Ranger is Broken | Dungeons and Dragons 5e Guide

[@thunderdragonish]

Love to see the Ranger getting more attention from content creators, but I think you misread something with the revised beastmaster. You mention getting 5 or 6 attacks total and the beast of the air Companion attacking 4 times. While the primal companion feature says you can use your bonus action to give any command, and you can also sacrifice one of your own attacks to command your companion to take the attack action, your animal companion is still limited by the same action economy as everyone else. They only have one action to spend on their turn. If they have a bonus action of their own through a spell or magic item, you can trigger both using your bonus action and an attack, but your companion can’t take the attack action twice.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha man! Y’all keep me on my toes in the comments!! Yes, I did misspeak! I meant to say that you get a total of 4 attacks between you and the companion while they attack with advantage (11th level ability allows them to attack twice with your bonus action command). I typically make notes in a bullet point list and convert that into a script so I assume something got wonky with my wording there haha. As for the 5 attacks per turn I mentioned…. I’ll have to make a video for that 😜 (Hint: it involves reactions which the beast does have)

[@Klaital1]

No, nothing stops your beast companion from doing the attack action twice, with your bonus action and with your action. Exceptions always supercede general rules, just like how you can take two attack actions per turn if affected by the Haste spell, or when using the Action Surge class ability. If they had intended it to not be able to use both the bonus action and action options on same turn, they would have specified that in the ability description.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@Klaital1 hmmmm I actually think that the original commenter is correct here but I’ll have to look more into it because it does leave some question in the matter…

[@Razdasoldier]

@@ConstructedChaos After re-reading the ability, I truly thinkg that @Klaital1 is right here. The EXACT wording is "You can also sacrifice" and also is a very important word choice here. For those that dont know also literally means "in addition; too." (Oxford)

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@Razdasoldier I think that “in addition to” is referring to the additional option for commanding your beast instead of always having to use your bonus action. The beast should only be getting one action per turn regardless. WOTC hasn’t really clarified the debate but the majority of people have taken the side of the OC’s logic and I’m inclined to do the same. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised to see WOTC go the other way with it.

[@indef2def]

The Ranger definitely wouldn't have stepped on the toes of the Rogue if the Rogue had ever been close to a traditional RPG Thief, rather than a nimble fighter with a different type of number for how they spam damage. They basically made Rogue the primary bow fighter class and annihilated one of the four pillars of the genre. You have to play OSR to get Thief back.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Yeah I definitely feel ya on this!

[@wayneallison9627]

This is great! I created a ranger for my first time playing today and this was super helpful going in! Gives me a lot of neat ideas going forward with my characters backstory knowing how he can be built going up 😎

[@ConstructedChaos]

Stoked to hear that you found all of this useful! Happy adventuring!

[@deannekellogg8514]

I too have a deep love for rangers and druids though I try to play all classes. Im really glad they improved it. I like the gloom stalker and Beastmaster best more for flavor than power. Im more about the story. If I were trying to be all powerful, Id play a Chronurgy wizard!

[@ConstructedChaos]

I’m right there with ya! Story and RP over optimization any day!

[@TheRobversion1]

i love the gloomstalker too but i'm there for both the mechanics (it's the poster boy for the playstyle i prefer-alpha striking) and flavor (i'm drawn to agile, lurking in shadows, assassin type, multi-skilled characters). beastmaster is another fave ranger subclasses as i enjoy playing with pets and getting to RP multiple characters once in a while. it's a bonus too that i consider these 2 to be the top 2 ranger subclasses mechanically as well. i enjoy optimization in any game i play and these 2 are some of the best examples of getting a subclass rich in flavor but are executed well mechanically. it's always fun for me to envision my character doing something bad ass with a character theme and actually being backed up mechanically and by the numbers when i actually execute it. it's deflating lets say when i envision playing a monk who's like killing/incapacitating an enemy in 1-hit (like in kung-fu movies or one-punch man) then seeing every other party member including the bard hit harder than me.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos i absolutely disagree with this and dont advocate this kind of thought process within the dnd community as it creates a divide between optimizers and RPers. yes everyone leans either or and that's fine but imo these 2 arent mutually exclusive and shouldn't be pushed as such. You can be a hardcore optimizer who's a great RPer and concerned with story as much as combat. these 2 pillars of dnd shouldn't be divided and should be accepted by each side. DND is supposed to be an inclusive community and everyone has a right to have fun in their own way. An RPer should feel welcomed in an optimizer table and vice versa. of course if the social dynamics don't work out, no harm in looking for another table. i personally try to be both and enjoy both aspects. anyway apologies if that sounded like a rant. i was just triggered by that comment.

[@gustaafargoan]

Shadar Kai battle master 12, Gloomstalker ranger 4 and Shadow sorcerer 4. Elven accuracy. Sharpshooter, Dual Wielder feats. Two weapon fighting and Archery fighting styles. 2 ASI increases. Bring down the darkness and you have advantage to hit, and your enemies have disadvantage to hit you. You can fight with a bow or melee weapon.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Super cool build! But I am typically weary of darkness builds that can hinder your allies as well.

[@gustaafargoan]

@@ConstructedChaos I am currently only at 3 levels of each. It is how I plan to go though. I have a lot of options. I can use Darkness if I need to, but I can use actual shadows as a GS Ranger. I have to take 4 levels in each for 3 ASI's in a row. I'm actually thinking about taking Lucky instead of Dual Wielder, so I can bonus attack at disadvantage.

[@andremedaglia350]

Tasha's Beast Master is now in the top 3 ranger's subclass. Gloom Stalker is the best, but then there's Fey Wanderer or Beast Master in second place. There's a fun build for the Fey Wanderer in which you max Wisdom and Charism. Then you choose the Druidic Fighting Style to get Shillelagh. And now, you can be a solid combatent, landing all enchantment spells and social interaction while dealing good damage.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Love this idea for the Fey Wanderer! And I'm excited to see that they're likely including that subclass in the base rules for the next D&D release!

[@andremedaglia350]

@@ConstructedChaos do you know when they will release this new edition?

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@andremedaglia350 I know only that it’s supposed to be sometime next year. They’re nearly done play testing!

[@rickway2039]

Crank Gloomstalker to the max. 2 levels of Fighter for Action Surge (6 attacks on opening turn) and plenty of Assassin Rogue for sneak attack and bonuses going first. Sharp Shooter is obvious, but Skulker is also super handy as you can hide while lightly obscured (hello dim light!)

[@ConstructedChaos]

100% I often dip fighter and rogue in my ranger builds in general for those reasons exactly!

[@personman8734]

I feel like the best way to capture just how busted gloom stalker is , is that Batman is definitely a gloom stalker multiclass

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@personman8734 hahaha I think that is a pretty good comparison, yeah! Plus he’s super rich like most of the PCs in my campaigns 😂

[@gabrielbaieel8073]

I came here to say that gloom stalker isnt that strong, but holy fuck that combo is broken...

[@rickway2039]

@@gabrielbaieel8073 my son is playing it in the DRW campaign right now. Opening round of combat a couple of levels ago he took a beholder from full to 4 hit points in a single activation. If my grave cleric could get ahead of him in initiative order and use path to the grave, his numbers were absolutely insane.

[@ryanakers7165]

I've nvr had a prob with playing the ranger I love that class

[@ConstructedChaos]

I’d always been dissuaded from playing one until until xanathars was released and the new subclasses came available. I can see why but I hate that mentality. That’s why I say every class is broken now 😜

[@DrGhostlyghost]

Archery fighting style is hilarious. The +2 to hit breaks the game imo. You could leave your Dex at 16, use medium armor, and max out your wisdom instead. Really make use of your half caster abilities while still having a high chance to hit in tier 1 & 2 of play. Between Goodberry, Entangle, Zephyr Strike, Absorb Elements, PASS WITHOUT TRACE, Spike Growth. Base Ranger has pretty bomb options for spell casting. Mix in taking fey touched for the free misty step and a first level enchantment spell like Bless. You can have a very potent character that can be a massive asset to the party. I tend to build rangers now centered around their spell casting and really leveraging Archery. Swarmkeeper is especially potent when built this way, along with Fey Wanderer & Beast Master.

[@ConstructedChaos]

110% agreed!! It’s always hard to pick something other than archery fighting style haha

[@danielcolvin1611]

Bless on a Gloomstalker that can’t be seen by the majority of enemies so never loses concentration…gold. Provided he’s willing to give up hunters mark lol

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@danielcolvin1611 not to mention advantage on attacks 😶‍🌫️

[@DrGhostlyghost]

@@danielcolvin1611 hunter’s mark is a trap. Waste of concentration most of the time. You’re better off concentrating on something way more potent than an extra 1d6 or 2d6 damage.

[@frankbarbee3212]

A plus 2 is easy to achieve from multiple sources without taking a fighting style

[@johnpfaff7532]

I genuinely sought out Ranger as a new player because this video. I'm very new to DnD, and Ranger seems to be a good choice for me because it seems like I'll have flexibility as I become more and more familiar with DnD. Maybe I'm wrong, I'm too new to know otherwise lmao.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Ranger still stands out as one of my personal favorites and it's definitely a great choice that does a good job of introducing you to most facets of the game at once! Just be sure to take the time to fully grasp your spells and abilities since it can also be a lot to juggle as a new player. More than anything, welcome to the hobby and happy adventuring!

[@Vfflanofnacka]

Thank you so much for this video. Just started dungeoning dragons with some friends who also never have done this before, and I choose ranger as my class. But understanding how to do a good build has felt really oveerwhelming. So thank you for the breakdown. A question though, I have seen Tashas and Xanathar's guides referred to in several vids in how they "changed" the game, but what is it and what does it mean? It is people making up alternative rules? So far I have heard a lot of spells, which I have not seen in the players handbook. =)

[@TheRobversion1]

yeah tasha's has done 3 major things: 1. added spells and abilities to the base class that aren't in the PHB. like rogues get steady aim at 3rd level. 2. allowed players to customize where racial ability score bonuses can be assigned. for example a half-orc normally add +2 str and +1 con. with tasha;s new rules, it becomes +2 to any ability score and +1 to any ability score. 3. added a new base class (artificer) and a new race similar to the variant human (custom lineage). feel free to ask questions when it comes to how to build good builds in general or rangers.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thank YOU for watching! It makes me so happy to see that these guides are proving useful to new players! Tasha's and Xanathar's are supplementary books released by Wizards of the Coast (the owners of D&D). So they aren't mandatory but they are official!

