so far it seems like they are really pushing the hunters mark thing hard for some levels and i really hope rangers get something else at those levels bc theres alot of rangers (at least currently) that just dont use hunters mark. the 20th level feature just bring a hunters mark upgrade? is neat but a d10 vs a d6 isnt much (unless its the PT hunters mark were it gets more dice) but also alot of subclasses (as they are now) dont use hunters mark alot because their bonus action is already being used by something.
paused to comment going back to the video now they about to talk about subclasses
Not impressed with direction chosen. Too much reliance on hunter's mark and feels more leaning into magic spells to duplicate features of training/knowledge. There are some quality-of-life improvements to the base class but was hoping for better.
as someone that went the Zephyr Strike route over Hunter's Mark, not a fan of these improvements. There's just so much focus on Hunter's Mark to get the most out of the class.
Good work on the subclasses (well Beast Master is still...i guess it's technically better), but base Ranger just has to wait way too long for abilities that are only slightly above average by that point.
Favored Enemy (HM) concentration can't be broken by damage at mid-levels
Deft Explorer gives up to 3x Expertise (alongside the 2 more languages.)
Spell list increased to have more utility and offense
Permanent advantage against Marked targets
Feral senses grant 30ft blindsight (i.e. it still works even if you're blinded unlike 2014)
HM goes up to +d10 per hit, at level 20 that's minimum +5d10 per round, and BM can get up to +7d10.
EDIT to add one more: Nature's Veil lasts twice as long as it did in Tasha's / UA, because it goes to the end of your next turn rather than the beginning.
make hunters mark being so heavily apart of BASE RANGER but yet it never losing its concentration. so a ranger can chose to use hunters mark and lose any other spells that need concentration or they can use spike growth (a way more useful spell) and 1/4th of their class and their capstone.
roving not working with heavy armor? who thought that was a good change? (6:47 in vid) you just cut off like the STRangers out there who get by with using heavy armor. so another thing thats lost if you dont do the build they want.
alot of these changes just pushed the ranger more and more into sitting back and using a bow maybe casting cure wounds once or twice.
Free HM casts and not needing to burn a spell known on it is just fine in my book. When Spike Growth is better you can use that, but when HM is better you can use that. And unlike other free castings, the only thing you get from upcast HM is duration (assuming they stick with the original and not the weird UA version) so you can just cast it for free a few times and not worry about it needing to last 8 hours.
Favored Enemy concentration can't be broken by damage at mid-levels
Deft Explorer gives up to 3x Expertise (alongside the 2 more languages.)
Spell list increased to have more utility and offense
Permanent advantage to Marked targets
Feral senses grant 30ft blindsight (i.e. it still works even if you're blinded unlike 2014)
HM goes up to +d10 per hit
i will say there were some good changes the fighting style changes are great tho some of those are a bad option if you want to use roving spell list increase is great they really needed it feral sense im not really sure changed just more like they are calling it blind sight now deft explorer is great! love that change changing out spells on a long rest is amazing too
now lets point out the things you lose for not using a 1st lvl spell that uses your bonus action to cast and needs concentration (you do get free uses which is good for how much they are forcing it on you)
Favored Enemy always prepared + free castings instead of Favored Foe Favored Enemy concentration can't be broken by damage at mid-level Permanent advantage to Marked targets HM goes up to +d10 per hit
thank the gods this isnt tied to your class so you dont miss out on anything oh wait
the fighting style changes are great tho some of those are a bad option if you want to use roving feral sense im not really sure changed just more like they are calling it blind sight now
I'm confused by your first sentence, they don't choose between Fighting Style and Roving, you get both.
Feral Sense is different because blindsight works while you're blind, whereas 2014 Feral Sense doesn't.
now lets point out the things you lose for not using a 1st lvl spell that uses your bonus action to cast and needs concentration (you do get free uses which is good for how much they are forcing it on you)
Favored Enemy always prepared + free castings instead of Favored Foe Favored Enemy concentration can't be broken by damage at mid-level Permanent advantage to Marked targets HM goes up to +d10 per hit
thank the gods this isnt tied to your class so you dont miss out on anything oh wait
At higher levels, most of the things you'd be concentrating on would be to get advantage anyway. Now that's built into HM, and damage can't break it. You have a guaranteed solid option for your concentration no matter what you're fighting, and it works whether you're melee or ranged.
