Lol, yep, a level 20 ranger gets an increase of an average 2 damage on each attack that hits a target affected by hunters mark.
.. but a level 20 barbarian still gets an average increase of 2 damage on every attack AND 40 hit points AND increases in strength and con saves/ability checks of +2.
Looks like they didn't do any balancing of level 20 abilities with the revision either :)
a big damage buff to Conjure Barrage and the ability to pick who gets hit
the ability to use Hunter's Mark and TWF on the same turn thanks to Nick weapons
a potential 2nd TWF attack if they take Dual Wielder
buffs to both 2014 subclasses
multiclass rules that don't penalize their caster level
But hey, who's counting.
Every character has the ability to use TWF and Nick. And honestly I think every character should (depending on how this whole equip/unequiping thing works.)
Monks don't get Weapon Mastery, but even if they did, only Rangers have access to Hunter's Mark. Anything that increases the number of hits all characters can do is effectively a Ranger buff (and to a lesser extent a Rogue buff), especially now that Paladins can't spam Divine Smite and Monks can't spam Stunning Strike.
a big damage buff to Conjure Barrage and the ability to pick who gets hit
the ability to use Hunter's Mark and TWF on the same turn thanks to Nick weapons
a potential 2nd TWF attack if they take Dual Wielder
buffs to both 2014 subclasses
multiclass rules that don't penalize their caster level
But hey, who's counting.
I mean, the fact that they get stuff at lower levels doesn't change the fact that their capstone ability is incredibly feeble, and feeds in to the incredibly poor design that makes the whole class dependent on a 1st level concentration spell.
Two more damage per hit on a class that can easily attack 4 times every round before external factors like Haste, with bonus damage and guaranteed advantage on top, is not feeble.
Even if it were, it wouldn't change the fact they get a ton during the other 18 levels. A 20th level character is not its class's 20th level feature, it's the sum of all of its parts.
Despite how much people complained about Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer and Beast Master being bad (which, fair, but you're not forced to use it), Ranger was still one of the top damage classes under the 2014 rules. The 2024 rules are extremely generous to them.
Monks don't get Weapon Mastery, but even if they did, only Rangers have access to Hunter's Mark. Anything that increases the number of hits all characters can do is effectively a Ranger buff (and to a lesser extent a Rogue buff), especially now that Paladins can't spam Divine Smite and Monks can't spam Stunning Strike.
Oath of Vengeance Paladins also have access too Hunter's Mark, and it can also be acquired via the Fey-Touched feat... not sure why you would tho.
While I believe Paladin is still in a weird place, I believe the version we see now in PHB2024 is healthier than Ranger, more so since Oath of Devotion and Oath of Vengeance got Sacred Weapon and Vow of Enmity moved to being activated on attack respectively ( I still think it's the wrong fix but that's for another forum ). I believe Paladin and Ranger have similar design issues but Ranger just has them worse.
Hunter's Mark remains overall a bad spell, it's usage is when you don't have anything better to do with your bonus action or your concentration. If you pick up the Dual Wielder feat, taking the Bonus Action attack is generally on par in damage to casting Hunter's mark (except at level 4 where the BA attack beats hunter's mark complete), and this remains the case until level 17 when Hunter's Mark grants advantage on attack rolls. And despite this, Ranger has 4 features based around Hunter's Mark including the capstone... and that capstone is lackluster and unexciting.
+2 Damage for 4 attacks is doing less than a fighter picking up a great sword and getting their three extra attacks as their capstone, let alone considering what the Great Weapon Master feat does too that. Then after all this, the Fighter doesn't need to give up their 4th attack for other features like a Ranger still has to give up Hunter's Mark for better spells or other bonus actions.
Paladin's issue is also features pointlessly relating to spells, Paladin's Smite (If you need to force people to take Divine Smite as a spell, maybe there are issues with it, 1 free cast doesn't fix anything) and Faithful Steed (A free casting of Find Steed at level 2 is really not bringing much to the table here). WotC might like to move magic like features away from being magic like but it's just causing more issues than it is solving. Magic like Features existed for a reason in the first place and that reason hasn't been resolved at any point.
Overall, I see no reason too take Ranger past level 5, which has been the issue with Ranger since 2014. It is better to multi-class once you hit level 6 and go into something like Rogue, Druid or Cleric.
Oath of Vengeance Paladins also have access too Hunter's Mark, and it can also be acquired via the Fey-Touched feat... not sure why you would tho.
