....it has a dragon companion. That's what it's got to do with it. It is literally a "draconic spirit" which can assume a "physical form." It is a dragon companion. It literally starts out as a Small Dragon and grows to being a Medium Dragon and then a Large Dragon, wings and all.
It has no breath weapon until level 11, can’t fly until level 7, and can’t carry you in flight until level 15, past when most people will ever get to play the character.
You get a
drake companion.
I just...I don't understand how it can be a "weird subclass that has little if any connection to being a ranger." It's a ranger with a draconic animal companion. That's literally what it is.
The fact they put it in ranger doesn’t give it any thematic tie to being a ranger. It has no particular reason to be a ranger subclass rather than a fighter subclass.
You focus on making your dragon-friend better at being a dragon-friend, and get perks in the process, like resistance to its elemental essence.
What do I want with perks, when I could have got an actual dragon that I can ride in flight at a level that most campaigns actually see?
What more could you possibly want from a dragon-themed ranger? You literally get a dragon friend and draconic benefits!
By level 15, you have a dragon friend. At 3rd level, it might as well be a wolf that magically gives me resistance to a damage type. Choose cold, and it’s a pretty cool winter wolf companion.
Just sayin, there are plenty of things to dislike about it beyond the dismissive and reductive list given upthread.
