D&D 5E Beastmaster's animal companion: can it survive for 2 rounds?

[Giltonio_Santos]

Well, I'm looking at the animal companion for the beastmaster and seeing a lot of potential in a fight. Right now, I'm thinking about a medium-armored ranger picking the sentinel feat and the wolf companion, and it seems like a good combat option, even if it remains far from broken, except for one thing: the wolf of a level 4 ranger has a good chance to fall on the first hit of an awakened tree, a challenge 2 creature.

Am I missing something or are animal companions really expected to have such a hard time staying in melee? Any suggestions about how one is supposed to avoid that? For now, I'm thinking about RAW suggestions.

Cheers!

 

[rjfTrebor]

a player in my dead in thay game couldn't keep a dog conscious through any one combat.

 

[pming]

Hiya.

First, yes, I believe they are not "expected to stay in melee". They are animal companions...not simply a means of doing more damage every round. They're not just extensions of your attack capabilities.

Second, I think it would be best to try and not think in "3.x+" terms of what a character is. So far in my conversations with various folks trying 5e for the first time, I've found there is a subconscious desire by them to try and understand how something (skill, feat, equipment, ability, etc.) enhances combat capabilities of their character. Just a simple perusal of the 5e rules should make it apparent that the three pillars they talk about (Combat, Exploration, Social) are pretty much the foundation of ALL of 5e's rules. With that in mind, looking at what an animal companion "does", one should make the assumption that it would likely be utilized for all three pillars, with no obvious focus on one or the other.

What I think this means for you is that you shouldn't focus on trying to find ways to boost your animal companions "combatishness" to the exclusion of others; you will be disappointed.

That said, I think that if your DM is using Feats, that Sentinel one may come in handy, but probably really only after you get that extra attack at level 5 (before that, your action is commanding your pet to attack/defend/etc; in other words, it's not a "free attack" for you...either you or your pet attacks that round, not both of you).

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[GameDoc]

I also wonder if some folks may have Guenwyvar as a subconscious template for a ranger's companion, forgetting that it's a figurine of wondrous power, not a real animal. (Not necessarily the OP - just picking up on the subconscious expectation theme in general.)

 

[Mistwell]

Yes, the beastmaster is noticeably underpowered, and I am not a power gamer who usually worries about that sort of thing. But this one was so noticeable to me, that I just asked Mearls how much playtesting it got. It seems to me the CR of the animal should be 1/4 your level (rounded down), not 1/4 total.

It's not like we have no basis for comparison. You don't need to compare it to a prior version of the game or a novel - you compare it to the hunter ranger in this very game, and it's noticeably underpowered.

 

[Uchawi]

There is a big advantage to ranged combat in 5E, since AC is kept in check. That makes environmental factors like cover or concealment crucial to survival. So very few classes, not even considering pets, can survive on the front line. So it is not surprising pets are sub-par, because they only have one choice to get up close to attack. So unless they have abilities like a barbarian, fighter or monk, it is going to hurt. And if they do get abilities like the barbarian, fighter or monk, then one more item is taken away from allowing those classes to be unique.

 

[Mistwell]

There is a big advantage to ranged combat in 5E, since AC is kept in check. That makes environmental factors like cover or concealment crucial to survival. So very few classes, not even considering pets, can survive on the front line. So it is not surprising pets are sub-par, because they only have one choice to get up close to attack. So unless they have abilities like a barbarian, fighter or monk, it is going to hurt. And if they do get abilities like the barbarian, fighter or monk, then one more item is taken away from allowing those classes to be unique.

It's not just hit points. In fact hit points is the only thing that does scale at all. No, it's across the board they are weak. That have things like DC 12 abilities - which is fine at low levels but not at higher levels, and there is no way to increase it. Their damage doesn't scale, their AC doesn't scale, do they even get a proficiency bonus to scale? It's the lack of scaling that really stands out here. It's like the beastmaster is unfinished - like it didn't get the same amount of playtesting as other subclasses, and only got tested at low levels or something.

 

[Drakhar]

It's not just hit points. In fact hit points is the only thing that does scale at all. No, it's across the board they are weak. That have things like DC 12 abilities - which is fine at low levels but not at higher levels, and there is no way to increase it. Their damage doesn't scale, their AC doesn't scale, do they even get a proficiency bonus to scale? It's the lack of scaling that really stands out here. It's like the beastmaster is unfinished - like it didn't get the same amount of playtesting as other subclasses, and only got tested at low levels or something.

AC and Damage do scale based off your proficiency bonus.

 

[Mistwell]

AC and Damage do scale based off your proficiency bonus.

Ah I missed that part they do indeed get your prof bonus. Seems like prof bonus should be added to their attack types as well (like pounce at dc 12 should be dc12 + your prof bonus). {Edit also they could use something that made their attacks count as magical at higher levels so resistance doesn't neuter them}

 

[Drakhar]

Looking at the Wolf, it start's with 18 hp and 15 ac, which is fairly respectable, it does 2d4+4 damage and can knock the target prone as well as having easy access to advantage and being a great combat buddy for the party rogue. At level 5 you'll be able to attack alongside it, it'll gain 2 hp, 1 ac and 1 attack and damage, and its HP will continue to scale from that point on. So while it may not be as flashy as other subclasses I don't know how ineffective the beastmaster will wind up being in actual play, especially when you're able to start casting buffs on yourself and the animal companion at the same time, as well as having a total of 3 attacks.