Fair point, though the latter would still set you back a combat feat (so kiss Dual Wielder at level 4 goodbye) and the half-ASI from Fey-Touched also can't be put towards DEX. Neither of them would have free casts either.
While I believe Paladin is still in a weird place, I believe the version we see now in PHB2024 is healthier than Ranger, more so since Oath of Devotion and Oath of Vengeance got Sacred Weapon and Vow of Enmity moved to being activated on attack respectively ( I still think it's the wrong fix but that's for another forum ). I believe Paladin and Ranger have similar design issues but Ranger just has them worse.
Hunter's Mark remains overall a bad spell, it's usage is when you don't have anything better to do with your bonus action or your concentration. If you pick up the Dual Wielder feat, taking the Bonus Action attack is generally on par in damage to casting Hunter's mark (except at level 4 where the BA attack beats hunter's mark complete), and this remains the case until level 17 when Hunter's Mark grants advantage on attack rolls. And despite this, Ranger has 4 features based around Hunter's Mark including the capstone... and that capstone is lackluster and unexciting.
The only time Hunter's Mark has ever been bad is if you were fighting a group of weak monsters that die in 1-2 rounds and you have to keep moving it, and in that case, that's precisely why they have Entangle and Spike Growth, which is something neither a Fighter or Paladin is bringing to the table.
If you wanted to build a busted 5e martial character prior to 2024 the easiest way to do it was to be a Crossbow Expert + Sharpshooter Ranger in any party that has Faerie Fire. Ideally Hunter for Colossus Slayer or Gloom Stalker for Dread Ambusher (which is another feature that had to be nerfed, lmao.) A Polearm Master + GWM Barbarian was more self-sufficient in the short term but also limited to melee range, so you were eventually going to be more codependent by requiring Fly assists.
Then after all this, the Fighter doesn't need to give up their 4th attack for other features like a Ranger still has to give up Hunter's Mark for better spells or other bonus actions.
Paladin's issue is also features pointlessly relating to spells, Paladin's Smite (If you need to force people to take Divine Smite as a spell, maybe there are issues with it, 1 free cast doesn't fix anything)
Divine Smite was 1) a class feature, so it didn't count against the class's number of prepared spells before, and 2) so overpowered it had to be nerfed. The free cast does in fact help for the same reason free Hunter's Mark uses help low level Rangers - it's essentially a spell slot they didn't have before, which frees them up to do useful things like Bless or Healing Word and still get at least one smite in, because half the fun of being a Paladin is smiting things.
and Faithful Steed (A free casting of Find Steed at level 2 is really not bringing much to the table here).
Another spell people really, really wanted to take and were willing to spend slots on if their mount died, so they made it stop counting against prepared spells too and made it stop eating into the Paladin's other options.
Also if you don't think giving a Paladin (a notoriously melee-oriented class) a 60 ft speed and a free 60 ft teleport for free is useful, I don't know what to tell you.
Overall, I see no reason too take Ranger past level 5, which has been the issue with Ranger since 2014. It is better to multi-class once you hit level 6 and go into something like Rogue, Druid or Cleric.
I can think of a few. Subclass features, higher level (Ranger) spells, a single Conjure Barrage or Conjure Volley will probably outdamage whatever Sneak Attack dice you've accumulated through multiclassing if there's multiple targets, and if you've ever fought a Beholder or anything with crazy spells you know what a huge safety net having invisibility is. No-strings-attached invisibility that lasts for this turn and the next, at no spell slot cost, without wasting your action, is crazy good. Even Power Word Kill requires seeing the target.
While I believe Paladin is still in a weird place, I believe the version we see now in PHB2024 is healthier than Ranger, more so since Oath of Devotion and Oath of Vengeance got Sacred Weapon and Vow of Enmity moved to being activated on attack respectively ( I still think it's the wrong fix but that's for another forum ). I believe Paladin and Ranger have similar design issues but Ranger just has them worse.
Hunter's Mark remains overall a bad spell, it's usage is when you don't have anything better to do with your bonus action or your concentration. If you pick up the Dual Wielder feat, taking the Bonus Action attack is generally on par in damage to casting Hunter's mark (except at level 4 where the BA attack beats hunter's mark complete), and this remains the case until level 17 when Hunter's Mark grants advantage on attack rolls. And despite this, Ranger has 4 features based around Hunter's Mark including the capstone... and that capstone is lackluster and unexciting.