[@Vodka2051]

Ranger has beena favorite of mine for a while, and I was really bummed how it turned out in 5e. Until I found the Revised Ranger. Link here: dnd5e.wikidot.com/ranger-revised This fixed the problems that the PHB5E ranger had. I do not feel like this was properly integrated in the Of Everything books.

[@ConstructedChaos]

A lot of people like to cite this version of the ranger but I’ve found that the changes made with Tasha’s work out just fine for me.

[@MO1ALPHA]

Playing my first campaign ever as a half orc Gloomstalker Ranger. I didnt know about the optional class features. Only a lvl 4 currently im hoping my DM will allow me to switch things over. As most of the stock features have never come up.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Yep!! Those optional features are a game changer!

[@TheRobversion1]

imo those options from tasha's are the "real" ranger.

[@yiklongtay6029]

The favored enemy element admittedly had a cool RP flare to it. A certain kind of beast killed you uncle's husband's dog that one time and now you swear revenge and studied their weaknesses for a lifetime. Replacing it with a concentration spell takes that away. Maybe you can homebrew having both. Have 1 freebie type of foe that does not need concentration

[@ConstructedChaos]

I just wish that it was more flexible. Because there was always that chance that it came up a couple times but was usually not relevant unless your DM was willing to throw you a bone. I always thought that the ability to change the type of enemy when you level up would have been better-if not a little bit of an over correction.

[@yiklongtay6029]

@@ConstructedChaos I personally thought the Rangers could progressively learn how to deal with an enemy type. Because Rangers study their prey and improve their prowess. RP opportunities naturally come. If a ranger witnesses a critical hit on an enemy type (like discovering a weak point), land a killing blow, search for weaknesses with a stupid high Perception check, or quietly observe one for 1 minute (stealth check), they gain the favored enemy/foe benefits for 1 day. They still get their 1-3 permanent favored enemy from 5e. Just a thought I havent tested yet

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@yiklongtay6029 something like that is exactly what I’m talking about. May have to play test this or something similar because I think it’s on the right track!

[@cheekysaver]

I don't know if the ranger hunter is a bad option. I had never played a Ranger before... LOTS of other stuff tho. 4 level with Horde breaker, Hunters Mark, dual yelding and 2 weapon fithing is a little bit ginsuy. I mathed it out and I can potentially do 50 points of damage per turn at 4th level... 70 at 5th with the extra attack. Now we know that requires 3 hits at 4th level and max damage on each ... and that never happens. (the reality of dice.) I was going to do more of a ranged archer type... but we had NO fighers. I am not sure how that happened.... but I adjusted. I totally expected a case of suck with the character... but he will be okay.... until he isn't.

[@ConstructedChaos]

So the thing about the Hunter is that you get to kindof pick your own features from a list. There are some really good options in there but there are also some really bad ones and it can be difficult for new players to know which ones are the good ones haha. Sounds like you know the good ones 😎

[@cheekysaver]

@@ConstructedChaos I think it really depends on the group needs and how you want to play the character. Group needs first because without your friends... nothing else matters. For a nessisaryly offensive character, that is a decent combo. I would have been happy playing a archer that disappeared into the background tho. Instead I get to compansate for my normal gimpy life and let fly in melee. LOL I honestly have no idea how long this character will live. I really should create a backup with how many times I have been knocked out.

[@cryztlmathew2296]

Keep up the great work. This was a really good video

[@ConstructedChaos]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@helgrenze]

My new favorite Ranger cheat is to take the Eldritch Adept Feat with Armor of Shadows on a high Dex character. Add a shield to an 18 Dex and the AC is at 19 (13 AoS +4 Dex +2 Shield) with no Armor penalties.

[@ConstructedChaos]

And use a melee build? Or something like a hand crossbow?

[@helgrenze]

@@ConstructedChaos Melee, with Sling for ranged.... rocks are free.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@helgrenze haha nice! And that depends on the type of rocks in my experience. Silly humans tend to value the shiny ones.

[@mattfinch3281]

My ranger is ac 19 with serpent scale mail, and a ring of protection. Added a cloak of protection and he’s now 20 ac. No disadvantage to stealth at all. Add the vanish ability and he literally disappears easily. I love it.

[@helgrenze]

@@mattfinch3281 Add the shield to boost to Ac 22.. and almost never take damage. Have to ask, what are the bonuses from the Cloak and Ring?

[@ReadingDave]

Ya, Charisma is nice if you want to be an animal friend and Intellegence is good to take advantage of those skill advantages/expertise options.

[@ConstructedChaos]

No doubt at all there! Nice suggestion!

[@TDoubleDub]

Alternate Capstone ability we use for Level 20 Alternate Rules: Cull the Herd: You may end your Favored Foe Mark early to add your Ranger Level to damage when you succeed on an Ranged or Melee Weapon attack. If this ability drops to enemy to 0 hit-points or below, you gain back your use of Favored Foe.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Honestly, I love this! It could end up being a bit overpowered considering that we'd have 6 uses by level 20 but maybe without the last bit about gaining that use back would help balance things out! Either way, super fun idea for the capstone!

[@TDoubleDub]

@@ConstructedChaos I should have mentioned this previously, but we also have the line where you can't "cull" the same target twice in 24hrs. You pick your +20 to damage moments a lot more selectively than smites do, but with that same combat energy.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@TDoubleDub Aaahhhh that helps bring it back to some level of balance! Makes sense to me as is then!

[@RequiemWraith]

Probably me being blind, but could you please direct me to the part of Tasha's that you're discussing at 9:40?

[@ConstructedChaos]

I’m not sure of the page number but I’m referring to the primal companion feature in the ranger section of the book. Should be one of the last things in that section!

[@RequiemWraith]

@@ConstructedChaos Thank you, I'll give it another read through

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@RequiemWraith no problem!!

[@chainclaw07]

... suggestion here - pokemon trainer ranger... allow for 4 beasts to switch between at higher levels. Ofc 1 at a time unless you use a spellslot for a limited time second beast?

[@TheRobversion1]

i don't get the suggestion here. are you asking chaos to make a ranger summoner build or asking him to homebrew a subclass?

[@chainclaw07]

@@TheRobversion1 it was more just a thought that popped into my head. Beastmaster being underwhelming could be upped by having different beasts with different applications, a la pokemon, making you the trainer, underwhelming but your stable of reliable beasts makes you strong and versatile

[@TheRobversion1]

@@chainclaw07 this is a common misconception. beastmaster was indeed underwhelming pre-tashas. now it's the 2nd strongest ranger subclass behind the gloomstalker. the drakewarden doesn't even come close to the beastmaster. the best build for beastmaster indeed is a wis-based summoner. like for my elephant herder beastmaster who bought the elephant in the phb as a mount and trained it rolling with a primal companion, using summon beast and also picking up find familiar (owl flavored as flying baby elephant using it's ears). i could share the optimized build if you're here looking for a beastmaster build.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@chainclaw07 Rob recently opened my eyes to the power of the beast master as well haha. That said, I do like the flavor of a beast master swapping out “Pokémon” after rests! Perhaps your DM would even been cool with allowing you to say you store the beasts within a little gem, crystal, or talisman that you keep on your person! Flavor is always free!! 😊

[@remanyooman3803]

Do so many people really not track ammunition?

[@ConstructedChaos]

I honestly think the majority of people don’t but it may only be a slight majority. I know most people I’ve played with didn’t.

[@daytonpannell]

If anything, the fighter steps on more toes than a ranger.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hmmm maybe so. But, I'll cover that soon when I make my fighter guide!

[@alheimianservant1499]

If you're going strength ranger, then get heavily armored feat and don't take Tasha beast master, unless if you are going for sky beast. A ranged ranger would benefit from Tasha beast master.

[@TheRobversion1]

i think it;s the opposite. melee gish rangers benefit the most from beastmaster. to be clear, wis based rangers rolling with shillelagh and casting. STRangers are better with non-wis heavy subclasses such as gloomstalker or hunter.

[@alheimianservant1499]

@@TheRobversion1 the reasoning for why I said that is mainly because, if you're going STRanger beast master, You'll need to put enough points into Dex and Wis for multiclassing abilities, strength as your best stat, and con as to be more tanky.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@alheimianservant1499 str based beast masters will be ineffective if they are relying on their beast alot (which imo is the reason to play as such). If the ranger would rather use str and have a pet, a drakewarden is better.

[@alheimianservant1499]

@@TheRobversion1 probably, I don't know drakewarden

[@mrbibble5072]

The intro alone earned you a sub before I even watched the full video!

[@mrbibble5072]

#946!

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@mrbibble5072 Thanks so much!! I hope you enjoy the rest as well! Happy to have ya as part of the Chaos Crew!

[@mrbibble5072]

@@ConstructedChaos chaos reigns!!!

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@mrbibble5072 Hahaha! With any luck, we’ll hit 1K before our next live stream tomorrow night!

[@12oshinko]

I love when Jo Cat says play a fighter with a bow, it's better lol

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha I think that may have been true in the past, and fighter is still one of my favorite martial classes in general, but ranger is definitely a lot better now!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos agreed. though tbh they work best together. they just synergize so well.

[@biblebot3947]

What’s the e music used in 1:10?

[@ConstructedChaos]

I can't remember the exact track but I'm pretty sure it was something by August Wilhelmsson. Maybe "A Web of Lies"?

[@charlesbunyard5267]

Ghostwise halfling are great GloomStalker Rangers

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hell yeah they are!! And I love it when I get to play a halfling outside of the typically Tolkien hobbit variety!

[@cashandraven2369]

They are far from broken, especially compared to any full spellcaster. Just because they can actually do their job doesn't mean they are too strong.

[@ConstructedChaos]

This video is actually part of a series of guides wherein I take special mention of the most broken (powerful) parts of that class!

[@BashenManTV]

So does Foe Slayer replace Hunter's Mark?

[@ConstructedChaos]

Favored Foe doesn't "replace" hunter's mark (since you can still take the hunter's mark spell) but it does require concentration so you can't have both active at the same time. In the end, Favored Foe seems to work out a bit better IMO.

[@BashenManTV]

@@ConstructedChaos Cool thanks for the clarification!

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@BashenManTV Of course! Happy to help, friend!

