Remember spells are restricted in specific ways while raging and ranger spells make alot of ranger damage and versatility.
If this multi-class focus is your goal stick with features that aren't spell reliant. Only pick spells you can time casting right (while not raging) and don't use concentration.
Depending on how deep you intend to go ranger makes a little difference. I'll assume 3 levels for now. Hunter or swarmkeeper or gloomstalker are safe bets.
If you can convince your dm to work with you phb beastmaster can harvest poison(if you do just don't treat it like a combat companion. There may be more benefits but don't count on it)
The real question is can you get more use out of phb ranger or tasha's. Feel free to mix and match. I lean towards phb but alot of forum members would disagree. Talk to your dm about phb ones first.
Remember spells are restricted in specific ways while raging and ranger spells make alot of ranger damage and versatility.
If this multi-class focus is your goal stick with features that aren't spell reliant. Only pick spells you can time casting right (while not raging) and don't use concentration.
Depending on how deep you intend to go ranger makes a little difference. I'll assume 3 levels for now. Hunter or swarmkeeper or gloomstalker are safe bets.
If you can convince your dm to work with you phb beastmaster can harvest poison(if you do just don't treat it like a combat companion. There may be more benefits but don't count on it)
The real question is can you get more use out of phb ranger or tasha's. Feel free to mix and match. I lean towards phb but alot of forum members would disagree. Talk to your dm about phb ones first.
My plan is not to take any more Barbarian levels; I'm not at all interested in the 10th & 14th level Beast features. I might change my mind and go to 12th or 13th just for Relentless Rage and the 2nd Brutal Critical die, tho. I'm looking at Ranger for more utility, and a few things that synergize well with the Beast Barb. (The Jump spell & Bestial Soul = super leaping, for example.) I'm not looking at the Beastmaster; the companion's HP will be too low for a 2nd-3rd tier campaign, and the poison DC is kind of a joke. (DC11) Hunter and Gloomstalker both look good, tho!
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Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
Well it's obviously a thematic multiclass choice instead of an optimizing one so I'd go with Beastmaster for style points. Being a beast fighting together with your beast companion is just cool. Luckily most stats of the beast companion scales with your Proficiency Bonus as well so it won't behind there, however its HP will be a bit low unfortunately.
As for spells, I second what Roscoeivan said. Pick ones that are useful out of combat or last even after you went into Rage. Or you pick spells that are useful to you in combat while not raging if your group has enough combat encounters per day for you to not be raging all the time. Goodberry would be one of the big ones for you as you can precast it and still use the berries during your Rage. Also considering Yuan-Ti are your character's mortal enemies you'll probably want Protection From Poison if you go deep enough to have 2nd level spells.
I'm taking a lot of Ranger levels; I may or may not go back to Barbarian at all. So 2nd level or even 3rd level spells are a possibility. My character has enough Dex (and a magic longbow) so he can use concentration spells in ranged combat (only). For melee combat, it's strictly non-concentration spells, or no spells at all. I also want some utility spells because I'd like to be more useful outside of combat.
As I mentioned above, I'm not really looking at Beastmaster due to the companion's low HP (and low poison save, if any) but I'm interested in discussing ideas for other subclasses. Hunter would be a good fit, Monster Hunter would make sense, Gloomstalker too. Are there any good synergies with other subclasses I've missed?
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Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
One: If anyone says go for beast master. They are wrong
Two: Hunter or Swarmkeeper. I personally prefer Swarmkeeper but depending on how much you delve into ranger hunter could be cool
Three: Wouldn’t suggest subclassing with Barbarian. Especially with a casting class because once you activate rage you can’t cast spells. But they do have some really cool non-spell abilities
Note: op has said they do not want beastmaster so this is general information for the thread. To intending to contradict his request.
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There are phb beasmaster poisons that have no save or save for half. So there's still potential.
Flying snake in particular has decent defenses and 3d4 no save poison and blindsight for some emergency utility.
A ranger trapping a door or hallway with caltrops and bear trap and cordon of arrows can get 3d4 damage to add to all 3. And a barbarian can shove.
‐‐-------------------------‐--
Back to original post advice: beastmasters later features probably won't help your build.
I would thy and go for swarmkeeper the flight (when you get it) makes you less reliant on having other ways of solving ranged issues.
Horizon walker could also go well if you find yourself being resisted and the idea of ghost barb dropping into the center of combat is fun.
Gloomstalker's "iron mind" could shore up some weakness
Even if you don't take beastmaster you can harvest one dose of poison from a dead yuanti(most have no save poison). I see it as turning your enemies against each other but your character may feel different.
