Melee Ranger/Beast Master Starting Build?

[Nimnor]

Hey I'm looking into playing a ranger I heard there quite good in this game and I'm looking into doing a Melee Ranger/Beast Master I just need some help with the starting stats and for the companion are Bears available I know it's still early access but I'm just wondering

[Northern]

Well you need to have at least 14 wis and Con.

Then you decide if you Strenght based Rexxar style beastmaster or nimble fencer and get 16 str or Dex. Other stats whatever you like. Still get 12 dex for Str.

For Str get knight ranger enemy for dex whatever you like.

Animal will be available at level 3.

[Hogs Fattman]

Bears are available. I believe it's Wolf, Raven, Bear, Giant Spider, Boar and...something else. They're pretty decent, Spider is my personal favorite because it weirdly has way more HP than all the other ones, plus a solid web ability.

As far as stats go, if you want to be melee, there's a ranger "favored enemy" option which lets you go heavy armor. That lets you focus a little less on Dex so you can invest more in strength/con and play a bit more like a traditional frontliner. You can also just go bigger in dex and rock a rapier on the frontlines.