Quote from Haravikk >>

Quote from nardolphin>>

Alright this article is literally garbage. Imagine getting paid to write this.

There's no need to be abusive.

First of all, they seem to have focused mostly on spells that are either entirely unique to Rangers, or aren't available to Druids (who will always get them earlier and can upcast them further where relevant). Which makes sense because if you want to play a Druid, go a Druid.

Whoever suggested hunters mark and zephyr strike is an idiot. For a first level slot, you are using your bonus action on maybe maybe an extra 3-5 damage, when you could just use CBE and deal more with your bonus action. Or ya know, cast entangle or fog cloud, good spells that for some reason don't appear on the list, (odd) and actually meaningfully contribute to combat. Crazy I know.

[Tooltip Not Found], fog cloud etc. all require higher levels; "a 2nd-level or higher spell can be better than a 1st-level spell" isn't much of a hot-take, especially when Rangers have to wait until 5th-level before they can cast them at all, and even that point it's costing them a limited resource.

First level spells are are Ranger's bread-and-butter for for a big chunk of the game, actually the majority of most campaigns (which tend to end at or before level 10).

Steel wind strike unfavorably positions you and your allies, costs a 5th level slot, and does less damage than fireball. Bad spell.

It does more damage per target than fireball (which Rangers can't even take anyway) and deals the least resisted damage type in the game, plus it can be applied surgically to hit only the targets you choose, and it comes with a built in teleport. So it's more like a surgical fireball with a free misty step. For a melee Ranger it's a perfectly good spell.

Now let's talk about the glaring omissions. Spike growth, entangle, fog cloud, plant growth, conjure animals. There are five easily indentifiable spells better than the ones on this list.

Better for whom? Hyper optimising min/maxers white-rooming online sure, but if you're looking to play a lone-wolf Ranger rather than a true half-druid or animal friend these spells aren't what you need; and the article does mention spike growth but again, but as a 2nd-level spell it's a 5th-level minimum option, as is entangle, fog cloud, meanwhile plant growth and conjure animals are minimum 3rd-level options (so minimum 9th-level Ranger unless you give up early and multiclass into Druid).

Many of these are also highly situational; [Tooltip Not Found] is again more surgical than entangle making it easier to use, and combines with your regular attacks. Spike growth is great but you need the space and opportunity to force an enemy through it, fog cloud and conjure animals look good on paper when you assume ideal conditions, but in practice they can be underwhelming (fog cloud can interfere with you and your allies as much as it interferes with enemies, which is why fog cloud + blind fighting has never been the incredible new combo people though it might be, same as Warlocks with darkness at Eldritch Sight, but at least they can move their obstruction around to make best use of it), meanwhile conjure animals has high theoretically damage but it assumes an enemy at 9th-level can't simply wipe them out (or single out the Ranger to break their concentration).

There's more to D&D than maximising (theoretical) damage in a white room killbox where everything always goes your way; which is why cordon of arrows is a perfectly good spell because it does things similar spells don't. The only real stinker on the list is flame arrows which is just plain worse than hunter's mark for a 3rd-level slot. While druids don't have a lot of ways to deal fire damage, taking Druidic Warrior or Magic Initiate (Druid) and create bonfire or produce flame is a better option if you really want one. But [Tooltip Not Found] is great; adds onto your regular attacks and with some lightning area damage that's easy to place. Is it as strong as fireball? Of course not, but that doesn't matter because a) Rangers can't take it, b) fireball is either too strong or most other spells are too weak so comparing with it is silly, and c) with a big area it's harder to actually use when you don't have enemies just standing around waiting for you to blow them up.

 First of all, entangle and fog cloud are first level spells. Secondly, battleship invisibility doesn't exist. If you can hear someone you don't need to see them, which is why fog cloud is good. SilverSparr0w linked a great video about it. Then looking at conjure animals: if the enemies are killing your wolves or w/e you win, because it's turns wasted. If they don't kill them, you win, because they get slaughtered. You can just step behind cover and dodge to maintain concentration. Plant growth is also non conc, 100ft radius sphere with crazy area denial that is undispellable and lasts forever, in addition to being shapable.

And steel wind strike is a joke. Just upcast CA or cast plant growth.

Quote from nardolphin>>

First of all, entangle and fog cloud are first level spells.

My bad on the levels, but they're still highly situational spells. Ensnaring strike is still arguably better for a Ranger because it's in addition to your normal attacks, rather than a total replacement to them.

