Solo Ranger Build Guide

Introduction

Welcome to our Solo Ranger Build Guide! In this build, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to utilize the Solo Ranger. This includes Skills, Perks, Stat Priority and more!

This Ranged build focuses on the ability to control areas while being a ranged threat on any map as a solo player. The Ranger is a mighty yet simple class. However, the one issue with the Class typically comes from being a little weaker in melee range if the Ranger is rushed. To be successful with the Solo Ranger build – we must play to outplay and use every tool at our disposal.

Skills

The recommended skills for our Solo Ranger build guide are Penetrating Shot and Field Ration. A Penetrating Shot is a fantastic way to deal burst damage on an opening shot. With the Solo Ranger build, we’re aiming to use a Crossbow as our primary weapon. As a result, picking Penetrating Shot over Quickshot is mandatory. Field Ration comes into play as a solo player, keeping yourself topped up on health with a single button press.

Spells

Currently, the Ranger does not have spells at their disposal. However, due to Dark and Darker using Dungeons and Dragons as an inspiration – cantrips could be added to the game. As a result, keep checking back here for updates!

Perks

For this Ranger build, we recommend the following perks:

Crossbow Mastery
Sharpshooter
Spear Proficiency
Trap Mastery

Typically, most Ranger builds use items such as the Longbow. In those builds, Crossbow Mastery and Trap Mastery are not common at all. However, in the Solo Ranger build, you have to rely on your gameplay entirely. As a result, using a Fast-firing Crossbow due to Crossbow Mastery, Trap Mastery to control a room as fast as possible and Spear Proficiency for a strong melee option is a must.

Stat Priority

Additional Physical Damage
+All Attributes
Agility
Strength
Any other Physical Damage modifier

Within the stat priority, it should be a no-brainer that +All Attributes is a great all-rounder stat to obtain. Agility is the primary stat that scales the Ranger’s overall function. However, Strength can be a great alternative to increase Physical Power and Health. Finally, Additional Physical Damage is a must-have for any Ranger build. This includes the Solo Ranger Build, as a result of raw numbers being added to the damage formula scales your damage dramatically.

Gear

Weapons

For this build, the Solo Ranger has a go-to setup. We recommend equipping a standard Crossbow paired with a Spear as a secondary weapon. This weapon combination provides simple but effective gameplay at a pretty affordable price. The Spear is our main PvE clearing tool due to the safety of the attack range. While our Crossbow is the main damage source when fighting players paired with Penetrating Shot. This setup allows us to use melee and ranged approaches to fights. One key feature of the Spear in PvP is the ability to out-space your opponent with a melee range advantage.

Armor

For the Solo Ranger build, we recommend using a decent combination of cloth and leather where appropriate to get the best protection-to-movement speed ratio. This can be the following:

Forest Hood or Ranger Hood
Warden Outfit
Leather Gloves
Lightfoot Boots
Loose Trousers

The above loadout provides the best possible resistances without compromising your movement speed too much. Optimizing this part of the build is essential the further into a wipe you get to ensure victory. As a result, try to build your loadout with the above in mind and do not forget to find the associated stat priorities required!

How to Play the Solo Ranger Build

The Solo Ranger build is a simple yet awareness-heavy approach to the Ranger. The main goal of the Solo Ranger is to be able to play the Goblin Caves, Ruins and Crypts maps entirely solo. The way we achieve this is by finding a good balance of calculated plays and the switching of melee and ranged weapons.

One of the key elements of the Solo Ranger Build is the ability to abuse Hunting Traps to the maximum. Hunting Traps are heavily underestimated and often forgotten about by other players. As a result, catching players with Traps can be very easy – and effective.

Solo Ranger Gameplay

Compared to the standard Ranger using a bow and typically playing in a team, the Solo Ranger must decide on a few things in each game. Firstly, deciding on pushing to the center of the zone or playing on the outskirts is an important decision to make early on. Playing on the edge of the zone gives you the ability to surprise players and potentially third-party ongoing fights. Rushing for the center zone, however, allows you to play the control game. This is achieved through placing traps.

Solo Ranger Build Guide Hunting Trap example

Hunting Trap location example

Hunting Traps

If you find yourself in a position where you control the flow of the zone rotations, then you are in the best spot for the Solo Ranger. Hunting Traps truly shine here as you can begin to place them at multiple chokepoints and entrances for unsuspecting players looking for portals. At this stage of the game, teams can and will bump into each other. During the chaos, your Traps play a huge role in picking players off, combined with the Penetrating Shot from the Crossbow.

As a result, always remember where you placed your Traps and the best places to place them. This is because you’ll want to be ready to immediately headshot the player caught in the Trap with your Crossbow. In between the fighting and the chaos, you have access to Field Rations to keep you topped up and safe – remember to use them in player hotspots as often as possible.

It should be noted that the Ranger starts with 2 Hunting Traps in their kit. However, you can purchase more from Woodsman at trash quality minimum for 10 gold each.

General Gameplay

A general way of fighting other players is to open up with a Penetrating Shot Crossbow bolt. To most classes in this game, the shot will hit hard. After hitting the player, you have the opportunity to aggressive push after reloading your Crossbow. At this point, you can finish them off with a second shot, or move in with the Spear to clean up.

Versus Teams

Finally, playing versus teams can be tricky, however, this is exactly where trap usage and patient play come into focus. As a result, make sure to pick your location and fight cautiously when you’re fighting teams to give yourself the best odds.

Multiclassing Options

Multiclassing is a very experimental feature in Dark and Darker. As a result, there is going to be a ton of possibilities and build tweaks. As we and the many players of the game push further into the wipe to test Multiclassing, we’ll update this build with our recommendations! To see more on Multiclassing and what it means for the future of Dark and Darker – check out the 2024 Roadmap.