D&D 5E Ranger

Falling Icicle said:

I agree. I was really hoping that spell-less rangers were at least going to be an option. Instead, they made the class more dependent on spells than it's ever been before.

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because historically rangers cast spells...

my AD&D 1e ranger cast magic missile ...

Well, that could work on several different beasts...but specifically the badger it wouldnt work AS well..as its Dex is only 10.

Deltabeoulve said:

Well, that could work on several different beasts...but specifically the badger it wouldnt work AS well..as its Dex is only 10.

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Why would a ranger choose a badger? It's tiny so it has less hit points, it gets one attack that does 1 damage and can only move 20'.

Edit - Giant Badger

Deltabeoulve said:

Edit - Giant Badger

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Yeah, that was a bit confusing.

It wouldn't work for the giant badger. Not sure the giant badger is always the best choice. With the advantage the wolf will get with its attacks and the ability to knock its target prone, I think the wolf is equally a match. If a ranger actually dedicated the feat for Magical Initiate, I think it tips the scale for the wolf.

Wrathamon said:

because historically rangers cast spells...

my AD&D 1e ranger cast magic missile ...

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Yeah. At 10th level? 9th? Don't quite remember but didn't they get MU spells after/at a later level than Druid spells?

That's hardly justification for making them casters from the first die roll.

Gladius Legis said:

First things first: Hunter's Mark is definitely the first spell ANY Ranger should learn. That'll keep you from falling terribly far behind DPR-wise.

As for the Hunter features:

• Giant Killer is probably the best choice overall, and good as is. An extra attack is always good (moreso with Hunter's Mark), and a lot of the high-CR enemies are Large or larger. Basically they eat your attack if they stand next to you and attack you, or they try to move away and you get an OA.
• Colossus Slayer probably needs a boost either to 2d8, or perhaps just let it apply to all attacks you make a la Paladin's Improved Divine Smite.
• Hordebreaker's distance should probably be increased to 10 feet. That'll give it some more utility ... or at least as much utility as a suboptimal attack strategy will allow.
• Said suboptimal attack strategy is also kind of a problem with Multiattack in general. I mean, yeah, I see they were trying to give the Ranger a minor AoE he could do at-will, but the damage for that is just pitiful.

The Ranger is lacking in burst damage, more than anything. Even Swift Quiver doesn't help a ton in that department, it just brings your DPR barely above that of just a Fighter with 4 attacks (plus it's concentration and thus won't stack with Hunter's Mark).

I will say, however, that 5E's Ranger is easily the most evocative flavor-wise. A shame its combat effectiveness doesn't quite match.

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I found this fascinating because I came away with almost exactly the opposite conclusions.

I believe Giant Killer is the least-desirable ability because it has multiple conditions that must be met before it can trigger, and the benefit is simply another attack roll which, if it misses, gains the Ranger nothing at all. And now he's standing adjacent to a large creature that can probably hit pretty hard. That's assuming a large creature is even on the field. Moreover, the ability only goes off if the large+ creature attacks you, not someone else, and it eats up your reaction for the round.

The most reliable of the three in my opinion is Colossus Slayer, which has basically no conditions other than hitting your damaged target with an attack, and it very simply adds damage. While it's true that the damage added is an unmodified d8, at least you don't have to make another attack roll to inflict it. Also, this ability does not eat up your reaction, which means creatures won't be able to just wander away from you because you can't make an opportunity attack. This is a benefit that will trigger A LOT in combat, against anything, really. My only complaint is, why is it called "Colossus Slayer" when there is no size requirement?

I found Horde Breaker to be somewhat in the middle. It requires two enemies to be be five feet apart, but that's not a super-rare situation in my experience. If I am reading it correctly, it grants an extra attack that does not consume the Ranger's reaction. If the extra attack misses, well, you haven't lost anything. It also provides an incentive for the party to try to push monsters together using shoves and the like.

So, just an amusing observation and a different point of view.

Yeah I like colossus best, though id rename it to finish the weak, or something.

Venthrac said:

I found this fascinating because I came away with almost exactly the opposite conclusions.

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You're not the only one. Colossus Slayer looks great, since someone's always wounded - it's just been named stupidly, it should be Predator something. And Horde Breaker gives you an extra attack, which is a big enough of a deal that you might even want to Ready your attack to go off 'when two enemies are 5ft from each other'.

Venthrac said:

... This is a benefit that will trigger A LOT in combat, against anything, really. My only complaint is, why is it called "Colossus Slayer" when there is no size requirement?

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Because smaller things are less likely to still be alive when you go to hit them after they've already been damaged.

We had a Colossus Slayer in our group last night for first episode of HotDQ. He didn't get to use the ability once. Not one single use as we blasted through the encounters. Everything we fought was either one-shotted, or damaged by one player then finished by another before it reached the ranger's initiative.

This might indeed be the better option for specializing in 'boss' fights, but I don't think it's going to be as good as you might expect in other encounters.