Collected consumables save fights gone wrong or reduce difficulty. This is why goodberies are great. Spell Scrolls too. They are outside normal damage/resource calculation so they give a little extra on top.
In a Ranger multiclass, the question I often find myself asking first is — do you already have a consistent use for your bonus action? If so, some of the subclasses like Horizon Walker and Monster Slayer may feel clunky.
In addition to options already suggested, I think Fey Wanderer can synergize well. It offers damage that can increase with attack number if you split them between enemies and claw-using beastbarian can get a lot of attacks. It also gives you a little more social capability, and eventually some non-spell control options you can do while raging.
One interesting possibility, given the lizard folk background, might be drakewarden. It may not be maximally optimized but but it is thematic and despite the drake’s low HP it can be useful in combat.
One: If anyone says go for beast master. They are wrong
Two: Hunter or Swarmkeeper. I personally prefer Swarmkeeper but depending on how much you delve into ranger hunter could be cool
Three: Wouldn’t suggest subclassing with Barbarian. Especially with a casting class because once you activate rage you can’t cast spells. But they do have some really cool non-spell abilities
I'm leaning towards Hunter over the Beastmaster or Swarmkeeper.
Re: point Three, above. See my original post. The 10th and 14th level Beast Barb features don't interest me, so I'm branching out. And The Ranger class has spells I can activate before raging which will be useful in combat, as well as utility spells which will make my character more useful in non-combat situations.
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Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
In a Ranger multiclass, the question I often find myself asking first is — do you already have a consistent use for your bonus action? If so, some of the subclasses like Horizon Walker and Monster Slayer may feel clunky.
In addition to options already suggested, I think Fey Wanderer can synergize well. It offers damage that can increase with attack number if you split them between enemies and claw-using beastbarian can get a lot of attacks. It also gives you a little more social capability, and eventually some non-spell control options you can do while raging.
I have an occasional use for my bonus action -- the Hungry Jaws feature -- which proficiency bonus uses per long rest. During rage it does 1d6+6 damage and gives prof. bonus temp HP. So I'd have to weigh any other bonus action feature against that.
I like the Fey Wanderer subclass but it's not exactly in character -- my Beast Barbarian has absolutely no connections with the fey of any kind. If the Fey Wanderer made sense for him I'd consider it.
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Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
One interesting possibility, given the lizard folk background, might be drakewarden. It may not be maximally optimized but but it is thematic and despite the drake’s low HP it can be useful in combat.
I've got a fellow player (Dragonborn Paladin) who's been begging the for some kind of draconic pet since the campaign started. Going Drakewarden would make him really jealous and I'd rather not do that to him. Also, the draconic companion has the same issue (imho) as the beast companion; its HP scale with Ranger level so I'd be way behind the curve due to having 8-9 levels in another class.
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Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
I went drake warden from beast barb and it actually synergizes pretty well. Drake warden gives a number of uses for spell slots that aren't spells, tashas beast master can be good in this sense as well. I would take swarm keeper over hunter personally. As for spells jump can be ridiculous if you apply the guidance from the harengon sage advice to the jumping adaptation and triple the entire jump.
If pet subclasses are out, then hunter, gloomstalker, and monster slayer are your best bets with horizon walker a close 4th. While I like HW, it’s detect portal has nothing to do with your beast barbarian and the entire feel of the subclass seems off. One question to ask yourself is how far are you expecting to go with this character and class? I have some trouble seeing it go past L4 since you already have the extra attack from barbarian L5. Ranger base abilities kick in at L1, fighting style at L2, subclass at L3 and ASI at L4 then your next gain isn’t until L6.
If pet subclasses are out, then hunter, gloomstalker, and monster slayer are your best bets with horizon walker a close 4th. While I like HW, it’s detect portal has nothing to do with your beast barbarian and the entire feel of the subclass seems off. One question to ask yourself is how far are you expecting to go with this character and class? I have some trouble seeing it go past L4 since you already have the extra attack from barbarian L5. Ranger base abilities kick in at L1, fighting style at L2, subclass at L3 and ASI at L4 then your next gain isn’t until L6.
I'm in this for the spellcasting, and not likely to go back to Barbarian, so I expect to end up with 11-12 Ranger levels. I'm not concerned about extra attack; the 5th level of Ranger is when they get 2nd level spells so it's not exactly a "dead" level.