[@andreymontag]

Rangers also get conjure animals, which is more dpr than swift quiver

[@ConstructedChaos]

It can usually, yes, depending on what the DM gives you. I’m personally a fan of Swift Quiver but you make a sound point here!

[@andreymontag]

@@ConstructedChaos it's not 22 like with being able to pick, but it's around ten and possibly more since animals can distract enemies to give advantage on them(or they help PCs. Either is good, one is in the books for sure) If the DM was determined to give you bad animals, I still think that the spell is worth the slots

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@andreymontag I don’t disagree! I just wanted to point that out!

[@andreymontag]

@@ConstructedChaos neither am I. I just love showing off how much stuff I know. Please don't respond anymore tho. It's a bit uncomfortable

[@TheRobversion1]

@@andreymontag i'd say it's not if the dm decides to give you crap animals. imagine spending a 3rd level slot to get 8 of something who cant even distract or do anything like 8 seahorses? this happens quite often at a lot of tables.

[@FamfritFW]

Yup yup. Friends don't let friends play the Vanilla PHB only Ranger.

[@ConstructedChaos]

This person gets it^^^^ ;)

[@dndbuilds]

I never understand the hate for Hunter, while having love for Monster Slayer Monster Slayer's Features are just worse versions of Hunters Hunter's Sense really eats up an action, and usually people tend to jump into combat, unless you're doing some serious scouting this would rarely be helpful Slayer's Prey is just a worse version of Hunter's Prey Colossus Slayer which you would get at the same level. It's less damage, and requires a bonus action when the Hunter version just automatically triggers if the enemy has taken any damage already (and once you have Extra attack this is almost a guarantee). Supernatural Defense is super situational, it's only helpful against Grapple, but most rangers are ranged, so this would rarely come into effect. Steel will isn't super helpful, but Escape the Horde or Multiattack defense from the Hunter subclass are far more useful Magic User's Nemesis is the one thing that isn't just a worse version, it's essentially counterspell, but it's only usable once per long rest so it's only OK at best. While Volley and Whirlwind attack are far better which you get from the Hunter Subclass, you can use them repeatedly, and you can pick one based on your combat style (Volley being much more for ranged, while Whirlwind is for melee). Slayer's Counter at 15th level is the one exception, being able to get an extra attack and auto-save on a saving throw is pretty good, but the Hunter choices aren't necessarily bad either, I know Evasion and Uncanny dodge are gotten far earlier as a Rogue, but Stand Against the Tide is pretty good especially when fighting heavy hitters, it can force enemies to take eachother out. The Hunter feature at this level is definitely not as good as the Monster Slayer, but in my eyes, this is the only feature that this holds true, and it's only at level 15. Which half of my campaigns never even reached. Sorry for the little rant, but I just don't get why people choose Monster Slayer over Hunter, outside of one ability, and I hear it far too often.

[@TheRobversion1]

hunter is better than monster slayer (horizon walker too!). those probably saying it just aren't understanding the abilities well enough and how action economy works in 5e. or are valuing higher level abilities over lower level abilities. i place more weight at the abilities gained at level 3 and 7 as most campaigns end mid tier 3. most don't really get to play with level 15 abilities. hunter's sense is indeed a ribbon and useless. slayer's prey is a trap and indeed worse than colossus slayer. horde breaker and giant killer (campaign dependent) i'd even rank higher than both as those are ways to get extra attacks early. hunter definitely has the edge at level 3. the good review on supernatural defense is warranted though as it's not just for grapple but boosts any save by 1d6. its not situational and is one of the better abilties of the monster slayer. agreed on multiattack defense but i'd disagree on steel will and escape the horde. escape the horde is less useful on the ranger as rangers tend to be ranged or have the most tools among the different classes to easily disengage (zephyr strike, fog cloud, ashardalon's stride, etc). steel will on the other hand is situationally useful as advantage on saves vs. frightened gets more important as you go up in tiers and face more enemies who can generate this debuff. at this level, i'd give the slight edge to the monster slayer. magic user nemesis is once per short rest, not long rest so that makes it more useable. with that said, the DC is based on your wis so unless the monster slayer is a caster type or relying on shillelagh/magic stone, the enemy will make that save most of the time. this makes it's power build dependent. having a resource free counterspell is always good. on a wis based ranger, i'd give the edge to the monster slayer. on a dex/str based ranger, the hunter wins out. volley and whirlwind are decent abilities but focuses the hunter on the wrong tactics in combat (attacking multiple enemies instead of focus firing and whittling down big threats as the ranger's role is a striker. mobs should be left to the party blaster/controller or should be handled after the bbeg is taken cared of). slayer's counter is indeed a great ability as it's an auto-save success and an attack. I'd definitely give the edge to monster slayer at level 15. stand against the tide is DM dependent. tactical DMs would definitely spread melee brutes around the battlefield instead of putting them close to each other. putting them close to each other just makes them vulnerable to the party's casters. uncanny dodge and evasion are the picks for the hunter here. both are good. i'd pick uncanny dodge as statistically there are more enemies that would attack than force dex saves and both abilities just negate dmg instead of nullifying debilitating effects. spells: the monster slayer bonus spells are bad or work better on a caster since they are gotten too late (banishment/hold monster). so overall: level 3: hunter by a mile level 7: slight edge to monster slayer level 11: depends on whether the monster is wis based so i'll call this a wash. level 15: monster slayer so while monster slayer may have more edges overall, the fact that they don't have the edge at level 3 means they will suck compared to the hunter for most of the game. monster slayer basically pulls ahead of hunters power level wise by level 15 which is too late.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Totally understandable and I agree, really! I just think that the hunter has some built-in traps that could create a very weak ranger if inexperienced players choose the wrong options. Monster Slayer has the potential benefit of removing that player agency so I wanted to compare them in a way that takes into account the bad parts of hunter as well-even if you would never consider taking those options as someone very familiar with the game.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos hey Chaos! when's the next vid? Agreed here as well. i think if someone inexperienced just keeps taking the weaker options on hunter then yes it'll be worse than the monster slayer. my own analysis assumes that the player takes the best hunter options so that's why i said the hunter is better. with that said, i think for a high tier 3 start and a wis based build, a monster slayer has the potential to be really good as it has avoided the levels that it sucks (levels 1-10). it's very similar to artificers in that way.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@TheRobversion1 I’m working on it currently and it’s a really big one that’s involved a lot of extra filming for b-roll so it’s taking longer than usual! I was hoping to have it up tomorrow but something came up with work so it’s looking like Tuesday now. I’ve got a lot of ideas for videos immediately after that, though! So I’m expecting to get back into my usual rhythm soon!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos yeah i was curious how the new vid would look with your new equipment/setup. have a good day man!

[@Tysto]

Every subclass should be inferior to the main class but more colorful. That's what makes the main class the main class. Everybody wants to be just like the main class but with special abilities.

[@robertagren9360]

You get no spells as a wizard and instead you can only use illusions of these spells which means the target need to believe it's real while unable to resist once struck.

[@magnusflodberg6162]

They are far from broken, but they are finally good. The only subclass close to top tier is Gloom Stalker. And saying that Horizon Walker is great? It is a much worse Fey Wanderer essentially, which is of similar level to the Drakewarden and Best Master, and they are all great choices (as is the Gloom Stalker), and Swarmkeeper is fine as well. But saying that they are broken when compared to Twilight Cleric, Divination Wizard, or Chronurgy Wizard (might as well add basically anything Bard and/or Paladin to that list) is just wrong. Rangers are GOOD, do not get me wrong, but they are far from the strongest class, and they do not need to be the strongest either :)

[@ConstructedChaos]

Horizon Walker is fantastic-especially in the right setting! I’ve been wanting to build a new one for a while now so maybe that’s what I’ll do next! Now, you may be new to the channel-most people are-but this is actually part of a video series where I go over every class and speak about what I think makes them capable of being broken in an effort to remove the internet mentality that some classes are unplayable and only a few are actually worth using. So, I know they aren’t the best class! But I do appreciate you taking the time to articulate your thoughts here!

[@magnusflodberg6162]

@@ConstructedChaos I see, and with that understanding regarding the purpose, I admit that I might have been brash. However, to me "broken" doesn't just mean "good", but that it basically makes playing anything else pointless. You are correct in your assumption that I am new to the channel (this was my first video), and I apologize if I came off as hostile/disrespectful, it was not my intent. I still do not agree on calling them broken, but they are far better than they were pre-Tasha's and are in a VERY good spot! :) I had typed out a rather lengthy response, however, I managed to shut the "youtube tab", and it got erased, so, a quicker version will have to do: I find the concept behind the Horizon Walker tantalizing and intriguing to say the least. However, mechanically it gets bogged down, and feels clunky, having to be within 30ft/10m to activate the force damage, and it using your bonus action (a heavily coveted resource for a ranger, and other subclasses finds better use for it), as well as having to teleport before attacking while using Distant Strikes...just...WHY?! Horizon Walker gets access to an amazing spell list, especially Haste, there is no getting around that, however, it is a half caster, and so others in the party might already have had access to the same spells for MANY levels. Ethereal Step is usable oince per combat, if that. It would have been much more interesting of it was equal to you proficiency modifier. the 3rd level feature of sensing portals is a wash in most campaigns, and would only ever be interesting/useful in a campaign revolving around extra planar invasion. To get the most bang out of your buck with Distant Strikes you have to target different enemies, which means it is circumstantial at best (at least three enemies that you can see, and you are spreading out the damage, which is worse than focusing a single enemy in terms of action economy, and this part of the feature is useless if there are two enemies, or less). Spectral Defense is cool, I guess, but it is for AN opponents turn, and it burns your reaction. It is rather lack luster for a cap stone feature for a subclass. Horizon Walker was easily the second-best subclass for rangers until Tasha's but has been surpassed by the Fey Wanderer (which is almost an evolved version of the Horizon Walker which has been streamlined), Swarmkeeper, Revised Beast Master, and the Drakewarden. Yes, this is the abridged version of my reply. There are points left out, and those given have shrunk in detail, but I hope the are articulated well enough anyways. :)

[@TheRobversion1]

@@magnusflodberg6162 agreed on most points here except for a couple. haste on the horizon walker is bad as there's a chance your concentration breaks (assuming a melee ranger which most horizon walkers are due to distant strikes) and you get the drawback. haste however is indeed a good spell but better on a support class like lets say a twin casting sorcerer. i wouldn't say horizon walker is the second best subclass pre-tashas as i'd put hunter higher. now i'd rank them as gloomstalker>>>beastmaster>fey wanderer>swarmkeeper>hunter>horizon walker>drakewarden>monster slayer. and yeah chaos uses the "broken" title not to actually imply a class is broken but to show all classes/subclasses can be useable and to get people to watch the video due to the controversial title.

