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.

 

[Weiley31]

Eh ..still not too sold. At this rate the Revised Ranger or the ToV Ranger will be my go to 5E ranger class.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

-Switching spells on a long rest is useful, half of the time I felt picking the Ranger spells weren't going to be good choices either. At least you can get one that's effective to have for the day.
-I guess the fighting styles opening up, does make the strength ranger more viable, as you can get Great Weapon Mastery. Though it might be amusing for a Ranger built around having a cantrip like Thorn Whip or Shillelagh.
-I'm pretty sure no one's truly satisfied about Hunter's Mark
-The Beastmaster Ranger art is one that we can say without a doubt is an Aasimar, as she's a Planetar descendant.
-Changing the Hunter's options on a long or short rest is a good one, just like changing the land option for the Circle of the Land or the beast options for Wildheart. I wonder if certain other subclasses in the future can switch choices on rests (well we know the Battlemaster can't).

 

[Kurotowa]

So somehow this is worse than the 2014 + Tasha's on paper. But I think it's because it's less stuff, but better stuff like weapon mastery. I'm not exactly sold, but it's not an automatic fail.

There's nothing in the kit that makes me go "OMG that's amazing", but there's also nothing that makes me say "Wow that's worthless." It's a collection of solid and useful features. The base class gives mobility, Expertise, temp HP, bonus action Invisibility, and more. The subclasses have the more damage focused features, with Hunter no longer being locked into a particular mode and Beast Master getting a pet that scales far better.

Maybe that's enough. If the class is effective in play and evokes the intended theme, maybe it doesn't need those features that look amazing in isolation on paper. Or maybe it'll be boring and middling. I'm not sure we'll know which until 6-12 months after release, when people have given it substantial actual play, and I'm not confident enough to lay a bet which way it'll go.

 

[Weiley31]

Also, seems they have an issue with giving a Concentration-free Hunters Mark at the start. Level 13 seems a little(ish) late to get it. Better than nothing I suppose.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Eh ..still not too sold. At this rate the Revised Ranger or the ToV Ranger will be my go to 5E ranger class.

Care to post a short comparison between the 2?

 

[Shardstone]

At least this makes the 2024 vanilla Ranger more interesting to homebrew/do 3rd party designs for; I can make some fun subclasses that create new Hunter's Mark effects etc like the Hunter's "Hunter's Lore."

 

[UngeheuerLich]

It does seem weaker overall than 2014+Tasha. I guess it is to content the multitude asking for a nerfed ranger. Finally, the filthy powergamers will play something else than rangers!

The class abilities alone only tell half the story. How are spells rebalanced.
Now rangers have more spells prepared so no need for the level 3 tasha band aid for example. They can even swap out a spell per day.
Free casts of hunter's mark lets the actually cast those spells.
Weapon mastery was added after tasha. The ranger was a great damage dealer up to level 9 anyway.
Also with buffed up subclasses and probably better action economy, rangers will be quite good now.

Edit: don't take it as: wotc can't do wrong. Or: the ranger is perfect.

I would have loved natural explorer tied to land the ranger is in. One expertise always feels like not enough.
But as I said. Maybe we see some interesting spells.

 

[Minigiant]

Not a big fan of the Hunters splash damage.

To me the Hunter was the martial option that does all plausible martial stuff and let you pick subtler spells as a Warrior with wilderness tricks.

 

[Kinematics]

Also,an they have an issue with giving a Concentration-free Hunters Mark at the start. Level 13 seems a little(ish) late to get it. Better than nothing I suppose.

Not exactly. It's still concentration, even at level 13, it's just that your concentration can't be broken by damage. It still blocks other concentration spells, though.

It's really going to ride on whether they revised the ranger-specific spells to not require concentration on almost all of them. If they did, then the Hunter's Mark concentration isn't that big a deal. If they didn't fix the other spells then it becomes a "might as well not exist" scenario.

 

[mellored]

Not a big fan of the Hunters splash damage.

To me the Hunter was the martial option that does all plausible martial stuff and let you pick subtler spells as a Warrior with wilderness tricks.

Agreed. That one seems like an odd ball.

Though I do expect Ensnaring Stike to get the Smite treatment. Bonus action after you hit, no concentration.