I am creating a ranger for my next character and am having a hard time finding inspiration to play one. So, I came here to get advice on how to make a satisfying ranger build.
The campaign I'm in does not have a focus on stealth, so it is situational at best.
I like Hunter and Drakewarden but have not played a ranger in 5e, so I don't understand how optimize them.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Do you dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?
I'm not really an optimizer, but I'm happy to help if I can.
What, if any, other 5E classes/subclasses have you played and enjoyed so far?
Why are you looking at ranger now? Is there something about that class that intrigues you specifically?
Many people think "ranger" and think "someone who shoots a bow and arrow". While they do that very well, if that is 100% of your goal, the ranger class might not be the ideal choice for you. Rangers have, and must use their, magic to do what they are intended to do well in 5E, especially after level 10. Your spell list and subclass abilities are what put you in a position to effect the game (in different ways from other subclass choices) in a meaningful way. Also, be prepared to have much of your baseline ranger "kit" to be focused on information, travel, and utility, both through spells and class abilities. Even the optional class features to focus on this to a large degree, just in a different way. Again, if that isn't your ideal mental image of a ranger, it might not be a good fit.
That being said, the hunter and drake warden subclasses are fun choices that have some of the most (non-stealth focused) combat potential, in my opinion. So they are solid choices.
I am creating a ranger for my next character and am having a hard time finding inspiration to play one. So, I came here to get advice on how to make a satisfying ranger build.
The campaign I'm in does not have a focus on stealth, so it is situational at best.
I like Hunter and Drakewarden but have not played a ranger in 5e, so I don't understand how optimize them.
You say "inspiration," what I hear is character ideas. That said, here you're asking for an optimized build. So I'm a bit confused.
If what you want is a character concept, some of my favorites include: Planeswalker (Horizon Walker/Fey Wanderer), Assassin/Bounty Hunter/Mercenary (Hunter/Gloom Stalker), Vampire Slayer/Witcher/Winchester/Belmont (Monster Slayer,) Dragon Tamer/Rider (Drake Warden), Mountain Man (Hunter/Beast Master), Disney Princess/Rat King/Crazy Cat Lady (Swarm Keeper), Winter Warrior (Hunter/Gloom Stalker), Cowboy (Hunter/Beast Master Horse), Alice in Wonderland (Fey Wanderer), Fey Courtier (Fey Wanderer/Swarm Keeper), pirate/sailor (any/Beast Master) and many many others. Those are just a few I've been playing around with.
Mechanically? Perhaps the most optimal Ranger (in the traditional, combat-focused sense of the term) takes all the Tasha features and makes a V-Human Gloom Stalker with 8/15+1/14/12/13+1/10 starting stats and Crossbow Expert as its free feat.
Cap its Dex and pick up Sharpshooter as soon as possible. Spam Hunter's Mark until you get to level 9 (or Favored Foe if you're conserving spell slots). From there, they probably multiclass into Fighter for Action Surge or Rogue for Sneak Attack sometime after level 11. Take Conjure Animals at level 9 and go crazy. When it comes to combat, this build is probably the best. It is somewhat limited in what it can do whenever you're not shooting things to the ground. Deft Explorer and Primal Awareness will give you some good non-combat utility, but you could have had way more with different options.
That's probably the most combat-optimal Ranger build. And on a personal note, I find it painfully boring. You're missing out on a lot of the most fun and interesting Ranger features by going the most 'optimal' route, in my opinion.
Thank you for your responses. I figured out that I want to play a Horizon Walker with a level of rogue for expertise. I went Dex based standard array stats. I'm playing around with different spells to lock down an area during combat. Spike Growth plus 11th level Horizon walker is going to be a fun.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Do you dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?
Thank you for your responses. I figured out that I want to play a Horizon Walker with a level of rogue for expertise. I went Dex based standard array stats. I'm playing around with different spells to lock down an area during combat. Spike Growth plus 11th level Horizon walker is going to be a fun.
Thank you for your responses. I figured out that I want to play a Horizon Walker with a level of rogue for expertise. I went Dex based standard array stats. I'm playing around with different spells to lock down an area during combat. Spike Growth plus 11th level Horizon walker is going to be a fun.
