The Royal Ranger - Pure Archer Build - Stoneshard

Art by Giacomo Marz

Introduction

The Royal Ranger is the quintessential Ranger in Stoneshard. Designed to cover the entire archetype, this guide can easily be adapted to better fit your fantasy. It contains a wealth of information that can be useful to any Ranger build, while also providing a build for 3 of the best-suited characters that is guaranteed to deliver the desired gameplay.

Overview

The Royal Ranger is the incarnation of the Ranger archetype. It is a powerful pure-archer build which fights on its own terms. This build can be used as a guide, rather than a set of instructions, as both the final skills and the exact skill order can be adapted to your preference and concept without immediately compromising the build.

Whether you are a fan of the legendary Skyrim stealth archer, or the idea of taking heads and crossing names from a different postal code speaks to you, this build is for you.

Character Selection

Character	Strength
​​Dirwin​	Dirwin's trait is Ranger's Grit​. Dirwin is the quintessential hunter and ranger, and this guide is named after his former title. He has the strongest early game and is the most immersive character for this build. His trait also encourages you to explore the map and see all that this game has to offer. I recommend Dirwin for a new player.
Hilda​	Hilda's trait is Wild Hunt​. Similar to Dirwin, she is a wilderness survivalist who can hunt different exotic animals for unique and powerful bonuses. Her trait greatly empowers her energy recovery, making it easier to use the heaviest bows. She has the highest potential for late-game performance, especially against lategame beasts.
​ Velmir	Velmir's Trait is With Great Vengeance​. Velmir is a bounty hunter, and his trait directly rewards completing dangerous contracts and clearing dungeons. His trait makes him uniquely capable at sniping dungeon bosses, and greatly empowers him when faced with many enemies at once. He is the best option if you prefer grinding dungeons over exploring the map.

Final Stats

Stat	Value
Strength	20
Agility	Unchanged
Perception	30
Vitality	Unchanged
Willpower	Left-over points

Final Skills

Final Gear

This build uses different weapon / gear loadouts in different situations. It uses a Longbow paired with fumble-reducing when exploring the overworld, where vision is unobstructed, and a Shortbow when clearing dungeons and caves. 

When using a shortbow, this build uses a Berserker ring for more overall damage, and a Silver Sapphire ring for more energy and energy recovery. When using a Longbow, this build uses a pair of Silver Emerald rings to reduce fumble chance. 

Item	Contribution
Curved Shortbow	The Best Bow for clearing endgame dungeons. The low light and tight corners limit the effectiveness of additional range. This bow trades range and raw damage for bleed chance and much lower fumble chance. Perfect for kiting.    Best enchantments are Crit Chance, Crit Efficiency, and Energy Drain.
Sharpshooter Bow	Best bow for overworld exploration and hunting. The huge maximum range is best used in the open space during daylight hours. This makes it perfect for hunting dangerous beasts, clearing bandit camps, and clearing dungeon entrances. The high fumble chance demands the use of fumble-reducing rings when using this bow.   Best enchantments are Crit Chance, Crit Efficiency, and Energy Drain.
Elven Longaxe	This is the most reliable lategame melee weapon for this build. It offers an astronomical 38 base damage, with a high chance to stagger the enemy, making melee safer. It's downside of -10% accuracy is easily compensated by the investment into Perception, and Setup​.   Best enchantments are Crit Chance, Weapon Damage, or Life Drain
Skarhogg Garnment	This is the best armor in the game for a pure ranger. If you want to rely exclusively on range and never fight in melee, this armor is incredibly strong. It offers fumble reduction, crit chance, and an astronomical increase to Crit Efficiency. It will massively increase your damage.   Best enchantments are Energy and Energy Restoration
Arcanist Cowl	This is the best headwear for a pure ranger. It offers +1 vision and 9% energy drain, which is irreplaceable on a pure archer, and the head armor slot is the best place to obtain it from, when compared with alternative options.    Best enchantments are Energy and Energy Restoration
Blademaster Gloves	Best gloves for a pure ranger, as they provide a lot of fumble and skill energy cost reduction, while also giving an enormous 15% crit efficiency.    Best enchantments are Energy and Energy Restoration
Elven Boots	These are the best boots on a pure ranger. They provide -3% fumble chance and -5% skill energy cost.    Best enchantments are Energy and Energy Restoration
Wolfbrother belt	This is the best belt on a pure ranger. It provides fumble reduction, as well as armor damage, crit efficiency, and fatigue resistance   Best enchantments are Energy and Energy Restoration
Crescent Amulet	This is the best necklace until you defeat the manticore. This talisman offers +1 vision, which is necessary to make full use of your range.    Best enchantments are Energy and Energy Restoration
Berserker Ring	This ring offers minor crit chance, crit efficiency and armor damage bonuses at the cost of more damage taken by you. Wear 1 copy of this ring with a Shortbow.   Best enchantments are Energy and Energy Restoration
Silver Sapphire Ring	This ring offers a significant amount of energy and energy restoration. Wear 1 copy of this ring with a Shortbow.   Best enchantments are Energy and Energy Restoration
Silver Emerald Ring	This ring offers -3% fumble chance reduction and additional max health. Wear 2 copies of this ring with a Longbow.   Best enchantments are Energy and Energy Restoration

