The Ranger of the 2024 Player’s Handbook is our beloved sword of the wilds, now with more magic, greater martial prowess, and new opportunities to gain Expertise. They can prepare more spells, cast Hunter’s Mark for free several times per day, and receive bonuses to the iconic Ranger spell at higher levels. Several other new features, such as Roving, Tireless, and Nature’s Veil, will look familiar from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
Read below as we cover what’s new with the 2024 Ranger. If we don’t cover a feature, such as your Ability Score Improvements or Extra Attack, that’s because it remains unchanged from 2014.
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2024 Ranger Class Features Overview

The 2024 Ranger can prepare more spells than the 2014 Ranger could learn. For example, the 2014 Ranger learned their 6th spell at level 9, and the 2024 Ranger can prepare their 6th spell at level 5.
Spellcasting looks a little different in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. All spellcasting classes prepare their spells now, although some classes still change their spells when they level up, just like you’re used to. Spellcasting classes are no longer distinguished by who prepares spells and who learns them, but rather how often a class can change their prepared spells and how many they can change at a time. For example, now the 2024 Ranger prepares its spells when they complete a Long Rest, just like the Druid, but can only swap out one spell per day.
You can also now use a Druidic Focus, an optional class feature from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything that has been made a part of the new Ranger’s Spellcasting feature.
The 2024 Ranger and Hunter’s Mark
The 2024 Player’s Handbook strengthens the Ranger class’s relationship with its trademark spell, Hunter’s Mark. Several of the 2024 Ranger’s base class features—Relentless Hunter, Precise Hunter, and Foe Slayer—all power up your Ranger while Hunter’s Mark is active. Also, the spell now deals Force damage on a hit.
Favored Enemy has seen some significant changes. This feature no longer focuses on tracking and recalling information about certain creature types, or learning their language (though you can learn two new languages with the Deft Explorer feature below). Instead, you can now cast Hunter’s Mark twice per Long Rest without expending a spell slot, and you always have it prepared. This will make it much easier to keep up with the Barbarians, Fighters, and Paladins in damage output without having to spend your precious spell slots to do it.
With the new Spellcasting feature, you could already prepare more spells than before; with the new Favored Enemy, you also prepare the Ranger’s trademark spell for free. You’ll get more free castings of Hunter’s Mark as you level up.
At level 1, you’ll get access to the Weapon Mastery feature, which allows you to use the mastery property of two weapons, which you can swap out during a Long Rest. Mastery properties make combat as a martial character more exciting, more tactically interesting, and—if you take them as an opportunity to get creative with your battle scenes—more cinematic.
Let’s look at the mastery properties for two of the most common Ranger weapons, the Longbow, the Scimitar, and because I want to show Strength-based Rangers some love, the Battleaxe:
- Battleaxe (Topple): I’m a simple guy—the only thing I like better than rolling to attack an enemy is doing it with Advantage. With Topple, you can force enemies to make a Constitution saving throw or be knocked Prone. This can also help protect your allies if you Topple an enemy who was intending to chase after them.
- Longbow (Slow): Use Slow to buy your party some time before the second wave of enemies arrives. Aim for the leg or wing with your Longbow and reduce the target’s Speed by 10 feet. A creature can only suffer from one Speed reduction via the Slow ability at a time.
- Scimitar (Nick): Nick allows you to use the Light property’s extra attack as part of your Attack action instead of your Bonus Action. This keeps your Bonus Action available for spells like Ensnaring Strike and Hunter’s Mark, or for subclass features like the Beast Master commanding their Primal Companion.
Natural Explorer is not a feature of the 2024 Ranger. Instead, if you’d like to be an expert navigator through the woods, the Ranger now gains access to spells that could help with travel (such as Alarm, Goodberry, and Speak With Animals) at level 1 and you can select Expertise in Survival with Deft Explorer at level 2.
Deft Explorer and its benefits from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything have been broken out into their own features for the 2024 Ranger. Now, a level 2 feature, the new Ranger’s Deft Explorer grants you Expertise in one skill plus proficiency in two languages. Overhear the softest twig snap during watch with expertise in Perception, or help the tricksters of the group on their next scheme by picking up Deception.
