Hunter's Mark: Common misconception is that its only useful in battle: This is the biggest issue with Hunter's mark, is many people ONLY use it for the bonus damage in battle, and don't use it for all of its other purposes. Want to follow a NPC but they're quite alert to you or your party is not as sneaky as you'd hoped? Hunter's mark them. Track them from afar. figure out everywhere they went over the stretch of up to 24 HOURS. You Can upcast this spell on a "shifty" court advisor you're SUS of. Have a long rest. Then track down everywhere he went during the night provided you don't roll crap on your survival with advantage.
This is heavily reliant on the DM unless you have subtle spell metamagic. Most DMs I've played with will not let you do this without the target knowing you cast a spell and knowing you cast a spell likely puts them on guard.
Not saying it can't be used for this and you might be able to make a deception check saying you were casting something else.
A Ranger can play *almost* any role out there. (Cannot play a full caster role). Rangers, if you take all humanoids as your favored enemies, can even be pretty successful face characters with minimal effort.
With the right subclass, Druidic Warrior fighting style, spell feats and taking Primal Awareness Rangers can do a pretty good Full caster interpretation.
A 13th level Fey Wanderer with Primal Awarness, Fey Touched, Shadow Touched, and Telepathic can have a 20 Wisdom on point buy, knows 18 leveled spells and can cast 21 leveled spells a day. A striaght up Wizard at 13th level has the same 18 spells prepared and can cast 18 leveled spells a day (not counting Arcane recovery). Now some of the Rangers castings are niche and he does not have high level spells, but he has a lot of spell power while also having extra attack and d10 hit dice.
That character can also ignore concentration on Summon Fey and use Beguiling Twist on the Fey's every-turn charm bonus action. This makes him one of the best sommoners in the game, beating most full casters onat that.
A Fey Wanderer can also be the best Face in the game with a background or race that gets him 2 charisma skills. Not just good, but better than a full on Bard. At 3rd level a Fey Wanderer with a 16 Wisdom and 14 Charisma will have a +7 with proficiency in two Charisma skills, a +9 in a third Charisma skill with expertise and a +5 in the Charisma skill he does not have proficiency in.
At this level, the Ranger's proficiency matches a Bard's expertise and the Rangers untrained matches the Bards proficiency - A 3rd level Bard with expertise in 2 Charisma skills and a 16 Charisma is going to have a +7 in two skills with expertise and a +5 with proficiency. The Bard will never catch up to the skill the Ranger has expertise on and the two the Bard has expertise on will be behind the Fey Wanderer's regular proficiency until level 9.
That is without even having a 16 Charisma, if you really built for this it would even be higher.
If the character perceived the casting, the spell’s effect, or both, the character can make an Intelligence (Arcana) check with the reaction or action.
So, the NPC would have to make the arcana check against the spell save, if they even perceive the casting. 90 feet range is enough to say things without someone hearing it. And it just says you need to "see them" so you could even cast it as you are walking away back turned to them looking at their reflection in a mirror or on something reflective.
Some DMs are just fun police for no reason because they "don't want you to easily do something" rather than just "let's go with the flow and see how it goes" I would let you do it, let them know you do it (if they passed their arcana check), so they could set an ambush if they so desired. But thats me.
Pass without trace is nice, but situational. Really depends on if stealth is a big part of the campaign and specifically today's session.
Hunter's mark is a bit of a trap damage wise. It can give a return in a very long fight (if concentration isn't broken). And it does have that situational use for tracking. But again, not something objectively good enough to replace not having abilities outside spellcasting early on.
Some of the later level spells and the added spells in Tashas are great additions, but again my issue is that they don't mix with Ranger's martial status well all the time the way other half-caster's blend spellcasting with other abilities.
I'll admit, Paladin is just very good at its roles and is probably just overpowered for those roles in that every class wants damage and buffs to saving throws.
And Ranger isn't unplayable by any means. I just hope they get some mechanic outside of spellcasting or being a martial that gives them a unique role in oneDND and isn't totally dependent on a campaign type. Like an expansion of the Strike Spells or unique battle master maneuvers to Rangers in addition to their spells.
Pass without trace is nice, but situational. Really depends on if stealth is a big part of the campaign and specifically today's session.
Hunter's mark is a bit of a trap damage wise. It can give a return in a very long fight (if concentration isn't broken). And it does have that situational use for tracking. But again, not something objectively good enough to replace not having abilities outside spellcasting early on.
