Ashes of Creation has a lot of Archetypes to choose from and focus on. In this guide, we will focus on the Ranger Archetype. They are classified as scope DPS or characters that attack from afar by using a bow and arrows. In this guide, we will showcase an in-depth Ranger Build for your journey to become the world’s most feared Ranger in Ashes of Creation! Let`s go!
What is a Ranger?
A Ranger is considered a ranged massive dealer during combats. The playstyle of a ranger is simply shooting enemies and maintaining distance to avoid damage, since the Ranger archetype can be easily taken down if an enemy closes in on them.
Additionally, Rangers consist of heavy single-target damage, and some skillsets also include AOE abilities, making them a viable member in party-related combats. Let`s look at the different skills of a ranger in a table.
Ranger`s Skill Table
These are the different skills of a ranger. including their cooldown and effects. Further in this guide, we will provide a specific combo or skills rotation for you to test out in your gameplay.
| Skill Name | Skill Image | Timers | Description | Upgrades |
| Air Strike |  | Cast: 0.6s Cooldown: 45s | Leap a great distance forward and into the air, launching three projectiles in a straight line along your path. Each projectile deals (150%🢆) Physical damage to enemies it hits. Enemies affected by Snare will instead become Rooted, and all Snare stacks on them will be consumed. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Barrage |  | Cast: 0.4s Cooldown: 12s | Unleash a barrage of arrows at your target for 1.5 seconds, dealing (15%🢆) Physical damage per hit. Ammo Imbue effects trigger once per target. Hitting Bleeding targets reduces this skill’s cooldown by 0.1s, doubled against Hemorrhaging foes. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Bear Trap |  | Cast: 1s Cooldown: 30s | Place a trap that arms after 1 second. When triggered, it deals (50%🢆) Physical damage and Roots the enemy. Snared targets are Rooted for 3 seconds, plus 1 second per Snare stack consumed. | Bear Trap: Multitap – gains 3 charges but cooldown increased by 15 secs. Bear Trap: Trapslinger – Trap becomes a projectile and activates instantly upon landing. Deals double damage when activated. |
| Call of the Wild |  | Cast: 0s Cooldown: 30s | Removes all Snare and Chill effects from yourself, granting 20% bonus movement speed and immunity to movement impairing effects for 8 seconds. | Unyielding Call of the Wild – breaks all the disabling effects on the caster |
| Camouflage |  | Cast: 0.4s Cooldown: 1s | becomes harder to detect and untargetable. The farther you are from enemies, the harder you are to spot. This effect ends if you attack, take damage, or suffer negative effects. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Disengage |  | Cast: 1s Cooldown: 20s | Strike enemies in front while performing a backflip. Targets hit take Physical damage and gain 1 stack of Snared for 10 seconds. | Omnidirectional Disengage – Now moves to direction of your input not always backwards Reinvigorating Disengage – when Disengage hit an enemy, refreshes its cooldown. Can only be used once per cooldown. |
| Enhance Armament: Barbs |  | Cast: 1s Cooldown: 3s | Toggled Ability: Your Finishers, Extended Finishers, Barrage, and Scattershot apply Bleed to enemies hit. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Enhance Armament: Concussion |  | Cast: 1s Cooldown: 3s | Toggled Ability: Your Finishers, Extended Finishers, Barrage, and Scattershot apply a 50 percent chance to dazed when hit | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Enhance Armament: Weight |  | Cast: 0s Cooldown: 45s | Toggled Ability: Your Finishers, Extended Finishers, Barrage, and Scattershot apply a snared effect | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Headshot |  | Cast: 1.4s Cooldown: 15s | Deal (200%🢆) Physical damage to a target. Deals 25% more damage to enemies below 50% health and applies 1 Wounded stack per 25% missing health. Gain 25% Physical Penetration against Dazed targets, doubled against Silenced targets. | Mortal Headshot – deals another 50 percent to targets below 50 percent of their maximum health Refreshing Headshot – reduces cooldwon by 4 seconds if the target has marked effect on them. |