And sure, it uses your bonus action to cast or move it, but then your bonus action is free after that. If only they had a way to get more attacks without using their bonus action like Nick Weapon Mastery oh wait.
(Oh and I forgot two more changes, they can use rituals and druidic focus now)
the fighting style changes are great tho some of those are a bad option if you want to use roving feral sense im not really sure changed just more like they are calling it blind sight now
I'm confused by your first sentence, they don't choose between Fighting Style and Roving, you get both.
i mainly mean stuff like great weapon fighting and just any STRangers to get the most out of medium armor you need a 14 in dex but with rangers you also need con and wisdom if you want spells to be useful besides hunters mark but to use a great sword or anything like that you need strength. STRangers took heavy armor (by using the feat) so they could dump dex some and not be such a M.A.D build
Many people are complaining in the chat of the article about this Ranger being very similar to TCoE.
I don't have that book, so I can't compare. I also think I won't buy it at this moment because it seems the PHB 2024 will provide a distillation from TCoE for many classes.
Complaining about that seems a bit silly. Instead, be happy about having an official Ranger in the new edition based on TCoE plus some improvements.
now lets point out the things you lose for not using a 1st lvl spell that uses your bonus action to cast and needs concentration (you do get free uses which is good for how much they are forcing it on you)
Favored Enemy always prepared + free castings instead of Favored Foe Favored Enemy concentration can't be broken by damage at mid-level Permanent advantage to Marked targets HM goes up to +d10 per hit
thank the gods this isnt tied to your class so you dont miss out on anything oh wait
At higher levels, most of the things you'd be concentrating on would be to get advantage anyway. Now that's built into HM, and damage can't break it. You have a guaranteed solid option for your concentration no matter what you're fighting, and it works whether you're melee or ranged.
And sure, it uses your bonus action to cast or move it, but then your bonus action is free after that. If only they had a way to get more attacks without using their bonus action like Nick Weapon Mastery oh wait.
(Oh and I forgot two more changes, they can use rituals and druidic focus now)
so damage cant break spell concentration but its still concentration??? why? whos out here scared of what the ranger might combo with hunters mark? its 1d6 of extra damage per attack so nice but not amazing when other spells do way more. the damage of the hunters mark doesnt go up until it hits 20th level? so the only thing the ranger gets at 20th level is for a 1st level spell that they still have a limited number of uses on and still needs concentration on? (there maybe something else on the capstone idk cant read it yet)
They had some decent updates, but all in all I'm disappointed? Making the class reliant on Hunter's Mark instead of tweaking Favored Foe was... a choice. The upgrades HM gets as levels progress are pretty good though (most of the time). It just doesn't fix the problem of people wanting Ranger to have a favored foe/enemy feature that adds reliable damage, grows as you level up, and doesn't require concentration. Instead they just made it Hunter's Mark and had it require concentration for only half of the build. Most games don't even go up to level 10 so that's... something. I'm not sure how I really feel about making an entire class reliant on a specific spell as a feature. I can't think of any other class that does that, though I suppose Paladin will too seeing how they made Smite a spell now.
I'm upset they went on and on about how this was essentially an entirely new class when all they did was permanently bring in the optional features from Tasha's. They also just... glazed over Fey Wanderer? Much like with Stars Druid, that's really confusing to me because they played it off like all the subclasses in this update are getting ... well, an update. If they didn't have anything to contribute to these subclasses, then I don't understand why have them in this phb when the entire point is that it isn't meant to be a new edition to replace 5E. I think they just wanted the duality of Fey Wanderer and Gloom Stalker since they're supposed to be foils to eachother.
The updates to Beast Master sound really nice. Hopefully the power up your companion gets as you level up are on par with your character and don't end up super underpowered as a result. It's also neat that the beast companion (I forgot the term they used for it :'D) will also benefit from Hunter's Mark after a certain level.
