I was reading a fighter forum thread that was talking about feats and ASIs and my first thought was what are they complaining about? They have more chances for ASIs/feats than any other group and less need. While it’s true that they Only have 2 stats to max (STR & CON) depending on build there are a lot of feats they could use. Then I thought about Rangers and decided to make a few lists (I’ll post them later if folks want). I found 10 feats that are good for anyone, 22 feats that are good for fighters and 29 feats that some version of ranger would get good use out of. that’s 32 feats in 7 ASIs for fighters and 39 Feats in 5 ASIs for rangers. I think we (Rangers) could use a little help 😳😁
so what are some of your favorite feats for rangers, and which feats do you wish you had an extra 2 ASIs to add?
mine: Alert, dual weapons, war caster, shield master, resilient and sharpshooter, I would love to have a place to add things like mage slayer, mobile, skilled and skill expert.
Top Tier: Sharpshooter, Resilient (CON), Crossbow Expert, Shadow Touched (WIS)
Mid Tier: Warcaster (if you use druidic warrior), Elven accuracy, Fey Touched (WIS), Heavy Armored (STR Ranger V. Human 1st level feat), Mobile (TWF Ranger)
Good if I can get them: Tough, Skill Expert (Stealth or Perception Expertise), Ritual Caster (Druid- Great for out of combat utility), Fighting Initiate (Blind Fighting)
Personally, I have seldom struggles with feat selection vs ASI's. That may be because I tend to default to Variant Human for most all my PC's tho.
My go-to's tend to be: Fey Touched (Wis), Skill Expert, and either Sharpshooter (archers) or Mobile (dual wielders.)
I've found Resilient (Con) not to be that important because at range I barely get targeted and at melee I tend to play a skirmisher role. So I get in, do my damage, and get out to let the Barbarian tank the next hit. Same thing with Tough. While the extra HP is nice on everyone, it's less nice on me since I don't get hit often.
War Caster is fine. If I played an Elf more often, I'd definitely pick up Elven Accuracy.
Another pick that I like to take if I get the chance is Skilled, specifically on Natural Explorer Rangers. More proficiencies means more expertises in your Favored Terrains. Which is great. I used it for a desert-dwelling Ranger in a Dark Sun campaign and it was bonkers.
4th level: Magic Initiate (find familiar, green flame blade, prestidigitation)
8th level: Fey touched (Wis) (misty step, hunter's mark) switching hunter's mark to the Fey touched ability gives me a free casting of it once per long rest and frees up a ranger spell known.
Likely 12th level (if I can find a +2 bow otherwise ASI Dex): Resilient (Constitution)
I end up using: Fey Touched, Observant, Resilient Con, and Skill Expert a lot. Sharpshooter on every archery build.
Fey Touched I put a touch ahead of Shadow since I find Misty Step more useful than invisibility and the 1st level options from Fey just better (in particular bless and Hunter's Mark)
I end up using: Fey Touched, Observant, Resilient Con, and Skill Expert a lot. Sharpshooter on every archery build.
Fey Touched I put a touch ahead of Shadow since I find Misty Step more useful than invisibility and the 1st level options from Fey just better (in particular bless and Hunter's Mark)
How could have I forgot Alert?? Such a good feat...yeah thats Mid or High tier depending on the build. Gloomstalker/Assassin its a must.
Fey and Shadow I go back and forth on....Misty is better in combat but Invisibility is better out of combat. Since most of my ranger spells tend to be in combat choices I go with shadow more often. Inflict wounds is a damage option if you find yourself in melee.
Bless is a great choice for Fey though...likely the best option overall especially if you have sharpshooter to help further offset that attack penalty.
4th level: Magic Initiate (find familiar, green flame blade, prestidigitation)
8th level: Fey touched (Wis) (misty step, hunter's mark) switching hunter's mark to the Fey touched ability gives me a free casting of it once per long rest and frees up a ranger spell known.
Likely 12th level (if I can find a +2 bow otherwise ASI Dex): Resilient (Constitution)
Looking hard at: Alert, Skill Expertise
If we're talking about our current builds, my Fey Wanderer got Fey Touched (Wisdom) at 1st-level from Variant Human and Mobile at 4th-level. She took the +2 to Dex at 8th.