The only time Hunter's Mark has ever been bad is if you were fighting a group of weak monsters that die in 1-2 rounds and you have to keep moving it, and in that case, that's precisely why they have Entangle and Spike Growth, which is something neither a Fighter or Paladin is bringing to the table.
If you wanted to build a busted 5e martial character prior to 2024 the easiest way to do it was to be a Crossbow Expert + Sharpshooter Ranger in any party that has Faerie Fire. Ideally Hunter for Colossus Slayer or Gloom Stalker for Dread Ambusher (which is another feature that had to be nerfed, lmao.) A Polearm Master + GWM Barbarian was more self-sufficient in the short term but also limited to melee range, so you were eventually going to be more codependent by requiring Fly assists.
Battlemaster with Crossbow Expert does better, you're not catching up with Action Surge and Battle Manoeuvrers, and gloomstalker is only replacing the attack you lose first round to cast Hunter's Mark. Ranger has very little in the burst/nova damage department meaning it's relying on it's sustained DPR in the harder fights such as against a BBEG and when not against those harder creatures then as you say Ranger is struggling because having to either keep reapplying Hunter's Mark or just forgoing it all together.
Sure if there were 100 turns of combat in a day, Ranger would do great in comparison too other classes but in reality, most adventuring days have far far less turns of combat and optimizers do not build ranger around Hunter's Mark for this type of reasoning. Ranger does get some good zone control spells, to play Ranger well you NEED to use them but they take concentration and so those are also times you aren't using Hunter's Mark. Additionally Druid just does it better as Druid also gets Spike Growth and other area control spells.
Then after all this, the Fighter doesn't need to give up their 4th attack for other features like a Ranger still has to give up Hunter's Mark for better spells or other bonus actions.
There are still better concentration spells than Hunter's Mark for Ranger, the fact they have to give free uses begs the question of why even have it as a spell any more, if the only way it's usable is to make it literally not cost spell slots.
Paladin's issue is also features pointlessly relating to spells, Paladin's Smite (If you need to force people to take Divine Smite as a spell, maybe there are issues with it, 1 free cast doesn't fix anything)
Divine Smite was 1) a class feature, so it didn't count against the class's number of prepared spells before, and 2) so overpowered it had to be nerfed. The free cast does in fact help for the same reason free Hunter's Mark uses help low level Rangers - it's essentially a spell slot they didn't have before, which frees them up to do useful things like Bless or Healing Word and still get at least one smite in, because half the fun of being a Paladin is smiting things.
It's 2d8 damage as a Bonus Action, or 4d8 on a critical hit. If it's a critical hit, you don't want to be using it at 1st level, and the normal hit is easily replaced by anything that gives a Bonus Action attack, like Polearm Master, Great Weapon Master (if you crit or reduced creature to 0HP), Two-Weapon Fighting. Arguably it can still be used with GWM but with PAM or TWF it's basically nothing, an average 9 damage.
If you're using a spell like Divine Favor, Spirit Shroud or Holy Weapon, you're basically losing damage versus the bonus action attack. At level 5, using PAM and Divine Favor, that would do an average of 6.1 damage at a 65% chance to hit, but then you get weapon mastery properties on top of that. Push or Graze, Graze increases that too an average of 7.5. So that bonus action of a free cast only adds 1.5 DPR, really not much at all, by level 11 it's dead in the water, 9.25 avg damage without Graze, 10.65 with. And these numbers are both considering magic weapons/items, which increase the damage even further or using a channel divinity like Sacred Weapon or Vow of Enmity which dramatically increase the initial attack roll.
If the free cast of divine smite upcast inline with Paladin's spell casting or with Proficiency Bonus, it might be worthwhile. As it is, it is mediocre and adds almost nothing to a semi-optimized build past level 3. It is basically a dead feature in a place where a much better feature could instead be.
and Faithful Steed (A free casting of Find Steed at level 2 is really not bringing much to the table here).
Another spell people really, really wanted to take and were willing to spend slots on if their mount died, so they made it stop counting against prepared spells too and made it stop eating into the Paladin's other options.
Also if you don't think giving a Paladin (a notoriously melee-oriented class) a 60 ft speed and a free 60 ft teleport for free is useful, I don't know what to tell you.