Progression

Stat Allocation Order

This build has 2 priorities:

• Unlock Long Shot​ and Shoot to Kill​ as soon as possible,
• Increase its range and vision. 

This narrows the stat allocation order down to just 1 option. 

Stat	Order
Perception	30
Strength	20
Willpower	Leftover Stat Points

Skill Order

Early and Midgame Gearing

Your midgame gear is a very important part of this build's progression strategy, which is explained in detail in the next chapter. 

Item	Contribution
Soldier Longbow	This bow offers an enormous amount of range, at the cost of a large penalty to fumble chance and energy cost. Still, this trade-off is worthwhile in the midgame as it enables you to punch far above your weight during overworld exploration   The best enchantment is Fumble Chance, or Crit Chance.
Footman Longaxe	Powerful melee weapon, whose main downside is counterweighted by your investment into perception. Tier 3 where you are most likely to find yourself in melee, so having a good backup melee weapon is very important.
Hood	This item offers fumble reduction and crit chance, which is key to this build.
Hired Blade Cowl	This item is available to players who bought the supporter's pack. It is strictly better than the Hood, and is the best headpiece for this build until you unlock the Arcanist Hood. This build is technically P2W.
Padded Vest	This vest offers fumble reduction, which is important for the Soldier Longbow.
Falconeer Gloves	These gloves offer several incredible bonuses: fumble and energy cost reduction, and crit efficiency.
Fur Belt	Excellent belt for this build. Fumble reduction, Crit Efficiency, and a little bit of Rending Resistance.
Riding Boots	These boots are incredibly good on this build, and are arguably best in slot even in the endgame, when using the Curved Shortbow. They offer +5 max energy, energy restoration, and fatigue resistance, while being very cheap to repair.
Lazurite Pendant	This pendant is very strong on this build as it provides -5% Skill Energy Cost Reduction, as well as +4 max energy. In my run, I found a double-enchanted pendant with +3 max energy and +2% energy restoration, which is incredibly strong, and I used it even in tier 5.
Brass Agate Rings	This ring provides -3% fumble chance each. When using the Soldier Longbow, you need 2 of them. These rings can be used instead of the Silver Emerald Rings in the late game, with the Sharpshooter Bow.   These rings have no consistent vendor, but Old Tott - the carriage driver, and the Brynn Panwshop can sell them, starting at 3000 reputation.
Wanderer Cloak	This cloak offers 3% energy restoration, -3% skill energy cost, and 12% fatigue resist, which help compensate for the high energy demands of the Soldier Longbow.

Gameplay

The Royal Ranger is a ranged build through and through. All of your strategy and tactics always revolve around starting combat from as far away as possible, and then remaining at range throughout the fight.

Fundamentals

Here I describe some basic fundamental skills of playing this build.

Aim Before Firing

In the vast majority of cases, you want to use Take Aim​ before every shot you take. There are very few circumstances where that is not the case, and they will be pointed out as such.

An Ounce of Prevention...

When exploring previously unseen areas, move slowly and frequently use Examine Surroundings. Advance 3-4 tiles at a time if you suspect to find enemies. Random enemies populating tiles never move too far from where they originally spawned, so once you clear a path through a tile, you can return through it safely.

When you find enemies, be patient and try to identify the most dangerous among them (usually the one with the most charges). 

To make the most of your element of surprise, position yourself at your maximum range relative to the enemy, use Suppression​ and Take Aim​ and start the fight with Long Shot​ at maximum possible range. 

...is Worth a Pound of Cure

This build does not want to be in melee. Ever. The backup melee weapon is mainly used to destroy environmental objects. For that reason, I recommend carrying 2 nets and a smokebomb in your inventory at all times. There are rare circumstances where you need all of that at once, and the second net is not merely for redundancy.

