Rangers have always been a weird class in D&D. They don't really have a flavor other than "fighter guy with survival skills with nature themed powers that isn't a Druid".
I mean, in 1e, he was meant to be Aragorn. In 2e and 3.0...he was kind of a joke, with his only saving grace being two weapon fighting and bonuses that only worked against certain enemy types.
3.5 gave him more skills, making him like a Rogue with a better BAB (among other things).
Mostly, and this is telling, 3.x's way to make Rangers better mostly came down to interesting Ranger spells.
The 4e Ranger was a dedicated damage dealer, compared to his warrior kin (Fighter and Paladin, who were defender classes).
The 5e Ranger...man I don't even know. The subclasses are wildly different and the base chassis is like, "stripped down Fighter with more ribbons".