| Hunt of the Bear |  | Cast: 0.5s Cooldown: 2s | Toggled Ability: Summon the spirit of the bear, gaining increased Physical Mitigation. Only one Hunt can be active at a time. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Hunt of the Raven |  | Cast: 0.5s Cooldown: 2s | Toggled Ability: Summon the spirit of the raven, granting increased Physical Penetration. Only one Hunt can be active at a time. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Hunt of the Tiger |  | Cast: 0.5s Cooldown: 2s | Toggled Ability: Summon the spirit of the tiger, granting 10% increased Critical Damage. Only one Hunt can be active at a time. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Lightining Reload |  | Cast: N/A Cooldown: 60s | Grants 1 charge of Lightning Reload, letting you fire one Shot ability for free, ignoring its cooldown and costs. Affected abilities: Snipe, Barrage, Headshot, Scatter Shot, Raining Death, Thundering Shot. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Mark of the Bear |  | Cast: 0s Cooldown: 60s | Marks the target, reducing their mitigation by 25%. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Mark of the Raven |  | Cast: 0s Cooldown: 60s | Marks the target, causing them to take up to (33%🢆) Physical damage each time they’re hit, scaling with their missing health percentage. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Mark of the Tiger |  | Cast: 0s Cooldown: 60s | Marks the target, increasing critical chance versus the target by 25%. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Party Stride |  | Cast: 0.5s Cooldown: 60s | Applies Strider to all group members within 30 meters, increasing their ground movement speed by 10%. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Raining Death |  | Cast: 1.3s Cooldown: 45s | Fire two consecutive volleys of arrows in a wide area ahead, dealing (100%🢆) Physical damage per hit and applying 1 Wounded stack. Deals 20% bonus damage to Shocked targets. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Regeneration |  | Cast: 0.5s Cooldown: 1s | Grants an ally 10 Regeneration Rating per Ranger level. Only one ally can be affected at a time. Cannot be used on targets with Regeneration from another Ranger. Recasting on the same target toggles the effect off. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Scatter Shot |  | Cast: 1.2s Cooldown: 10s | Fires a spread of projectiles in a cone, dealing (125%🢆) Physical damage to all enemies hit. Triggers Ammo Imbue effects once per targ | Concentrated Scatter Shot – becomes a held ability gaining charge, after fully charged, shoots a concentrated arrow that pierces through enemies and deals 250% physical damage. Multi-Scattershot – gains additional charge |
| Snipe |  | Cast: 3.1s Cooldown: 20s | Deal (400%🢆) Physical damage and apply Shaken to the target. If the target is Bleeding, 1 stack is consumed and they become Hemorrhaging. | Hasting Snipe – gains 20% attack speed after casting snipe Heartseeking Snipe – 30% chance to crit with enemies with a distance of 20 meters |
| Strider |  | Cast: 0.5s Cooldown: 60s | Target ally gains Strider. Movement speed increased by 10%. Lasts 15 minutes. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Thorns |  | Cast: 0.5s Cooldown: 1s | Envelop a target ally with Thorns, dealing damage equal to 1/3 of the Ranger’s level to attackers, with a 10% chance to apply Bleeding each time the ally is hit. Can only affect one ally at a time and cannot be applied to a target already under Thorns. | No upgrades on this Ability |
| Thundering Shot |  | Cast: 1.1s Cooldown: 20s | Fire a lightning-infused projectile at the target, dealing (200%🢆) Physical damage and applying 10 stacks of Shocked. If the target is Dazed, the effect is consumed, Silencing them. | Explosive Thundering Shot – now applies to an area but number of affected enemies is reduced to 5 |
| Vine Field |  | Cast: 0.7s Cooldown: 30s | Summon a vine field at the target location, dealing (125%🢆) Physical damage and Rooting enemies hit. Each target can only be hit once per instance. Bleeding targets hit consume 1 stack and become Hemorrhaging. | Ensnaring Vine Field – Enemies acquire 1 stack of Snared per second while within Vine Field’s area of effect. |
Ranger Skills and Rotation
Now let’s talk about how to play Ranger with its skills, active and passive and also different rotation of skills to deal massive damage or escape a tight situation. Let`s start with basics.
Focus
Ranger has its unique resources, just like any other archetype. This is Focus. It regenerates every second, or it can be regenerated quicker by the use of the Power Shot ability. Focus will give 15% additional damage depending on how much focus is stored.