I personally have never seen a campaign where a find steed has died, I'm pretty certain most players don't see find steed mounts dying commonly. Players would prepare find steed on an downtime or travelling day, cast it and then switch the spell out with something else the next day. Other then the preparation, it's basically functionally the same now, the Find Steed spell gets upcasting benefits, and if you want it too have a fly speed, you need to cast it at 4th level or higher, the free cast is only 2nd level meaning it's basically pointless once you reach level 9, it's uses are very circumstance edge cases as to why you're not trying to get a higher levelled mount.
Partly the state of mounted combat is too blame for this, mounted combat needs DMs to do a lot of the heavy work to make it viable and balanced which is a lot of hard work for something that is limited by many factors to begin with, such as terrain, passage width, doors, etc. Overall, the result is that most Find Steed mounts are used as out of combat mounts and rarely, if ever, see combat. The best thing they can add for combat is flight but the free casting doesn't offer that.
Overall, I see no reason too take Ranger past level 5, which has been the issue with Ranger since 2014. It is better to multi-class once you hit level 6 and go into something like Rogue, Druid or Cleric.
I can think of a few. Subclass features, higher level (Ranger) spells, a single Conjure Barrage or Conjure Volley will probably outdamage whatever Sneak Attack dice you've accumulated through multiclassing if there's multiple targets, and if you've ever fought a Beholder or anything with crazy spells you know what a huge safety net having invisibility is. No-strings-attached invisibility that lasts for this turn and the next, at no spell slot cost, without wasting your action, is crazy good. Even Power Word Kill requires seeing the target.
Go Arcane Trickster and pick up the Shadow Blade spell, a 3rd or 4th level Shadow Blade does 3d8 + Ability Modifier damage per hit, add this on top of sneak attack and well, your single target damage gets pretty high, not so much on AoE but Conjure Barrage and Conjure Volley really aren't bringing good AoE damage for the levels they come in at (9 & 17) and the saves on them are based on Ranger WIS, being that MAD is pretty terrible while the Arcane Trickster technically needs INT, you don't need INT with Shadow Blade.
Invisibility is an okay ability but it's not as great as you're making it sound, it comes online at level 14, your average Beholders are CR13. Invisibility doesn't protect you against AoEs, and if the creature has see invisibility, blindsight or true sight (and you're getting closer to where these are a bit more common), it does nothing. Greater Invisibility has been a spell since level 7. You get Wisdom Modifier number of uses (so basically 1-5 uses per long rest, most likely 2 uses per long rest), it also does not work in an anti-magic field (something a Beholder does have, but it works against their own eye rays) as the action is still described as being magical. It's a very mediocre ability in my honest opinion, since a WIS focused Ranger is not going to perform well and might as well just be a Druid.
you're not catching up with Action Surge and Battle Manoeuvrers
Colossus Slayer is essentially a free Battle Master maneuver's worth of damage every turn, and that's not factoring in the extra damage from Hunter's Mark. Action Surge is great but it's not doing that much levels 1-4 and only starts being a serious contender in this comparison at 5+, by which point the Ranger has 2nd level spells. A Battle Master doesn't come with crowd control spells, healing spells, or the ability to halve elemental damage. An Eldritch Knight would be a better point of comparison here in that regard.
and gloomstalker is only replacing the attack you lose first round to cast Hunter's Mark.
Which means the Ranger is up both 1 attack and 1 Hunter's Mark d6 on turn 1, and Gloom Stalker comes with the insane perk of being completely invisible in Darkness against enemies that rely on Darkvision, with no action cost (it just automatically happens), in a way that can't be dispelled or even suppressed by Antimagic. The only way to counter Umbral Sight is for a monster to turn on the lights. And, as I brought up earlier, invisibility limits the spells a character can be targeted by to attack rolls (which'll have disadvantage anyways) and area effects (which a Ranger can counter with Absorb Elements, temp HP and/or Evasion.)
Ranger has very little in the burst/nova damage department meaning it's relying on it's sustained DPR in the harder fights such as against a BBEG and when not against those harder creatures then as you say Ranger is struggling because having to either keep reapplying Hunter's Mark or just forgoing it all together.
The 2014 version had it in the form of Sharpshooter spam, which was so strong the -5/+10 part had to be removed from both feats. The 2024 version already comes out of the gate swinging for 4d6 + 2*DEX thanks to having both Hunter's Mark and Nick at 1st level. What they lack in nova they make up for with sustained pain, and if we're talking 2014 rules the real winner was arguably the Paladin anyways, assuming they'd stockpiled their slots for Divine Smite.