[@magnusflodberg6162]

@@TheRobversion1 I will agree that haste is better on a support caster, rather than the ranger, but, you could be a ranged ranger, and cast haste on a barb/monk/fighter, and most likely get full use out of it (still better on a support, but it is an option). Beastmaster and Drakewarden are almost the same though? The biggest difference is that the drake takes its turn after you, but it is a more versatile, and mostly, stronger pet (especially at higher levels). Personally, I would probably rank it GS first (at least in terms of burst and exploration, but DPR has better options, such as BM, DW, and FW). These three would probably be my go to though for longer combats. But, 1stGS, shared 2nd FW/DW/BM, 3rd (5th) Swarmkeeper, 6th HW, 7th and 8th are Hunter and Monster Slayer, and I honestly do not know which is worse than the other. But they are by far the weakest.

[@TheRobversion1]

fair enough on a ranged horizon walker. my point was mostly haste on a melee horizon walker was a sub-optimal play. and rangers are typically strikers or summoners. there are much better options if one wants to play a support. there are stark differences between beast master and drakewarden and if we're going simply combat effectiveness and options the beastmaster clearly is ahead. let's go over some of those differences and similarities: 1. dpr wise nothing packs more of a punch than the beast of the land's charge (comparing to drake's infused strikes) due to the ability to knock prone based on your wis. 2. the beast of the air gives you a fly option earlier. 3. you can mount both. 4. beastmaster has better saves and checks due to primal bond. 5. beast of the sea gives you a control option. 6. drakewarden suffers at higher tiers due to bounded accuracy. beastmaster scales with your wisdom and if your dm gives you the moon sickle. 7. beast gets to attack twice at level 11 and ignore dmg resistance at 7. 8. drake's main advantage is the shared elemental resistances so it's tankier against certain dmg types. 9. drake's breath is a nice aoe effect burst effect at later tiers but will eventually fall behind constant beast of the land multiattack charges unless you spend level 3 slots which are pricey for rangers. i'd rather spend those level 3 slots on a better blast spell: conjure animals. 10. alot will depend on what spells you share as a beastmaster. sharing something like guardian of nature or even something gained outside of beastmaster like sanctuary, haste, heroism, etc will drastically increase the beastmaster's effectiveness. so to conclude. beastmasters are best at levels 1-10. drakewarden's gains a slight edge at level 11-14 due to drake's breath then beastmaster pulls ahead again 15+. Versatility is on the beastmaster's side, not drakewarden. single target sustained dpr, control is also on the beastmaster's side. drakewarden has the edge in situational tankiness and burst/aoe dmg. as far as gloomstalker being behind dpr wise, i disagree. always on obscurement (advantage on all attacks without consuming action economy) gives it an edge over other sustained dpr wise until level 11 where beastmasters gain their 2nd attack, fey wanderers get their 2nd summon fey, etc. this assumes of course the gloomstalker weaponizes their bonus action via spells or feats to match the bonus action source of dmg the beastmaster has. and imo burst is better than sustained dmg anyway. no need to sustain if the enemy is dead on round 1. hunters i would posit as better than horizon walker and monster slayer as those 2 have trap abilities that consume their bonus action on a very bonus action heavy class. hunters add dmg or attacks at no action economy cost so they can add spells/attacks from the bonus action slot. i'd only put drakewardens over them if the drakewarden build has a way of maximizing the drake's aoo such as using dissonant whispers. otherwise, the dmg you gain out of the drake's attack that uses your bonus action is just similar to or inferior to using the great ranger bonus action spells or a sharpshooter'ed crossbow expert attack on top of getting a free colossus slayer or horde breaker. the only reason beastmaster's bonus action attack is not lumped into this as the dmg from that slot will be potentially greater once they get a couple of attacks and you get to share spells.

[@rylog8]

"Wizard is such a weak class!" "What? How can you say that?" "It has barely any HP, no weapons or armor, and only a handful of spells. Just 6 at first level, and you can't even have all 6 prepared!" "Wait... you only have 10 spells as a 3rd level wizard?" "Yeah, my DM doesn't use spell scrolls or enemy wizard spell books." "... :| "

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha yikes!

[@robertagren9360]

Barbarian wizard, because the game is rigged you can only multiclass.

[@TheRobversion1]

I think the gloomstalker is broken in the right campaign (where 90% of the campaign is in darkness or shadow like an underdark delving campaign) though a ranger in general isn't broken by any means. the revised beastmaster is another great subclass while the others are a bit meh though the fey wanderer is excellent if you're starting at tier 3. gloomstalkers are great in a normal campaign where shadow or darkness happens at least 60% of the time and is a good class still even if the campaign is 90% in daylight in a broad open fields. drakewardens i consider as a worse beastmaster. disagree on the horizon walker mechanically, it's not bad but it's definitely meh. the trap with horizon walker and monster slayer is their core abilities use bonus actions on a bonus action heavy class. what you end up having is bonus action clog. then add in that you can compare those dmg abilities to hunter, fey wanderer and swarmkeeper who get to adds that dmg without consuming your action economy. I'd rank the ranger subclasses as such: gloomstalker>>>beastmaster>fey wanderer>swarmkeeper>hunter>horizon walker>drakewarden>monster slayer other great spells not mentioned are the wonderfully scaling lightning arrow, summon beast (pack tactics!), fog cloud (great with blind fighting or vs. large+ enemies), pass without trace (good way to generate surprise or at least advantage for your 1st attack), spike growth (cheese-grating), plant growth (good non-concen situational control) and conjure animals (a great blast spell if you can't use it as a proper summon spell if your DM doesn't let you choose the beasts).

[@ConstructedChaos]

Great insight as always, friend!! Thanks for watching and adding this input!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos btw just additional feedback, great production value on the vids! i like it. keep it up. is the music you used for the gloomstalker intro portals from avengers: endgame?

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@TheRobversion1 Thanks!! And it isn’t! All the music I use is from epidemic sound! I can probably get the name of the track if you’d like to know!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos yeah it sounds cool. reminded me of portals. it's a good mood setting background music.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@TheRobversion1 It's The Beginning Of The End by August Wilhelmsson! I use his stuff a TON in my campaigns and videos!

[@StevenJQuinlan]

"I am a Ranger! We walk in dark places where others fear to walk. We stand on the bridge, and none may pass. We live for the one, we die for the one" Marcus Cole, Babylon 5

[@carbonbeaker409]

"Delight, respect, compassion. That for your actions to be pure they must proceed from direction, determination, patience and strength. I'm afraid I'm still working on patience. They taught me how to live, how to breathe, how to fight and how to die. And they taught me terror. How to use it. And how to face it." Mmm yes, Marcus was a fun character

[@Certarl]

@@carbonbeaker409 "I think id like to hear more about that...." "no you wouldn't"

[@andrewshaughnessy5828]

I modified the Babylon 5 Ranger oath for my Gloom Stalker. I replaced the last line with "For we have seen what happens when the monsters come out from the dark," lifted from Xanthar's Guide to Everything.

[@ZeriocTheTank]

My first character in D&D was a 5e hunter ranger. A wood elf named Ilan. It's true that I wasn't the biggest damage dealer, or the best healer or even the most stealthiest. However I realized that I could help fill in the gaps when needed. One of my most memorable moments was the rogue and I stealthily following someone in a crowded city. At one point we almost lost him, so I decided to cast hunter's mark on him to gain advantage on perception checks on him.

[@Comicsluvr]

The Hunter really does have some good options. The additional D8 from Colossus Slayer is in addition to the D6 from Hunter's Mark. Horde Breaker works for ranged as well as melee attacks so that's a bonus shot on another target. So the former is beast against big bosses and the latter is perfect for the minion horde.

[@mlucc5]

Nice name

[@d_camara]

Ranger do is the most stealthiest, just cast pass without trace and everyone in your party is the most stealthiest. Ranger can be the biggest damage dealer, tank, and controller if you cast summon animals. The spells ranger gets are amazing

[@Byakuya_ML]

@@d_camara imagine a halfling ranger💀💀💀

[@Elohist2009]

The hunter is definitely underrated. It’s a straightforward martial subclass on its own and pairs well with the ranger spells as tools for combat/exploration.

[@zeterzero4356]

"Dexterity is the most important stat for a ranger next to wisdom." Me, standing over here with my battle axe swinging ranger with 18 strength and a +10 Athletics check. "Am I joke to you?"

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha, look, this is what the PHB recommends as well. And to even multiclass into or out of ranger, you need a 13 or above in both dex and wis. So, while a build like that is totally viable, I’d say dex and wis are usually more important.

[@J.sh_CDN]

STRanger builds for the win! Right up there with dex paladins, surprisingly good while going against the grain

[@zeterzero4356]

@@J.sh_CDN Running a Dexidin right now. Level seven and can do 60 damage on a good day and near 100 on a great day!

[@nicholassteele1367]

Ha ha yeah, I'm playing a half-orc strength gloomstalker ranger with expertise in athletics and he consistently out performs the fighter in fights. Zephyr strike with a greataxe let's him zip in to deliver huge hits. So much fun and a lot of functionality outside of combat. I just wish they had done a better job with flavored foe. It's just garbage. 2.5 points of damage once per round all the way up to 4.5 at 14th level for concentration? No thanks. Should've started at d6 and added another d6 for each jump.

[@ultamatenexusmerc5573]

@@zeterzero4356 how, can you tell me the gear and everything? I wanted to do something like that for a while, it's just I always feel like I'll be lacking behind in terms of things. Mostly due to that fact that I already like to used my spell slots on things other than smites since I'm usually the only "support"

[@danielcolvin1611]

Man, I’m two minutes in and hooked already. The art alone is drool worthy - not enough content creators take advantage of the insane fantasy art out there (with credit or permissions of course), and the music is such a rare inclusion in these types of videos. Sets the mood for sure, already made me think of Rangers as badass subconsciously before I realized it lol. Killer audio levels and production quality all around, keep it up for sure. Subbed!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks so much!!! And yes, HUGE appreciation for all the artists that commissioned by WOTC! I’m always very careful to only use art found in DND sourcebooks so that it falls under educational content and those artists get the credit they deserve for such amazing work!

