Hello good hunter! Links of the things I talk about in the video (to download the PDF, just go to the bottom of the page) Scorched Earth Ranger: www.patreon.com/posts/112761190 Ranger Fixes: www.patreon.com/posts/fixing-ranger-in-113348586 Corrosive Bloodline Sorcerer: www.patreon.com/posts/sorcerer-111480813
If you use this subclass with 2014 rules, you could take a 3 level dip into evocation wizard and become an absolute monster without even hurting your allies. Great stuff
Divine Favor is a Paladin 1st level spell, does what Hunter's Mark does, and had its' concentration removed in 2024 rules. Granted, it does d4 instead of d6 damage (average of 1 damage of difference). But, in constrast to Hunters' Mark, it doesn't consume later Bonus Actions to be reapplied to other targets. So the right level to remove concentration from Hunters' Mark is level 1. Removing Hunters' Mark concentration at a point where many campaigns are already over, while the paladin gets to Divine Favor without concentration from the start, is beyond ridiculous.
Also a vengeance paladin could use hunter's mark! With divine favor it's 1d4 + 1d6 + weapon dmg with ADVANTAGE on channel divinity! At liv 3. What are we talking about???😂
In 2014 divine favor is still better than hunters mark, specifically for the longbow sniper build (600 ft off the map go burr), because hunters mark is range 60, but divine favor has no range because they assume you will be in melee. It is less damage, but you don’t have to take the bonus action to reassign.
Minor thing, is the Hunter's Mark tracking bit, divine favor is just a spell slot in exchange for damage, 1 minute. Vs Hunters D6, And Tracking for an hour. As a spell alone? Yeah divine favor needs no concentration, but Hunter's Mark? I do believe needs something, THAT SAID, for the Class who's entire Schtick is Hunting? Give it to em for free. It's like Eldritch Blast for warlocks, anyone can learn it (Magic initiate), but Invocations let you modify it, make it yours. The Hunter Class should get an improved Hunter's Mark. Simple.
I think the problem with Ranger is deeper than Hunter’s Mark requiring concentration. It’s that Hunter’s Mark exists in the first place. The fix I’d implement would start with deleting HM from the game entirely and replacing it by returning Favored Enemy to them with massive buffs.
Relentless Hunter is brilliant. One suggestion, I think you could give these abilities earlier because the Ranger doesn't actually have a level 9 feature - those proficiency upgrades they get at level 9 should be packaged with 'Deft Explorer' the way they are for the Rogue's 'Expertise.'
Good video, sub'd. The house rule we're doing which is working out so far for no concentration Hunter's Mark just piggybacks Favored Enemy, as so: Level 1: Favored Enemy You always have the Hunter's Mark spell prepared. You can cast Hunter's Mark twice without expending a spell slot, and you regain all expended uses of this ability when you finish a Long Rest. The number of times you can cast the spell without a spell slot increases when you reach certain Ranger levels, as shown in the Favored Enemy column of the Ranger Features table. In addition, when you cast Hunter's Mark without expending a spell slot, you can modify it so that it doesn't require Concentration. If you do so, the spell's duration becomes 10 minutes for that casting.
The dnd animated series was a deep cut. Now I'm not the generation that this aired for, but I watched the complete DVD box set as a child, so that was just a wave of memories
I was making my own version of a new 5.5e version of Ranger and I also was thinking when to remove Concentration on HM, I thought abou 9-11 levels, at level 9 maybe bc Fighter and Paladin both have awesome features, aka Indomitable and Abjure Foes, Ranger just get an Expertise and nothing else, I was making a complete revision from levels 1-20, and your video and the new ideas gave me inspiration. But I don't think Ranger's spell list is bad, if you pick spells from recent books and add with the older ones, you have great options like Zephyr Strike, Good Berry, Fog Cloud, Ashardalon's Stride and Steel Wind Strike
So I actually play Ranger, and for the first time I heard someone say something about the class identity that actually spoke to me. For context, the way I played my skills and options just drove my character down the road to psychopathy, which was really funny so I doubled down and rolled with it, and this violent obsession with the mission/the kill/ the win/the objective really brings out the essence of the Ranger for me. If it wouldn’t be too much, I was thinking it would be pretty nice if you had advantage on Intimidation checks against a creature under your Hunter’s Mark, because that gives you the opportunity to use the spell in all pillars of play. Maybe give that as an extra to Relentless Hunter? Dunno. Just a fun idea I had, the Ranger’s eyes almost glowing while they slay their terrified prey. Very unlike Paladins
I argue that if their going ro make me spam hunters mark, there should be some invocations that spice the spell up from just being "hit better". I propose giving options like life steal on marked targets, aoe hunters mark, hunters mark that has slow or poison effects, no concentration, hunters mark for the entire team, etc. Have them pick one every 3 lvls or something.
I homebrewed a ranger only spell and put it on dnd beyond called Slayer's Mark. It's basically HM that you can upcast to do 1d6 more damage with every level. The damage caps at level 5. The same class features that affect HM also affect SM. My players have really been enjoying it!
I’d say just remove hunter’s Mark’s concentration entirely and give it the Light Cantrip’s line about one fading as soon as you cat it again. Ez fix. I’d say do the same for Hex with the Warlock.
It’s like a ranger mixed with an artificer and I’m here for it. It makes sense that someone who hunts monsters or people for a living would make weapons to hunt said people or monsters.