More Expertise is also nice, but restricting Roving how they did was... a choice. I feel like it takes away from the versatility of Rangers a bit.
All in all, the updates aren't bad. They just... missed the mark a bit? I was hoping for a lot more than what we got but maybe I should've just had lower expectations. I've only been playing for 5 or 6 years now, but it's always felt as if WotC doesn't care all that much for Rangers. I'm still very excited to play this when/if I get the chance though
Oh boy, I just saw how the comparison article highlights battleaxes as a strength ranger option, after they have taken care to gut strength rangers for some reason. What a massive shame this whole ordeal has been.
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
D&D StaffI will spare you all the many Power Rangers jokes I forced onto Discord and the premiere chat this morning. How are we feeling about the new Ranger?
Ranger Article: 2024 Ranger vs. 2014 Ranger: What's New
Your Friendly Neighborhood Community Manager (she/her)
You can call me LT. :)
CM Hat On | CM Hat Off
Generally active from 9am - 6pm CDT [GMT-5].
Thank you for your patience if you message me outside of those hours!
Useful Links: Site Rules & Guidelines | D&D Educator Resources | Change Your Nickname | Submit a Support Ticket
watching the video now hoping for great things!
so far it seems like they are really pushing the hunters mark thing hard for some levels and i really hope rangers get something else at those levels bc theres alot of rangers (at least currently) that just dont use hunters mark. the 20th level feature just bring a hunters mark upgrade? is neat but a d10 vs a d6 isnt much (unless its the PT hunters mark were it gets more dice) but also alot of subclasses (as they are now) dont use hunters mark alot because their bonus action is already being used by something.
paused to comment going back to the video now they about to talk about subclasses
Not impressed with direction chosen. Too much reliance on hunter's mark and feels more leaning into magic spells to duplicate features of training/knowledge. There are some quality-of-life improvements to the base class but was hoping for better.
as someone that went the Zephyr Strike route over Hunter's Mark, not a fan of these improvements. There's just so much focus on Hunter's Mark to get the most out of the class.
Good work on the subclasses (well Beast Master is still...i guess it's technically better), but base Ranger just has to wait way too long for abilities that are only slightly above average by that point.
All the "hurr hurr its just Tasha's" from the chat physically pained me to read. There were so many changes to this Ranger relative to Tasha's:
EDIT to add one more: Nature's Veil lasts twice as long as it did in Tasha's / UA, because it goes to the end of your next turn rather than the beginning.
make hunters mark being so heavily apart of BASE RANGER but yet it never losing its concentration. so a ranger can chose to use hunters mark and lose any other spells that need concentration or they can use spike growth (a way more useful spell) and 1/4th of their class and their capstone.
roving not working with heavy armor? who thought that was a good change? (6:47 in vid) you just cut off like the STRangers out there who get by with using heavy armor. so another thing thats lost if you dont do the build they want.
alot of these changes just pushed the ranger more and more into sitting back and using a bow maybe casting cure wounds once or twice.
Swapping spells on long rest is massive. Weapon Mastery is a nice touch too.
Free HM casts and not needing to burn a spell known on it is just fine in my book. When Spike Growth is better you can use that, but when HM is better you can use that. And unlike other free castings, the only thing you get from upcast HM is duration (assuming they stick with the original and not the weird UA version) so you can just cast it for free a few times and not worry about it needing to last 8 hours.
Wow this like what we wish Ranger was in 14
i will say there were some good changes
the fighting style changes are great tho some of those are a bad option if you want to use roving
spell list increase is great they really needed it
feral sense im not really sure changed just more like they are calling it blind sight now
deft explorer is great! love that change
changing out spells on a long rest is amazing too
now lets point out the things you lose for not using a 1st lvl spell that uses your bonus action to cast and needs concentration (you do get free uses which is good for how much they are forcing it on you)
Favored Enemy always prepared + free castings instead of Favored Foe
Favored Enemy concentration can't be broken by damage at mid-level
Permanent advantage to Marked targets
HM goes up to +d10 per hit
thank the gods this isnt tied to your class so you dont miss out on anything oh wait
I'm confused by your first sentence, they don't choose between Fighting Style and Roving, you get both.