Sure if there were 100 turns of combat in a day
Ranger does well from turn 1, the 2024 version even more so. Even in 2014 the bonus action spent casting Hunter's Mark partially paid for itself by adding damage to that turn's attack, you'd pull ahead by the 2nd turn.
Ranger does get some good zone control spells, to play Ranger well you NEED to use them but they take concentration and so those are also times you aren't using Hunter's Mark.
Again, Hunter's Mark doesn't make sense in situations where you need major crowd control anyways and if we're bringing up that scenario, the Fighter is not pulling their weight compared to the Ranger.
Additionally Druid just does it better as Druid also gets Spike Growth and other area control spells.
There are still better concentration spells than Hunter's Mark for Ranger
Better by what metric?
the fact they have to give free uses begs the question of why even have it as a spell any more, if the only way it's usable is to make it literally not cost spell slots.
Not making it a spell would mean it's not dispellable or counterspellable or subject to Silence (the latter two being issues with the old Divine Smite.)
It's 2d8 damage as a Bonus Action, or 4d8 on a critical hit. If it's a critical hit, you don't want to be using it at 1st level, and the normal hit is easily replaced by anything that gives a Bonus Action attack, like Polearm Master, Great Weapon Master (if you crit or reduced creature to 0HP), Two-Weapon Fighting. Arguably it can still be used with GWM but with PAM or TWF it's basically nothing, an average 9 damage.
The 2014 version was overpowered. It had no action cost and no limit to how many times it could be used in one turn. The new version is much better balanced, and while you could argue that you're better off going for Great Weapon Master now if you score a crit, not having to pray for a crit to get damage out of your bonus action now is still a point in Divine Smite's favor.
I'm skipping the middle part of this post because it's too subjective and I'm not interested in the Paladin debate.
Go Arcane Trickster and pick up the Shadow Blade spell, a 3rd or 4th level Shadow Blade does 3d8 + Ability Modifier damage per hit, add this on top of sneak attack and well, your single target damage gets pretty high
It's a good build, doesn't even start to come online until 7th level though and it's not going to beat the Crossbow Expert Sharpshooter Hunter's Mark Colossus Slayer -5/+10 damage spam by any meaningful amount. I never said Ranger was the only viable way to go, just that it was already near the top of martial damage game even before all these buffs. Also, the lack of crowd control and AoEs is still a point in the Ranger's favor here.
Invisibility is an okay ability but it's not as great as you're making it sound, it comes online at level 14, your average Beholders are CR13. Invisibility doesn't protect you against AoEs, and if the creature has see invisibility, blindsight or true sight (and you're getting closer to where these are a bit more common), it does nothing.
Getting hit by nasty spells does not stop being an issue at level 14, and the higher level you go the nastier spells get and the more you'll encounter monsters that come with spellcasting. Rangers already have tools for dealing with AoE damage (Absorb Elements, the 2024 version comes with free temp HP, 2014 Hunters get Evasion at 15th level, 2024 Hunters can give themselves resistance to one damage type for free as a reaction.) Blindsight and True Sight have range limits, and while See Invisibility doesn't, it's also not a sense that monsters typically come with innately.
Greater Invisibility has been a spell since level 7.
It requires an action to cast, concentration to maintain, a valuable spell slot, only covers 1 creature, and is an effect so valuable it can't be upcast or twinned to target more people. 2024 Rangers do it as a bonus action, in a way that can't be countered or dispelled, at no spell slot cost, which means someone else can get that precious Greater Invisibility.
You get Wisdom Modifier number of uses (so basically 1-5 uses per long rest, most likely 2 uses per long rest), it also does not work in an anti-magic field (something a Beholder does have, but it works against their own eye rays) as the action is still described as being magical.
Yes, Antimagic Field shuts most cool things down. But if you're in an Antimagic Field you don't have to worry about most of the things that invisibility gives you immunity to, either.
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Am I bugging out or is the official new Level 20 feature for Rangers just a slight increase in damage for Hunter's Mark?......
This is the way...
No...please, no. Take it back!
Lol, yep, a level 20 ranger gets an increase of an average 2 damage on each attack that hits a target affected by hunters mark.
.. but a level 20 barbarian still gets an average increase of 2 damage on every attack AND 40 hit points AND increases in strength and con saves/ability checks of +2.
Looks like they didn't do any balancing of level 20 abilities with the revision either :)
Bards at Level 20: Power Word Kill and Power Word Heal always prepared and potential to target a second creature.
