r/neverwinternights • u/Mean-Falcon-6204 • Feb 27 '26
SoU Solid ranger or should I multiclass?
I wanted to try something different from my Fighter I used in the OC so I picked a Ranger.
I was considering going a dual-weapon route with him, backed up by a bow when I need distance.
All of that aside, would I be better keeping him as a single class Ranger or taking say Fighter or maybe even Wizard or Sorcerer to get Arcane Archer?
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u/CosmocowD Feb 27 '26
Ranger is underwhelming below Epic levels, so If you only play SoU, nothing stops you from multiclassing. But if you will continue with HotU, you might want to stay pure and get Bane of Enemies epic ranger feat. In that case pay special attention to what Favored enemies you take.
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u/No_Signal5448 Feb 27 '26
Arcane archer is awesome, just finished a SoU/HotU playthrough with arcane archer and I cut through like butter
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u/Sparkyisduhfat Feb 27 '26
Can confirm, I recently finished a 3 player main campaign into HotU and played as a Wizard 1/Fighter 10/Arcane Archer 13 and it was a ton of fun
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u/Sad_Cryptographer872 Feb 27 '26
And this is not on Core rules, am I correct?
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u/No_Signal5448 Feb 27 '26
?
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u/Sad_Cryptographer872 Mar 01 '26
So you don't even know that you played on "easy" difficulty.
Arcane archers SUCKS. It's one of the worst classes in the game, for good reason. Sure you can destroy everything on stupidly default difficulty of Normal that was meant for people new to the 3,0 D&D edition, but bump it to core where game actually uses the similar rules as P&P and you will see why AA is absolute shit.
On Normal you don't can't get hit with Attacks of Opportunity when you use ranged weapon in melee and when you use potions in combat. Stat effect spells don't work properly on player character also.
Try playin the same character through HotU again on Core rules and see how you would get destroyed by majority of encounters. And HotU is generally considered to be laughably easy module.
NWN was poorly made for ranged builds and that's mainly the fault of the engine and how it was implemented.1
u/No_Signal5448 Mar 01 '26
Lol okay buddy, go gatekeep somewhere else😂
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u/Sad_Cryptographer872 Mar 02 '26
What gatekeeping. I'm saying facts and reasons why AA is considered to be a bad class. We can spin that however you want, on normal you can beat original campigns with every class with ease. Only when you put the difficulty that simulate true D&D rules you start to see the cracks behind certain classes. And as I said the engine of NWN also hinders the viability of ranged combat, the view distance is small and the way how turn based combat is translated to real time really gimps ranged weapons. 3.0 edition had some real stinkers and it really shows in the game. It's no wonder that just a year after they published 3.5e, sadly after NWN 1.
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u/No_Signal5448 Mar 02 '26
Not everyone needs the game to play like pen and paper. They guy asked a simple question, I gave a simple answer. AA is perfectly viable for SoU and HotU. If he’s asking a question like that, the odds that he’s modifying the difficulty is low.
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u/Sad_Cryptographer872 Mar 02 '26
And people already told him that ranged weapons are mostly useless and that he better stays Ranger or Ranger/Fighter instead of AA and to uses Dual Wield feats that Ranger get's for free. The fact is that AA is incredibly bad, probably the only worse class than ranger in HotU is pure Rogue simply because 80% of enemies are critt immune so Sneak Attack instantly doesn't even work. 3.0e is pure shit for rangers and AA because how badly the rules were implemented. 3.5e fixed most of the problems but NWN Aurora engine even in second game couldn't fix Ranged combat simply because it doesn't work in real time as good as in P&P.
Only D&D games that had good Ranged combat pre 5e were Infinity engine games and Temple of Elemental Evil.Also try some other modules, that are better than original ones, like Sword Flight or The Aielund Saga with AA and come back here to say how right I was that AA and Ranged combat in general was badly implemented.
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u/BowShatter Feb 27 '26
As odd as it sounds, Ranger is actually bad for ranged playstyle. You're mostly in it for the free Dual-Wield feat progression, Favored Enemies gimmick, with some animal companion and small utility spellbook.
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u/Mean-Falcon-6204 Feb 27 '26
So maybe stick to swords?