Focus will be depleted by using abilities depending on the damage dealt to enemies. Thus, an AOE ability will massively deplete focus when cast.
Hunts and Marks
Rangers have a toggle ability called Hunts, which coincides with the Mark ability. There are 3 hunt types, Raven, Bear, and Tiger each have their respective effects.
One hunt can be used per time. When the mark is used, the specific effect of the hunt will be negatively transferred to the enemy. When the duration is over, the counterpart of that effect will be back to the user.
Hunts and Marks Tips
Remember to be aware that you will lose the buff from the hunt temporarily upon using Mark. This may turn into a disadvantage or an advantage.
Next is that the debuff from the hunt affects only one target, but the buff applies to all enemies since it affects you to increase your stats. So you have to choose on to apply the debuff or gain the stats.
Another case is that you will get the buff faster when you apply the mark onto a low health enemy or when it expires. So, marking low health enemies is much faster.
Mark of the Tiger or Mark of the Bear?
In my opinion, the hunt of the tiger, which gives 10% crit chance, is much useful in any situation compared to the mitigation buff, but can also be used depending on the situation. For the other mark of the raven. I am having a hard time on where to use it since it does not impact the damage drastically.
Camouflage
The Camouflage enables you to hide from your enemies, not completely, but they can’t target you with skills. Camouflage is used together with vine field or snipe, which needs time to cast.
Thorns
One of the toggled abilities of the ranger, when activated it deals a small amount of damage to attackers and have a 10% chance to apply bleed.
It is used mostly in tanker enemies or caravans, which give free damage per second when the bleed procs.
Regeneration
One of the toggled abilities wherein it grants bonus health regeneration or its upgraded one, which also gives mana regeneration. This one is not quite useful so I skipped it and put points to much reliable skills.
Stride and Party Stride
This enables the party or you to gain bonus movement speed. It is mainly used in a caravan since movement is crucial to complete the caravan delivery.
Enhance Armament
For PVP, Concussion and Dazed armament is the one to go to, since silencing your enemies will prevent them from using skills or moving at all.
For PVE scenarios, Barbs are much efficient since they produces maximum damage output.
Another notable armament to be aware of is the snare armament, which is effective in 1v1 scenarios but problematic in team fights with a mage on your team. Snared and chilled is almost the same, and the combo for your mages when you snare them will impact their output.
Salvo
Salvo applies your Enhanced Ammo debuff, but only on the first shot of the ability. You can still stack the debuff by dodging to interrupt the animation and recasting, or by repeatedly using the first charge. To spread the debuff, fire the first shot at different targets mid-cast; for grouped enemies, use Scatter Shot instead.
Scatter Shot
Scatter Shot is a Ranger ability that applies status effects from your Enhanced Ammo and offers two upgrades: an extra charge or a Charged version with more power. While Charged Scatter Shot can be useful in PvE and occasionally in PvP. Its longer cast time and a bug that causes misfires make it unreliable. I prefer skipping the Charged upgrade to avoid inconsistency and save a skill point for something more impactful.
Combo A – Slow Scattershot AOE Burst
It is frequently used in the AOE burst rotation of skills. Also, scattershot reduces CD with weapon combo finisher, so using it between attacks makes it more efficient
Disengage
Disengaging with the upgrade of omnidirectional enables you to direct the way you dodge, making it more useful. I would say this is the choice for the upgrade.
Snipe
Snipe is a charge ability that lets you shoot an arrow from afar. It deals a ton of damage when landed but a good enemy`s sight can easily dodge the charged snipe.
Rotation with Snipe
Opening with a snipe using camouflage is the way since camouflage makes you hidden while casting a snipe.
Another thing, your goal in this combo is to make your enemy drop their HP to 50% to finish them with two headshots. If Snipe and PowerShot make that happen, continue with the first rotation. If not, follow the 2nd one seen from the picture.
Power Shot
Power Shot is a relatively new Ranger ability designed to provide raw, straightforward damage without requiring setup, filling a key gap in the class’s toolkit. It has a 35-meter range, doesn’t consume Focus, and even restores it on use. With a short cast time, no immobilization, and just a 10-second cooldown. It is quite efficient in dealing damage.
