I have 1 male Warrior, 1 female Mage and 4 female Rangers... different builds. Rangers are awesome in every way and seems like I cannot build them wrong lol. The thing to look for at the very beginning is a bow with a decent plus to damage (like around +10 or better if you have the patience). The Patch 2 removed the +30 bow I used to buy, which took me through Maxos' Temple lol. Save before you talk to each of the nerchants for the first time (especially Derk), and reload multiple times until you get such a bow. The rest will be easy.
