D&D 5E Can the Bard out-Ranger a Ranger?

[mellored]

Nah, the Fighter out-rangers the Ranger so badly in combat it can safely multiclass a whole 9 levels for exploration.

If by ranger you mean deal lots of single target damage with a bow, then yes.

But if you also want AoE damage with spells like conjure barrage or lighting arrow, then no.


Though that's the general issue with rangers. They are hybrids. Part fighter, part caster, but weaker at both.

 

[Kithas]

As mello said the ranger, s real strength lies in aoe. An often underrated area. In 5e the hardest fights fou will have will be the ones where you are outnumbered. Aoe is so much more valuable in a bounded accuracy system. That said a dip to level 5 gets you most of that, level 9 if you vant conjure barrage. With 3 attacks plus a bonus action(ala xbow expert) unless there are 5 targets in your 10' radius you might as well not have volley :/
Melee rangers on the other hand are fantastic.

 

[RulesJD]

Ranger 3 + Horder Breaker + Sharpshooter + Xbox Expert = almost always 4 attacks/turn whenever you get multiattack. That is pushing out an insane amount of damage at-will, especially when combined with Hunter's Mark.

With that said, I agree with the above posters. Generally speaking, taking Ranger past level 3 is kind of pointless as a Battlemaster Fighter will serve the Ranger better. Maybe a level of Cleric for Bless + Sharpshooter shenanigans.

 

[Gladius Legis]

Melee rangers on the other hand are fantastic.

Melee Rangers are even more of a waste. A DEX-based Oath of Ancients Paladin out-Rangers a melee Ranger by a country mile, and out-fights one even moreso.

 

[Kithas]

Melee Rangers are even more of a waste. A DEX-based Oath of Ancients Paladin out-Rangers a melee Ranger by a country mile, and out-fights one even moreso.

Single target damage yes. Any class can do that and its pointless because if theres only a few enemies you have a clear advantage. You dant need to be good at single target damage un my opinion.
Melee rangers, especially with great weapons, are amazing at aoe damage. If you can deal with multiple enemies you have a huge advantage in fights that you should lose.

 

[Yunru]

And then the paladin cast a aoe spell and the multiple enemies were no more. While still having good single target damage and support powers.

Which, if I'm not mistaken, means it's:
• As good as the ranger at AoE
• Better than the ranger at STD
• Better than the ranger at OOC

Yup, definitely better than the ranger.

 

[Kithas]

And then the paladin cast a aoe spell and the multiple enemies were no more. While still having good single target damage and support powers.

Which, if I'm not mistaken, means it's:
• As good as the ranger at AoE
• Better than the ranger at STD
• Better than the ranger at OOC

Yup, definitely better than the ranger.

The only aoe spells you get are destructive wave, ice storm, and spirit guardians. Rangers also have aoe spells with better range and damage, not to montion their non spell aoe is much better. Still has cure wounds for some support, albeit not much. And I would prefer ensnaring strike and hunter's mark if I wanted single target damage, you have to choose one I get both.

 

[Gladius Legis]

Moonbeam is AoE for an Ancients Paladin, 2nd-level.

 

[Kithas]

Moonbeam is AoE for an Ancients Paladin, 2nd-level.

Its a 5' radius circle. That's one space and one target.

 

[SpinG22]

Its a 5' radius circle. That's one space and one target.

No, it's a 5' radius, it can hit 4 people. It's a decent aoe and can provide crowd control.