This ability works great as a follow-up after your opener, maintaining pressure while refueling your Focus for the next attacks. The Focus restoration also boosts your overall damage output by enabling other skills more frequently. Thanks to its long range, Power Shot can even serve as an execution when enemies try to escape beyond Headshot range.
Headshot
Headshot is one of my favorite Ranger abilities, especially when paired with Dazed ammo, as it deals 200% base damage plus 25% more if the target is below 50% HP. Here are the best upgrades for this skill.
Mortal Headshot
This is the go-to upgrade for headshot since it makes the ability more deadlier. Compared to the other upgrade where it is used long time ago.
Rotation with Headshot
Headshot is a great ability to pair with Lightning Reload, letting you pull off a strong double Headshot combo to finish enemies below 50% HP. Even if they survive, the combo leaves them with 4–5 stacks of Wounded, making it harder for them to recover.
Thundershot
It is an ability that deals damage and applies shock stacks to the target. This enables you to silence them.
Running Dazed ammo makes sense because it can be applied through combo finishers, Salvo, or Scatter Shot, with Salvo often being the quickest option. You only need one Salvo charge to apply the status, and you can dodge-cancel the rest of the animation to follow up with Thundering Shot almost instantly.
After landing Thundering Shot to apply Silence, you can use Lightning Reload to quickly reapply Silence if the enemy uses a CC break. Thundering Shot also applies 5 or 10 Shocked stacks, making Barrage a strong follow-up due to its multi-hit damage boost from those stacks.
Alternatively, Scatter Shot can apply Dazed before using Thundering Shot, but its 20-meter range means you may want to save it for AoE burst situations. A helpful trick with Thundering Shot is turning your camera to the side while casting to delay the hit, allowing for tighter burst combos when timed with other abilities.
Frostbolt from mages combo
You can also use Thundering Shot to apply Shock right before a mage lands Frostbolt, boosting their damage. Even if your target dodges the projectile, Silence still applies, making it highly valuable for PvP. In mass PvP, aim carefully because if your primary target dies mid-flight, the projectile won’t damage other enemies.
Barrage
This ability fell off after the ranger rework. Its CD is increased, and the only thing this can work is by applying hemorrhaging or bleeding to the target before using.
Recuperation
It’s still a decent offensive skill for applying pressure, especially if the target has Shocked stacks. However, the multiple projectiles can backfire by letting enemies recover Stamina through partial dodges, boosted further by the Stamina tree’s Recuperation passive.
Lightning Reload
Lightning Reload lets you instantly reuse key abilities by ignoring their cooldown, creating powerful combo opportunities. With a 60-second cooldown, it’s important to use it wisely and not waste it on minor plays. We’ve covered double Headshot and double Silence combos, so now let’s look at how Lightning Reload can boost your AoE burst options.
Rotation Combo with Lightning Reload
The two AoE rotations are similar, but your choice depends on how risky the burst is and how much damage you’re taking while staying close to enemies. The first option deals damage faster since Scatter Shot casts almost instantly, but it only uses Raining Death once, reducing total damage and Wounded stacks applied. I avoid Concentrated Scatter Shot due to its longer cast time and fewer targets hit, though it’s worth testing for yourself.
The second option works better when your team’s push succeeds, you’re safe, and taking little return fire. By saving Lightning Reload to use Raining Death twice, you maximize damage and apply more Wounded stacks. This approach is especially useful when enemies block your burst with a tank wall, as Raining Death can hit over it.
A Quick Tip for this rotation
You can still land abilities through walls by jumping at the end of the cast. After that, continue with Thundering Shot, Air Strike, or both, and if things get risky, use Dodge or Disengage to safely create space.
Another option for rotations with a focus on Thundering Bolt and Raining Death
The next two AoE rotations focus on using Thundering Shot and Raining Death together. If you pick Dazed ammo, all enemies hit by Scatter Shot will be Dazed, letting Thundering Shot deal damage and Silence one target. Just make sure to aim the Silence at someone important.
Raining Death
It covers a wide area but has a long 45-second cooldown, so use it wisely. Don’t throw it out carelessly save it for the right opportunity.