To pilot this build correctly, you need to think several turns ahead and use your Dash​, Net, Smokebomb and Distracting Shot​ to prevent yourself from being caught in melee, rather than escape it. 

If an enemy is close to you, but you think you can kill them in 1 more shot, do not take the gamble.

Your chances of surviving melee are very low.

Understanding Range Penalties

Stoneshard imposes escalating accuracy and fumble chance penalties to your ranged attacks for every tile separating you and the target. Additionally, breakable elements of the environment count as obstacles and can interrupt the flight of your arrows. Lastly, firing at enemies that are closer than 3 tiles away carries severe penalties when using a Bow or a Crossbow. 

The passive Constant Practice​ is your primary remedy against these penalties, but a ranger still needs an abundance of accuracy and fumble chance reduction to overcome these penalties. That is why this build uses so much fumble reduction in its skills and gear.

Ammunition

There are 3 types of arrows that you can use. Leaf-shaped, Broadhead, and Bodkin.

Bodkin

Bodkin arrows are not useful on this build, so you can ignore them entirely. 

Broadhead 

Broadhead arrows are specialized for hunting dangerous animals, like Boars, Bears, and Moose. In the late game, once you have 30 perception, you can use the Broadhead arrows against Proselytes as your default ammunition, switching to leaf-shaped arrows only against Templars.

Leaf-shaped

Leaf-shaped arrows are your default ammunition throughout the game. It is cheapest to buy and offers a perfect middle ground that fulfills most of your needs. 

Kiting 101

Kiting is the most powerful tool in the ranger's arsenal. All creatures travel at the same speed, so an enemy without Dash​ or similar skill cannot gain on you if you simply walk away. This allows you to recover energy with Inner Reserves​, and wait out the cooldowns on your skills.

When kiting, your goal is to gain distance on the enemy so you can fire upon them safely. This can be done with Dash​ and Distracting Shot​. Notably, if all you care about is making distance, you do not need to use Take Aim​ before using Distracting Shot​.

When you have gained the necessary distance, it is not worth reactivating Suppression, as that wastes precious time. Instead, your best option is to use Take Aim​ and Startling Volley​, as that gives you 2 opportunities to knock back or immobilize the enemy, and it could even stun them. If any of those occur, you have bought yourself another aimed shot with a different skill.

Lastly, make sure to only kite towards already explored terrain, so that you do not run into more enemies, or walk yourself into a corner. 

What if the enemy can Dash?

This scenario is exactly why you need to keep a Net (ideally 2)​ in your inventory at all times.

First of all, if the enemy uses Dash​ the safest course of action is to use yours immediately after. This isolates you 2 from any other enemies and allows you to focus on the immediate threat.

If killing them before they regain Dash​, or enter into charging range, is unfeasible, the best course of action is to kite until they use Dash​ again, and then throw a Net on them. The key detail is to time the beginning of your retreat such that their second Dash​ will not let them be adjacent to you. 

This will let you shoot them to death from 3 tiles away, or will buy you enough time to buy even more distance. It is not necessary to use Suppression​ when firing at a netted enemy. 

Clearing Dungeons

The tight geometry of dungeons poses a serious challenge to this build, which relies on long range and unobstructed sight lines to fight safely. Below are several techniques that I found useful.

Breaking Doors with Arrows

Pretty much the title. If Pathfinder​ reveals that there are enemies behind the door, you never want to open it. Instead, position as far away from it as possible and shoot it down with your cheap Leaf-shaped Arrows. You can use CTRL to enter attack mode. You should still Take Aim​ before every shot. 

Enemies do not react to the sound of arrows hitting the door - only the sound of the door breaking. Moreover, breaking the door will not turn the enemies inside hostile; it will only lure them into the doorway - right into your crosshairs. 

Arrows as Audio Lures

Arrows make a noise which enemies hear when hitting the ground, but they will not turn hostile. You can use this to lure enemies that are positioned awkwardly into the open. Doing this does not break the arrows, so there is no downside.

Break Down Obstacles

It is wise to preemptively break potential obstacles as you are clearing the dungeon. It is a good habit, as doing so will eliminate the possibility of them blocking your arrows if you ever need to kite an enemy through this room again.

Just be mindful of the noise caused by the breaking of the obstacle, as it could lure enemies from adjacent rooms if they are close enough to hear it.

