Baldur’s Gate 3’sRangersare a surprisingly versatile class; like other half-casters, they can both engage in melee combat and have the extra utility of spells. But on top of that, the Ranger subclasses allow them to summon a lot of different roles.
Hunters are mighty individual warriors,Beastmasterscan summon a powerful beast companion, and the stealthy Gloomstalkers can kill enemies without being noticed. This list will help you decide which race options you should be considering based on your specific build.
Tiefling Magic
Produce Flame,Hellish Rebuke, Darkness
All Tieflings get resistance to fire damage, which is a simple ability, but one that comes into play with a great deal of frequency. What separates the Tiefling subraces from each other are their racial spells, and for Rangers, the Asmodeus variant is your best option.
Produce Flame isn’t the best spell, but it does give you a way to create fire, which Rangers normally can’t do. Darkness, meanwhile, can be exceptionally useful in a wide variety of scenarios, allowing you to protect yourself or blind enemies.
Advantage Against Being Charmed And Immunity To Magical Sleep
Drow Magic
Dancing Lights,Faerie Fire, Darkness
If you are playing a Ranger, Drow are basically a better version of the Asmodeus Tiefling. Fire Resistance is nice, but the combination of Keen Senses and Fey Ancestry is at least as good, and the spells you get as a Drow are significantly stronger.
Both races gain access to Darkness, but Faerie Fire is substantially better than any of the other spells Asmodeus Tieflings get. Unfortunately, all three of the Drow’s spells require Concentration, which means they will conflict with one of the Ranger’s signature spells, Hunter’s Mark, but having more versatility is always better than not.
Advantage On Intelligence, Wisdom, And Charisma Saving Throws
Superior Darkvision
See Even Further In Darkness
Deep Gnomesmake for excellent Gloomstalkers, and are a decent choice for other subclasses as well. Getting advantage on Stealth checks is great for any sneaky Ranger, as is Superior Darkvision, so if that’s the build you’re going for, Deep Gnomes will rise further up this list.
On the other hand, Gnome Cunning is a great defensive tool for any build, providing protection from some particularly devastating spells. The only real downside to Deep Gnomes is their slow speed, but the benefits should make up for that.
Advantage Against Being Poisoned And Resistance To Poison Damage
Allows You To See Even Further In Darkness
Duergar Resilience
Advantage On Saving Throws Against Illusions And Being Charmed Or Paralyzed
Duergar Magic
Enlarge And Invisibility
Dwarves generally don’t have that many abilities, gettingDarkvision, Dwarven Resilience, and maybe a little extra. Duergar are the exception, with a whole bunch of racial traits that happen to benefit Rangers immensely.
Duergar Resilience is a useful defensive tool, and Duergar Magic can be utilized by any Ranger build. Enlarge gives you extra damage and helps with your saving throws, while Invisibility synergizes perfectly with any stealth-based Ranger. Gloomstalkers do get conditional invisibility as a class feature, but the Duergar version is often better, since it doesn’t require you to be obscured to use it.
Fleet Of Foot
Increased Movement Speed
In addition to making thematic sense for a Ranger, Wood Elves have a lot of abilities that help the class. Many of them are shared with the Drow from earlier on this list, but they exchange the Drow’s spells and better Darkvision for some other bonuses.
Mask of the Wild allows sneaky Rangers to use their starting Proficiencies somewhere else. More important is Fleet of Foot, tying Wood Elves for the fastest race in the game, which is great for making sure your Ranger is always in the right position.
Description
Halfling Luck
Single Reroll Of Ones On Ability Checks, Saving Throws, And Attack Rolls
Naturally Stealthy
Advantage On Stealth Checks
Lightfoot Halflings share a lot with their fellow short legends, the Deep Gnomes. They don’t move very fast, and they get advantage on Stealth checks (although they lack Darkvision).
But instead of Gnome Cunning, they get Brave, another ability that protects you against mental attacks, although it is much less broadly applicable. The main advantage over the Deep Gnomes this subrace has is Halfling Luck, which, in addition to being an all-around powerful ability, will also make your Ranger even better at passing those critical Stealth rolls.
Mage Hand, Enhance Leap,Misty Step
Astral Knowledge
Gain Proficiency In All Skills Associated With A Given Stat Until Long Rest
Githyanki don’t get as many features as some of the other races do, but they make up for the lack of quantity with exceptional quality. To start with, their racial spells are excellent; Rangers do get Enhance Leap normally, but only Gloomstalkers have access to Misty Step, so playing a Githyanki will give the other two subclasses access to this potent movement tool.
Meanwhile, Astral Knowledge is just an all-around great ability. Rangers are known for their Wisdom, but getting blanket Proficiencies in any area allows you to at least have a chance in other situations as well, whether it’s trying to talk your way out of danger or figuring out what that ancient tome is supposed to say.
