Resilient: Constitution. I love this feat for just about any spellcaster, but so much of ranger’s combat contribution comes from some great higher level spells that feature concentration. It really takes the pressure off avoiding being hit. 8 blood hawks flying around pecking at enemies while your wolf attacks and helps your allies and you pepper arrows.
Sharpshooter. Whether you are using the -5/+10 element of this feat or not this is a great feat for an archer. Cover can be a real pain, and this feat basically takes care of that. Some, to many, combats you might be getting 2+ rounds of attacks in before the majority of your party and enemies are even within attack range.
Lucky. This feat is a strong pick for anyone. As a DM I frequently give it to enemies when they need a little bump in threat level. This feat does its own thing but also compliments the first two I listed. Concentration saving throws, -5+10 attacks, you name it.
Fey Touched: I mean, it's hard to go wrong with Misty Step, plus you get to pump your Wis by 1. I take Fey Touched as a way to grab Hunter's Mark without having to use one of my spells known for it. But even I know that's not the most optimal way to use it. You want to grab Bless or the new Silvery Barbs instead if you can.
Sharpshooter: I mean, it should go without saying for archery builds. This is a must-have. Rangers have myriad ways of offsetting the -5 attack roll penalty. But even if they didn't, Sharpshooter offers greater range and ignores cover. Those alone would make the feat worthwhile. The added damage is just gravy.
Skill Expert: Pump one stat, gain a new skill, and gain expertise in a skill. Rangers are meant to be just as effective outside of combat as they are in it, so grabbing additional skills and an expertise is always a nice-to-have. I personally tend to go for Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, or an Int skill. Skill Expert is also one of the few half feats that doesn't discriminate which stat you can pump, so that's also good. For Rangers that take Natural Explorer and know they'll be spending most of their time in/around their Favored Terrain (such as, say, a desert Ranger in Dark Sun,) Skilled might be the better pick, as it effectively gives you three expertises if you play your cards right.
Honorable mentions:
Mobile: I think Rangers can be good secondary tanks. But compared to the heavy armor-wearing Fighters and Paladins, they're probably better off in the skirmisher role. Which is why Mobile works so well. Get in, hit the target, get out safely.
Alert: Bonus to Initiative and can't be surprised, which works pretty well with some of your other features. Always a nice to have.
I'll go for Resilient: WIS if I have an uneven score, and on a subclass like Monster Slayer, where you've got multiple features where a save is involved.
Sharpshooter is also a must. Ignoring cover and increased range is super useful, I almost never actually bother with the -5 option and it's still worth it for those two things.
I'll also say, depending on party composition, Ritual Caster can grab your Ranger some great stuff, especially as they don't have ritual casting on their own.
I mostly play actual woodsmen based rangers but for any ranger alert is always great, whether it’s getting your damage in or control on doing before the other guy is never a bad thing.
I really like adding ritual caster druid or wizard. But its not quite as usefull if you are playing with tasha's primal awareness. It really depends on the role I am trying to fill but most rangers will not regret taking sharpshooter. Most people dont like skilled but it can really help a phb ranger (favored enemy) that takes All intellegence skills.
I find my builds rarely need resilient con. or alert because i take care of those feats via other means but other people disagree.
In the end feats are great for customizing your build so I just let them do that to just add a twist to my rangers.
Resilient: Constitution is usually the first feat I get at level 4 in my Ranger builds. Nothing feels better than round up your odd CON and get an incredible boost to your saving throws. Most people think it’s only for the concentration checks, but there are a lot of common & dangerous saves that target CON. Things like poison, cold, Exhaustion and Stunning related, petrification, etc.
Alert is one of the feats that I love most not only for Rangers, but for several other builds out there. +5 initiative per se is outstanding, but the secondary benefits of the feat are also great. Not being surprised anymore sounds really Rangery with acute senses. Imposing disadvantage on enemies attacks in heavily obscured areas is also perfect for a class with easy access to Fog Cloud — today this is my top strategy.
Then my third choice depends on race. If I’m playing vHuman or Custom Lineage, I always go with Crossbow Expert. The value you capture from this feat since level 1 is groundbreaking. When I use other races, and nowadays I’m roleplaying Goblin Rangers all the time, Sharpshooter is the chosen one.
If you like to play short races, I have been playing with Squat Nimbleness in builds lately. +1 to str or dex, +5 to move, acrobatics or athletics for a skill, and advantage to escape a grapple.
Otherwise, Fey/Shadow touched, alert, observant, the bow feats are all great. And resilient con or wis is a great choice.
Ritual Caster. First got this when I was trying to emulate a 4th Edition's Shaman/Ranger Hybrid in order to have two pets with Find Familiar. Ended up having a lot of utility out of it since many times we didn't have Wizards or any other Ritual Casters tagging along.
Fey Touched. As a Beastmaster with Share Spells, Misty Step along with your Animal Companion to surround enemies.
Resilient (Constitution). As said above, very useful throughout the level tiers and it also helps with Concentration spells that are crucial for your damage output.
Everyone, please list your top three favorite ranger feats, and tell me why they're so awesome. I need your brilliant responses! Thank you!!!
Ren
Resilient: Constitution. I love this feat for just about any spellcaster, but so much of ranger’s combat contribution comes from some great higher level spells that feature concentration. It really takes the pressure off avoiding being hit. 8 blood hawks flying around pecking at enemies while your wolf attacks and helps your allies and you pepper arrows.