Some of the later level spells and the added spells in Tashas are great additions, but again my issue is that they don't mix with Ranger's martial status well all the time the way other half-caster's blend spellcasting with other abilities.
I'll admit, Paladin is just very good at its roles and is probably just overpowered for those roles in that every class wants damage and buffs to saving throws.
And Ranger isn't unplayable by any means. I just hope they get some mechanic outside of spellcasting or being a martial that gives them a unique role in oneDND and isn't totally dependent on a campaign type. Like an expansion of the Strike Spells or unique battle master maneuvers to Rangers in addition to their spells.
Agreed. Especially since (my biggest ranger beef is "DM effect") a lot of the rangers truly unique and "good" and "useful" stuff... rely on the DM not just handwaving it away, or Leroy Jenkins'ing a situation. Or your party members doing the Leroy Jenkins'ing away a situation. --- I can probably count on 1 hand the number of times in the last 8 years of playing, that any party I was in that had a ranger, ACTUALLY, laid an ambush. To where things like Vanish, hide in Plain sight, and some of the rangers other prep work stuff like, pairing their plant growth with a druid's druidcraft, etc. could actually play out or make an impact. 1 hand. 5 or less times...
If the character perceived the casting, the spell’s effect, or both, the character can make an Intelligence (Arcana) check with the reaction or action.
So, the NPC would have to make the arcana check against the spell save, if they even perceive the casting. 90 feet range is enough to say things without someone hearing it. And it just says you need to "see them" so you could even cast it as you are walking away back turned to them looking at their reflection in a mirror or on something reflective.
Some DMs are just fun police for no reason because they "don't want you to easily do something" rather than just "let's go with the flow and see how it goes" I would let you do it, let them know you do it (if they passed their arcana check), so they could set an ambush if they so desired. But thats me.
I believe from Tasha's that is to figure out what the spell is, not to notice someone is casting. So without the check, they don't know it is Hunter's Mark without making the check, but they know you just cast a spell.
Most DMs play that way and if they don't it really nerfs the subtle spell metamagic. WRT to 90 feet you are usually going to be close if doing this inside a room if you are meeting with the guy for exampel. Even outside at 90 feet most DMs I have played with rule verbal components can be heard and somatic components can be seen and both are obvious indicators of spell casting to anyone who can observe them.
If you don't do this you are really nerfing the subtle spell metamagic as doing this kind of thing is the primary use of that.
Pass without trace is nice, but situational. Really depends on if stealth is a big part of the campaign and specifically today's session.
Hunter's mark is a bit of a trap damage wise. It can give a return in a very long fight (if concentration isn't broken). And it does have that situational use for tracking. But again, not something objectively good enough to replace not having abilities outside spellcasting early on.
Some of the later level spells and the added spells in Tashas are great additions, but again my issue is that they don't mix with Ranger's martial status well all the time the way other half-caster's blend spellcasting with other abilities.
Hunters Mark is not a great spell IMO. It is a damage boost but it is usually outshined by other spells IMO. If I am playing a guy that is not getting sharpshooter or HWM and is not doing TWF I will keep it around for a while, but even on those builds unless I am sword and board I am probably going to try to get Hex through a feat instead.
That said, In terms of damage output, Hunters Mark will generally beat a 1st level slot used for a smite. You only need 3 hits with it to be better than a 1st level smite and considering it lasts an hour, chances of that are high even if you are fighting 1 or 2 round fights. HM usually lasts more than one battle.
IMO The best 1st level spell is Goodberry because they last 24 hours so on down days, traveling days or any day you don't use all your slots you can spam your slots and have a ton of free healing the next day. After goodberry the Ranger has a bunch of good spells - Absorb Elements, Fog Cloud, Entangle, Ensnaring Strike and Zephyr Strike being relevant at all levels (as long as you boost Wisdom). Absorb elements in particular integrates very well with a high dexterity save, the others integrate well depending on your character design.
If multiple people talk at once. Do you hear everything? With a keen mind sure.
subtlespells’s beauty is in not being able to be countered. Not in people not noticing you cast a spell.
if I throw down a bunch of dishes in a restaurant while someone else is talking. What is heard more clearly?
the check is there for a reason. Most DMs nerf the check, and most players meta to counterspell spells. These balance each other out in theory since both parties are guilty.
but this is an off topic debate for another thread.
