If you were ever searching Wizardry 8 for a class that could critical or severely damage an enemy before they even got close, this is it.

With a bonus to Ranged Combat, the Ranger is a master of all things shot and thrown. Not only that, but Ranged Combat also counts towards the Ranger's chance to critically injure an enemy, on top of both their bow and arrow's Kill% rating.

Go to any Wizardry 8 board and you are bound to find stories of people exploring Wizardry 8 and happening upon a boss monster. It charges the party and raises its weapon to attack, only to be plinked with the damage of a single Ranger arrow and dropped like so much dead weight.

But don't think that Bows are all there is to a Ranger... they can also cast the slowest starting but best ending Alchemist spells, becoming magical powerhouses by endgame if developed right. Like Alchemists, they can also not be silenced.

For the beginner, the Ranger can also search automatically around them, revealing hidden items without having to switch to Search Mode and leaving your party open to being surprised by enemies.

Definitely try to import an Elven Bow from Crusaders (you can use one of my games on my main page, and switch out characters when you start) if you have an Elven Ranger in your party. As you near the end of the game, load up with a Tripleshot Crossbow and Lightning Bolts, and watch your enemies retreat, all dejected, with shafts protruding from various odd places about their bodies... or use the Strong Bow and watch the Criticals whomp on them.

Ranger sub-classes

- Magic Arrow

The Magic Arrow build is a lot more difficult to plan out than I originally thought. They need Intelligence to cast and learn spells well, a stat to attack more often (one arrow a round does not cut it), a stat to raise the amount of stamina they have (because Tripleshot Crossbows are heavy stamina drainers) and, of course, a stat to hit the enemy better.

So that gives us Strength, Intelligence, Vitality, Dexterity, Speed and Senses that are needed on a Ranger. Way too much, huh?

Let's start by consolidating some. Dexterity helps to hit with all weapons, and unlocks Reflextion, a dodging skill which back-row Rangers will not need. Senses also brings up chance to hit (just half as fast), and unlocks Eagle Eye, which further helps ranged weapons to hit. So Dexterity is out.

Vitality gives that stamina Rangers all need, but Strength gives the same amount point for point, with an additional bonus to damage on all weapons but Modern ones. So Vitality is out.

That leaves us with Strength, Intelligence, Speed and Senses. I would recommend subbing out Strength in favor of a Stamina-casting Priest or Bishop, and Speed in favor of a Haste spell every combat you go into (most especially with a Bard in the party, who has unlimited Haste spells). So the choice here would be 3 points into Intelligence and Senses, then Strength and Speed afterwards.

Nothing can substitute for high Intelligence in a Fighter/Caster Magic Arrow, and Senses was just made for Rangers, helping their Ranged Combat and chance to hit increase, thus also raising their chance to hit and critically strike the enemy.

The Magic Arrow will be a magical powerhouse by endgame, if trained along the way, and will be able to drop many enemies with critical hits left and right. Remember, Ranged Combat/Critical Strike is not the only aspect to a successful One-Shot... you have to be able to hit the enemy (with adequate Dexterity and Senses) to get the Critical Strike off, so choose your stats wisely.

- Blind Archer

Place 2 points in Senses, Strength and Speed per level, then continue with 3 points in Dexterity and Vitality.

Neglecting magic-based stats, the Blind Archer will cause your Alchemy skill to rise a great deal once you begin placing points in Dexterity (Alchemy's controlling attribute), but will leave your realm skills hovering around a pathetic 30 or 40.

However, this will be a small price to pay to watch your Ranger scoring crazy damage with their numerous attacks per round for very high damage, and a very good chance to critically strike your enemy every single time one of the many shots land.

Plus, since you are placing points in all of the damage/attack stats, including unlocking Eagle Eye with 100 Senses, your numerous arrows will almost always be invariably on target, even from hundreds of feet away. Your enemy will spend upwards of 2 or 3 rounds just closing in, all while your Ranger plugs away at it the whole time it advances.