So we can all see your actual Character info, please post a link.
On you Character Sheet in DnDBeyond.com, select you character's drop down menu, go towards the Bottom of options and select "SHAREABLE LINK." You'll get a pop-up, copy the link and paste it.
It will look like this: (This is my Adventure's League character, but i havent played it in several months. I was waiting for enough people to get season 9 characters up to Tier 4, and then Covid hit.... )
What is your Play-Style for this character? It looks like you want to use Two-Weapon Fighting. If that is the case you will need to change some things.
TWF is good for Lvls 1-4. But after you get Extra-Attack @ Lv5 it quickly becomes sub-optimal. To even make TWF effective you will need "Two Weapon Fighting Style"(which you can select at Ranger Lv2) and the "Dual Wielder" Feat. As you said you really want to have "Eleven Accuracy" and "Alert" Feats. That will make your character very Feat heavy. You will need to make a choice of what Feats are most important to you.
Additionally, what Ranger spells do you plan on taking and/or using in combat? A Lot of people chose "Hunter's Mark" or "Zephyr Strike" as their primary combat spells. Both are Bonus Action to cast. If you go with HM, it will compete/conflict with your off-hand attack, especially when it comes to moving the HM around after an enemy dies. Crossbow Expert users run into the same problem once you have both CBE and SS(Sharpshooter). After you reach a certain level your DPS is better if you just use your BA to make the CBE attack with SS than to spend your BA moving HM. Zephyr Strike would pair nicely with Eleven Accuracy as long as you have enough spell slots.
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If this is your FIRST D&D character(I know you said your new to 5E D&D), I would recommend not trying to multi-class to much, or at least rethink going with Assassin.
So many people think that going "Gloom Stalker lv5/Assassin Lv3+/Fighter lv2+" will guarantee some "uber crazy insane first round nova damage." IMHO Assassin is one of the least effective Rogue sub-classes, especially for rangers. The "Assassinate" ability is 100% dependent on your DM(actually Umbral Sight is too). Does your DM take "Lighting/Shadows" into account? Does your whole party constantly Stealth around? Does your DM give you a "Surprise round" every combat? If not, how often does your whole party, or just you get "Surprise?" Or does your DM start most combats with your party getting ambushed?
If your depending on Assassinate, you need to understand that there are 2 separate points to Assassinate.
1:You have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn in the combat yet. (only works if you have "Surprise" or roll higher on initiative)
2:In addition, any hit you score against a creature that is SURPRISED is a critical hit.
Just because you go first, doesn't mean all your hits are an instant crits, you will just have advantage(Triple Advantage if you take Eleven Accuracy ). They enemy has to be SURPRISED for those hits to crit. In my experience with 3+ years in Adventure's League(Weekly 2-3 hour game and a Bi-monthly 8 hour game) and home games *[not bragging, I'm trying to show that I've played with 30+ different DMs and their play styles], Assassins don't get to Assassinate nearly as much as they thought they would while making their characters.
I thought that playing a Gloom Stalker, I would be Invisible 60-70% of the time in combats. In reality, I had 1 DM for single 4-hr adventure that used "lighting/shadows." I think I was lv6 at that time.
The majority of rogues or multi-class rogues learn that Assassins rarely get to use the 2nd part of Assassinate. On paper, or in Theory-crafting, the math seems awesome. Most DMs will let you Stealth and get a Surprise round maybe 1 of 10 combats, if your whole party doesn't fumble their stealth checks. Even then, it still only applies to your 1st round of combat, out of typical 2-4 rounds. It is easier to get Surprise if a lot of your party is ranged, or you DM lets you set up an ambush. If your melee, it's much harder to get that Surprise round.
Not to mention that Assassin's other subclass features are mostly fluff and have probably only seen use in .0000001% of D&D games played. If you really want levels in rogue, look at other sub-classes that have better features that are more useful in combat, exploration or skill checks.