Firstly I still believe the original poster wanted to start fighting. The fact that ranger has so many approaches starts build prefrence fighting but in reality the variety of builds is a ranger strength. However these trolls and hags use that to manipulate wotc into ruining the good things about the ranger. ( do to wotc's crippling conflict avoidance when it comes to rangers)
In the end, even the bad ranger spells (wich vary on builds) still have a place and don't leave you behind. Focus on the maximum potental a distraction. The fact that the minimum is still viable is what makes it great.
Not getting enough out of hunter's mark, cordon of arrows or swift quiver. Try using ranger skills for poison.
Thankfully without poison hunter's mark has utility and works for long BBGE fighting.
Even "find traps" really is more theoretical bad than "unusable". If it just gives you the name/general nature of the trap it's often enough to figure out its location or trigger. Technically it even works on contracts and documents. But a "pit trap", "poison needle", "magic explodig glyph" is enough. Especially if your in a covert hurry and just need to quickly check for safety. (Plus rangers usually have an extra slot due to other feature efficiency.)
I still have gotten more speed boosts out of phb "ignoring difficult terrain" than Tasha's.
You can disagree and build differently but in the end almost every ranger "bad part" is really a "not my style issue".
For the most part I agree with this wholeheartedly. I would argue Tasha's brings more non-spell power to the class (both in the classes and the subclasses), but I do agree about the spells.
One of my biggest pet peeves are the guys who whine about how weak the Ranger is and their go-to tactic at level 9 is to cast Hunters Mark and wade into battle. They spam this every fight and then wonder why they are not as powerful as other classes.
Yeah, TCoE totally fixed the problem I pointed out in the document, now at least you get an Expertise and Favored Foe. It’s so simple and elegant, right? Be better at one skill and a humble +1d4 bonus damage. But it made total difference.
The reason I didn’t mention Tasha’s is because I want to really highlight that Rangers were dominating the battlefield since PHB times, and you don’t even need to be a Gloomstalker to shine (arguably the best martial sub-class in the game); a vanilla PHB Hunter Ranger with Horde Breaker is awesome.
The name of the document references Aragorn exactly because of what you said: lots of players at level 9 are still relying on Hunter’s Mark. We should learn the lessons from the one who actually inspired entire Ranger design since the 70s; Aragorn summoned the Army of the Dead (at least in the movie) to fight in Minas Tirith during the famous Battle of Pelennor Fields, and they actually turn the tides of this combat. Seasoned Rangers are doing the same, but with a pack of 8 wolves (you can even flavor them to have this ghostly appearance to be as badass as Aragorn).
I really don't think its that clear a case that Rangers have better spells than other half-casters. And if that really is their edge, that is still a problem: they have to depend even more on that limited resource compared to other half casters who have other features.
Rangers actually have both more spells and more non-spell features than other half casters (except Artificers at level 1) because they get free spells that don't use slots through Primal Awareness.
I love Wood elf magic feat. Free cast of long strider, and pass with out trace and a Druid cantrip. Having these two spells let’s you have options of summon beast and entangle.
The reason I didn’t mention Tasha’s is because I want to really highlight that Rangers were dominating the battlefield since PHB times, and you don’t even need to be a Gloomstalker to shine (arguably the best martial sub-class in the game); a vanilla PHB Hunter Ranger with Horde Breaker is awesome.
On that vein of thought, the answer to why rangers suck is simple?
The person asking is acting like a common jock archetype (Probably a paladin player) and they target the protagonist (they are jealous of the ranger with the fantasy they want.) All the while not understanding concepts like tactics and playing to your own strengths.
They are literally trying to convince themselves and the world. They are the winner.
In this instance wotc is the teacher with the hands off don't interfere Policy.
Drakewarden - You basically get a dragon Which once you are a high enough level, you can ride! An absolute tank that can incur massive damage and continue to lead the party headlong into battle, Drakewardens derive their immense power from their defensive prowess, bolstering both the Dragon and the Ranger in the process rather than one or the other (a la Swarm Keepers).
Ranger of the north -With scouting, tracking, and fighting abilities in equal measure, Rangers of the North are ideal for using their frozen weather-related skills and powers to lead a group through the most inclement terrain. Their power is derived from excellent close-quarters combat skills, which are bolstered by their archery aplomb and longsword tactility.
