So I was doing some math experiments on a spreadsheet with Foe Slayer and I made a few interesting discoveries. I made a few basic assumptions first: Only 2 attacks per round, negating critical hits entirely, using Sharpshooter on every attack, Target AC of 20, Dex and Wis Mod maxxed, Non-magical Longbow and Arrows, and Hunters Mark in place.
Here is what I found:
A normal ranger with an Attack bonus of 8, will do an average of 20.7 damage per round. Will hit 2 times about 20% of the time and at least once 50% of the time.
A ranger using Foe Slayer will do 33.125damage per round. Will hit 2 times about 43% of the time and at least once 48% of the time.
That’s an increase of over 50% damage per round.
It occurred to me that the real advantage of Foe Slayer is actually the ability to add 5 to the Attack roll and make a miss into a hit, moreso than just adding 5 to the Damage roll.
Make of it what you will, but that’s vaulted Foe Slayer into one of my favourite Level 20 Class Features. Never runs out, stackable easily with a level 1 spell, and effective in any situation against your Favored Enemies.
(if anyone wants the spreadsheet, just DM me)
Just tested with Swift Quiver (4 attacks per round): Damage without Foe Slayer = 41.4, Damage with Foe Slayer = 58.66
Are these calculations using the "once per turn" part of the ability?! Please say yes!
Yep. If you focus on using Foe Slayer to turn a miss into a hit, that's where the large bonus comes from. An extra hit each round is far more potent than doing a flat-bonus in damage. But in the rare case that you hit all of your attacks, you still get that flat bonus damage. That's why this ability is amplified by abilities like Great Weapon Master and Sharpshooter, where your % chance to hit goes down - you are more likely to use it to turn a hit into a miss.
I've always liked the ability, but the main draw back to that feature is that it only applies to your favored enemies.
If the UA variant class changes hold up for Tasha's cauldron (here's hoping) then your favoured enemies are going to become essentially just whatever you cast Hunter's Mark onto, that and related changes (namely getting Hunter's Mark for free with some free uses for good measure) are going to make a huge difference to the Ranger.
No longer will you have to try and convince your party to never go anywhere and to only fight stuff that's on your list 😉
I do think Foe Slayer has always been a bit undervalued; the damage bonus is really just a consolation if you're unfortunate enough to hit with all of your attacks, but the hit bonus is the real feature, as more hits is always more valuable, plus by the time you get it you can cover a pretty heft chunk of potential enemy types so you'll have access to it quite a lot of the time. It's just really annoying when you don't get to use it.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
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So I was doing some math experiments on a spreadsheet with Foe Slayer and I made a few interesting discoveries. I made a few basic assumptions first: Only 2 attacks per round, negating critical hits entirely, using Sharpshooter on every attack, Target AC of 20, Dex and Wis Mod maxxed, Non-magical Longbow and Arrows, and Hunters Mark in place.
Here is what I found:
A normal ranger with an Attack bonus of 8, will do an average of 20.7 damage per round. Will hit 2 times about 20% of the time and at least once 50% of the time.
A ranger using Foe Slayer will do 33.125 damage per round. Will hit 2 times about 43% of the time and at least once 48% of the time.
That’s an increase of over 50% damage per round.
It occurred to me that the real advantage of Foe Slayer is actually the ability to add 5 to the Attack roll and make a miss into a hit, moreso than just adding 5 to the Damage roll.
Make of it what you will, but that’s vaulted Foe Slayer into one of my favourite Level 20 Class Features. Never runs out, stackable easily with a level 1 spell, and effective in any situation against your Favored Enemies.
(if anyone wants the spreadsheet, just DM me)
Just tested with Swift Quiver (4 attacks per round): Damage without Foe Slayer = 41.4, Damage with Foe Slayer = 58.66
I like it's flexibility.
It is helpful both against creatures that are hard to hit and those with high hit-points.
Against hard to hit creatures, it's even more effective...
vs. AC 25 creatures and a +3 Longbow: 18.2 damage without Foe Slayer, 31.59 with Foe Slayer
With Swift Quiver: 36.4 damage without Foe Slayer, 55.63 with Foe Slayer
I've always liked the ability, but the main draw back to that feature is that it only applies to your favored enemies.
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Are these calculations using the "once per turn" part of the ability?! Please say yes!
Yep. If you focus on using Foe Slayer to turn a miss into a hit, that's where the large bonus comes from. An extra hit each round is far more potent than doing a flat-bonus in damage. But in the rare case that you hit all of your attacks, you still get that flat bonus damage. That's why this ability is amplified by abilities like Great Weapon Master and Sharpshooter, where your % chance to hit goes down - you are more likely to use it to turn a hit into a miss.
If the UA variant class changes hold up for Tasha's cauldron (here's hoping) then your favoured enemies are going to become essentially just whatever you cast Hunter's Mark onto, that and related changes (namely getting Hunter's Mark for free with some free uses for good measure) are going to make a huge difference to the Ranger.
No longer will you have to try and convince your party to never go anywhere and to only fight stuff that's on your list 😉
I do think Foe Slayer has always been a bit undervalued; the damage bonus is really just a consolation if you're unfortunate enough to hit with all of your attacks, but the hit bonus is the real feature, as more hits is always more valuable, plus by the time you get it you can cover a pretty heft chunk of potential enemy types so you'll have access to it quite a lot of the time. It's just really annoying when you don't get to use it.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.