[2.0] Low Budget Crit Tornado Shot Ranger | beginner friendly | great for new and casual players

Oy, i'm trying this build right now and i dont know where it goes wrong but im at the ACT IV in normal and its way too hard, not enough damage or i dont know :/. I just did the same thing with my arc witch and it was so easy, right now its nearly undoable without dieing 4-5th time in the grand arena ( mob spawn too fast regard my damages), an idea ?

I tried this build back in the league where you raced for the blue Seraph armour (Tourment and Bloodline mods).

Followed the guide as close as possible. And ended up with absolute crap DPS AND crap sustain. It just felt so bad.

Then, somewhere around Lv. 70, I respecced to a regular crit based Tornado Shot build and grabbed some 4-link bow for a few chaos (can't remember the exact price but it was somewhere around 5c, really cheap). My DPS more than doubled (not just tooltip. I killed everything WAY faster, didn't miss pierce at all), my sustain was really good thanks to some leech and it just felt incredible compared to Infractem.

From my experience Infractem just provides NOWHERE near enough damage with a measly 250 DPS max. The pierce helps a little bit but it is nothing compared to a bow with ~300 DPS, especially if you think about all the sustain you miss out on.

And 300 DPS rare bows are cheap, especially in temp leagues. Not to mention there is Lioneye's Glare where you can get somewhere around 330 DPS for the same cost as Infractem. Sure, crit rolls are missing and it doesn't have as high a crit chance as Infractem but it is more reliable (always hit), safer (you can leech) and has higher overall damage.

Infractem is just a really, REALLY bad bow. The only use it has is with Drillneck for 100% increased projectile damage but even that is kinda meh because, well, no leech. And Drillneck dies a bit inside, if paired with such a bad bow.

I appreciate the effort that went into this guide but, from my experience, a completely generic Tornado Shot build without Infractem gets the job done way better while still working on the same budget.

I agree with cocofang, at the end of merc i have shit dps and 0 survivability with a decent gear and all that is required in a build. Too bad, seems like i just wasted my time, the normal playthrough was ok, tho. Ranger is always fun to play in early game, so there's that. Other than this, there's nothing good about that build, i am sorry.

@sooldeen, cocofang, babacesmoi

I guess the problem is the leveling experience in 2.0 which I'm not familiar with with that build since I literally just respeced my lv 90 Ranger to see how the final build compares to the 1.3 version and I was very satisfied with the result. But I've seen Ziggy's video about the Ranger leveling experience being terrible now since the Rustic Sash recipe changes.

On the other hand when I was leveling Split Arrow in 2.0 beta I never had problems with damage...

In regards to Infractem: Back in 1.3 a bow with comparable pDPS was also way more expensive (25c upwards) so I'm surprised that this changed so much.

If the GG Harbingers are indeed dead cheap now then yes: Infractem got useless :(

Finally: Lioneye's Glare? Seriously? Bad crit chance and you certainly kill yourself vs reflect. Wouldn't recommend that.

Not sure what these guys are talking about. Im level 67 with all self found gear except Infractem and I one shot almost everything with just my curse on hit lightning arrow. If its a rare or boss I then switch to Tornado shot and 3-4 shot them.

Im only 67 and we'll see if theres drop off later on but following this build has been a piece of cake so far.

On another note, in the build I feel like going through Cold Hearted Calculation up to Written in Blood at #14 in your leveling path is kind of a waste of points. As well as the 3 nodes at Acuity which I think is #17 are better spent elsewhere.

Ideas for spending those points include: More frenzy charges, More jewel sockets, possibly getting Revenge of the Hunted or Avatar of the Hunt noteables.

Thanks again for this great budget build!

@Killzu, I also realized revenge of the hunted being superior over written in blood. Might be that I grabbed it for stat requirements (int on the way, strength through the notable) but evasion is way better than the crappy ES you get XD )

... have to revisit this and maybe change the guide a bit. Thanks for the tips!

I am currently using this build and your guide as my first ever toon through normal. My current plan is to unlock the Scion and reroll a new toon as Scion due to look and style (I prefer my ladies with long hair ;)

My question as a complete noob is now, how do I adjust the skill tree for the different starting area of a Scion. Is it even viable/possible to do so without sacrificing too much? Or do I need to go and look for a different build?

Either way, thanks for the guide, it did help a lot when being completely new and totally broke to at least being able to kill stuff and progress in the game! :)

@Sunfire, you could maybe do sth like this although I don't know how smooth you're going to progress with the build since it takes longer until you get the good projectile stuff and Spirit Void.

I guess you could play sth else (Flame Totem?) and then later switch to T-Shot once you have the barebone notables...

Hi r4wb1rd. Thanks for the build and updates. I'm level 67 now and still have a blast with this build.

I'm taking account for Killzu's advice so I'm going for the passives like this:



I'm kinda intrigue to get life gain on hit. But maybe I should get that from jewel. Let me know what you think.

Edit: after seeing Neversink's, I may drop Avatar of The Hunt because after I get Depth Perception, I gain significant boost on damage (in your face, Piety :p). Now I'll pick Revenge of the Hunted, Heartseeker, Deadly Draw, Heavy Draw, and Quickstep.

Now I'm level 77, it's still viable for main quest and maps, but there is something need to be adjusted for easier map runs. Of course IMO it's not that mandatory.

Dungeon (Boss:Brutus Clone)
While the boss alone isn't that deadly, the spike trap is. I suggest drop a life flask for a surgeon granite flask. I only use 1 surgeon life potion while fighting him. Just need to spam tornado shot and split arrow with assassin's mark.

Resist Curse mod
This mod kinda make your runs hard as assassin's mark is our reliable source of mana refill. For a faster runs, a surgeon's hybrid flask isn't a bad idea.

This is my current equipment. I just need to farm Chromatics for the Ursine Pelt for a better evasion and alteration for better Jade mods.