Monster Slayers come with extra spells, the ability to compute an enemy's strengths and weaknesses through Hunter's Sense, and a bonus skill called Slayer's Prey, which stacks extra damage on top of the Hunter's Mark skill.
Swarmkeepers give new players a ton of options such as choosing from a table of pixies. With the ability to cast spells as well, Swarmkeepers are ideal for bolstering tactical combat but tend to relegate the main character to a secondary status
Fey Wanderers instantly separate themselves from the pack with their immense spellcasting powers. With such spells as Beguiling Twist, Charm Person, and Dimension Door, Fey Wanders deal massive psych damage by channeling Enchantment and Illusion magic that can be used in and out of combat.
Fey Wanderers are also superb fighters thanks to their excellent archery skills, ability to throw weapons accurately, and most notably, the awesome Otherworldly Glamour skill, which allows the Rangers to combine their Wisdom modifier to a Charisma-centric skill of their choosing. For balanced fighting and spellcasting Rangers, Fey Wanderers are hard to beat in DND
Horizon Walkers are a subclass of Rangers that combine punishing offensive and defensive strength like few others. Much of their power comes from the ability to teleport, which, paired with their two-weapon fighting attacks, makes them nearly impossible to defeat in battle.
Ideal for lethal, lightning-fast attacks that can deliver up to 2d8 damage levels later in the campaign, Horizon Walkers also have the ability to hop around the battlefield using such planar magic spells as Etherealness. A wonderful utility subclass with great power and versatility, Horizon Walkers become even more impenetrable when channeling Haste and Distant Strike teleportation upgrades as the game progresses.
Gloom stalkers -The Rogue-style stealth subclass is known for skulking around dark dungeons and cavernous battlefields undetected and striking with deadly force, becoming ideal for the sneakiest players who enjoy shocking enemies with surprise attacks. The Darkvision and Dread Ambusher skills ensure that Gloom Stalkers can see their enemies while remaining hidden.
Aside from delivering the highest damage rate of any Ranger subclass thanks to the endless stealth bonuses granted to them, Gloom Stalkers also cast brutal spells such as Rope Trick and Greater Invisibility, powerful skills that make it very easy to understand why the Ranger subclass reigns supreme. Gloom Stalkers can even turn hits on their body into an attack on enemies with certain bonus rolls
Fey Wanderers instantly separate themselves from the pack with their immense spellcasting powers. With such spells as Beguiling Twist, Charm Person, and Dimension Door, Fey Wanders deal massive psych damage by channeling Enchantment and Illusion magic that can be used in and out of combat.
Fey Wanderers are also superb fighters thanks to their excellent archery skills, ability to throw weapons accurately, and most notably, the awesome Otherworldly Glamour skill, which allows the Rangers to combine their Wisdom modifier to a Charisma-centric skill of their choosing. For balanced fighting and spellcasting Rangers, Fey Wanderers are hard to beat in DND
With single class characters I firmly believe Fey Wanderers who max wisdom are overall the most powerful subclass of any of the d10 hit dice classes. I said "d10" hit dice classes because they are not really martials but have as you said immense spellcasting abilities rivaling a full caster in terms of control.
Fey Reinforcements + Beguiling Twist is pretty broken unless the enemy is immune to both frightened and charmed, with it you can just dominate action economy .... and if the BBEG is immune to frightened and charmed you are still a top-notch damage dealer with extra attack, dreadful strikes, nature's veil and a bunch of combat enhancing spells.
Also Fey Wanderers add Wisdom to all Charisma checks, not just the one extra skill they get at 3rd level. So as long as you pick a background or race with Charisma skills you dominate those checks. If you dump your expertise into one of them and start with a 12 Charisma you are better at it than a Bard. A really thematic option is to take survival as a Ranger then Feylost background to get deception, then trade survival in the background for either intimidation or performance. Then pick up persuasion at 3rd level.
