D&D General Why does the Hunter subclass for the 2014 & 2024 Ranger not have bonus spells?

[Corinnguard]

They let the 3PPs fool around with that stuff, which is why Morrus' Advanced 5E and LaserLlama's designs exist.

And not only do they exist, but they are also sometimes better than the originals.

I'm shocked that a talented 3pp designer has a more cohesive design scheme than WotC; shocked, I tell you.

Actually, it tickled the first time I came across his work. Now, it's a pleasant tingly feeling whenever I visit his page on GM Binder.

 

[bedir than]

It's good actually that WotC demonstrated right in the original subclasses that not all Rangers need to built as casters.

 

[Mephista]

hmm:
Beast strike:
use your spell attack modifier,
damage bonus on attack: Wis mod.

so much for being more martial...

guess it's Magic initiate: Druid and Shillelagh or bust with this subclass also.

Meh, Shillelagh is overrated. There, I said it.

I find the best option for Beastmaster Ranger is actually... Bow and use all the Summon / Conjure spells you want. Grab Archery FS, bracers of archery. Maybe go for Heavy Weapon Mastery if you're worried about the damage, but I prefer shortbow (and Vex) to longbow w/ HWM (and Slow); less investment required and better Mastery. Your Companion and Summon Beast/Fey come with innate Advantage generation, so rely on that for the pets' accuracy.

You're less at risk from losing Concentration while further away, so you'll keep the summons up for longer. The Summon spells don't take your BA, so you're free to use that while combined with the Companion and your two Attacks. The Conjure spells are better as AoE damage than single target, so I'm partial to keeping my level 3 slot open for an AoE if necessary, while keeping Summon Beast for single target.

 

[GarrettKP]

The Hunter and Beast Master don’t get extended spells because of the whole “spellless Ranger” crowd. In the lead up to the 2024 PHB, Crawford said those subclasses are meant to represent Rangers that are less focused on spells.

 

[Corinnguard]

The Hunter and Beast Master don’t get extended spells because of the whole “spellless Ranger” crowd. In the lead up to the 2024 PHB, Crawford said those subclasses are meant to represent Rangers that are less focused on spells.

More like less reliant on spells. The Ranger I am currently playing relies more on being the party's scout whenever they are in a dungeon or in the wilderness or being one of the party's ranged combatants. He barely uses any of his known spells.

One reason why I like Laser Llama's Alternate Ranger is that they are Prepared Half-Casters.

 

[Mephista]

Gonna babble about Ranger subclasses. Already did beastmaster...

Hunter... feels like its built for TWFing with spamming Hunter Marks. Yes, you can use a bow or crossbows, but I feel like the level 3 feature is more consistent with TWF (XBM takes up your bonus action, Nick does not), and the 7th level feature is really more designed with being in melee than ranged. I personally recommend keeping a couple of throwing daggers (or axes, whatever) to use instead of bow for enemies just out of reach, or with ranged-attack-spells (*). Your milage may vary.

I'm more inclined to go with Hunter Marks on this sub-class more than any other besides Winter Walker (and maybe its Hollow Warden cousin if printed?). Normally, I consider Hunter Mark to be something you do after your main spell drops. Have Conjure Animals up, but got hit and lost Concentration? Toss up HM and keep going. I consider it a fallback position for when you're out of other options or mopping up, not the default pick. With Hunter, that assumption is changed. They WANT the hunter to be HM heavy. Kinda.

The level 3 features are pretty good, imho. The ability to read immunity/resistance/vulnerability isn't great for the Ranger themselves, but its a good party-helping skill when it comes to your caster teammates. And an extra d8 damage is solid overall. Likewise, the level 7 and 15 features are good defensive options that will keep you alive.

With going TWF scimitar/shortsword, you're doing better damage than Concentrating on the Summon or Conjure Spells for single target. You're also not pulling out Spike Growth or other terrain control options, but you do get to save the spell slots for the wealth of exploration abilities, like Jump and Pass Without Trace. Or fall back onto Conjure Barrage*, Steel Wind Strike, Hail of Thorns* when a swarm appears. Healing Word, Aid, Freedom of Movement, Lightning Arrow*. There's actually quite the long list of good spells for the Hunter that you can use. At level 12, you can take Duel Wielder and combine it with the no-damage-Concentration-break at 13, and deal fair amounts of damage on a big bad, so even that generally-frowned-upon feature has good use.

This might not be everyone's preferred style of play, but it is a rather simple and decently powered one. Until level 11 that is. I think Hunter would be rated much, much higher if it had a better level 11 feature instead an off-brand hoard-breaker. Beastmaster, Gloom Stalker and Fey Wanderer all effectively get extra attacks (with some twists). Hunter is the only one that does not. Its also weirdly inconsistant with the previous two subclass abilities, which gave you a choice between swarm or single target focus. Personally, at this point, I prefer single target, since you have AoE spells to handle hoards at this point.

So, yeah. My 2 cents on Hunter.