----------------
In the end it really comes down to how you want to play/fight with your character. What you really want out of it. How your play-style interacts with your party. How willing your DM is to use Lighting/Shadows and how often they will allow you/your party a "Surprise round." Also what you will gain/lose by multi-classing. You don't want to make a choice that will leave you feeling sub-optimal or inferior to others in your party.
I'm sure that I've given this advice before in this tread: Theorycraft. Build your character out. Start @ lv1, then level up the character. Figure our if/when is the best time to multi-class. When will you get specific class abilities/features/spells. When will you get your ASI/Feats, what order to take them in. -- Then build a 2nd character and change things around slightly, what if you waited a level to multi-class, or if you did it earlier? Try a different sub-class, or take a totally different multi-class. Keep in mind what your giving up or delaying for what you're gaining. Recognize that you may end up being slightly behind your party members at some levels, mainly if you multi-class before lv5. Also, ask your DM how they "rule/play" with specific abilities, so you don't make a character that you're in love with only to find out that your DM will not let you play your character the way you envisioned.
In a game I'm playing in with a wonderful Dm I'm playing a wildhunt shifter, path of the beast (UA) barbarian multiclass with gloomstalker ranger. And it is alot of fun. Basically I said to him I wanted to make a werewolf without being a bloodhunter.
To update my character is now Gloomstalker 4/ Assassin 8 and due to story reasons I have now been asked by two deities of a pantheon to be a paladin for that pantheon. I am now way OP. :D
Currently playing a level 4 Gloomstalker 4 Scout. Love the combination. Maybe one of my all time favorites so far. Using hand crossbow. They mesh so well together and so many expertise in skills. About to enter a temple filled with undead. May take fighter to level 4 to get action surge and battle master. not sure yet. Want level 7 ranger then finish with scout.
Currently playing a level 4 Gloomstalker 4 Scout. Love the combination. Maybe one of my all time favorites so far. Using hand crossbow. They mesh so well together and so many expertise in skills. About to enter a temple filled with undead. May take fighter to level 4 to get action surge and battle master. not sure yet. Want level 7 ranger then finish with scout.
Well if you want the most bang for your buck be a Bugbear from monsters of the multiverse (m.o.m) they get an additional 2d6 on the first round of combat. Be a lvl 3 gloom stalker so you can the ambush ability where if you take an attack on the first round you can make an additional attack. Be a lvl 5 echo knight for unleash incarnation for an additional attack and extra attack plus action surge for four attacks. With gloom stalker ability that's an additional four so a total of eight attacks. Then take 3 lvl in assassin for the assassinate ability to get advantage. And the first round is nothing but instant kills. Then the remaining 9 lvl you just increase in one of these three classes to increase damage overall.
I just realized that Dread Ambusher says that on the first turn of combat if you take the attack action you get one additional attack and can add a extra 1d8 to damage but unlike most other ranger feats it doesn't say once per turn. That means that if you combine it with a level 11 fighter then you can action surge on your first turn at level 14 and get 8 attacks on your first turn with an additional 2d8 of damage, and an extra 8d6 if you bonus action cast Hunter's Mark beforehand.
Dread Ambusher is great in terms of resource management. I used to compare it against Action Surge, that is a short rest feature. When your spell slots are almost finishing and you know your party is coming close to finish their own resources, things like Dread Ambusher gets us a relief because you know every encounter you will be able to start the combat with a great opening nova turn.
Other Ranger sub-classes that capitalize damage as well (like Hunter with Colossus Slayer) would need at least 3+ full rounds to overcome Dread Ambusher.
It is one of my favorite sub classes. 5 levels of gloomstalker with rest going to scout using a hand crossbow is insane. Of course take 1 level rogue first for all thise profiencies.
Then a gloomstalker battlemaster is also insane with a long bow or polearm lol.