Secondly, battleship invisibility doesn't exist. If you can hear someone you don't need to see them, which is why fog cloud is good.

Hearing is far from guaranteed; if you're suggesting the game be run in such a way that visibility is pointless then the spell is redundant (and why discuss options at all if your white-room conditions are to specifically designed to favour the spells you want?). Even if an enemy were more dependent on sight than you, all it has to do is leave the area, because fog cloud is static and doesn't impede movement.

I'm not saying it's a terrible spell, but it's highly situational how useful it actually is (or not) and it's at its best when used as a combo (which requires coordination and more resources); hunter's mark is popular spell because there's almost never a situation in which it's not useful, it's a highly dependable spell for a class that can thrive on making weapon attacks, and an hour long duration at 1st-level makes it excellent value for your limited resources. A well timed fog cloud might be better sometimes but a mistimed one is a disaster and a waste.

Then looking at conjure animals: if the enemies are killing your wolves or w/e you win, because it's turns wasted. If they don't kill them, you win, because they get slaughtered.

Except at 9th-level there are plenty of enemies with area effects that will trivially wipe out lower CR creatures (or even most of the CR 2 options), and can hit players at the same time, have the mobility to simply ignore the chaff and attack you instead, or are resistant to non-magical damage. Meanwhile if you're going to cower behind cover and take the Dodge action then you've effectively taken yourself out of the fight, not exactly the image of a cool ranger most players are going for.

It's also a spell that's highly dependent on what the group Initiative actually is, as a roll that's too high or too low and the enemy may have dealt with them or broken your concentration before they get a single turn. Again, not arguing it's a bad spell, but it's again highly situational as it will be better against some enemies and effectively useless against others, especially anything with resistance or immunity to physical damage. It also has high dependence on your DM, as DM's run monsters, not you (though many DM's are happy to offload the duty), but they still get to decide how the monsters behave; they may follow your instructions, but many have low Intelligence, anything complicated is out.

You've also completely ignored the issue of theming; if a player's goal is to play a Ranger then hiding behind a rock while a bunch of animals get slaughtered on your behalf isn't what most are going to be thinking of. D&D is a roleplaying game first and foremost, the spells that suit your character are the best spells, not the ones that min/maxers insist are the only spells you should ever take. And again, if that's all you want to do, why be a Ranger in the first place?

If your recommendations are spells available to Druids, then what you're recommending is to be a Druid instead, because they're simply much, much better at using those spells.

Plant growth is also non conc, 100ft radius sphere with crazy area denial that is undispellable and lasts forever, in addition to being shapable.

It's also indiscriminate, it either effects terrain or it doesn't, and requires you to have enough space to actually make full use of it, so again, highly situational; if your DM always gives you open arenas with enemies at the far side it'll be great, but if you're ambushed or the enemy otherwise starts closer (or can fly or teleport etc.) then it's less good, and as an action it takes your entire turn.

It's great for setting up an ambush where you can control the battlefield, but less good the rest of the time, and there are plenty of enemies that can either bypass it or blast it; you don't need to dispel the effect as they're just plants, anything that destroys plants (so any damage) will work on plant growth.

And steel wind strike is a joke. Just upcast CA or cast plant growth.

Except it isn't, it; steel wind strike deals highly targeted rarely resisted damage that can benefit from anything that boosts melee attacks such as Nature's Veil (giving you advantage), guardian of nature (for advantage and extra damage), etc. It also doesn't take your concentration; for a melee Ranger it lets you do more of what you already do well, for any other Ranger it lets you become a melee Ranger for a turn when you're cornered, or just want to.

It is a situational spell in its own right, since it's dependent on the number of targets you have available, but in most campaigns it's should be pretty easy to make use of unless your DM particularly loves running very small groups of 2-3 elite enemies or one big monster most of the time.

Ok, so conjured animals obey all verbal commands you give them, and you should always choose 8 1/4 or lower. And plant growth causes all area within the 100 ft radius to have the effect. It's not tied to plants. Your point about resisting non magical damage is fair, there is always conjure airstrike bullshit, but even then you could just get giant snails and have them dodge.

The typical way to use for cloud is to cast it upon the party. All rolls become straight ( no advantage or disadvantage) and line of sight (los) is blocked on the party. This way enemies can't really ignore fog cloud.

I usually prefer to save my slots in the first couple levels for good berry. It's a lot of healing and can be restcasted. 

