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Melee Ranger Great Weapon Master
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<blockquote data-quote="Mistwell" data-source="post: 6692088" data-attributes="member: 2525"><p>Melee Rangers are not well supported in the guides, but I think it's possible to make a very competitive one. I'd like people's thoughts on that concept, and how to execute it.</p><p></p><p>Here is an example:</p><p> </p><p>Ability Scores: Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Chr 8</p><p>Race: Human: +1 Str, +1 Wis or Con, Skill, Feat: Great Weapon Master (When dropping foe to 0 or scoring Crit, 2nd attack as bonus action; and -5 to attack bonus for +10 to damage)</p><p>Fighter 1: Str & Con Saves (instead of Dex), Heavy Armor Proficiency, Great Weapon Fighting, Second Wind, one less skill;</p><p>Ranger X (Hunter): Defense (+1 AC) and Horde Breaker (2nd attack on adjacent foe each round).</p><p> </p><p>Armor: Plate (as soon as possible, using down-time and artisan tool proficiency to help craft for half price if needed)</p><p>Weapon: Greatsword (2d6 Damage, Heavy, Two-Handed)</p><p>Typical Spells: Hunter's Mark (Concentration)</p><p> </p><p>Why the multiclassing? Plate Armor allows me to lower (not dump) Dex. I don't need to go early in the round, and Dex saves are typically the least deadly of the three main saves. Sure, I might use a ranged weapon on rare occassion, but I can use Javelins most of the time for that (which use strength). The fighter level also give me Great Weapon Fighting (re-roll 1s and 2s) which works very well with a Greatsword (2d6 Damage means re-roll applies to each die). Second Wind doesn't hurt, and will help at early levels a bit. The Con save proficiency is also typically more helpful than the Dex proficiency, and helps with Concentration checks.</p><p> </p><p>In a typical round this character will move in beside a group of foes. If their AC is low, he will take a -5 to attack for +10 damage. The first hit will do 2d6 (re-roll 1s and 2s) which is around 8 damage +3 for strength +10 from the feat for about 21 damage. Whether I hit or miss, Horde Breaker then activates to give me a second attack against an adjacent foe for the same damage on a hit. And then if either of those attacks kills or crits a foe, the feat triggers a third attack which again does the same damage on a hit. None of this is counting potential use of Hunter's Mark, which is likely applied in the first round of hustling to get next to the foes (though I can only apply/switch it in a round when I am not using a bonus action for the feats).</p><p> </p><p>Yes, Hunter's Mark is concentration, but I find it very rare that enough damage is done to challenge a meaningful concentration check. Particularly since this guy has a higher AC (18 from Plate, +1 from Defense, total 19) and a pretty good Con, and proficiency with Con saves - all stuff most Rangers don't get.</p><p> </p><p>Against a horde of weaker foes (which is not unusual at all, particularly in Adventurer's League which is where this PC will be playing), if all three attacks hit it's an average of 63 damage a round, not counting any possible usage of Hunter's Mark. And this is at relatively low levels (Horde Breaker is the last to kick in at 4th level for this PC).</p><p> </p><p>I expect this character will not be needed for higher levels given the structure of our Adventurer's League play (I have a Bard for higher level play). So the lack of this strategy scaling well at high levels is not of great import to me.</p><p> </p><p>I'd like some thoughts/criticisms/ideas on this build, and related Melee Ranger builds and the concept in general. Any suggestions for changes? Questions? Comments? Is a Ranger really an archer or a beast's pal in your mind, and melee just isn't the right concept for the class?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mistwell, post: 6692088, member: 2525"] Melee Rangers are not well supported in the guides, but I think it's possible to make a very competitive one. I'd like people's thoughts on that concept, and how to execute it. Here is an example: Ability Scores: Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Chr 8 Race: Human: +1 Str, +1 Wis or Con, Skill, Feat: Great Weapon Master (When dropping foe to 0 or scoring Crit, 2nd attack as bonus action; and -5 to attack bonus for +10 to damage) Fighter 1: Str & Con Saves (instead of Dex), Heavy Armor Proficiency, Great Weapon Fighting, Second Wind, one less skill; Ranger X (Hunter): Defense (+1 AC) and Horde Breaker (2nd attack on adjacent foe each round). Armor: Plate (as soon as possible, using down-time and artisan tool proficiency to help craft for half price if needed) Weapon: Greatsword (2d6 Damage, Heavy, Two-Handed) Typical Spells: Hunter's Mark (Concentration) Why the multiclassing? Plate Armor allows me to lower (not dump) Dex. I don't need to go early in the round, and Dex saves are typically the least deadly of the three main saves. Sure, I might use a ranged weapon on rare occassion, but I can use Javelins most of the time for that (which use strength). The fighter level also give me Great Weapon Fighting (re-roll 1s and 2s) which works very well with a Greatsword (2d6 Damage means re-roll applies to each die). Second Wind doesn't hurt, and will help at early levels a bit. The Con save proficiency is also typically more helpful than the Dex proficiency, and helps with Concentration checks. In a typical round this character will move in beside a group of foes. If their AC is low, he will take a -5 to attack for +10 damage. The first hit will do 2d6 (re-roll 1s and 2s) which is around 8 damage +3 for strength +10 from the feat for about 21 damage. Whether I hit or miss, Horde Breaker then activates to give me a second attack against an adjacent foe for the same damage on a hit. And then if either of those attacks kills or crits a foe, the feat triggers a third attack which again does the same damage on a hit. None of this is counting potential use of Hunter's Mark, which is likely applied in the first round of hustling to get next to the foes (though I can only apply/switch it in a round when I am not using a bonus action for the feats). Yes, Hunter's Mark is concentration, but I find it very rare that enough damage is done to challenge a meaningful concentration check. Particularly since this guy has a higher AC (18 from Plate, +1 from Defense, total 19) and a pretty good Con, and proficiency with Con saves - all stuff most Rangers don't get. Against a horde of weaker foes (which is not unusual at all, particularly in Adventurer's League which is where this PC will be playing), if all three attacks hit it's an average of 63 damage a round, not counting any possible usage of Hunter's Mark. And this is at relatively low levels (Horde Breaker is the last to kick in at 4th level for this PC). I expect this character will not be needed for higher levels given the structure of our Adventurer's League play (I have a Bard for higher level play). So the lack of this strategy scaling well at high levels is not of great import to me. I'd like some thoughts/criticisms/ideas on this build, and related Melee Ranger builds and the concept in general. Any suggestions for changes? Questions? Comments? Is a Ranger really an archer or a beast's pal in your mind, and melee just isn't the right concept for the class? [/QUOTE]
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