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.

 

[Chaosmancer]

For me I always had trouble figuring out why it was thematically ok for a "good" person to sneak up behind someone and slit their throat, but it is not ok to shoot them with a poison arrow.

Because rich people can have guards and armor, but even rich people can be killed with poison, so it is dishonorable and evil.

 

[CreamCloud0]

From level's 2 thru 10, what Class features are tied to Hunter's mark?

it doesn't matter that you don't have new features tied to it at those levels, cause it comes right out of the gate with it's 'always known and free castings' at level 1 saying hint-hint, nudge-nudge this is something you're meant to be using, look at these features you're going to get at later levels, if you're not using those free uses you're wasting resources, why aren't you using hunters mark huh?

imagine the reaction if they made witch bolt innately known on all wizards with free castings and dedicated their wizard features to it, because it's the same thing.

 

[ECMO3]

Some people (fairly IMO) don't want every class throwing around magic.

Not very many people. The number of players I see at the table with no magic at all is very, very small. Everyone I have seen play 5E uses magic items, everyone. Even if you don't count that people playing Barbarians, Rogues and Fighters usually have magic as part of their PC through something (a race, multiclass or feat) and more often than not they have spells.

The completely non-magical PC is almost non-existent in 5E and the PC without any spells itself is relatively uncommon. Non-magic PCs were a thing back in 1E but every edition since has moved further and further from that concept.

 

[Weiley31]

Cuz like the Druid, it's a whole can of worms that's headache inducing for em. Except, instead of dealing with everybody's view on Wild Shape, it's everybody's views/different take on the Ranger.

They can only take so many Aragorn references/comparisons per day up to their profiency bonus

 

[Minigiant]

You think the LU ranger shouldn't have abilities that tie into the LU exploration system?

I'm saying the LU ranger's main justification is it's tie to the LU Exploration system.

If you take the LU ranger and put it into 75% of 5e games, it's just a nerfed LU fighter.

That is my point

 

[ECMO3]

Again, Level Up has a great spell-less ranger. Worth checking out.

I'm not interested in a Ranger with no spells. That is like a Hamburger without beef.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Of those spells only Zephyr Strike is ranger exclusive and tailored specifically to rangers.

I thought there was a new Spell mentioned for Druid and Wizard. However I'm 2 drinks in from brunch so I could be mistaken

But overall the focus is one giving Rangers Druid spells not Ranger spells.

WOTC's never highlighted a Ranger spell except Hunters Mark.

That's the Core Issue. WOTC only gets one Ranger spell and tailored the whole class around it.

And for Paladin's they highlighted a spell that... isn't exclusive to them. In fact, I sort of struggle to remember if there has been a single "exclusive and tailored" spell for Paladin's since 2014. Find Greater Steed maybe? Which was just an upgrade to their existing spell?

Just like I'm not really upset if Paladins and Clerics share spells, why should I be upset if Druids and Rangers share spells? And why is it that I should consider all of the ranger abilities from level 2 thru level 10, plus their unique invisibility feature to vanish in a puff of smoke, just because they haven't debuted a new spell exclusive to Rangers yet?

 

[Micah Sweet]

it doesn't matter that you don't have new features tied to it at those levels, cause it comes right out of the gate with it's 'always known and free castings' at level 1 saying hint-hint, nudge-nudge this is something you're meant to be using, look at these features you're going to get at later levels, if you're not using those free uses you're wasting resources, why aren't you using hunters mark huh?

imagine the reaction if they made witch bolt innately known on all wizards with free castings and dedicated their wizard features to it, because it's the same thing.

I don't suppose they made witch bolt better? I love the idea of that spell, but in practice, it's hardly UNLIMITED POWER!

 

[CreamCloud0]

Not very many people. The number of players I see at the table with no magic at all is very, very small. Everyone I have seen play 5E uses magic items and even if you don't count that people playing Barbarians, Rogues and Fighters usually have magic as part of their PC through something (a race, multiclass or feat) and more often than not they have spells.

The completely non-magical PC is almost non-existent in 5E and the PC without any spells itself is relatively rare.

eh, i think if it was more viable to build a competent nonmagic character i think there would definitely be more of them, magic is so omnipresent in 5e that's it's hard not to end up with it on a character one way or another, and practically it really is one of the few reliable ways to get alot of things done, or done at all in some cases.

 

[Incenjucar]

You did ask "what fiction".

But here is an interesting question, slap some leathers on them and throw them in the woods, what is the difference between a magical detective and and a magical hunter? First thing that comes to mind is that most detectives are worse at fighting, which the Ranger is actually great at... but also because most detectives are in the modern day and usually don't kill their quarry, but capture them for the police. Part of that whole "we live in a society of laws" thing.

I will also point out, as has been pointed out a few times before, that most "hunting" shows/stories focus on non-magical settings with non-magical beasts. Yeah, you don't get the person able to magically mark their foe, teleport away from them, and shoot them with a dozen arrows of lightning when their big challenge is "hunt a bear". Turns out, as scary as bears are, you don't need magic to deal with a bear. Which is at worst a CR 1 opponent that any level 1 character should be able to face. But when you start looking to monster hunters, demon slayers, ect you start seeing more of these abilities.

This is why I've said for a long time, the biggest thing holding back the Ranger's theme and story, is that "Nature" in DnD is too tame and easy to deal with. Or at least it is perceived that way. I'm actually hoping with their focus on "apex" monsters, that DnD gives us some CR 10 thru 24 BEASTS and PLANTS that truly showcase that, in the deep parts of nature, you need a specialist.

I wasn't arguing with your examples. I'm not anti-manga.

The big difference between a ranger and a detective is that a ranger is focused on the environmental clues and not social clues. They're tasting muddy tracks, but not putting on a sequin gown to seduce the mayor at a gala to trick her into revealing the vault combination.