Why bring a Ranger to tag along in your Solasta: Crown of the Magister party? Well, for one thing, I like dealing damage from afar. Plus, with my party setup having two tanky characters and a glass cannon, I wanted someone who’s versatile enough in battles. In any case, here’s our guide to help you with the Ranger class and builds in Solasta: Crown of the Magister.
Note: For more information, check out our Solasta: Crown of the Magister guides and features hub. Likewise, please be reminded that this guide is based on my experience with a full campaign completion on Authentic difficulty. My party was comprised of a Cleric, Paladin, Ranger, and Wizard.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister – Ranger class and builds guide
Starting out
- Race: Sylvan Elf
- Weapon change: None
- Archetype (level 3): Hunter
- Background: Spy
- Ability Scores and Skills: I used dice rolls and optimize. You can see the results in the image below.
Class Features
- Favored Enemy – Gain an advantage to ability checks and extra damage based on your knowledge of a particular enemy type. You’ll get to pick another enemy type at level 6. At the start, you can go with Undead due to the sheer number of zombies, ghouls, skeletons, and vampires that you’ll be facing. At level 6, you can pick Monstrosity (Soraks lizardmen). Although the Soraks are early-game enemies, you’ll encounter more at later portions of the game.
- Natural Explorer – Becoming adept when traveling through a particular terrain. The option becomes available again at levels 6 and 10. Go with Forest -> Mountain -> Desert.
Leveling up
| Level | Unlocked Class Features, Extra Spell Slots, or Special Choice | Prepared Spells (Personal Preference) |
| Level 2 | Ranger Spellcasting – You can now cast Ranger-type spells Fighting Style: Archery (best pick) – +2 bonus to attack rolls with ranged weapons Defense – +1 AC when wearing armor Dueling – +2 weapon damage when using a 1H with no other weapon in your offhand Two-Weapon Fighting – Add your ability modifier to the damage of your second attack when dual-wielding | You can select two spells from the following: Animal Friendship Cure Wounds Detect Magic Fog Cloud Goodberry Hunter’s Mark Jump LongstriderTip: Hunter’s Mark and Goodberry are the best options here. I’ll explain more below. |
| Level 3 | +1 spell slot (1st) Primeval Awareness – Detects the presence of creatures in a location Choose a Ranger archetype: Hunter, Marksman, or Shadow Tamer Tip: I chose the Hunter for this one, and I’ll explain more below. | Get either Animal Friendship or Jump Tip: Animal Friendship lets you charm a beast that fails a WIS saving throw. The duration lasts 24 hours. Alternatively, you can take Jump so you can cast it on a character with high STR/Athletics, allowing them to reach distant ledges for loot. |
| Level 4 | Choose: Increase your ability score or gain a feat Tip: If choosing a feat, pick Uncanny Accuracy | N/A |
| Level 5 | +3 proficiency bonus +5 spell attack +1 spell slot (1st) +2 spell slots (2nd) Extra attack – You can attack one more time during your turn | Pass Without Trace (to help allies stealthily move around and reposition before a fight) or Protection From Poison (to protect you from, uh, poison) |
| Level 6 | Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer choices | N/A |
| Level 7 | +1 spell slot (2nd) Choose a Defensive Tactics perk: Escape the Horde – Opportunity attacks made against you have a disadvantage Multi-attack Defense (best pick) – When attacked by a creature, gain +4 bonus AC versus all subsequent attacks made by that creature during the same turn; immunity to opportunity attacks Steel Will – Advantage on saving throws versus being frightened | Choose the suggested spell you didn’t get at level 5 |
| Level 8 | Choose: Increase your ability score or gain a feat Tip: You probably won’t need another feat since you have Uncanny Accuracy and the other ranged DPS perk, Take Aim, is pointless. Just get extra DEX until you hit 20 | N/A |
| Level 9 | +4 bonus proficiency 15 save DC +7 spell attack +2 spell slots (3rd) | You can choose one spell: Conjure Animal Daylight Protection From Energy Wind WallTip: Wind Wall is okay just for the extra AoE damage and crowd control (assuming your tanks can funnel enemies in a straight line). Conjure Animal is decent if you want to role-play as a Beastmaster of sorts, especially if you picked Animal Friendship and you were able to tame a creature. Oh, and you probably don’t need Daylight if your other party members have it already. |
| Level 10 | Natural Explorer choice Hide In Plain Sight – Spend one minute creating camouflage for yourself, giving you +10 DEX when standing against a wall. You have to restart the camouflage whenever you rest or move to another location | N/A |
Is the Hunter Ranger good?
These are the benefits from the Ranger archetypes at level 3:
- Marksman – Additional proficiencies for the Herbalism and Poisoner’s Kit. Fire a Reaction Shot at an opponent after they cast a spell or do a ranged attack against you.
- Shadow Tamer – Tunnel Wisdom gives you an advantage on DEX saving throws when you’re in dim light or darkness. You also get Dark Slayer which adds your proficiency bonus when you attack an enemy with Superior Darkvision.
- Hunter – You get to select from three Hunter’s Prey perks:
- Colossus Slayer – Any target that’s below its max HP takes an extra 1d8 damage from your weapon; once per turn. This is the best option since it’s more consistent.
- Giant Killer – Use your reaction to immediately attack a large creature that misses you in melee range. This is useless.
- Horde Breaker – Once per turn when you kill an enemy, you can attack another target with the same weapon. This is quite decent, but you need to take note of enemy HP and whenever you’re about to take your turn.
The Shadow Tamer archetype is actually good. However, I still preferred the Hunter with Colossus Slayer due to the small but reliable damage increase.
In any case, the Ranger itself is a good addition to your party in Solasta: Crown of the Magister thanks to two spells: Goodberry and Hunter’s Mark. Goodberry only heals for 1 HP, but it does provide sustenance for a long rest (which allows you to abuse the feature even more). As for Hunter’s Mark, your target takes additional damage from you and it’ll be detectable for a limited time. It’s not optimal if you cast it on an enemy with low health since it’d likely die too fast (i.e., from a Wizard’s AoE spells). It’s better to use it on tougher targets, including bosses, since the mark will stay on them for prolonged periods. If the original target is dead, you can click on the action to apply it to a different foe.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister is available via Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
Published: May 26, 2021 09:30 pm