Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Character Build: Ranger of the Reach

Tags: #Character Build Barbarian  #Character Build Rogue  #Character Build Scout  #Race:Breton  #Rank:Exemplar  #Ranger 
  • Member
    March 9, 2015

    The Ranger of the Reach

    The concept of this build is inspired by the Lord of the Rings Dúnedain Ranger, who utilizes bow, sword, and stealth to win their battles.  The goal was to create a true blend of melee and stealth that allows for more versatility in the gameplay of the build, and to stay true to what I believe is a Lotr style Ranger.  The build is a glass-canon of sorts, with almost no armor and poor weapons, but heavy fortifications that allow for decent amounts of damage and survivability.  In the early stages of the build, I recommend novice or apprentice difficulty until better fortifications are acquired. 

    Lore: Dúnedain Rangers, much like the Reachmen, descended from both man and elven kind.  Similarly, both the Dúnedain and the Reachmen live(d) in the western portions of their homeland, though the Dúnedain were forced to move north when their homeland fell, hence their later name, the Rangers of the North.  This is fitting, as Skyrim is also the northern land of Tamriel, though the Reachmen simply live in the western portion.  Both Dúnedain and the Reachmen have elven blood, and with that, they have inherited certain abilities associated with elven kind.  Both have lost their homes, for the Dúnedain, it was Arnor, but for the Reachmen, it was Marakarth.

    In the 4th era, the Reachmen have had quite the rough-patch in their history.  The Nords have kicked them out of their home, and the Forsworn are seeking to revive a past that best stay dead.  Plundering and murdering villages, communing with Daedra, and serving the Hagraven witches are just a few of the atrocities associated with the Bretons of western Skyrim.  Not all the Reachmen abide by the “old ways,” but the Nords refuse to trust them, treating them as a lesser race, putting them to work in their mines with very little pay.  With the “boot of the Nord” pressing down on their throats, many Reachmen fled to the wilds to become the Forsworn.  Others fled and became something quite different; known as the Rangers of the Reach, or, as they are known in Dragon tounge, the Weruviik, the westerner, these Reachmen became guardians of the Reach.  Formed as a counter-movement to the Forsworn and representing the less dark side of their people, the Weruviik utilize gurrialla warfare and hit-and-run tactics to combat their enemy

    The Build

    Race: Breton (Reachman).  I chose the Breton both for the lore and magic resistance.  Bretons can make great well-rounded characters due to their magical defense.  Dragonskin is always useful for fighting mages and Dragons.

    Stats: 0/1/1 A split between health and stamina seems to work well with light weight, barely armored Ranger.

    Stone: The Thief Stone at early levels for the quick leveling of the sneak skill. Use the Lord Stone, to achieve a total of 50% protection against all magic, as well as near invulnerability with Dragonskin.

    Shouts: Aura Whisper, Throw Voice, Elemental Fury, Disarm, Slow Time.  If you want an enchantment for your sword, replace Elemental Fury with Marked for Death.

    Spells: Muffle, Detect Life

    Potions: Poison of Paralysis (Canis Root, Imp Stool, Mora Tapinella) - Fortify Two-handed - (Dragon's Tounge + Fly Aminita) - Restore Health (Blue Mtn Flower, Blisterwarts or Butterfly Wings) - Fortify Alteration (Grass Pods, Spriggan Sap)

     

    Gameplay: For this build, I intended to make a ranger that truly blends the warrior with stealth tactics. When approaching an enemy encampment, keep a decent enough distance to fire a barrage of arrows without being detected. Instead of trying to kill every enemy with archery, try to get a shot on as many of them as you can. The goal is to weaken groups of enemies before the final strike. The other option is to kill the weaker bandits first which leaves the stronger ones alone and unprotected. The next step (if you have successfully stayed undetected) is to sneak into the encampment and finish off the remaining bandits with your greatsword.  Use Elemental Fury a lot.  I usually only use the first word in order to maintain a short shout delay.  Make use of your large stamina pool when Elemental Fury is not active and bash your opponent every time they try to strike. Keep Fortify Two-handed and Poison of Paralysis potions in your favorites list for those tough encounters with powerful enemies.  This is practically the only way to successfully fight with this build since it lacks decent armor. This is the ideal situation for a fight, but sometimes range is not an option and a sneak attack with a greatsword would make too much noise, effectively leading to your head being lobbed off by a bandit marauder.

