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.

 

[mellored]

Overall, I think the goal was to give us a Ranger that was better than the 2014 one, without being too crazy-new, and I think that they probably delivered that. I guess we'll see when people get to play it.

It is objectively more powerful than before.

Also, I don't think people quite grasp the fact that free Hunters Marks indirectly buffs to all their utility spells. They now have extra spell slots to cast Speak with Animals or whatever.

Frankly I think the complaints about Hunters Mark is a red herring.

Yea. There was going to be complaints no matter what they did.

 

[ECMO3]

It is objectively more powerful than before.

Also, I don't think people quite grasp the fact that free Hunters Marks indirectly buffs to all their utility spells. They now have extra spell slots to cast Speak with Animals or whatever.

It is not a buff compared to the old Favored Foe because of the bonus action to cast.

With the old favored foe you could trigger on a hit (any hit) and wait for a critical as well.

 

[Rocker26a]

If WOTC gave Concentration less HM, people would simply shift to complaining about having to wait until level 13, 17, or 20.

I mean, I was personally willing to complain about both. As with some previous renditions of Ranger, I think their sense of what's a reasonable level to get some things (particularly when that's all you get at a given level) is still just really off. Even putting aside that it's all to do with Hunter's Mark.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

It is not a buff compared to the old Favored Foe because of the bonus action to cast.

With the old favored foe you could trigger on a hit (any hit) and wait for a critical as well.

The old favoured foe was terrible. That little bit of damage 1 per turn could never keep up with hunter's mark or anything else. Waiting for a crit ro apply it was wasting a lot of damage.
It always felt like a consolidation price, because rangers got spellcasting at level 2 and so they did not want give hunter's mark at level 1.

 

[Rocker26a]

It always felt like a consolidation price, because rangers got spellcasting at level 2 and so they did not want give hunter's mark at level 1.

It's interesting because, the initial incarnation of Favoured Foe was exactly that. Some free casts and when you get spellcasting next level, it doesn't count against your spells known.
Assuming you don't mind Rangers hinging their combat prowess off of Hunter's Mark (which they clearly don't), what was strictly wrong with that?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

It's interesting because, the initial incarnation of Favoured Foe was exactly that. Some free casts and when you get spellcasting next level, it doesn't count against your spells known.
Assuming you don't mind Rangers hinging their combat prowess off of Hunter's Mark (which they clearly don't), what was strictly wrong with that?

I don't understand what you want to say.
What was the first incarnation you speak of?
Then I don't understand what you want to ask in the second paragraph.

 

[Rocker26a]

What was the first incarnation you speak of?

The very first version of Favoured Foe they offered in the Class Feature Variants Unearthed Arcana.

Then don't understand what you ask im the second paragraph.

They changed it radically by the time Tasha's released, and I don't really get what their problem with the UA version was.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

The very first version of Favoured Foe they offered in the Class Feature Variants Unearthed Arcana.

Ah yes. That one without concentration? Did not like that. And it seem I was not alone.

They changed it radically by the time Tasha's released, and I don't really get what their problem with the UA version was.

Yeah. I have noticed that. See above.
And probably/maybe also that they did not want to give spellcasting earlier than usual.

 

[Horwath]

I got behind on this thread and can't catch up. Is anyone kind enough to summarize what the complaints about this new version is? In a nutshell?

Ranger has become: "Hunter's mark, The Class"

 

[Minigiant]

Also, I don't think people quite grasp the fact that free Hunters Marks indirectly buffs to all their utility spells. They now have extra spell slots to cast Speak with Animals or whatever.

I don't think people get have come to the realization that the extra uses of Hunter's Mark lets you reapply it after casting other spells without touching your main spell slots.

Yea. There was going to be complaints no matter what they did.

Yeah. Once they decided to make spellcasting and weapon Mastery at level 1, WOTC was "doomed".

After origin, background and class, Players would have to choose

1. Two weapon masteries
2. Two spells known
3. One skill expertise

That's a lot at level 1. Diving headfirst to three different subsystems.

Making the free spell also a choice would make ranger of the most complicated class in the game.