Ranger guide: poisons, traps and precise shots — talents, build, PvE and PvP

The Ranger is a damage dealer in mail who wins through cunning: marking the target, poisoning it, setting traps and finishing it with a big shot. It’s a pure damage dealer — no tanking, no healing — but the deck has everything it needs to pressure an enemy every single turn. In this guide we’ll cover how to play a Ranger: their cards and Class Power, which talent trees to take early on and at level 60, what to wear and how to play in dungeons, raids and the arena.

The Ranger at a glance

• Group role: damage dealer.
• Armour: mail; anything lighter can be worn too.
• Resource: Focus. It’s the same Crystals everyone has: 1 on your first turn, one more each turn up to 10, and whatever you don’t spend is lost.
• Health at level 60 without gear: 482 — more than the cloth and leather classes.
• Cards: 22 of their own and 3 more from talents — one in each tree.
• Difficulty: medium. The Ranger’s damage comes from marks, poisons and shots, and the order you play them in matters.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

• constant pressure: four damage-over-time cards — poisons and a fire trap;
• two marks that make the target take more damage from the whole party;
• control: two cards that make the enemy lose a turn;
• three cards against groups of enemies;
• a cheap shot that returns 4 Crystals and a cleanse that returns 2;
• the attacking Class Power halves the target’s healing — in every tree.

Weaknesses:

• a single role — in a group the Ranger is always a damage dealer;
• next to no healing: one card heals only you, and there’s just one shield in the deck;
• the tree doesn’t change the Class Power — your choice of tree changes talents and cards, not the button.

The Ranger’s deck: key cards

In Zarhold you don’t build your deck by hand: all 22 class cards and the cards of your learned talents go into battle, and if you have fewer than thirty cards the deck is topped up with copies of cheap ones. Every card with its description is in the Ranger’s Spellbook. Here’s what the class is built on.

Tempo

A 1-Crystal shot deals a little damage and returns 4 Crystals — in the first turns it lets you play an expensive card right away. The draw card draws 2 cards and returns 1 Crystal, and the card that removes harmful effects from you returns another 2.

Marks and debuffs

• the mark — the target takes 25% more damage from all sources for 4 turns;
• a weakening shot — the target takes 20% more damage for 3 turns without losing a turn.

Put the mark down first: under it both your shots and your allies hit harder.

Poisons and traps

Four cards deal damage right away and again at the end of each of the enemy’s turns for 3 turns: three poisoned shots and a fire trap. Damage over time piles up while you’re busy with other cards.

Control

The ice trap and the stunning shot — two cards after which the enemy loses their turn. After a stun the target has at least 2 turns of their own when they can’t be stunned again, so playing both back to back is wasted.

Group damage and finishers

A volley of arrows and an area trap hit every enemy at once, and a sustained volley damages all enemies at the end of each of their turns for 3 turns. For a single target there are two hard-hitting 4-Crystal shots and a 7-Crystal finisher.

Buffs and defence

Two buffs: +30% to your damage for 3 turns and +50% for 2 turns. For defence — a shield (12 base) and a self-heal for 10. Base card numbers grow with Power: the more a card costs, the bigger the share of Power it gets.

The Ranger’s Class Power

Your Class Power is the round button that costs 1 Crystal, once per turn. The Ranger has the same power in all three trees: a shot after which the target receives half healing for 2 turns. It’s especially useful against enemies that heal and against healers in the arena. The power’s numbers are in the Class Power reference.

Ranger talents: three trees

Talents unlock at level 10 and you get a point for every level — 51 by level 60. Each row of a tree opens for every 5 points in it, and the top talent — the tree’s final talent — needs 20 points in its own tree. A hero can only have one top talent per loadout. The Ranger’s trees hold 29, 31 and 29 ranks — 89 in total.

1. The first tree — sniper burst. Strengthens direct shots and the mark. Its talent card is a 3-Crystal shot that marks the target at once: it takes 20% more damage for 3 turns. Top talent: attacks against a target under the mark deal 10% more damage.
2. The second tree — damage windows. Built around the +30% and +50% buffs and the volley on all enemies, and it also adds Health. Its talent card is a 3-Crystal shot after which the target takes 20% more damage for 3 turns. Top talent: attacks against a target under the weakening shot’s debuff deal 15% more damage.
3. The third tree — poisons and traps. Strengthens poisons, and one of its talents makes the fire trap 1 Crystal cheaper. Its 2-Crystal talent card removes harmful effects from you or an ally and puts up a shield. Top talent: attacks against a poisoned target deal 10% more damage.

The talent cards sit in the third row of their trees: level 20 at the earliest. Every tree with its talent and rank counts is in the Talent trees reference.

What to take early on

The Ranger has just one Class Power, so pick a tree by style: direct shots and marks — the first, buffs and volleys — the second, poisons and traps — the third. Put your points into one tree in a row — that opens the next rows and the talent card faster.

A level 60 build

• 21 points in the main tree: 20 to reach the top talent plus the top talent itself;
• the other 30 into Power and Health bonuses from the neighbouring trees and into cards that support your combo: a poison Ranger, for example, makes good use of the mark from the first tree.

