameplay more fun; but they reduce the common ground for experience and builds discussion.

Unless they get really big like Kaedrin's pack for NWN2.

Edited January 31, 20197 yr by MaxQuest

and what about some pistol build?build on fast attack recovery?

and what about some pistol build?build on fast attack recovery?

Bad. Multiple Projectiles weapons are the reason to play ranger. Blunderbuss or Frostseeker makes the ranger fun, at least for me. But even then, i would suggest to multiclass it with a rogue, for more dps.

Scordeo's Trophy pistol single handed.

 

The more you hit, the more you improve recovery, the more you hit.

 

Twin Shot/Heart Seeker + Driving Flight helps getting more Scordeo's charges.

Stunning Shots will cause to interrupt on Crit.

Plus usual ranger goodies (concussive shots, binding roots).

 

You need some int (for longer scordeo's charge), dex and per.

Scordeo's Trophy -Scoring Hits with this weapon grants a stacking -5% Recovery time with Melee weapons for 30.0s.doest it work with pistols? melee weapons...

There's an upgrade to that ability that makes it work with ranged weapons.