Welcome to our Ranger Warden DPS Guide, updated for Mod 18: Infernal Descent and Mod 19 Avernus.
In this guide, we will give you tips and info on how to play the Ranger class, previously called the Hunter Ranger.
To learn more about the new mod, check out our mod 19 Avernus guide.
The Ranger is a melee & ranged DPS class, with a lot of crowd control abilities as well.
The purpose of our class guides is not just to show you a build that you can copy and use on your character, but to show you a base build and teach you the mechanics and stats of the game, so you can understand and play your class to its fullest capabilities.
Try different gear, feats, and powers and learn to tailor your own build for your playstyle. See our guide to making your own build for more info.
Guide Contents
Basic Ranger Warden Info
Other Ranger Builds
Best Ranger Warden Races
- Metallic Ancestry Dragonborn – 3% + Healing – +2 to Any two stats – 1500 Crit – 3% Increased Damage
- Dragonborn – 3% HP + Healing – +2 to Any two stats – 1500 Crit – 3% Increased Damage
- Wood Elf: 1% Critical Chance. +2 Dex and Wis. 10% Resistance to Slow
- Drow: Darkfire (Defense Reduction Proc). +2 Dex and +2 Wis or Cha. Trance (Heal quicker at camps)
- Half-Orc – 5% Crit Severity – +2 Dex and +2 Con or Str – 10% Movement Speed for 3 sec when entering combat
Ranger Warden Ability Score Priority
Put all your available Ability Scores into Strength and Dexterity.
Ranger Warden Stat / Rating Priority
Offensive Stats:
- Armor Penetration (Caps at 90K)
- Critical Strike (Caps at 90k)
- Accuracy (Caps at 90k)
- Combat Advantage (Caps at 140k)
- Power (No Cap)
Defensive Stats:
- Defense (Caps at 90K )
- Deflection (Caps at 90K)
- Critical Avoidance (Caps at 95K)
- Awareness (Caps at 100K )
- Health (No Cap)
Ranger Warden Paragon Path, Powers & Rotation

Ranger Warden Combat Powers
At-Will Powers:
- Storm Strike
- Clear the Ground
Encounter Powers:
- Hindering Strike
- Marauder’s Rush
- Boar Charge
Daily Powers:
- Call of the Storm
- Forest Ghost
Class Features:
- Blade Storm
- Seeker’s Vengeance
Ranger Warden Feats:
- Focused
- Storm’s Recovery
- Blade Hurricane
- Skirmisher’s Gambit
- Enhanced Conductivity
Ranger Warden Boons
You should always choose boons based on what stats you currently need. Therefore a selection of several viable boons is available to you for each tier.
At end-game, you should hit the stat caps without needing any of the boons.
Tier 1 Boons
- Recruit’s Training – 250 Power
- Critical Strike – 250 Crit
- Cultist Bulwark – 1000 HP
- Cultist Power – 1% Increased damage and damage resistance vs. Cultists.
Tier 2 Boons
- Squire’s Training – 250 Power
- Armor Penetration – 250 Armor Penetration
- Demonic Bulwark – 1000 HP
- Demonic Mastery – 1% Increased damage and damage resistance vs. demons.
Tier 3 Boons
- Knight’s Training – 250 Power
- Combat Advantage – 250 Combat Advantage
- Dino Bulwark – 1000 HP
- Simple Support – 2% Companion Influence
- Dino Power – 1% Increased damage and damage resistance vs. dinos.
Tier 4 Boons
- Captain’s Training – 250 Power
- Accuracy – 250 Accuracy
- Necrotic Bulwark – 1000 HP
- Necrotic Mastery – 1% Increased damage and damage resistance vs. undead.
Tier 5 Boons (Choose 2)
- Severe Criticism – 1% Crit Severity per rank
- Call of Power – 1% Action Point gain per rank
- Quick Turnaround – 1% Recovery Speed per rank.
Master Boons
- Blood Lust 3/3
Guild Boons
- Offense – Power
- Defense – Hit Points
Ranger Warden Weapons & Gear
If you are new to Neverwinter and need to know how to get better gear and increase your item level, check out our Gearing Up Guide.
The best way to gear up in Neverwinter is by making a lot of Astral Diamonds, check out our Astral Diamond Guide to learn all the secrets of AD farming.
Head
- Lion Guard’s Raid Hood
- Fancy Duelists Mask of Cormyr
- Protégé’s / of the Spy’s Guild
Armor
- Ebony Stained Hide
Arms
- Vivified Primal Assault Gwanitis
- Spiked Defenders Vambrace
Feet
- Rusted Iron Leggings
Weapons
- Celestial Set
- Lionheart Set
- Legion Guard Set
- Alabaster / Burnished Set
Main Hand Modification:
- Enhanced Clear the Ground / Storm Strike
Offhand Modifications:
- Critical Severity
Rings
- Striking Ring of the Master
- Leading Ring of the Teacher
- Ring of the Shadowstalker +4/+5
Neck & Waist
- Armaments of the Wyvern (Solo)
- Apprentices’ Spoils (Music Box Set) (Groups)
Shirt
- Ebony Stained Shirt
Pants
- Pants of the Sentinel
Ranger Warden Artifacts
Primary Artifact
- Envenomed Storyteller’s Journal
- Staff of Flowers
- Decanter of Atropal Essence
Secondary Artifacts
Choose secondary artifacts based on the stats you are lacking.
