Once upon a time, someone decided that the objective of rangers should be racism. That person obviously no longer designs RPGs, between PF2 and the latest Unearthed Arcana class updates for 5e, and we’re all the better for it. Rangers in Pathfinder’s second edition are the quintessential hunter before anything else, focusing fire on a single enemy. They also are the only real source for two classic PF1 fighting styles, the two-weapon fighting whirlwind of blades and the archer’s ever increasing supply of dakka, but while those are your primary build paths, there’s plenty outside of that to love about the ranger. So, shall we get started?

Ratings Guide

We’ll be using a star rating system instead of colors, partly for the colorblind folks at home and partly because you don’t realize what a pain color coding every single rated option is until you’ve written a guide yourself.

Five Star (*****) Always a good choice, no matter what your build is. The rarest of ratings, these should be your go-to options when you don’t have anything else you need.

Four Star (****) Awesome, but not necessarily for everybody. A four star option is ironically usually going to be higher priority than a five star, because they tend to be core towards specific builds. Pick these up when they match the build you’re going for.

Three Star (***) Pretty decent. If something’s three stars, it generally means it’s not a bad choice, but not quite as impressive as four stars. They’ll be the lower priority choices, things you pick to fill out your feats once you have your core and any five stars you want.

Two Star (**) Aggressively mediocre. Two star options will be things that are just not particularly good, don’t serve much of a purpose, or are weaker than something you can get elsewhere. The difference between this and one star is that it there are still uses for it, and it won’t be a special waste to take.

One Star (*) Flaming garbage. These are trash choices, legitimately do not waste your time with them ever.

Ability Scores

Ranger suffers from a little MADness. You need all your physical stats and probably at least two mentals. How those mentals shake out is… bizarre to say the least.

Strength (***) Your primary ability score if you go melee. If you decide to pass up on the combat style feats and two-hand, then this is your primary. If you’ve gone two-weapon fighting, you should balance Str an

Dexterity (***) For ranged, this is a no brainer, but you still want a decent score if you’re melee for your AC. Bare minimum 14, since you don’t have heavy proficiency.

Constitution (***) Oh look, it’s the Don’t Die stat.

Intelligence (**) Probably the weakest choice for any build, but you still want a little for Outwit.

Wisdom (***) This is going to be your most likely tertiary for Flurry or Precision, since you’re designed to fill a Survival/Nature/Perception niche.

Charisma (***) If you go into Outwit, this is arguably a secondary stat, since you’ll want to be using Deception or Intimidation.

See what I mean about the MADness? Basically as a ranger your ideal level 1 spread is going to be a 16 in Str or Dex, 14 in the other one, and 12-14 in Con and two of Int, Wis or Cha. If you want to leave two of the mentals in the dirt instead, that’ll get your hit stat to 18 and free up another boost somewhere in the build.

Chassis

Ranger is a bit in the middle ground between combat focused and skill focused, with features splitting roughly down the middle. Below the set class features we have your Hunter’s Edge, the ranger’s subclass which effectively determines its mechanical benefits in most combats.

Key Ability Boost (****): Exactly where we want it. Pop it in your to-hit stat and get rolling.

HP (****) 10+Con is the best you can hope for without being a barbarian.

Perception (*****) You start out at expert and are one of two classes that hits legendary, making you a top tier Perception person.

Fortitude (****) Starting at expert and rising to master is tech.

Reflex (*****) The best Reflex progression you can hope for.

Will (**) You don’t go above Expert, which is sad.

Weapons (***) Trained in martial weapons with a fairly average martial progression.

Armor (***) Same but medium armor and lower.

Skills (****) Collective total of 8+Int (counting your background lore) is a solid basis, especially since Int is gonna be the least likely investment you have.

Hunt Prey (****) The primary engine of your class, you pick an enemy, hunt them, and all your stuff now works on that person. It’s a bit annoying to burn an action per enemy every combat just turning on but it’s not much worse than fighter or monk stance and.

Trackless Step (**) One of the weaker “always doing this activity” abilities, more of a ribbon than anything.

Nature’s Edge (***) A solid situational buff that you can even set up for yourself.

Wild Stride (***) Disregarding difficult terrain is good, and that it’s not tied to nature is even better.

Masterful Hunter (***) An upgrade to Hunt Prey is absolutely welcome.

Swift Prey (****) Really late entry, but I’ll never not promote better action economy.

Hunter’s Edge

Flurry (****) Probably the best of the lot, flurry edge puts your accuracy over a large number of attacks on par with the fighter’s higher weapon proficiency and even outstrips it with Masterful Hunter, although it does encourage the Full Attack mentality.

Precision (***) Encourages mobile combat and the preferred choice of crossbow rangers, if you hate yourself that much. It’s also better for most animal companions, as you effectively get to proc it twice per turn.

Outwit (***) A floating +2 bonus is huge, giving you more benefit for using these skills to create openings for yourself. The edge of choice for a two-handed ranger.

Ancestries

Ancestries are somewhat flexible but naturally, we’re going to be looking for our key ability scores. Dexterity or Strength is our priority for the physical and Wisdom is priority for the mental. If we have one of those, great, if not that’s unfortunate. Beyond that, we’re just going to be looking at the relative strength of various feats, as rangers can make just about any ability scores work.

Dwarf

Hit Points (****) Best ancestry hp in the game.

Speed (**) Sadly, worst speed in the game.

Ability Boosts/Flaws (***) Boosts to two secondary scores is good, penalty to Cha means you’re probably not going Outwit but that’s okay.

Darkvision (****) I for one would rather see in the dark than not.

Clan Dagger (***) You start with a free weapon, a clan dagger, which is handy for TWF rangers because it’s the only one-handed parry weapon.

Heritages

Ancient-Blooded Dwarf (***) Gives you a solid reaction.

Death Warden Dwarf (****) Necromancy effects are nasty, particularly two-action harm.

Forge Dwarf (***) Fire resistance is probably the best energy resistance you can ask for.

Rock Dwarf (**) Very situational sort of bonus.

Strong-Blooded Dwarf (****) Flip the bird to poison.

