I currently have a level 2 wood elf rogue whom I plan to make into a (bow) sniper. I had planned to Mc into battle master, but I have never played a ranger before and the possibilities seem interesting. Any advice on the best subclass combinations? This is for AL, so they would need a o come from the PHB or Xanathars, as I will definitely take elven accuracy.
Yes. If you will be going with the Elven bow feat than abusing gloomstalker's ability to be invisible in the dark is really useful.
If this were for a normal campaign, I'd probably do that. It's for AL, though, and mucking about negotiating on lighting conditions seems highly DM dependent. Just for ease-of-play considerations, I'm a little leery. Last night we had to postpone the game for some time because the DM did not want to let me hide in heavy brush as a wood elf :/
I don't know the civilities of AL, but my recommendation would be find a different game. If the DM isn't someone who is a friend that game isn't worth it. You are by rule allowed to hide in light brush.
The text is clear: "You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena."
Yes. If you will be going with the Elven bow feat than abusing gloomstalker's ability to be invisible in the dark is really useful.
If this were for a normal campaign, I'd probably do that. It's for AL, though, and mucking about negotiating on lighting conditions seems highly DM dependent. Just for ease-of-play considerations, I'm a little leery. Last night we had to postpone the game for some time because the DM did not want to let me hide in heavy brush as a wood elf :/
ouch, what's the point of having a race, class or sub-class then?
I don't know the civilities of AL, but my recommendation would be find a different game. If the DM isn't someone who is a friend that game isn't worth it. You are by rule allowed to hide in light brush.
The text is clear: "You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena."
Yes. If you will be going with the Elven bow feat than abusing gloomstalker's ability to be invisible in the dark is really useful.
If this were for a normal campaign, I'd probably do that. It's for AL, though, and mucking about negotiating on lighting conditions seems highly DM dependent. Just for ease-of-play considerations, I'm a little leery. Last night we had to postpone the game for some time because the DM did not want to let me hide in heavy brush as a wood elf :/
ouch, what's the point of having a race, class or sub-class then?
Some mechanics are a lot worse about fuzziness than others. I would love to play an illusionist, because it has by far the widest scope for creativity. Unfortunately, it also requires a ton of DM ruling by its very nature. So it wouldn't be worth it.
A champion fighter or barb, on the other hand, seems pretty easy to adjudicate.
if that is the case (with your DM) then I'd go for the Hunter subclass then, simple additional damage...
That's my thought. If I had a consistent DM I would probably go Gloomstalker for flavor, but this is adventurer's league, and keeping it simpler will work better with randos.
stating the obvious, but choose Archery as the fighting style (+2 to hit).
also, it might be worth taking the 3rd level of rogue in order to get the sub-class bonus first (and the extra 1d6 sneak attack damage). Unless you don't want to delay the ranger sub-class?
I'd suggest Scout, as you'd also benefit from these which go neatly with Ranger (and aren't open to DM confusion):
Skirmisher
Starting at 3rd level, you are difficult to pin down during a fight. You can move up to half your speed as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. (this means you should be able to use your bow, even if the enemy has you in melee)
Survivalist
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Nature* and Survival* skills if you don’t already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of those proficiencies.
Yeah, the scout/assassin tradeoff is the tradeoff between offense and defense. Assassin is more appealing for the synergy with Elven Accuracy, so I am leaning that way even though it may not be "better."
I did some more work on a potential build. A 5/5 split between assassin and hunter appears to offer the best combination. 3d6 sneaks, second level spells, and six spell slots, two ASIS. No real advantage to Ranger 6 as far as I can tell.
I will probably MC into ranger from level 3 on, mostly because I have never played one ;)
Without using Tasha's changes Ranger 6 isn't all that great. The one worry I would have on Assassin is the same DM issues of being able to use your powers. I like the choice of Hunter. Its a bit easier to implement with less argument. Good luck.
I built a sniper once as a pure assassin. The idea is a one shit kill. Surprise rules are actually easy but situations are a bit rare.
Recommended feats: sharp shooter, fighting adapt (archer style) from Tasha. I would prefer this over elven accuracy. Also steady aim (optional class feature) speaks for Tasha as second source.
If you still want a MC the battle master is still an option. level 3 only to keep sneak high. Take precision attack (instead of EA).
Here is a novel idea for you: Samurai. Mechanically, they have a lot of synergy and it is probably fairly uncommon (i've never played with one in my dozens and dozens of AL games).
You can give yourself advantage as a bonus action 3 times per long rest and you gain proficiency with those nasty Wisdom saving throws (which means you are now proficient in over half of all spell saves) and of course it is your spell casting stat.
Some background on an elven sammy from another player:
Here is a novel idea for you: Samurai. Mechanically, they have a lot of synergy and it is probably fairly uncommon (i've never played with one in my dozens and dozens of AL games).