Target Prioritisation

When playing this build, you prioritize your targets based on who is most immediately able to hurt you. This generally leads to this order:

1. Enemies with Dash​, another charge and/or a Net (Manhunter, Mage Hunter, Axe and Shield Deserter, Cherub, Impaler, Girrud...)
2. Mages. They have lower range than archers, but are squishier and are more threatening if they live too long (Ghasts, Brigand Mages, Ecclesiarch, Anointed...)
3. Rangers, especially those that have Long Shot​ can be dangerous if you let them buff up. (Risen Crossbowman, Marksman, Heavy Crossbowman, Heavy Slinger)
4. Everyone else. Enemies without Dash​ or any other ranged damage cannot threaten this build, assuming you have sufficient kiting space. 

Useful Consumables

Nets

This build needs a minimum of 1 Net in the inventory at all times as this is a reliable lifeline. Once you begin encountering tier 4 bandits, or are clearing tier 4 vampire or bandit dungeons, 2 Nets become a requirement, because there is a high risk of finding 2 or more enemies with multiple charges in a single group.

Claw Traps and Caltrops

Claw Traps and Caltrops are not worth carrying, because the turn spent using them can always be better used on movement or ranged skills.

Smokebombs

Smokebombs are useful late-game because they manipulate enemy AI behaviour in a variety of ways. Most notable use cases are:

• Block an Archer's line of sight, while you focus on other enemies. 
• Block a necromancer's vision of a corpse, so that he cannot reanimate it.
• Block the line of sight of an enemy in range to charge-attack you to deny them the charge.
• Block a doorway with smoke, preventing a group of human enemies from pursuing you (humans never cross smoke willingly)

Deathstinger Jars

Deathstinger Jars have a niche use in dungeons with a trapped entrance. Deathstingers can buy you time in circumstances where you have nowhere to kite the enemy, such as in the first room of a trapped entrance dungeon. To be most effective, you must throw the deathstingers adjacent to the enemy, interrupting the path they would take to reach you. 

Azurecap Mushrooms

This mushroom is found in caves, and it gives you passive energy replenishment. It is incredibly useful during the fight with the Manticore, and situationally useful when fighting large battles with the Sharpshooter Bow. 

It can also help you swim to the Island off the coast of Denbrie to retrieve the treasure and the Stallion Banner. 

Drugs

Nikkaf is extremely powerful on this build. It can be purchased from the Elven merchants in Brynn, and occasionally from Leif. While not strictly necessary to clear dungeons, it provides an incredible boost across all aspects of the build.

The only reason why I took Austerity​ on this build is to help compensate for the aftermath penalties received from Nikkaf, in the few situations where you cannot reach camp in time to sleep through the aftermath.

Speaking of - you can sleep through the aftermath to avoid the penalties, but only if you wait for it to begin before you go to sleep.

Early and Midgame Strategy

This build has a very unique progression strategy, and there are many parts of the early and mid game that this build approaches in a rather unique way. 

Starting the Run

At the start of the run, go to the Guardhouse and ask for a free weapon. Request a 2-handed axe to receive the Lumberjack axe. 

Otherwise, follow my early game guide to complete all of the tier 1 dungeons. 

Purchase a Tier 2 Guard Bow from the carpenter as soon as you unlock Tier 2 gear.

Item	Contribution
Guard Bow	Can be purchased from the Osbrook Carpenter starting 3000 reputation
Lumberjack Axe	This item can be obtained for free from the lonely guard at the guard house if you ask for a 2-handed axe.

Osbrook Cave Diving

This build does not want to begin clearing tier 2 dungeons until it unlocks Startling Volley​, at level 6, which makes it necessary to grind a little bit more experience while in Osbrook. I recommend exploring the nearby area for bandit camps and caves, as the latter is necessary for Dirwin's trait, Ranger's Grit​.

This build can tackle tier 2 Wolf caves very early by leveraging its range, combined with a couple of nets and a claw trap. With 60 arrows and the relevant consumables, you can clear a wolf den without entering melee. This is also very important for Hilda's trait, Wild Hunt​, as the wolf tongue trophy reduces ability energy costs, which is very useful.

Entering Tier 2

It is important to delay starting Tier 2 dungeons until after you reach level 6 and unlock Startling Volley​, as it makes an enormous amount of difference. Once you do, I recommend clearing the Proselyte dungeon first, as those enemies are most susceptible to being damaged by arrows, while also being the least dangerous. 

Be very careful around Bandit Mancatchers, as they have Dash​ and can cast a Net over you. Prioritize killing them first. Use all the tricks mentioned in the Gameplay section to make dealing with them easier.