Anvil Dwarf (LOCG) (**) Very specific to “I want to be a crafter.”

Elemental Heart Dwarf (LOCG) (***) Indiscriminate and very limited use, but can be a handy emergency button.

Oathkeeper Dwarf (LOCG) (**) Limited use and the fact that it’s a circumstance bonus will make it redundant most of the time.

1st Level Feats

Dwarven Lore (**) A few free trained skill ranks, meh.

Dwarven Weapon Familiarity (**) You already have all martial weapons, and the advanced dwarf weapons aren’t particularly synergistic for you.

Rock Runner (*) You get the first half of this for free, and the latter half can be from a skill feat instead.

Stonecunning (****) Free Perception checks are good, as is a frequently applicable +2 on your phenomenal Perception abilities.

Unburdened Iron (**) You should have medium armor at most, making this just a safeguard against other slowing effects.

Vengeful Hatred (**) Only if you know you’re fighting primarily an applicable group. It should be noted that there are plenty of ways to get a circumstance bonus to damage, including a few in class.

Avenge In Glory (LOCG) (***) Something I’ve noticed is that people go down very frequently, so this is a fairly reliable boost. Or that might just be because I’m incapable as a GM of rolling below a natural 15. Who knows?

Clan’s Edge (LOCG) (***) Do a Twin Takedown into Clan’s Edge and you’re getting four strikes and a parry for three actions. Only problem is you can’t have both targets hunted until relatively late.

Forge-Day’s Rest (LOCG) (*) The problem here is that your party will be on a different sleep schedule from you, and anyone who’s experienced that can tell you how inconvenient it is.

Surface Culture (LOCG) (**) Not terrible but Society isn’t gonna be one of your prioritized skills.

5th Level Feats

Boulder Roll (**) Not very action efficient for you and has a bad prereq, but still very cool.

Dwarven Weapon Cunning (*) You’ve got critical specialization already, albeit only against your hunted prey.

Clan Protector (LOCG) (**) Not especially efficient.

Protective Sheath (LOCG) (***) Maximize your huntable targets and spread out your attacks for maximum efficiency.

Tomb-Watcher’s Glare (LOCG) (**) Only valuable if you fight a lot of undead and even then, it only applies on a crit.

9th Level Feats

Mountain’s Stoutness (***) More hp means less dying, as does the massive reduction to recovery checks.

Stonewalker (***) A decent upgrade for Stonecunning.

Battleforger (LOCG) (*) It’s 9th level how do you not already have +1 potency runes for your weapon and armor?

Energy Blessed (LOCG) (***) More dangerous since it’s still indiscriminate, but it massively increases the damage output of your heritage.

Heroes’ Call (LOCG) (****) A free heroism once per day that also gives healing while low is *chef’s kiss*

Kneel For No God (LOCG) (****) Noping an entire tradition of magic, fantastic.

13th Level Feats

Dwarven Weapon Expertise (*) Remember fighter? Yeah we’re back here.

Overall: Dwarf has unique synergies with two-weapon flurry ranger and the Stonecunning stuff, making it a solid pickup. Three stars (***).

Elf

Hit Points (**) So frail, so painful.

Speed (****) But so fast as well.

Ability Boosts/Flaws (***) Dex is great, Int is only really good for Outwit, and a Con penalty sucks. We’re probably going archer as an elf.

Low-light Vision (***) Not as good as darkvision, not as bad as no vision at all.

Heritages

Arctic Elf (***) Resistances will usually get 3 stars.

Cavern Elf (***) Darkvision darkvision what do you see? Everything in this room because it’s dark.

Seer Elf (**) I’m not a big fan of detect magic and I don’t think it’s worthwhile for a heritage.

Whisper Elf (***) A 30’ cone will usually be enough, but the 60’ can be handy and the bonus puts it over the top.

Woodland Elf (**) A situationally useful climb speed and more ability to use an action I’ve never seen someone use to begin with.

Ancient Elf (LOCG) (***) As valuable as the multiclass dedication you want and how much you value your 2nd level feat over it.

Desert Elf (LOCG) (***) As I said.

1st Level Feats

Ancestral Longevity (***) You’ll usually have all the trained skills you need, but having a floating, flexible one is great, especially with the stuff that builds off of this.

Elven Lore (**) More free trained ranks we don’t need.

Elven Weapon Familiarity (*) Until the thorn and leaf blades come back, here this will remain.

Forlorn (***) Sort of a soft master Will.

Nimble Elf (****) Feel that need? It’s the need for even more speed.

Otherworldly Magic (****) A good way to pick up shield.

Unwavering Mien (**) Basically makes you immune to lower level sleep effects, since those are typically incapacitation, but that’s very specific. Forlorn is better in my view.

Elemental Wrath (LOCG) (**) Not a bad ranged backup, but not great either.

Elven Verve (LOCG) (***) All of these conditions suck, so naturally anything that helps prevent them is solid.

Share Thoughts (LOCG) (**) A decent innate spell but the elf-only limitation is terrible.

Wildborn Magic (LOCG) (***) Get a little of that casting ranger flavor back from PF1. Guidance is a really strong choice here.

Woodcraft (LOCG) (**) Terrain limited, but it makes tracking much easier and that’s kind of, like, your thing.

5th Level Feats

Ageless Patience (***) The bonus is nice but not stellar (circumstance bonuses are a dime a dozen after all), but the real benefit is being able to avoid critically failing on basically anything out of combat, particularly Recall Knowledge.

Elven Weapon Elegance (*) Boo, things we already get.

Defiance Unto Death (LOCG) (****) The difference between controlled or confused and paralyzed is that you’re not attacking your allies, and the difference between fleeing and paralyzed is that you don’t have to waste another turn running back.

Elven Instincts (LOCG) (***) This is effectively a +3 bonus, because of the thing with tying.

Forest Stealth (LOCG) (**) Some synergy with your other abilities, but of course, it’s limited by your usual terrain.

Wildborn Adept (LOCG) (**) Tanglefoot is the best of these, where disrupt undead is kind of mediocre for you and dancing lights has no combat utility compared to light.

9th Level Feats

Elf Step (***) I’m a fan of more mobility.