From level 20 a hero has two specialisations: one is handy for dungeons and raids, the other for the arena. Switching specialisations, loadouts and talent resets are free. How to count points and put a build together is covered in “Talents in a card RPG”. You can test a new build right away: the Try out button in the talents window takes you to the training dummy with its damage meter.

Ranger gear and weapons

• Armour: mail. You can also wear leather or cloth, but your own type gives the most protection.
• Weapons: bow, polearm, staff, sword, axe, dagger and fist weapon.
• Off hand: no shield, tome or orb — the off hand is for a second weapon.
• Two-handed: polearm and staff, plus the two-handed versions of the sword and axe.
• Two weapons: yes. Hands are equal for every class: two one-handers carry as many stats as a two-hander.

At level 60 the Ranger’s goal is the Tier 1 set Gear of the Silent Trail: eight pieces of item level 232 from heroic raids and world bosses. The 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-piece bonuses depend on your active tree and don’t work in PvP. Details are in “Tier sets in an MMORPG”, and every class’s armour and weapons are in the Armour and weapons reference.

Which race to choose for a Ranger

Any race can be a Ranger. A damage dealer values Power most — it strengthens both shots and poisons: the Kogran, Nakar and Shaydar get +6% Power each, the Velion +5%, the Selenar +3% Power and −3% damage taken. If you want a sturdier hero, the Gartan get +10% Health and the Durgar +8%. For the arena, consider the Morven: no crowd control makes them lose a turn — while stunned they simply have 1 Crystal. Every bonus is in the All races reference.

The Ranger in PvE: dungeons and raids

A dungeon takes a tank, a healer and a damage dealer; a raid or a world boss takes a tank, a healer and three damage dealers. The Ranger fills a damage slot.

• Mark first. Under the mark the target takes more damage from the whole party.
• Don’t pull the boss. A boss attacks whoever has dealt it the most damage. Damage over time creates no threat, so poisons and traps are a safe way to add damage without taking the boss from the tank. Watch the enemy’s targeting line on the board.
• The retinue is your job. Both volleys and the area trap hit every enemy at once.
• Don’t drag the fight out. If a fight lasts longer than it’s meant to, the boss enrages: every stage adds 18% to its damage.

How boss fights work is in the knowledge base article Boss fights, and step-by-step raid prep in “Your first MMORPG raid”.

The Ranger in PvP: arena and duels

In the arena (1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 5v5), on the battleground and in duels the Ranger is strong through pressure and control.

• Class Power against healers. The power’s shot halves the target’s healing for 2 turns.
• Poisons keep ticking. You can’t lose more than 60% of your Health in a round, so no one dies in a single turn — while damage over time keeps ticking every turn. Note that damage over time also counts towards the round cap.
• Two control cards take away your opponent’s turn, but after a stun the target has at least 2 turns of their own when they can’t be stunned again.
• Remember the PvP rules: from your 10th turn healing and shields weaken by 10% a turn, a card shield lasts 2 turns and can’t exceed 30% of your Health, and the deck isn’t reshuffled — once you run out of cards, fatigue damage begins. The cheap shot and the draw card speed up your deck, so count your cards.
• Defence in PvP is Resilience from PvP gear; Hardiness from regular gear doesn’t work in the arena.

All the rules are in the knowledge base article Special PvP combat rules, and modes and ratings in “PvP in a card game”.

Common beginner mistakes as a Ranger

1. Attacking without a mark. For 2 Crystals the mark gives +25% to all damage on the target for 4 turns — play it before the big shots.
2. Saving up Focus. Crystals don’t carry over to the next turn. The shot that returns 4 Crystals is there to let you play more right now.
3. Wasting control. After a stun the target is immune to it for 2 of their turns — keep the second control card for later.
4. Expecting the “beast” card to bring a helper. It’s a buff: +30% to your damage for 3 turns. The Ranger has no separate creature on the board.
5. Wearing Hardiness gear in the arena. In PvP only Resilience protects you.

Ranger FAQ

Can a Ranger tank or heal?

No. The Ranger is a pure damage dealer: in a group they always take a damage slot. One card heals only the Ranger, while the third tree’s talent card can remove harmful effects from an ally and give them a shield.

Which Ranger tree is best?

The Class Power is the same in every tree, so it’s a matter of style: direct shots with the mark, damage windows under buffs, or poisons and traps. Talent resets are free — try each of them on the training dummy.

Does the Ranger have a pet in combat?

No. The cards with a beast theme are buffs to your damage; there’s no separate creature on the board. A pet from the Collection that you take along stands next to your hero, but it doesn’t affect combat.

What weapons does a Ranger use?

Bow, polearm, staff, sword, axe, dagger and fist weapon; the polearm, staff, sword and axe come in two-handed versions. The Ranger can wield two weapons, but shields and other off-hand items aren’t available.

The bottom line

The Ranger is the pick for anyone who likes to plan a fight: put down the mark, lay the poisons, catch the enemy in a trap and finish with a big shot. Start with the tree that suits your style, take it to the top talent by level 60, and keep the second specialisation for the arena. Create a Ranger and go hunting. And if you’re still choosing a class, see “Which class to choose”.