Why Rangers Suck in Dungeons and Dragons

What is your Take on the Ranger Class? Is it as bad as people make it out to be?

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#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #rangers

[theoverseer]

Main issue with ranger is unfortunately it is too based around specialization in a very specific setting other than general use, Tasha's cauldron did a really good job expanding on a more generalist playstyle. Unfortunately it still suffers from not being the best at what it is meant for.

[UMCorian]

I think BG3 basically overhauled D&D Rangers and made them good just by tweaking the paradigm. They made them not reliant on being in particular terrain to be effective, but gave them bonuses *because* of the terrains they've acclimated to. Desert rangers get fire resistance anywhere. Arctic Rangers get Cold resistance everywhere. Because you specialize in Bounty Hunting, you get a skill AND the ability to do a thing vs. *everything* that's reflective of your style. They took the flair and flipped it around. It's not: "Because you're an arctic ranger that hunts undead, you are only useful when you're in the Arctic and hunting Undead." which has been such a terrible design for so long.

[mrgopnik]

A member of our group actually wanted to try out the ranger, but since he knew how much he sucked, everyone agreed to buff him a little. Mainly, we let him do increased damage on favourite enemy and since he also chose beastmaster, we allowed his companions to scale with his level, have autonomous action and he could choose between quality or quantity, based on what he summoned. This may not sound like much, but in the late game he had the choice of supporting us with a goblin horde, or a pet dragon... yeah, we definitely fixed the class XD

[kalel]

I feel like Ranger is definitely a class that you need to talk to your DM about if you're going to play so you can build them to be useful. They're the only real class that specializes in the exploration aspect of D&D. Plus, if built right, they can't get the burst damage a Rogue or Paladin can, but they can get consistent DPS, and that's pretty damned handy.

[commentdouchery]

In my experience, playing Ranger is something you need to work closely with your DM on considering how specialized it is. In my early games I had to request that my player change his favored terrain simply because we weren't ever really going to encounter it. So it being at no fault of his own, since we were playing a homebrew campaign and much of what they were going into was a mystery, I permitted a retcon with advised terrain options.

[Aziara]

My husband (who DMs for us) was shaking his head the whole time. Lol.

He's like, "No no no, a war-trained animal wouldn't need an action to attack. You'd have to use an action if you want to stop it. Or, I could have you run animal handling checks during stressful situations to prevent your creature from starting combat."

Maybe I'll start a ranger, lol

[Aevumth]

Tasha's Beast Master Variant: "I have returned with more power than you ever know!"
It honestly feels like the Primal Beast is another party member, mostly because its helpful in and out of combat, whereas most other pet classes specialize in combat.

[lucasm.]

Meanwhile a revised Gloomstalker Ranger is an absolute monster. Amazing out of combat healing, great mobility, great damage (not to mention Conjure Animals), great stealth, has Pass Without Trace (so then the Paladin in plate mail can be stealthy), and great multiclassing synergy.

[lucasball]

I came up with a himebrew for the ranger that actually seems fun: turn your ranger into a special forces ranger. Identifying weaknesses to reduce crit requirements; using the terrain to form traps and improvised weapons that are better than what you otherwise would get; trick arrows that have one of 8 different affects; and being able to use your perception as a modifier to attack and defense, because a good ranger is never caught off guard.

[melissaclaassen]

We had a Gloomstalker in our campaign and his damage output was INSANE! He permanently removed any idea that "rangers suck" from my mind.

[bananabanana]

Ranger is actually pretty good if you use the optional features. They give you more spells, free casting of those spells, and the modern subclasses pack a little more punch. It’s not the best class, but it’s got good spells, fun subclasses, and bow + arrow.

[LocalMaple]

My Rogue-Ranger gave my DM PTSD. He threw me into a cage match, against a single enemy my level in CR, and then both doubled its HP and Hasted it. _I wasn’t bloodied._
I wasn’t trying to break the game. I was trying to replicate X-Men’s Nightcrawler.

Rogue added Sneak Damage, Booming Blade, and a Familiar for Help. Ranger had Zephyr Strike, Planar Warrior, and additional spells to benefit the party.

[GandalfMonkeyAnimations]

Tasha’s Cauldron of everything gave a bunch of optional rules for the ranger that's great, and the revised Beast Master is pretty good now! Legit, the Ranger is pretty good and doesn't deserve to be called the worst anymore

[lilywashere]

My first "true" character (the first one i purposefully designed myself instead of letting my experienced friend tell me what to do) was a Ranger (bc I loved the flavour and I felt bad for him). I kind of had a terrible time in terms of using my specific abilities...but I loved the campaign, so I have a soft spot for Rangers now! (my sister went as a monk for the exact same reasons. You can't tell we're twins, right?)

[joshuaseagondollar]

Drakewarden will always be my favorite Ranger subclass.
Having a pet dragon to help you incinerate things can be pretty fun.

[galbert]

Yeah if one just looks beyond Beastmaster you'll find some really good subclasses for the Ranger. My personal favorite is still Gloomstalker, but I'm eager to test out Swarmkeeper soon.

[Albertosn]

Don’t forget the Tasha’s update to the Beastmaster
It is basically an answer to every major complaint this video (rightly) gives

[aaronwhite]

Tasha's fixed a lot of the Ranger, and I'm having a blast playing a Swarmkeeper. It looks like One D&D is leaning into more Tasha's now too.

[dragon_of_metal]

Been playing a tasha's beastmaster ranger mounted with a focus on wisdom in an Avernus campaign. And so far up to level 8 he has been a dominant force both on the battlefield and off. I have been shocked by how tanky and damaging he is, and his flexibility in action economy has been really surprising.

[H.J]

I'm playing a drakewarden ranger atm (with the optional rules not the base rules) and I'm really liking it. Running around as a goblin with a drake that's larger than me that I can use as a mount or help in battle is fun.