Expert Longevity (***) Even better than Ancestral, since you aren’t swimming in an abundance of expert skills.

Brightness Seeker (LOCG) (***) Augury is cool, and I’m always on board for abilities that reward raising a middle finger towards fate.

Sense Thoughts (LOCG) (***) A very good innate spell marred only by a terrible prerequisite.

13th Level Feats

Elven Weapon Expertise (*) Boooooooo.

Universal Longevity (***) Even more skill flexibility.

Wandering Heart (LOCG) (**) The problem here is that you may not actually want to shift so flexibly, if you’ve come to count on a resistance or darkvision.

Overall: Very dexterous and fast combined with a solid selection of feats means elves make for naturally good rangers. Just be mindful of the squish. Three stars (***).

Gnome

Hit Points (***) Very much average.

Speed (***) Also very average.

Ability Boosts/Flaws (**) Con is okay but not great when paired with Cha, which is only really useful for Outwit, and then on top of that a penalty to our damage stat.

Low-light Vision (***) Better than nothing.

Heritages

Chameleon Gnome (**) Flavorful, but circumstance bonuses aren’t terribly great (particularly if you’re Outwit).

Fey-Touched Gnome (***) Free cantrips are good. I recommend guidance.

Sensate Gnome (****) There are very few ways to get a sense like this, and it’ll absolutely come in handy.

Umbral Gnome (***) Darkvision good.

Wellspring Gnome (***) Your alternative source of a cantrip if you wanted shield or, like, stabilize.

Vivacious Gnome (LOCG) (****) Negative energy resistance gives you defense against what I consider the most dangerous single target blast in the game, and defense against the most terrifying condition in the game is a nice cherry.

1st Level Feats

Animal Accomplice (**) Familiars are most useful for casters, which you are not.

Burrow Elocutionist (**) Talking to animals is cool, but the limitation means it won’t come up a lot, and when it does they probably won’t have that much information.

Fey Fellowship (**) Campaign dependent, obviously most useful if you deal with a lot of fey. Which, uh. Don’t.

First World Magic (***) Another potential source of cantrips.

Gnome Obsession (***) While Lores are very specific, you can pick something based on the campaign, and the autoscaling will be really helpful.

Gnome Weapon Familiarity (**) Unlike other weapon familiarities, I’m not halfhearted about two instead of one stars, because the flickmace and kukri are actually really good weapons.

Illusion Sense (***) Flip the bird to an entire school of magic.

Gnome Polyglot (LOCG) (**) How much do you need new languages?

Grim Insight (LOCG) (***) On its own no-selling Shaken 1 at best isn’t necessarily worth a feat, but a free flat-footed puts it over the top.

Inventive Offensive (LOCG) (*) God this is so theoretically cool but in practice the action economy is just absolutely awful.

Life-Giving Magic (LOCG) (***) A relatively frequently applied boost of hp, hell yes.

Natural Performer (LOCG) (*) An ancestry feat is not worth trading for Performance of all things, even with the extra skill feat.

Theoretical Acumen (LOCG) (***) Synergizes well with a Monster Hunting Outwit ranger, at least as far as saves.

Unexpected Shift (LOCG) (**) It wouldn’t be terrible, except that dazzled is a terrible condition for someone who wants to be attacking.

Vibrant Display (LOCG) (***) Very cool synergy for an Outwit ranger.

5th Level Feats

Animal Elocutionist (***) Theeeeere we go, now we can be a true Disney Princess.

Energized Font (**) You don’t have Focus innately, so unless you archetype it’s useless. Note: this may change, as the devs have suggested non-core Ranger focus powers in the future.

Gnome Weapon Innovator (*) Moving on, nothing to see here.

Eclectic Obsession (LOCG) (***) I speak from experience, the ability to just pull a Lore skill out of nowhere is dumb.

Intuitive Illusions (LOCG) (*) You did not, in fact, spontaneously turn into a caster.

Natural Illusionist (LOCG) (***) Very handy innate spells, particularly since they actually scale.

9th Level Feats

First World Adept (****) Very handy innate spells. Both will be useful to any ranger.

Vivacious Conduit (***) I always support efficient sources of healing.

Fortuitous Shift (***) A fantastic upgrade to Unexpected Shift that makes it more generally useable.

13th Level Feats

Gnome Weapon Expertise (*) Bored now.

Overall: Gnome is the best option for playing a pseudo-caster type, with its massive collection of innate spell options, but otherwise they’re held back by mediocre ability scores. Three stars (***).

Goblins

Hit Points (**) So frail, much suffer.

Speed (***) Still average.

Ability Boosts/Flaws (***) Dexterity is great, but Charisma isn’t amazing and Wisdom penalty hurts.

Darkvision (****) Protection from stubbing your toe when you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Heritages

Charhide Goblin (****) The best fire resistance heritage, because it gives you something else very useful.

Irongut Goblin (***) No one thing really stands out, but it’s a lot of little useful things.

Razortooth Goblin (**) You’ve got better weapon options and unarmed attacks don’t synergize with your class feats.

Snow Goblin (***) Yay resistances.

Unbreakable Goblin (****) No longer frail, less suffer.

Tailed Goblin (LOCG) (***) Another bunch of little bonuses, and also it’s so cute.

Treedweller Goblin (LOCG) (**) Campaign dependent, specifically on the time you spend in forests.

1st Level Feats

Burn It! (*) You don’t really have sources of fire, which is of course sad, because you’re a goblin.

City Scavenger (**) Campaign dependent but being able to better subsist or use Survival to earn income is solid if you’re spending a lot of time in a city.

Goblin Lore (**) It’s an ancestry lore skill.

Goblin Scuttle (***) A delightful reaction that will help set up flank or other good positioning stuff.

Goblin Song (**) Not terrible but not really meant for you.

Goblin Weapon Familiarity (*) Neither the dogslicer nor the horsechopper are even kinda worth it.

Junk Tinker (*) Honestly neither benefit is remotely worthwhile.

Rough Rider (*) You don’t need the Ride feat and you’re not limited to mounts.

Very Sneaky (***) Stealth ranger can make good use of this.

