[GUIDE] Seeing the Forest for the Trees: The Ranger Guide

[Gladius Legis]

You may want to reconsider some of your ratings for Monster Slayer, since you made a major mistake on Slayer's Prey. It lasts until you take a rest, and can be used unlimited times but only affects 1 enemy at a time.

I read it over again, and you're right. That bumps Slayer's Prey to black. I still rate the subclass purple as a whole, though, due to a weak bonus spell list and the highly situational Lv. 11 feature that comes at the same level that all other Rangers are getting major boosts to their offense.

 

[Yunru]

The Beast Master is saved! With my two variant features:
Ranger's Companion: At 3rd level, you magically empower a beast, turning it into a beast companion that accompanies you on your adventures and fights alongside you. Choose a beast that has a challenge rating of 1/2 or lower (the hawk, mastiff, and panther as examples). Your beast companion takes on that form. As you level up, the maximum CR increases, to a CR of 1 after your 4th character level, a CR of 2 after your 8th level, a CR of 3 after your 12th level, and a CR of 4 after your 16th level. You can resurrect or change the form of your companion with a one hour ritual. You companion always has the highest maximum hit points possible.

Your companion obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on your initiative, though it doesn’t take an action unless you command it to. On your turn, you can verbally command it where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help or Multiattack action. Once you have the Extra Attack feature, you can make one attack yourself and command your beast companion to take an Attack or Multiattack action.

Bestial Fury: Starting at 11th level, when you command your beast companion to take the Attack or Multiattack action, it can take the Attack or Multiattack action twice instead.

 

[Gladius Legis]

A little shameless self-promotion on my part, but my criticisms of Natural Explorer, both the PHB version and the Revised Ranger version, have led me to homebrew up this alternative.

 

[Yunru]

Aren't all guides shameless self promotion of our views?

 

[Gavin O.]

I think that if you actually plan to dual wield, the Dual wielder feat is mandatory, if only for the fact that it allows you to draw both your weapons one the same turn without needing to use your action. Without it, unless you're always walking around with your sword drawn, you won't be able to make two attacks on the first turn.

 

[Gladius Legis]

I think that if you actually plan to dual wield, the Dual wielder feat is mandatory, if only for the fact that it allows you to draw both your weapons one the same turn without needing to use your action. Without it, unless you're always walking around with your sword drawn, you won't be able to make two attacks on the first turn.

I haven't been in or seen too many situations where drawing two weapons at once would've made that much of a difference, honestly. Not enough to justify spending a feat just for it. In wilderness or in a dungeon, we tend to have our weapons already drawn to begin with. And Rangers, specifically, also tend to use their first-round bonus action on Hunter's Mark, then draw their second weapon in Round 2.

 

[Blue]

I think that if you actually plan to dual wield, the Dual wielder feat is mandatory, if only for the fact that it allows you to draw both your weapons one the same turn without needing to use your action. Without it, unless you're always walking around with your sword drawn, you won't be able to make two attacks on the first turn.

I don't see the feat as mandatory. First, if you are in melee there's a chance that your first round will be closing, not attacking. Second, if you are in known dangerous circumstances you might have one or both weapons drawn anyway. But third of all, if you are fighting with two weapons it's often to maximize Hunter's Mark, and that's going to take a bonus action to cast, so you wouldn't have a bonus action to attack with the second weapon that round anyhow.

 

[FrogReaver]

I don't see the feat as mandatory. First, if you are in melee there's a chance that your first round will be closing, not attacking. Second, if you are in known dangerous circumstances you might have one or both weapons drawn anyway. But third of all, if you are fighting with two weapons it's often to maximize Hunter's Mark, and that's going to take a bonus action to cast, so you wouldn't have a bonus action to attack with the second weapon that round anyhow.

Yep. If you plan to dual wield with Hunter's Mark then forgoing the turn 1 bonus action attack isn't that detrimental since you used it for Hunter's Mark anyways.

However, One of my favorite ranger builds is one that doesn't use hunter's mark. Instead you use a hunter ranger and colossus slayer and use the bonus action attack for better chances to get your colossus slayer damage in. In this case getting the bonus action attack in on turn 1 becomes important.

That said, there's still a lot of times when you can have one weapon already drawn before the encounter.

 

[strateg]

or you’re a Gloom Stalker, then it's useless.

I disagree. Depending on your party composition it could be must have pick, because not every time everyone in your party have darkvision. And if so, they will ruin Umbral Sight invisibility part.
Also you are underestimating wizard multiclass. Frankly the strongest ranger i ever saw was sharpshooter Hunter Ranger 5/War Cleric 1/ War Wizard 7+ and he had good offense with haste, good utility and superior defenses.

 

[Gladius Legis]

I disagree. Depending on your party composition it could be must have pick, because not every time everyone in your party have darkvision. And if so, they will ruin Umbral Sight invisibility part.

Your allies have nothing to do with Umbral Sight.

And honestly now I'm not sure I shouldn't just remove the conditional blues from Darkvision outright. Goggles of Night are merely uncommon and require no attunement ...

In any case, with Healing Spirit, Spike Growth, Silence and Pass Without Trace all at the same level, I don't see how you justify taking the Darkvision spell.

Also you are underestimating wizard multiclass. Frankly the strongest ranger i ever saw was sharpshooter Hunter Ranger 5/War Cleric 1/ War Wizard 7+ and he had good offense with haste, good utility and superior defenses.

I'm not seeing how that build is that much stronger than a straight Horizon Walker Ranger 13. Especially not by enough to justify the extra MAD from the INT 13 needed to multiclass Wizard.