Avowed: Best Ranger abilities

Building a Ranger in Avowed?Flora and fauna abound in the Living Lands, the setting of Avowed, and it makes sense that the Ranger was chosen as one of the game's core three classes. Yet Rangers in Avowed have a bit more going for them than you might expect based on other RPGs - while it's totally possible to create a standard bow user who fires from the bushes, you can also dual wield flintlocks and utilise skills more traditionally associated with a rogue or thief class.

Below, we've highlighted 10 of the best Ranger abilities that are appropriate for a fully-fledged defender of nature or for supplementing a multiclass build.

Avowed: Best Ranger abilities

Here are the best Ranger abilities in Avowed:

• Survivalist
• Steady Aim
• Evasive
• Shadowing Beyond
• Finesse
• Marksmanship
• Critical Strike
• Sniper
• Flurry of Blows
• Staggering Shot

Most of these skills are passives that amplify the Ranger's damage with both melee and ranged weapons, though there are a few picks that highlight speedy and sneaky tactics on the battlefield. Once again, if you're familiar with other RPGs, it really helps to think of Avowed's take on this class as a ranger/rogue hybrid. If dexterity is your jam, in other words, be sure to invest in some of the Ranger's abilities.

Survivalist

Survivalist (Level 1) is a nice little ability that helps when consuming food, increasing Health and Essence regeneration as well as any bonus effects by 20%. You should always be cooking foods at a party camp and looting everything you can for ingredients, as we noted in our Avowed beginner's guide. At Rank 2 and Rank 3, you'll unlock recipes for better healing and buffing foods, respectively.

Steady Aim

Steady Aim (Level 1) lets you slow down time by 25% whenever you're readying a Power Attack with a bow or a gun. This is a vital ability for lining up headshots when you're sneaking on foes, and in the throes of combat, it's a great aid for dodging out of the way and firing into the critical areas of say, a bear or a skeleton. Also, slowing down time when you're shooting remains as cool as it was back in the days of The Matrix. At Rank 2, you can slow time by 50%, and at Rank 3, 75%.

Evasive

Evasive (Level 1) reduces the Stamina cost of dodging by 25%, and is an all-around handy skill for both Rangers and Fighters who are often in the thick of things and searching for additional agility. At Rank 2, you can reduce Stamina cost by 35%, and at Rank 3, by 50%.

Shadowing Beyond

Shadowing Beyond (Level 5, 40 Essence, 15 second cooldown) lets your Ranger turn invisible and sneak around like a true assassin. Essence will be drained until your next combat action, but when combined with the Godlike ability Divine Thorn (which lets you unleash huge damage via a stealth attack), this is an extremely potent skill. Generally, stealth in Avowed takes more effort than just running into battle with guns blazing, but it pays to pick off enemies one-by-one with Shadowing Beyond before mobs come dashing your way. At Rank 2, you'll gain increased stealth attack damage and move speed while invisible, and Rank 3 reduces your Essence drain.

Finesse

Finesse (Level 5) amplifies damage with one-handed melee weapons by 25% and is a valuable ability for any class who isn't reliant on two-handed attacks. After stumbling upon a cool magic dagger early on, I've chosen daggers as my primary melee weapon throughout Avowed, and Finesse has really done a lot to make those little blades hit hard. Rank 2 increases damage by 40% and Rank 3 by 50%.

Marksmanship

Marksmanship (Level 5) is the ranged sibling of Finesse and a no-brainer if you're regularly using any sort of long-distance weapon. It increases damage with bows and guns by 25%. At Rank 2, that increase jumps up to 40%, and at Rank 3, it continues to increase to 50%.

Critical Strike

Critical Strike (Level 15) boosts your chance of getting a critical hit by 10%. I mentioned daggers before, and they're one of Avowed's weapon types that really rely on crits to make up for relatively low damage. So Critical Strike has obviously been one of my favourite abilities, but it's a good shout for anyone who likes seeing big numbers pop up in combat. At Rank 2, you can increase your crit chance by 15%, and at Rank 3, by 20%.

Sniper

Sniper (Level 15) is useful if you're combo'ing it with Shadowing Beyond, as it increases ranged weapon damage against unaware enemies by 25%. While it's pretty hard to take out an entire encampment of enemies with sniper strikes (they generally become alert very fast once someone dies), this is still a fine ability for thinning out mobs before the fighting really starts. At Rank 2, damage goes up by 25%, and at Rank 3, it increases to 40%.

Flurry of Blows

Flurry of Blows (Level 20, 70 Essence, 10 second duration, 25 second cooldown) is usually associated with the RPG monk class, but Avowed's given it to Rangers. Interesting! While different from the norm, it's a good ability worth the Level 20 requirement, as it gives you maximum attack speed, rapid Stamina regeneration, and an all-around movement boost for 10 seconds, letting you really embrace the role of a hyper mobile Ranger who's shooting everyone at the speed of light. At Rank 2, you can lifesteal every time you hit as long as this skill is active, and Rank 3 increases the duration of Flurry of Blows by 5 seconds.

Staggering Shot

Staggering Shot (Level 20) makes your Power Attacks with bows and guns deal +40% stun, and it's the most reliable way to render an opponent dead in their tracks that I've found in the game thus far. There's nothing quite like hearing that boom as your flintlock delivers a mighty headshot, and at Rank 2, you can amp the stun up to 20%. At Rank 3, it goes to a staggering 90%. Nice!

That finishes our look at the best Ranger abilities in Avowed - be sure to take a peek at our best Wizard abilities and best Fighter abilities guides as well. For more on adventuring across the Living Lands, check out our Avowed beginner's guide and our guide on all Avowed Treasure Maps. If you'd rather focus on making your Envoy look good with lots of spiffy equipment - a nice Ranger leather outfit, perhaps - check out our guide on how to transmogrify.