Fighting Styles function largely the same as before. They are now a type of feat, however, so when you get access to the Fighting Style feature, you can select a feat with the Fighting Style feature as a prerequisite.
The biggest change here is that the optional class feature Druidic Warrior from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is now available to all Rangers. If your Ranger is more magically focused, you can choose Druidic Warrior to learn two Druid cantrips instead of selecting a Fighting Style feat. (Consider the new Starry Wisp spell!)
You also are no longer limited to Archery, Defense, Dueling, and Two-Weapon Fighting. So, now your Ranger can grab a Shield and focus on protecting their allies in the frontlines if they want.
- Beast Master: The Beast Master’s signature feature, Primal Companion, looks very similar to the optional feature from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. However, most of its stats (AC and Beast's Strike damage) now scale with your Wisdom modifier instead of your Proficiency Bonus. With Exceptional Training, whenever you command your companion, it can take the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action using its Bonus Action. Lastly, Bestial Fury shares some of the benefits of Hunter’s Mark with your Primal Companion once per turn.
- Fey Wanderer: The Fey Wanderer is almost entirely unchanged from its appearance in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. At level 9, Summon Fey is always prepared instead of Dispel Magic. But Dispel Magic now appears on the Ranger spell list, meaning any Ranger can prepare it.
- Gloom Stalker: The Gloom Stalker saw some moderate tweaks. Instead of an extra attack on the first round that deals additional damage, the Gloom Stalkers’s Dread Ambusher now allows them to add extra damage to a hit a few times per day. Stalker's Flurry at level 11 was also tweaked slightly to build off of this change, increasing the damage of Dread Ambusher and allowing you to apply an additional effect when you use it: You can make an extra attack on a nearby enemy or Frighten your target and creatures within 10 feet of it. In addition to imposing Disadvantage on another creature's attack roll, Shadowy Dodge now takes your Reaction and lets you teleport up to 30 feet.
- Hunter: The Hunter has become more streamlined, with Hunter’s Prey and Defensive Tactics granting you two options instead of three. However, you can change those selections every time you take a Short or Long Rest, making you much more adaptable. My favorite change is the new Hunter’s Lore at level 3: You automatically know the Immunities, Resistances, and Vulnerabilities of creatures marked by your Hunter’s Mark spell!
Primeval Awareness is not a feature of the 2024 Ranger. You can still gain greater awareness of the world around you by picking up Expertise in Perception at level 2 with Deft Explorer. You also have more spells now and can swap them more often, so you can access magic like Beast Sense and Locate Animals or Plants more easily.
Formerly a part of the Deft Explorer feature in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Roving has been split off into its own class feature with a slight buff. It now grants an additional 10 feet of movement instead of 5. But it does require you not to wear Heavy armor. It still grants the Climb speed and Swim speed as before.
This situational feature is no longer present in the 2024 Ranger. The increased Speed now found in Roving effectively replaces Land's Stride's avoidance of Difficult Terrain—and does so at an earlier level.
The Ranger gains Expertise in two additional skills! Now you have Expertise in three skills, and can better keep up with Bards and Rogues, who have four.
With Tireless, you can use an action to grant yourself Temporary Hit Points. I love using this feature as soon as literally anything seems "off," because you get several uses per day, and the Temporary Hit Points don’t fade until you complete a Long Rest. As soon as I hear a weird noise, I’m drawing my Scimitar and using Tireless.
This feature is nearly identical to its appearance in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, except now the number of uses is tied to your Wisdom modifier, not your Proficiency Bonus. (As an aside, I like this tweak. The power represents your connection to primal forces, and so does your spellcasting ability modifier.) Just as in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Tireless also allows you to reduce your Exhaustion by one level when you take a Short Rest.
This feature replaces 2014's Hide in Plain Sight (though Rangers who want extra sneakiness can now gain Expertise in Stealth at level 9).
Taking damage can no longer break your Concentration on Hunter’s Mark. If you want to focus on dealing damage, nothing so pedestrian as a Fireball can stop you. You can now only lose Concentration on Hunter’s Mark if you become Incapacitated, you die, or you cast another spell or activate another effect that requires Concentration.
Replacing 2014's Vanish, Nature's Veil lets you turn Invisible as a Bonus Action! This invisibility lasts until the end of your next turn, granting you Advantage on any attack rolls you make during that time.
