The ranger has learned to summon stronger companion animals. Animals summoned by a Master Ranger are significantly more powerful in combat than their normal counterparts.
Unlocking
You can purchase the Manual: Ranger from Bodahn Feddic at the Party Camp for 15 0 0. Like with all specialization manuals, once you buy it in any playthrough, the specialization will be unlocked for all current and future playthroughs and the manual will be permanently gone from the vendor's inventory.
Pet comparison
There has been great debate on which pet is best, when to use a certain pet, and the pros and cons of each one's abilities. The following list may help to determine which pet a player would prefer.
First and foremost, a tank. It will take a sizable amount of damage before going down. Very useful at lower levels when an NPC tank cannot control all enemies or survive encounters.
Rage at Master Ranger level can increase damage done by decent amount for a short period of time.
Cons:
Seems slower, if only slightly than the other summons.
On consoles, due to lack of third person overhead view, can block line of sight at times, making it difficult to target an enemy.
Large, which causes trouble to the movement of the party in tight spaces. It can also get stuck in doorways.
Web can be used instantly for interrupting attacks or just keeping an enemy busy.
Poison Spit deals mild damage over time. Has a 12 second cool down.
Cons:
Weaker melee damage compared to the other two animals.
Pet stats
There is no difference for the improved master ranger version at the same pet level. Pets are summoned at 75% of the ranger level, with master ranger at 90%. At the same pet level, the master ranger versions differ from the basic versions only in having an additional talent and 2.5 points combat health regeneration (the basic pets don't have combat health regeneration).
Neither the ranger's level nor the ranger's stats make any difference for the summoned pet (assuming the same pet level).
The pets have the following stats at pet level 10:
Wolf
Bear
Spider
Health
245.5
406.1
245.5
Armor
5.5
6.5
6.0
Attack
79.5
80.8
79.5
Defense
83.0
59.5
83.0
Damage per hit
30.2
30.9
30.2
Armor penetration
4.8
4.3
4.8
Attack speed
1.6s
2.1s
1.5s
Stats per pet level gained:
Wolf
Bear
Spider
Health
14.5
15.4
14.5
Armor
0.2
0.2
0.2
Attack
2.2
2.2
2.2
Defense
2.3
2.2
2.3
Damage per hit
2.6
2.5
2.6
Armor penetration
0.4
0.3
0.4
Exploits
Multiple Summons Exploit
Note: None of the methods below will work on console versions.
It is possible to summon multiple pets provided you have enough stamina. To do this start summoning and instantly click on the next summon. It is only possible to have 2 summons out at a time using this method. As the game engine does not properly support more than 1 summon per character, multiple summons do not retain full functionality. Firstly, you will be unable to manually use skills from them (when you select them, the skills are greyed out, and say "Only main character is active while in camp"), but accessible in the tactics menu as noted below. Secondly NONE of their portraits will be shown on the top left hand side of the screen. If you want to select them, you must do so manually by left clicking on them. However, the "Select Entire Party" button still selects them as per normal. This also makes it more difficult to monitor their health and stamina status.
Sample Tactics Setup for Master Ranger's Blight Wolf
It is possible to utilize all of the pet's abilities as though they were a party member via tactics - the only way to do this is by clicking the "x tactic slots acquired" notification upon summoning. On the tactics menu, the followings are available:
Note: This method allows earlier access to Shred (for wolf) and Rage (for black bear) before acquiring Master Ranger. And, wolf/blight wolf becomes more versatile, i.e. crowd control via Dread Howl, disabling a mage/archer with Charge, or quick DPS with Overwhelm.
The "x tactic slots acquired" notification will not appear until the summon/pet is at level 10 (equivalent to normal ranger's level of 14 and master ranger's level at 12), when it technically gains an additional 'tactic presets slot'. Thus, you can configure 5 slots to start off and receive additional slot at the same rate as the player/companions (at 15, 20, 25, and 30).
The tactics cannot be saved or accessed at any other time other than when first summoned! This makes it rather tedious (especially since the summons disappear with every area transition without a special mod) but extremely useful in more difficult situations. You cannot access it any way other than clicking on the "x tactic slots acquired" notification. Don't miss your opportunity!
Also, do not forget to choose appropriate behavior on the upper right drop-down menu to fit your strategy/style.
Prior to patch 1.02a, it was also possible (using Revival) to have all 3 summoned at once. Summon all 3 in sequence, and the previous animal will die as the next is summoned. Use Revival on the spot they died, and they will return to life, giving you 3 pets.
It is possible to have a computer-controlled party member automatically summon multiple active pets at a time, including more than one of the same type. However, there is no way to get rid of them after summoning (even if you kill them), and removing companions from your party afterwards results in the animals taking over companion slots. Proper companions like Alistair and Leliana cannot be added back as well. Simply place these three lines in their tactics:
On the pc, each ranger in the party can summon a pet. On ps3 and xbox360, only one animal can be summoned in your party at a time. Having a second ranger summon a creature while there is an active one in your party will kill or un-summon the first.They will however come back to life later.
Animals count as allies and can be used for a Blood Sacrifice in place of your party members.
On ps3 and xbox360 pet kills do not yield experience points. However, as of patch v1.02, this is no longer an issue on the pc.
Note: Patch v1.04 fixes this issue on consoles.
Traveling to a new screen causes your pet to be unsummoned. This can be especially annoying due to the long cooldown of the summons.
Summon Wolf
Summon Bear
Summon Spider
Master Ranger
0
0
. Like with all specialization manuals, once you buy it in any playthrough, the specialization will be unlocked for all current and future playthroughs and the manual will be permanently gone from the vendor's inventory.
Howl provides a decent area of effect debuff.
Rage at Master Ranger level can increase damage done by decent amount for a short period of time.
Web can be used instantly for interrupting attacks or just keeping an enemy busy.
Poison Spit deals mild damage over time. Has a 12 second cool down.
, each ranger in the party can summon a pet. On 
and 
, only one animal can be summoned in your party at a time. Having a second ranger summon a creature while there is an active one in your party will kill or un-summon the first.They will however come back to life later.