Bouncy Goblin (LOCG) (**) A bonus to repositioning but that’s about it.

Fang Sharpener (LOCG) (**) You’re still not really meant for unarmed.

Hard Tail (LOCG) (**) Did I stutter or something?

5th Level Feats

Goblin Weapon Frenzy (*) This got old a guide and a half ago.

Ankle Bite (LOCG) (**) A decent reaction but only if you’ve decided to disregard my advice and invest in unarmed combat.

Chosen of Lamashtu (LOCG) (***) Goblin heritages are amazing, once you get past the prereq.

Tail Spin (LOCG) (***) The main reason to take Hard Tail tbh.

Torch Goblin (LOCG) (***) I love this feat with all my soul. Be a flurry ranger, set yourself on fire and add some extra static to your endless cacophony of attacks.

Tree Climber (LOCG) (***) More speed types are nice.

9th Level Feats

Cave Climber (***) As Tree Climber, and they stack nicely too.

Skittering Scuttle (***) More mobility out of Scuttle.

Freeze It! (LOCG) (****) God I love goblins so much. A spammable multitarget debuff is fantastic, especially for Precision landing that single attack.

Hungry Goblin (LOCG) (**) Only applies on a crit unless you grabbed a Wounding rune for your handwraps.

Roll With It (LOCG) (**) Fun in theory, in practice you’re handing your enemies AoOs and the ability to reposition you however they want on a silver platter.

Scalding Spit (LOCG) (**) Not a terrible backup ranged weapon but not great.

13th Level Feats

Goblin Weapon Expertise (*) Bleh.

Very, Very Sneaky (***) Stealth ranger can make very good use of this.

Unbreakable-er Goblin (LOCG) (***) I’ll never put down more hp, and the combo with Bouncy is… well it’s just fantastic to be honest.

Overall: A lot of the feats are mechanically mediocre, but goblins are just so god damned fun and there’s enough redeeming to call it a three star (***) ancestry.

Halflings

Hit Points (**) Make it stop, make the low starting hp stop.

Speed (***) Never not gonna be average.

Ability Boosts/Flaws (****) Dexterity and Wisdom are ideal boosts, although we hate to see Strength go.

Keen Eyes (***) Really good generally, arguably better than low-light.

Heritages

Gutsy Halfling (***) Emotion effects are a wide range.

Hillock Halfling (***) I support both more efficient healing and snacks.

Nomadic Halfling (**) Value depends on how much you need more languages.

Twilight Halfling (****) You mean I can have both keen eyes and low-light vision? Sold!

Wildwood Halfling (*) You literally already get this.

Observant Halfling (**) The bonus only applying to your DC when you’ve already got a really strong Perception makes this a weaker option.

1st Level Feats

Distracting Shadows (***) A handy tool for stealthy rangers.

Halfling Lore (**) Hey look it’s another ancestry lore feat.

Halfling Luck (****) Free reroll with a fantastic feat tree is so damn good.

Halfling Weapon Familiarity (**) Sling staff is your pickup here and it’s technically better than crossbows?

Titan Slinger (**) You have to use a bad weapon against a specific enemy and if you’re doing that you might as well take familiarity and a sling staff instead.

Unfettered Halfling (***) No-selling Grab is actually great.

Watchful Halfling (**) Very situational.

Adroit Manipulation (LOCG) (***) Handy if you’re the party lock person.

Innocuous (LOCG) (**) Very specific, but alright if you’re Outwit.

Intuitive Cooperation (LOCG) (**) Aid is pretty bad actually, but this makes it not quite as bad.

Unassuming Dedication (LOCG) (**) Depends on how much downtime you’re getting.

5th Level Feats

Cultural Adaptability (***) About as useful as the ancestry feats you can pick up from it.

Halfling Weapon Trickster (*) Do I even need to say it?

Easily Dismissed (LOCG) (**) Campaign dependent, but decent for an urban game.

Halfling Ingenuity (LOCG) (**) There are technically better ways to get level to untrained, but the +4 helps sell it.

Shared Luck (LOCG) (****) On average quadruple the use cases of your Shared Luck.

9th Level Feats

Guiding Luck (****) Or double it instead. Or do both, this is just a really great feat tree in general.

Irrepressible (***) Goes up to 4 for a Gutsy halfling.

Cunning Climber (LOCG) (***) More move speed types are solid.

Fade Away (LOCG) (***) Invisibility is great, misdirection is alright.

Helpful Halfling (LOCG) (**) No. Crit only. Bad.

13th Level Feats

Ceaseless Shadows (***) Handy stealth stuff, and the cover thing is situational but still nice.

Halfling Weapon Expertise (*) Bleh.

Cobble Dancer (LOCG) (***) Difficult terrain is no longer an impediment to you anywhere! Except indoors I guess.

Incredible Luck (LOCG) (*****) I don’t care what else you do, if you’ve taken Halfling Luck you’re taking this at level 13 because it’s insanely good.

Overall: Great boosts and great feats that don’t clash with the rest of your build, a very solid four star (****) ancestry.

Humans

Hit Points (***) Average.

Speed (***) A v e r a g e.

Ability Boosts/Flaws (****) Ah, humans, the most flexible of boosts.

No Special Senses (*) This is discrimination.

Heritages

Half-Elf (*****) This is the best ancestry/heritage combination and you cannot convince me otherwise. You get access to amazing feats on both sides and bump up to low-light vision, it’s beautiful.

Half-Orc (****) Not as good as half-elf, but still pretty fantastic.

Skilled Heritage (*) Compared to the other options you have, two skill ranks is a terrible choice.

Versatile Heritage (****) You only get so many general feats, and if you take Adopted Ancestry it’s like half-elf or half-orc on crack (but without special eyes).

Wintertouched Human (***) Resistances are good as usual.

1st Level Human Feats

Adapted Cantrip (*) Okay gang, what aren’t you?

Cooperative Nature (**) Aid Another is pretty bad, although a +4 circumstance bonus helps it a lot.

General Training (***) Pretty much as Versatile Heritage.

Haughty Obstinancy (***) A little less general than most similar ancestry feats, but the specific effects it applies to are things you don’t want to be hit with.

