While the Ranger spell list isn’t as vast as with a full caster class like Druid, they nevertheless have a few optimal spells to pick up. I wanted to outline the best choices across all Acts of the game. Here are my best Ranger spells in Baldur’s Gate 3.
What Are the Best Ranger Spells in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Ensnaring Strike (Level 1)
Ensnaring Strike is your bread-and-butter Ranger offensive spell throughout all Acts of the game, along with Hunter’s Mark. It uses your Bonus Action to empower your melee or ranged attack to deal extra damage and Ensnare a target. This is a powerful status effect where the enemy can’t move, their attacks and Dexterity saves have Disadvantage, and your attacks have Advantage. I highly recommend picking Bounty Hunter with your Favored Enemy to make it harder for enemies to resist this spell.
Goodberry (Level 1)
Forget about Cure Wounds if you want a healing spell because Goodberry is drastically superior. Goodberry creates four magical berries in your inventory, each of which heals for 1d4 for a total of 4d4 healing. This is better healing than Cure Wounds, and you can spread it around to different allies. Yes, Cure Wounds is better in combat because it’s a flat amount that costs one action, but you shouldn’t be healing with your Ranger anyway. I find it much better to take Goodberry and cast it outside of combat for some pseudo-healing potions.
Hunter’s Mark (Level 1)
The ol’ reliable Ranger damage spell that gets better the more attacks you make. Each attack on a marked enemy gets a +1d6 damage bonus. Once you get Extra Attack, someone buffs you with Haste, or you drink a Haste potion, this spell gets increasingly better. That said, I would only cast it on high HP enemies like bosses since having to constantly switch it around wastes your Bonus Action.
If you want to optimize around this spell, I would take three levels in Rogue for the Thief subclass. Then, dual-wield Hand Crossbows, and you have two attacks with your Bonus Action and two from your Level 5 Ranger Extra Attack.
Longstrider (Level 1)
Longstrider is just a generally useful utility spell you can drop after a Long Rest and have it active the entire day without Concentration. You get a decent speed boost, which can be incredibly useful for Rangers to reposition, especially if you’re playing a melee Ranger. This gets even better in the late-game, where you have several Level 1 slots to spare.
Pass Without Trace (Level 2)
Pass Without Trace is an excellent spell in the right hands when you’re setting up an ambush. If you know combat is coming or you’re raiding an enemy camp like the Goblin Camp in Act 1, have PWT on hand. This is an AOE Stealth buff for your party with a +10 bonus. Essentially, it allows you to position your allies in optimal positions in turn-based mode before a fight. Then, you can start a fight with a ranged attack and get a surprise round much more easily.
Silence (Level 2)
Similarly to Pass Without Trace, Silence is a situational but powerful spell. It shuts down enemy casters because it makes it so that you cannot cast spells with Verbal components in the Silenced area. Since most spells have Verbal components, this is essentially an anti-magic field. Drop it on bosses like Nere, and he becomes useless; just make sure to keep casters inside the zone.
Spike Growth (Level 2)
Spike Growth is a wide AOE that fills the ground with spikes that deal 2d4 damage for every 5 feet you move through the area. This is incredible both for damage and for area control since you can place it between your Ranger and enemies. Then, simply pepper them with projectiles with your allies as they run through the area and take massive damage. I regularly also use those push arrows to knock enemies back into the spikes.
Plant Growth (Level 3)
Similarly to Spike Growth, Plant Growth also focuses on massive area control. The difference is that it’s not a concentration spell, the area is massive, and it heavily reduces enemy movements instead of dealing damage. If you’re going full Ranger this is a great spell to bust out and control the battlefield. You can combine it with ranged companions like Gale where he blasts them with powerful spells while you slow them down.
Conjure Barrage (Level 3)
Conjure Barrage is drastically stronger in BG3 than it is in the D&D5e ruleset because it now deals your weapon’s damage in addition to the 2d8. It works both with ranged and melee weapons and adds various modifiers like extra damage and extra dice you get from magic items and abilities. This allows it to scale somewhat in Act 3, and it’s an overall decent AOE attack in several battles. I would combine it with the Sharpshooter feat for extra value.
That’s it for my best Ranger spells in Baldur’s Gate 3. For more BG3 guides, check out the best Ranger gear or the solo run no-companion Ranger build.