Recruiting Leif

Leif is an essential member of your caravan's retinue for this build. He sells a variety of arrows, medical supplies and Nikkaf. You can recruit him near Mannshire, by paying 1000 crowns to Verren and visiting the Sentian Company Camp southwest of Mannshire.

When arriving at the Sentian Company Camp, you will see the camp in ruin, as well as 2 mercenaries, a soldier and a mage, facing off against Leif. The Sentian Company was decimated, and the survivors falsely blame Leif, threatening to kill him

If you approach, you trigger a "cutscene" dialogue where you will learn the details of this conflict. From there, you can either pay off the mercenaries, or you could fight them to protect Leif.

There is one problem. By entering the camp and starting the cutscene, your character will walk all the way to the mercenaries, losing all range advantage in the event of a fight.

This is a dangerous fight, as the 2 mercenaries are each approximately Tier 2.5 enemies. I recommend that you do not take this fight fairly. I recommend one of the following 2 options:

1. Pay them, and avoid the fight. This will cost you 250 gold.
2. Attack without warning. Do not enter the Sentian Camp or start the cutscene. Approach just close enough to be able to shoot the mage, kill him, and Net the soldier as he approaches. Leif stays friendly.

The Ancient Troll

You can use Distracting Shot​ to dodge the Ancient Troll's initial boulder toss, but ultimately I do not recommend fighting at range. I found it safer and easier to fight the troll just with the 2-handed axe, without using the bow. 

The Ancient Troll will always use Ground Slam, if it is not on cooldown, and he will never take attacks of opportunity against you. The Troll will never roar or throw a boulder at you so long as you remain within 2 tiles of him. Dash​ is an insurance policy which can save you if you make a mistake with positioning. 

During the fight, stay close to the troll, attacking only when Ground Slam is off cooldown, and step away from the troll when Ground Slam is on cooldown, so that he doesn't hit you with Claw Swipe. 

This way, you can gradually kite him to the southern edge of the arena, before gradually repositioning toward his back, and repeating the kiting process in the northern direction until you reach the tower. Rinse and repeat. 

This method allows the troll to be killed consistently without taking damage.

Skipping Tier 3

That's right. This build can skip tier 3 dungeons entirely. By achieving 4000 reputation in Mannshire, this build unlocks the Soldier Longbow, which turns this build into an open-world menace. 

Once you unlock Long Shot​, this build is almost unstoppable while exploring. The absurd range allows you to focus on clearing overworld bandit camps, potentially fighting tier 4 bandits in the process. 

More importantly, this build is extremely good at clearing Crawler Dens. Crawlers are technically tier 4 enemies, which means that they offer an enormous amount of experience and their dens can generate tier 4 loot.

That being said, I recommend delaying Rotten Will Tavern until you unlock Long Shot.

RWT and Tier 3 Dungeons​

Unfortunately, you still have to clear at least 1 Tier 3 dungeon to gain reputation at the tavern and unlock the various sidequests offered by L'Owcrey.

I recommend you clear the Tier 3 Proselyte dungeon first as it tends to be well lit, have plenty of open space, and the enemies within tend to be unarmored and vulnerable to bleed. 

Tier 3 undead is challenging as most enemies have shields and are immune to bleed. More importantly, the Armored Husk boss is extremely annoying to fight on this build. He has a large amount of armor and physical resistance, and killing him requires kiting him through the entire dungeon, while spending 30+ arrows. 

Unless you are playing Velmir, I recommend skipping this dungeon entirely.

A Matter of Faith

This quest is not very consequential for this build's progression, but it is very, very fun. I found myself doing it at around level 14, still wearing my tier 3 gear. 

None of the rewards are particularly consequential for this build, but be aware that, if you side with the Priest, the final battle can be quite challenging. I recommend stocking an abundance of arrows and keeping 3 nets in your inventory. That being said, failing this quest is not the end of the world for this build.

Denbrie and the Shipwreck

The Shipwreck

This build barely has enough energy to swim to the island off the coast of Denbrie to retrieve the treasure and the Steed Banner. Make sure to have Vigor when you prepare to retrieve the banner. 

Also, make sure to drop your weapons and leave the armor on the shore before you step into the water. Items dropped in deep water will vanish. Every piece of armor negatively impacts the energy cost of swimming and must be taken off to make it across. There are no enemies on the island. Jewelry and Belt has no impact on swimming cost..