I'd also like to point out that melee isn't very good. CBE and SS do a lot more damage at a lowered risk, and allow you to more easily kite enemies. In addition, if there isn't just a flat open battleground you likely win being ranged, just by hiding behind cover and kiting.

Cordon of arrows is also just bad. If you have a second level slot to use at the end of the day, I think I would rather just rest cast good berry. Or just use the slot during the day for sg or pwt

My issue with this article is less the spell choice but more so how it's presented. Imo, this shouldn't be called the best spells, because these clearly aren't the best, but maybe something like 'thematic' or fun and flavorful.

Quote from nardolphin>>

Ok, so conjured animals obey all verbal commands you give them, and you should always choose 8 1/4 or lower.

Of the sample monsters, with the exception of the giant owl (INT 8) the options aren't exactly high on Intelligence, the next highest are the giant wolf spider, panther and wolf (INT 3) so while they might try to obey your commands they're probably not going to do much more complicated than attack who you point at, or run back to your location etc., your DM is well within their rights to deny complex tactics etc.

The CR 1/4 range is also still not the highest durability bunch; one enemy with an area effect (e.g- caster, monster with breath weapon or similar etc.) will wipe out multiple with very little trouble, and probably hit player(s) at the same time. And it's not just area damage, if a monster can cause creatures to be charmed or [condition]frightened[/conditioned] then there aren't a lot of conjured animals that are going to be good at resisting that. The more you spread the creatures out when summoning them, the fewer the enemy has to worry about on each turn as they have to actually to it to attack.

And plant growth causes all area within the 100 ft radius to have the effect. It's not tied to plants.

It literally says "all normal plant in a 100 foot radius [...] become thick and overgrown"; it's the plants that cause the obstruction (the spell's called plant growth for a reason). 😝

The typical way to use for cloud is to cast it upon the party. All rolls become straight ( no advantage or disadvantage) and line of sight (los) is blocked on the party. This way enemies can't really ignore fog cloud.

If they move into the fog cloud their attacks are the same as yours, if you're talking about firing out of or through the cloud you would have to know exactly where they are. The only way to really cheese it is to abuse the ability to move out of the cloud, attack normally, then go back into it, but if you're doing that then you're giving enemies license to use the same kind of tactics.

Even less intelligent enemies will recognise they can't see you in the fog, and could just find some cover and wait for you to come to them; more intelligent enemies could just Ready attacks/spells etc. for when you poke your head out.

I usually prefer to save my slots in the first couple levels for good berry. It's a lot of healing and can be restcasted. 

I do too, but that's why I like hunter's mark, because for a single slot I can usually cover a fight or two quite happily, and my current ranger Legion has Polearm Master and Sentinel and is a Swarmkeeper so it's rare for him not to have 3-4 attacks in a round, and because of reach, Sentinel and the ability to shunt himself by 5 feet he doesn't take a lot of hits in return. I usually have one or two slots left over for goodberry for the next day, but if I need to cast stuff in the moment I'm not going to heartbroken about having no berries for the next day (as I probably needed the slots more for the current one).

I'd also like to point out that melee isn't very good. CBE and SS do a lot more damage at a lowered risk, and allow you to more easily kite enemies.

Again this is hyper-optimisation; melee is fine, and Rangers are perfectly good at it, and ranged depends a lot on the enemies you're facing. Something that can fly, teleport, go invisible etc. isn't too worried about your ranged attacks, and intelligent enemies can limit the effectiveness of ranged characters.

In addition, if there isn't just a flat open battleground you likely win being ranged, just by hiding behind cover and kiting.

Enemies can use cover as well.

Cordon of arrows is also just bad. If you have a second level slot to use at the end of the day, I think I would rather just rest cast good berry.

Except goodberry isn't going to alert you to an enemy or help protect a campsite.

My issue with this article is less the spell choice but more so how it's presented. Imo, this shouldn't be called the best spells, because these clearly aren't the best, but maybe something like 'thematic' or fun and flavorful.

While that's fair, "best" is entirely subjective. You seem to think of "best" as most optimal, but D&D is a roleplaying game, not a ledger.

Again, it doesn't say the conjured animals try to obey your verbal commands, it says that they obey. At the point the damage becomes useless, which rarely happens, you can just get 8 giant snails. If you are playing in a game where these are easily dealt with, your melee character is already dead.

Plant growth says "All normal plants in a 100-foot radius centered on that point become thick and overgrown. A creature moving through the area must spend 4 feet of movement for every 1 foot it moves." The area is not tied to the plants. All plants become overgrown and the area becomes better difficult terrain. It's not moving through the plants, just the area.