Sharpshooter. Whether you are using the -5/+10 element of this feat or not this is a great feat for an archer. Cover can be a real pain, and this feat basically takes care of that. Some, to many, combats you might be getting 2+ rounds of attacks in before the majority of your party and enemies are even within attack range.
Lucky. This feat is a strong pick for anyone. As a DM I frequently give it to enemies when they need a little bump in threat level. This feat does its own thing but also compliments the first two I listed. Concentration saving throws, -5+10 attacks, you name it.
Fey Touched: I mean, it's hard to go wrong with Misty Step, plus you get to pump your Wis by 1. I take Fey Touched as a way to grab Hunter's Mark without having to use one of my spells known for it. But even I know that's not the most optimal way to use it. You want to grab Bless or the new Silvery Barbs instead if you can.
Sharpshooter: I mean, it should go without saying for archery builds. This is a must-have. Rangers have myriad ways of offsetting the -5 attack roll penalty. But even if they didn't, Sharpshooter offers greater range and ignores cover. Those alone would make the feat worthwhile. The added damage is just gravy.
Skill Expert: Pump one stat, gain a new skill, and gain expertise in a skill. Rangers are meant to be just as effective outside of combat as they are in it, so grabbing additional skills and an expertise is always a nice-to-have. I personally tend to go for Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, or an Int skill. Skill Expert is also one of the few half feats that doesn't discriminate which stat you can pump, so that's also good. For Rangers that take Natural Explorer and know they'll be spending most of their time in/around their Favored Terrain (such as, say, a desert Ranger in Dark Sun,) Skilled might be the better pick, as it effectively gives you three expertises if you play your cards right.
Honorable mentions:
Mobile: I think Rangers can be good secondary tanks. But compared to the heavy armor-wearing Fighters and Paladins, they're probably better off in the skirmisher role. Which is why Mobile works so well. Get in, hit the target, get out safely.
Alert: Bonus to Initiative and can't be surprised, which works pretty well with some of your other features. Always a nice to have.
I'll go for Resilient: WIS if I have an uneven score, and on a subclass like Monster Slayer, where you've got multiple features where a save is involved.
Sharpshooter is also a must. Ignoring cover and increased range is super useful, I almost never actually bother with the -5 option and it's still worth it for those two things.
I'll also say, depending on party composition, Ritual Caster can grab your Ranger some great stuff, especially as they don't have ritual casting on their own.
Birgit | Shifter | Sorcerer | Dragonlords
Shayone | Hobgoblin | Sorcerer | Netherdeep
I mostly play actual woodsmen based rangers but for any ranger alert is always great, whether it’s getting your damage in or control on doing before the other guy is never a bad thing.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
I really like adding ritual caster druid or wizard. But its not quite as usefull if you are playing with tasha's primal awareness. It really depends on the role I am trying to fill but most rangers will not regret taking sharpshooter. Most people dont like skilled but it can really help a phb ranger (favored enemy) that takes All intellegence skills.
I find my builds rarely need resilient con. or alert because i take care of those feats via other means but other people disagree.
In the end feats are great for customizing your build so I just let them do that to just add a twist to my rangers.
Resilient: Constitution is usually the first feat I get at level 4 in my Ranger builds. Nothing feels better than round up your odd CON and get an incredible boost to your saving throws. Most people think it’s only for the concentration checks, but there are a lot of common & dangerous saves that target CON. Things like poison, cold, Exhaustion and Stunning related, petrification, etc.
Alert is one of the feats that I love most not only for Rangers, but for several other builds out there. +5 initiative per se is outstanding, but the secondary benefits of the feat are also great. Not being surprised anymore sounds really Rangery with acute senses. Imposing disadvantage on enemies attacks in heavily obscured areas is also perfect for a class with easy access to Fog Cloud — today this is my top strategy.
Then my third choice depends on race. If I’m playing vHuman or Custom Lineage, I always go with Crossbow Expert. The value you capture from this feat since level 1 is groundbreaking. When I use other races, and nowadays I’m roleplaying Goblin Rangers all the time, Sharpshooter is the chosen one.
If you like to play short races, I have been playing with Squat Nimbleness in builds lately. +1 to str or dex, +5 to move, acrobatics or athletics for a skill, and advantage to escape a grapple.
Otherwise, Fey/Shadow touched, alert, observant, the bow feats are all great. And resilient con or wis is a great choice.
Ritual Caster. First got this when I was trying to emulate a 4th Edition's Shaman/Ranger Hybrid in order to have two pets with Find Familiar. Ended up having a lot of utility out of it since many times we didn't have Wizards or any other Ritual Casters tagging along.
Fey Touched. As a Beastmaster with Share Spells, Misty Step along with your Animal Companion to surround enemies.
Resilient (Constitution). As said above, very useful throughout the level tiers and it also helps with Concentration spells that are crucial for your damage output.
Art Portfolio
How about for Beast Master Rangers? Are there any good Feats other than the ones already mentioned? What would you recommend?
for beastmaster specifically.
Healer - for the 0hp goodbearrys without a spellslot.
Ritual caster: druid For free beast sense and other ranger like spells and rituals.. saving you extra slots for combat and healing.
Inspiring leader: for temp hp to The beast. not the best temp hp in the game but it does its job.
if you are riding the beast as a small pc --mounted combatant -For the second and third options
If you are playing a halfling - Bountiful luck could save an ally including a pet