[@nerfherder5211]

Really agree but what credited artists?

[@SomoneTookMyName]

I made several changed to my groups ranger in the last campaign. They were playing a beastmaster so most of the changes were to the pet. It worked out very well and made the pet viable in the group.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Homebrew changes to an animal are a great idea to give beast master a little boost and to make it feel like they have more of a personal connection with them! I dig it!

[@Boardslam27]

I allowed my beast master to give ASI to the beast as well as their character when they reached 4th,8th and so on level. Furthermore I allowed them to have the beast continue attacking the same target by itself automatically when the beast was commanded to attack. I find it strange that the rules as written beast is so mindless it doesn't know what to do each turn.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@Boardslam27 I like those changes-especially the second one. That makes sense to me.

[@coyoboyo]

Drakewarden was also a great addition. Can't forget our dragon riding pals.

[@leodouskyron5671]

Rangers are not broken but they are usable. I can aurgur that one can even cut out of Gloomstalker and really power up with a caster or a Rogue multi as opposed to staying I class. If anything that is the biggest issue (in general) with the Ranger is it was a pit stop for long doing a multi class. Tasha made it way more a destination. The Ranger tends to be the Samwise of D&D. Trying to help everyone so no one is alone in what they are trying to do. Rogue has to sneak in to the camp - Ranger is right behind them. Paladin at full gallop to take on the BBEG - Ranger gives covering fire and dispatches adds that are trying to get in the way. Fighter getting swamped - Ranger pulls in a few creature to even the odds. Ranger can’t do it all or even do things better then all others…but they can help everyone. But if they have to go and get the BBEG alone, you can pull out your panther friend and a couple swords and go to town with a chance of getting there. They can be what ever the team needs with the right choices. And that makes them Clutch not broken to me. (I personally think most our out them as middle of the pack)

[@ConstructedChaos]

Excellent points as always!! I’m not sure if it’s become apparent to you yet but this video is part of a series that I’m making for every class wherein I highlight the best parts of each while providing a guide for playing said class. The goal, at least for me, is to illustrate that ANY class/character can be “broken” and no one should feel like certain choices are off limits for them simply due to how weak or strong their character would be as a result. So, while I do still think Rangers can be broken (the good kind), I agree the mostly they are on par with other classes in the game! So far I’ve only made guides for monk, wizard, and ranger but many more are on the way!

[@DaWishard]

You be surprised how versatile Rangers are, and how they can actually outpace some people in many areas if they choose to specialize. For example... Rangers are actually, bar none, the best humanoids for stealthing and doing scouting (druids being the only ones that outfox them if they use wildshape). Rogues can't compete with them. Rangers have canny now, and can expertise stealth while also having access to pass without a trace and bonus action invisibillity. (We aren't even looking at the whole existence that is gloomstalker either). Or let's take a more surprising route of... fey wanderer. They also, If they specialize and build towards it, can be the highest charisma skill based characters in the game. With feats like skill expert,and spells that bard also has, like charm person or enhance abillity, fey wanderers literally have the abillity to outpace both rogues and bards in the charisma skill check departments. And still be highly viable to boot! Skill checks and such aside, The features from Tashas makes staying being a ranger fantastic as you get extra on hand temp hit points, invisibillity, higher dice with favored foe, and really stellar spells (not just the ones that are stated in this video either! Overtime, Rangers have gotten amazing spells from more recent books that make them on par with paladins if built and used right (Tashas, and especially fazban show some easily identifiable spells that are just delicious) So I would argue, once you take a really close inspeaction, they are upper middle pact at this point! They can specialize and kill it nearly anywhere, wether it's damage or outside combat abillities!

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@DaWishard Very well said and I completely agree!

[@Kosmic_Aes]

I agree with some of your take. Its great to have a character who can support the group, be the "Samwise". Rangers can take that role. However, bards can be built to do everything the ranger does, except they have more expertise and are full spellcasters. Rangers aren't even the best generalist character. Consider this. Aragorn totally comes off as a badass loner type, but steps it up to lead the group, several times. Geralt of Rivia from the witcher games goes in by himself to fight all kinds of monsters and BBEGs, its his thing, but still has a tight group of allies. There's a fictional character named..... the Lone Ranger.... (with his side kick tonto). I'm not suggesting dnd rangers should be one man wrecking crews or anything crazy. I am saying the fantasy of Rangers is a character, like Aragorn or Geralt, who excels like no other when working alone or with a small group, but is still capable and willing to lead or support when needed.

[@leodouskyron5671]

@@Kosmic_Aes At the core Rangers are martial strikers so weapons is name of the game with survival. Bards are Support casters. And Lone Ranger is based on the Texas Rangers which was law enforcement. Aragorn is a well known Ranger but that was not the main point of the Samwise thing because it was pointing out the ability of Samwise to be a friend and partner (though considering how much Hobbits eat he likely had to be a hunter to keep them feed - lol). The one thing that DND never got perfect about rangers is that they tend to be leader types (or at least A type personalities). Funny that you bring up small groups. In 1E, fighters got a full unit of troops and a keep at named level, Paladins got lesser Paladins But rangers got small group of sub heros including a chance for gryphons, Pegasus and a young dragon. Thought you may enjoy that if you did not know.

[@edga7490]

My dm decided to homebrew some abilities, like in one piece, and my ranger got ability that allows to find the weakspot of an enemy, and if you land a hit, your damage multiplies by 5 in exchange for exaustion points. So my gloom stalker ranger did 400 damage in one hit. I think my dm should think how to balance that out.

[@TheRobversion1]

yeah i think 5 is too much. a more balanced option would be is your dmg is multiplied by your exhaustion levels. after dealing that dmg, you gain 1 level of exhaustion. so x5 is still possible but this will lead to your death.

[@Keyce0013]

Are you only allowed to have 1 form of concentration active at a time, or can they be separated? Favoured Foe mentions that it acts "as if" concentrating on a spell, which means that it isn't "actually" concentrating on a spell. This sounds to me like you have have Favoured Foe active while also maintaining concentration on an actual spell.

[@TheRobversion1]

only 1. however, it doesn't mean you can have only 1 concentration spell as a player. there's some ways to offload concentration to familiars with certain casters.

[@CashulCwasha]

I've been looking for a breakdown like this for a while. Very informative, my man, and well delivered. Happy to like, comment, and subscribe for more of that.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you found it helpful! 😊

[@LoneSkag]

2:10 You could do an urban bounty hunter background ranger if you wanted something more charisma based, but it would likely be better for a rouge or bard tbf

[@ConstructedChaos]

Sounds like a really interesting multiclass! The bard ranger!

[@kittensnark]

I myself have always enjoyed playing rangers, even when they were arguably pretty terrible as a class. There was always room there for a creative player to make them work. The problem was always the DM's that would outright ban the class. Not because it was bad. Not because it was good. They'd ban the class because they "just want everyone to have fun, and nobody playing a ranger can be enjoying themselves". I would always counter with, "Clearly then, you just don't know how to play a ranger." I'd get straight up kicked from tables, just because I'd dare suggest that if you knew what you were doing, you could actually have fun with the class.

[@ConstructedChaos]

And THAT is the whole reason I’m making this series of videos. Everyone should be able to play what they want without any judgement or gate keeping!

[@arrow2555]

I'm currently playing my first ever module campaign with a WE ranger, and have been for a year in total or just shy of. Being new and with a limited budget I only grabbed PHB on DnD Beyond so my choices were slim in terms of variation of subclasses. Having picked the Hunter even if people are saying "it's not great" or the likes I'm having a blast. Being able to track foes through communicating through plants or animals, the latter usually working when bribing them with food, as well as adapting to hoard like enemies with volley uses, or sharpshooter feat on pack leaders or bosses, combined with flame arrows and hunters mark can prove useful and fun for me.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@arrow2555 that’s awesome!! It sounds like you’ve got a good DM too! I love practically every playable option in 5e. I do just like to give disclaimers when something is a little harder to make work just in case. Hunter can honestly be really good and the original ranger could be too! It was just very situational and dependent on your DM’s willingness to tell you what you were up against or put your favored enemy type in front of you.

[@coyoboyo]

Since I was 14 with 2nd Edition. Ranger will always be my sense of class. (Always lost anywhere I go of course)

[@PlanetOfTheApes999]

With Tasha's, Rangers became a middle-of-the-road class. They're not nearly as great as Wizards, Paladins or Bards.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I think with Tasha’s alone, you may be right. But with Tasha’s AND the subclasses from Xanathar’s (most notably Gloomstalker) I’d say Ranger gets its “broken” status in my book! Though, it’s worth pointing out that “broken” in this context really just means very very good. I don’t believe that they’re game breaking or anything haha.

[@PlanetOfTheApes999]

@@ConstructedChaos The Gloom Stalker is amazing to be sure, but I'm not sure ranking an entire class based on its most powerful subclass is a good idea. A lot of players - probably the vast majority of players - will forgo that subclass and choose a subclass that best fits their character concept.

[@PlanetOfTheApes999]

@@ConstructedChaos Also, even though the Gloom Stalker is extremely strong, it's not really broken. Twilight Clerics, Hexblade 2/Charisma Caster, Artificer 1/Chronomancer, Paladin 6/Hexblade 1/Sorcerer...all these are far more potent than the Gloomstalker.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@PlanetOfTheApes999 Sure thing! I totally agree! So, I’m not sure if you’ve seen my other class guides but the idea is that any class CAN be broken. It’s not that the class is inherently-you’ll have to forgive the thumbnail for being a little overzealous there haha. The goal of the series is to encourage players to play what they want regardless of balance and game mechanics!

[@PlanetOfTheApes999]

@@ConstructedChaos Every class except the pitiful Monk can be broken :).

[@mylovebelf]

The downside of Goodberry vs. Cure Wounds is that it doesnt level with you whereas cw does. Plus, cw can be cast at a higher level slot to do more healing rather than a flat 10 points.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Totally, I just felt like goodberry was worth a mention since I think a lot of people sleep on its versatility.