Great choice. Horizon Walker is my personal favorite Ranger subclass.
One quick thing is you don't need to multiclass into Rogue to get Expertise. As of "Tasha's Cauldron of Everything," a Ranger can choose to forego Natural Explorer in favor of Deft Explore. Which, among other benefits, lets you have expertise in one skill of your choice. You can also get expertise via the Skill Expert feat and/or the Prodigy feat if you're human. Furthermore, Natural Explorer itself can grant you several potential expertises depending on how often your favored terrains are made relevant. That said, you're not gonna go wrong by multiclassing into Rogue. A Rogue dip is a great choice for Rangers. Just not strictly necessary.
Outside of that, Horizon Walkers are extremely fun and offer tons of mobility. Between Misty Step, Ethereal Step, Haste, and Distant Strikes, you'll be able to go pretty much anywhere you please. You'll be able to reach any enemy you please. To give you an example, a Horizon Walker with 35 movement speed (Roving) and Haste can outpace a Paladin's Warhorse Steed.
Planar Warrior's ability to turn all your damage into the seldom resisted Force damage type, as well as spells like Protection From Evil & Good and the aforementioned, will make for a solid pick all the way through.
The only thing to keep in mind is that Planar Warrior gets in the way of Polearm Master, Crossbow Expert, and Dual Wielding. So you'll either have to go a different route (Longbows, Sword & Board, or just Great Weapons without PAM,) or pick and choose which is the best use of your Bonus Action in a given situation.
I mean, it might be far from optimized, but my latest Character is a Dhampir Swarmkeeper, and I play him as someone whos Vampire side grows ever-stronger, since the Swarmkeepers features can work really well as Vampire Abilities.
Your Swarm can be a Swarm of Bats, that are under your Control.
You get a flying speed (only 10 feet, but still counts) at Level 7
At Level 9, you can learn gaseous form, which acts as the Vampire Ability to turn into Mist and Conjour Animals for Wolves.
And the Level 15 Ability can be nicely reflavored into you turning into Bats to join your swarm, fly 30 feet away and reform.
I'm very new to D&D Beyond, so I may be missing something obvious. How do I create my Drakewarden? I don't see it as a class or subclass option. Does it appear after level 1, after starting as a simple Ranger?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Nobody can protect you from what you desire, or from what you fear.
I am creating a ranger for my next character and am having a hard time finding inspiration to play one. So, I came here to get advice on how to make a satisfying ranger build.
The campaign I'm in does not have a focus on stealth, so it is situational at best.
I like Hunter and Drakewarden but have not played a ranger in 5e, so I don't understand how optimize them.
Do you dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?
I'm not really an optimizer, but I'm happy to help if I can.
What, if any, other 5E classes/subclasses have you played and enjoyed so far?
Why are you looking at ranger now? Is there something about that class that intrigues you specifically?
Many people think "ranger" and think "someone who shoots a bow and arrow". While they do that very well, if that is 100% of your goal, the ranger class might not be the ideal choice for you. Rangers have, and must use their, magic to do what they are intended to do well in 5E, especially after level 10. Your spell list and subclass abilities are what put you in a position to effect the game (in different ways from other subclass choices) in a meaningful way. Also, be prepared to have much of your baseline ranger "kit" to be focused on information, travel, and utility, both through spells and class abilities. Even the optional class features to focus on this to a large degree, just in a different way. Again, if that isn't your ideal mental image of a ranger, it might not be a good fit.
That being said, the hunter and drake warden subclasses are fun choices that have some of the most (non-stealth focused) combat potential, in my opinion. So they are solid choices.
You say "inspiration," what I hear is character ideas. That said, here you're asking for an optimized build. So I'm a bit confused.