This feature is nearly unchanged from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, but the number of uses now equals your Wisdom modifier instead of your Proficiency Bonus. Just as with Tireless, I personally like this tweak; turning Invisible is presumably an act of magic, and the Ranger uses Wisdom for their spellcasting.
If a creature is marked by Hunter’s Mark, you have Advantage on attacks against them. By this level, you have six free castings of the Hunter’s Mark spell, so if you want to focus on dealing damage, Precise Hunter will help you slay your enemies.
You now have Blindsight out to 30 feet. Enemy mages slinging spells from behind the cover of Invisibility aren’t safe from you any longer. This isn’t new per se—the 2014 Ranger could also perceive Invisible creatures within 30 feet—but the 2014 Player’s Handbook’s language wasn’t quite as streamlined or easy to understand. These types of tweaks are designed to make players’ lives easier.
Gain an Epic Boon feat! Epic Boons are feats that require you to be at least level 19. You will have twelve to choose from. You can select any Epic Boon you like, but the 2024 Player’s Handbook recommends:
- Boon of Dimensional Travel: Increase one ability score by 1 (up to a maximum of 30), and immediately after you take the Attack or Magic action, you can teleport up to 30 feet.
Hunter’s Mark now deals 1d10 Force damage on a hit instead of 1d6. Between Favored Enemy giving you free castings of this spell, Relentless Hunter protecting your Concentration from being broken, and Precise Hunter giving you Advantage on marked targets, the level 20 Ranger is now a master combatant.
Dominate the Battlefield with Primal Magic
The 2024 Player’s Handbook is now available on the D&D Beyond marketplace, which means it's time to set out on new adventures with fresh or familiar characters!
The 2024 Player’s Handbook makes it easier for your Ranger to feel like a primal warrior, a guardian of the wild places, and a deadly hunter. You’ll have Expertise in more skills, more prepared spells, new tactical options in martial combat, and your Hunter’s Mark will benefit from additional bonuses. The 2024 Ranger is versatile, skilled in exploration, utility, melee and ranged combat, and primal magic.
We’re delighted to share with you the changes to fifth edition D&D that appear in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Make sure to keep an eye out on D&D Beyond for more useful guides on using the wealth of new options, rules, and mechanics found in the 2024 Player's Handbook!

Damen Cook (@damen_joseph) is a lifelong fantasy reader, writer, and gamer. If he woke up tomorrow in Faerûn, he would bolt through the nearest fey crossing and drink from every stream and eat fruit from every tree in the Feywild until he found that sweet, sweet wild magic.
This article was updated on August 13, 2024 and August 28, 2024 to issue corrections or expand coverage for the following features and subclasses:
- Deft Explorer: Fixed typos and clarified that Natural Explorer's primary benefit of doubling your Proficiency Bonus for certain checks has been absorbed in Deft Explorer's Expertise benefit.
- Ranger Subclass (Beast Master): Clarifed scope of changes between Tasha's Cauldron of Everything's Primal Companion and the new Primal Companion.
- Ranger Subclass (Gloom Stalker): Fixed typo. Also added that Shadowy Dodge allows you to teleport up to 30 feet after the attack hits or misses.
- Roving: Clarified that Land's Stride avoidance of Difficult Terrain is effectively replaced by Roving's increased Speed.
- Hide in Plain Sight: Clarified that this was replaced by Tireless, and the extra stealthiness can be granted by Expertise in Stealth and level 9.
- Relentless Hunter: Clarified that you can still lose Concentration on Hunter's Mark if you cast another spell that requires Concentration.
- Nature's Veil: Clarified that this absorbed the primary benefit of 2014's Vanish.
The only subclass that got hunter's mark was vengeance paladin and they lost it on the playtest where it was replaced by the very amazing compelled duel. The spell that punishes the caster instead of the caster.
Didn't nature cleric also get it?
I think there's a couple of other sub-classes that got it. Not sure, would have to investigate further
This is one of the main reasons I'm withholding my judgment on 2024 Ranger. We don't know what changes if any they made to Hunter's Mark or other Ranger Spells. I'd be happy if we can up cast the damage for Hunter's Mark, but I would be upset if it only did damage once per turn in the UA. We'll have to wait and see.