Natural Ambition (****) You’ve got a lot of good options for first level feats that don’t clash with each other.

Natural Skill (**) This is technically worse than ancestral Lore skills.

Unconventional Weaponry (**) About as useful as the uncommon weapon you want access to.

Arcane Tattoos (LOCG) (***) Of these shield and electric arc are the best options for you.

Courteous Comeback (LOCG) (**) If you’re a face type it’s useful.

Devil’s Advocate (LOCG) (**) Campaign dependent.

Dragon Spit (LOCG) (***) A good damage cantrip is handy for the melee ranger who doesn’t want to have to swap weapons.

Gloomseer (LOCG) (***) Oh blessed special eyes.

Keep Up Appearances (LOCG) (***) A really cool trick you can use to make enemies let their guard down or waste actions trying to use things they can’t on you.

Know Oneself (LOCG) (***) Or the flipside, you can instead prevent yourself from getting completely screwed.

Quah Bond (LOCG) (***) Assurance in Medicine is actually really good, and the others aren’t bad choices either.

Saoc Astrology (LOCG) (***) A nifty way to get some extra skill bonuses, although the action cost means it’s less useful in combat than out.

Tupilaq Carver (LOCG) (*) You are still not a caster.

Viking Shieldbearer (LOCG) (**) If you want to go Shield Ranger here’s a more flavorful way to get Shield Block than General Training I guess?

Witch Warden (LOCG) (**) Very, very situational, but if you encounter curses, witches and/or hags a lot then by all means.

1st Level Half-Elf Feats

Elf Atavism (***) As good at the heritage you pick up with it.

Round Ears (LOCG) (**) Only valuable if being a half-elf is bad which is very much character dependent.

Sociable (LOCG) (**) Face feat, no more no less.

1st Level Half-Orc Feats

Monstrous Peacemaker (**) Obviously not as useful in a party of murderhobos or if you aren’t the face, but sometimes it’s nice to talk to the giant intelligent spider instead of killing it.

Orc Ferocity (***) A very good reaction for not dying.

Orc Sight (***) Have we not established this yet? Darkvision good.

Orc Superstition (***) A very good reaction for not getting nuked by a spellcaster.

Orc Weapon Familiarity (*) You get nothing out of this.

Overlooked Mastermind (LOCG) (**) The bonus is situational and doesn’t stack with your Hunt Prey bonus on an Outwit ranger.

Tusks (LOCG) (**) Unarmed attacks, rangers, no synergy.

5th Level Human Feats

Adaptive Adept (*) Still not a caster.

Clever Improviser (***) Congratulations, you’re now basically trained in everything.

Darkseer (LOCG) (***) Even more special eyes.

Ornate Tattoo (LOCG) (***) A little more innate magic for you.

Wavetouched Paragon (LOCG) (**) How often do you find yourself in the water?

5th Level Half-Elf Feats

Inspire Imitation (**) Dependent on critically succeeding, which, yeah no.

Supernatural Charm (***) A free charm every day can open a lot of doors.

5th Level Half-Orc Feats

Orc Weapon Carnage (*) Still nothing.

Victorious Vigor (**) It’s a very small amount of temp hp and there are better reaction options out there.

9th Level Human Feats

Cooperative Soul (***) If you really want to Aid Another a lot, here’s the tool to do so.

Incredible Improvisation (***) Basically turn yourself into an expert in any untrained skill, not bad.

Multitalented (***) As valuable as the multiclass you want at this point.

Dragon Prince (LOCG) (***) A very decent backup option. As I write this season 3 just came out and I’m frothing at the mouth to hit this deadline so I can relax and watch it.

Heir of the Saoc (LOCG) (***) A really nice buff to Saoc Astrology.

Shory Aeromancer (LOCG) (***) Wizard being selfish and insisting on “casting control spells” and “spending actions defeating the boss?” Well now you don’t have to rely on them for flight.

Virtue-Forged Tattoos (LOCG) (***) So many great options to choose from here.

9th Level Half-Orc Feats

Pervasive Superstition (***) The only thing better than a reaction to get bonuses to saves is to just have bonuses to saves.

13th Level Human Feats

Unconventional Expertise (*) Are we done yet?

Irriseni Ice-Witch (LOCG) (***) The buff to resistance and innate spell are nice, although said resistance isn’t necessarily worth a feat unless you fight a lot of cold stuff.

Shadow Pact (LOCG) (**) About as useful as you can get use out of creation.

Shory Aerialist (LOCG) (**) Not the best followup.

13th Level Half-Orc Feats

Incredible Ferocity (***) Ferocity was already good and now we can use it even more often. But uh, please do keep your medic on hand to clear that Wounded condition inbetween.

Orc Weapon Expertise (*) Noooooope.

Overall: With the sheer breadth of options relative to other ancestries, most of them rated highly, it should come as no surprise that humans get a solid five stars (*****).

Hobgoblins (LOCG)

Hit Points (***) Did someone say “average?”

Speed (***) I think they did.

Ability Boosts/Flaws (**) Con good, Int meh, Wis bad.

Darkvision (****) Yay seeing in darkness.

Heritages

Elfbane Hobgoblin (****) Grabbing a reaction off your heritage is great, this is a great reaction in general, and the bonus against arcane is a lovely cherry.

Runtboss Hobgoblin (**) Group Coercion isn’t bad but the other half isn’t particularly helpful to a PC unless you have to Coerce a lot of goblins.

Smokeworker Hobgoblin (***) Yay resistances.

Warmarch Hobgoblin (**) The goal is not to fail.

Warrenbred Hobgoblin (**) Situational bonus and it’s not as good as the massive increase that whisper elves get.

1st Level Feats

Alchemical Scholar (**) Snare ranger might find this interesting, since they’re crafting anyway.

Hobgoblin Lore (**) Oh look it’s an ancestry lore.

Hobgoblin Weapon Familiarity (*) Someday I’m gonna write a guide for a class that isn’t trained in all martial and then I’ll show you how good this is.

Leech-Clipper (***) I’m not normally fond of things that only act on a crit but this an exception, since it applies on attacks you want to do anyway and with Quick Draw losing your weapon isn’t as inconvenient.