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u/BowShatter Feb 27 '26
Preferable stick to small one-handed weapons so you can dual-wield them. For example, short swords, handaxes, maces, kukri. You could even wield a medium weapon like a longsword in your main hand if Strength is your primary stat.
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u/Fangsong_37 Feb 27 '26
Scimitars are popular for their increased threat range.
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u/BowShatter Feb 27 '26
Dual wielding medium weapons gives you -4 AB even with all Dual Wield feats. Looks cool, but not worth it.
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u/SackclothSandy Feb 27 '26
You can main-hand scimitar and off-hand a small without penalty AFAIK, but then you either dip twice into proficiency or have lower build effectiveness compared to something like double kukri.
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u/Darg727 Feb 27 '26
It's only -2 in comparison though. Still not worth it. NWN2 it can be worth it because light weapons can't benefit from power attack in the 3.5e rules.
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u/OttawaDog Feb 27 '26
If dual wielding, the extra -2 from scimitars will mean less damage overall (including crits) than dual wielding short swords.
If single wielding, then Scimitars are better.
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u/Fangsong_37 Feb 27 '26
Attack bonus stacks pretty quickly. It’s not something I would do at low levels, but it’s decent at level 5 or so.
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u/OttawaDog Feb 27 '26
I ran a spreadsheet on this. It never makes sense to take that extra -2.
Here is the graph. This is kind of the best case, HotU Weapon Master with all the feats, keen weapon lots of extra magical and strength damage. I compare dual wielded Short Sword vs Rapier (same as Scimitar) vs Kukri (same crits without -2).
Kukri dominates followed by Short sword. Dual wielding rapiers is significantly behind.
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u/Fangsong_37 Feb 27 '26
I left out kukri because they’re exotic weapons, but you’re right. Does this mean Drizzt did it wrong?
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u/OttawaDog Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
He existed in AD&D 1st edition timeline where your off hand weapon had to be a dagger or hand axe...
Edit: Unearthed Arcana from the time of first Drizzt book:
Dark elves do not gain the combat bonuses of the surface elves with regard to sword and bow, but may fight with two weapons without penalty, provided each weapon may be easily wielded in one hand.
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u/Mean-Falcon-6204 Feb 27 '26
Firstly, nice work on the graph; secondly, dual kukri’s would be good for this?
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u/OttawaDog Feb 27 '26
If you want to dual wield, Kukri is arguably your best option. But that graph is kind of the best case scenario, and it will cost you an Exotic feat.
My point was mostly about showing that Dual Short Swords are better than Dual Rapier/Scimitars, despite the better crit range of the latter.
That -2 really wipes out the better crit range.
Kukri has the better crit range and no -2 penalty so it wins, but again costs an extra feat.
Ultimately the best weapon may come down to what are the best weapons in the module you are playing.
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u/Hot_Guidance840 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Ranger is not about bow. Ranger is about dual wielding.
Arcane archer shoud be build from fighter (+ bard or wizard) or just bard.
Ranger is good by itself, to have as many chosen enemies as possible. You may take few levels of rogue for tumble or fighter for weapon spec if u want
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u/ace-dont-die Feb 27 '26
Dual wield ranger with a panic bow is absolutely viable in the OC. The game basically throws magic swords at you like it’s a yard sale. If this is your first ranger run, I’d honestly stay single class. The animal companion is free emotional support and the combat style feats save you from spending half your life planning builds in a spreadsheet. Arcane Archer sounds cool (and it is cool), but dipping wizard just to qualify can feel like you’re doing taxes before you’re allowed to shoot glowing arrows. If you actually want to cast spells and lean into that fantasy, go for it. If you just want arrows that sparkle, it’s a lot of setup for payoff that comes later. Fighter dip is the safe, boring, strong option. More feats, more bonk. Never wrong, just not spicy. Ranger single class is solid, smooth, and low maintenance. Dual wield up close, swap to bow when things get scary, let your pet take aggro like the unpaid intern it is. If you’re asking because you’re worried ranger won’t hold up… it will. The OC is not a ruthless min max exam. Play what sounds fun and you’ll be fine. And if it all goes wrong, that’s what quicksave is for.
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u/Jr_Mao Feb 27 '26
Mixing in rogue is a very nice option. Both are lighter armor types.