[@ryanmadsen4063]

Because goodberry can be split up, makes is every so slightly useful. Keep some incase folks drop. As a ranger being able to bring 10 people back to 1HP is better than bringing back(or increasing) 1 player's HP by 10.

[@dustinschumann301]

Yall are forgetting that you can blow through any unused spell slots on goodberry just before a long rest and have a sack of berries to heal outside of combat the next day

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@dustinschumann301 bingo

[@pockets8548]

@@dustinschumann301ZENSU BEAN!

[@dengalekanin]

I like the idea of a Gloomstalker with Druidic Warrior fighting style for Control Flame or Druidcraft to make dim light or darkness for themselfs to hide in. Might not be min-maxed but it's nifty

[@TheRobversion1]

control flames for sure though for the 2nd cantrip i'd pick guidance. and tbh i doubt you'll need that alot as long as you have a large enough shadow somewhere to accommodate you, then umbral sight works. for example, hiding under the bed in a lit room, hugging the walls of an alleyway between 2 buildings in broad daylight, standing in the shadow of a large statue at noon, etc. the only time i've found control flames to be useful for what you mentioned is for a melee gloomstalker as they need shadows for the approach. a ranged gloomstalker doesn't have that problem as they can be auto-invisible in a shadow far away.

[@playerZ3R0123]

I think that Favoured Foe is only superior to Favoured Enemy if you're considering combat, and Favoured Enemy is superior almost everywhere else

[@ConstructedChaos]

Sure-I can agree with you there. But I feel as though you’re comparing apples to oranges in a sense that one is more of an exploration ability and one is built for combat. I think taking favored enemy over favored foe makes sense with some builds but, most of the time, that choice requires you to know what you’ll be up against (which is hard to justify in RP) and it’s unlikely that you’ll be facing those enemies so often through a given campaign unless the DM throws you a bone. Still, this is only my personal experience and that’s why I call it situational in my video.

[@roscoeivan8739]

even in combat skills .......can save the day. people crap on poison but a simple nature check can allow you to save damage for later. this is almost as good as a free spell scroll every time you kill a Poisonous creature. but like base ranger poisons are mis-understood.

[@destinpatterson1644]

These are the homebrew dual wielding rules I use. They might not be perfect as I'm still play testing them. Inorder to use these features you must have the Two Weapon Fighting style. Each melee weapon in the game can be broken down into a few categories, and mismatching weapons from each category gives an additional feature. Fell Handed (Axe&Axe): If you hit the same creature with your main hand axe and your off hand axe in the same turn, it must make a Constitution saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or have attacks against it be made with advantage until the start of your next turn. Anvil of Thunder (Axe&Hammer): If you hit the same creature with both your axe and your hammer in the same turn, it must make a Strength saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or be fall prone. Bear Fang (Axe&Sword): If you hit the same creature with both your axe and your sword in the same turn, it must make a Strength saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or become grappled. Sanguine Flow (Axe&Polearm): If you hit the same creature with both your axe and your polearm in the same turn, it must make a Constitution saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or at the start of each of the creature's turns, it takes 1d4 necrotic damage for each time you hit it with both weapons. It repeats the save at the end of each of it's turns, ending the effect of all such wounds on itself on a success. Serpent's Lure (Axe&Chained): If you hit the same creature with both your Hammer and your Sword in the same turn, it must make a Dexterity saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or be unable to willingly attack any other creature besides you until the start of your next turn. Brutalizing Firepower (Axe&Gun): If you hit a creature with your axe on your turn, then the next attack you take with your handgun, has an additional weapon die of damage. Wrath of Thor (Hammer&Hammer): If you hit the same creature with your main hand hammer and your off hand hammer in the same turn, then you can make an additional weapon attack against that same creature. Hammer's Edge (Hammer&Sword): If you hit the same creature with both your hammer and your sword in the same turn, it must make a Constitution saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or have disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of your next turn. Thundering Strike (Hammer&Polearm): If you hit the same creature with both your hammer and your polearm in the same turn, it must make a Constitution saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or be pushed 10ft in any direction. Dead Leg Blow (Hammer&Chained): If you hit the same creature with both your hammer and your chained weapon in the same turn, it must make a Dexterity saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or have it's speed reduced by 15ft until the start of your next turn. Reloading Ricochet (Hammer&Gun): If you hit the same creature with both your hammer and your handgun in the same turn, then your handgun is automatically reloaded. As long as you have ammo on your person to do so. Crescent Sweep (Sword&Sword): If you hit the same creature with your main hand sword and your off hand sword in the same turn, it must make a Strength saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or drop one item they're holding and have that item be thrown up to 20ft away. Guardian Stance (Sword&Polearm): If a creature triggers an attack of opportunity against you, then you can attack twice, once with your sword and another time with your polearm. Weakening Wounds (Sword&Chained): If you hit the same creature with both your sword and your chained weapon in the same turn, it must make a Constitution saving throws equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength/dexterity modifier, or be unable to regain hit points until the start of your next turn. Assassin's Whisper (Sword&Gun): If you hit a creature with your sword on your turn, then the next attack you take with your handgun in this turn, is completely silent. Drilling Barrage (Polearm&Polearm): If you hit the same creature with your main hand polearm and your off hand polearm in the same turn, the next attack made against that creature ignores the effects of its armor or shield. Follow Through (Polearm&Chained): If you hit the same creature with both your Polearm and your chained weapon in the same turn, then you can make an additional weapon attack against a different creature that's within 5tf of it, that you can reach. Stabled Shot (Polearm&Gun): If you hit a creature with your polearm on your turn, then the next attack you take with your handgun in this turn, has it's close range and long range are increased by by 1.5x. Lunging Rumba (Chained&Chained): If you hit the same creature with your main hand chained weapon and your off hand chained weapon in the same turn, then you're reach for your chained weapons is extended by 5ft until the end of your next turn. Conservative Flourish (Chained&Gun): If you hit a creature with your chained weapon on your turn, then the next attack you take with your handgun, doesn't consume any ammo. You must have ammo in your gun in order to use this feature. Akimbo (Gun&Gun): When you're wield a handgun in each hand, you can choose to have all of your attacks that turn to be made with disadvantage, but you can attack twice as much on your turn.

[@somerandomwizard5799]

Akimbo Did you mean: *spray and pray?*

[@thatguymatt5816]

This is honestly really damn cool

[@destinpatterson1644]

@@thatguymatt5816 Thank you.

[@PlanetOfTheApes999]

Dexterity>Constitution>Wisdom should be your priority insofar as stats are concerned. Conjure Animals is their best spell, and doesn't rely on Wisdom at all.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I could definitely see that being the case depending on the build! However, I do think that many ranger builds would benefit from higher wisdom for saving throws on spells that do require them as well as for ability checks within that umbrella. I also don’t think conjure animals is their best spell as it doesn’t scale as much as I’d like. But maybe there’s something I’m missing here?

[@TurunSamurai]

@@ConstructedChaos My group is planning on running Strixhaven next and in an effort to play a more "mage-like" ranger I actually chose druidic warrior fighting style with the shillelagh cantrip for my Fey Wanderer, that way I can almost dump dexterity and focus more on wisdom and constitution. That way I can get a big boost to my charisma skill checks and still have decent melee attacks with a quarterstaff. To be honest, I like where ranger is at right now as a class.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@TurunSamurai ooooh!! What a cool idea! Sounds effective and fun for a setting like that!

[@Soulessdeeds]

My ranger literally got every kill in the first 8 nights my group played. It was seriously becoming "It STILL COUNTS" meme. Now I am playing a Warforged Cleric Twilight Domain/Artificer. My group doesn't really have a solid front line and we didn't have a healer. AND we are playing in a Ravenloft style setting. So I decided to make my Cleric the groups healer/Tank. Twilight Domain Clerics get martial weapons and armor. So Long Sword and Shield with Chain mail. And now with Artificer I will take Armorer for stealth armor and +1 AC bonus with +1 weapons bonus. And I no longer have disadvantage on stealth checks due to Stealth armor! Oh and Warforged racial +1 AC. Integrated Protection. Once lvl 3 Artificer I am putting all my points into Cleric. Which is currently lvl 2 so I get my domain abilities and can put up a shield that gives myself and my party temp hit points every round for 1 minute. Which honestly saved me the last combat we had. So while its not the BEST ever tank build. It is filling the gap in our party right now. I am the one stop shop for tanking/healing lol. I currently sit at 19 AC at level 3 and 21 AC with shield of faith active. Not bad for lvl 3. Once the Artificer armor is made I will sit at 20 AC in Chain at least. And 22 AC with Shield of faith. Just milking Artificer for the Armorer stuff and then focusing on Cleric after. God help my DM if I get my hands on Plate armor! Muhahahahahaha Ahem I mean Huzah!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha THIS sounds like a build I need to take on a test drive!

[@AriesBozz]

I have a Warforged Forge Domain cleric with Articifer Armorer. Lvl 1 with a shield, I already have 20 AC before 2nd lvl

[@Keisarifi]

Im currently playing an 18 charisma ranger. Been pretty fun

[@ConstructedChaos]

Nice! Certainly charisma can be a great problem solving tool for most situations. It's not typical for rangers to have high charisma but I love working against the grain too!

[@MH-wj9tm]

Dude, your videos have been IMPECCABLE in production and time spent, you're a delight to listen to and learn from, and as a new player, your content has been invaluable. Thank you!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thank you so much!! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying them as much as I enjoy making them!! 😊

[@chacepassmore6474]

I love how much you put images of Drizzt in the video! He's by far my favorite ranger. I feel like if gloomstalker was a thing back then, that's what he would have been. Except his dual wielding might as well have been just extra attack actions lmao

[@ConstructedChaos]

Drizzt is a total badass haha! I couldn’t help myself! 😂🤘🏼

[@chacepassmore6474]

@@ConstructedChaos Heck yeah he is dude! That man took out a bassalisk with his eyes closed and fought off the apex predators of his own kind like they were flies 🤟😂

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@chacepassmore6474 His archetype is one of my biggest reasons for loving ranger so much, honestly!

[@chacepassmore6474]

@@ConstructedChaos Same man! My favorite character I've built to date is the one I'm playing now that is supposed to be his great great grandchild. She is Gloomstalker 5, Twilight Cleric 1, Assassin rogue 3, Battlemaster 4. It's so fun! Insane initiative! I even have a figurine of wondrous power! It's the golden canary. She's a longbow Archer though

[@hammerhiem75]

Drizzt is a Ranger in name only, He was a Fighter primarily, small dips into beserker and Ranger at later levels.