Ranger at Level 20: 1d10 from 1d6...
How did this get out the door??
They spent the entire budget on martial classes and 70% on monks, they had to gut Ranger to get more money.
I mean, they're also getting
But hey, who's counting.
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Every character has the ability to use TWF and Nick. And honestly I think every character should (depending on how this whole equip/unequiping thing works.)
Monks don't get Weapon Mastery, but even if they did, only Rangers have access to Hunter's Mark. Anything that increases the number of hits all characters can do is effectively a Ranger buff (and to a lesser extent a Rogue buff), especially now that Paladins can't spam Divine Smite and Monks can't spam Stunning Strike.
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I mean, the fact that they get stuff at lower levels doesn't change the fact that their capstone ability is incredibly feeble, and feeds in to the incredibly poor design that makes the whole class dependent on a 1st level concentration spell.
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Oath of Vengeance Paladins also have access too Hunter's Mark, and it can also be acquired via the Fey-Touched feat... not sure why you would tho.
While I believe Paladin is still in a weird place, I believe the version we see now in PHB2024 is healthier than Ranger, more so since Oath of Devotion and Oath of Vengeance got Sacred Weapon and Vow of Enmity moved to being activated on attack respectively ( I still think it's the wrong fix but that's for another forum ). I believe Paladin and Ranger have similar design issues but Ranger just has them worse.
Hunter's Mark remains overall a bad spell, it's usage is when you don't have anything better to do with your bonus action or your concentration. If you pick up the Dual Wielder feat, taking the Bonus Action attack is generally on par in damage to casting Hunter's mark (except at level 4 where the BA attack beats hunter's mark complete), and this remains the case until level 17 when Hunter's Mark grants advantage on attack rolls. And despite this, Ranger has 4 features based around Hunter's Mark including the capstone... and that capstone is lackluster and unexciting.
+2 Damage for 4 attacks is doing less than a fighter picking up a great sword and getting their three extra attacks as their capstone, let alone considering what the Great Weapon Master feat does too that. Then after all this, the Fighter doesn't need to give up their 4th attack for other features like a Ranger still has to give up Hunter's Mark for better spells or other bonus actions.
Paladin's issue is also features pointlessly relating to spells, Paladin's Smite (If you need to force people to take Divine Smite as a spell, maybe there are issues with it, 1 free cast doesn't fix anything) and Faithful Steed (A free casting of Find Steed at level 2 is really not bringing much to the table here). WotC might like to move magic like features away from being magic like but it's just causing more issues than it is solving. Magic like Features existed for a reason in the first place and that reason hasn't been resolved at any point.
Overall, I see no reason too take Ranger past level 5, which has been the issue with Ranger since 2014. It is better to multi-class once you hit level 6 and go into something like Rogue, Druid or Cleric.
Fair point, though the latter would still set you back a combat feat (so kiss Dual Wielder at level 4 goodbye) and the half-ASI from Fey-Touched also can't be put towards DEX. Neither of them would have free casts either.
The only time Hunter's Mark has ever been bad is if you were fighting a group of weak monsters that die in 1-2 rounds and you have to keep moving it, and in that case, that's precisely why they have Entangle and Spike Growth, which is something neither a Fighter or Paladin is bringing to the table.
If you wanted to build a busted 5e martial character prior to 2024 the easiest way to do it was to be a Crossbow Expert + Sharpshooter Ranger in any party that has Faerie Fire. Ideally Hunter for Colossus Slayer or Gloom Stalker for Dread Ambusher (which is another feature that had to be nerfed, lmao.) A Polearm Master + GWM Barbarian was more self-sufficient in the short term but also limited to melee range, so you were eventually going to be more codependent by requiring Fly assists.
Don't have to break concentration on Hunter's Mark to use Absorb Elements, Cure Wounds, Lesser Restoration, Animal Messenger, Dispel Magic, Conjure Barrage, or Conjure Volley, and now the Hunter's Mark casts everyone was making anyways aren't competing with those spells.
Divine Smite was 1) a class feature, so it didn't count against the class's number of prepared spells before, and 2) so overpowered it had to be nerfed. The free cast does in fact help for the same reason free Hunter's Mark uses help low level Rangers - it's essentially a spell slot they didn't have before, which frees them up to do useful things like Bless or Healing Word and still get at least one smite in, because half the fun of being a Paladin is smiting things.
Another spell people really, really wanted to take and were willing to spend slots on if their mount died, so they made it stop counting against prepared spells too and made it stop eating into the Paladin's other options.
