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The Ranger is a great class for beginners inBackpack Battles, and she’s consistent enough for skilled players as well. Her focus on accuracy and critical hits makes her very easy to work with regardless of which subclass you pick, and her biggest challenge is keeping her Stamina up throughout the fight.
The Ranger does especially well when you’re able to make use of her Lucky Clovers, both as crafting materials and easy-to-pack buffs. However you fill your bag, be sure to have plenty of plants, stones, and other natural materials to come out on top.
This guide was written for the Early Access version of Backpack Battles. The information below is subject to change as the game develops.
Unique Ranger Items
Tools Of The Trade
Like the other classes, the Ranger should build around her unique equipment - not only does it provide her with options that nobody else has, but her subclasses are designed to work specifically with many of these tools.
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Bow and Arrow
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Each stack ofLuckyincreases the accuracy of all attacks by five, in addition to any interactions in item text.
Most Ranger builds will focus onupgrading at least one Shortbow, then using it to consistently trigger theBow and Arrow’sdamage buff. Having multiple stacks of Lucky, plus the critical hit bonus from theRanger’s BagandAcorn Collar, ensure that every shot counts.
No matter your build,Bananas and Daggersare a crucial part of any Ranger’s arsenal. The fruit helps keep your Stamina high, since bows will drain it quickly, while Daggers provide slow but free attacks to help maintain damage pressure.
The Beastmaster is a perfect subclass if your early build focused onFood and Frying Pans, or if you were lucky enough to get aGoobertor two. By buying and equipping the Forest Friends that appear in the shop, you can build up a mighty arsenal of attacks thatrequire no Stamina.
Craft aLucky Piggy(two Lucky Clovers and a Piggy Bank) as soon as possible. This will provide extra Gold each round, and if you position the Lucky Piggy so that it has a Star on the Big Bowl of Treats, your Pets will double-activate more often.
Early on, buyWalrus Tusksto craft Spiked Shields and Tusk Bows, andPestilence Flasksto craftPoison Daggers.These will all combo well withHedgehogs and Ratswhich will form the cornerstone of your strategy in the late game. Between the free pet attacks, Pestilence, and Spikes - not to mention any Bow and Dagger attacks you make yourself - you’ll wear down your opponent’s health in no time.
Position your Food items around the Bowl, while the Pets cluster around one another - using a Goobert or Dragon Egg as the center point is great for this. Since the Bowl is also considered Food, it willactivate faster for each different type of Foodthat it has starred - be sure to have a balanced meal with lots of different Food types!
TheBloodthorneis a great weapon for a Beastmaster, especially one with lots of Hedgehogs!
If you’ve gotten a perfect spread of Weapons early in the game, choosing the Hunter subclass lets you capitalize on your good fortune.Try to get a Bow and Arrow earlyand upgrade it - ideally toFortuna’s Graceusing two Lucky Clovers, but any of the other variants are fine too.
Arrange your Bow and Arrow so that the Star at the tip of its arrow is on a fast-firing weapon - either a Shortbow variant or a small sword. This ensures that the Bow’s effect triggers as often as possible. Arrange your gear so thatboth weapons are in the Ranger’s Bag, with the Piercing Arrow touching them.
Fill any extra spaces in the Ranger’s Bag with Daggers or Shortbows as your Stamina allows.
The rest of your inventory space should be focused ondefense, Stamina, and gaining stacks of Lucky.A suit of armor and a couple of Bananas, plus a fully-stacked Potion Belt, should form a great core for your build. The remaining spaces can be used however you like, as long as the center remains focused on Weapon damage.
Focusing on Ranged Weapons lets the Ranger evade Spike damage from enemies.
The Lifebinder can be a tough Subclass to use, since it requires items that don’t usually fit into the Ranger’s upgrade scheme, but with the right setup it can keep you fighting far longer than most opponents can handle.
If you can, avoid placing one-use items like Lucky Clovers or Sand on the Yggdrasil Leaf’s Star spaces - doing so means you’ll only get one stack of Regeneration out of them.
Start by looking forBlueberries, Mana Orbs,andHealth Potions. In the meantime, upgrade your starting sword into aTorchby merging it with a lump of Coal. Combine the Blueberries and Health Potions to create Mana Potions, then use those to createMagic TorchesandSpectral Daggers.Slot them with Sapphires if you can to increase your Mana generation.
If you have the opportunity, use your Mana Orb to craftManathirst(with the Hungry Blade), Moon Armor (with Holy Armor) or Moon Shield (with Shield of Valor). AHeart Containercan also help make use of all the Regeneration stacks you’ll be creating.
Everyone loves a poison build, except for the player that has to face one. Start by buying upWalrus TusksandPestilence Potionsso that you can craftPoison Daggers,Spiked Shields, andTusk or Belladonna Bows.The more Spikes you can give yourself, and the more Pestilence you can give your opponent, the better!
Emeralds are very important to this build, and you’ll want them in as many Weapon slots as possible; purchase aBox of Richesif one appears.
Keeping your Bows and Daggers in the Ranger’s Bag like always, use your Shields and a good set of Armor to turtle up and start inflicting damage via Spikes and Pestilence.Having a Healing Potion or two on handin case the fight goes long is also a great idea.
attempt to make room for aThorn Whipin your backpack, with at least one space in the Ranger’s Bag. It has good damage and generates Spikes, making it perfect for a Pathfinder!
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The Grovekeeper might not have the kind of reliabiilty you’d want in an auto-battler, but it gives you the opportunity to create some extra-spicy builds with unique items.
Start by crafting aLucky Piggyfrom two Lucky Clovers and a Piggy Bank.Fortuna Bowsare also a good investment, but they might have to wait until after you’ve gotten the Mega Clover.Blueberriescan also help build up Lucky stacks, and work great alongsideBananasto speed up your Stamina recovery.
Once you have the Mega Clover,use your Lucky Cloversto craft anything and everything that they’ll fit into, and put the rest in your backpack. The goal is to hittwenty stacks of Luckyas quickly as you can to get a shower of buffs. Between rounds,look for Unique itemsthat you can build a late-game strategy around.
Try to get twoMembership Cardsand combine them to further increase your chances of getting lucky at the store.
