After doing a little research, I learned that ranged classes in Path of Exile tend to fair better at the moment compared to melee based classes. My first class was a templar and I found the class to be okay. I think at his level there’s not a lot to be said. However, just for fun, I decided to give the ranger a shot (pun not intended).
I have to say that the ranger does feel a bit easier at lower levels. Part of the advantage is simply being able to kill off your targets before they can reach you. The other aspect is that when you deal with ranged enemies, you can deal your own damage simultaneously. Of course, everything boils down to the type of encounter you’re facing, your gear, gems and level, but thus far I just found things to be far smoother.
Perhaps, the other aspect that has made the game easier is just a slightly better idea of how to play the game in having more experience. Obviously, when you start out, you’ll just try things out to see how you’ll fair. But the game can be somewhat unforgiving in that there’s little for new players to rely on within the game. You pretty much need to follow the forums or other high profile players and guides to get a better idea of optimizing your style.
Some things that I think I’ve improved upon is the gemming aspect. When I started out, I didn’t really know how gems worked so I pretty much used anything. On my current build, I’ve been focusing on more green gems to compliment my bow focus. Also, I’m not just grabbing any gear that I find but pertinent items related to his core skills. Both of these aspects have made playing a ranger pretty smooth.
Of course, the other aspect that has been pretty cool is the shared stash. Since I’ve been hording various rare items, I’ve managed to accumulate quite a bit of decent equipment for lower levels. In turn, Act 1 was pretty much a breeze. Even Brutus wasn’t all that bad.
The only issue now is that I’m pretty much spreading myself a little thin. However, I’ll probably be using the build as suggested by ZiggyD for my ranger. If you haven’t seen his video, check it out: