First pass at an updated ranger, inspired by the Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour from November.

Favored Enemy

Pick a category of creature (or two humanoid types). You learn a language and you gain advantage on the following checks:

• Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect it
• Wisdom (Insight) checks to determine its motives
• All checks made to discover and follow its tracks.
• Intelligence checks to recall information about it

At 6th level, you learn an additional language and choose a second creature category (or two more humanoid types). When you make an attack against a favored enemy, you can give yourself advantage on the attack roll, usable a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier per short rest (minimum 1).

At 14th level, you learn an additional language and choose a third creature category (or two more humanoid types). You gain advantage on all saving throws made against your favored enemy's spells, abilities, and effects.

Quarry Variant

Alternatively, each time you choose a creature category, you may instead gain the ability to designate a single creature as your favored enemy as a bonus action or as part of an attack you make against them. You gain the favored enemy bonuses against that creature until it dies or you designate a new creature. Once you designate a creature as your favored enemy in this way, you can't designate another until you finish a long rest. If you choose to gain this ability multiple times, the number of uses per long rest increases by 1 each additional time you choose this variant.

When you gain a ranger level you may change your favored enemy choice if desired, either selecting a different creature type or the quarry variant. You may mix quarry and favored enemy selections, for example, selecting Beasts as your favored enemy at level 1, Quarry (1 use per long rest) at level 6, and Elementals at level 14.

Creature Categories:

Natural Explorer

Choose a terrain type or Generalist. You gain the following benefit.

• Arctic: You gain resistance to cold damage.
• Coast: You gain a swim speed equal to your base walking speed and can hold your breath twice as long as normal.
• Desert: You gain resistance to fire damage.
• Forest: You gain proficiency in Perception or Expertise in it if already proficient.
• Grassland: Your walking speed increases by 10 feet.
• Mountain: You gain a climb speed equal to your base walking speed.
• Swamp: You gain resistance to poison damage and are immune to disease.
• Underdark: You gain darkvision 30 feet. If you already have darkvision or later gain it, it instead extends by 15 feet.
• Urban: You gain proficiency in Deception, Persuasion, or Performance as well as a tool or musical instrument of your choice.
• Generalist: You gain proficiency in Survival or Expertise if already proficient in it. You also gain proficiency with the herbalism kit.

You make an additional choice at 6th and 10th levels.

Fighting Style

At 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Spellcasting

By the time you reach 2nd level, you have learned to use the magical essence of nature to cast spells, much as a druid does. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the ranger spell list.

Spell Slots

The Ranger table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your ranger spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell animal friendship and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast animal friendship using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the ranger spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Ranger table shows when you learn more ranger spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the ranger spells you know and replace it with another spell from the ranger spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your ranger spells, since your magic draws on your attunement to nature. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a ranger spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Ranger Archetype

At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate: the Beast Master that is detailed at the end of the class description or one from another source. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.

Primeval Awareness

At 3rd level, you can spend one minute focusing your attention on your surroundings to gain the following benefits for one hour:

• Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
• Your group can’t become lost except by magical means.
• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
• If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
• When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

In addition, you learn if your favored enemy is present within 1 mile of your location (or 6 miles if you are in your favored terrain). You do not learn the number or direction to the creatures though.

You may expend spell slots while this ability is active to extend its duration by two hours per level of the slot expended.

Once you use this ability, you can't again until you finish a short rest.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.

Extra Attack

At 5th level, you attack twice instead of once when taking the Attack action

Fleet of Foot

At 8th level, you can take the Dash action as a bonus action. When you take the dash action, you can ignore the penalties of difficult terrain.

Ambush

At 10th level creatures have disadvantage on Perception checks to spot you if you do not move on your turn. When you are hidden from an opponent and take the Attack action, your attacks score a critical hit on a 19.

Vanish

Starting at 14th level, you can use the Hide action as a bonus action on your turn and have advantage on Stealth checks if you move no more than half your speed on your turn. Also, you can’t be tracked by nonmagical means, unless you choose to leave a trail.

Feral Senses

At 18th level, you gain preternatural senses that help you fight creatures you can’t see. When you attack a creature you can’t see, your inability to see it doesn’t impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it.

You are also aware of the location of any invisible creature within 30 feet of you, provided that the creature isn’t hidden from you and you aren’t blinded or deafened.

Foe Slayer

At 20th level, when attacking your favored enemy or quarry, you gain the following benefits:

• Add your wisdom modifier to your attack and damage rolls
• If the first attack you make on your turn hits, it is an automatic critical hit.

Beast Master

Beast Master Magic

Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Beast Master Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of ranger spells you know.

Beast Master Spells

Beast Companion

At 3rd level, over a long rest, you can mystically call a beast to you as your companion. Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower. Its hit points are equal to 5 x your ranger level + your wisdom modifier and it has a number of hit dice equal to your ranger level. It gains proficiency in a skill of your choice. Add one quarter of your ranger level (round up) as a bonus to its AC, attack and damage rolls, saving throws, and skills it is proficient with.

Your companion understands your speech, and you can intuit basic concepts and statements as long as you can see or hear it.

In combat, your companion shares your initiative count and you decide if it acts before or after you. The only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take one of the actions in its stat block or to take the Dash, Disengage, or Help action. The beast never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.

If it has died within the last hour, you can perform a special ritual taking one minute to revive it, provided you are within 5 feet of it.

If you are incapacitated or absent, the beast acts as you wish.

At 7th level, you may choose a beast of CR 1/2 or less and size Large or smaller, but reduce your ranger level by 4 when calculating its bonuses. At 11th level you may choose a beast of CR 1 or less, but reduce your ranger level by 8 when calculating its bonuses. At 15th level, you may choose a beast of CR 2 or less, but reduce your ranger level by 12 when calculating its bonuses.

Mystic Bond

At 7th level, your companion's attacks count as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. In addition, its Intelligence score increases to 6 and you may command the beast using your reaction instead of a bonus action.

Exceptional Training

At 11th level, your companion's intelligence increases to 10 and it can act on its turn without using your reaction or a bonus action. You can telepathically communicate with your companion as long as it is within 100 feet of you. It also gains proficiency in a second skill of your choice.

Favored Companion

At 15th level, your companion gains all of the benefits that you do when fighting against your favored enemy or quarry. It also gains your Fleet of Foot and Vanish abilities and may use them as a bonus action on its turn.