TheBest's ranger build guide [updated]

ok i only did a half arsed effort at making this guide the first time because i was too busy trying to stay #1 on ladder, but now i'll try to improve this a bit.

from level 1-65 i used lightning arrow and poison arrow. this build is very effective at the start. what i did after 65 was change my build. i stopped using lightning arrow, which is very good at the start, and started using split arrow. my lvl 65+ build is at the bottom.

level 1-65

lightning arrow was very mana consuming so i'd only use it when there were large packs of monsters. i used poison arrow before i use lightning arrow for obvious reasons, to let the damage over time start when they're at full hp. i also used poison arrow to kill single monsters as well.
i used skeleton skill gem which helps a lot to distract the monsters if you're struggling. this helped a lot with killing the bosses.
i used hatred aura skill gem because it reserved mana based on % rather than a fixed amount of mana. this is better at the start since i don't have a lot of mana.

you'll need to link lesser projectiles and pierce with lightning arrow. it'll make it very effective.

i linked poison arrow with anything that added damage to it to make it better at single target. although frenzy or burning arrow would be just as good, i was just too lazy to be using more than 2 skills.

CAUTION: lightning arrow at high levels uses a lot of mana, and the more support gems linked to it will increase the mana per cast. i recommend you keep lightning arrow at lvl 11 at the highest. maybe even lower than that, unless you know what you're doing and you know how to resolve the mana issues it can have.

at level 19 my tree looked like this

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAQIBFBUkVx1ezZ0g7xoBJsDziTbg-NA7kMhkQkzWvEncmRBPNXWsYPDWrWSmULTII_Rg4CAnKe32eRaSHqoksEvyZZ0wITqGfSmytPZV4Q==

level 40ish

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAQIBAJbF5wd3v20KqDEdFBUkVxeHlYcbzk5NHV7NnSDvGgEmwPOJNuD40DuQyGRCTNa8SdyZEEz_NdlPNXWsYPDWrWSmULRtj0ztd88CWeAgJynII_Rg7fZ5FrBL8mWdMCE6ry8AdP5ox9qJKhzbv72GAtYrD7iSHqokhn0psrT2VeG55T-9x0GqlqoOCjD3y3AZiYOTJMoBrn2bHUlA5K_cDoDJM9WqBTpWq2VV0g==

and right now at level 61

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAQIBAJbF5wHXmk4Hd79tCqgxHRQVJFcXh5WHGoVh5hvOTk0dXs2dIO8aASbA84kzgUS2NuD40DuQyGRCTNa8SdyZEEz_NdlPNXWsXKQcQl8uablg8NatY4oXz2SmULRlEXK1bY9M7XbsFHl3zwJZfVr3TOAgJynII_Rg7fZ5FrBL8mWdMCE6ry8AdP5ox9qJKhzbv72GAtYrD7iSHqokhn0psrT2VeG55T-9x0GqlqoOCjD3y3AZiYOTJMoBrn2bHUlA5K_cDoDJM9WqBTpWq2VV0p3CjJekmE3i0Syxp82oYW-ZeKIJ8YdWBat4cRzTrqJqg1RE2ZWEki6ZLWG3



and my items i've been using since level 53 are


lvl 65+


changed my build to a high crit dmg multiplier split arrow avatar of fire build. i did this because split arrow doesn't need to use lesser projectiles support gem, so i can use a different support gem. also lightning arrow uses way too much mana for my liking.
i used anger and wrath aura skill gems and stopped using hatred because with avatar of fire it takes away your cost resist. you want to minimize the amount of cold damage you do, so you won't get hurt as much hitting elemental reflect monsters.

for this build you'll want to get as much critical strike damage multiplier as you can, and use diamond flasks

the basic strategy to this build is that when you come across a group of 5+ monsters you'll use the diamond flask. if you have enough crit multi % you will kill normal monsters in 1 hit, blues in 2-3 hits, and yellows in 2-6 hits.
you'll want to find your self the best health flask you can find and use alterations on it until it gets 66% reduced amount recovered and instant recovery. also, you'll want to get another flask with dispels frozen and chilled, i died many times from getting frozen.
this is my skill tree at lvl 73

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAQIAAJbF5wHXmk4GwETPB3e_bQqoMR0SaA_HFBUkVxRS-QgUgyuTF4eVhxqFYeYbzk5NHV7NnSbA84kneaQNL0-dhjEtIjQzgUS2NuD40DuQyGRCTNa8Q_5ybUTGMulIWfzzSdyZEEz_NdlcpBxCXUd2R17EhHFfLmm5YPDWrWOKF89kplC0ZRFytWfuCeptj0ztcYQpHHS_i6l27BR5d88CWX1a90yAyTPVg1RE2YZ9KbKJKhzbiYOTJJEi_1SVhJIumKraf5ktYbeZeKIJmx1JQJ0wITqdwoyXpJhN4qiN0cOqBTpWqg4KMKtlVdKreHEcry8AdLBL8mW09lXhtwgLCbnlP72_vYYCxEMQycdBqpbII_RgygGufc2oYW_RLLGn066iatYrD7jeoK9N4CAnKeSv3A7t9nkW8YdWBfeSfc33y3AZ-PsgyPwbvpr-aMfa

these are my items at lvl 73 which clears chaos fast and easy. i do 27k dps while diamond flask is active and i have both my auras on.

Avatar of fire seems to be a very popular build choice for bow users.

I think you'd get better results if you posted your build here:

http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-forum/24

I find your build surprisingly awesome :P I already can see what more one can get with the rest of talent points left :D

thanks for sharing, using your build right now on my second ranger and i like it so far

Lighting arrow is a lot of fun.

oh and by the way... i've been struggling to do chaos solo, so you might want to try to get some more HP passives. i think i'll get iron reflexes now as well. you'll be very dependant on items, you'll want a lot of armour based equipment. also it may be worth getting movement speed passives as well.

i was hoping to get a bit lucky on getting high armour items and failed XD died 10 times in chaos in the past 1-2 hours

Any particular reason you haven't rolled your body armour yet?

Yeah I noticed you'd only gained like 2 levels since maelstrom. There are some good HP and str passives not too far away

"

Arkwright wrote:

Any particular reason you haven't rolled your body armour yet?

because i was waiting to find something better. i didn't realize my character didn't update and showed you guys some old gear.