Dark and Darker: Best Ranger Build Guide & How To Play

Dark and Darker offers players the choice of selecting a class that suits their play style. With such a huge variety of classes, you’ll want to select the right one for yourself. Additionally, you’ll want the right build to make the most out of it.

So, in this guide, we’ll be looking at the best build for the Ranger class. This means we’ll be looking at what perks, skills and gear you should choose. Additionally, we’ll also show you the right way to play with it. With that said, let’s get into the guide!

Best Ranger Build Guide & How To Play

As a hardcore fantasy game, Dark and Darker can be very punishing, especially for beginners. So, it’s for the best if you familiarize yourself with the core mechanics before you proceed with certain builds. You can get everything you need from our 10 Tips and Tricks for Beginner Players Guide.

With that said, we’ll be looking at the Ranger Class. The Ranger class is one of the best beginner classes that you can select. It also might be the strongest – after the recent nerf to various aspects of the Fighter Class.

We’ll be looking at various aspects that you need to perfect the most powerful Ranger build. Feel free to use the Table of Contents below if you’re interested in a particular part of the build in Dark and Darker.

Perks and Skills Explained

Ranger, as is evident from the name, rely on using the distance between them and their opponents to wreak havoc. So, we’ll be selecting the Perks and Skills based to ensure you can not only take advantage of the distance, but retain it as well.

Starting off, here are the recommended Skills that you’ll want to use on the Ranger in Dark and Darker:

• Quickshot
  • Hold multiple arrows in your shooting hand and fire them quickly in succession in a single action.
  • A great move for killing opponents from afar
  • The amount of arrows you hold will depend on the type of bow you are using
• Forceful Shot
  • For 8 seconds after activation, hitting an enemy with a ranged attack knocks them back
  • If enemies get too close to you, use this move to push them back and retain distance
• Back Step
  • Quickly retreat a short distance, can be used in air
  • Can be used to retain distance if enemies get too close to you

You can choose any combination of two of these skills depending on your style of play. 

For example, if you’re more worried about opponents getting near you, a combination of Back Step and Forceful Shot can work great for you.

If you’re not interested in this class, you might want to try out another class that’s fun to play. Check out our Best Warlock Guide so you can try it out!

Next, we’ll be looking at the recommended Perks you should be using for the Best Ranger Build in Dark and Darker:

• Ranged Weapons Mastery
  • When attacking with a ranged weapon, gain 5% Physical Damage Bonus
  • Useful at the start since Rangers start with really low Strength stats
• Nimble Hands
  • When using a bow, increase your draw speed by 15%
  • You’ll want this by Level 5, as you’ll notice a significant difference when you use better bows
• Chase
  • Detect recent enemy footsteps and can hear enemy footstep sounds from farther away
  • Useful in PvP for tracking enemies
  • Almost necessary if you’re facing Rogue classes, since they are hard counters to Rangers
• Crippling Shot
  • Hitting the target’s leg reduces their move speed bonus by 40% for 1 second
  • It works very well if you’re stacking and improving your move speed
  • By using this move, you can ensure that there is always distance between you and enemies.

If you’re enjoying this guide so far, we’ve covered the Perks and Skills of a lot of other classes in the game. For example, you can check out our Best Druid Class for a really powerful and unique style of play.

Recommended Gear

Next up, we’ll be looking at the recommended Gear and Weapons that you should be running for the Best Ranger Build. Our main concern will be with boosting the following stats for the Ranger:

• Agility
• Move Speed
• True Physical Damage
• Strength

Agility and Move Speed will help you move quicker and help keep the distance between you and your opponents. On the other hand, Strength and True Physical Damage will help you do more damage since the Ranger is just too weak at the start. 

Keep in mind that you do not have to pick the same Gear that we are choosing. But rather, you should be more focused on the Stats that they improve. 

If you cannot afford an Epic version of a gear we recommend, you can easily buy a Rare one as long as it improves the same Stat somewhat.

With that said, here are the recommended Gear options you should try out for the Ranger class in Dark and Darker:

• Lightfoot Boots
  • +5 Additional Move Speed
• Loose Trousers
  • +3 Physical Power
  • Try to get one with some Agility if possible
• Adventurer Tunic
  • +2 Agility
• Ranger Hood
  • +4 Agility
• Riveted Gloves
  • +1 True Physical Damage
• Tattered Cloak
  • +3 Strength
  • +1 True Physical Damage
• Ring of Quickness
  • +1 True Physical Damage
  • +2 Agility
• Fox Pendant
  • +3 Physical Power
  • +1 True Physical Damage
  • You can also use the Frost Amulet or similar if this is too expensive
• Survival Bow
  • Weapon Damage 26
  • +3 Physical Power
  • +6 Max Health
  • +2 Additional Weapon Damage
• Arming Sword
  • Weapon Damage 34

We strongly suggest you spend heavy on the Bow, as it is the Ranger’s bread and butter. You’ll also be spending a lot on the Rings and Amulets. 

For the Sword, you can just pick the cheapest Epic Arming Sword.

However, you’ll want to have as much Gold as possible if you want to have the best Gear in the game. We have just the thing for you! 

Check out our How to Easily Farm Lots of Gold Ore Guide – so you can start swimming in gold in no time!

How To Play Ranger

Now, we will look at how all the Perks, Skills and Gear you selected will come together for the Ranger Build. After all, the way you play as a Ranger will truly allow your build to shine in Dark and Darker.

Before we dive into some PvP matches, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with new extraction methods. They can help ensure your survival if you’re in a particularly difficult Dungeon.

It’s all laid out in our How To Extract and Descend Guide – for both new and returning players to Dark and Darker!

Starting off, you’ll want to use your Chase Perk to track enemies, as you can see their footsteps on the floor. You can use this to sneak behind them and attack them at the perfect opportunity. 

By catching them off guard, you can easily kill them before they know what’s happening.

The Chase Perk will also allow you to track invisible enemies so that they don’t catch you off guard. So. if a Rogue is trying to be clever, you can punish them if their footsteps appear.

When you engage in a fight, you’ll want to take full advantage of your high Agility and 105%+ Move Speed. So try to jump around as much as possible if enemies are trying to throw spells or hit you from a distance.

Additionally, use the Move Speed to ensure that enemies can never get close to you. By keeping distance from them, you can kill them pretty easily with your Bow. 

Be careful of the Rogue class in particular, as they are a hard counter to the Ranger.

Of course, if they do get too close to you, you can use the Forceful Shot to push them back and regain your distance advantage.

We strongly recommend that you master the usage of the Quick Shot Skill. This is because this skill will be your main killing move as a Ranger in Dark and Darker. 

When enemies are starting to get close to you, use the Quick Shot to absolutely demolish them with arrows.

If all of them are on target, chances are that the enemy will either die or be very close to death. They will try to run from you when they are low health. 

So, use your Move Speed and Agility to chase them and kill them off with your arrows. In this way, you can become a truly powerful Ranger that all PvP players will fear in Dark and Darker.

That’s everything you need to know for the Best Ranger Build in Dark and Darker – including the best way to play it. We strongly recommend that you keep your Move Speed high, as it is essential to the Ranger’s play style. With practice, you’ll be able to master this class in no time.

Are you struggling to level up all the classes that you end up trying in Dark and Darker? We understand how frustrating it can be – especially when you’re trying out multiple classes. For that, you’ll want to check out our Best Way To Level Up Guide – to start gaining lots of XP!