Remorseless Lash (***) Outwit ranger gets hella mileage here.

Vigorous Health (***) Drained sucks, so a 20% chance to just no-sell it is good.

5th Level Feats

Agonizing Rebuke (***) Really nice synergy with Remorseless Lash and Outwit.

Expert Drill Sergeant (***) Very handy if your friends Follow the Expert a lot.

Formation Training (*) It’d be two stars if I thought an all-hobgoblin party was realistic, but it’s not.

Hobgoblin Weapon Discipline (*) Sigh.

9th Level Feats

Pride In Arms (**) This wasn’t good when half-orcs could do it, why would it be good now?

13th Level Feats

Formation Master (**) Marginally better, but we had to take two feats to get here and the first one sucks.

Hobgoblin Weapon Expertise (*) Still meh.

Overall: Definitely has a place and some good synergies, but still not great. Better luck next month, hobby. Two stars (**).

Leshies (LOCG)

Hit Points (***) I prefer a small race that doesn’t get knocked over by a stiff wind.

Speed (***) Yada yada

Ability Boosts/Flaws (***) Much like dwarves, very close to ideal but not quite there.

Low-Light Vision (***) Once again, better than nothing.

Plant Nourishment (***) Basically, you don’t have to spend money on food unless you expect to be underground a lot, at which point you’ll probably be making up the cost. Still, it’s fun, and it’s free.

Heritages

Fungus Leshy (***) Your requisite special eyes upgrade.

Gourd Leshy (***) An alternative to Quick Draw, or just because you want to be a pumpkin.

Leaf Leshy (**) Good, not great.

Vine Leshy (***) Makes you good at climbing, which is handy.

1st Level Feats

Grasping Reach (***) You’re not really built for two-hand synergy, but if you do go that route then here’s your feat of choice.

Harmlessly Cute (**) Good for a face.

Leshy Lore (**) Still an ancestral Lore.

Leshy Superstition (***) As usual.

Seedpod (**) Not a bad backup ranged weapon, but not great either.

Shadow of the Wilds (**) Situationally useful.

Undaunted (***) Protecting self against emotion effects, always gonna be good.

5th Level Feats

Leshy Glide (**) It’s not flying, it’s falling with style.

Ritual Reversion (**) Occasionally useful, but probably not often.

Speak with Kindred (****) Be the Lorax, speak with the trees. Wanna know what trees see? Everything.

9th Level Feats

Bark and Tendril (**) If only barkskin weren’t bad.

Lucky Keepsake (***) Much like Pervasive Superstition.

Solar Rejuvenation (***) I’m always a fan of free healing.

Overall: A lot of really solid options, but nothing I’d call especially noteworthy for a ranger. Three stars (***)

Lizardfolk

Hit Points (***) I don’t even know why I’m commenting on the average stuff anymore.

Speed (***) This is the last time, future ancestries don’t get commentary on hp and speed.

Ability Boosts/Flaws (****) The only way this is more ideal is with Dex instead of Str.

No Special Senses (*) Might as well wear glasses and declare yourself blind without them.

Claws (**) Cool, but sadly doesn’t synergize well with your combat feats that mostly require “wielding” weapons.

Aquatic Adaptation () A situational bonus, to be sure, but not unwelcome.

Heritages

Cliffscale Lizardfolk (***) Just a nifty kind of bonus.

Frilled Lizardfolk (***) Melee outwit gets a field day here.

Sandstrider Lizardfolk (***) Good old fire resistance.

Unseen Lizardfolk (**) As Chameleon Gnome.

Wetlander Lizardfolk (**) Dependent on how often you need to swim.

1st Level Feats

Lizardfolk Lore (**) Yawn.

Marsh Runner (**) This all sounds like non-magical difficult terrain to me.

Parthenogenic Hatchling (***) Bonuses to disease are cool, y’all.

Razor Claws (**) Still not really synergistic.

Reptile Speaker (***) Is it as cool as speaking to trees or all animals, no, but it’s still handy.

Sharp Fangs (**) As the claws.

Tail Whip (**) As the tail.

5th Level Feats

Envenom Fangs (**) I’m sticking to my guns on this.

Gecko’s Grip (***) Better living through climbing.

Iruxi Unarmed Cunning (*) Even if you do go natural attacks, that doesn’t change what we’ve said all this time.

Shed Tail (***) A very handy reaction, although you do have a week-long cooldown on it.

Swift Swimmer (**) As Wetlander.

9th Level Feats

Terrain Advantage (*) You just got this for free man.

13th Level Feats

Iruxi Unarmed Expertise (*) Nah fam.

Overall: Lizardfolk are cool but their entire thing is kind of natural attacks, and while I’m not saying you can’t go that route, I’m just saying it doesn’t especially synergize with rangers. Two stars (**).

Skills and General/Skill Feats

Still playing around with formatting here. PF2’s skill system is, of course, designed so that any character can cover any skill, but ability score priority will naturally lead to different priority choices. Here’s a general evaluation of how each skill might best apply to you as a ranger, and the skill feats you should look at to complement them.

Acrobatics (****) You’re heavily incentivized towards Dex, and it’s a very useful skill.

Arcana (***) You’ll want to be at least trained if you go for Monster Hunter.

Athletics (***) A lot of general use here.

Crafting (***) If you go snare crafting you need this, otherwise pass.

Deception (***) An Outwit ranger wants at least one of this and Intimidation.

Diplomacy (**) You can, but not as valuable as the other two face skills.

Intimidation (***) As Deception.

Lore (**) You get a free one, not worth prioritizing.

Medicine (**) You should have decent Wis, but you’re more incentivized to go into Nature and Natural Medicine unless you plan to be the primary healer.

Nature (***) Good Knowledge skill, synergizes with your ability scores, and offers a variety of use.

Occultism (**) As Arcana.

Performance (**) Not really your thing unless you’re going Bard.

Religion (***) As Nature but without the variety of use.

Society (**) As Arcana.

Stealth (****) You get bonuses while Hunting your prey and should have a strong Dex score.

