D&D (2024) Ranger 2024 is a bigger joke than Ranger 2014:

The thing I lament the most is the lack of the thematic elements such as favored terrain and foes. They were barely ribbons, but if you gave 2 choices at 1st level and the option to retrain them after a long rest, it made a some flavorful thematic options. IMO, way more than "hunter's mark: the class".
The problem with Favored Enemy in 5e is that once you make your favored enemy selections, they are 'locked-in'. You can't back out of them once you find out that none of them exist in your current adventure. Ditto for Favored Terrain. This is why I prefer the Favored Foe and Deft Explorer features from Tasha's Cauldron of the Everything for my current Ranger character.

With Favored Foe, everybody is a target. ;) " Why are You looking at me like that?" "Like what?" "Like I am walking, taking bag of gold?"

Level Up has a version of Favored Enemy (called Studied Adversary) that works pretty much like the 5e version except you can swap out your studied adversary per long rest. Where did WoTC get the idea that Rangers specialized in killing one type of Monster?
 

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The problem with Favored Enemy in 5e is that once you make your favored enemy selections, they are 'locked-in'. You can't back out of them once you find out that none of them exist in your current adventure. Ditto for Favored Terrain. This is why I prefer the Favored Foe and Deft Explorer features from Tasha's Cauldron of the Everything for my current Ranger character.

With Favored Foe, everybody is a target. ;) " Why are You looking at me like that?" "Like what?" "Like I am walking, taking bag of gold?"

Level Up has a version of Favored Enemy (called Studied Adversary) that works pretty much like the 5e version except you can swap out your studied adversary per long rest. Where did WoTC get the idea that Rangers specialized in killing one type of Monster?
AD&D 1st edition: giants.
AD&D 2nd edition: your choice.
 

I hadn't seen the 2024 Ranger, so I Googled it...

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Seems fine to me.

Johnathan
 

The problem with Favored Enemy in 5e is that once you make your favored enemy selections, they are 'locked-in'. You can't back out of them once you find out that none of them exist in your current adventure. Ditto for Favored Terrain. This is why I prefer the Favored Foe and Deft Explorer features from Tasha's Cauldron of the Everything for my current Ranger character.

With Favored Foe, everybody is a target. ;) " Why are You looking at me like that?" "Like what?" "Like I am walking, taking bag of gold?"

Level Up has a version of Favored Enemy (called Studied Adversary) that works pretty much like the 5e version except you can swap out your studied adversary per long rest. Where did WoTC get the idea that Rangers specialized in killing one type of Monster?
Yeah, in my games with PHB only I let them change terrain after a long rest AND while in their favored terrain, I let the ranger:
  • Cast without components
  • switch favored foe after long rest
  • switch spells after long rest
  • gain advantage on athletic check

Favored foe also comes with advantage on CHA checks against them, in our game.
 



I wonder how many 1e Rangers actually ran into a giant during an adventure? ;) Does anyone know what the most commonly encountered monster type in every edition of D&D was?
I think giant was not that bad.

I don't know however what qualified as giants back then. In 3e, quite a lot of commonly encountered creatures in all kinds of level ranges were of the giant type.

Also dwarves and gnomes also had significant bonuses to fight them.
 

The problem with Favored Enemy in 5e is that once you make your favored enemy selections, they are 'locked-in'. You can't back out of them once you find out that none of them exist in your current adventure. Ditto for Favored Terrain. This is why I prefer the Favored Foe and Deft Explorer features from Tasha's Cauldron of the Everything for my current Ranger character

Favored enemies only locked in and a problem If you as a DM allow it to be.

The DM can tell the player which favorite enemies are the best ones to pick based on the game they are

How in a world where a DM has the final say do you have a favored enemy problem when the choices are blatant and open to you and not mechanically insignificant at the time of choosing? It's not like 2e and 3e where it was a +1 or +2 bonus to one of fifty choices which strangleheld DMs to invoke.

And if it's that much of a problem let the ranger retrain in downtime.

This is why WOTC has a bunch of abilities where you as the player can switch your choices with just a long rest or even short rest.

The 2024 Ranger is what happens when the DMs and Players don't talk and WOTC has to respond by making an ultra-efficient Ranger that has a guaranteed method of operation and all aspects of of the class which can be suboptimally chosen must be swappable even if unrealistic.

This is what we have after generations of old school DMs not being want to be told what to do and new school DMs not being willing to tell people what to do.

"No you cannot pick favored enemy dragon because they are not enough dragons monsters for me to use and draconic is not a common enough language for it to matter."

"You can pick orc or goblin because both of their languages will be commonly spoken throughout the entire campaign and there are orc and goblin characters of various importance"

Nope. Just let them spam HM. It works.

/Rant
 

Well, sure, it's fine for yet another bland oversized pickup truck. But where's the pizzazz? Where's the newness and radical design like the Tesla Monstrosity Cybertruck ... [looks up reviews of the Tesla truck] ... umm ... never mind. ;)
For me, the pizzazz would have to be the 2024 Ranger pickup truck transforming into an Autobot. Live-action style of transformation, please.
 

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