    In close quarters situations, it is best to avoid combat altogether.  Utilize the muffle spell before trying to infiltrate or sneak through an area at a decent distance away.  This utilizes the bit of extra magika you have from the Adept Hood, and also replaces the hard-to-find muffle enchantment for your boots if your not lucky enough to find them on your own. If sneaking is not an option, be sure to keep a stock of paralysis poisons on you for crowd control.  This will keep the fight from getting too rough.  Also, I like to keep and iron dagger with fear or paralysis/turn undead enchantments to debilitate crowds of enemies before trying to kill them.  For the best results, use slow time for calculated and quick paralyzing strikes.  While this build is a lone-wolf most of the time, if stealth is not your style, you can always bring along a companion, which will allow you to fight in open combat more often and avoid stealth.  I personally suggest a mage companion with ranged capability, such as Serena or Erandur.

    Skills

    Note: While this build contains both alchemy and enchanting, it is important to mention that these two skills should never be used to bolster each other unless seeking to achieve high levels of difficulty such as expert, master, or legendary. 

    Major

    Archery is one of two primary modes of combat for this build. There is nothing more terrifying than an unseen enemy striking at a distance. Take all perks except the one that paralyzes targets. I believe it is unnecessary since the same effect can be accomplished with Enchanting or Alchemy.

     

    Sneak is very important for the play-style of this character. I've tried to design the build to be able to either completely avoid combat or engage in guerrilla warfare. All perks should be taken except for Assassin's blade, Deadly Aim, and Backstab.

     

    Two-handed greatswords are important for the heavy-hitting, hit-and-run style of this build.  Truthfully, I wanted more of "Bastard Sword," which is essentially a smaller, faster two-handed sword, but Skyrim has no such weapon without mods. Two-handed swords are both powerful and a symbol of fear and status to all your foes. Take all of the perks barring the paralyzation perk and specialization perks that don't belong to the greatsword.

    Minor

    Alchemy is important for keeping a stock of healing potions, which will be very important for this build.  Other potions to consider are paralysis or fear potions for crowd control.  Take all perks barring the Experimenter perks. 

     

     

    Enchanting helps bolster the power of your weapons and armor. Take all perks that amplify the power of enchanting.  Enchanting will provide many options for your weapons.

     

     

    Block is important for the quick reflexes perks.  You can safely ignore every other perk, save for the necessary shield wall perk. 

     

     

    Abilities

    Debilitating Strike

    Requirements: Slow Time + Fortify Alteration Potion + Dagger w/paralysis effect

    Description:  A Ranger quickly pulls a knife with his left hand (right if you are using poison, not a paralyze enchant), and strikes with calculated adrenaline fueled strikes to debilitate his enemy.

    Dragon of the West 

    Requirements: Dragon Infusion + Dragonskin + The Lord Stone

    Description:  With Esbern's Alchemical genius combined with a Reachman's natural resistance towards the magical effects of shouts, the Ranger of the Reach becomes the ultimate Dragon Slayer.

    Flame of the West

    Requirements: Fortify Two-Handed Potion + Elemental Fury

    Description: A Weruviik's strikes become quick and wild.  Each strike is like a whirlwind of fire.   

     

    Armor and Jewelry:

    Adept Hood, Master Robes (Preferably with Alteration Fortify) or Mourner's Robes (Alteration Fort/Magika Regeneration + Alteration Fortification) , Leather Bracers (Two-Handed + Archery), and Leather Boots (Two-Handed + Muffle) is the garb I chose for this build.  I like the aesthetic this set-up adds. Since the build wears clothing and almost no armor, it is possible to run very far without having to devote as much stamina as most ranger builds would.  I personally don't like having an unused enchantment on my armors and clothings; so, obtain the detect life spell for the magika fortification and magika regeneration effects.  It can be useful at times, but be careful not to use it too close to enemies. It creates sound. In Tolkien lore, the Dunedain Rangers of the North are said to have special abilities in hearing and sight; so, this fits with the lore of this build quite well.  Have a Necklace (Fortify Light Armor + Fortify Archery) and Ring (Fortify Light Armor + Fortify Two-Handed).