I would give ranger something like: -------------------- Modified arrows, after short or long rest you can modify 3 arrows/bolt to posses additional properties like: -fire bomb arrow, it deals extra 1d6 dmg that is dealt in the area around the target regardless of if the attack hit or missed -net arrow, arrow that makes target fall prone and get affected the same way net does. -dirty arrow, it applies poisoned condition and if enemy fails con save prevent them from healing till they pass the check. etc. etc. -------------------- Dirty tactics: -ranger can throw sand at the enemy who is 10 feat near him to blind him, when used as an action it can affect up extra 2 targets that are next to the target. -spew blood, as reaction when getting hit, ranger can spew blood at the enemy to blind them and if ranger is under poisoned condition apply it to enemy as well. -rope trick, ranger can use rope so it will have same effect as a net but can be used without disadvantage up to 15 feat. etc. etc. Like ranger needs to have something new and special. Giving him spells and letting him at level 10 not worry about con as much is dumb. Con should not be his problem from 3 level not level 10... The features I suggested could be given at 1 level but be weakened or 3 level and they might unlock stronger features at higher levels. Like Modified arrows could get spell effect or be enchanted top have stuff like: -thorn arrow, for 1 turn when target hit by it moves they take d4 of damage whenever he moves 5 feat -thunder arrow, up to 4 targets get hit by 3d6 lighting damage + basic arrow damage and on failed con safe they fall prone. -corrosive arrow, when hitting enemy their ac is lowered by 2 till armor is fixed, If this attack roll is 19 or 20 their weapon or armor is destroyed if it is not magical.
2:25 I have to disagree with that because where the ranger shines is its spells. It has some BANGER spells for damage, utility and healing. Yes the base class is really lame but those spells hold it together
I understand the guerilla tactics, but while the "war crimes" flavor makes for an interesting subclass, I'm not sure is essential to the ranger aesthetic. I've been thinking about fixing the ranger as well, and I came up with a different narrative: human evolution. The hunter-gatherers, the mountain dwellers, the cowboys, the Tarzans; while druids consider themselves servants of mother nature, a ranger believes nature exists to serve them. To capture this idea, I came up with features that helped you study and utilize the environment, like foraging to cut costs for crafting (now that 2024 fleshed those rules out a little bit), or a buffed version of Primeval Awareness that actually tells you where things are. As for the capstone, I came up with something that felt less "big AOE go brr" and more "cold-blooded apex predator": when you damage a creature under your Hunter's Mark, _their max HP is reduced by the same amount,_ killing them instantly if it gets to 0. What do you think? At level 20, you probably won't be getting many creatures all the way to 0 on your own, but you'll definitely freak out any foes with the audacity to regenerate.
2:24 alright nah nah nah, one thing you got incorrect is that Rangers have bad spells. People just bad at spells. You cant call a list that has: Spike Growth, Conjure Animals, Conjure Woodland Beings, and Swift Quiver bas with no utility or dmg. Let me guess, you give them fireball, even tho they already have blast spells in Conjure Barrage and Conjure Volley. Literall unique AoE blast Ranger spells. I really dont think WotC will change ranger because they did the math and they know how much dmg/potential a single ranger who takes a combat martial feat and concentrates on a spell.
I would make it so that hunter's mark damage scales with spell level and whenever you cast it with the freebie version you cast it as if you're using your highest level spell slot. Also, I'd maybe give the scorched earth feature at level 3 and add the extra damage die to it at level 5, scaling the die like a cantrip upgrade (1d6 at 11 and 1d8 at 17)
I personally think that hunters mark should be reworked as follows: After initiative is rolled, and on subsequent turns, you may choose an enemy that you can see within 120 feet of you declaring them to be your Mark. During your next turn, you may add d8 damage of your weapon’s damage type to your weapon attacks against them. For 10 minutes, you have advantage on perception check to track and detect the last creature you have declared to be your mark. The damage scales to 2d8 at level 6, and 3d8 at level 14.
Even though I'm not convinced that Ranger needs a buff, I like your class upgrade recommendations. Quick suggestion: make sure you enunciate the first syllable of "illegal."
I would also allow heat metal and mend into the level 3 subclass spells. The former allows you to make tea or Brass Bull someone, meaning no one is entirely safe even before the bonus damage to structures, but Mending allows you to keep all your equipment safe in the case of dropping an important keepsake or tool in the middle of a fiery fight. At later levels, get Magic Mend, a subclass feature to allow you to repair magic items, once you attain a few, to keep the flavor going.
So the most cursed thing I theorized with the Torturer Conclave Ranger in my Curse of Strahd reimagining campaign i am DMing, was to Multiclass it with Historica Arcanum's Flagellant Cleric, and since both Ranger and Cleric both synergize with their Wisdom spellcasting ability, the *terrifying* implications of a sadomasochist doing war crimes for holy reasons is, *GOD. DAMN. HORRIFYING*
Honestly your new subclass gave me an idea of oposite in effect, but same in morality: ,,serial" ranger. (Inspired by more gore-heavy horror films) it is a class that focuses on dealing a lot of damage to one enemy, no matter what he tries to pull. Since i have no experience in dnd, i,m not gona try to draft a spell list but my general idea is: have a movement impeading spells (counterspell for preventing the casters from noping out of the fight) and passives for same reason (maybe call it ,no way out,). Also part of this ranger,s flavour make it so he can accvire new ,favourite, targets by ,surgecly reaserching still consious creature, (tort*re it) and make it possible to improve bonus of it the more you ,reaserch, . So in essnse we have an (for those that watched ,hostel, move you will understand) a sadistc hunter that loves to restrain targets, and due to his ,unique, tastes he knows much better and much more how to slay another creature
Ive used two homebrew skills to fix rangers since 5e came out called PARTY OVERTWATCH and POSITIONAL DAMAGE. *PARTY OVERWATCH* : Basically the Ranger always has an attack bonus reaction loaded for combat. Allowing them to bypass initiative at the start of battle for a first strike. Or they can save it specifically to protect party members by disrupting/reducing the effectiveness of an enemy attack they have line of site for. As they level they get more shots. By level 11 they can store 4 extra attacks. This gives them more damage potential and CC without being utterly broken. *POSITIONAL DAMAGE* : I allow the ranger to add damage based on his position in battle. If he flanks an enemy successfully or manages to take a position with high ground he can add damage dice. It rewards the ranger for thinking acting and moving like a ranger would and gives them a more immersive and important place in the party as a skirmisher and disruptor that protects his allies with his latent talents for hunting and moving quickly. The damage dice he can add increases with level. Oh and for the beast master subclass I have a very simple fix that makes the class way more viable. Give the ranger's pets the ability to take a skill from a similar monster type. Give dogs the Blink dog teleport. Or his cat the displacer beast ability to avoid ranged attacks. Give his hawk beutiful song from the giant canary to charm foes. It makes the beast master a way better utility character and again doesnt break them.
