Now, this is kind of interesting - we sort of already got a new version of the Ranger in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. While a lot of classes got new/alternate rules, the Ranger got a huge overhaul. I actually think this version is closer to that second Ranger. We also saw a pretty radical redesign in the Expert Classes playtest, but I think this pulls back a bit from that.
So, there'll be some complexity to analyzing all the features, but let's get started.
1st level:
Rangers start off with Deft Explorer. This has evolved into a kind of blend of the Tasha's feature of the same name and the Natural Explorer from 2014.
You get Expertise in one of your skill proficiencies (down from 2 in the last playtest).
In addition, you choose two types of terrain - between Arctic, Coast, Desert, Forest, Grassland, Mountain, Swamp, and Underdark. You have advantage on Intelligence (Nature) checks about the chosen terrains and Wisdom (Survival) checks to track creatures within them.
When you finish a long rest, you can swap out one of your "favored terrains."
So, this retains the favored terrain aspect of the original Ranger, but in a far more adaptable way, but also it's less extensive in its benefits. The good news is that you will now easily be able to swap to whatever terrain you find yourself in (assuming the DM doesn't pull something like "well, here on Mechanus, the terrain is 'gears,' so none of these options work.") You lose one of your Expertise uses from the previous playtest, which I think is a shame - I really think they seem to be stepping back from Class Groups as a thing, which... I kind of liked.
Also, like the Paladin (and the "live" Artificer) you now get spellcasting at level 1. A few changes here:
Rangers now have full and unfettered access to the Primal spell list - no more school restrictions.
Rangers, like Paladins, start off with 2 prepared spells and eventually get to 15 at 19th level. But also like Paladins, Rangers can now swap out a prepared spell whenever they finish a long rest.
This is a buff for Rangers even as it was a nerf for Paladins.
And, like in Tasha's, you can use a Druidic focus as a spell focus.
So, this is a buff to Ranger spellcasting. Being able to more easily change your spell is great, though I think I'd rather they just be able to swap them all out on a long rest. And it's coming at level 1, so you can immediately feel more than a Ranged Fighter.
Finally, at 1st level, you can pick up Weapon Mastery. Like with other classes in this playtest, you get two options and can swap them out on a long rest.
Weapon Mastery's fun, and everyone's getting it. Buff, to be sure, though not much compared to other martial classes.
2nd level:
Favored Enemy has been redesigned. You now automatically have Hunter's Mark prepared, and you get a number of free castings of it equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1) per long rest.
So, this isn't as insanely cool as the previous playtest version, which gave you concentration-free Hunter's Mark, which... ok, was probably overpowered.
Hunter's Mark has been redesigned. It's now Ranger-exclusive, and rather than adding 1d6 to every hit, you now only get the bonus damage once per turn, but upcasting it extends not just the duration, but the damage. At 3rd level it does 2d6, and at 5th it does 3d6. You also don't get to unerringly track the target, but instead get advantage on Wisdom (Perception or Survival) checks to find it.
Ok, so, the math here gets complicated when it comes to damage. Unlike Warlocks and Eldritch Blast, though, it's an obvious buff to the spell at 5th level, if you're willing to spend a 5th level spell slot on this.
In actuality, the fact that all the damage is bunched together winds up being a buff to the damage anyway - if you have a 50% chance to hit the target, you're only getting 50% of the potential damage out of the old version. But in the new version, because it will deal its full damage if you hit only once, you're actually getting 75% of its potential damage on average - as long as you hit with either attack, you get the full damage. So, this is a nerf from levels 5-8, but then buffed when you hit level 9 (again, if you're casting it at 3rd level or higher).
The change to the non-damage aspect is also interesting - while it's not as reliable, this will also now help if you have a monster that likes to hide in the middle of combat.
Also, you get some free uses of this spell, which can't be ignored.
I'll also say that dual-wielding in melee as a Ranger is now a little easier because Nick will allow you to use your Bonus action on this - of course, you also won't get as much of a benefit to an additional attack.
Rangers also get Fighting Style - I think it's the same old choices.
3rd level:
You pick your subclass.
4th level:
ASI/Feat
5th level:
Extra Attack
6th level:
Here, you get Roving, which used to be part of the Deft Explorer option in Tasha's. Roving has been buffed, increasing your speed by 10 feet rather than 5, and still also gives you a Climb and Swim speed equal to your normal speed (which just got buffed!)
I suspect that this buff was less for power than ensuring that people always have a speed that's a multiple of 10 - far easier to handle difficult terrain when halved movement results in a multiple of 5. But it's a buff.
7th level:
Subclass feature.
8th level:
ASI/Feat
9th level:
Rangers now automatically learn Conjure Barrage at 9th level. The spell has also been buffed - it now deals 5d8 rather than 3d8 damage, and can work with any melee weapon, not just nonmagical ones. Conjure Barrage is also now Ranger-exclusive, rather than a Primal spell. The damage is also Force now.