    Weapons:

    As far as weapons, the most aesthetically accurate options are the Iron Greatsword and Imperial Bow (Paralyze + Damage Magika) or Bow of the Hunt.  They don't do much as far as damage, but I like their simplistic look. I've never been a big fan of the over “fantasized” equipment like the Daedric and Glass bows.  Also, a high damage bow would actually detriment the gameplay of this build (a bow that is always one shot one kill on very powerful targets).  Keep an Iron Dagger (Fear + Turn Undead or Paralysis + Turn Undead) in your inventory as well.  This is more of a debilitating back-up weapon than anything else; it's not to kill, but for crowd control.  If you want to play on Adept difficulty consistently prior to acquiring the proper fortifications, pick up greatswords like the Honed Ancient Nord/Nord Hero Sword, Skyforge Steel, Elven, or other weapons of similar damage.  These weapons have good medium damage range.  The Nord Hero Bow, Honed Ancient Nord Bow, or The Ebony Bow are bows to consider using pre-fortification.

    Roleplay and Questlines

    Guidelines of a Weruviik Ranger:

    Fight for your home-land first and foremost, but do not refrain from protecting other holds and races.

    Seek to halt the activities of the Forsworn with any means necessary.  Utilize hit-and-run tactics.

    Fight when the fight is in your favor or when all is at stake if you do not.

    Work alone in the shadows, or fight with boldness if you find a companion worthy of fighting alongside.

    Protect the unwary traveler from the dangers of the wilderness.

    Remain anonymous in the cities and towns you visit as possible, as not to gain unwanted attention from the authorities.  This means avoiding pointless conversation on the daily life of town-folk or the histories of the towns.  None of this concerns you.

    Only talk to the town-folk when looking for work.

    Intervene in the holds only when lives are in danger or conspiracy and corruption are revealed.  Primarily, your only business in the city is trade and work.

    Acquire a horse for speedy travel, and protect it with your life.

    Spend most of your time in the wilds: hunt, gather alchemy supplies, and infiltrate Forsworn or Bandit camps.

    Events of Note:

    While their primary concern is bettering their own people, they seek to protect all peoples of Skyrim.  Recent events, such as the outbreak of war, dragons, and vampires have prompted many Reachmen out of obscurity.

    Most of the Weruviik avoid the war, fighting only the most clear cut and eminent threats of Skyrim, but some take up arms for the Empire, bitter against Ulfirc for kicking them out of their home.  Very few will fight as Stormcloaks, but some hope to prove themselves to the Nords by fighting side by side with them.

    The resurrection of the Dragons has turned many a Ranger into a dragon-slayer. The war is a minimal problem when compared to the impending doom of Alduin, the World-Eater; so, discover your potential as the Dragonborn and take up arms against the Dragons.

    There are rumors surfacing that the King of the Forsworn lives in Cidhna Mine under the direction of the Silver-Blood family, investigate. 

    Vampires are attacking villages and cities with never-before-seen boldness, as if there is a conspiracy to finally blot out the sun and subjugate the people of Skyrim.  It is a Rangers duty to eliminate such threats.

     

     

     

     

     

  • March 9, 2015

    Hey Balund and welcome to the site!

    First off, it's great that a first build is well put together. I like the barbarian-ness of pairing a armor-less two-hander with archery, and the ranger roleplay is always a tried and true classic. The presentation is also very well done (someone's been doing his/her homework!); good pictures, well paced, and you describe everything necessary along with the reasons for using various parts, but there are some things that you could do to improve it and one thing that needs to be done.

    1. A perkspread is necessary. Just a simple link to the Perk Calculator will do for tonight, but you could also give the Art Group a shout and ask them to make you an image (no one bites there, so don't worry).
    EDIT: Okay, I'm a dumbass and apparently I missed you describing the perks in the skills. That's good enough, but I'd still advise you get a link or an image.

    2. You mentioned Alchemy as a minor skill. Did you keep it "pure" and use it only for fortification potions, or did you also sow poisons from the shadows? Are there any specific effects or concoctions you had that you feel like mentioning? It's also refreshing to see a build mention Enchanting and not take it up to Extra Effect.