[@YoWhatGoesHere]

Excellent graphics. And great look and sound quality that easily outpaces many larger channels. Excellent work. Subbed and glad to get in before you blow up. Keep up this level of work and you'll get there.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks you so much!! Comments like these always make my day! Welcome to the Chaos Crew!!

[@gudgud]

Awesome video! The Drakewarden was exciting to hear about, my Eragon fantasies will reach new heights

[@ConstructedChaos]

Then you’ll really like the video that I should be posting tomorrow 😎😜

[@firstnamelastname7298]

eragon from the book or from the movie?

[@gudgud]

@@firstnamelastname7298 If you have to ask you must not have seen the movie, jk lol.

[@firstnamelastname7298]

@@gudgud yea i read the book before i watched the movie and i have to tell you eragon was some sort of god in the books, one spell and an entire army was dead. but in the movie it was meh

[@gudgud]

@@firstnamelastname7298 There's one remake I actually wouldn't mind seeing!

[@Micaerys]

This video is SO good! After Tasha's book was published I became a huge defender of the ranger in my group of friends because the class still has a little bit of a bad reputation (although two of them have played rangers quite flawlessly, to be fair) Your point about the high level abilities couldn't be more accurate! If the only thing I'll get there is a bonus, I'll rather level up in druid or cleric to get some magical goodness, or in rogue, for sneak attacks 👏🏻

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks so much!! I’m glad you enjoyed it!!

[@Micaerys]

@@ConstructedChaos You're welcome! 😁

[@Silvershield88]

just use the UA version of the "Variant class features" and the ranger becomes super good, for some reason tasha decided to nerf it by level locking it... as if rangers needed a nerf...

[@ConstructedChaos]

I was upset that the UA didn’t make it in as it was, honestly.

[@Silvershield88]

@@ConstructedChaos I still cannot understand why they decided to nerf it for tasha's release, sure the level 1 exhaustion removal wasa bit strong but thats only IF you are multiclassing into berserker barbarian which is the worst barbarian subclass and it is already such a specific build that I dont see a reason to punish players for trying it

[@buttermilkbiscut5477]

You didn't really go in depth about brokenness,you just went over the ranger class with a vagueness of pros and cons of their abilities/spell

[@ConstructedChaos]

It’s a class guide but I did also mention a few broken features/subclasses in it! I’m not sure if you’ve seen my other class guides but the idea is to encourage players to use what they want in their builds-regardless of game mechanics and balance. Any class CAN be broken!

[@buttermilkbiscut5477]

@@ConstructedChaos maybe change your title then to "ranger quick class guide"

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@buttermilkbiscut5477 more than half the title says that it’s a guide! Sorry for wasting your time!

[@buttermilkbiscut5477]

Also the gloom stalker isn't broken the longer the battle the more useless/waste of space they become especially if they're all out of useful spellslots from the 4-8 encounters that the dms/zanethors guide recommend

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@buttermilkbiscut5477 so they’re not broken because they suffer from the same things that every other class in the game suffers from?

[@jodylester9118]

In my home game, I've combined Favored Enemy and Favored Foe. Simply put: You deal the Favored Foe die to your Favored Enemy, plus all the other goodies.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I actually played a ranger in a game last night and I was pleased with what I was able to do with favored foe alone. I feel like more than that goes a bit too far in course correcting the ranger but that does sound like a good time!

[@xaytoph6651]

The quality of your video is amazing, you’re gonna blow up in no time!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Wow!! Thank you so much!! I’ve been working hard haha. Always nice to see comments like this!

[@oliveroljica6932]

I agree! Finally a channel with higher production level!

[@drawnhercules89-80]

I miss read that I though it said 800k subs not 800

[@drawnhercules89-80]

Keep up the good work

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@drawnhercules89-80 hahaha thanks so much!! Maybe one day!!

[@maxinesenior596]

Swift Quiver is an awful spell don't take it, not like you're going to get to play a ranger with 5th level spells anyway

[@ConstructedChaos]

Awful on some builds, fantastic on others!

[@TheRobversion1]

agreed with a caveat, it's awful on a ranger. better on sustained swords bards.

[@johnthompson5335]

Great presentation and production values. I agree with the other people on here: you’re gonna have lots of subscribers soon, myself among them.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thank you so much!! I’m happy to have ya!!

[@nerdynord4315]

I come back to this video every now and again. I love Rangers, and they are one of my favorite classes in the game. I just finished up playing a Ranger/Rogue multiclass who was a beast in scouting and combat scenarios. Pairing Gloomstalker with 7 levels of Phantom Rogue was amazing fun. Expertise in Stealth gave me a massive boost to my hiding abilities, and paired with Pass Without a Trace, I was near impossible to ever see, getting advantage almost every attack.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hell yeah! That’s quite the potent combo you’ve got there!

[@nerdynord4315]

@@ConstructedChaos he felt much more like an assassin that the assassin subclass does, I think. I loved Gloomstalker from the moment it was released. Even without the Tasha's optional rules, it was an amazing subclass to play, whether it be straight Ranger or paired with something else, like Rogue. Sadly, my Phantom Gloomstalker took a nasty run of criticals together (I even saw the dice rolls from the DM to confirm they were all natural 20s), and I had a poor stealth roll (natural 1) that turn, so he was unalived, and took one failed death save from falling off the roof I was perched on to snipe from. Two more low rolls, and he was gone.

[@Nofotree]

I’m Actually really excited to play a ranger, I’ve only ever played a ranger once before but it was only one session. But I got to try gloom stalker and it was cool. I’m really wanting to play a fae wanderer/ war cleric combo though I think it would mix really well.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I love me some fey wander but I never thought to combine it with war cleric! Sounds like a really interesting combination!

[@TheRobversion1]

while i personally wouldn't play this multiclass combo, it sounds viable if you want to focus on dreadful strikes though i'd say grave or death domain cleric work better. if you wanted to focus on beguiling twist, order cleric works better with order's demand synergizing well with beguiling twist. voice of authority also works great with summons which is a fey wanderer's main schtick at tier 11.

[@ODDnanref]

I do, I keep track of arrows.

[@ConstructedChaos]

You, sir. Are a saint 🙏 But in all seriousness, I’ve considered it as well. I’ve just found that it over complicated my games a bit in the past.

[@ODDnanref]

@@ConstructedChaos Yeah, I agree. It can get complicated specially in paper. I am a player BTW. Using electronic tools helps a ton. I used it to even go and calculate how many backpacks and pouches I needed to carry the stuff I have. As each backpack has a weight limit aside from your own weight limit

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@ODDnanref I’ve definitely started working in some of that now that DNDBeyond has some encumbrance rules in place! It makes things a lot easier to keep track of!

[@deantitus9734]

Hey Alex, you could have mentioned the Gloom Stalker's level 7 ability Iron Mind, which gives you proficiency in Wisdom saving throws(or if you already have it, then you choose either Intelligence or Charisma saving throws)!!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Absolutely! In the next set of guides I'll be able to go more in depth with each subclass since there will only be four of them. But on these 5e guides I chose to just give a surface level overlook and didn't mention every feature.

[@jkdubya85]

This is a great video and really informative - I'm trying to decide between a ranger or a soul knife rogue for my next character...it's a tough decision.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Oooo that is tough! I do love the soul knife too! Although, it’s hard to pass up Ranger since all the changes! Thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it!! 😊

[@DracosDiabolis]

Do both. Lol dual class soul knife rogue with ranger, I'd say gloomstalker.

[@peterwhitcomb8315]

Play a Soul Knife Rogue, if you are optimizing. I'm also a strong supporter of playing what you enjoy so if that is Monk or Ranger, go for it :p

[@jackcostello4046]

To me, it's important for a ranger to be doing two things. Outside of combat, rangers need to be consistant with finding stuff. Inside of combat, rangers need to be consistantly laying down a minimum 20-30 damage a turn on any target within sight. You might not be doing these huge bursts, but when you turn around and add up all of your numbers, it should surprise everyone just how high it is because you were making the most of your movement, action, and bonus action each turn. The thing that I wish rangers had the most was more reaction options, because being a ranged half caster makes it pretty rare to trigger any sort of reaction, and I feel like a ranger more than any other class should be fully maxing out their action economy.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I think that's a pretty fair assessment!

[@DvirPick]

You can build a good wisdom focused Ranger by using the druidic warrior fighting style to get the Shillelagh cantrip for melee builds with a quarterstaff or the Magic Stone cantrip for ranged builds with a sling. This allows your spells to land more often and some subclass features become more potent. Swift Quiver is a bad spell. You don't get the attacks on the turn you use it, and since most rangers want to pick up the Crossbow Expert feat early, it only gives you one additional attack. Conjure Woodland Beings' choice of creature is up to the DM, and most won't allow for such a broken combo with pixies. It's still a busted spell, but not every character is meant to be a summoner.

[@ConstructedChaos]

All excellent points! I love your suggestion on Druidic warrior ranger! I do disagree about Swift Quiver, however. Investing in future turns is certainly a viable strategy for effective combat and not even close to everyone is going to be using an ammunition weapon. Most of my ranger builds just run the classic longbow. And the conjure woodland beings spell example was just an example! Still, definitely worth picking up!

[@Magnus2dead]

Swift quiver can help non hand crossbow catch up at very high levels, but it comes on too late for me. But not every ranger wants to use hand crossbows and it takes a feat and as treantmonk would say, feats are not free. Hand crossbow users either have to be human to come online early or they come online at level 8 whereas longbow users can take sharpshooter at level 4 and be great while keeping their bonus action for other things such as spells or other abilities. Yes hand crossbows may be the most optimal over time but it takes time and sometimes damage is not the most optimal thing you can do. I would say the only reason most choose hand crossbows is they are only hearing that as a viable option.