Yes it is, but I’m going to p*SS off a few folks - ranger is the thinking man’s martial/Gish. If you just want to wade n wailing go Paladin or barbarian. Monk is its own weird thing, rogue isn’t really a martial - it doesn’t have the AC or HP. At best it’s a skilled support with a big nova hit here and there. The ranger has all the straight combat ability of the Paladin, semi situational abilities even using the PHB abilities ( if you haven’t talked to your DM before picking your terrains and foes DON’T blame the DM, YOU didn’t do your job in character creation. You don’t get a lot of spells true, but the spells you get are always useful IF you are creative in your tactics and fighting. If you are a thoughtful, creative, tactical player there is no better class than the ranger. If you aren’t, we’ll I sorry, but I can see why you might think the ranger sucks but it’s not the class that is at fault.
the hunter can make big damage every turn and the beast master can use it’s companion for other things than attack,like disarming , stealing,or scouting
the gloom stalker is strong,but the area situational to is pinned and the attack is only first phase boosted
this is weaker and not a subclass type,but wolves are good for stealth and one can be used to surprise attack an enemy and hide,and repeat while the player is safe
most subclasses not named before are based on magic,but a druid multiclass works better,also ranger never was meaned as full-caster
tashas sounds good,but it breaks down tracking and a combination of skills rarely spoken about: tactical insight,with a ranger you can create the combat equivalent of bardic knowledge.knowing what your enemy probably will do is much better than a d4 extra damage
one dnd pins back the options for hunter and makes it a full-caster
the phb ranger is simple but effective, the lore idea of the ranger.if the player has good ideas within RAW,or a little further, it has a big amount of tricks
Yes it is, but I’m going to p*SS off a few folks - ranger is the thinking man’s martial/Gish. If you just want to wade n wailing go Paladin or barbarian. Monk is its own weird thing, rogue isn’t really a martial - it doesn’t have the AC or HP. At best it’s a skilled support with a big nova hit here and there. The ranger has all the straight combat ability of the Paladin, semi situational abilities even using the PHB abilities ( if you haven’t talked to your DM before picking your terrains and foes DON’T blame the DM, YOU didn’t do your job in character creation. You don’t get a lot of spells true, but the spells you get are always useful IF you are creative in your tactics and fighting. If you are a thoughtful, creative, tactical player there is no better class than the ranger. If you aren’t, we’ll I sorry, but I can see why you might think the ranger sucks but it’s not the class that is at fault.
I agree on most,but I think even without knowing the DM before you already finished you character,you still can think of chances and average,if you pick this way,you are either unlucky or bad in choosing if you have two campaigns without using one one time.and about tactic and creativity,that is why I prefer phb above one dnd and tashas
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This is heavily reliant on the DM unless you have subtle spell metamagic. Most DMs I've played with will not let you do this without the target knowing you cast a spell and knowing you cast a spell likely puts them on guard.
Not saying it can't be used for this and you might be able to make a deception check saying you were casting something else.
With the right subclass, Druidic Warrior fighting style, spell feats and taking Primal Awareness Rangers can do a pretty good Full caster interpretation.
A 13th level Fey Wanderer with Primal Awarness, Fey Touched, Shadow Touched, and Telepathic can have a 20 Wisdom on point buy, knows 18 leveled spells and can cast 21 leveled spells a day. A striaght up Wizard at 13th level has the same 18 spells prepared and can cast 18 leveled spells a day (not counting Arcane recovery). Now some of the Rangers castings are niche and he does not have high level spells, but he has a lot of spell power while also having extra attack and d10 hit dice.
That character can also ignore concentration on Summon Fey and use Beguiling Twist on the Fey's every-turn charm bonus action. This makes him one of the best sommoners in the game, beating most full casters onat that.
A Fey Wanderer can also be the best Face in the game with a background or race that gets him 2 charisma skills. Not just good, but better than a full on Bard. At 3rd level a Fey Wanderer with a 16 Wisdom and 14 Charisma will have a +7 with proficiency in two Charisma skills, a +9 in a third Charisma skill with expertise and a +5 in the Charisma skill he does not have proficiency in.
At this level, the Ranger's proficiency matches a Bard's expertise and the Rangers untrained matches the Bards proficiency - A 3rd level Bard with expertise in 2 Charisma skills and a 16 Charisma is going to have a +7 in two skills with expertise and a +5 with proficiency. The Bard will never catch up to the skill the Ranger has expertise on and the two the Bard has expertise on will be behind the Fey Wanderer's regular proficiency until level 9.
That is without even having a 16 Charisma, if you really built for this it would even be higher.
@ECMO3
You have strict DMs:
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Pass without trace is nice, but situational. Really depends on if stealth is a big part of the campaign and specifically today's session.