My old dm added a once per fight ranged pesudo attack of opportunity when the ranger sees an enemy get close to a party member. Essentially letting them prevent a monster from rushing up to party members. Another idea that was partially scrapped was that Rangers could get sneak attack on ranged attacks greater than 15 ft with a distracted target but maybe doing it from flanking or high ground would be better
I would have added an increase of hunters mark similarly to Bardic Inspiration not up to a d12 but d10 across the levels and not at lev 20 suddenly being increased. That and maybe add something like using higher spellslots or being able to stack hunters mark, since the first one doesn't need concentration.
It's a fairly easy fix with hunters mark. We just lean fully into "favoured enemy" Level 5: If you cast Hunters mark using your favoured enemy feature, damage can't break your concentration. Level 13. Damage can't break your concentration, but if you use your favourite enemyfeature, it does no longer require concentration. Done. Yeah the no concentration part is a bit late, but i would also not change the duration for this. That should balance it out. And since you get a lvl 13 feature much earlier, for a limited amount of castings, ... which will probably all you ever need... that seems very fair.
I will be honest, I'm usually inclined to disagree with your takes, especially when it comes to what's broken and what's not. However, it seems ranger got shot in the foot so bad our cause is now united: 100% agreed with the changes you made to the class, and awesome subclass!
Rangers should be the class of "DAMN NATURE YOU SCARY!!" It is my opinion that rangers should be played like rogues that want you to see them coming. Theyre not trying to sneak to you theyre luring you to them. With that i would introduce the ranger ability of "Wild Strike" when either you or your beast companion kill an enemy all your enemies within 10 ft of your fresh kill must make a wisdom save or else take 1d4 bonus damage till the end of your next turn whenever theyre hit by you or an ally of yours. As you level up the damage dice increases and with even later levels fails in saving result in the fear effect
As a Ranger my favored enemy was Beast, which I regretted at first ... but then my DM let me extend Beast to most animals, meaning that I could TALK to most animals, including our horses, which made it a lot of fun
I disagree with your fix to the ranger. I would like for you too pick up Castles & Crusades and flip through the classes. You will see that the Ranger actually works like a ranger. The problem with the 5e ranger is 5e itself.
Just a suggestion, good video essay by the way! Wouldn't be more efficient and statement forgoing, to eradicate the Barbarian player class? Scavenging even the marrow from the class bones and give the worth of the powers and abilities, mechanics and bravado to the other warrior classes? Ranger was and should be the free roaming predator with adapt and overcome mentality. I distaste the Brb PC for developing boundaries over the thematics of other warrior classes. Sorry for the mumble.😉 Be well 😊
The 2024 Ranger is also the only martial class that doesn't get a feature at 5th level beyond Extra Attack. For that, I moved the 13th level feature to that level instead. Your 13th level ability is a cooler Land Stride, which WotC also removed from the class, and made me big sad that they did. What I don't get is why even bother with hunter's mark as the class feature, which costs a bonus action. Favored Foe was perfectly fine. You activated it when you successfully hit an enemy. Sure, it had concentration, but that could have been removed just as easily as what we have here, and you'd still get to keep your bonus action. It makes no sense to me.
I still feel that if they made rangers a rogue druid who specializes in ambushes and setting traps they'll be more interesting. For the traps have them be with the spells. Imagine the ranger going forward to scout areas. Coming back to the party and establishing a plan for ambushes. I feel like a pit hole spell, conjure bolas spell etc. it feels like WotC want to make Ranger fighter/rogue/druid which hurts the class. Imo rangers should be able to take a fighter, barbarian and monk out if they can end the fight quickly. But if it's a drawn out flight they should lose.
When talking about the fundamental problems with ranger, you forgot to mention that even when you are fighting your favored enemies the PHB ranger gives you absolutely no combat bonuses to them. In 3.5e and in the UA revision you get +2 bonus to damage against them at the very least! In 5e PHB? Absolutely, positively, nothing. The fighter who's good at killing everything already will STILL outclass you in hunting a dragon even though you're a ranger whose entire build and roleplay is centered around being a dragon hunter. Genuinely, to fix ranger, one of two things needs to happen. Either 1: Make Hunter's Mark a class feature instead of a spell and REMOVE ITS CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENT. This alone will make ranger a much more versatile sort of ranger and actually get to use what WotC clearly wanted it to be designed around without utterly locking itself out of getting to actually use its gods-forsaken spells. Or 2: Lean in fully on the specialized at killing certain foes aspect, and make favored enemy the focus of the class instead with inherent, innate, no resource or concentration used, bonuses to actually kill your favored enemies. I'm not even talking a +2 to damage against them, that's weak sauce and is the same thing a barbarian will get against all monster types just from raging. I'm talking class features to utterly SHRED that monster type. Extra attacks against them in particular, a way to make them vulnerable to damage against you in particular as you hit their weak spots, an ability to craft poisons, venoms, and traps making use of that particular monster's weaknesses. Also just give them what the UA revision did as far as travelling goes. No more specialized terrains, just give them that travelling, tracking, and foraging in any terrain. I personally would want both. It's not like it would break the game, it's still a martial class so doesn't hold a candle to the power of a full caster.