My Horizon Walker isn't a Variant Human for once, but she took the +2 to Dex at 4th and Sharpshooter at 8th. Her stats are overall lower than my Fey Wanderer's, so I'm using the rest of the ASI's to max out her Dex and Wis. That being said, I find that she really doesn't need any more feats. Sharpshooter and maxed Dex/Wis is enough to make her fiercely competent already.
Yeah different feats for different builds. I left the pole arm master and heavy armour feats off the ranger list I put together as they don’t officially get the great weapon fighting style and heavy armor negates their Dex but I can see building a tank melee ranger with them. As an old school player that missed the start of 5e I’m annoyed with how much they nerfed 2 weapon fighting. I grant that it needed cutting down as at high levels it was over the top. With 2-4 attacks a round doubled for dual wielding and a speed potion a ranger was more like a monster mastic slicing and dicing almost anything. I hadn’t thought about shield master til I was reading about it in a fighter forum thread and took a look at it. Getting an evasion equivalent and +2 on Dex saves vs spells and effects potentially at L1 is sweet.
Yeah different feats for different builds. I left the pole arm master and heavy armour feats off the ranger list I put together as they don’t officially get the great weapon fighting style and heavy armor negates their Dex but I can see building a tank melee ranger with them. As an old school player that missed the start of 5e I’m annoyed with how much they nerfed 2 weapon fighting. I grant that it needed cutting down as at high levels it was over the top. With 2-4 attacks a round doubled for dual wielding and a speed potion a ranger was more like a monster mastic slicing and dicing almost anything. I hadn’t thought about shield master til I was reading about it in a fighter forum thread and took a look at it. Getting an evasion equivalent and +2 on Dex saves vs spells and effects potentially at L1 is sweet.
Yeah TWF got the nerf hammer hard in 5e....
As of now its just inferior to the other options especially for Ranger who can be BA hungry.
"Yeah different feats for different builds. I left the pole arm master and heavy armour feats off the ranger list I put together as they don’t officially get the great weapon fighting style and heavy armor negates their Dex but I can see building a tank melee ranger with them."
Pole arm master works pretty well on a shield and spear Ranger, and polearms in general work well with Hoardbreaker from the Hunter subclass. Personally I don't like the Great Weapon Fighting style and probably would never take it on a Fighter or Ranger. Numerically the extra damage is extremely minimal, and in practice it involves staring at your dice too much trying to carve out a few points here and there. It slows down the game for minimal benefit.
"Yeah different feats for different builds. I left the pole arm master and heavy armour feats off the ranger list I put together as they don’t officially get the great weapon fighting style and heavy armor negates their Dex but I can see building a tank melee ranger with them."
Pole arm master works pretty well on a shield and spear Ranger, and polearms in general work well with Hoardbreaker from the Hunter subclass. Personally I don't like the Great Weapon Fighting style and probably would never take it on a Fighter or Ranger. Numerically the extra damage is extremely minimal, and in practice it involves staring at your dice too much trying to carve out a few points here and there. It slows down the game for minimal benefit.
Agreed on GWF style....its generally about 1 point extra damage on average depending on the weapon.
Yeah different feats for different builds. I left the pole arm master and heavy armour feats off the ranger list I put together as they don’t officially get the great weapon fighting style and heavy armor negates their Dex but I can see building a tank melee ranger with them. As an old school player that missed the start of 5e I’m annoyed with how much they nerfed 2 weapon fighting. I grant that it needed cutting down as at high levels it was over the top. With 2-4 attacks a round doubled for dual wielding and a speed potion a ranger was more like a monster mastic slicing and dicing almost anything. I hadn’t thought about shield master til I was reading about it in a fighter forum thread and took a look at it. Getting an evasion equivalent and +2 on Dex saves vs spells and effects potentially at L1 is sweet.
Yeah TWF got the nerf hammer hard in 5e....
As of now its just inferior to the other options especially for Ranger who can be BA hungry.