So, 3d8 was always a bit pathetic for a 3rd level spell. 5d8, which averages to 22.5, is actually pretty decent - it's not Fireball, but Fireball and Lightning Bolt are intentionally overpowered. And it's honestly not that far behind (Fireball averages at 28 damage). So, I could see this getting real use. Great!
Also at 9, you get Deft Explorer Improvement, which gives you Expertise in one more of your proficiency skills and you get to pick two new terrain types.
So, I'm less enthused about this. If you can swap out favored terrains on a long rest, do you really need to have four of them? How likely are you to encounter four different terrains in a single day (and know ahead of time which ones you'll be in?) I mean, unless you're playing in Los Angeles (we've got coast, mountains, desert, and kind of grasslands if you think back to when Orange County was actual farmland). The Expertise is nice, but it's a little sad you don't keep pace with Rogues and Bards.
10th level:
Tireless is part of Tasha's Deft Explorer feature, but modestly redesigned. As an action, you can give yourself Temp HP equal to 1d8 plus your Wisdom modifier, and you can do this a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier per long rest, minimum of 1 (previously it was a number of times equal to your Proficiency bonus).
Also, you can reduce your Exhaustion level by 1 on a short rest, unchanged from Tasha's.
So, the Rules Glossary no longer includes the different version of Exhaustion, which worked more like "Stress" in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. As it was less punishing, I was hoping we might see more monsters inflict it as a condition, and that would make this feature more exciting, but I suspect that instead we'll see this as occasionally great, but only rarely.
The temp HP is awesome, though.
11th level:
Subclass feature.
12th level:
ASI/Feat
13th level:
Nothing but 4th level spells.
14th level:
Nature's Veil is similar to the Tasha's version, but it now lasts until the end, rather than the start of your next turn. The number of uses is now based on your Wisdom modifier rather than your Proficiency bonus.
So, this is better - you can set up advantage on your attacks for this turn and the next - but you'll probably be able to use it fewer times.
As cool in concept as Hide in Plain Sight was, it was also just absurdly specific and another one of those things where you could probably reward any creative player with such an effect if they thought to do it.
15th level:
Subclass feature.
16th level:
ASI/Feat
17th level:
Rangers now also automatically learn Conjure Volley, which is now a Ranger-exclusive spell rather than a Primal one. Like Conjure Barrage, this can now work with any weapon, not just nonmagical ones. Oh, and it does Force damage.
So, the damage makes this a little better than an upcast Barrage, and you can more easily avoid hitting your friends. 8d8 for a 5th level spell is fair that's Cone of Cold damage. Flavorful and fine.
18th level:
Feral Senses has been simplified - you just get Blindsight out to 30 feet.
This should, I think, give you all the benefits of the old version, but also potentially help in other circumstances. As the ultimate tracker/hunter, this is a pretty appropriate Ranger feature.
19th level:
ASI/Feat
20th level:
Foe Slayer has been redesigned. When you miss with an attack roll against the target of your Hunter's Mark, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the attack roll, potentially turning it into a hit. Additionally, when you hit that target with an attack roll and deal damage with it, you add your Wisdom modifier to the damage.
So, this is a buff. The phrasing is weird, though - why not just say that you add your Wisdom modifier to attack rolls against the target of your Hunter's Mark? Would that not have an identical effect? The key here is that you're getting both benefits, and multiple times per turn. The downside is that you're really forced into maintaining Hunter's Mark to make use of it.
Ultimately, you're more likely to land your attacks, but the total extra damage is going to just be 10 more per turn (or 15 if someone has cast Haste on you).
Using Hunter's Mark - we'll assume cast at 5th level - and shooting, say, with a Longbow, if you hit with both attacks (more likely thanks to this,) and say we have a +2 Longbow, we're looking at (1d8+7)x2+3d6+10 with all of this - an average damage of 43.5 damage per round.
Is that impressive for level 20? Does this need some special sauce? I mean, this feature has clearly been buffed a great deal over its original version, except for its reliance on Hunter's Mark (a spell that I think is considerably better for high-level Beast Masters, as it's basically twice as powerful).
So, what do we think overall?
I think that this is a big improvement over the 2014 Ranger, but most of that work was done in Tasha's. I think there's a bit more focus on damage than the previous playtest version, but I do think it still retains an "expert of movement and terrain" identity.
The Ranger has always been a class that's actually pretty decent, but only looks bad in comparison to other classes, like the ranged Fighter. I think the Tasha's changes really helped it catch up, but it's more a question of perception.
I definitely think I'd rather play this version of the Ranger than previous versions of the class - the changes to spellcasting in particular are the most appealing.
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