I'd say druid & fighter, since rogues only get 1 attack. But since you mentioned it, rangers should get sneak attack at half progression (2d6 at lvl 5, 3d6 at lvl 9, etc), to replace all the individual damage riders from subclasses
The problem was not that it was super specialized, but that it wasn’t special enough; favored enemy didn’t do anything. If I wanted to slay demons,paladin does that better. If I want to slay dragons, paladin and barbarians do it better. Sure it had some unique spells but the base class didn’t support a specialization. Me and a fighter with a bow could get in a shooting match and the fighter would probably win, even if my “favored foe” was on the board. Honestly though, Tasha’s did a lot to fix, and the old abilities are so lack luster it’s not worth replacing them just take both (it hasn’t caused issues yet)
if i didn't already change ranger at my table I would definitely use this, i don't think its fair to my players to change how ranger plays mid campaign
Ranger being a half-caster has sucked since I started playing back when 2E came out. Ranger would be much better as a Fighter Sub Class. Give a few abilities that work like spells but are non-magical such as Speak With Animals or Plants, Purify Food & Water, Animal Friendship. Also need to let the "pet" continue an action like attack without the Ranger spending their action every round, instead the pet continues and the Ranger only spends an action or even a bonus action (maybe) to change what the pet does.
This honestly doesn't seem that broken. Though I have had a few friends play ranger and have dmed for ranger and have spent a long time working to balance the class some more myself because... the class really sucks RAW. This does seem good, but not ridiculous by any means. I think I may offer this to one of my players who is currently a ranger for their subclass if they're interested.
Issue with ranger isn't that it's weak, it's just clunky. They do have really great spells, but if you want to concentrate on any of them, you have to ignore your central class feature also, aura of protection better
Yes aura of protection is better but paladins don’t do good damage rangers do. Paladins are better as a spellcaster with paladin 6/7-warlock 2-sorcerer x so they don’t really do the same job
I can send optimised builds if you want. Also I am not saying that any of these are the “correct” way to play. The correct way to play is what you find most fun.
A thing to consider: - Rangers get multiple cast of Hunter's Mark for free each day, it deals 1d6, and boosts other ranger abilities - Divine favor consumes a 1st level spell slot, a scarce ressource for paladin at early levels, and only deals 1d4 If you view Hunter's Mark as a class feature, which is clearly what is going on here with the above mentioned multiple casts per day, giving it at 3rd level for free is too soon. The damage curve picks up too early. We did the math on average DPR, and 11 is a bit late on the curve, ideally you'd tack it on at 9th, but as I said in the vid, it doesn't really fit in there, so 11th it is. If you want to rule it earlier in your games, feel free!
@MonkeyDM All of that is true... but it is also true that you must spend a bonus action whenever you want to change targets for the HM, preventing you from using it on subclass features as important as the animal companion. I forgot to say this in the previous comment, but I love the subclass uwu
@MonkeyDM My arguement, rogues get 2d6 extra damage every turn at level 3. Getting 1d6 per attack with hunter's mark doesn't end up being a big deal by comparison.
@giuseppesiena955 This is why I hate homebrew. I'd rather have you multiclass to get what you want than add more complications to the game. And Rangers are actually good. We just have a lot of cry babies, frankly. "But...but...the flavor!" Whatever....flavor is free my dudes. You can flavor HM however you want as long as you wiggle your hand and say some incoherent rambling magical sounding words. Not a big deal. You're all welcome for having been in the radius of my brilliance.
Sorry mate, your fix is kind of shite. lvl 1 no concentration on a shite spell that isn't that good and needs a lot of buffs for versatility. It's basically a carry over from 4e for the replacement feature rangers got instead of favored enemy bonus damage, and its absolute garbage.
@@adwadswadsda8458 funny enough, I think the 5e ranger would be better if it were more like warlock. Scrap a few class & subclass features & move them into an invocation system (like the 2014 hunter)
Hello good hunter!
Links of the things I talk about in the video (to download the PDF, just go to the bottom of the page)
Scorched Earth Ranger: www.patreon.com/posts/112761190
Ranger Fixes: www.patreon.com/posts/fixing-ranger-in-113348586
Corrosive Bloodline Sorcerer: www.patreon.com/posts/sorcerer-111480813
Is the book an extension onto Steinhardt’s guide?
you should also think about multiclassing this class , i like multi class between ranger and rough
But did you fix the Rogue to make them more like a soldier?
If you use this subclass with 2014 rules, you could take a 3 level dip into evocation wizard and become an absolute monster without even hurting your allies. Great stuff
Divine Favor is a Paladin 1st level spell, does what Hunter's Mark does, and had its' concentration removed in 2024 rules. Granted, it does d4 instead of d6 damage (average of 1 damage of difference). But, in constrast to Hunters' Mark, it doesn't consume later Bonus Actions to be reapplied to other targets. So the right level to remove concentration from Hunters' Mark is level 1.
Removing Hunters' Mark concentration at a point where many campaigns are already over, while the paladin gets to Divine Favor without concentration from the start, is beyond ridiculous.
Also a vengeance paladin could use hunter's mark! With divine favor it's 1d4 + 1d6 + weapon dmg with ADVANTAGE on channel divinity! At liv 3. What are we talking about???😂
Yup. Honestly, I'd rather a d4 with no bonus action req. Action economy is king.
In 2014 divine favor is still better than hunters mark, specifically for the longbow sniper build (600 ft off the map go burr), because hunters mark is range 60, but divine favor has no range because they assume you will be in melee. It is less damage, but you don’t have to take the bonus action to reassign.
Minor thing, is the Hunter's Mark tracking bit, divine favor is just a spell slot in exchange for damage, 1 minute. Vs Hunters D6, And Tracking for an hour.
As a spell alone? Yeah divine favor needs no concentration, but Hunter's Mark? I do believe needs something, THAT SAID, for the Class who's entire Schtick is Hunting? Give it to em for free.
It's like Eldritch Blast for warlocks, anyone can learn it (Magic initiate), but Invocations let you modify it, make it yours. The Hunter Class should get an improved Hunter's Mark. Simple.
I love the idea of a sort of "alchemist" type Ranger subclass. I'm also getting Jason Bourne vibes from this subclass which is even cooler.
I think the problem with Ranger is deeper than Hunter’s Mark requiring concentration. It’s that Hunter’s Mark exists in the first place. The fix I’d implement would start with deleting HM from the game entirely and replacing it by returning Favored Enemy to them with massive buffs.