    3. Just a piece of advice/question I had. Using such low-ranking weapons, did you make use of Marked for Death or a single perk in Smithing to improve them? I think the Steel Greatsword would also work for aesthetics for the build.

    4. Your tags are a bit squiffy. In the Archives, there's a description of how to format them and the rules for tagging.

    Other than that, this is a great start to your building career on the site and we hope to see you again.

  • Member
    March 10, 2015

    Hi Elysium and thanks for the feedback!

    1.  I'll see what I can do as far as a perkspread.

    2.  I experimented with poisons, but I found them mostly unnecessary.  I pretty much only used alchemy for healing potions.  Occasionally I'd make other potions for the sole purpose of levelling to make the healing potions stronger.  When I needed extra damage, I used powerful arrows like glass and dwarven.

    3.  Since I used an iron greatsword, there were no perks that would be useful.  Personally, I chose the iron greatsword because I liked the way it looked better.  I did a small amount of levelling in smithing to improve it, however.  I do agree that the steel greatsword could be a great option as well, and spending one perk on the smithing to upgrade it wouldn't be a bad option.  Mostly, I relied on enchanted equipment and a looted Smithing Elixr to improve my greatsword.  As long as I kept the game on the "Adept" difficulty and had a decent amount of healing potions I was able to survive.  In one of my older ranger builds, I used fear enchantments on a silver greatsword to make up for the lack of damage.  As far as the marked for death shout, its kind of hard to use more than one shout at a time considering the cooldown rate, and Elemental Fury plays a pretty big role in this build. 

    I'll fix the tags and edit tomorrow. Thanks again for the feedback!

  • Member
    March 10, 2015

    I quite like this. You'll want to follow Elysium's suggestions, but I really like the theme. 

  • March 10, 2015

    No problem. I've got a soft spot in my heart for ranger builds.

  • Member
    March 10, 2015

    Elemental Fury is probably better for this guy anyway. +70% swing speed, and +10 damage per hit. It takes eight seconds for Marked for Death to get to 1.7x damage, and even then you're still short that +10 damage per hit. Most encounters don't last more than eight seconds, so you're probably not missing anything by focusing on Elemental Fury and ignoring MFD.

    I'll give some more thoughts in a little while ... watching the new Better Call Saul right now. But it definitely looks promising, especially for a first build.

  • Member
    March 10, 2015
    I also have a soft spot for ranger builds Rangers are better at trapping my heart than animals XD. My favorite part is the low level weapons. I can't stand builds that use dragon or daedric equipment unless it's for the aesthetics. I quite like the imperial now myself anyways and I always get one by slaughtering the imperials on the way to whiterun. When I saw this build I thought it would be a rip off of raven lady of the reach but I was pleasantly suprised nice first build I look forward to your future work and here's your + 1
  • Member
    March 10, 2015

    Alright, ready to roll now. I'm a big fan of Sneak builds that aren't "knife in the dark" type assassins or classic burglars. Also Two-handed rogues, and rangers in general. So there's your hat trick, right out of the gate.

    I think the backstory works surprisingly well. Considering the Bretons have elven blood (and a general cultural connection to the Mer that isn't shared by the other Man races), a bit of an affinity for magic, a history of ostracism/isolation in Skyrim, and generally longer lifespans, they really do evoke the Dunedain pretty well. 

    I'm not normally a fan of taking both Alchemy and Enchanting, but between the low armor rating and weak weapons, there's enough here counteract the normal overpoweredness that usually stems from combining those two. Also, it's not clear, but if you're not using Extra Effect, that's another nice way to limit the power a bit. Though honestly, this guy could probably get away with it.

    A couple other weapons that might work well in terms of the aesthetic, and also being available relatively early on: Silver Greatsword, and Nord Hero Bow. They're also both light-weight and fast, making them effective and pragmatic options for a savvy ranger.

    I definitely agree with Ely about getting a perk spread image. And like she said, you've got to fix those tags as well.

    Overall, there's nothing really groundbreaking here. But it's a solid build all the same -- tried and true. Good presentation, especially for a debut. Love the artwork. Nice job all around.

  • March 10, 2015

    You've got a point. I always forget the +10 damage, which can easily cover the ground with fortification effects, not to mention the beastly swing speed.

  • Member
    March 10, 2015

    Thanks, Shadow! I was a little worried about the originality of this build.