If what you want is a character concept, some of my favorites include: Planeswalker (Horizon Walker/Fey Wanderer), Assassin/Bounty Hunter/Mercenary (Hunter/Gloom Stalker), Vampire Slayer/Witcher/Winchester/Belmont (Monster Slayer,) Dragon Tamer/Rider (Drake Warden), Mountain Man (Hunter/Beast Master), Disney Princess/Rat King/Crazy Cat Lady (Swarm Keeper), Winter Warrior (Hunter/Gloom Stalker), Cowboy (Hunter/Beast Master Horse), Alice in Wonderland (Fey Wanderer), Fey Courtier (Fey Wanderer/Swarm Keeper), pirate/sailor (any/Beast Master) and many many others. Those are just a few I've been playing around with.
Mechanically? Perhaps the most optimal Ranger (in the traditional, combat-focused sense of the term) takes all the Tasha features and makes a V-Human Gloom Stalker with 8/15+1/14/12/13+1/10 starting stats and Crossbow Expert as its free feat.
Cap its Dex and pick up Sharpshooter as soon as possible. Spam Hunter's Mark until you get to level 9 (or Favored Foe if you're conserving spell slots). From there, they probably multiclass into Fighter for Action Surge or Rogue for Sneak Attack sometime after level 11. Take Conjure Animals at level 9 and go crazy. When it comes to combat, this build is probably the best. It is somewhat limited in what it can do whenever you're not shooting things to the ground. Deft Explorer and Primal Awareness will give you some good non-combat utility, but you could have had way more with different options.
That's probably the most combat-optimal Ranger build. And on a personal note, I find it painfully boring. You're missing out on a lot of the most fun and interesting Ranger features by going the most 'optimal' route, in my opinion.
Thank you for your responses. I figured out that I want to play a Horizon Walker with a level of rogue for expertise. I went Dex based standard array stats. I'm playing around with different spells to lock down an area during combat. Spike Growth plus 11th level Horizon walker is going to be a fun.
Do you dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?
Sounds fun!
Great choice. Horizon Walker is my personal favorite Ranger subclass.
One quick thing is you don't need to multiclass into Rogue to get Expertise. As of "Tasha's Cauldron of Everything," a Ranger can choose to forego Natural Explorer in favor of Deft Explore. Which, among other benefits, lets you have expertise in one skill of your choice. You can also get expertise via the Skill Expert feat and/or the Prodigy feat if you're human. Furthermore, Natural Explorer itself can grant you several potential expertises depending on how often your favored terrains are made relevant. That said, you're not gonna go wrong by multiclassing into Rogue. A Rogue dip is a great choice for Rangers. Just not strictly necessary.
Outside of that, Horizon Walkers are extremely fun and offer tons of mobility. Between Misty Step, Ethereal Step, Haste, and Distant Strikes, you'll be able to go pretty much anywhere you please. You'll be able to reach any enemy you please. To give you an example, a Horizon Walker with 35 movement speed (Roving) and Haste can outpace a Paladin's Warhorse Steed.
Planar Warrior's ability to turn all your damage into the seldom resisted Force damage type, as well as spells like Protection From Evil & Good and the aforementioned, will make for a solid pick all the way through.
The only thing to keep in mind is that Planar Warrior gets in the way of Polearm Master, Crossbow Expert, and Dual Wielding. So you'll either have to go a different route (Longbows, Sword & Board, or just Great Weapons without PAM,) or pick and choose which is the best use of your Bonus Action in a given situation.
I mean, it might be far from optimized, but my latest Character is a Dhampir Swarmkeeper, and I play him as someone whos Vampire side grows ever-stronger, since the Swarmkeepers features can work really well as Vampire Abilities.
Your Swarm can be a Swarm of Bats, that are under your Control.
You get a flying speed (only 10 feet, but still counts) at Level 7
At Level 9, you can learn gaseous form, which acts as the Vampire Ability to turn into Mist and Conjour Animals for Wolves.
And the Level 15 Ability can be nicely reflavored into you turning into Bats to join your swarm, fly 30 feet away and reform.
I'm very new to D&D Beyond, so I may be missing something obvious. How do I create my Drakewarden? I don't see it as a class or subclass option. Does it appear after level 1, after starting as a simple Ranger?
Nobody can protect you from what you desire, or from what you fear.
I see, it is a selection at level 3. Thank you.
Nobody can protect you from what you desire, or from what you fear.