2) You can always, playing as a Ranger, invest points in Skills you like, that's all up to you
Fear is funny, but Blind is more powerful ! But as a Ranger Fear can be very good because the enemies run away and you can simply use your bow to shoot at them

Enchant the bow with Life Leech or Mana Leech ... imagine the Fun !
You can always look out (by traders) for a equipment item with a boost for this skill to TRY it out and see if you like it

. Then you don't have to unlearn all skills and concentrate on your Ranger skill (to invest points in).
I do the same with my Priest Build. Invest almost all skill points in Priest Skills, but have already many kind of Yewellery items with boosts for skills I like/use mostly and handy in case of immergency (like Hide in Shadows, for example, I can boost it from 1/5 to 4/5)
It's also handy to spare skill points for later. At level 20 I've now 7 points left.