Nature cleric got druid spells not ranger spells. An no it is not part of their expanded list. No other sublcass gets it outside vengeance paladin currently.
I had a brain fart and blocked out the fact that DNDBeyond just tells you who gets access to the spell in the spell page itself.
Just ranger, Oath of Vengeance and Oath of Zeal
So... ranger is just a one-trick now? There goes my favorite class in 5e. Horrible changes, ill stick to 2014 rules
Some nice changes overall, though the heavy reliance on Hunter's Mark may have some drawbacks especially if buff spells are still concentration. Like others though, the level 20 feature is pretty lack-luster. Reaching the ultimate point of Ranger-ism to be able to do an additional 4 damage on average of Force damage is pretty rubbish. By level 20 you'll have magic items and the resistance to Piercing damage isn't really that problematic.
If they really want Hunter's Mark to be a core element of Ranger, I think they should at least get rid of concentration from that spell for Ranger. And maybe some damage scaling in earlier level. But for level 20 ability? I bet only few satisfy with this. I've no alternative right now, but it's certain that's not good nor cool at all.
Also, I can't find any theme-based features. Sorcerers got enhanced Metamagic and Innate Sorcery(I prefer to call it "Sorcerer Saiyan") which makes them feel like a real innate spellcaster. Bards got more various way to use bardic inspiration. Barbarians got Brutal strike and tanking abilities. Fighters became true war-machines now. But Ranger? What is this class' theme, or class fantasy they want to show us?
How about applying various effects on marked target? Persistent tracking or giving fear of being a prey, being a sharp sentinel who let no one escape from their watch.. There's many flavors suit on Ranger.
btw Ranger is my first and favorite D&D class. I hope, respectfully, you guys make it in better way, WotC.
My group is house ruiling the level 20 ability to be +1d6 on any weapon attack. If you want to use Hunter's mark great, you get 2d6 total but if you want to use any of the dozens of other ranger spells you still get some bonus.
2024 handbook has been so bad
I guess we know which class suffered from the employee cuts
WHAT THE FLYING FLUMPH IS THIS LOAD OF MIMIC TURDS????? THIS IS NOT MY RANGER, WHAT DID YOU DO???????
Making the whole class revolve around a low level spell that requires concentration is so dumb. If you are gonna make it required why not just remove the concentration aspect for rangers specifically or at a certain level.
I think the level 17 Precise Hunter summarizes this design well:
If a creature is marked by Hunter’s Mark (What do you mean IF? It's MANDATORY to play the class now.), you have Advantage on attacks against them. By this level, you have six free castings of the Hunter’s Mark spell (If the spell allows recasting it upon killed quarry, why do you need so many free casts?), so if you want to focus on dealing damage, Precise Hunter will help you slay your enemies (Advantages don't stack, so all the advantages from external sources are cut dry with this feature, removing the need to seek it out yourself, diminishing immersion).
Sad how clearly the crunch culture spreading to ttrpg game design, and not just video games. Curse you, wizards' board of directors!
This just Tasha's.
So, lets remove stuff, add profficient, and copy paste from tasha, got it.
Boy I sure do love when all my old class features are removed cause "you don't need this, you have spells!" and all I get in return is "Want class features? Use one, and only one, specific 1st level concentration spell"
I created an account just to comment on how disappointing and underpowered (as in not fun to play, not just damage numbers!) this looks. I was hoping for better rules that made most archetypes a lot of fun. Instead it looks like Gloom Stalker will still be the default choice.
I doubt that Ranger can be re-written before the release of the book. Very disappointing WotC. You took away the Ranger's identity of being hunters, gatherers, and trackers. Instead, you tried to focus on a level 1 spell (Hunter's Mark), through all 20 levels, mentioned in 5 different levels of the class features, that only scales at level 20, by adding a potential 4 more points of damage per hit. Really? That level 20 class feature is a slap in the face. Was it worth taking away the identity of a Ranger for Hunter's Mark, when something like Zephyr Strike exists?
If I let my players choose Ranger, we're going with the 2014 edition, this 2024 edit was a mistake.