- Frozen Storyteller’s Journal
- Flayed Storyteller’s Journal
- Darkened Storyteller’s Journal
- Arcturia’s Music Box
- Trobriands Ring
- Staff of Flowers
- Halaster’s Blast Scepter
Ranger Warden Enchantments
When getting enchantments, always get the ones with the stats you are lacking in with your gear, boons, etc in mind. For example, if you’ve capped Crit with your gear and boons, don’t get azure enchantments for your offense slots. If you still need to refine your enchantments, see our Refinement Guide for tips on how to farm refinement.
Offense Enchantments
- One Tenebrous Enchantment
- Radiant Enchantments
Defense Enchantments
- Radiant Enchantment
Utility Enchantments
- Tactical Enchantment
- Dark Enchantment
- Fey’s Blessing / Dragon’s Hoard / Quartermaster’s Enchantment
Armor Enchantments
- Barkshield Enchantment
Weapon Enchantments
- Vorpal Enchantment
Overload Enchantments
- Various Marks from Stronghold Vendor
- Corrupt Black Ice / Lethal / Piercing
- Black / Red Dragon Glyph
Armor Reinforcement Kits
- Power Kits
Jewelry Reinforcement Kits
- Combat Advantage Jewel
Ranger Warden Consumables & Buffs
Consider getting VIP for the Power of VIP HP buff if you aren’t already. Also always stand in campfires to get the +1 ability campfire buff.
Get one from each of the rows below:
- Empowered Chain of Scales (Best in Slot) > Adorable Pocket Pet > Tymora’s Lucky Coin
- Wild Storm Elixir > Elixir of Fate
- Squash Soup > Watermelon Sorbet
Ranger Warden Companions
Summoned Companion
The most important thing to consider for a summoned companion is to get an Augment Companion. There are a bunch to choose from, some have more useful powers than others.
- Bulette Pup
- Deepcrow Hatchling
- Owlbear Cub
- Ioun Stones
- Quasit
Enchantment Power
- Potent Precision
Companion Powers
Below is a selection of viable companion powers.
Offense Powers
- Tamed Velociraptor – 2000 Power per party member using it.
- Staldorf – 8000 Combat advantage
- Deepcrow Hatchling – 8000 Power
- Batiri – 4% Damage against bosses
Defense Powers
- Minstrel – 4000 Power and 2000 Awareness
- Broom – 4% Critical Severity
- Splinters – 4% Critical Severity and 2000 Critical Avoidance
- Green Slime – 8000 Defense
- Phase Spider – 2000 Critical strike and 4000 combat advantage
Utility Powers
- Alpha Compy – 5% Power
- Owlbear Cub – 10% chance to hit for 50% of you Power
Companion Equipment
Double offense slotted “Of the Companion” gear
Companion Runestones
- Empowered Runestone
Ranger Warden Mounts
When choosing a Legendary Mount for the Mount Powers, look for a mount that has both a useful equip and combat power. The best choice for a first legendary mount as a Ranger is a Swarm.
What other mounts you use is not that important. What is important is to get the right insignia bonuses, and many different mounts can offer the various bonuses. To find out what mount has the bonus you want, check out our Insignia Bonus Guide.
Mount Insignia Bonuses
All classes and specs should consider using Wanderer’s Fortune before you have refined all your gear and enchantments, for extra refinement every day.
- Assassin’s Covenant
- Cavalry’s Warning
- Combatant’s Maneuver
- Artificer’s Persuasion
- Gladiator’s Guile
- Survivor’s Gift
- Survivor’s Blessing
- Barbarian’s Revelry
Insignia Type
Brutality / Dominance for Power, or alternatively any other with stats you need. You can also use Insignia’s to get your defensive stats to cap for survivability.
Ranger Warden Mount Powers
Mount Equip Power:
5000 or 10000 Power
Mount Combat Power:
Bat Swarm (Swarm) (Best in Slot) > Tenser’s Transformation
If you have any questions or suggestions about our Neverwinter Ranger guide, please leave a comment below! More info about the Ranger class can be found at The Neverwinter Reddit.
For the latest Neverwinter news, go to the MMOCULT Neverwinter Hub.
So I see the option for warden when will you come out with the option for hunter?
seems more a copy of old builds, outdated companion list and again no option for a actual hunter (bow) build
The build is getting an update today or tomorrow 🙂
I don’t see main hand or off hand artifact powers to use. Thank you in advance.