I'm playing a Gloomstalker and about hit lvl 7, I'm going to stay with Ranger until lvl 9 for Wisdom Save Prof. ASI for Elven Accuracy (took Sharpshooter @ lvl 4) and Conjure Animals, then thinking Twilight Cleric after that for advantage on initiative and more spell slots etc.
One of my favorite multi-classes for the gloomstalker is the Inquisitive rogue; one of the less popular rogue subclasses. The goal was to be able to spot anything and always know what's happening around him.
Combining owlin with gloomstalker, he has a 150' darkvision and can spot hidden with a bonus action instead of an action - no rogues can hide from me :) There's so many bonus action options with this combination that I skipped crossbow expert and stuck with the longbow along with sharpshooter. Sneak attack at 600 ft or 150 in darkness makes a great sniper.
The biggest issue my gloomstalker faced was daylight/well lit rooms where he went first and didn't have a way to get a sneak attack (or the party was using mobile feats/movement and no one stayed next to an enemy); either he couldn't get advantage or no one was near the opponent.
The inquisitive bonus ability Insightful Fighting let's me almost always get sneak attack when stacked with expertise in insight regardless of advantage or nearby allies.
It's a fun combination of spotting anything, often going first, and always being able to be the sneak attack sniper.
Currently playing a level 4 Gloomstalker 4 Scout. Love the combination. Maybe one of my all time favorites so far. Using hand crossbow. They mesh so well together and so many expertise in skills. About to enter a temple filled with undead. May take fighter to level 4 to get action surge and battle master. not sure yet. Want level 7 ranger then finish with scout.
If you are at Ranger 4 now I would highly recommend going to Ranger 5 for 2nd level spells and extra attack before you do anything else.
If you are going to triple class into fighter I would probably recommend Eldritch Knight for the spell slots, cantrips and shield spell.
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I was also worrying if this is to under powered after the first turn in battle
So we can all see your actual Character info, please post a link.
On you Character Sheet in DnDBeyond.com, select you character's drop down menu, go towards the Bottom of options and select "SHAREABLE LINK." You'll get a pop-up, copy the link and paste it.
It will look like this: (This is my Adventure's League character, but i havent played it in several months. I was waiting for enough people to get season 9 characters up to Tier 4, and then Covid hit.... )
https://ddb.ac/characters/5819383/RB0G1w
The thing is I use roll 20 and I don't want to buy more stuff (sorry D&D beyond)
Could you take a Screenshot of your character and post it instead then?
What is your Play-Style for this character? It looks like you want to use Two-Weapon Fighting. If that is the case you will need to change some things.
TWF is good for Lvls 1-4. But after you get Extra-Attack @ Lv5 it quickly becomes sub-optimal. To even make TWF effective you will need "Two Weapon Fighting Style"(which you can select at Ranger Lv2) and the "Dual Wielder" Feat. As you said you really want to have "Eleven Accuracy" and "Alert" Feats. That will make your character very Feat heavy. You will need to make a choice of what Feats are most important to you.
Additionally, what Ranger spells do you plan on taking and/or using in combat? A Lot of people chose "Hunter's Mark" or "Zephyr Strike" as their primary combat spells. Both are Bonus Action to cast. If you go with HM, it will compete/conflict with your off-hand attack, especially when it comes to moving the HM around after an enemy dies. Crossbow Expert users run into the same problem once you have both CBE and SS(Sharpshooter). After you reach a certain level your DPS is better if you just use your BA to make the CBE attack with SS than to spend your BA moving HM. Zephyr Strike would pair nicely with Eleven Accuracy as long as you have enough spell slots.
-------------
If this is your FIRST D&D character(I know you said your new to 5E D&D), I would recommend not trying to multi-class to much, or at least rethink going with Assassin.
So many people think that going "Gloom Stalker lv5/Assassin Lv3+/Fighter lv2+" will guarantee some "uber crazy insane first round nova damage." IMHO Assassin is one of the least effective Rogue sub-classes, especially for rangers. The "Assassinate" ability is 100% dependent on your DM(actually Umbral Sight is too). Does your DM take "Lighting/Shadows" into account? Does your whole party constantly Stealth around? Does your DM give you a "Surprise round" every combat? If not, how often does your whole party, or just you get "Surprise?" Or does your DM start most combats with your party getting ambushed?