Air Strike
Air Strike launches you into the air and fires three projectiles downward, dealing 150% damage and rooting enemies who are already Snared. It has a long 45-second cooldown that can’t be refreshed by Lightning Reload. You can also change direction mid-air, making it harder for melee enemies to predict where you’ll land.
Rotation with Air Strike
Air Strike also sets up a simple but effective combo use Disengage to Snare a melee enemy, then follow with Air Strike to Root them and deal 250% burst damage with crowd control. You can also use Air Strike to quickly create or close distance by combining sprint, jump, Air Strike, and Disengage to cover 30 to 40 meters in seconds. This same combo helps you reach elevated spots or climb difficult terrain.
Vine Field
The most powerful ability of ranger, The vine field. It deals 125% damage, instantly roots all targets in its area, and applies Hemorrhaging to bleeding enemies. With a huge 40-meter range. the field stays on the ground for several seconds, damaging and rooting out anyone who steps into it.
Vine Field Upgrade
Upgrading Vine Field lets it apply multiple Snared stacks to all targets inside, which is usually worth taking, but check with your Mages first, as Snare or Chill immunity can block their freeze combos.
Vine Field may not seem overwhelming at first, but it’s extremely powerful in PvP and can easily turn fights in your favor when used properly. It’s especially effective for setting up AoE bursts, but you’ll need clear communication so your team knows when and where to follow up.
Scenarios Using Vine Field
Vine Field can also be used defensively to Root enemies during their push, slowing their momentum and disrupting their engage. In some situations, placing Vine Field behind the enemy frontline can zone out their backline and stop them from following the push.
In summary, Vine Field is so important that every group should have at least one Ranger. Whenever you cast it, have a clear goal know exactly what you want to accomplish with the Root. It’s your most crucial ability, so communicate with your team, call it out, and ensure everyone knows how to follow up when it lands.
Bear Trap
Bear Trap is another Ranger ability that Roots enemies, with two optional upgrades based on preference. They work like mines for zoning, either forcing enemies to step on them or avoid the area.
Trapslinger Upgrade
Traps are also useful in 1v1 fights against melee enemies, especially with the Trapslinger upgrade. You can throw a trap at their feet to Root them, and even if you miss, you have three chances to land one.
Call of the Wild
The one and only CC break of a Ranger. This is crucial ability when you have a debuff like snared or chilled.
Call of the Wild gives you a 20% movement speed boost, which is great for either escaping quickly or chasing down an enemy. Just be cautious, it has a 30-second cooldown, so if you use it for mobility and get crowd-controlled right after, you’ll be left with no backup.
Ranger x Mage Buffs Enchant Weapon
This buff grants one of three elemental enchants: ice, lightning, or fire. The ice enchant deals 70% damage and applies Chilled, but always check with your mages first, while lightning deals lower damage but applies Volatile, reducing magical defense by 15%. Fire is rarely used since the other options are stronger, but whichever you choose, coordinating with your mages lets you boost your damage and debuff enemies for them.
Skill Trees and Build
I often get asked about my Skill Tree, Weapon Skill Tree, and overall Build, and while I can show you what I’m currently using, that doesn’t mean you should copy it exactly. Sharing one or even several setups might not actually help and could even mislead you. My skill trees change regularly, sometimes multiple times a day, based on factors like the situation, group composition, and the enemies we’re up against.
For Heartseeker. This ability hasn’t always worked properly, which only adds to the complexity. My best advice is to start with a setup, then adjust your trees based on your playstyle and even sometimes what makes you satisfied as a ranger.
Basic Stats for Ranger
It is best to start with balanced stats since you will be changing them as soon as you test things out. Simply, Don`t hesitate to try out different things.
One common question is whether to use a longbow or shortbow, and right now, longbow clearly has the advantage for PvP. The extra 5 meters of range makes a big difference, especially since most PvP players favor the longbow. Shortbow can still work in some 1v1 scenarios, but its projectiles are easier to dodge, often giving your opponent free stamina recovery.
Conclusion
Thank you for having the time to read all this information about Ranger. Quite an extensive one I would say. But, Ranger is one of the complicated archetypes. Thus, making it worth your time. If you have liked this guide, Make sure to subscribe to my youtube channel, Join our discord and visit our website for more information about ashes of creation. May you build the best and feared ranger in the world of ashen!
