The ranger in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons is a master of both c🥃ombat and exploration, excelling at tracking foes, surviving in the wild, and striking from a distance. With their unique combination of martial prowes♛s and spellcasting, rangers are versatile and adaptive, making them an excellent choice for players who enjoy tactical gameplay.

The 2024 Player’s Handbook has introdu🅰ced improvements to the class, enhancing their abilities in combat and exploration. In this guide, we’ll cover how to effectively build a ranger, from selecting the right abilities to choosing feats that maximize their potential, as well as how this version of the class differs from the 2014 one.

Updated on October 10, 2024, by Alfredo Robelo: The 2024 Player's Handbook brought many needed changes to the ranger class, making its overall theme match up with its role in a party. We've updated this article to reflect the new ranger as it is present in the 2024 rules, while still mentioning the major changes from the 2014 iteration of the class.

Ranger Highlights

Rangers are a deadly combination of a martial and a spellcasting class, being masters of taking down their prey. The most common way to build a ranger is to focus on one target at a time thanks to Hunter’s Mark, while providing some support to your party through druidic spells.

As a ranger, you’ll be an expert at surviving both in and out of combat, being as deadly as a fighter and as versatile as a druid. The most common vision of a ranger is one with a longbow a๊nd an animal companion, but you can also be a deadly melee duelist that gives no respite to their foes.

Differences In The 2024 Player's Handbook

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:There are several differences between the 2014 and 2024 rangers, with some features removed while others are newly added. In a nutshell, everything that added flavor to the class but was almost never used has been removed, while a bigger focus has been given to the martial abilities of the class, as well as to Hunter’s Mark.

Tasha’s Rules

The ranger class had a few optional rules present in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, nothing groundbreaking but relevant enough that most players picked them instead of the core features. With that said, it is no surprise then that Tasha’s features are now core, while the 2014 abilities like favored 🍌terrain are nowhere to be seen.

Fighting Styles And Weapons Masteries

Rangers already had access to a few fighting styles, but in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, they have access to the same styles all other classes get. Druidic warrior is still an option exclusive to rangers, but you can now pick from a wi🐷der variant of styles when playing a purely martial r༺anger.

A new mechanic from the 2024 book, weapon masteries, is also available to rangers, which can be enticing when picking your main weapon. Rangers often went for longbows, but now shortbows have a place in builds relying on multiple attacks, to name just one example.

Hunter’s Mark

Hunter’s Mark is now a core feature of rangers, being able to cast it as early as level one without spending a spell slot, and they always have it prepared. This lets you focus on your build more freely, since you were always going to take Hunter’s Mark anyway.

The spell gets upgraded as you level up, particularly at the higher levels of play where the damage added by it was getting outclassed. The biggest buffs of note are having advantage on your marked target at level 17, and the Hunter's Mark damage die changing to a D10 at level 20.

Subclass Highlights

There are no new subclasses for rangers in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, but all returning subclasses have had some form of adjustment, mostly so they interact better with the current features like the improved Hunter’s Mark. The subclasses are beast master, fey wanderer, gloom stalker and hunter.

Beast Master

Beast master rangers get the aid of an animal companion, a loyal friend that can help them in combat. The stats for the companion are given in the subclass itself, a stark contrast to how it worked in 2014, with players needing to find fitting animals elsewhere in the ruꦚles.

The creature follows the ranger’s every command, and improves as you level up. It can benefit from Hunter’s Mark slightly at level 11, and share what spells you cast on yourself at level 15, making it a powerhouse no matt✃er how you plan𒈔 to play the ranger itself.

Fey Wanderer

Fey wanderer rangers gain additional spells and features thanks to their connection to the feywild. While some just add extra damage, most are about mobility through the battlefield as well as being a master of the charming effects, both in social or combat scenarios.

Fey wanderers are ideal for people that enjoy fighting like a ranger but roleplaying as a bard, getting the best of both worlds. This is mostly thanks to their otherworldly glamour, letting them add their Wisdom modifier to their Charisma checks.