2016 revised Ranger my beloved
In my opinion, Ranger needs to be just the biggest hater, the “fuck you specifically” class.
true, but this sort of "fuck everything in that general direction" is good too
The "Kendrick Lamar"
That's what they are, spamming Hunter's Mark, Retaliating Strikes, Fighting styles. Dunno what he's talking about with 2024 not changing anything.
Relentless Hunter is brilliant. One suggestion, I think you could give these abilities earlier because the Ranger doesn't actually have a level 9 feature - those proficiency upgrades they get at level 9 should be packaged with 'Deft Explorer' the way they are for the Rogue's 'Expertise.'
Good video, sub'd.
The house rule we're doing which is working out so far for no concentration Hunter's Mark just piggybacks Favored Enemy, as so:
Level 1: Favored Enemy
You always have the Hunter's Mark spell prepared. You can cast Hunter's Mark twice without expending a spell slot, and you regain all expended uses of this ability when you finish a Long Rest. The number of times you can cast the spell without a spell slot increases when you reach certain Ranger levels, as shown in the Favored Enemy column of the Ranger Features table.
In addition, when you cast Hunter's Mark without expending a spell slot, you can modify it so that it doesn't require Concentration. If you do so, the spell's duration becomes 10 minutes for that casting.
This. People are bending over backwards and this is such an easy fix.
I’ve considered replacing favored enemy with the ability to create enemy type specific consumables.
The ranger casts Democracy in a 30ft area
The dnd animated series was a deep cut. Now I'm not the generation that this aired for, but I watched the complete DVD box set as a child, so that was just a wave of memories
I was making my own version of a new 5.5e version of Ranger and I also was thinking when to remove Concentration on HM, I thought abou 9-11 levels, at level 9 maybe bc Fighter and Paladin both have awesome features, aka Indomitable and Abjure Foes, Ranger just get an Expertise and nothing else, I was making a complete revision from levels 1-20, and your video and the new ideas gave me inspiration.
But I don't think Ranger's spell list is bad, if you pick spells from recent books and add with the older ones, you have great options like Zephyr Strike, Good Berry, Fog Cloud, Ashardalon's Stride and Steel Wind Strike
I mean considering Divine Favor exists I really don't understand the issue with removing concentration from HM at like, level 1 lol
Love the use of Noita spell crafting in the background.
So I actually play Ranger, and for the first time I heard someone say something about the class identity that actually spoke to me. For context, the way I played my skills and options just drove my character down the road to psychopathy, which was really funny so I doubled down and rolled with it, and this violent obsession with the mission/the kill/ the win/the objective really brings out the essence of the Ranger for me.
If it wouldn’t be too much, I was thinking it would be pretty nice if you had advantage on Intimidation checks against a creature under your Hunter’s Mark, because that gives you the opportunity to use the spell in all pillars of play. Maybe give that as an extra to Relentless Hunter? Dunno. Just a fun idea I had, the Ranger’s eyes almost glowing while they slay their terrified prey. Very unlike Paladins
I was halfway through the video thinking that I knew you from somewhere, then I remembered stienhearts. Glad I found the channel!
I argue that if their going ro make me spam hunters mark, there should be some invocations that spice the spell up from just being "hit better".
I propose giving options like life steal on marked targets, aoe hunters mark, hunters mark that has slow or poison effects, no concentration, hunters mark for the entire team, etc. Have them pick one every 3 lvls or something.
I homebrewed a ranger only spell and put it on dnd beyond called Slayer's Mark. It's basically HM that you can upcast to do 1d6 more damage with every level. The damage caps at level 5. The same class features that affect HM also affect SM. My players have really been enjoying it!
DnD youtubers most adore the Ranger, an endless source of content!
4:30 I did NOT hear FOG Cloud at first and was like, wait, what?!
Great Job. That's really well done.
I’d say just remove hunter’s Mark’s concentration entirely and give it the Light Cantrip’s line about one fading as soon as you cat it again. Ez fix. I’d say do the same for Hex with the Warlock.
It’s like a ranger mixed with an artificer and I’m here for it. It makes sense that someone who hunts monsters or people for a living would make weapons to hunt said people or monsters.
This one is amazing. Great job!
I would give ranger something like:
--------------------
Modified arrows, after short or long rest you can modify 3 arrows/bolt to posses additional properties like:
-fire bomb arrow, it deals extra 1d6 dmg that is dealt in the area around the target regardless of if the attack hit or missed
-net arrow, arrow that makes target fall prone and get affected the same way net does.
-dirty arrow, it applies poisoned condition and if enemy fails con save prevent them from healing till they pass the check.
etc.
etc.
--------------------
Dirty tactics:
-ranger can throw sand at the enemy who is 10 feat near him to blind him, when used as an action it can affect up extra 2 targets that are next to the target.
-spew blood, as reaction when getting hit, ranger can spew blood at the enemy to blind them and if ranger is under poisoned condition apply it to enemy as well.
-rope trick, ranger can use rope so it will have same effect as a net but can be used without disadvantage up to 15 feat.
etc.
etc.
Like ranger needs to have something new and special. Giving him spells and letting him at level 10 not worry about con as much is dumb. Con should not be his problem from 3 level not level 10...
The features I suggested could be given at 1 level but be weakened or 3 level and they might unlock stronger features at higher levels.
Like Modified arrows could get spell effect or be enchanted top have stuff like:
-thorn arrow, for 1 turn when target hit by it moves they take d4 of damage whenever he moves 5 feat
-thunder arrow, up to 4 targets get hit by 3d6 lighting damage + basic arrow damage and on failed con safe they fall prone.
-corrosive arrow, when hitting enemy their ac is lowered by 2 till armor is fixed, If this attack roll is 19 or 20 their weapon or armor is destroyed if it is not magical.
2:25 I have to disagree with that because where the ranger shines is its spells. It has some BANGER spells for damage, utility and healing. Yes the base class is really lame but those spells hold it together
Great argument! Love this!!
Please do more of these types of videos!