Also if you don't think giving a Paladin (a notoriously melee-oriented class) a 60 ft speed and a free 60 ft teleport for free is useful, I don't know what to tell you.
I can think of a few. Subclass features, higher level (Ranger) spells, a single Conjure Barrage or Conjure Volley will probably outdamage whatever Sneak Attack dice you've accumulated through multiclassing if there's multiple targets, and if you've ever fought a Beholder or anything with crazy spells you know what a huge safety net having invisibility is. No-strings-attached invisibility that lasts for this turn and the next, at no spell slot cost, without wasting your action, is crazy good. Even Power Word Kill requires seeing the target.
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Battlemaster with Crossbow Expert does better, you're not catching up with Action Surge and Battle Manoeuvrers, and gloomstalker is only replacing the attack you lose first round to cast Hunter's Mark. Ranger has very little in the burst/nova damage department meaning it's relying on it's sustained DPR in the harder fights such as against a BBEG and when not against those harder creatures then as you say Ranger is struggling because having to either keep reapplying Hunter's Mark or just forgoing it all together.
Sure if there were 100 turns of combat in a day, Ranger would do great in comparison too other classes but in reality, most adventuring days have far far less turns of combat and optimizers do not build ranger around Hunter's Mark for this type of reasoning. Ranger does get some good zone control spells, to play Ranger well you NEED to use them but they take concentration and so those are also times you aren't using Hunter's Mark. Additionally Druid just does it better as Druid also gets Spike Growth and other area control spells.
There are still better concentration spells than Hunter's Mark for Ranger, the fact they have to give free uses begs the question of why even have it as a spell any more, if the only way it's usable is to make it literally not cost spell slots.
It's 2d8 damage as a Bonus Action, or 4d8 on a critical hit. If it's a critical hit, you don't want to be using it at 1st level, and the normal hit is easily replaced by anything that gives a Bonus Action attack, like Polearm Master, Great Weapon Master (if you crit or reduced creature to 0HP), Two-Weapon Fighting. Arguably it can still be used with GWM but with PAM or TWF it's basically nothing, an average 9 damage.
If you're using a spell like Divine Favor, Spirit Shroud or Holy Weapon, you're basically losing damage versus the bonus action attack. At level 5, using PAM and Divine Favor, that would do an average of 6.1 damage at a 65% chance to hit, but then you get weapon mastery properties on top of that. Push or Graze, Graze increases that too an average of 7.5. So that bonus action of a free cast only adds 1.5 DPR, really not much at all, by level 11 it's dead in the water, 9.25 avg damage without Graze, 10.65 with. And these numbers are both considering magic weapons/items, which increase the damage even further or using a channel divinity like Sacred Weapon or Vow of Enmity which dramatically increase the initial attack roll.
If the free cast of divine smite upcast inline with Paladin's spell casting or with Proficiency Bonus, it might be worthwhile. As it is, it is mediocre and adds almost nothing to a semi-optimized build past level 3. It is basically a dead feature in a place where a much better feature could instead be.
I personally have never seen a campaign where a find steed has died, I'm pretty certain most players don't see find steed mounts dying commonly. Players would prepare find steed on an downtime or travelling day, cast it and then switch the spell out with something else the next day. Other then the preparation, it's basically functionally the same now, the Find Steed spell gets upcasting benefits, and if you want it too have a fly speed, you need to cast it at 4th level or higher, the free cast is only 2nd level meaning it's basically pointless once you reach level 9, it's uses are very circumstance edge cases as to why you're not trying to get a higher levelled mount.
Partly the state of mounted combat is too blame for this, mounted combat needs DMs to do a lot of the heavy work to make it viable and balanced which is a lot of hard work for something that is limited by many factors to begin with, such as terrain, passage width, doors, etc. Overall, the result is that most Find Steed mounts are used as out of combat mounts and rarely, if ever, see combat. The best thing they can add for combat is flight but the free casting doesn't offer that.
Go Arcane Trickster and pick up the Shadow Blade spell, a 3rd or 4th level Shadow Blade does 3d8 + Ability Modifier damage per hit, add this on top of sneak attack and well, your single target damage gets pretty high, not so much on AoE but Conjure Barrage and Conjure Volley really aren't bringing good AoE damage for the levels they come in at (9 & 17) and the saves on them are based on Ranger WIS, being that MAD is pretty terrible while the Arcane Trickster technically needs INT, you don't need INT with Shadow Blade.