If your depending on Assassinate, you need to understand that there are 2 separate points to Assassinate.
1:You have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn in the combat yet. (only works if you have "Surprise" or roll higher on initiative)
2:In addition, any hit you score against a creature that is SURPRISED is a critical hit.
Just because you go first, doesn't mean all your hits are an instant crits, you will just have advantage(Triple Advantage if you take Eleven Accuracy ). They enemy has to be SURPRISED for those hits to crit. In my experience with 3+ years in Adventure's League(Weekly 2-3 hour game and a Bi-monthly 8 hour game) and home games *[not bragging, I'm trying to show that I've played with 30+ different DMs and their play styles], Assassins don't get to Assassinate nearly as much as they thought they would while making their characters.
I thought that playing a Gloom Stalker, I would be Invisible 60-70% of the time in combats. In reality, I had 1 DM for single 4-hr adventure that used "lighting/shadows." I think I was lv6 at that time.
The majority of rogues or multi-class rogues learn that Assassins rarely get to use the 2nd part of Assassinate. On paper, or in Theory-crafting, the math seems awesome. Most DMs will let you Stealth and get a Surprise round maybe 1 of 10 combats, if your whole party doesn't fumble their stealth checks. Even then, it still only applies to your 1st round of combat, out of typical 2-4 rounds. It is easier to get Surprise if a lot of your party is ranged, or you DM lets you set up an ambush. If your melee, it's much harder to get that Surprise round.
Not to mention that Assassin's other subclass features are mostly fluff and have probably only seen use in .0000001% of D&D games played. If you really want levels in rogue, look at other sub-classes that have better features that are more useful in combat, exploration or skill checks.
----------------
In the end it really comes down to how you want to play/fight with your character. What you really want out of it. How your play-style interacts with your party. How willing your DM is to use Lighting/Shadows and how often they will allow you/your party a "Surprise round." Also what you will gain/lose by multi-classing. You don't want to make a choice that will leave you feeling sub-optimal or inferior to others in your party.
I'm sure that I've given this advice before in this tread: Theorycraft. Build your character out. Start @ lv1, then level up the character. Figure our if/when is the best time to multi-class. When will you get specific class abilities/features/spells. When will you get your ASI/Feats, what order to take them in. -- Then build a 2nd character and change things around slightly, what if you waited a level to multi-class, or if you did it earlier? Try a different sub-class, or take a totally different multi-class. Keep in mind what your giving up or delaying for what you're gaining. Recognize that you may end up being slightly behind your party members at some levels, mainly if you multi-class before lv5. Also, ask your DM how they "rule/play" with specific abilities, so you don't make a character that you're in love with only to find out that your DM will not let you play your character the way you envisioned.
In a game I'm playing in with a wonderful Dm I'm playing a wildhunt shifter, path of the beast (UA) barbarian multiclass with gloomstalker ranger. And it is alot of fun. Basically I said to him I wanted to make a werewolf without being a bloodhunter.
To update my character is now Gloomstalker 4/ Assassin 8 and due to story reasons I have now been asked by two deities of a pantheon to be a paladin for that pantheon. I am now way OP. :D
Nice, for campaign reasons I have gone Gloomstalker 5 / Echo Knight 4 (plan to stick with echo ongoing).
It's great fun, BUT I do struggle with having so many bonus action options
Currently playing a level 4 Gloomstalker 4 Scout. Love the combination. Maybe one of my all time favorites so far. Using hand crossbow. They mesh so well together and so many expertise in skills. About to enter a temple filled with undead. May take fighter to level 4 to get action surge and battle master. not sure yet. Want level 7 ranger then finish with scout.