And your point about fog cloud, that you have to know exactly where they are, that is easy. Unless they take the hide action, you know where they are. So everything is a straight roll.

It's not like hunters mark is an awful spell, I just don't think the pitiful increase in damage is worth it. Your character seems to use it to great effect in your game so good in you for finding value in it. In the same vein, hunting traps can do cordon of arrows job, or just having people keep watch. Or even just have a wizard ritual cast alarm. At the level you are able to use it, other casters have much better rest defense tools. Keeping watch should suffice most of the time though. I think using those slots for pwt is more meaningful.

Talking about ranged vs melee, monsters that can fly are literally immune to melee characters. Sticks won't help when a monster is 20ft in the air. The other problem with melee is it turns you into the ones being kited.

Let's also consider that only 26% of monsters are not melee locked, having spells or ranged attacks, including breath weapons. If you are playing in a meme friendly game it likely won't matter what spells you take.

Quote from nardolphin>>

Again, it doesn't say the conjured animals try to obey your verbal commands, it says that they obey.

It doesn't say they magically understand your instructions with perfect clarity; there is a world of difference between obeying, and obeying exactly as you intended. There's a reason spells like dominate monster allow you as a player to spend your action to take total control over a target.

At the point the damage becomes useless, which rarely happens, you can just get 8 giant snails.

To achieve what? An okay AC is only useful if an enemy wastes time attacking them, but they still only have 22 hit-points on average which a CR 9 or 10 area effect will can wipe easily; an abominable yeti for example has a "breath" attack that deals 45 damage on average, so even if every snail in the area saves it will die anyway.

Plant growth says "All normal plants in a 100-foot radius centered on that point become thick and overgrown. A creature moving through the area must spend 4 feet of movement for every 1 foot it moves." The area is not tied to the plants. All plants become overgrown and the area becomes better difficult terrain. It's not moving through the plants, just the area.

It's a spell that's literally called plant growth and tells you that it's effect is a result of plant growth; the issue here seems to be that you're being far too generous to spells that you want to be more powerful than they are.

If your DM lets you cheese your favourite spells then yes, obviously they'll be very powerful, but that's not how these spells are worded or intended to be run and not every DM is going to let you get away with that.

And your point about fog cloud, that you have to know exactly where they are, that is easy. Unless they take the hide action, you know where they are. So everything is a straight roll.

That's not how the game works at all; the purpose of the Hide is to break awareness when an enemy is already aware of you, but if an enemy cannot see or hear you they are not aware of you. At best a creature in a fog cloud knows where you were, not where you are. They can absolutely target that old location if they want, but they will automatically miss (regardless of what they roll) if the target isn't where they thought it was.

See Unseen Targets and Attackers:

If the target isn't in the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but the DM typically just says that the attack missed, not whether you guessed the target's location correctly.

Again, if you change the game's rules so you can abuse a spell it's obviously going to be very strong; but in that case I could just house-rule hunter's mark to require no concentration and deal 20d6 extra damage on a hit.

hunting traps can do cordon of arrows job, or just having people keep watch. Or even just have a wizard ritual cast alarm.

Except they don't (and you should be keeping watch anyway); the advantage of cordon of arrows is that it isn't reliant on sight, and will expose the location of a creature if you aren't aware of it as you can see where the arrow/bolt goes to, plus if it hits it has a chance at disrupting concentration early if the enemy is a caster. Alarm is a great spell, but at most all it does is alert you to a presence, not a location.

To use hunting traps to cover the same area would require you to be carrying around hundred of pounds of extra gear for something that a flying/hovering creature won't even trigger, or any reasonably perceptive creature will spot and avoid. While you might spot cordon of arrows, the only way to avoid it is to cast dispel magic, which itself might reveal your location.

If you give infinite leeway to the alternatives but not to the spell in question then of course it seems worthless to you, because you're stacking the deck so a fair comparison can never be made. Given it's benefit over alarm it being a lower spell slot isn't really justified, it could probably deal more damage or allow more ammunition to be used at 2nd-level though, but the damage isn't the main benefit of the spell.

Let's also consider that only 26% of monsters are not melee locked, having spells or ranged attacks, including breath weapons. If you are playing in a meme friendly game it likely won't matter what spells you take.

