[SixOfSpades]

The Ranger is quite a strong, fun, and balanced class. (The Paladin is, too, of course.) His Stealth skill is comes in very handy, even if he can't Backstab like the Thief can, and while his selection of spells is pretty meager, he makes a decent support caster (Casts Doom right before your real Priest casts Greater Command, thus achieving in 1 round what would have taken you 2, etc).

Their 2 free points in Dual-weilding are also a strong bonus: Your Armor class does not matter in BG2 as much as it did in BG1 (since there are quite a few creatures whose THAC0 is so ridiculously low that they're going to hit you no matter what), which means using a Shield loses some allure....which means Dual-wielding looks like the way to go. In order to Dual-wield 2 different types of weapons at his maximum proficiency, a Ranger only needs to spend 5 proficiency points, meaning he can be at 100% potential right at the beginning of the game. A Fighter, however, would have to spend 13 proficiency points, meaning he has to wait until Level 27, well into the ToB range. (Okay, so the Fighter can eventually Dual-wield much better than the Ranger can, but look at the time difference.)

And then there's the Ranger/Cleric, quite a powerful combination. With both the Druid and Cleric halves of the Priest scroll open to you....hoo boy. A Tank under Ironskins, Righteous Magic and Armor of Faith is not someone to be taken lightly, especially when he can counter your PfMW with an Insect Plague or three.