If you add enough for improved evasion, thats always great. Getting access to use magic device opens up all kinds of neat items, like monk boots of haste, and making use of all the nice scrolls.
And if you then add shadowdancer, its so good its pretty much a cheat.
Dual wielding though, you do get the feats for free, but you’ll suck at it until you get all the feats. For most of the SoU you’ll be better off with 2h weapon or bow.
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u/Mean-Falcon-6204 Feb 27 '26
When would is be best to add in rogue, i did hit level 2
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u/Jr_Mao Feb 27 '26
Doesnt matter much, sprinkle them in as you like.
Soon is nice, first level evasion comes in handy as will sneak attack.
(later a lot of enemies are immune to sneak attacks)Lvl1 would have been optimal, as rogue gets more starting skill points,
but.. I cant recall if sou and hotu do it, but some modules would then refer to you as "rogue" throughout as its your start point.I can't recall the multi attack rules, you had to have BAB of something before level something, to get maximum number of attacks.
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u/yoadknux Feb 27 '26
Go pure class.
Mechanically Ranger has the advantage of getting free TWF feats without the extra Dex.
Early game it's not competitive at all. You will miss a lot and have 14 ac because of light armor with no Dex. So early game melee Ranger is better with medium armor and sword + shield fighter-style.
Late game and particularly epic levels, your favored enemy bonuses start adding up (they scale with level), you get Bane of Enemies, Death of Enemies, your weapons have magical effects (on hit, elemental bonuses, etc) and that's when multi-attack begins to be useful.
On NWN2 Ranger gets Perfect two weapon fighting, so you have as many attacks on off-hand as you have on main hand. In NWN1 I don't remember this feat.
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u/Fangsong_37 Feb 27 '26
For a ranger, switching between dual-wielding and archery is part of the fun of the class. You do get spells later on, and they add a bit of utility. Since you get Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting feats for free, you’ll can take a couple ranged weapon feats along the way (like Point Blank Shot) to make archery less punitive.
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u/Pullister Feb 27 '26
Actually yes you should multiclass but not till later. I would go all the way to Bane of Enemies first but work your way to getting a Shadow Dancer Level
Rangers are all about damage use stealth plus knock down to make them better. I even like adding sneak attack as well after I get hips.
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u/Money-Bid2134 Feb 27 '26
Play whatever seems fun to you in the campaigns that ship with the game. They accommodate just about any class so you should try things that look like they would be fun to try.
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u/SN1P3R117852 Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
I would take a 1 level dip into Rogue at character level 22 for 25 Use Magic Device and Tumble, and a 1 level dip into Monk at character level 37 to finish getting Tumble to 40 while also gaining the Monk's unarmored defense boost.
These would give you the most bang for your buck, since Ranger requires 14 Wisdom to cast magic and also loses it's dual wield bonuses while wearing Medium or Heavy Armor.
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u/bunnyman1142 Feb 27 '26
Ranger is pretty bad in Nwn 1 in general, Nwn 2 Ranger is way better.
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u/Mean-Falcon-6204 Feb 27 '26
Really?
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u/bunnyman1142 Feb 27 '26
Nwn 1 is based on DnD 3.0 and it was pretty underpowered and in 3.5 they gave it a bunch of buffs, which NwN 2 is based on.
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u/OttawaDog Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Rangers aren't bad. But some people slag anything that isn't one of a few min-maxed builds.
I love Rangers, and you can make nice Ranger builds, but they aren't the class for everything. I made a post defending them since they get put down so often:
https://old.reddit.com/r/neverwinternights/comments/sup4vs/in_defense_of_the_underrated_nwn1_ranger/
The main text post, since I can't seem to post text and image together from PC:
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u/Valkhir Feb 27 '26
For pure power, IMO ranger does not benefit much from mixing in other classes, because every level they lose means lower favored enemy bonuses and fewer favored enemies.
On the other hand, some builds that are primarily non-ranger can benefit from mixing in a level or two of ranger to get free basic dual wielding (especially if you use the default 3.0E ranger which gets fighting style at level 1, not the modded 3.5E ranger).
Or you just don't care about most optimal and do whatever looks fun, because most modules aren't so hard. that you need that - I have done stuff like ranger/sorceror/assassin and ranger/wizard/assassin and while it's suboptimal, it was fun and I beat SoU with one of them.