Survival (****) The ability to track enemies means the ability to start combat with them hunted, and you have plenty of synergy there.

Thievery (***) With good Dex and good Perception, ranger is one of the more qualified classes for thievery.

So with our favorite skills in mind, let’s take a look at the feats we have available.

1st Level

Additional Lore (**) The autoscaling is good, but unless there’s a very particular subject that’s gonna come up over and over it’s not worth the feat.

Adopted Ancestry (***) About as good as the ancestry feats you want to snipe.

Alchemical Crafting (**) Due to the cost of formulae this is better in the hands of an alchemist than a non-alchemist.

Arcane Sense (*) I don’t personally find detect magic worth investing heavily in and there’s better ways to get cantrips besides.

Armor Proficiency (**) Good until 11th, at which point Medium armor is just as good for you as heavy.

Assurance (***) Very handy for bypassing bad ability scores or just not having to worry about bad rolls on lower level tasks.

Bargain Hunter (**) Bad unless you’ve prioritized Cha heavily and dumped Int, in which case it’s only good if you’re doing a lot of Earn Income during downtime.

Battle Medicine (**) Chances are you’re either going to be on the back lines with a bow, away from people who need healing, or you’ll be dual wielding in which case you lose action efficiency needing to drop the weapon and pick it back up.

Breath Control (**) The bumped success is nice but that’s the only real benefit.

Canny Acumen (*) You pretty quickly hit expert in all 3.

Cat Fall (***) Fall damage sucks.

Charlatan (**) What a weird and specific feat. If you like to pretend you’re a caster then this does technically work, but that makes it very much a flavor choice with little general value.

Charming Liar (**) Crit effect only.

Combat Climber (**) Well how often are you climbing mid-combat?

Courtly Graces (**) If you frequently interact with nobles AND dumped Cha in favor of Int, this isn’t a bad choice.

Diehard (***) Not dying, delightful.

Dubious Knowledge (***) I love it on principle.

Experienced Professional (**) Dependent on the amount of downtime you have.

Experienced Smuggler (**) Value dependent on how often you get frisked.

Experienced Tracker (***) You’re the most likely person to be tracking just about anything.

Fascinating Performance (**) If you want to tank a lot of mooks and invested in Cha and Perform, sure.

Fast Recovery (***) Poison and disease can both be incredibly debilitating, so getting rid of it is good.

Feather Step (**) You already bypass difficult terrain at least a little, making this less valuable for you than most.

Fleet (****) More speed best speed.

Forager (***) By merit of stereotyping you’ll most likely be the one getting food for the party, so unless you’re in an urban campaign where you get all your meals from the tavern this is a good pickup.

Group Coercion (**) Good feat for a Cha Outwit, not so much for anyone else.

Group Impression (**) Same tho.

Hefty Hauler (**) Courtesy of the errata bulk isn’t as much of a problem, just grab your backpack instead.

Hobnobber (**) Face feat, not much else to say.

Impressive Performance (**) Diplomacy is more generally useful than Performance though.

Incredible Initiative (***) Won’t stack with Scout’s Warning, but it’s nice to get that extra boost.

Intimidating Glare (***) If you go for Outwit and Intimidation this is a must-have.

Lengthy Diversion (**) Solid Outwit feat.

Lie To Me (**) Your Perception is probably going to be better than your Deception almost every time.

Multilingual (**) Easiest way to get access to uncommon languages, but obviously only useful if you frequently need a language you don’t have.

Natural Medicine (***) A nice alternative to investing in Medicine if you want to just serve as a backup medic.

Oddity Identification (*) So incredibly niche it’s not even funny.

Pickpocket (***) A useful skill for any Thievery person to pick up.

Quick Coercion (**) Only useful if you frequently need to rush a coercion.

Quick Identification (***) You should have at least one of the magic skills, and quickly identifying magic items means you can use them more quickly.

Quick Jump (***) Jumping is a surprisingly useful skill, especially in a system where flight isn’t cheap or efficient.

Quick Repair (**) You’re probably not a shield guy, so this is less useful for you.

Quick Squeeze (**) Value dependent on the frequency with which you squeeze and even then, meh.

Recognize Spell (**) There’s not much you can do about a spell that’s being cast, but you’ll at least be able to.

Ride (*) If you’re in the business of riding you should probably just get an animal companion.

Shield Block (**) Shield blocking gets expensive so if you take a shield it should just be as an offhand weapon you can use for an AC bonus.

Sign Language (***) Nonverbal communication, very good when stalking prey.

Skill Training (*) You should have plenty of skills trained already.

Snare Crafting (X) You can get this through the class feat, and it’s significantly better that way.

Specialty Crafting (**) Handy if you become the party’s go-to crafter.

Steady Balance (**) As always, depends on how often you need to balance.

Streetwise (***) Society is a more valuable skill for you than Diplomacy here.

Student of the Canon (**) Embarrassing though it is to forget the tenets of your own religion, just think of it as fiction reflecting real life.

Subtle Theft (**) Handy if you Steal a lot of stuff.

Survey Wildlife (***) Very useful, especially for a Monster Hunter since you can potentially get the effect before combat.

Terrain Expertise (**) Pretty much what we said about favored terrain.

Terrain Stalker (***) Now we’re talking. Underbrush will be your most commonly applicable choice, and since you ignore natural difficult terrain you can use this really efficiently.

Titan Wrestler (**) You’re not really a maneuver kind of class.

Toughness (****) I’m running a game for a party and have lost track of the number of times they’ve stayed conscious by less than what they got from Toughness.

Train Animal (**) Not a poor choice if you want a lot of animals for simple tasks, but you can get an animal companion who can do a lot of complex ones so.

Trick Magic Item (***) Very useful if you invest in multiple Know skills.

Underwater Marauder (**) Something something campaign dependent.

Virtuosic Performer (*) Even if you take Performance the specific applications here are… eh.

Weapon Proficiency (**) Because of proficiency scaling this is mostly useful to qualify for archetypes based on advanced weapons.

2nd Level

Automatic Knowledge (*) You have a better method of getting action economy on knowledge with Monster Hunter.