I think it did too, but is better than people give it credit for. Zero spell slots use and zero concentration to do just about the same damage as a longbow or rapier user WITH hunter's mark active, so that's pretty good. You also keep up your straight damage output, granted restricted to melee attacks, while using other concentrations spells like conjure animals.
Yeah different feats for different builds. I left the pole arm master and heavy armour feats off the ranger list I put together as they don’t officially get the great weapon fighting style and heavy armor negates their Dex but I can see building a tank melee ranger with them. As an old school player that missed the start of 5e I’m annoyed with how much they nerfed 2 weapon fighting. I grant that it needed cutting down as at high levels it was over the top. With 2-4 attacks a round doubled for dual wielding and a speed potion a ranger was more like a monster mastic slicing and dicing almost anything. I hadn’t thought about shield master til I was reading about it in a fighter forum thread and took a look at it. Getting an evasion equivalent and +2 on Dex saves vs spells and effects potentially at L1 is sweet.
Yeah TWF got the nerf hammer hard in 5e....
As of now its just inferior to the other options especially for Ranger who can be BA hungry.
I think it did too, but is better than people give it credit for. Zero spell slots use and zero concentration to do just about the same damage as a longbow or rapier user WITH hunter's mark active, so that's pretty good. You also keep up your straight damage output, granted restricted to melee attacks, while using other concentrations spells like conjure animals.
It's really good with certain builds too like Fey ranger
Bless is a great choice for Fey though...likely the best option overall especially if you have sharpshooter to help further offset that attack penalty.
Bless is awesome - I couldn't have that and Hunter's Mark going at the same time so I left it to the cleric. But definitely one of the best spells in the game and probably the best as a standard Fey touched choice.
Just take another concentration spell that isn’t hunter’s mark. Spike growth seems popular. After a round one casting, rounds 2+ the ranger is “loosing” 2d6 each round after because the mark isn’t up. Well, when not using hunter’s mark two weapon fighters deal more damage than the others styles.
Eh. To be honest, my Fey Wanderer is using Two Weapon Fighting and I still think there's a bit of BA bloat. Granted, she also has the Nature's Mantle (which lets her hide as a BA,) so that might be a contributing factor. But even without Dreadful Strikes taking up a Bonus Action, I still ended up having to choose between attacking with my offhand weapon, teleporting with Misty Step, hiding with Nature's Mantle (or eventually Vanish), or casting Hunter's Mark/Ensnaring Strike/etc. So, I'd say it's still got a ways to go.
My Horizon Walker isn't a Variant Human for once, but she took the +2 to Dex at 4th and Sharpshooter at 8th. Her stats are overall lower than my Fey Wanderer's, so I'm using the rest of the ASI's to max out her Dex and Wis. That being said, I find that she really doesn't need any more feats. Sharpshooter and maxed Dex/Wis is enough to make her fiercely competent already.
Yeah you're right - I tend to like my characters a little more on the spellcasting side so that takes me down a less than optimal route for some extra spellcasting shinies. My Dex isnt maxxed and most likely won't be if I can get a better bow.
Just take another concentration spell that isn’t hunter’s mark. Spike growth seems popular. After a round one casting, rounds 2+ the ranger is “loosing” 2d6 each round after because the mark isn’t up. Well, when not using hunter’s mark two weapon fighters deal more damage than the others styles.
If you factor in CBE archery is the clear winner and PAM makes dueling better as well but in a featless game TWF for ranger does make sense
With two weapon fighting nerfed I’m beginning to really look at some of the other fighting styles and seeing some interesting possibilities. A wood elf ranger with the wood elf magic and the Druid warrior style is looking pretty good. Take shillelagh for your cantrip with wood elf magic and you have a magic weapon right from the start with your quarterstaff. Add magic stone and primal savagery with the style and use a sling instead of a bow and you have magic ranged weaponry as well as a 1D10 acid attack if he doesn’t use the staff - all at L2.