If your DM isn't throwing enemy mixes and situations that challenge you, then it doesn't matter what spells you take, because they're just letting you win, so why even bother optimising in that case? What's "best" in that case is irrelevant. You can't kite what's already eating your face off, you can't rely on ranged if there are large amounts of obstructions, blind corners etc.

If you assume ideal circumstances for ranged then of course it's stronger, because you can't assume that. And my example character isn't helpless against a flying creature, they can still a ranged weapon if they want (not preferred since the damage is a lot lower), or thorn whip with Gathered Swarm to pull an enemy into melee range. And in melee their damage output is far better than even an Archery Sharpshooter.

There are loads of ways to build a Ranger, and there is no "best" way in a roleplaying game.

The point with fog cloud is that unless you take the hide action, I can hear you, so I know where you are. "This is true whether you're guessing the target's location or you're targeting a creature you can hear but not see... If you are hidden--both unseen and unheard" You have to hide to gain this benefit. Otherwise I can hear you and thusly know where you are.

Let's look at the abominable yeti next, call it yeti for brevity. It's only immunity is to cold. Cool. That means CA for damage is still viable. Let's summon 8 velociraptors. I can have them surround the yeti, and attack it each turn. The yeti's breath weapon is a cone, so it can't kill all of them with one go, and it's likely to get only one or two. This leaves it with most likely just a multi attack action. CA also lasts for an hour, so it's pre cast able. Assuming it kills three dino a turn, we get 16+10+4 attacks in with the dinos, and we have wasted three abominable yeti turns. You win the combat simply by taking cover and dodging, while you get 30 attacks with advantage off with a single spell.

Or you could have gone into melee, taking 42 damage a turn with the likely event of being paralyzed and taking more damage. That's a recipe for dying. You simply cannot go into melee with a abominable yeti.

Or you could have got a mount for 10 gp, and kited your way to victory with a bow.

Next, cordon of arrows deals awful damage. Like really bad. A bat familiar has blindsight or an owl familiar can see your enemies. If you went through your day and couldn't find an excuse to cast pwt or spike growth, then you might as well use the slot, but you should have used it during the day.

This example monster you have slaughters melee. So this challenging monster just kills you, while a ranged character or someone who casts CA wins. Also if there is a ton of cover ain't no way I'm sending a melee character to die and get kited. I'd rather be ranged a win a war of attrition. It seems my dinos to kill you. Even just let my superior spell caster friends take care of it. But riding into melee when there is cover and obscurement kills you.

Another thing you mentioned is that you can't kite what is biting your face off. My response to that is why did you let it get that close? Combat doesn't start with you a inch from your enemy if you are smart about it. I think playing smarter solves a lot of problems.

Quote from nardolphin>>

The point with fog cloud is that unless you take the hide action, I can hear you, so I know where you are. "This is true whether you're guessing the target's location or you're targeting a creature you can hear but not see... If you are hidden--both unseen and unheard" You have to hide to gain this benefit. Otherwise I can hear you and thusly know where you are.

You don't need to be hidden to be both unseen and unheard, all you need to be is not visible and not heard. If the creature attacks in some way that might make noise, but if it moves at all then at best you still only have a guess at its location. The purpose of the Hide is to focus specifically on being hard to detect, but it doesn't mean that you have perfect god-like awareness of every creature that isn't using that action.

You're running fog cloud as if your players have infinite blindsight which they clearly don't; again, if you make something more powerful than it is then of course it's more powerful.

But it's clearly pointless to continue this if you're playing a completely custom alternative to D&D 5e; of course some options are more powerful if you're homebrewing the rules so you can infinitely exploit your custom version. If that's how you and your DM want to play your games, fine, but pretending options are better because you've gone out of your way to make them better is ridiculous.

And at the end of the day you're still advocating the use of spells that a Druid will get sooner and can cast higher and more often; your concept of a Ranger seems to be someone who hides behind a rock sacrificing animals or refusing to ever actually fight anything properly. It's just a non-stop litany of exploits that don't actually work unless your DM simply rolls over and lets you, in which case why even play at all?

I'm tired of going around in circles on this, so I will be unsubscribing from this article's comments as soon as I can remember how to actually do so.

My concept of a ranger is someone who wants to stay alive. I don't give a crap about honor.

If you go to the bottom of your email it should have an unsubscribe button.

thats a good idea

I think you are all too busy arguing about Ranger spells to notice that the person who published this article is named Damen Cook, which sounds way too similar to Da Men Cook, which sounds way too similar to The Men Cook, which sounds way too similar to The Men Cock. BTW Hunters Mark is a great spell.

