Questions on Ranger Gear and Builds

I am playing a leveling Ranger build I had found on Maxroll for Gas Grenade Explosion.

It got me to t4 waypoints and I can kill stuff quick, but I also die in 1 or 2 hits by anything.

Originally I was doing all gear evasion+armor which going off some recent Youtube videos, maybe the Armor is just a waste.

So my questions are:

1) Is there a current end game build using Gas Grenade Explosion? I couldn't find one in forms using the filter for Ranger but maybe I'm missing something.

2) Should I start working on Evasion only gear? Do Ranger builds usually go Evasion+Energy Sheld? I know Class doesn't really dictate what type of build or gear, but curious if builds are tending to be one or the other.

The last update on that Maxroll build was Dec 9th so I am starting to look at respecing as it seems like it is not going to have an End Game version posted, but not sure what to change to yet.

Any suggestions of builds tried would be great. I am def not a pro, but I probably have more time than the casual parent that plays.

Thanks,

Evasion-based defenses are going to feel really rippy. That's just the nature of them being RNG. Naturally, make sure you are res capped (at least 75 all elements, ideally 90 all so you're res capped with Elemental Weakness on you). Any chaos res you can get helps with many of the rippier abilities you'll see, but it can be tough to fit on gear without either paying a lot or making some huge sacrifices. Aim to get some health and/or attributes (including strength) on every slot where you can.

Other options are going hybrid like you mentioned, and adding in defensive layers. I don't know what defensive "auras" you have on. Wind Dancer is pretty OK for the increased evasion - put Blind support on it. Ghost Dance (monk) and Grim Feast (Witch) are additional sources of ES. For going hybrid, there are a couple of choice nodes near Monk that really help support that if it's not too far out of the way - Spectral Ward (+1 es per 12 evasion on body) and Subterfuge Mask (+2 evasion per 1 es on helmet). Do note that the doubling of body armor evasion given by Bestial Skin is applied *after* Spectral Ward takes effect, so you do not get more ES by taking that node. Iron runes in body armor or helmet *do* affect the conversion, though.

If you aren't interested in going hybrid then Acrobatics is worth considering. Evasion doesn't scale linearly so as you get more each additional point of evasion contributes to less additional evade chance. Acrobatics reduces your evasion, but much less than you'd expect because of the exponential scaling. It also makes your evasion more effective. If you have around 87+% evasion chance then Acrobatics will bring you down to 70%.

Also, finally, when pathing around the tree you only really need enough Dex and Int to support your gems and gear unless perhaps you're doing a specific attribute stacker (but you will know that). Any extra pathing nodes you pick up can be turned into Strength at a rate of 1 str = 2 health. This does mean any + attributes (dex, str, int, or all) on gear is equivalent to health since you can turn pathing nodes into strength/10 hp nodes.

Between my two rangers (one hybrid with 84% evasion w/o wind dancer, one ssf pure evasion with acrobatics and 70% evasion with wind dancer) things start to feel smoother at 2300 hp.

Okay, added Blind Support to my Wind Dancer. Spectral Ward is 18 Nodes away, Subterfuge is 9. So Acrobatics makes the unavoidable, avoidable, but my evade gets capped at 70%? I guess I am missing how that is better :S

I guess just to give a quick rundown of the build:

Gas Grenade + Fire Infusion + Inspiration + Martial Tempo
Explosive Shot + Double Barrel + Scattershot + Nimble Reload
Oil Grenade + Encumbrance + Strip Away

Wind Dancer + (now) Blind Support + Precision + Clarity
Blasphemy + Flammability + Magnified Effect

Current Resistances
Cold: 10
Lightning: 2
Chaos: 15
Fire: 36

I know i gotta bump these up, just haven't had luck with crafting yet.

Life -> 1257
Mana -> 913
Armor -> 1612
Evasion -> 4782 (Estimated chance to evade 69% Giggity)

Thanks so much for the help!
str:89
Dex: 121
Int: 92