If you are playing on Permadeath, or want to be absolutely sure that you will make it across, eat an Azurecap mushroom, or purchase the "Maen-Style Honeyed Azurecap" dish from the Golden Grain Inn in Brynn, which has the same effect.

Alternatively, you can drink a Vivifying Essence before each swim. Vivifying Essence replenishes 1 energy every turn for 60 turns, which means you will need 1 dose to get there, and 1 dose to return to land. 

Denbrie Contracts

The main purpose of visiting Denbrie is to grind out enough reputation to reach 4000 Brynn Reputation. This will allow you to purchase the Arcanist Hood and a tier 4 bow, namely the Nistrian Bow or Skirmisher Shortbow, as well as the Orient Longaxe.

Item	Contribution
Nistrian Bow	Can be purchased from the Nistrian Vendor or the Customs House in Bryn Port starting at 4000 Brynn reputation. Marginally better than the Skirmisher Shortbow.
Skirmisher Shortbow	Can be purchased from the Brynn Carpenter Guild Quartermeister, after completing the relevant part of the "A City of Gold and Corruption" quest, starting at 4000 Brynn reputation.
Orient Longaxe	Can be purchased at the Azure Thread Elven shop in the top-right quarter of Brynn, the Elven Merchant in port or the Customs House starting at 4000 Brynn Reputation.
Arcanist Cowl	Can be purchased at the alchemy shop in the Port Quarter of Brynn, starting at 4000 reputation.

Late Game Tips

This build can start clearing tier 5 dungeons once it has a tier 5 Bow and the Arcanist Hood, and all the necessary consumables.

Dungeon Preparation

The best way to prepare for endgame dungeons is to increase weapon damage, lower cooldowns, and increase resistance to fatigue.

Leif's Strength Training

Leif's Strength Training provides +5% weapon damage, +5% Armor Penetration, and +10% bodypart damage, which helps apply injuries sooner. 

Jibean Roast with Figs

This dish is quite useful on this build, as it provides a lot of very useful bonuses, even though the ingredients are quite expensive. It provides cooldown duration reduction, energy restoration, Immunity, and direct reduction to fatigue.

The recipe can be bought from the Golden Grain Inn in the northwestern quarter of Brynn. The ingredients to make this dish can be bought from the House of Azure thread - the elven shop just north of the Golden Grain Inn.

Stallion Banner

This banner can be consistently obtained by swimming to the lonely island off the coast of Denbrie and searching the Shipwreck that is found there. It is safe to leave all your gear ashore before beginning to swim, as there are no hostile enemies on the island as of 0.9.25

Dungeon Modifiers

In the late game, your main concern is not so much the type of dungeon that you're clearing, but the modifier that affects it. Some of the more dangerous ones are:

Modifier	Infomration
Trapped Entrance	The first room can be lethal, as there is nowhere to kite the enemies. I recommend bringing a couple of Deathstinger Jars to block the path of oncoming enemies. This is particularly important in Undead dungeons.
Hefty Stockpiles	This Bandit-Only modifier is a nightmare to deal with, as all enemies have 2 uses of a Vivifying Essence. This makes it a lot harder to secure kills as you have to chew through so many additional hitpoints. Bring extra arrows, and fall back on your fundamentals.
Summoning Ritual	A Proselyte-Only modifier. The summoning sigils constantly produce golems, which means more bodies for you to shoot. Be very careful approaching a sigil that has not made a golem in a while, as there's a risk that it will spawn a golem right on top of you.
Rite of Ascension	Proselyte-Only modifier. The effect itself is not too bad, but the +1 vision granted to all enemies narrows your margin for error. The ritual room can be absolutely lethal, especially if you encounter it in tier 5. Honest advice? If you find this in tier 5, just ignore the ritual room entirely.
Restless Spirits	Undead-Only modifier. Can spawn a ghost next to you any time you open a sarcophagus. Very dangerous, as ghosts can become invisible and are resistant to physical damage. Don't be a loot goblin, and don't disturb the dead.

Among these, the Rite of Ascension is the only one I've not encountered.

Dangerous Bosses

There are a handful of extremely dangerous bosses that you need to be very careful when facing.

