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.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

While the ranger remains a prime example of why I don't find 5E compelling, I am curious to see if people will actually like playing it.

I have several players who enjoyed the 2014 ranger.

Without tasha and with.

The only really frustrating thing was bonus action economy.

 

[Horwath]

I have several players who enjoyed the 2014 ranger.

Without tasha and with.

The only really frustrating thing was bonus action economy.

I really hated 2014 ranger.

Wanted it to play as a 1st 5E character and ended up With Rogue assassin with one level of fighter instead.

Ranger is OK by it's own, but when you compare it with similar classes(paladin), there is a big problem.

At early levels(6 levels) paladin gets(outside same things as ranger):
Divine sense, Lay on hands, Smite, Divine health and Aura of protection

ranger gets:
Favored enemy×2, Natural explorer×2, Primeval awareness,

in 2014, that was horrible for ranger.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I really hated 2014 ranger.

Wanted it to play as a 1st 5E character and ended up With Rogue assassin with one level of fighter instead.

Ranger is OK by it's own, but when you compare it with similar classes(paladin), there is a big problem.

At early levels(6 levels) paladin gets(outside same things as ranger):
Divine sense, Lay on hands, Smite, Divine health and Aura of protection

ranger gets:
Favored enemy×2, Natural explorer×2, Primeval awareness,

in 2014, that was horrible for ranger.

Yes. It was bad. And still it was an effective enough character nonetheless. At least in normal games.
Tasha was a big improvement IMO.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Talking to animals doesn't require spellcasting?

Speech of beast and leaf exists which is not a spell and doesn't require spellcasting, absolutely no reason they couldn't give that or something similar to the ranger, honestly i feel like druidic could serve well repurposed as a 'speak to plants/animals lite' ability(language).

 

[Corinnguard]

While the ranger remains a prime example of why I don't find 5E compelling, I am curious to see if people will actually like playing it.

In the 5e adventure I am currently playing in, I am playing as a Bugbear who has the Urban Bounty Hunter background and is a 6th-level Ranger (Gloom Stalker)/2nd-level Rogue. He's my 2nd 5e character, but he's my 1st attempt at playing a Ranger and a Half-Caster. I have him relying more on his archery fighting style and skills than his spellcasting as I don't find many of the spells in the Ranger spell list appealing because of their concentration requirement. The lack of appeal in what's available spell-wise is one reason why I decided to multiclass him into Rogue. I am aiming for the Rogue (Scout) subclass before advancing him in Ranger again and acquiring the Sharpshooter feat.

When I have role-played my character, I have had him take point and scout ahead of the rest of the party whenever they are exploring, perform watches whenever the group is having a long rest, and work more closely with the party's leader (a human Rogue/Fighter). I do enjoy playing him as the party's friendly ambush predator.

 

[Horwath]

Yes. It was bad. And still it was an effective enough character nonetheless. At least in normal games.
Tasha was a big improvement IMO.

if you were in party with rogues, monks and fighters, it was OK.

If there were paladins, druids, clerics and wizards, it was bad.

 

[Rocker26a]

I really hated 2014 ranger.

Wanted it to play as a 1st 5E character and ended up With Rogue assassin with one level of fighter instead.

Ranger is OK by it's own, but when you compare it with similar classes(paladin), there is a big problem.

At early levels(6 levels) paladin gets(outside same things as ranger):
Divine sense, Lay on hands, Smite, Divine health and Aura of protection

ranger gets:
Favored enemy×2, Natural explorer×2, Primeval awareness,

in 2014, that was horrible for ranger.

I was in a very similar boat at the start of my very first game, when I knew extremely little about the game but was trying to absorb it all rapidly. I was going to play a Scout Rogue + Fighter, and then I thought "well why don't I just play ranger? oh apparently it sucks. oh but there's this thing called revised ranger that's apparently better".
And then a little while later the Class Feature Variants UA happened, but obviously it didn't mesh with Revised, so I had to kinda jury-rig them together and it was sort of liveable.

 

[Incenjucar]

I have several players who enjoyed the 2014 ranger.

Without tasha and with.

The only really frustrating thing was bonus action economy.

I am sincerely happy for them, but I'm only really interested in the larger scale. Few things entirely lack champions, but the statistics are much more informative. I have suspicions that it will be too fiddly due to a mismatch in expectations and reality.

 

[Horwath]

I was in a very similar boat at the start of my very first game, when I knew extremely little about the game but was trying to absorb it all rapidly. I was going to play a Scout Rogue + Fighter, and then I thought "well why don't I just play ranger? oh apparently it sucks. oh but there's this thing called revised ranger that's apparently better".
And then a little while later the Class Feature Variants UA happened, but obviously it didn't mesh with Revised, so I had to kinda jury-rig them together and it was sort of liveable.

yeah, when Xanatar came out, I replaced Assassin subclass with Scout.
Rogue Scout + 1 level of fighter >> 2014 Ranger

 

[Rocker26a]

yeah, when Xanatar came out, I replaced Assassin subclass with Scout.
Rogue Scout + 1 level of fighter >> 2014 Ranger

I started playing just a month after Xanathar's released, quite a good time to get started in retrospect I suppose.
Almost certainly would've shaked out stronger if I stuck to my first plan, yeah, but. I was determined to make it work. And it kind of sort of did!..