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Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
Ok. I assume you realize that spell casting and barbarian are to a great extent mutually exclusive - especially when most of the really powerful ranger spells call for concentration which is lost as soon as you rage. If you switch now you have the potential to reach L13 as a ranger and gain 1 L4 spell slot and 8 spells known. Because of concentration loss the following spells are out or of limited/non combat only use: LEVEL 1. Level 2. Level 3. Level 4 Ensnaring strike. Barkskin. Conjure Animals. Conjure Woodland Beings Fog Cloud. Beastsense. Lightning Arrow. Grasping Vine Hail of Thorns. Locate Object. Protection from Energy. Locate Creature Hunter’s Mark. Pass without Trace. Windwall. Stoneskin Protection from evil/good Silence. Fear. Greater invisibility Entangle Spike Growth. Haste. Banishment searing smite. Enhance ability. Elemental Weapon. Dominate Beast Faerie Fire Gust of Wind. Summon Fey. Summon Elemental zephyr Strike Magic Weapon. Gaseous Form. Arcane Eye Summon Beast Web while there a still plenty of spells you can take, including concentration ones like pass without Trace, you are far more limited if it is spells you are after you would probably be better off multiclassing into sorceror (13 spells known, L7 max), Bard (16 known, L7 max) or Druid (L7 max, wildshape + spells)
I'm playing a 7th level Lizardfolk Beast Barbarian, and plan to go Ranger before I get to 10th level.
Stats 18/14/14/8/14/9. No feats. I'll probably get Resilient/Wisdom at 8th level.
He's from a remote tropical island off the southern coast of Wildmount, and the Yuan-Ti are his mortal enemies.
His name is unpronounceable but he answers to "Turza the Sharkslayer."
Which Ranger subclass should I choose?
Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
Remember spells are restricted in specific ways while raging and ranger spells make alot of ranger damage and versatility.
If this multi-class focus is your goal stick with features that aren't spell reliant. Only pick spells you can time casting right (while not raging) and don't use concentration.
Depending on how deep you intend to go ranger makes a little difference. I'll assume 3 levels for now. Hunter or swarmkeeper or gloomstalker are safe bets.
If you can convince your dm to work with you phb beastmaster can harvest poison(if you do just don't treat it like a combat companion. There may be more benefits but don't count on it)
The real question is can you get more use out of phb ranger or tasha's. Feel free to mix and match. I lean towards phb but alot of forum members would disagree. Talk to your dm about phb ones first.
My plan is not to take any more Barbarian levels; I'm not at all interested in the 10th & 14th level Beast features. I might change my mind and go to 12th or 13th just for Relentless Rage and the 2nd Brutal Critical die, tho. I'm looking at Ranger for more utility, and a few things that synergize well with the Beast Barb. (The Jump spell & Bestial Soul = super leaping, for example.) I'm not looking at the Beastmaster; the companion's HP will be too low for a 2nd-3rd tier campaign, and the poison DC is kind of a joke. (DC11) Hunter and Gloomstalker both look good, tho!
Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
I'm taking a lot of Ranger levels; I may or may not go back to Barbarian at all. So 2nd level or even 3rd level spells are a possibility. My character has enough Dex (and a magic longbow) so he can use concentration spells in ranged combat (only). For melee combat, it's strictly non-concentration spells, or no spells at all. I also want some utility spells because I'd like to be more useful outside of combat.
As I mentioned above, I'm not really looking at Beastmaster due to the companion's low HP (and low poison save, if any) but I'm interested in discussing ideas for other subclasses. Hunter would be a good fit, Monster Hunter would make sense, Gloomstalker too. Are there any good synergies with other subclasses I've missed?
Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
One: If anyone says go for beast master. They are wrong
Two: Hunter or Swarmkeeper. I personally prefer Swarmkeeper but depending on how much you delve into ranger hunter could be cool
Three: Wouldn’t suggest subclassing with Barbarian. Especially with a casting class because once you activate rage you can’t cast spells. But they do have some really cool non-spell abilities
Note: op has said they do not want beastmaster so this is general information for the thread. To intending to contradict his request.
-------------‐-------
There are phb beasmaster poisons that have no save or save for half. So there's still potential.
Flying snake in particular has decent defenses and 3d4 no save poison and blindsight for some emergency utility.
A ranger trapping a door or hallway with caltrops and bear trap and cordon of arrows can get 3d4 damage to add to all 3. And a barbarian can shove.
‐‐-------------------------‐--
Back to original post advice: beastmasters later features probably won't help your build.
I would thy and go for swarmkeeper the flight (when you get it) makes you less reliant on having other ways of solving ranged issues.