Boss	Infomration
Tier 4 - Restless Hero	His ability Last Stand reanimates all nearby Restless (Zombies), which can leave you surrounded. Make sure to clear adjacent rooms, as Last Stand causes a lot of noise, summoning undead from around the entire floor.   Try to focus fire the Hero, and bring plenty of nets to immobilize the reanimated undead.
Tier 4 - Anmarrak	Proselyte Tentacle Monster. If he can see you, he will spawn a tentacle arm next to you, which hits hard and causes bleed. You can reposition away from the tentacle safely using Leg Sweep​.   You have to break his line of sight of you, and attack from an ambush. I killed him by kiting him around a pillar.
Tier 4 - Beast Trapper	This Bandit boss has a long-range crossbow and Hard Target​, which makes it very dangerous to get into a prolonged shootout with him. I recommend fighting him across multiple bouts, kiting him around several corners so that the buff expires.
Tier 5 - Nakkatar	This Proselyte boss is a Murkstalker on Steroids. He has several ways of entering Murk, one of which happens automatically when he drops below 66% and 33% health. This same effect allows him to escape a net.   While in Murk, the Nakkatar has a very powerful charge attack, with a very long range. You can knock him out of Murk by landing an attack, or by netting him.   Notably, throwing a smoke bomb under your feet obscures you from view, making it impossible for him to charge you. Bring Multiple Smokebombs and multiple nets. Save Startling volley in case you desperately need to knock him out of Murk, while not having the time to Take Aim​.
Tier 5 - Spectral Herald	Not too dangerous if you know what you are doing. He can curse you such that moving deals damage to you for every tile travelled. In that case, using Dash​ will straight up kill you. Another curse spawns ghosts every time you use an attack skill.   The way to deal with him is to not use attack skills after the initial ambush and instead kill him with Take Aim​ and regular attacks. Make sure you have your prayer buff active, as ghosts are vulnerable to Holy damage.
Tier 5 - Brigand Arcanist	Extremely dangerous, especially with the Hefty Supplies dungeon modifier. He has the same vision as you when in darkness, and if you end your turn within his vision, he can one-shot you with Dimensional Shift​.   He also has Mana crystals and Phantasm, which he can summon from around a corner. Therefore, ambushing him by breaking line of sight is pointless. You have to one-shot him, or kite him until he loses interest to then attempt another ambush.

The Manticore

The Manticore presents a very interesting challenge on this build, and so makes for an excellent way to finish the playthrough. In my run, I've cleared it on my first attempt at level 18, but it was a very tactical fight, with very little margin for error. As such, I recommend that the reader leave this fight for last.

This build finds the Manticore challenging for 2 main reasons:

1. It constantly spawns Minions, which threaten to surround you.
2. Killing the minions with arrows is inefficient, but allowing the Manticore to destroy them with Bone Pyres burns your energy and deals chip damage.

Needless to say, allowing the Manticore to swing at you with his tail is a death sentence.

That being said, the Manticore will always prioritize Raise Dead and Vengeance of the Dead over Tail Swipe, even if you are already in melee with it. This can sometimes allow you to swap to your Axe and sneak 1 attack in. 

Additionally, if at any point there are 2 or more skeletons in melee with you, the Manticore will transform them with Bone Pyres. Each pyre deals damage to you at the time of casting, and then quickly burns your energy if you stay near.

The constant pressure of the skeletal minions creates a very interesting tight-rope of a puzzle. You deliberately have to allow yourself to become surrounded exactly where and when you want to, to force the Manticore to use Bone Pyres, while using the time in between to mend injuries or damage the Manticore.

4 main things can help you in this fight:

1. An Abundance of Healing Salves. The risk of running out of salves is the only real timer on this fight.
2. Paregoric Drug + Surgical Toolkit. This allows you to not accumulate pain, while also repairing up to 5 injuries. 
3. Azurecap Mushroom, or the Maen-Style Honeyed Azurecap dish. Provides passive energy recovery.
4. Bring a handful of Spider Blood or Nistrian Fire Flasks. They are very good at destroying Manticore's armor.

During my fight against the Manticore, I had 8 salves, the Paregoric + surgical toolkit combo, and 1 Spider Blood flask.

Dimensional Shift Utility

Additionally, if none of this is enough, you can break the concept of the build and pick up Dimensional Shift​. This is a very powerful spell, which offers a lot of tactical utility on any build. I considered adding it for a long time, but ultimately dropped it for reasons of flavour. 

That being said, it is extremely strong against the Manticore, because it allows you to swap positions with any of the skeletal minions, potentially escaping lethal circumstance. 

I encourage you to save a skill point ahead of when you start preparing for the Manticore. That way, you can try the fight without Dimensional Shift​, and only add it if you feel stuck. Still, the fight is beatable without it.

