Honestly, I went through the exact same thing last week and it was a bit of a letdown. I rushed Blood Frenzy because everyone said the lifesteal was a literal lifesaver, but with low agility, the healing was so tiny it barely covered one hit from a cave spider. I ended up dying like four times in the Sunken Grotto because I thought I could tank through it. Unfortunately, Viper Strike was even worse... the mana cost is just brutal. I spent more time staring at my blue bar than actually fighting, which is super frustrating when you only have a little time to play. Since you only have an hour a night, dont waste your time with those yet. I eventually swapped to Pounce and coupled it with the Iron Bark passive. Its not flashy, but the safety is way better for a beginner. To help with the clunky movement while I was figuring it out, I actually picked up a Logitech G502 HERO Wired Gaming Mouse which has a 25,600 DPI sensor. Mapping Pounce to one of the side buttons made it so much easier to escape when I got cornered. Also, if you can scrounge up some extra cash, I got the SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL Gaming Keyboard with whisper quiet switches. It helps when I am playing late at night so I dont wake up the house while spamming my keys trying not to die. Just stick to the mobility skills for now, they are way more reliable than the damage ones.

Re: "Honestly, I went through the exact same thing..."

• You might want to consider the Feral Senses passive instead of rushing active skills. I have been playing Ranger since the beta, and the technical reality is that active skills like Viper Strike have a fixed mana cost that outpaces your level 12 pool. If you are on a budget, look at Primal Instinct. It offers a flat crit chance increase that does not rely on your current stats. Be careful with Pounce; the hitbox is tiny and if you miss, you are stuck in a cooldown animation that usually gets you killed. I would suggest Crippling Scratch for the utility. It is cheap and lets you kite effectively. Also, if you are having trouble with the timing, upgrading to a Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse can actually help with the precision needed for the Openclaw tree. TL;DR: Focus on Primal Instinct for free damage and Crippling Scratch for mana-efficient kiting until your Agility hits 25.

Seconded!