Hunter's mark is a bit of a trap damage wise. It can give a return in a very long fight (if concentration isn't broken). And it does have that situational use for tracking. But again, not something objectively good enough to replace not having abilities outside spellcasting early on.
Some of the later level spells and the added spells in Tashas are great additions, but again my issue is that they don't mix with Ranger's martial status well all the time the way other half-caster's blend spellcasting with other abilities.
I'll admit, Paladin is just very good at its roles and is probably just overpowered for those roles in that every class wants damage and buffs to saving throws.
And Ranger isn't unplayable by any means. I just hope they get some mechanic outside of spellcasting or being a martial that gives them a unique role in oneDND and isn't totally dependent on a campaign type. Like an expansion of the Strike Spells or unique battle master maneuvers to Rangers in addition to their spells.
Agreed. Especially since (my biggest ranger beef is "DM effect") a lot of the rangers truly unique and "good" and "useful" stuff... rely on the DM not just handwaving it away, or Leroy Jenkins'ing a situation. Or your party members doing the Leroy Jenkins'ing away a situation. --- I can probably count on 1 hand the number of times in the last 8 years of playing, that any party I was in that had a ranger, ACTUALLY, laid an ambush. To where things like Vanish, hide in Plain sight, and some of the rangers other prep work stuff like, pairing their plant growth with a druid's druidcraft, etc. could actually play out or make an impact. 1 hand. 5 or less times...
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I believe from Tasha's that is to figure out what the spell is, not to notice someone is casting. So without the check, they don't know it is Hunter's Mark without making the check, but they know you just cast a spell.
Most DMs play that way and if they don't it really nerfs the subtle spell metamagic. WRT to 90 feet you are usually going to be close if doing this inside a room if you are meeting with the guy for exampel. Even outside at 90 feet most DMs I have played with rule verbal components can be heard and somatic components can be seen and both are obvious indicators of spell casting to anyone who can observe them.
If you don't do this you are really nerfing the subtle spell metamagic as doing this kind of thing is the primary use of that.
Hunters Mark is not a great spell IMO. It is a damage boost but it is usually outshined by other spells IMO. If I am playing a guy that is not getting sharpshooter or HWM and is not doing TWF I will keep it around for a while, but even on those builds unless I am sword and board I am probably going to try to get Hex through a feat instead.
That said, In terms of damage output, Hunters Mark will generally beat a 1st level slot used for a smite. You only need 3 hits with it to be better than a 1st level smite and considering it lasts an hour, chances of that are high even if you are fighting 1 or 2 round fights. HM usually lasts more than one battle.
IMO The best 1st level spell is Goodberry because they last 24 hours so on down days, traveling days or any day you don't use all your slots you can spam your slots and have a ton of free healing the next day. After goodberry the Ranger has a bunch of good spells - Absorb Elements, Fog Cloud, Entangle, Ensnaring Strike and Zephyr Strike being relevant at all levels (as long as you boost Wisdom). Absorb elements in particular integrates very well with a high dexterity save, the others integrate well depending on your character design.
If multiple people talk at once. Do you hear everything? With a keen mind sure.
subtlespells’s beauty is in not being able to be countered. Not in people not noticing you cast a spell.
if I throw down a bunch of dishes in a restaurant while someone else is talking. What is heard more clearly?
the check is there for a reason. Most DMs nerf the check, and most players meta to counterspell spells. These balance each other out in theory since both parties are guilty.
but this is an off topic debate for another thread.
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Firstly I still believe the original poster wanted to start fighting. The fact that ranger has so many approaches starts build prefrence fighting but in reality the variety of builds is a ranger strength. However these trolls and hags use that to manipulate wotc into ruining the good things about the ranger. ( do to wotc's crippling conflict avoidance when it comes to rangers)
In the end, even the bad ranger spells (wich vary on builds) still have a place and don't leave you behind. Focus on the maximum potental a distraction. The fact that the minimum is still viable is what makes it great.
Not getting enough out of hunter's mark, cordon of arrows or swift quiver. Try using ranger skills for poison.
Thankfully without poison hunter's mark has utility and works for long BBGE fighting.
Even "find traps" really is more theoretical bad than "unusable". If it just gives you the name/general nature of the trap it's often enough to figure out its location or trigger. Technically it even works on contracts and documents. But a "pit trap", "poison needle", "magic explodig glyph" is enough. Especially if your in a covert hurry and just need to quickly check for safety. (Plus rangers usually have an extra slot due to other feature efficiency.)