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Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
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I was reading a fighter forum thread that was talking about feats and ASIs and my first thought was what are they complaining about? They have more chances for ASIs/feats than any other group and less need. While it’s true that they Only have 2 stats to max (STR & CON) depending on build there are a lot of feats they could use. Then I thought about Rangers and decided to make a few lists (I’ll post them later if folks want). I found 10 feats that are good for anyone, 22 feats that are good for fighters and 29 feats that some version of ranger would get good use out of. that’s 32 feats in 7 ASIs for fighters and 39 Feats in 5 ASIs for rangers. I think we (Rangers) could use a little help 😳😁
so what are some of your favorite feats for rangers, and which feats do you wish you had an extra 2 ASIs to add?
mine: Alert, dual weapons, war caster, shield master, resilient and sharpshooter, I would love to have a place to add things like mage slayer, mobile, skilled and skill expert.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
You named most of mine already.
Sharpshooter, resilient constitution, lucky, magic initiate, shield master, healer, polearm master, ritual caster, and skilled.
All of these feats blend well with various combinations of fighting styles, party roles, and spell selection.
Dexterity is so good that so rarely take more than one feat before level 12.
Top Tier: Sharpshooter, Resilient (CON), Crossbow Expert, Shadow Touched (WIS)
Mid Tier: Warcaster (if you use druidic warrior), Elven accuracy, Fey Touched (WIS), Heavy Armored (STR Ranger V. Human 1st level feat), Mobile (TWF Ranger)
Good if I can get them: Tough, Skill Expert (Stealth or Perception Expertise), Ritual Caster (Druid- Great for out of combat utility), Fighting Initiate (Blind Fighting)
Personally, I have seldom struggles with feat selection vs ASI's. That may be because I tend to default to Variant Human for most all my PC's tho.
My go-to's tend to be: Fey Touched (Wis), Skill Expert, and either Sharpshooter (archers) or Mobile (dual wielders.)
I've found Resilient (Con) not to be that important because at range I barely get targeted and at melee I tend to play a skirmisher role. So I get in, do my damage, and get out to let the Barbarian tank the next hit. Same thing with Tough. While the extra HP is nice on everyone, it's less nice on me since I don't get hit often.
War Caster is fine. If I played an Elf more often, I'd definitely pick up Elven Accuracy.
Another pick that I like to take if I get the chance is Skilled, specifically on Natural Explorer Rangers. More proficiencies means more expertises in your Favored Terrains. Which is great. I used it for a desert-dwelling Ranger in a Dark Sun campaign and it was bonkers.
For my human gloomstalker Archer ranger:
1st level: Sharpshooter (no brainer)
4th level: Magic Initiate (find familiar, green flame blade, prestidigitation)
8th level: Fey touched (Wis) (misty step, hunter's mark) switching hunter's mark to the Fey touched ability gives me a free casting of it once per long rest and frees up a ranger spell known.
Likely 12th level (if I can find a +2 bow otherwise ASI Dex): Resilient (Constitution)
Looking hard at: Alert, Skill Expertise
I recently had a strength Ranger and used both Polearm Master and Resilient Con.
To me it comes down to a couple different categories based on build:
Archery feats: Sharpshooter, Crossbow Expert, Piercer, (Elven Accuracy)
Casting Feats: Fey/Shadow Touched, Resilient Con, Warcaster, (Ritual Caster)
Specific melee style: PAM, GWF, Shield Master, Dual Wielder
Exploration/Skills: Alert, Observant, Skill Expert
I end up using: Fey Touched, Observant, Resilient Con, and Skill Expert a lot. Sharpshooter on every archery build.
Fey Touched I put a touch ahead of Shadow since I find Misty Step more useful than invisibility and the 1st level options from Fey just better (in particular bless and Hunter's Mark)
How could have I forgot Alert?? Such a good feat...yeah thats Mid or High tier depending on the build. Gloomstalker/Assassin its a must.
Fey and Shadow I go back and forth on....Misty is better in combat but Invisibility is better out of combat. Since most of my ranger spells tend to be in combat choices I go with shadow more often. Inflict wounds is a damage option if you find yourself in melee.
Bless is a great choice for Fey though...likely the best option overall especially if you have sharpshooter to help further offset that attack penalty.