I understand the guerilla tactics, but while the "war crimes" flavor makes for an interesting subclass, I'm not sure is essential to the ranger aesthetic. I've been thinking about fixing the ranger as well, and I came up with a different narrative: human evolution.
The hunter-gatherers, the mountain dwellers, the cowboys, the Tarzans; while druids consider themselves servants of mother nature, a ranger believes nature exists to serve them. To capture this idea, I came up with features that helped you study and utilize the environment, like foraging to cut costs for crafting (now that 2024 fleshed those rules out a little bit), or a buffed version of Primeval Awareness that actually tells you where things are.
As for the capstone, I came up with something that felt less "big AOE go brr" and more "cold-blooded apex predator": when you damage a creature under your Hunter's Mark, _their max HP is reduced by the same amount,_ killing them instantly if it gets to 0. What do you think? At level 20, you probably won't be getting many creatures all the way to 0 on your own, but you'll definitely freak out any foes with the audacity to regenerate.
Furina just jumping into the lava lmao
3:22 Can we as a community take a moment to talk this man down from his Ed Grimley hair?
I mean, he seems to deserve it
Jk
Elf shot the food.
Dang Rangers!
3:28 There was literally the commercial for the new PHB immediately after you showed that clip of Jeremy Crawford 😂
2:24 alright nah nah nah, one thing you got incorrect is that Rangers have bad spells. People just bad at spells. You cant call a list that has: Spike Growth, Conjure Animals, Conjure Woodland Beings, and Swift Quiver bas with no utility or dmg. Let me guess, you give them fireball, even tho they already have blast spells in Conjure Barrage and Conjure Volley. Literall unique AoE blast Ranger spells. I really dont think WotC will change ranger because they did the math and they know how much dmg/potential a single ranger who takes a combat martial feat and concentrates on a spell.
10:23 ooh noita, that game really fits the mass destruction AOE spells category almost too well
This is awesome. So is our 2d10 fantasy ttrpg ranger class.
Dude, If you Actually make a pdf/book of subclasses and a setting involving WW1, I will preorder it in a Heartbeat!
Halfway through the video I realized how well his name fits him
I would make it so that hunter's mark damage scales with spell level and whenever you cast it with the freebie version you cast it as if you're using your highest level spell slot.
Also, I'd maybe give the scorched earth feature at level 3 and add the extra damage die to it at level 5, scaling the die like a cantrip upgrade (1d6 at 11 and 1d8 at 17)
You assume I wasn't already doing war crimes with my rangers.
One of my rangers attacks people with acid from the alchemists flask
I personally think that hunters mark should be reworked as follows:
After initiative is rolled, and on subsequent turns, you may choose an enemy that you can see within 120 feet of you declaring them to be your Mark. During your next turn, you may add d8 damage of your weapon’s damage type to your weapon attacks against them.
For 10 minutes, you have advantage on perception check to track and detect the last creature you have declared to be your mark.
The damage scales to 2d8 at level 6, and 3d8 at level 14.
Even though I'm not convinced that Ranger needs a buff, I like your class upgrade recommendations.
Quick suggestion: make sure you enunciate the first syllable of "illegal."
Honorary mentions to your pocket flamethrower: Burning Hands
I would also allow heat metal and mend into the level 3 subclass spells. The former allows you to make tea or Brass Bull someone, meaning no one is entirely safe even before the bonus damage to structures, but Mending allows you to keep all your equipment safe in the case of dropping an important keepsake or tool in the middle of a fiery fight. At later levels, get Magic Mend, a subclass feature to allow you to repair magic items, once you attain a few, to keep the flavor going.
So the most cursed thing I theorized with the Torturer Conclave Ranger in my Curse of Strahd reimagining campaign i am DMing, was to Multiclass it with Historica Arcanum's Flagellant Cleric, and since both Ranger and Cleric both synergize with their Wisdom spellcasting ability, the *terrifying* implications of a sadomasochist doing war crimes for holy reasons is, *GOD. DAMN. HORRIFYING*
Honestly your new subclass gave me an idea of oposite in effect, but same in morality: ,,serial" ranger. (Inspired by more gore-heavy horror films) it is a class that focuses on dealing a lot of damage to one enemy, no matter what he tries to pull. Since i have no experience in dnd, i,m not gona try to draft a spell list but my general idea is: have a movement impeading spells (counterspell for preventing the casters from noping out of the fight) and passives for same reason (maybe call it ,no way out,). Also part of this ranger,s flavour make it so he can accvire new ,favourite, targets by ,surgecly reaserching still consious creature, (tort*re it) and make it possible to improve bonus of it the more you ,reaserch, . So in essnse we have an (for those that watched ,hostel, move you will understand) a sadistc hunter that loves to restrain targets, and due to his ,unique, tastes he knows much better and much more how to slay another creature
Ive used two homebrew skills to fix rangers since 5e came out called PARTY OVERTWATCH and POSITIONAL DAMAGE.
*PARTY OVERWATCH* : Basically the Ranger always has an attack bonus reaction loaded for combat. Allowing them to bypass initiative at the start of battle for a first strike. Or they can save it specifically to protect party members by disrupting/reducing the effectiveness of an enemy attack they have line of site for. As they level they get more shots. By level 11 they can store 4 extra attacks. This gives them more damage potential and CC without being utterly broken.
*POSITIONAL DAMAGE* : I allow the ranger to add damage based on his position in battle. If he flanks an enemy successfully or manages to take a position with high ground he can add damage dice. It rewards the ranger for thinking acting and moving like a ranger would and gives them a more immersive and important place in the party as a skirmisher and disruptor that protects his allies with his latent talents for hunting and moving quickly. The damage dice he can add increases with level.
Oh and for the beast master subclass I have a very simple fix that makes the class way more viable. Give the ranger's pets the ability to take a skill from a similar monster type. Give dogs the Blink dog teleport. Or his cat the displacer beast ability to avoid ranged attacks. Give his hawk beutiful song from the giant canary to charm foes. It makes the beast master a way better utility character and again doesnt break them.