Gloom Stalker

Gloom Stalkers used to be ideal for ambush tactics, but their unique effectiveness diminished in drowned out fights. This was because their extra damage was only during the first round of combat, but now they just gain a pool of extra damage they can d♔eal a set number of times during a fight.

Beyond that, they are still the masters of darkness and stealth outside of rogues, making them one of the better choices for combat-focused campaigns. This is particularly true if your par✅ty enjoys making elaborate plans before every encounter.

Hunter

If you want to squeeze every single advantage you can get out of Hunter’s Mark, then the hunter is for you. When a hunter uses Hunter’s Mark, they know all the immunities, resistances and vulnerabilities of the target, turning the DM into an open book a🔯bout that creatur𝄹e.

Beyond that, you also gain certain abilities as you level up, like ways of dealing extra damage or escaping a creature’s reach without suffering penalties. This is ideal for players that prefer their spell lists short, while still having a character with several options when approaching their problems.

Best Species Options

Nearly all species give something worthwhile to rangers, so you can’t go wrong here. If you are very indecisive, then 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:humans are always a good choice, giving you access to heroic inspiration every🦩 long rest and acc♛ess to an additional origin feat.

If you don’t plan on using your spell slots too much, a tiefling with an infernal legacy can be a good fit. The Hellish Rebuke gained at level three is a great way to spend your slots, and the Fire Bolt cantrip is a good way to trigger your Hunter’s Mark in case you get disarmed.

A good choice overall, however, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:is dragonborn, since you can fly at level five. If you play as the classic, longbow-styled ranger, being able to take to the skies and chase your mark with ease is a real boon, while the breath weapon and resistance gained are nothing to laugh at.

Best Stat Placements

While heavily armored, strength-based rangers aren’t unheard of, you’ll be better off as a lightly armored character, focusing on Dexterity. Your second stat to focus on should be Wisdom, unless you plan to play a hunter ranger, in which case you should focus on Constitution.

Intelligence and Charisma shouldn’t be a focus, but you should avoid having both of them in the negative realm, just in case. Once you’ve decided between Strength or Dexterity for damage, the other should be your dump stat.

Best Spells

As a ranger, you can cast spells as early as level one, so we will mostly focus on spells for the earlier levels of play. If you’re planning to make a high level ranger from the get-go, what spells you pick will be highly dependent on the nature of the campaign, and what magic items you are given, if any.

We are not mentioning Hunter’s Mark since you always have it prepared, but we do mention how the spell interacts with some of these other spells.

Best Starting Equipment

The starting equipment present in the 2024 Player’s Handbook is perfect for the classic rendition of ranger; a Dexterity focused combatant that uses their agility to deal damage from up close and afar. The only weapon replacements could be a shortbow instead of a longbow, due to its vex mastery property, and a shield for ranged-focused rangers that might need the AC to flee.

Best Feats And Backgrounds

A background that gives the ranger access to Dexterity and Wisdom would be ideal, and the Wayfarer background is just that. It also gives the ranger access to thieves’ tools, something not often related to rangers but useful in every setting, as well as the lucky origin feat.

If you’re planning some form of crossbow build, then crossbow expert is a must-have feat before level five. Otherwise, you won’t be able to multiattack effectively. For more average ranged strategies, sharpshooter works well, and if you’re going as a dual-wielding ranger, then the aptly named Dual Wielder feat is for you.

Best Multiclassing Options

If you’re planning a ranger based on Strength, then a few levels in fighter will make that build more than possible. You gain heavy armor proficiencies, an extra turn, and self-sustain without the need to spend any spell slots.

If the adventure you embark on will only cover a few levels, then a level in rogue could go a long way. You get access to sneak attack, which for a ranger is basically an additional proc of Hunter’s Mark once per turn, but be sure to only make this multiclass option after level t⛦hree.