You can give yourself advantage as a bonus action 3 times per long rest and you gain proficiency with those nasty Wisdom saving throws (which means you are now proficient in over half of all spell saves) and of course it is your spell casting stat.
Some background on an elven sammy from another player:
Hey all.
I currently have a level 2 wood elf rogue whom I plan to make into a (bow) sniper. I had planned to Mc into battle master, but I have never played a ranger before and the possibilities seem interesting. Any advice on the best subclass combinations? This is for AL, so they would need a o come from the PHB or Xanathars, as I will definitely take elven accuracy.
Hunter would be a good fit with a (bow) sniper, as it would neatly add even more damage to your hits.
Or if you want a bit more flavour, then gloomstalker is always a winner, firing arrows from the shadows unseen will help with getting your advantage
Yes. If you will be going with the Elven bow feat than abusing gloomstalker's ability to be invisible in the dark is really useful.
If this were for a normal campaign, I'd probably do that. It's for AL, though, and mucking about negotiating on lighting conditions seems highly DM dependent. Just for ease-of-play considerations, I'm a little leery. Last night we had to postpone the game for some time because the DM did not want to let me hide in heavy brush as a wood elf :/
I don't know the civilities of AL, but my recommendation would be find a different game. If the DM isn't someone who is a friend that game isn't worth it. You are by rule allowed to hide in light brush.
The text is clear:
"You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena."
ouch, what's the point of having a race, class or sub-class then?
Believe me, I pasted that into Roll20 chat.
Some mechanics are a lot worse about fuzziness than others. I would love to play an illusionist, because it has by far the widest scope for creativity. Unfortunately, it also requires a ton of DM ruling by its very nature. So it wouldn't be worth it.
A champion fighter or barb, on the other hand, seems pretty easy to adjudicate.
if that is the case (with your DM) then I'd go for the Hunter subclass then, simple additional damage...
That's my thought. If I had a consistent DM I would probably go Gloomstalker for flavor, but this is adventurer's league, and keeping it simpler will work better with randos.
stating the obvious, but choose Archery as the fighting style (+2 to hit).
also, it might be worth taking the 3rd level of rogue in order to get the sub-class bonus first (and the extra 1d6 sneak attack damage). Unless you don't want to delay the ranger sub-class?
I'd suggest Scout, as you'd also benefit from these which go neatly with Ranger (and aren't open to DM confusion):
Skirmisher
Starting at 3rd level, you are difficult to pin down during a fight. You can move up to half your speed as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. (this means you should be able to use your bow, even if the enemy has you in melee)
Survivalist
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Nature* and Survival* skills if you don’t already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of those proficiencies.
* so don't take these early...
Yeah, the scout/assassin tradeoff is the tradeoff between offense and defense. Assassin is more appealing for the synergy with Elven Accuracy, so I am leaning that way even though it may not be "better."
I did some more work on a potential build. A 5/5 split between assassin and hunter appears to offer the best combination. 3d6 sneaks, second level spells, and six spell slots, two ASIS. No real advantage to Ranger 6 as far as I can tell.
I will probably MC into ranger from level 3 on, mostly because I have never played one ;)
Without using Tasha's changes Ranger 6 isn't all that great. The one worry I would have on Assassin is the same DM issues of being able to use your powers. I like the choice of Hunter. Its a bit easier to implement with less argument. Good luck.
I built a sniper once as a pure assassin. The idea is a one shit kill. Surprise rules are actually easy but situations are a bit rare.
Recommended feats: sharp shooter, fighting adapt (archer style) from Tasha. I would prefer this over elven accuracy. Also steady aim (optional class feature) speaks for Tasha as second source.
If you still want a MC the battle master is still an option. level 3 only to keep sneak high. Take precision attack (instead of EA).
Historic AL, so I can't use Tasha's optional rules :/
Here is a novel idea for you: Samurai. Mechanically, they have a lot of synergy and it is probably fairly uncommon (i've never played with one in my dozens and dozens of AL games).
You can give yourself advantage as a bonus action 3 times per long rest and you gain proficiency with those nasty Wisdom saving throws (which means you are now proficient in over half of all spell saves) and of course it is your spell casting stat.
Some background on an elven sammy from another player:
https://partycentral.home.blog/2020/04/29/building-an-elven-samurai-in-dungeons-and-dragons/
I also have a wood elf Ranger (gloomstalker) that will be going Samurai. I took my initial inspiration from Daniel Jackson from Saving Private Ryan...
"Blessed by Solonor, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." (when I cast Hunter's Mark)
Yeah, I have considered that ;)
I like ranger more because you can get 6x advantage on demand for the cost of a bonus action (Through casting.)