If you are gonna take fighter 4, I recommend Eldritch Knight, you can take control flames, prestidigitation, one more cantrip based on play style, absorb elements, shield, find familiar, and magic missile, you get weapon bond, action surge, pick up defense fighting style for a bump to AC
Well if you want the most bang for your buck be a Bugbear from monsters of the multiverse (m.o.m) they get an additional 2d6 on the first round of combat. Be a lvl 3 gloom stalker so you can the ambush ability where if you take an attack on the first round you can make an additional attack. Be a lvl 5 echo knight for unleash incarnation for an additional attack and extra attack plus action surge for four attacks. With gloom stalker ability that's an additional four so a total of eight attacks. Then take 3 lvl in assassin for the assassinate ability to get advantage. And the first round is nothing but instant kills. Then the remaining 9 lvl you just increase in one of these three classes to increase damage overall.
I just realized that Dread Ambusher says that on the first turn of combat if you take the attack action you get one additional attack and can add a extra 1d8 to damage but unlike most other ranger feats it doesn't say once per turn. That means that if you combine it with a level 11 fighter then you can action surge on your first turn at level 14 and get 8 attacks on your first turn with an additional 2d8 of damage, and an extra 8d6 if you bonus action cast Hunter's Mark beforehand.
Dread Ambusher is great in terms of resource management. I used to compare it against Action Surge, that is a short rest feature. When your spell slots are almost finishing and you know your party is coming close to finish their own resources, things like Dread Ambusher gets us a relief because you know every encounter you will be able to start the combat with a great opening nova turn.
Other Ranger sub-classes that capitalize damage as well (like Hunter with Colossus Slayer) would need at least 3+ full rounds to overcome Dread Ambusher.
It is one of my favorite sub classes. 5 levels of gloomstalker with rest going to scout using a hand crossbow is insane. Of course take 1 level rogue first for all thise profiencies.
Then a gloomstalker battlemaster is also insane with a long bow or polearm lol.
I'm playing a Gloomstalker and about hit lvl 7, I'm going to stay with Ranger until lvl 9 for Wisdom Save Prof. ASI for Elven Accuracy (took Sharpshooter @ lvl 4) and Conjure Animals, then thinking Twilight Cleric after that for advantage on initiative and more spell slots etc.
That is a fun combo! I like Gloomstalker, BattleMaster, Assassin dip.. and new bugbear is looking sweet with it!
If you are rolling, take swashbuckler for more sneak opportunities and wisdom AND charisma bonuses added to initiative.
Twilight Cleric is certainly a good choice, because it's...
- a full spellcaster
- shares an ability requirement
- proficient with heavy armor
- advantage on initiative
- super Darkvision
- all at level 1!
+ Instaboot to murderhobos + I don't watch Critical Role, and no, I really shouldn't either +
One of my favorite multi-classes for the gloomstalker is the Inquisitive rogue; one of the less popular rogue subclasses. The goal was to be able to spot anything and always know what's happening around him.
Combining owlin with gloomstalker, he has a 150' darkvision and can spot hidden with a bonus action instead of an action - no rogues can hide from me :) There's so many bonus action options with this combination that I skipped crossbow expert and stuck with the longbow along with sharpshooter. Sneak attack at 600 ft or 150 in darkness makes a great sniper.
The biggest issue my gloomstalker faced was daylight/well lit rooms where he went first and didn't have a way to get a sneak attack (or the party was using mobile feats/movement and no one stayed next to an enemy); either he couldn't get advantage or no one was near the opponent.
The inquisitive bonus ability Insightful Fighting let's me almost always get sneak attack when stacked with expertise in insight regardless of advantage or nearby allies.
It's a fun combination of spotting anything, often going first, and always being able to be the sneak attack sniper.
If you are at Ranger 4 now I would highly recommend going to Ranger 5 for 2nd level spells and extra attack before you do anything else.
If you are going to triple class into fighter I would probably recommend Eldritch Knight for the spell slots, cantrips and shield spell.