Dirwin Exploration Checklist

Dirwin's passive Ranger's Grit​ rewards exploring overworld points of interest with extra attribute points. This ability only counts the types of locations you discover, not the total number of locations you visited. 

Here is the full checklist of the different types of locations that you need to discover

Caves

1. Abandoned Mineshaft - Plenty of evidence of past exploitation. Usually inhabited by Bandits or Rockeaters. Often houses valuable ore nodes. Sometimes, a pickaxe can spawn at the entrance.
2. Beast Lair - The tunnels are littered with corpses and gnawed bones. Typically inhabited by Wolves, Crawlers, or Bears. Often houses valuable herbs and mushrooms, but also ore nodes. 
3. Overgrown Cave - Prominently features moss and emerging pieces of Axonian Ruins. Usually inhabited by Rockeaters, Crawlers or Wolves. Often houses valuable herbs and mushrooms, but also ore nodes.

Dens

Tier	Den Type
1-2	-
3	Ghouls, Crawlers
4	Harpies, Deathstinger Hive
5	Gulons, Young Trolls

Hunting Grounds

Tier	Den Type
0	Deer, Saiga
3	Wolves, Boars
4	Moose
5	Bears, Bison

Dirwin Trait - Optimal Stat Gain

When planning my playthrough, I found this to be the easiest way to fulfill the scaling on Dirwin's trait, Ranger's Grit​, as early as possible.

Stat Point 1

Location	Advice
Deer Trail	Use your bow
Saiga Trail	Use your bow
Beast Lair Cave	Can be done before level 6 if you bring a claw trap, a couple nets, and plenty of arrows. Make the most of your range, and use Nets at 3 tiles away.
Abandoned Mineshaft	Can spawn as early as Tier 1, and is usually populated by bandits.

Stat Point 2

Location	Advice
Ghoul Den	Focus fire 1 ghoul and lead the others from the corpse before attacking again, as they will eat the corpses. Don't let any escape.
Boar Trail	Boars have a 6-tile charge range. Moving across tiles skips 1 turn, so be careful not to get caught by them. Discovering the location and killing 1 is enough to progress the trait. Use Broadhead Arrows
Crawler Burrow	They can spit webs to Net you from 4 tiles away. You can kite them indefinitely. Not a threat with Long Shot​.​
Overgrown Cave	Rockeater Workers can burrow to gain ground on you, while Rockeater Hunters can attack from range. Neither is a threat with Long Shot​.

Stat Point 3

Location	Advice
Wolf Den	Discovering the location and killing 1 wolf is enough to progress the trait.
Harpy Nest	Harpies can be lured into 1-on-1 by shouting. From there, you can Snipe them with Long Shot​. You cannot kite them, as they can dash every turn. Once you injure a Wing, they can no longer fly. Bring 2 Nets.
Moose Trail	Moose have a 6 tile charge, like Boars. Use Broadhead Arrows.
Bear Territory	Bears cannot charge, and therefore can be kited indefinitely. Use Broadhead Arrows.

Hilda's Bonecharm

Hilda's Bonecharm is the last integral part of the build that was not yet covered. Hilda's unique quirk is that she can butcher exotic animals and use their trophies to grant herself unique buffs. Different animals provide different bonuses, and those bonuses grow stronger for every animal of that type that you've slain during your adventures. 

Here is the complete list of all Bonecharm effects:

On this build, 4 effects stand out from the rest.

1. Boar Tusks - The cooldown duration is quite useful. It makes the build that much more reliable in large fights, especially against a multitude of fast enemies.
2. Crawler Eye - Energy drain scales with your damage dealt, and this build deals a lot of damage. It's a nice auxiliary source of energy drain, and could allow you to dedicate your weapon enchantment to something more offensive.
3. Wolf Tongue - This build can fight wolves safely relatively early into the campaign. -10% ability energy cost is quite impactful, and is most noticeable on the Sharpshooter Bow.

All in all, this build definitely wants to hunt Wolves, Boars, and Crawlers, so make note of any hunting grounds or burrows that you discover from rumours. This build can fight all of them by the time it reaches level 12 and unlocks Long Shot​.

Conclusion

The Royal Ranger is a very pure representation of the Ranger archetype in Stoneshard. It is extremely strong at the things that it sets out to do, and it delivers on the Stealth Archer / Ranger fantasy. It can easily be customized and adapted toward different concepts, as the underlying chassis of the first 19/20 levels is incredibly robust. Most importantly, it is a very fun build to pilot, and I recommend that anyone who has not yet played a Ranger archetype in Stoneshard try it with this build.