Horizon walker could also go well if you find yourself being resisted and the idea of ghost barb dropping into the center of combat is fun.
Gloomstalker's "iron mind" could shore up some weakness
Even if you don't take beastmaster you can harvest one dose of poison from a dead yuanti(most have no save poison). I see it as turning your enemies against each other but your character may feel different.
Collected consumables save fights gone wrong or reduce difficulty. This is why goodberies are great. Spell Scrolls too. They are outside normal damage/resource calculation so they give a little extra on top.
In a Ranger multiclass, the question I often find myself asking first is — do you already have a consistent use for your bonus action? If so, some of the subclasses like Horizon Walker and Monster Slayer may feel clunky.
In addition to options already suggested, I think Fey Wanderer can synergize well. It offers damage that can increase with attack number if you split them between enemies and claw-using beastbarian can get a lot of attacks. It also gives you a little more social capability, and eventually some non-spell control options you can do while raging.
One interesting possibility, given the lizard folk background, might be drakewarden. It may not be maximally optimized but but it is thematic and despite the drake’s low HP it can be useful in combat.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
I'm leaning towards Hunter over the Beastmaster or Swarmkeeper.
Re: point Three, above. See my original post. The 10th and 14th level Beast Barb features don't interest me, so I'm branching out. And The Ranger class has spells I can activate before raging which will be useful in combat, as well as utility spells which will make my character more useful in non-combat situations.
Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
I have an occasional use for my bonus action -- the Hungry Jaws feature -- which proficiency bonus uses per long rest. During rage it does 1d6+6 damage and gives prof. bonus temp HP. So I'd have to weigh any other bonus action feature against that.
I like the Fey Wanderer subclass but it's not exactly in character -- my Beast Barbarian has absolutely no connections with the fey of any kind. If the Fey Wanderer made sense for him I'd consider it.
Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
I've got a fellow player (Dragonborn Paladin) who's been begging the for some kind of draconic pet since the campaign started. Going Drakewarden would make him really jealous and I'd rather not do that to him. Also, the draconic companion has the same issue (imho) as the beast companion; its HP scale with Ranger level so I'd be way behind the curve due to having 8-9 levels in another class.
Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
I went drake warden from beast barb and it actually synergizes pretty well. Drake warden gives a number of uses for spell slots that aren't spells, tashas beast master can be good in this sense as well. I would take swarm keeper over hunter personally. As for spells jump can be ridiculous if you apply the guidance from the harengon sage advice to the jumping adaptation and triple the entire jump.
If pet subclasses are out, then hunter, gloomstalker, and monster slayer are your best bets with horizon walker a close 4th. While I like HW, it’s detect portal has nothing to do with your beast barbarian and the entire feel of the subclass seems off. One question to ask yourself is how far are you expecting to go with this character and class? I have some trouble seeing it go past L4 since you already have the extra attack from barbarian L5. Ranger base abilities kick in at L1, fighting style at L2, subclass at L3 and ASI at L4 then your next gain isn’t until L6.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
I'm in this for the spellcasting, and not likely to go back to Barbarian, so I expect to end up with 11-12 Ranger levels. I'm not concerned about extra attack; the 5th level of Ranger is when they get 2nd level spells so it's not exactly a "dead" level.
Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
Ok. I assume you realize that spell casting and barbarian are to a great extent mutually exclusive - especially when most of the really powerful ranger spells call for concentration which is lost as soon as you rage. If you switch now you have the potential to reach L13 as a ranger and gain 1 L4 spell slot and 8 spells known. Because of concentration loss the following spells are out or of limited/non combat only use:
LEVEL 1. Level 2. Level 3. Level 4
Ensnaring strike. Barkskin. Conjure Animals. Conjure Woodland Beings
Fog Cloud. Beastsense. Lightning Arrow. Grasping Vine
Hail of Thorns. Locate Object. Protection from Energy. Locate Creature
Hunter’s Mark. Pass without Trace. Windwall. Stoneskin
Protection from evil/good Silence. Fear. Greater invisibility
Entangle Spike Growth. Haste. Banishment
searing smite. Enhance ability. Elemental Weapon. Dominate Beast
Faerie Fire Gust of Wind. Summon Fey. Summon Elemental
zephyr Strike Magic Weapon. Gaseous Form. Arcane Eye
Summon Beast
Web
while there a still plenty of spells you can take, including concentration ones like pass without Trace, you are far more limited if it is spells you are after you would probably be better off multiclassing into sorceror (13 spells known, L7 max), Bard (16 known, L7 max) or Druid (L7 max, wildshape + spells)
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.