Wow. Just wow. This is worse than the original 5e Ranger and that's saying a lot. Every change there that's ok or good is just a blanket change (martial weapon mastery, and the halfcaster 1st level spells change). Every other ability is BAD. They're either weak for the level you get them, or you get them way too late, or both, and to top it all off, they massacred the class by removing its interesting (if weak) original abilities. Let's break it down.
Favored Enemy: Sure, I guess this is fine, but maybe instead of having hunter's mark as a spell, it should be a class ability with uses tied to proficiency bonus (more on that later). The only reason it has to remain a spell (and it's a weak reason) is there's a paladin subclass that gets access to it (and some feats and specific races).
Weapon Mastery: Improvement to all martial classes.
Spellcasting: Improvement to all half-casters.
Deft Explorer: No change. I still prefer Natural Explorer. Sure, its corner case but unless your DM is a jerk, you can work with them to pick choices that'll be relevant to the campaign. I would have kept it a choice and buffed it by letting you change a terrain (like you spend a week in the new terrain and can swap it for an old one).
Fighting style: Meh fine.
Subclasses: Mixed bag, I'd have to really see them to tell for sure.
Primeval/Primal Awareness: Removed despite not being that amazing to begin with.
Extra attack wasn't mentioned... is it gone now?
Roving: Ok so the +5 speed is nice but why add the heavy armor limit? Rangers don't get heavy armor proficiency anyway, why punish someone who goes out of their way to get it?
Land's Stride: Why was this removed? It wasn't powerful but it helped to solidify their identity.
Expertise: Meh. I guess it's a minor buff?
Tireless: Why the change?
Hide in Plain Sight: Why was this removed? Were you afraid all the other nerfs to the class weren't enough to stop people playing it and had to keep making it worse?
Relentless Hunter: And now we come to, in my opinion, the second worst ability here. Going back to Favored Enemy, Hunter's mark should just be made a class ability (I recall talk of making Eldritch Blast a Warlock feature instead of a cantrip, so why not do the same here?). And as part of that it should either NOT require concentration (really it's not powerful enough to warrant it when compared to things like sneak attack), OR if you're dead set on it, this ability should come MUCH sooner. Honestly it should just not require concentration, or at like level 5, make it not. It would allow the ranger to use hunter's mark and one of their other concentration spells. Plenty of others would be handy in combat, but if you're making hunter's mark the focus of the class, then you're giving them pointless choices by offering them other concentration spells. (I checked and there are 39 ranger spells that require concentration and of those, 6 are ranger exclusive)
Nature's Veil + Vanish: I guess merging them together makes some sense.
Precise Hunter: Going back to Favored Enemy, THIS is why it should have been tied to proficiency bonus. There's no gentle increase, its just 2 then 6. If it's tied to proficiency bonus, it automatically rises naturally over the levels and you could actually give them something interesting at this level. But even then it's a rather lame bonus. Since you've already made it so they can't lose concentration, do you really expect the party to be getting into so many fights in a single day? They already have 4 level 1 slots to use on it, having an extra 6 for one spell is just lame. The advantage is nice but this still feels like it's coming too late.
Feral Senses: Sure, I'll grant you it's worded weirdly. Swap the paragraphs and it's much clearer.
Epic Boon: Is this a feature all classes are getting, or are ranger's getting more ASI's like fighters?
Foe Slayer: And now we come to the worst ability of the travesty. First: again, what is with the sudden power jump? Why is there no intervening 1d8 step? It's a lame bonus. I'll grant the original ranger also had the worst level 20 feature of all the 2014 versions, but that doesn't make this one an actual improvement. If I were writing this class, I'd have the level 20 ability either grant a free Hunter's Mark cast when you enter combat if you're out (to make it similar to 2014 bard & monk), OR just give infinite free casts, OR make the casts not take an action or bonus action anymore, or some mix of those. Now it doesn't specify, but if it keeps the old Foe Slayer ability and is just adding this to it, that's at least better than before.
In conclusion, they took the weakest/most confusing 5e class, stripped out all the uniqueness, cut off the flavor, and instead of trying to actually make a class that feels unique, they just made it 'The Hunter's Mark' class.
Edit: I totally forgot about Tasha's Favored Foe. It's more or less what I suggested. Just remove the Concentration requirement (at the start or at a higher level) and the tasha's ranger is good. So WOTC had the solution and threw it away in favor of this garbate.