D&D 5E Ranger/druid... advice on how to divide levels an build my character?

[Crimlock]

Hi! I decided that I want to play a ranger/druid multiclass character, but I am new to 5th edition. I was wondering how more experianced players would build a ranger/druid. I was thinking the following:

I want my character to be very good with a long sword in melee, i want to be able to wild shape (not for combat, but more for stealth and exploration). Spells are also imporant but not as importent as sword fighting and wild shaping.

I'd start with 2 levels in (moon)druid to get wildshape. Then I'd take 5 levels in hunter ranger to get the extra attack and I will take the dueling style. After those 5 levels I think i want to continue with more druid levels to improve spell casting and wild shape capability. I am not sure how to precede after level 7...

I would like to play a woodelf and for stats I was thinking about STR 15, DEX 15+2, CON 12, INT 8, WIS 13+1, CHA 8. STR, DEX and a avarage CON to be good in melee. The wis I need to be able to multiclass into druid (and i think i need it to be an effective caster).

The first ASI points I will put in STR and DEX. The following I think I will put in CON...

What do you think? What would you change?

 

[CapnZapp]

I think you'd be better off if you simply asked your DM if you could substitute your Ranger subclass for that of Land Druid.

Why? Because you pretty much nailed the concept of a Land Ranger.




(as opposed to, say, a Hunter Ranger or a Range Rover)

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[jgsugden]

For efficiency's sake, I do not like to multiclass before 5th level. 5th is a huge bump in efficiency for a PC, so I try to take a PC to 5th level, at least, before multi-classing. This is especially true of weapon classes that get multi-attack - I do not like to delay access to that feature, especially. However, taking 5 levels of ranger first means no wildshape until 7th level - when the spellcasters in your party will be throwing around polymorph.

If you don't care about a significant hit to efficiency, and there are a lot of games where such a hit is not important, you might consider taking two levels of druid first (to get wildshape) and then taking the rest in druid. You'll fee weaker at 5th and 6th levels, especially, but if you don't care about that too much, it should be a fun build. I would not bother with extra levels in druid - your ranger abilities will give you fine spells.

Personally, I'd consider all Revised Ranger (see the UA article) and I'd fill my animal exploration/stealth fix with the Beast Master Conclave's animal companion. You also might be able to persuade the DM to add a spell to the ranger list that functions like Alter Self, but allows you to assume beast rather than humanoid forms or just functions like a 2nd level druid's wildshape.

 

[FrogReaver]

Hi! I decided that I want to play a ranger/druid multiclass character, but I am new to 5th edition. I was wondering how more experianced players would build a ranger/druid. I was thinking the following:

I want my character to be very good with a long sword in melee, i want to be able to wild shape (not for combat, but more for stealth and exploration). Spells are also imporant but not as importent as sword fighting and wild shaping.

I'd start with 2 levels in (moon)druid to get wildshape. Then I'd take 5 levels in hunter ranger to get the extra attack and I will take the dueling style. After those 5 levels I think i want to continue with more druid levels to improve spell casting and wild shape capability. I am not sure how to precede after level 7...

I would like to play a woodelf and for stats I was thinking about STR 15, DEX 15+2, CON 12, INT 8, WIS 13+1, CHA 8. STR, DEX and a avarage CON to be good in melee. The wis I need to be able to multiclass into druid (and i think i need it to be an effective caster).

The first ASI points I will put in STR and DEX. The following I think I will put in CON...

What do you think? What would you change?

Multiclassing before level 5 leaves you about half as effective in combat from level 5 till whenever one of your classes hit level 5.

if you are okay with this going in then you'll be fine.

 

[Crimlock]

Will a ranger x /druid 2 be playable in higher levels??

 

[Crimlock]

Ok i changed my initial concept:

Still a wood elf but with these stats: STR 15, DEX 14, CON 15, INT 8, WIS 14 and CHA 8. The first ASI will go to STR and CON. I'll start with 5 levels in ranger and then dip 2 levels of druid and maybe more (depending if the melee fighting is still doable or i need more hitpoints).

Thanks for the input so far, if there are any other remarks or suggestions I'm happy to hear them!

