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.

 

[Stalker0]

No, it is not.

The Scout Rogue's level 3 feature is a reaction that hardly ever gets used because Uncanny Dodge is better 99% of the time. You can't even move away until the enemy has finished its turn next to you (not just moved, but taken its whole turn). Which means you very likely got pummeled by their melee attacks before you could even do it. And if you were getting pummeled in melee, again, you likely already used your reaction on Uncanny Dodge.

After that, all they get at level 9 is 10 feet more speed. Meh.

The level 13 and 17 features are good, but they're level 13 and 17, which most tables just won't see.

Regardless, the idea that the Scout Rogue was ever a proper Ranger substitute is laughable.

If that's how you feel you are using the Scout wrong

The way you really use it is:

1) The creature moves in and maybe gets some hits on you. You now move back half your speed.
2) You range attack, and use your bonus action dash to stay outside of its base movement speed.
3) The creature either wastes a dash to get close to you (in which case you just move away again), or gives up and goes after the tank.

For melee only creatures, as long as you have room to move, a scout rogue is invincible. And avoiding attacks alltogether is way stronger than half damage on a single one.

 

[Stalker0]

If that's how you feel you are using the Scout wrong

The way you really use it is:

1) The creature moves in and maybe gets some hits on you. You now move back half your speed.
2) You range attack, and use your bonus action dash to stay outside of its base movement speed.
3) The creature either wastes a dash to get close to you (in which case you just move away again), or gives up and goes after the tank.

For melee only creatures, as long as you have room to move, a scout rogue is invincible. And avoiding attacks alltogether is way stronger than half damage on a single one.

the other thing to remember is....when your dealing with multiple foes. First one moves in and might gets some hits on you, but then you move back and that prevents the other two monsters that would have moved in on you.

 

[Gladius Legis]

If that's how you feel you are using the Scout wrong

The way you really use it is:

1) The creature moves in and maybe gets some hits on you. You now move back half your speed.
2) You range attack, and use your bonus action dash to stay outside of its base movement speed.
3) The creature either wastes a dash to get close to you (in which case you just move away again), or gives up and goes after the tank.

For melee only creatures, as long as you have room to move, a scout rogue is invincible. And avoiding attacks alltogether is way stronger than half damage on a single one.

Depending on initiative order, other melee enemies might catch up with and mob your new position before your turn and bonus-action dash come up, and you're right back in the same sticky situation you started in.

And there's also the question of, if my Rogue uses mainly ranged attacks, what was I doing that close to the enemy to begin with?

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

assassins is just better sneak attackers

It's more accurate to say they just get advantage to initiative.

I think the problem was with the Assassin=evil implication, and it's still named the same and (eventually) plays with poisons. Are there other names that'd cover a sneak who uses disguise+quickness+poison..?

 

[VicsHacienda]

I banned gloomstalker after I had a player use it once (along with twilight cleric). I'm surprised to find it in 2024 handbook.

 

[Remathilis]

It's more accurate to say they just get advantage to initiative.

I think the problem was with the Assassin=evil implication, and it's still named the same and (eventually) plays with poisons. Are there other names that'd cover a sneak who uses disguise+quickness+poison..?

Ninja?

 

[SteveC]

The Gloomstalker is a really interesting subclass. In my group the Ranger is pretty much an ignored class. The only time someone has wanted to play one, it was going to be a Gloomstalker. The player dropped the game, but our DM said they were going to ban the class.

To me the interesting thing is there's this class that people either don't think is powerful or interesting enough to play or it's OP and should be banned. Obviously a lot of people play Rangers, so that can't be a universally true assessment. What do people think about that take, though?

 

[Chaosmancer]

Eh, I played a Gloomstalker and I'm in a group with a Gloomstalker. They aren't that powerful. Most of the time, the battlefield is at least in Dim Light, and with the 2014 Gloomstalker that means you have a really strong turn 1.... and nothing else. The one game where I played a Gloomstalker, I literally got to use the invisibility once in the entire campaign.

Yes, if you are in darkness, and no one is carrying a light source, then you can be terrifying to enemies. But the second someone lights a torch, you are back to being a normal ranger. It is good, but not really ban worthy.

 

[Vincent55]

How about we stop trying to give every class spell options and focus on what the class is about, ranger is about nature, survival, and animal companions. the environment and knowing how to get around in it, tracking foraging and wild beasts and such. The druid is more a spell caster healer and priest type so leave the spells there, want to cast spells as a ranger then make it a sub-class of ranger like druid grove defender or something. The ranger should have ointments or poultices (which last longer than spells but have to be applied before or after combat, possibly having quick apply options at higher levels for some, to do things, the ability to craft specific arrows or substances to apply to his weapon, as well as, knowledge of the environment to let him avoid traps, ambushes, find good camping spots, creature layers, and other such things. the ability to not get lost and increase the movement of the party overland travel. Many of these things are missing from the class or just glossed over and vague.

 

[Marandahir]

How about we stop trying to give every class spell options and focus on what the class is about, ranger is about nature, survival, and animal companions. the environment and knowing how to get around in it, tracking foraging and wild beasts and such. The druid is more a spell caster healer and priest type so leave the spells there, want to cast spells as a ranger then make it a sub-class of ranger like druid grove defender or something. The ranger should have ointments or poultices (which last longer than spells but have to be applied before or after combat, possibly having quick apply options at higher levels for some, to do things, the ability to craft specific arrows or substances to apply to his weapon, as well as, knowledge of the environment to let him avoid traps, ambushes, find good camping spots, creature layers, and other such things. the ability to not get lost and increase the movement of the party overland travel. Many of these things are missing from the class or just glossed over and vague.

Ranger has used druidic magic since the get-go, though. It's not about stopping trying to give every class spell options as trying to show Rangers off as having spells, martial weapons masteries and fighting styles, and roguish expertise and skill usage. A lot of these ointment and poultices ideas fit the flavour of spells like goodberry etc or else can be imitated with Medicine / Herbalism Kits. I would like a more robust Tools system, personally, though.

Otherwise, we're looking at a Fighter or a Rogue with an Herbalism Kit, trained in Nature, Survival, Animal Handling, and Medicine.