Feral Sense is different because blindsight works while you're blind, whereas 2014 Feral Sense doesn't.
At higher levels, most of the things you'd be concentrating on would be to get advantage anyway. Now that's built into HM, and damage can't break it. You have a guaranteed solid option for your concentration no matter what you're fighting, and it works whether you're melee or ranged.
And sure, it uses your bonus action to cast or move it, but then your bonus action is free after that. If only they had a way to get more attacks without using their bonus action like Nick Weapon Mastery oh wait.
(Oh and I forgot two more changes, they can use rituals and druidic focus now)
i mainly mean stuff like great weapon fighting and just any STRangers
to get the most out of medium armor you need a 14 in dex but with rangers you also need con and wisdom if you want spells to be useful besides hunters mark but to use a great sword or anything like that you need strength. STRangers took heavy armor (by using the feat) so they could dump dex some and not be such a M.A.D build
Many people are complaining in the chat of the article about this Ranger being very similar to TCoE.
I don't have that book, so I can't compare. I also think I won't buy it at this moment because it seems the PHB 2024 will provide a distillation from TCoE for many classes.
Complaining about that seems a bit silly. Instead, be happy about having an official Ranger in the new edition based on TCoE plus some improvements.
so damage cant break spell concentration but its still concentration??? why? whos out here scared of what the ranger might combo with hunters mark? its 1d6 of extra damage per attack so nice but not amazing when other spells do way more. the damage of the hunters mark doesnt go up until it hits 20th level? so the only thing the ranger gets at 20th level is for a 1st level spell that they still have a limited number of uses on and still needs concentration on? (there maybe something else on the capstone idk cant read it yet)
Wow! That’s impressively bad.
They had some decent updates, but all in all I'm disappointed? Making the class reliant on Hunter's Mark instead of tweaking Favored Foe was... a choice. The upgrades HM gets as levels progress are pretty good though (most of the time). It just doesn't fix the problem of people wanting Ranger to have a favored foe/enemy feature that adds reliable damage, grows as you level up, and doesn't require concentration. Instead they just made it Hunter's Mark and had it require concentration for only half of the build. Most games don't even go up to level 10 so that's... something. I'm not sure how I really feel about making an entire class reliant on a specific spell as a feature. I can't think of any other class that does that, though I suppose Paladin will too seeing how they made Smite a spell now.
I'm upset they went on and on about how this was essentially an entirely new class when all they did was permanently bring in the optional features from Tasha's. They also just... glazed over Fey Wanderer? Much like with Stars Druid, that's really confusing to me because they played it off like all the subclasses in this update are getting ... well, an update. If they didn't have anything to contribute to these subclasses, then I don't understand why have them in this phb when the entire point is that it isn't meant to be a new edition to replace 5E. I think they just wanted the duality of Fey Wanderer and Gloom Stalker since they're supposed to be foils to eachother.
The updates to Beast Master sound really nice. Hopefully the power up your companion gets as you level up are on par with your character and don't end up super underpowered as a result. It's also neat that the beast companion (I forgot the term they used for it :'D) will also benefit from Hunter's Mark after a certain level.
More Expertise is also nice, but restricting Roving how they did was... a choice. I feel like it takes away from the versatility of Rangers a bit.
All in all, the updates aren't bad. They just... missed the mark a bit? I was hoping for a lot more than what we got but maybe I should've just had lower expectations. I've only been playing for 5 or 6 years now, but it's always felt as if WotC doesn't care all that much for Rangers. I'm still very excited to play this when/if I get the chance though
Oh boy, I just saw how the comparison article highlights battleaxes as a strength ranger option, after they have taken care to gut strength rangers for some reason. What a massive shame this whole ordeal has been.
also how are they gonna talk about the ranger needing a spell so badly for their class and not showing us the spells changes (if there are any idk)
Rip Gloom Stalker
Rip Ranger
If legacy 5e classes aren't accessible post 2024 'reeeeee-work' then rip DnD.
2014 5E mostly
3.5 maybe.