If we're talking about our current builds, my Fey Wanderer got Fey Touched (Wisdom) at 1st-level from Variant Human and Mobile at 4th-level. She took the +2 to Dex at 8th.
My Horizon Walker isn't a Variant Human for once, but she took the +2 to Dex at 4th and Sharpshooter at 8th. Her stats are overall lower than my Fey Wanderer's, so I'm using the rest of the ASI's to max out her Dex and Wis. That being said, I find that she really doesn't need any more feats. Sharpshooter and maxed Dex/Wis is enough to make her fiercely competent already.
Yeah different feats for different builds. I left the pole arm master and heavy armour feats off the ranger list I put together as they don’t officially get the great weapon fighting style and heavy armor negates their Dex but I can see building a tank melee ranger with them. As an old school player that missed the start of 5e I’m annoyed with how much they nerfed 2 weapon fighting. I grant that it needed cutting down as at high levels it was over the top. With 2-4 attacks a round doubled for dual wielding and a speed potion a ranger was more like a monster mastic slicing and dicing almost anything. I hadn’t thought about shield master til I was reading about it in a fighter forum thread and took a look at it. Getting an evasion equivalent and +2 on Dex saves vs spells and effects potentially at L1 is sweet.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Yeah TWF got the nerf hammer hard in 5e....
As of now its just inferior to the other options especially for Ranger who can be BA hungry.
"Yeah different feats for different builds. I left the pole arm master and heavy armour feats off the ranger list I put together as they don’t officially get the great weapon fighting style and heavy armor negates their Dex but I can see building a tank melee ranger with them."
Pole arm master works pretty well on a shield and spear Ranger, and polearms in general work well with Hoardbreaker from the Hunter subclass. Personally I don't like the Great Weapon Fighting style and probably would never take it on a Fighter or Ranger. Numerically the extra damage is extremely minimal, and in practice it involves staring at your dice too much trying to carve out a few points here and there. It slows down the game for minimal benefit.
Agreed on GWF style....its generally about 1 point extra damage on average depending on the weapon.
I think it did too, but is better than people give it credit for. Zero spell slots use and zero concentration to do just about the same damage as a longbow or rapier user WITH hunter's mark active, so that's pretty good. You also keep up your straight damage output, granted restricted to melee attacks, while using other concentrations spells like conjure animals.
It's really good with certain builds too like Fey ranger
Bless is awesome - I couldn't have that and Hunter's Mark going at the same time so I left it to the cleric. But definitely one of the best spells in the game and probably the best as a standard Fey touched choice.
Just take another concentration spell that isn’t hunter’s mark. Spike growth seems popular. After a round one casting, rounds 2+ the ranger is “loosing” 2d6 each round after because the mark isn’t up. Well, when not using hunter’s mark two weapon fighters deal more damage than the others styles.
Eh. To be honest, my Fey Wanderer is using Two Weapon Fighting and I still think there's a bit of BA bloat. Granted, she also has the Nature's Mantle (which lets her hide as a BA,) so that might be a contributing factor. But even without Dreadful Strikes taking up a Bonus Action, I still ended up having to choose between attacking with my offhand weapon, teleporting with Misty Step, hiding with Nature's Mantle (or eventually Vanish), or casting Hunter's Mark/Ensnaring Strike/etc. So, I'd say it's still got a ways to go.
Yeah you're right - I tend to like my characters a little more on the spellcasting side so that takes me down a less than optimal route for some extra spellcasting shinies. My Dex isnt maxxed and most likely won't be if I can get a better bow.
If you factor in CBE archery is the clear winner and PAM makes dueling better as well but in a featless game TWF for ranger does make sense
With two weapon fighting nerfed I’m beginning to really look at some of the other fighting styles and seeing some interesting possibilities. A wood elf ranger with the wood elf magic and the Druid warrior style is looking pretty good. Take shillelagh for your cantrip with wood elf magic and you have a magic weapon right from the start with your quarterstaff. Add magic stone and primal savagery with the style and use a sling instead of a bow and you have magic ranged weaponry as well as a 1D10 acid attack if he doesn’t use the staff - all at L2.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.