The Ranger in the PHB is underwhelming, and while I said in the last post that the power of the class comes from its subclasses, the truth is that the PHB subclasses are also, well, underwhelming.
Xanathar's came out a couple years later, though, and I think that they had learned some lessons. Let's take a look at the subclasses featured there.
Gloom Stalker:
Ok, right off the bat, we have a nice new feature: subclass spells! Rangers learn a pretty small number of spells, so getting five for free is pretty nice. The spells you get are disguise self, rope trick, fear, greater invisibility, and seeming - obviously all playing into a deceptive theme. These can help out in more social encounters, but also let your party sneak around more effectively.
Next, we get Dread Ambusher. This does a couple things. First off, you add your Wisdom modifier to your initiative rolls. Next, on the first turn of combat, you get 10 extra feet of movement speed, and if you take the attack action on that turn, you get one additional attack, which also deals an extra 1d8 damage. Basically, your first turn is going to be be nuts.
We're not even done, though. Also at level 3, you get darkvision out to 60 feet, or if you already have darkvision, you increase its range by 30 feet. Better yet, if another creature is relying on darkvision to see you, you are invisible to it. Yes, this could be a liability if your healer can't find you, but in most cases, it will let you stalk the creatures of the night with impunity (and get advantage on attacks against them.)
At level 7, you get proficiency in Wisdom saves (or, if you multiclassed and already have this, you can choose Intelligence or Charisma.) Pretty solid, though not as amazing as the level 3 stuff.
At level 11, you get Stalker's Flurry. This lets you make an additional attack if you miss with one of your regular attacks (which is kind of like advantage?)
Finally, at level 15, you get Shadowy Dodge. When a creature makes an attack against you and does not have advantage, you can use your reaction to give it disadvantage.
Overall, I think the Gloom Stalker's level 3 features are the huge ones, making this great for a 3-level dip. But those level 3 bonuses are amazing.
Horizon Walker:
Again, you get subclass spells. In this case, you get protection from evil and good, misty step, haste, banishment, and teleportation circle. Literally all of these are super useful, great spells.
You also get Detect Portal. Once per short or long rest, you can detect the distance and direction of the closest planar portal within 1 mile. While certainly situational, this can be a great ability in a plane-hopping campaign.
Planar Warrior lets you, as a bonus action, choose a creature within 30 feet. The next time you hit that creature this turn with a weapon attack, the damage becomes force damage and you deal an extra 1d8 force damage with it. At level 11, this becomes 2d8.
So, for level 3, the spells are all great, and Planar Warrior will take up your bonus action, but can put a lot of extra pain on the foe. Thumbs up.
At level 7, you get Ethereal Step, which lets you cast etherealness for free once per short or long rest, but it ends at the end of your turn. So, basically, you can shunt yourself into the ethereal plane to either attack a ghost or get away from foes. This is pretty cool, I've got to say, and could have a lot of non-combat applications as well.
At level 11, you get Distant Strike. When you take the attack action, you can teleport 10 feet before each attack to an unoccupied space you can see. If you attack at least two different creatures with the action, you can make an additional attack against a third creature. Blinking attacks and the potential for a third are always great (and you can also use this to get away from a foe without having to disengage.)
Finally, at 15, Spectral Defense lets you use your reaction to grant yourself resistance to a single attack's (total) damage on this turn. I think this is mechanically identical to Uncanny Dodge, I guess unless you were already resistant to some of its damage beforehand, in which case it's slightly worse.
So, the Horizon Walker actually looks quite good to me. The level 15 feature is a bit underwhelming, but everything else is pretty damn good. (Also, I need to remind the Gunslinger/Horizon Walker in my party to use his Planar Warrior feature more!)
Lastly from Xanathar's we have the Monster Slayer:
As a special note: I have a soft spot in my heart for the "monster-hunter" style character like your Solomon Kanes, your Geralts of Rivia, your Abraham Van Helsings, your Buffy Summerses - characters who are built to hunt down classic horror monsters and put them down. And this subclass seems built around this fantasy, so points already.
Your subclass spells (I think Rangers' subclasses are technically "conclaves?") are protection from evil and good, zone of truth, magic circle, banishment, and hold monster. Perhaps not as strong as the Horizon Walker, but still some very useful stuff here (and very in-flavor.)
At 3rd level you also get Hunter's Sense. This lets you, as an action, choose a creature within 60 feet of you. You learn all its damage immunities, resistances, and vulnerabilities, though if it's hidden from divination magic, it looks like it has none. You get to do this a number of times equal to your wisdom modifier every long rest. Naturally, you'll want to use this pre-combat, but I love having a mechanical way to discern all these things - it plays into the idea of a Ranger being really knowledgeable about how to take monsters down and what to avoid.
You also get Stalker's Prey. As a bonus action, you can choose a creature within 60 feet and they become your prey. The first time you hit the target each turn with a weapon attack, it takes an extra d6 of damage. And this lasts until you finish a short or long rest, or if you use this on another creature. Damage-wise, this is a bit less than Hunter's Mark (just because it's only per turn), but A: it stacks with Hunter's Mark and B: it's free and can be used over and over, with no concentration required. And it'll only take a bonus action on one turn, as opposed to the Horizon Walker's Planar Warrior.
At level 7, you get Supernatural Defense. When your Slayer's Prey forces you to make a saving throw or if you make an ability check to escape that target's grapple, you add 1d6. Again, the Monster Slayer seems built to fight boss monsters, but this will be great in boss fights.
At level 11, you get Magic-User's Nemesis. When a creature within 60 feet of you casts a spell or teleports, you can use your reaction to try to magically foil it. The target has to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC, or the spell/teleport fails. You get to use this once per short rest. While this is certainly situational, it seems like it could be a real clutch move.
Finally, at level 15, Slayer's Counter lets you use your reaction when the target of your Slayer's Prey forces you to make a saving throw to attack them, which happens before the save. If you hit with your attack, you automatically succeed on the saving throw. That is, in fact, very freaking cool. If you're a ranged-weapon based character, you'll likely have a very high chance to hit, and this can allow you to auto-succeed on saving throws you might not have a chance at otherwise. Again, action-economy-wise, this works best when fighting a single opponent, but the ability to potentially automatically succeed on a saving throw once a turn is actually pretty damn powerful. That Lich tries to disintegrate you? Shoot him in the face!
Overall, looking at the Monster Slayer, I already loved it for flavor, but now I genuinely think it's a pretty good subclass, and Slayer's Counter might be downright fantastic.
The subclasses in Xanathar's Guide to Everything are all a big step up from those in the PHB. I think WotC realized that the class needed some love, and these subclasses bring some really cool and unique features that the earlier ones were sorely missing.
Next post, we'll look at the two from Tasha's, and finish out the rangers.
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