My old dm added a once per fight ranged pesudo attack of opportunity when the ranger sees an enemy get close to a party member. Essentially letting them prevent a monster from rushing up to party members.
Another idea that was partially scrapped was that Rangers could get sneak attack on ranged attacks greater than 15 ft with a distracted target but maybe doing it from flanking or high ground would be better
I would have added an increase of hunters mark similarly to Bardic Inspiration not up to a d12 but d10 across the levels and not at lev 20 suddenly being increased.
That and maybe add something like using higher spellslots or being able to stack hunters mark, since the first one doesn't need concentration.
You know I think if they did something similar to rogue with their new sneak attack abilitys . That would fix it a bit
0:51 i hear spycrabs
*RightBehindYou.mp4*
It's a fairly easy fix with hunters mark.
We just lean fully into "favoured enemy"
Level 5: If you cast Hunters mark using your favoured enemy feature, damage can't break your concentration.
Level 13. Damage can't break your concentration, but if you use your favourite enemyfeature, it does no longer require concentration.
Done.
Yeah the no concentration part is a bit late, but i would also not change the duration for this. That should balance it out.
And since you get a lvl 13 feature much earlier, for a limited amount of castings, ... which will probably all you ever need... that seems very fair.
I will be honest, I'm usually inclined to disagree with your takes, especially when it comes to what's broken and what's not. However, it seems ranger got shot in the foot so bad our cause is now united: 100% agreed with the changes you made to the class, and awesome subclass!
Rangers should be the class of "DAMN NATURE YOU SCARY!!" It is my opinion that rangers should be played like rogues that want you to see them coming. Theyre not trying to sneak to you theyre luring you to them.
With that i would introduce the ranger ability of "Wild Strike" when either you or your beast companion kill an enemy all your enemies within 10 ft of your fresh kill must make a wisdom save or else take 1d4 bonus damage till the end of your next turn whenever theyre hit by you or an ally of yours. As you level up the damage dice increases and with even later levels fails in saving result in the fear effect
As a Ranger my favored enemy was Beast, which I regretted at first ... but then my DM let me extend Beast to most animals, meaning that I could TALK to most animals, including our horses, which made it a lot of fun
Most animals are beasts though, a horse is a large beast as per its statblock. Not sure why your DM needed to extend it
@ This is my first ever campaign I didn’t know shit
I disagree with your fix to the ranger. I would like for you too pick up Castles & Crusades and flip through the classes. You will see that the Ranger actually works like a ranger. The problem with the 5e ranger is 5e itself.
Then castles and crusades must have some very weak PCs.
@kogorun not sure if this is intended to express disapproval or not
Remember, "No Elven".
Ah yes, the canadian trench raider subclass.
Mfw the ranger picks up a boltaction rifle and calls for a bayonet charge.
"the French" nah you already said monstrosities
I think the French replaced aberrations
What is the music at 10:52?
Just a suggestion, good video essay by the way!
Wouldn't be more efficient and statement forgoing,
to eradicate the Barbarian player class?
Scavenging even the marrow from the class bones and
give the worth of the powers and abilities, mechanics and bravado to the other warrior classes?
Ranger was and should be the free roaming predator with adapt and overcome mentality.
I distaste the Brb PC for developing boundaries over the thematics of other warrior classes.
Sorry for the mumble.😉
Be well 😊
Your talk about what your goal is makes me think, "so a canadian ranger eh?"
Love it. Feels Artificer-y but with innate Extra Attack
Where can i find the rules for the miasma of death spell?
“I didn’t ask how big the room is I cast Fireball” -wizar- I mean Ranger
The 2024 Ranger is also the only martial class that doesn't get a feature at 5th level beyond Extra Attack. For that, I moved the 13th level feature to that level instead. Your 13th level ability is a cooler Land Stride, which WotC also removed from the class, and made me big sad that they did. What I don't get is why even bother with hunter's mark as the class feature, which costs a bonus action. Favored Foe was perfectly fine. You activated it when you successfully hit an enemy. Sure, it had concentration, but that could have been removed just as easily as what we have here, and you'd still get to keep your bonus action. It makes no sense to me.
I still feel that if they made rangers a rogue druid who specializes in ambushes and setting traps they'll be more interesting. For the traps have them be with the spells. Imagine the ranger going forward to scout areas. Coming back to the party and establishing a plan for ambushes. I feel like a pit hole spell, conjure bolas spell etc. it feels like WotC want to make Ranger fighter/rogue/druid which hurts the class. Imo rangers should be able to take a fighter, barbarian and monk out if they can end the fight quickly. But if it's a drawn out flight they should lose.
Sweet liberty...
FREEEENNNCH, omg i didn't know, well now i do, french community here
"We actually redesigned the ranger from the ground up...
We just forgot to actually implement it"
When talking about the fundamental problems with ranger, you forgot to mention that even when you are fighting your favored enemies the PHB ranger gives you absolutely no combat bonuses to them. In 3.5e and in the UA revision you get +2 bonus to damage against them at the very least! In 5e PHB? Absolutely, positively, nothing. The fighter who's good at killing everything already will STILL outclass you in hunting a dragon even though you're a ranger whose entire build and roleplay is centered around being a dragon hunter.
Genuinely, to fix ranger, one of two things needs to happen.
Either 1: Make Hunter's Mark a class feature instead of a spell and REMOVE ITS CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENT. This alone will make ranger a much more versatile sort of ranger and actually get to use what WotC clearly wanted it to be designed around without utterly locking itself out of getting to actually use its gods-forsaken spells.
Or 2: Lean in fully on the specialized at killing certain foes aspect, and make favored enemy the focus of the class instead with inherent, innate, no resource or concentration used, bonuses to actually kill your favored enemies. I'm not even talking a +2 to damage against them, that's weak sauce and is the same thing a barbarian will get against all monster types just from raging. I'm talking class features to utterly SHRED that monster type. Extra attacks against them in particular, a way to make them vulnerable to damage against you in particular as you hit their weak spots, an ability to craft poisons, venoms, and traps making use of that particular monster's weaknesses.
