D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook reveal: "New Ranger"

"More than any other class, the ranger is a new class."

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It has been a year (less a day) since we last saw the Ranger in UA Playtest 6. There still could be a lot of change. My sense is that they are more or less happy with three of the subclasses (Fey Wanderer, Beastmaster, and Gloom Stalker), but many questions remain: Will anyone be happy with the favored enemy/relation to the land abilities? Will Hunter's Mark be foregrounded in multiple abilities? Will rangers at least get a free casting of the Barrage/Volley spells? For the Hunter, will the "Superior" abilties at levels 11 and 15 continue to be things you didn't choose at lower levels? For the Gloom Stalker, will they pull out 3rd level invisibility from "Umbral Sight"? Any chance for a surprise substitution of the Horizon Walker? Let's find out.

OVERVIEW

• "widely played, but ... one of the lowest rated"
• Spellcasting and Weapon Mastery at 1 (as with Paladin). Spellcasting can change spells after long rest (not every level)
• NEW: Favored Enemy: Hunters Mark always prepared, and X castings per day. (was level 2 in PT6, where it was WIS times/day)
• NEW: Fighting Style at 2 (no limits on choice). or you may choose two cantrips (again, like Paladin).
• NEW: Deft Explorer at 3: expertise in a proficient skill, +2 languages. NO INTERACTION WITH LAND TYPES. This is a nerf from PT6, where at least you got a bonus to Intelligence (Nature) checks.
• Extra attack at 5, Roving at 6 (+10' move, Climb Speed, Swim speed).
• Two more expertise options, at 9, presumably. Compared to the playtest, this is a nerf: PT6 gave 1 expertise, the spell Conjure Barrage always prepared, and +2 land types for Explorer. These had problems, but it's a lot to lose for one additional expertise.
• At 10, Tireless (as in PT6) -- THP and reduced Exhaustion.
• NEW: At 13, Damage no longer breaks concentration with Hunter's Mark.
• At 14, Nature's Veil -- invisibility. At 18, Blindsight.
• NEW: At 17, advantage vs person marked with Hunter's Mark.
• NEW: Damage of Hunter's mark increases to d10, not d6. (This too is a nerf from the playtest, which gave +WIS to hit, and +WIS to damage.)

The clear expectation is you are using Hunter's Mark, occupying your concentration and taking your first Bonus action every combat, from levels 1-20.

SUBCLASSES
Beastmaster

• command Primal Beast as a bonus action, and higher level abilities as in PT6, apparently.
• stat blocks level up with you (as in Tasha's and PT6). Beast gets Hunter's Mark benefits at 11.

Fey Wanderer

• vague on specifics; apparently just as in Tasha's.

Gloom Stalker

• as in PT6, Psychic damage bonus a limited number of times per day. +WIS to initiative (cf. Assassin and Barbarian)
• Umbral Sight, darkvision bonus, and invisible in the dark.
• NEW: psychic damage goes up at level 11. Mass fear option of Sudden Strike mentioned, nothing about Sudden Strike.

Hunter.

• Hunter's Lore at 3: know if there are immunities/resistances of creature marked by Hunter's Mark.
• NEW: Hunter's Prey at 3: you have a choice and can change your choice every short/long rest.
• NEW: Defensive Tactics at 7: you have a choice, and again can choose after a rest. The choices are Escape the Horde, Multiattack defense (not Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, and Hunter's Leap, as in PT6).
• NEW: At 11, Hunter's mark now "splashes" damage onto another target.
• NEW: you can choose to take resistance to damage, until the end of your turn.

 

[Minigiant]

I think it may just be that -

If you have awesome mechanical class bits then those mechanical class bits can fill in for the theme. If you have weak thematic identity for a class and weak mechanics for it then a place people often go is that the mechanics are bad because the thematics. If the mechanics were just shored up they would help provide the identity.

It's less that the theme is weak.

It's more that Rangering is multiple magical and mundane tropes.

And the only part of core D&D that can offer all of that at once is spells.

 

[FrogReaver]

It's less that the theme is weak.

It's more that Rangering is multiple magical and mundane tropes.

And the only part of core D&D that can offer all of that at once is spells.

So is fightering and Paladining and barbarianing and monking and roguing. Etc.

 

[Minigiant]

So is fightering and Paladining and barbarianing and monking and roguing. Etc.

Nah.

Maybe the Rogue and maybe Wizard.
But most class have one or two core disciplines.

 

[Incenjucar]

Plenty of non-magical rangers out there. 4E ranger included. Heck, 2E suggested non-magical examples such Robin Hood as ranger templates.

The need for magic is just a 5E thing.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Plenty of non-magical rangers out there. 4E ranger included. Heck, 2E suggested non-magical examples such Robin Hood as ranger templates.

The need for magic is just a 5E thing.

A WotC 5e thing, yes. They explicitly decided that magic, and particularly spells, was a core and very prevalent part of what they think bring a ranger is.

They certainly didn't have to.

 

[Minigiant]

Plenty of non-magical rangers out there. 4E ranger included. Heck, 2E suggested non-magical examples such Robin Hood as ranger templates.

The need for magic is just a 5E thing.

4e Ranger is a 5e fighter

That's the point.

Nonmagical rangers can't do many iconic ranger stuff. That's why they rarely build up steam in the D&D community.

That's why there is always arguments about rangers. Fantasy Rangers do too many non connected things.

 

[CreamCloud0]

A WotC 5e thing, yes. They explicitly decided that magic, and particularly spells, was a core and very prevalent part of what they think bring a ranger is.

They certainly didn't have to.

they didn't have to, but they have, and people ought accept that rather than trying to fight it at every step and being sour that it's not something else.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Tell me another class that can cast it!

What does that matter? Also, various classes have been able to cast smite spells for a while, is it okay for Searing Smite and Wrathful Smite to be on spell lists as long as Divine Smite isn't?

Hunter's Mark is a spell, I am advocating for it staying a spell as opposed to being made a class feature.

The class feature is... free castings of the spell. That doesn't make the spell a class feature, any more than the free preparation and casting of Divine Smite and Find Steed make them class features and not spells.

 

[Rocker26a]

The barbarian always has rage... So what?

So, it's an ability they're synonymous with. It's something only they can do, it's thematic, actually useful, can lead to cool moments etc. Every one of the more "thick of combat" classes has at least one ability I'd put in that category, and I think it'd be good if Rangers got a feature that was their version of this. Even if it was mechanically comparable to the spell, or allowed the ability to double-down with the spell, I think it'd be an improvement.

(Last time I'll say it, I've said it at length by now)

 

[Chaosmancer]

Human Variant SS+CBE+Precision attack fighter should win about 50% of combats vs the wyvern solo. More if he out ranges the wyverns attack range on turn 1.

Probably doesn’t devalue your point, but mine is that character capabilities are really surprising sometimes.

And none of that works in 2024, since there is no variant human and neither sharpshooter nor crossbow expert are origin feats. Also Sharpshooter no longer increases damage.

But sure, one of the single highest damage builds in the entire game during 2014 might be able to pull it off.