The reputation of the rangers in Baldur’s Gate 3Much like the class in Dungeons & DragonsIs that it is one of the weakest choices for players of the game. Thus, most players avoid making their custom character a ranger, with it being the least popular class choice besides clerics, and most players won’t get a ranger in their party until a certain Reshmi Berserker appears in Act 3. But the Way the ranger works in this game is different from his D&D Inspiration, and many players are missing.
The wrestler in Baldur’s Gate 3 Has more utility and damage dealing potential than many players give it credit for, especially from some of its subclasses. Three specializations are available for ranger charactersEach are modified versions of the tabletop game. The subclass, plus a few new features that Baldur’s Gate Rangers fight, making the class a force to be reckoned with. But some may wonder: which of the subclasses the ranger can choose from is the most powerful?
Ranger subclasses determine a lot about their playstyle
Challenge, subterfuge and damage stacking in BG3
The Three subclass options that Rangers have to choose from are the Hunter, Beastmaster, and Gloomstalker. Each specializes in a different area of ​​the ranger’s skills, from animal handling to stealth to survival. All three are central to the way different Rangers operate.
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The hunter is more of the stereotypical woodland survivalist, with abilities to help hunt down large, tough enemies and fight hordes of smaller enemies, with abilities that rely largely on ranged attacks. The Gloomstalker plays on the idea of ​​the ranger lying in ambush, using spells and abilities to get extra damage and heat into surprised creatures. And the Beastmaster gets an animal companion to help them in and out of combat with unique actions.
But all three have their strengths One of the subclasses tends to give a bit more than the other, especially at early levels. When used, the ranger is often multiclassed with something like a rogue or druid, which is important to consider when ranking the subclass’s effectiveness. The same option that works best for a full ranger may not be as effective when paired with the skills offered by another class.
The Hunter subclass in BG3 is effective but bland
A subclass that improves on the Ranger’s existing features without adding much more
The hunter subclass starts with a choice between three abilities. It is a colossus slayer, which deals extra damage to injured creatures. Giant killer lets Rangers take an opportunity attack against large creatures after large creatures attack them. Finally, there’s Horde Breaker, which lets Rangers attack two enemies with one hit if they’re next to each other.
The hunter offers the illusion of choice, with multiple options for an ability, but only one of them is usually worth taking.
It’s nice that the hunter affords players some choice right away, however The obvious option is almost always the Colossus Slayer to get the most damage in the game. This will start a trend: the hunter offers the illusion of choice, with multiple options for an ability, but only one of them is usually worth taking. At seventh level, they have a choice between advantage on saving throws to avoid being frightened, a slightly decreased chance of being hit by attacks of opportunity, and Multiattack defense, making it difficult for enemies to hit them repeatedly.
finally, Hunters at eleventh level gain access to two unique attacks: Valley and WhirlwindBoth of which let them turn their normal weapon attacks into AoEs. And that’s honestly great, especially since there’s no limit on the number of times these can be used. But they get unlocked quite late in the game, and by that point, spellcasters have access to options like 
cone of cold
And 
cloudkill
Which easily outperform these features. Still, especially with the other damage bonuses rangers can get, it’s not a bad capstone ability.
The Gloomstalker is good, but not as good as its D&D counterpart
BG3 players should set their expectations accordingly
The Gloomstalker in D&D is super powerful, with certain features centered around darkvision that can honestly be broken in certain campaigns. The Baldur’s Gate 3 Gloomstalker subclass is not on the same level, but it is still quite powerful, especially combined with the rogue. The gloomstalker is the only ranger subclass to offer an extended spell listAnd it comes with most of its best features right on third level.
Chief among these is a fearsome ambusher, a multi-part feature that lets Rangers hide as a bonus action, and Take an extra attack on the first turn of combat, which also deals extra damage. This alone is already great and makes Rangers excellent at surprising enemies, but they also gain 80 feet of darkvision and the ability to turn invisible in shadows at level three. It’s an incredibly front-loaded subclass That blows the other two out of the water until later levels, at least.
The later glowstalker abilities are nothing to create. They get Proficiency in wisdom and common sense save him (especially useful in the late game) and the ability to take an extra attack once per turn if they miss. All of this is great and makes the Ranger more viable as a single-class build. The Gloomstalker has a more fun and unique aesthetic than the Hunter and tends to outperform it at almost every level, making it a clear choice between the two for the stronger subclass.
The Beastmaster sees the most change from its TTRPG origins
A subclass strengthened by its video game adaptation
The Beastmaster is the likely cause of the ranger’s poor reputation among them D&D fans, due to the abysmal weak way in which its features worked in the 2014 Player’s Handbook. This version of the subclass largely failed because Rangers had to use an action to command their animal companions to do something. This is not the case in Baldur’s Gate 3Where The animal companion acts on his own initiative independent of the ranger himselfAnd that simple change does a lot to redeem this option.
The features of the Beastmaster all revolve around a beast that fights and works alongside the Rangers. There are Five animal options: the bear, boar, deer raven, wolf and wolf spiderEach with their own unique abilities and features. The Beastmaster can swap out whatever animal they have with them on a given day, giving the subclass extra versatility, and adding an extra creature to the board always tips the balance in the party’s favor.
At higher levels, the companion gains extra hit points, attacks, damage, and unique actions that allow it to grow in strength with the player. These animal companions can gain some really useful features, creating clouds of darkness, giving advantage to allies and more. But The problem here is that the ranger character doesn’t really get anything. While their companion is active, they have a strong following, but the ranger itself is objectively weaker than the hunter or glowstalker by a large margin.
Final ranking of the ranger subclasses
A clear victor based on pure damage output
Despite how much better these Baldur’s Gate 3 Beastmaster is like his D&D Previously, it was not enough to reach the levels of strength that the Gloomstalker possesses at any given point in the game. The Gloomstalker subclass gets more abilities at an earlier time to provide greater damage output than the Hunter or BeastmasterAnd it excels in its niche as a surprise attacker. It also works best with multiclassing, given how little of an investment in ranger it requires.
Still, outside of damage and stealth, the Beastmaster Ranger probably has the highest utility and versatility due to his animal companions. By changing the companion from day to day, the animal can do a lot that the others cannot. And no matter what subclass players choose, they’ll likely be surprised by how powerful the ranger is Baldur’s Gate 3 can get