I still have gotten more speed boosts out of phb "ignoring difficult terrain" than Tasha's.
You can disagree and build differently but in the end almost every ranger "bad part" is really a "not my style issue".
I wrote a simple document that analyzes Ranger current problems and explore the not-so-obvious solution for this: Spellcasting.
Please find it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11Y5JnENvb-aCKe6Vu0VVPRNJbpj7u12GfJfiDu4-naY/edit
For the most part I agree with this wholeheartedly. I would argue Tasha's brings more non-spell power to the class (both in the classes and the subclasses), but I do agree about the spells.
One of my biggest pet peeves are the guys who whine about how weak the Ranger is and their go-to tactic at level 9 is to cast Hunters Mark and wade into battle. They spam this every fight and then wonder why they are not as powerful as other classes.
Yeah, TCoE totally fixed the problem I pointed out in the document, now at least you get an Expertise and Favored Foe. It’s so simple and elegant, right? Be better at one skill and a humble +1d4 bonus damage. But it made total difference.
The reason I didn’t mention Tasha’s is because I want to really highlight that Rangers were dominating the battlefield since PHB times, and you don’t even need to be a Gloomstalker to shine (arguably the best martial sub-class in the game); a vanilla PHB Hunter Ranger with Horde Breaker is awesome.
The name of the document references Aragorn exactly because of what you said: lots of players at level 9 are still relying on Hunter’s Mark. We should learn the lessons from the one who actually inspired entire Ranger design since the 70s; Aragorn summoned the Army of the Dead (at least in the movie) to fight in Minas Tirith during the famous Battle of Pelennor Fields, and they actually turn the tides of this combat. Seasoned Rangers are doing the same, but with a pack of 8 wolves (you can even flavor them to have this ghostly appearance to be as badass as Aragorn).
I love Wood elf magic feat. Free cast of long strider, and pass with out trace and a Druid cantrip. Having these two spells let’s you have options of summon beast and entangle.
On that vein of thought, the answer to why rangers suck is simple?
The person asking is acting like a common jock archetype (Probably a paladin player) and they target the protagonist (they are jealous of the ranger with the fantasy they want.) All the while not understanding concepts like tactics and playing to your own strengths.
They are literally trying to convince themselves and the world. They are the winner.
In this instance wotc is the teacher with the hands off don't interfere Policy.
Drakewarden - You basically get a dragon Which once you are a high enough level, you can ride! An absolute tank that can incur massive damage and continue to lead the party headlong into battle, Drakewardens derive their immense power from their defensive prowess, bolstering both the Dragon and the Ranger in the process rather than one or the other (a la Swarm Keepers).
Ranger of the north -With scouting, tracking, and fighting abilities in equal measure, Rangers of the North are ideal for using their frozen weather-related skills and powers to lead a group through the most inclement terrain. Their power is derived from excellent close-quarters combat skills, which are bolstered by their archery aplomb and longsword tactility.
Monster Slayers come with extra spells, the ability to compute an enemy's strengths and weaknesses through Hunter's Sense, and a bonus skill called Slayer's Prey, which stacks extra damage on top of the Hunter's Mark skill.
Swarmkeepers give new players a ton of options such as choosing from a table of pixies. With the ability to cast spells as well, Swarmkeepers are ideal for bolstering tactical combat but tend to relegate the main character to a secondary status
Fey Wanderers instantly separate themselves from the pack with their immense spellcasting powers. With such spells as Beguiling Twist, Charm Person, and Dimension Door, Fey Wanders deal massive psych damage by channeling Enchantment and Illusion magic that can be used in and out of combat.
Fey Wanderers are also superb fighters thanks to their excellent archery skills, ability to throw weapons accurately, and most notably, the awesome Otherworldly Glamour skill, which allows the Rangers to combine their Wisdom modifier to a Charisma-centric skill of their choosing. For balanced fighting and spellcasting Rangers, Fey Wanderers are hard to beat in DND
Horizon Walkers are a subclass of Rangers that combine punishing offensive and defensive strength like few others. Much of their power comes from the ability to teleport, which, paired with their two-weapon fighting attacks, makes them nearly impossible to defeat in battle.