Bonded Animal (*) Did you mean “animal companion?”

Confabulator (**) Can be handy for an Outwit face.

Connections (**) Campaign dependent.

Continual Recovery (**) Essential for the party medic.

Glad-Hand (**) Another decent face feat.

Intimidating Prowess (*) Doesn’t stack with Outwit.

Lasting Coercion (**) Depends on the kinds of things you need to or want to coerce people to do.

Magical Crafting (**) A handy use of downtime if you’re invested in Craft, but of course you need downtime to do it.

Magical Shorthand (*) Do you have a spellbook? Didn’t think so. Even multiclassing it’s not worth the feat.

Mortal Healing (***) Godless Healing isn’t great except boosting your self-healing, but Mortal Healing is ideal for any medic type, provided you don’t have a divine caster in the party.

Nimble Crawl (**) For those occasions when you’re on your back, although come 7th level if it’s a concern you’ll have a better response.

Powerful Leap (***) More jump power is always fun.

Quick Disguise (**) Good if you do a lot of disguising.

Quiet Allies (***) Statistically speaking, rolling one die at the lowest value is better than rolling 4-6 dice at a lot of varying values including the lowest.

Rapid Mantel (**) Can come in handy, but not necessarily often enough to be worth a feat.

Robust Recovery (**) Handy but not essential for the medic.

Unmistakable Lore (**) Useful to avoid misinformation, or, if you’ve got Dubious Knowledge, a guarantee that you’ll always get at least some correct information.

Ward Medic (**) Mandatory for the party medic.

Wary Disarmament (**) The goal is to not set it off.

Eye of the Arclords (LOWG) (**) Useful utility with a bad prerequisite and a bad drawback when it wears off.

Godless Healing (LOWG) (**) Increase self-healing, but not by that much.

Backup Disguise (LOCG) (**) As Quick Disguise but more thematically fun.

Sow Rumor (LOCG) (***) You could make the case as an Outwit ranger that this would count as a Deception check against your prey if you do it right, which is just fun.

3rd Level

Ancestral Paragon (***) As useful as the feat you would grab with it.

Untrained Improvisation (***) Level to untrained is just so damn good it’s not even funny.

7th Level

Battle Cry (***) Action efficiency is good, especially for an Outwit ranger (bonus points if you tracked or spotted the target beforehand and start combat with Hunt Prey up).

Battle Prayer (**) Statistically speaking you’re better off just attacking, even with your third action, so unless you find yourself fighting a lot of enemies with an alignment weakness this is a hard pass from me.

Bizarre Magic (*) Not a caster.

Environmental Grace (**) It’s very campaign dependent how useful this will be, even once you get past the deity requirements.

Evangelize (***) A good choice for an Outwit ranger with a focus in Charisma, this is a decent third action to try and shut down an enemy caster.

Expeditious Search (***) Time efficient.

Foil Senses (***) Can I just say I love that this is an accessible feat now and not just a vigilante thing.

Impeccable Crafting (**) Very valuable if you’re a crafter and not so much if you aren’t.

Inventor (*) Formulae aren’t that expensive that this is particularly worthwhile in my view.

Kip Up (****) Absurdly good, basically makes being tripped a “you’re flatfooted until your turn” at worst.

Numb to Death (***) The rating is assuming you’ve met the prerequisites. Getting knocked down is awful, getting popcorned is even worse. This will help keep you from getting taken immediately back out after being healed, and potentially prevent what I’m finding is the all too common “death by Wounded.”

Planar Survival (**) As Forager but even more campaign dependent.

Quick Climb (**) Less campaign dependent and more GM dependent, how often they include ladders or walls that need to be climbed in combat to reach your enemy.

Quick Recognition (**) As Recognize Spell.

Quick Swim (**) As Quick Climb but with water.

Quick Unlock (**) As Quick Climb but with things needing to be unlocked in combat, which is frankly even more unlikely.

Sacred Defense (*) At level 7 with a maxed out Wisdom score you’re probably looking at a +17 Religion score, which means you need a 13 on the dice or higher. This naturally goes down as you level up, but it’s still an investment of both a feat and an action for a chance at a small amount of temporary Hit Points. The legendary version is a little more worth it but not by much.

Sanctify Water (*) Just absolutely god awful, if you’re going down this road you might as well take Battle Prayer instead for better action economy because they do almost the same thing.

Shameless Request (**) A decent face feat.

Slippery Secrets (**) Another decent face feat, although thematically cooler.

Swift Sneak (***) Handy for stalking prey.

Terrified Retreat (**) Requires a crit and only works on mooks, but when it works it’s pretty cool.

Wall Jump (***) Can’t fly? No problem, just jump straight up the wall.

Entourage (LOCG) (**) Fun, cool, but ultimately inconsequential and doesn’t synergize with your other stuff.

11th Level

Incredibly Investiture (**) As valuable as your need for more magic items.

15th Level

Cloud Jump (***) Jump forever.

Craft Anything (**) You’re unlikely to use this for more than one or two items total.

Divine Guidance (***) There’s something really satisfying about making your GM come up with cryptic poetry to give you a hint, and being able to do that at will as long as you have the time.

Legendary Codebreaker (**) Depends on how often you’re Deciphering Writing.

Legendary Linguist (**) Again, dependent on how often you need to communicate with things you don’t share a language with.

Legendary Medic (**) Another essential one for the party medic.

Legendary Negotiation (**) Cool when it works but very dependent on your GM’s willingness to put up with this BS.

Legendary Performer/Professional (**) Downtime dependent.

Legendary Sneak (****) Master the art of Skyrim Stealth.

Legendary Survivalist (**) Cool as this is, it only really helps if everyone in the party can do it.

Legendary Thief (**) This one’s cool, but you’re probably not going to get much active use out of it.

Scare To Death (***) Be the Outwit ranger and just straight up kill people by looking at them. And, y’know, even if you don’t you still upgrade Demoralize.

Unified Theory (**) Not really that useful for you since it’s not strictly Recall Knowledge but Identify Magic.

Oh no, you’ve reached the end of the post. However will you go on not knowing the thrilling conclusion? Wait, it’s okay, it’s right here.