Also just give them what the UA revision did as far as travelling goes. No more specialized terrains, just give them that travelling, tracking, and foraging in any terrain.
I personally would want both. It's not like it would break the game, it's still a martial class so doesn't hold a candle to the power of a full caster.
Scorched Earth Ranger? Call us Walker because we're pulling out the white phosphorus arrows. Do you feel like a viable hero yet?
i think this subclass would fit more an artifisers than ranger becaue making thing explode and creating toxic gas is more artifiser theme than ranger
Geneva Convention more like Geneva Suggestion
Paladin: You are all traitors!
Chaotic Evil Ranger: Unfortunately for you, history will not see it that way. EXECUTE THEM!
So you are making them Canadian?
To me paladin is a half step between cleric and fighter
So it makes sense to me to make ranger a half step between druid and rouge
I'd say druid & fighter, since rogues only get 1 attack. But since you mentioned it, rangers should get sneak attack at half progression (2d6 at lvl 5, 3d6 at lvl 9, etc), to replace all the individual damage riders from subclasses
40K's ranger, what a blast!!
The problem was not that it was super specialized, but that it wasn’t special enough; favored enemy didn’t do anything. If I wanted to slay demons,paladin does that better. If I want to slay dragons, paladin and barbarians do it better. Sure it had some unique spells but the base class didn’t support a specialization. Me and a fighter with a bow could get in a shooting match and the fighter would probably win, even if my “favored foe” was on the board.
Honestly though, Tasha’s did a lot to fix, and the old abilities are so lack luster it’s not worth replacing them just take both (it hasn’t caused issues yet)
I'm playing Ranger Now. 💀
Warcrimes, guerilla tactics and questionable morality
You just described Archer EMIYA from Fate
Pick a dragonborn that doesn't have a fire breath weapon for even more resistances and fun.
if i didn't already change ranger at my table I would definitely use this,
i don't think its fair to my players to change how ranger plays mid campaign
Ranger being a half-caster has sucked since I started playing back when 2E came out. Ranger would be much better as a Fighter Sub Class. Give a few abilities that work like spells but are non-magical such as Speak With Animals or Plants, Purify Food & Water, Animal Friendship. Also need to let the "pet" continue an action like attack without the Ranger spending their action every round, instead the pet continues and the Ranger only spends an action or even a bonus action (maybe) to change what the pet does.
what if dm's use this class against players ?
Then their group should switch to a better system. 5e breaks when you try to build NPCs with player levels
This honestly doesn't seem that broken. Though I have had a few friends play ranger and have dmed for ranger and have spent a long time working to balance the class some more myself because... the class really sucks RAW. This does seem good, but not ridiculous by any means. I think I may offer this to one of my players who is currently a ranger for their subclass if they're interested.
Geneva convention... more like "geneva buzzkill"
You don’t need to buff ranger as it’s arguably the best martial in the game especially with multiclassing. Pass without a trace is so good
Issue with ranger isn't that it's weak, it's just clunky. They do have really great spells, but if you want to concentrate on any of them, you have to ignore your central class feature
also, aura of protection better
Yes aura of protection is better but paladins don’t do good damage rangers do. Paladins are better as a spellcaster with paladin 6/7-warlock 2-sorcerer x so they don’t really do the same job
I can send optimised builds if you want.
Also I am not saying that any of these are the “correct” way to play. The correct way to play is what you find most fun.
There are 999 likes... I know what I have to do but I don't think I have the strength to do it
bonjour
Sounds like artillerist artficer, but less gay, because bows are cooler 😎🏹💥💥💥
Ehhhh... HM should lose concentration at the latest at level 3. Divine Favor doesn't use concentration per se, HM shouldn't either.
A thing to consider:
- Rangers get multiple cast of Hunter's Mark for free each day, it deals 1d6, and boosts other ranger abilities
- Divine favor consumes a 1st level spell slot, a scarce ressource for paladin at early levels, and only deals 1d4
If you view Hunter's Mark as a class feature, which is clearly what is going on here with the above mentioned multiple casts per day, giving it at 3rd level for free is too soon. The damage curve picks up too early.
We did the math on average DPR, and 11 is a bit late on the curve, ideally you'd tack it on at 9th, but as I said in the vid, it doesn't really fit in there, so 11th it is.
If you want to rule it earlier in your games, feel free!
@MonkeyDM All of that is true... but it is also true that you must spend a bonus action whenever you want to change targets for the HM, preventing you from using it on subclass features as important as the animal companion.
I forgot to say this in the previous comment, but I love the subclass uwu
@MonkeyDM My arguement, rogues get 2d6 extra damage every turn at level 3. Getting 1d6 per attack with hunter's mark doesn't end up being a big deal by comparison.
@@MonkeyDMhello? Vengeance pal use HM too. With divine favor and channel divinity at liv 3. Are you serious?
@giuseppesiena955 This is why I hate homebrew. I'd rather have you multiclass to get what you want than add more complications to the game.
And Rangers are actually good. We just have a lot of cry babies, frankly. "But...but...the flavor!"
Whatever....flavor is free my dudes. You can flavor HM however you want as long as you wiggle your hand and say some incoherent rambling magical sounding words. Not a big deal. You're all welcome for having been in the radius of my brilliance.
Sorry mate, your fix is kind of shite. lvl 1 no concentration on a shite spell that isn't that good and needs a lot of buffs for versatility. It's basically a carry over from 4e for the replacement feature rangers got instead of favored enemy bonus damage, and its absolute garbage.
rangers have been terrible since 3.5 xD
Or just play the 2024 ranger.
???
Man 2024 sucks, and is not even a real ranger. Just a martial warlock with hex.
@@adwadswadsda8458 funny enough, I think the 5e ranger would be better if it were more like warlock. Scrap a few class & subclass features & move them into an invocation system (like the 2014 hunter)
Martials underperform compared to casters.
WOTC: "gIvE tHe MaRtIaLs SoMe MaGiC"