 

[DeathStrikeGaming]

I know this is old but a good progression is level 2 Druid for wild shape then start going into range up to 5 to get the extra attack. If your wanting to be a supportive roll Circle of the Shepperd will give you tons of healing and summons its the best healing class for druid and at 10 can even heal yourself, your summons, and your party relying on totem and a healing spirit while even in wildshape. Wild shape will mainly be for the free hp bar when things get dicy. With this I would get Beast master for ranger allowing for a summon that doesnt cost a spellslot and doesnt go away and your totems will even heal it and the level 5 ranger allows your summons to attack on your turn without taking an action from you. Your class will basically be about having an army of animals as your main damage and supporting the party with healing, buffs, and CC. You even get summons that can summon an elemental so 2 for the price of one. Bonus is once your out of spell slots you can use a bow to stay ranged.

If your wanting to be more dps oriented then go to level 2 druid and get Land, Spores, or Dreams. Dreams is more for stelthy builds, Spores for a poisonus Ranged Assasin, or Land for pure terrain advantages and abilities to boost your ranger utility spells to help give optimum advantages.

 

[RogueJK]

Moon Druids are laser-focused around using Wild Shape in combat, and Combat Wild Shape is heavily level-dependent. That Bear form that seems so powerful at Level 2 is weak by Level 7 and completely outclassed by Level 10. A serious Moon Druid only wants to multiclass in extremely small amounts, for very specific purposes, like dipping 1 level of Barbarian or Monk to raise your Wild Shape AC and gain a few other small benefits. Any other multiclassing is a waste for a Moon Druid.

However, dipping a few levels of another type of Druid with a Ranger is workable, for some basic Wild Shape forms and some cantrips and a bit of additional spellcasting. Though a likely better option would be starting with Ranger 5 and then going straight Druid, since Ranger is honestly rather lackluster at higher levels and works best as a 3-5 level dip from another class. The other Druid subclasses are less heavily dependent on Druid levels than a Moon Druid, so you won't notice the missing 5 levels as much, especially since you're focusing more on melee fighting.


Another great option for an even more effective melee-focused nature character is to go Ranger/Nature Cleric. A Nature Cleric dipping 5 levels of Ranger trades some of its spellcasting power for a very nice bump to its melee effectiveness, with an Extra Attack, a few nice lower level Ranger spells, and some extra melee damage from Ranger subclasses like Hunter or Gloomstalker. Compared to a Ranger/Druid, you still get the "Melee Champion of Nature" vibe, just in a slightly different flavor. It has a higher melee damage output than the Ranger/Druid, but you do lose out on some of the Druid's utility. You're giving up some of the Druid's more utility-focused spells, as well as the ability to use Wild Shape for exploration, but you get noticeably more melee-focused spells and abilities instead.

A Ranger 5/Nature Cleric X can rock Medium/Heavy Armor and a Shield, make two Attacks, have extra damage from Gloomstalker/Hunter plus eventually Divine Strike, plus make a Bonus Action attack with Spiritual Weapon, and also be concentrating on a spell like Hunter's Mark, Bless, or Spirit Guardians for extra damage or attack bonuses.

For this route, I'd go Ranger 1, then Cleric 1, then 4 more Ranger levels up to Ranger 5, then straight Cleric from there. It's a capable melee fighter with some added spellcasting and buffs from the get-go, but ramps up steadily at Level 4 (Extra melee damage from Ranger Subclass - Hunter or Gloomstalker), Level 6 (Extra Attack), Level 8 (Spiritual Weapon bonus attack), Level 10 (Spirit Guardians), and Level 13 (Divine Strike).

 

[CapnZapp]

If his Ranger still isn't higher level than 2, you have my sympathies.

 

[Horwath]

1. why so much focus on both str and dex. str,dex and con will not help you much in wildshape and for attack you need only one.
If you go for STR keep dex at 14 for max for medium armor, for DEX build keep str at 12 so you still have some carrying capacity and athletic checks. With Extra HP from WS, 14 CON should be enough.

2. Moon druid 2/gloomstalker ranger 3 could give you 5th level bump in power.
If you start battle with some weapon attack you can trigger gloomstalker ambush for extra attack with extra damage, then turn into some form with multiattack to off set lack of extra attack feature from the ranger.

3. See with your DM if you can use alternate features for the ranger as Favored terrain and enemy are godawful features. Then boost ranger to level 5 atleast.