Invisibility is an okay ability but it's not as great as you're making it sound, it comes online at level 14, your average Beholders are CR13. Invisibility doesn't protect you against AoEs, and if the creature has see invisibility, blindsight or true sight (and you're getting closer to where these are a bit more common), it does nothing. Greater Invisibility has been a spell since level 7. You get Wisdom Modifier number of uses (so basically 1-5 uses per long rest, most likely 2 uses per long rest), it also does not work in an anti-magic field (something a Beholder does have, but it works against their own eye rays) as the action is still described as being magical. It's a very mediocre ability in my honest opinion, since a WIS focused Ranger is not going to perform well and might as well just be a Druid.
Not really.
Colossus Slayer is essentially a free Battle Master maneuver's worth of damage every turn, and that's not factoring in the extra damage from Hunter's Mark. Action Surge is great but it's not doing that much levels 1-4 and only starts being a serious contender in this comparison at 5+, by which point the Ranger has 2nd level spells. A Battle Master doesn't come with crowd control spells, healing spells, or the ability to halve elemental damage. An Eldritch Knight would be a better point of comparison here in that regard.
Which means the Ranger is up both 1 attack and 1 Hunter's Mark d6 on turn 1, and Gloom Stalker comes with the insane perk of being completely invisible in Darkness against enemies that rely on Darkvision, with no action cost (it just automatically happens), in a way that can't be dispelled or even suppressed by Antimagic. The only way to counter Umbral Sight is for a monster to turn on the lights. And, as I brought up earlier, invisibility limits the spells a character can be targeted by to attack rolls (which'll have disadvantage anyways) and area effects (which a Ranger can counter with Absorb Elements, temp HP and/or Evasion.)
The 2014 version had it in the form of Sharpshooter spam, which was so strong the -5/+10 part had to be removed from both feats. The 2024 version already comes out of the gate swinging for 4d6 + 2*DEX thanks to having both Hunter's Mark and Nick at 1st level. What they lack in nova they make up for with sustained pain, and if we're talking 2014 rules the real winner was arguably the Paladin anyways, assuming they'd stockpiled their slots for Divine Smite.
Ranger does well from turn 1, the 2024 version even more so. Even in 2014 the bonus action spent casting Hunter's Mark partially paid for itself by adding damage to that turn's attack, you'd pull ahead by the 2nd turn.
Again, Hunter's Mark doesn't make sense in situations where you need major crowd control anyways and if we're bringing up that scenario, the Fighter is not pulling their weight compared to the Ranger.
Better by what metric?
Not making it a spell would mean it's not dispellable or counterspellable or subject to Silence (the latter two being issues with the old Divine Smite.)
The 2014 version was overpowered. It had no action cost and no limit to how many times it could be used in one turn. The new version is much better balanced, and while you could argue that you're better off going for Great Weapon Master now if you score a crit, not having to pray for a crit to get damage out of your bonus action now is still a point in Divine Smite's favor.
I'm skipping the middle part of this post because it's too subjective and I'm not interested in the Paladin debate.
It's a good build, doesn't even start to come online until 7th level though and it's not going to beat the Crossbow Expert Sharpshooter Hunter's Mark Colossus Slayer -5/+10 damage spam by any meaningful amount. I never said Ranger was the only viable way to go, just that it was already near the top of martial damage game even before all these buffs. Also, the lack of crowd control and AoEs is still a point in the Ranger's favor here.
Getting hit by nasty spells does not stop being an issue at level 14, and the higher level you go the nastier spells get and the more you'll encounter monsters that come with spellcasting. Rangers already have tools for dealing with AoE damage (Absorb Elements, the 2024 version comes with free temp HP, 2014 Hunters get Evasion at 15th level, 2024 Hunters can give themselves resistance to one damage type for free as a reaction.) Blindsight and True Sight have range limits, and while See Invisibility doesn't, it's also not a sense that monsters typically come with innately.
It requires an action to cast, concentration to maintain, a valuable spell slot, only covers 1 creature, and is an effect so valuable it can't be upcast or twinned to target more people. 2024 Rangers do it as a bonus action, in a way that can't be countered or dispelled, at no spell slot cost, which means someone else can get that precious Greater Invisibility.
Yes, Antimagic Field shuts most cool things down. But if you're in an Antimagic Field you don't have to worry about most of the things that invisibility gives you immunity to, either.
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