Definitely looking for a bow build. If I wanted CQC, I’d use a rogue.
Huh??? Alabaster Great sword and sword knot ??? LOL..A Hunter using this weapons..
Sorry, the same person who wrote the Barb build, also wrote this. Fixed now 🙂
so im pretty new to the game and i was wondering why Charisma? something like Strength seems better in my eyes
Just check the auction house for the staff of flowers and music box. 3 million AD + for each. It will take forever to raise 6 million AD for me
Seems like a hastily slapped together “mod 16” build….
I don’t find options for bows… Maybe it is not the best DPS but it is funny and I like it. I have the Demon Lords’ Immortality set but I don’t see the advantages to have the full set…
Thanks for the guide
People are gonna complain about a CQC BUILD like sorry the range build is garbage lmao
Lol I find all the people bitching about this build funny. Yes the build is similar to the barb because you are playing qcq with this build and almost all that gear boosts melee by 3% damage! And the demon lord set boosts damage up to 20% based on missing health. By far a better build then any of the others I have seen! Lol and it’s funny this build out dps a rogue ???
With using an augment companion, why would you use the Protector’s Camaraderie insignia bonus? Doesn’t that only trigger on your companion attacking?
I am just curious as to why you would put you points into CHA and not DEX or INT? DEX gives you crit sev and movement speed and INT would give you boosts to your Lightning dmg. Just looking for insight on this.
Need to add Enhancement Utility slots = dark enchantment = Companion Influence %
Thank you looks like a good build to me!
Im currently using this build, granted with some of my own tweaks. Im sitting at 21.6k il and i top the charts by millions in almost every dungeon, except the occasional 24k cws. Anyone that says this build is not good has either not tried it or are content with not doing any dmg at all.
This article is for a melee Warden build.
About that, I think the Ebony Stained Hide is BiS now. Also maybe the bracers from the primal set? How about the armour that gives you +5% dmg vs foes not facing you? Has anyone tested that? Are Terrored Grips actually better than Fearbringers, when most of the damage is coming from Storm Strike?
I’ve found that a RANGED Hunter build can be decent when using the following powers:
at-wills: Rapid Shot + Hunter’s Teamwork
Encounter: Rapid Volley, Constricting Arrow, Commanding Shot
Daily: Slasher’s Mark, Disrupting Shot
Passive: Seeker’s Vengeance, Aspect of the Falcon
Feats: longshot, critical action, predator, commander in chief, more than disruptive
Rapid volley is the only power we have to deal with mobs, so that stays.
I prefer Commanding Shot to Longstrider Shot because, despite the longer casting time, Commanding Shot recharges faster, applies a nice buff/debuf, and is tied to a feat for a small additional benefit.
I prefer Constricting arrow to Longstrider Shot, and I’ll explain why below.
The interesting thing about this build is that even though melee encounters deal -50% damage, you can still use them for their utility. Windwalk Strike lets you dash twice across the battlefield. Steel Breeze lets you recover some stamina, which you might have spent dashing around, especially in solo play. Stag Heart (better utility than Longstrider Shot) gives you some temp hp.
Rotation:
–>Boss
Commanding Shot (long casting time, applies Prey + its own buff/debuff) + Disrupting Shot (additional debuff) + Constricting Arrow + Rapid Volley x5. Then either dodge/utility or use at wills (with the additional Disrupting Shot thrown in when convenient). No reason to use Hunter’s Teamwork beyond the first shot.
–>Mobs
Like in the olden days, mark the most powerful enemy with either Commanding Shot, Constricting Arrow (Prey) or Disrupting Shot, then Rapid Volley.
Obviously, if you’re playing with powerful people and enemies die fast, you may want to substitute Commanding Shot with Longstrider Shot.
A note on positioning: when in a party, you need to be close to the action, so that you get the Aspect of the Falcon bonus, and your healer does not go crazy trying to save your bom. Stay just behind the boss, or behind a melee dps who’s behind the boss.
A final note: this build in not as competitive as the build mentioned in the article above, but at least is a decent ranged build for ranger, which is being sorely missed. Increasing the magnitude of Aimed Shot to like 300 could make a difference here!
Need Hunter build buddy
Anyone on xbox, add me @ MashMyTots. Im always online between 5pm-11pm est.
I haven’t really seen any builds out for mod 17. What about TOMM ready?
I’m new to Neverwinter and am confused. The races recommended seem to be dex races, but recommended abilities is Str and Cha? Am I missing something about the races? Or are the recommended abilities incorrect?
This build has been updated for mod 18 Infernal Descent! See you in Avernus!
Hey!
Any reasons for CHA and not DEX or INT? Thank you!
For the companion influence and recharge, the different is slightly better for your stats than having Dex
Any chance for an update soon?