Ideal for lethal, lightning-fast attacks that can deliver up to 2d8 damage levels later in the campaign, Horizon Walkers also have the ability to hop around the battlefield using such planar magic spells as Etherealness. A wonderful utility subclass with great power and versatility, Horizon Walkers become even more impenetrable when channeling Haste and Distant Strike teleportation upgrades as the game progresses.
Gloom stalkers -The Rogue-style stealth subclass is known for skulking around dark dungeons and cavernous battlefields undetected and striking with deadly force, becoming ideal for the sneakiest players who enjoy shocking enemies with surprise attacks. The Darkvision and Dread Ambusher skills ensure that Gloom Stalkers can see their enemies while remaining hidden.
Aside from delivering the highest damage rate of any Ranger subclass thanks to the endless stealth bonuses granted to them, Gloom Stalkers also cast brutal spells such as Rope Trick and Greater Invisibility, powerful skills that make it very easy to understand why the Ranger subclass reigns supreme. Gloom Stalkers can even turn hits on their body into an attack on enemies with certain bonus rolls
Rangers aren't weak, their strong!
Beast master. Choose pterodactyl. Choose Halfling. Boom! You can fly and shoot at the same time!
With single class characters I firmly believe Fey Wanderers who max wisdom are overall the most powerful subclass of any of the d10 hit dice classes. I said "d10" hit dice classes because they are not really martials but have as you said immense spellcasting abilities rivaling a full caster in terms of control.
Fey Reinforcements + Beguiling Twist is pretty broken unless the enemy is immune to both frightened and charmed, with it you can just dominate action economy .... and if the BBEG is immune to frightened and charmed you are still a top-notch damage dealer with extra attack, dreadful strikes, nature's veil and a bunch of combat enhancing spells.
Also Fey Wanderers add Wisdom to all Charisma checks, not just the one extra skill they get at 3rd level. So as long as you pick a background or race with Charisma skills you dominate those checks. If you dump your expertise into one of them and start with a 12 Charisma you are better at it than a Bard. A really thematic option is to take survival as a Ranger then Feylost background to get deception, then trade survival in the background for either intimidation or performance. Then pick up persuasion at 3rd level.
Fey Wanderers are incredible, for sure.
I saw that the OP changed the topic title, this is great! Heheh
Yes it is, but I’m going to p*SS off a few folks - ranger is the thinking man’s martial/Gish. If you just want to wade n wailing go Paladin or barbarian. Monk is its own weird thing, rogue isn’t really a martial - it doesn’t have the AC or HP. At best it’s a skilled support with a big nova hit here and there. The ranger has all the straight combat ability of the Paladin, semi situational abilities even using the PHB abilities ( if you haven’t talked to your DM before picking your terrains and foes DON’T blame the DM, YOU didn’t do your job in character creation. You don’t get a lot of spells true, but the spells you get are always useful IF you are creative in your tactics and fighting. If you are a thoughtful, creative, tactical player there is no better class than the ranger. If you aren’t, we’ll I sorry, but I can see why you might think the ranger sucks but it’s not the class that is at fault.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
probaly the first time someone says this,but:
phb ranger hunter/beast master non-combatant animal > gloomstalker >beast master combatant> other subclasses >tashas > unearthed arcana
the hunter can make big damage every turn and the beast master can use it’s companion for other things than attack,like disarming , stealing,or scouting
the gloom stalker is strong,but the area situational to is pinned and the attack is only first phase boosted
this is weaker and not a subclass type,but wolves are good for stealth and one can be used to surprise attack an enemy and hide,and repeat while the player is safe
most subclasses not named before are based on magic,but a druid multiclass works better,also ranger never was meaned as full-caster
tashas sounds good,but it breaks down tracking and a combination of skills rarely spoken about: tactical insight,with a ranger you can create the combat equivalent of bardic knowledge.knowing what your enemy probably will do is much better than a d4 extra damage
one dnd pins back the options for hunter and makes it a full-caster
the phb ranger is simple but effective, the lore idea of the ranger.if the player has good ideas within RAW,or a little further, it has a big amount of tricks
I agree on most,but I think even without knowing the DM before you already finished you character,you still can think of chances and average,if you pick this way,you are either unlucky or bad in choosing if you have two campaigns without using one one time.and about tactic and creativity,that is why I prefer phb above one dnd and tashas