Quote from nardolphin >>

Alright this article is literally garbage. Imagine getting paid to write this.

First off, good berry doesn't work the way you want it to, which is laughable coming from an official source. I'd hope you actually know about the content you are writing about. Second, healing spirit is just worse than good berry. Especially after a one level dip in life cleric, but even before just use good berry and save the second level slot for pwt.

Whoever suggested hunters mark and zephyr strike is an idiot. For a first level slot, you are using your bonus action on maybe maybe an extra 3-5 damage, when you could just use CBE and deal more with your bonus action. Or ya know, cast entangle or fog cloud, good spells that for some reason don't appear on the list, (odd) and actually meaningfully contribute to combat. Crazy I know.

Steel wind strike unfavorably positions you and your allies, costs a 5th level slot, and does less damage than fireball. Bad spell. On the topic of bad spells, how about looking at ensnaring strike, flame arrows, and cordon of arrows? Like this guide might as well be 8 spells ranger shouldn't take. They all do pitiful damage, are actively worse than other spells who do the job better, looking at you spike growth, and are not worth the slot.

Now let's talk about the glaring omissions. Spike growth, entangle, fog cloud, plant growth, conjure animals. There are five easily indentifiable spells better than the ones on this list. Spike growth is amazing damage and control, entangle and fog cloud good level one contributes, plant growth could be considered the best third level spell based on it's area denial, and conjure animals deals amazing damage, even to dragons. Even 8 cows will deal ≈ 45 damage per round to a dragon. Not bad. Also like, absorb elements is also very good.  And uh Conjure woodland beings is also kinda cracked. Just saying.

I hope future articles actually read the rules, and if you are going to give advice and tell people how to play the game, which is odd for an official source, at least give people good advice

 I think you are forgetting that rangers are half casters, and so don't need to be dealing damage with their spells,  even if they did, you're comparing a ranger spell (witch isn't supposed to be perfect) with one of the most powerfull wizard spells, also, dude (or dudette) chill, they are just recomendations and all ranger spells are highly conditional, so your point is null. 

I noticed that healing spirit is referred to assuming that the second version of the spell is being used. Many groups, including several that I play/DM, still use the old rules, so if you don't intend to mention those rules, at least make it clear that you are referring to the errata rules. If this version of the spell is what you prefer, that's fine, but recognize that not everyone plays by the same rules.

Fireball isn't even very good. And what else should I do with my 3rd level slots, not contribute to combat? Rangers have access to very powerful spells, so why not use them. The powerful spells are not hunters mark and cordon of arrows.

Quote from nardolphin >>

Fireball isn't even very good. And what else should I do with my 3rd level slots, not contribute to combat? Rangers have access to very powerful spells, so why not use them. The powerful spells are not hunters mark and cordon of arrows.

 You've gotta be trolling.

1. Fireball is a 20 ft sphere, dealing 8d6 damage on a failed dexterity saving throw to anything within that sphere, and if you succeed it is still half of that, at level 5 that amount of damage is OP.

2. Rangers don't even have access to Fireball, so there is no point in bringing it up.

Quote from Natemaus27 >

 I think you are forgetting that rangers are half casters, and so don't need to be dealing damage with their spells,  even if they did, you're comparing a ranger spell (witch isn't supposed to be perfect) with one of the most powerfull wizard spells, also, dude (or dudette) chill, they are just recomendations and all ranger spells are highly conditional, so your point is null. 

 

 Not to mention Natemaus27s point that rangers are half casters.

Quote from nardolphin >>

Fireball isn't even very good. And what else should I do with my 3rd level slots, not contribute to combat? Rangers have access to very powerful spells, so why not use them. The powerful spells are not hunters mark and cordon of arrows.

 also, you are right, there are better spells, that can deal alot of damage, HOWEVER, like I said ranger spells are situational, in some situation's cordon of arrows is a very usefull spell. the only spell I can think of , at least for rangers that is usefull nomatter what you are doing during your campaign is goodberry. also hunters mark is VERY usefull, it can be used in combet to deal extra damage, it only costs a bonus action AND it's a first level spell, also after a creature you've marked dies by anymeans you can mark anothr creature on your next bonus action. and if you want to contribute to combat more using magic, then try a class like druid, wizard or sorcerer.

I would've omitted Steel Wind Strike since the chances of a character getting to level 17 is SLIM

Any spell with the word arrow in this article is trash.

I'm back. Stop fighting please?