[@marianpetera8436]

@@ConstructedChaos Swift Quiver is certainly a nice and thematic and flavorful spell, but in terms of numbers it falls behind other concentration spells. Conjure Woodland Beings is strong on its own (even without the "8 t-rex party" usage). Conjure Animals beats Swift Quiver in almost all cases, whether you summon stampeding elks, or in more extreme cases 8 velociraptors with pack tactics AND multiattack.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@marianpetera8436 Hmmm I don’t think it works out quite that cleanly. Swift Quiver is going to use your stats and “to hit” to land extra attacks. The spells you mentioned are great-especially in tier 1 and 2. But, by the time we have access to Swift Quiver. Most creatures will easily save against a DC 13 throws and +5 to hit-no matter how many creatures we summon. Again, not saying that conjure animals and conjure woodland beings aren’t great spells-they def are. But Swift Quiver is going to result in more success for most ranged ranger builds by the time we get access to it.

[@GoblinLord]

@@ConstructedChaos I think there was this youtuber who did the math on Swift Quiver (a kobold themed tuber) who said that it was very lack luster (same with Hunter's Mark), while they are decent spells, I personally think Ranger Spellcasting shoudl be viewed in a similar way to a Witcher from the CD Projekt RED games, they're support spells that you use mainly out of combat and then go to town in-combat, still useful, but you have other stuff to use your action economy with that can do more

[@little-wytch]

With the ranger capstone being rather... meh... I find that a single-level dip into Twilight Cleric as early as possible is a fantastic option for Gloom Stalker. 300ft Darkvision and some cantrips and extra spells that you might find handy are certainly worth it lol. This might be more of an RP thing, but if you play a lycanthrope character, this is an even better mix, as one of the diety options for Twilight Cleric is Selune, patron of travelers and lycanthropes.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Almost anything is better with a dip into twilight cleric haha. But it is especially useful and flavorful for a gloom stalker!

[@KnicKnac]

Favored Foe is amazing with the free damage with Swarm Keeper. Zephyr Strike is useful for small lineage ranger choices. Movement speed helps with being a backup healer.

[@bryancharles8035]

I’ve house ruled Favored Foe to not require concentration at my table, and that it refreshes on short instead of long rest. The only caveat is that you can’t use both Favored Foe and Hunter’s Mark at the same time I tried it as written, but it was way too weak and my Ranger player felt like she was lagging behind everyone else. Now she feels a bit better. They played it way too conservatively with Favored Foe

[@KnicKnac]

@@bryancharles8035 I'm using it now and it feels fine. Especially with Swarm Keeper. I'm not using Hunter's Mark at all.

[@cyanideytcuriousseadoggo]

0:46 Oh so Ranger’s a flex pick that can adapt to fit the team

[@TardisPilot2004]

This dude put a great intro immediately followed by a hard sell, I’m hyped to see where this goes

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha thanks!! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jerichoroberts2497]

Doesn’t talk about anything broken. Title was click bait

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@jerichoroberts2497 I did actually! You must’ve not watched the whole video.

[@robertpascuttini7144]

I've played 3 rangers so far and in 2 of the 3 stories i was pivotal in our parties travel. I frankly don't care that i wasn't the highest damager. I could set allies up bybentanglingbenemoes, or giving the party pass w/o trace.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hell yeah!! I love the Ranger and I’m stoked that the class helped fulfill the flavor fantasy you were looking for!

[@michaelj.mccall6530]

I’m starting with my Tabaxi Horizon walker with the urban bounty hunter background tomorrow. I’m excited.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Fantastic!!! I'm excited for you! Happy adventuring!

[@ricardoramos1059]

Kobold drakewarden: BEHOLD I HAVE SUMMONED BY GOD TO AID IN BATTLE me: now he thinks himself a cleric of all thing and yet its hilarious

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha I have pondered that interaction a bit but I'd love to see it play out like this!

[@robertpascuttini7144]

People saying that the first version of the explorer feat was ... cicumstantial??? The problem is an easy fix. Ask the dm which terrains are in the game.😊

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha that’s totally reasonable! But that approach doesn’t work for everyone! Our own live stream is on episode 28 and we’ve already seen dense jungles, wastelands, seafaring, steampunk cityscape, etc. From my perspective, it just ends up being too situational and focuses on an aspect of the game (exploration) that varies most wildly between tables.

[@alexanderwheeler5328]

I argue that base PHB ranger is good. The revised version did change anything that made some big different like people say. It is mostly people 1. Not understanding its role 2. DMs who either avoid or never use favored enemy and terrain and 3. Just the bandwagon hate on it. Ranger has always been a good class

[@ConstructedChaos]

I think your opinion here is fair but I do disagree. The old ranger relied far too heavily on the types of terrain and creatures you'd be up against.

[@yotambraunshtein9786]

I recently made a tabaxi ranger we are level 7 party before at level 6 my elf Rouge died and enemies dropped his body from the mountain

[@ConstructedChaos]

Oh no! My condolences for your rogue! Here's hoping your ranger can get revenge for you!

[@laithamekir5778]

The Drake Warden is broken but TWF ranger is dead with RAW rules. At my table TWF allows an off hand attack when taking the attack action. If you have extra attacks you also have extra offhand attacks.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I think that's a good homebrew to run for TWF--if maybe a bit too overpowered. Still, I'm hoping they fix the rules for it in One DND.

[@sliver3703]

Playing a campaign rn where my arrows as ranger are one shot killing, i can use bonus action to throw spear and javelin and next level ill have a drake summon bc drakewarden ranger archetype, alongside god tier stat and health rolls, i am a force.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hell yeah!! Sounds like a really badass character! It'll be extra fun when you can infuse your shots with your drake's abilities!

[@jamieconnor6331]

Gloomstalker ranger with a dip of 1 level twilight cleric 300ft of dark vision which you can share with the party ffor 1hr would be awesome.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Very very true! Two extremely powerful subclasses there! Expect to see me discuss twilight cleric at length in my upcoming guide!

[@robertpascuttini7144]

Wow, Beast Master is not weak. I tested it out. Give a giant snake as a pet and you are now have the best chance of hitting anything with an attack. Add in that it has 10ft reach and blind sight.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Did I say beast master was weak? I don’t remember being so low on it but it has been a while since I made this.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Ohh I see!! Well thank you for the clarification! Hopefully they do better with the new edition as well haha

[@MazariPL]

Very little "meat" to this guide, just somewhat prolonged description of basic stuff.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hey friend! Welcome to the channel! I'd have to disagree with you there but I do value your opinion! Is there anything you'd prefer was included in a guide like this in the future? I'm definitely planning to make more like this when the new PHB drops later this year!

[@coyoboyo]

We Rangers have to hear this AGAIN!? Have they not nerfed us enough? Also Rangers are not great at any Charisma or many other checks. Just because we kill efficiently and ruin plans quickly and quietly doesn't mean we're OP. Those of us who play Rangers can simply plan better.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hey friend! You must be new to the channel haha. This video is part of a series where I talk about the best and most broken parts of each class in an effort to show new players that EVERY class is actually pretty viable in 5e!

[@coyoboyo]

@@ConstructedChaosJust sort of ranting and clowning at the same time. I am really enjoying all your videos so keep them coming!

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@coyoboyo haha I gotcha!! Well im glad that you’re enjoying it and happy adventuring!!

[@coyoboyo]

@@ConstructedChaosDude. Thank YOU for engaging with your audience. Looking forward to your Broken Bard video unless I missed it.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@coyoboyo of course!! We’re still a small enough channel that I can read and respond to most comments to I make an effort to. And I’m scripting the bard video as we speak! It’s been a long time coming but I always get super busy at work in October so I’ve been out of commission until now. That said, I’d expect it in a week or so!

[@edwardruela5485]

I'm making a wood elf ranger with a horizon walker subclass. It looked pretty dope going through walls and stuff lol, anyone got any tips?

[@ConstructedChaos]

Honestly, it sounds like you've got a pretty good grasp on it already haha. The thing horizon walker really has going for it is flavor! Mechanically, it'll function a lot like other rangers but make sure to describe your movements and attacks in fun illustrative ways--like arrows that seem to move so fast that they just "appear" in the flesh of your enemies!

[@Razdasoldier]

Played an "Army Rangers" game where everyone was a ranger in an elite hit team set to infiltrate and eliminate an enemy nations king. Used a sniper (custom gun to the game with a 300ft range and good damge), Hunter, and Find familar (with the blightfighting style) used the owl as a drone scope and blindsight to guard my position. Silence was my concentration spell so no one could hear my shots.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Damn! That's a pretty slick operation you've got going there!

[@coyoboyo]

I'm sure you used the pro tip of dropping a silence spell on top of the sniper with a firearm. DMs love when you do that.

[@Razdasoldier]

@coyoboyo you got it. I took some levels in Phantom Rogue for the sneak attack against two targets. So round 1 was shoot (sneak attack + wails on target 2) if 2nd within 5ft, then horde breaker. So at level 8 it was up to 3 shots and 1.5 sneak attacks before they ever saw it coming. Dm thought to stop me by having some underground enemies that would pop up and attack. (Could hit them underground only if you were within 5ft) He learned real fast gunner feat at level 1 made my sniper a cqc weapon.

[@Dysjong]

Why not make a switch hitter? Use a Bow until The enemy is closing in, then switch to melee. I would prefere sword & board. More ac, and sustained damage.

[@ConstructedChaos]

That's definitely viable and probably a lot of fun! Just make sure to talk with your DM about how they rule switching weapons! Most of the time it's a free action but some rule it differently!

[@pelmen1294]

so there it is . they made the other humanoid races useless because of the ability to make your own ability bonuses in tashas, plus other things.. way to go wizards of the coast you cowards. And that's why I would not allow tashas cauldron of everything in my game.

[@ConstructedChaos]

That’s a totally respectable decision and I can understand where you’re coming from. However, I’m often grateful for their decision to offer those optional rules for players and DMs since it opens the door for combining so many racial abilities with classes that would have been suited terribly for those races before. For example, I recently made a tortle abjuration wizard for the natural AC boost. Before, that might not have been a great idea since the ability scores were nowhere close to what I wanted. Further, I think this is WOTC’s way of saying that personality/character/experience (presumably represented by ability score bonus) is not attached to one’s race. Rather, individuals are uniquely special. Still, I’ll point out again that it’s all optional and I’d urge you not to think so ill of the rule set just because it offers a new way to play the game without changing how you run yours.

[@AnthonySDnD]

Swarmkeeper? Where did that come from? What work of fiction is the Ranger archetype character using a swarm of bees or whatever as his schtick? Terrible.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Well swarmkeepers don't just use bees or insects in particular. There's lots of room to flavor it how you'd like but I honestly like the idea regardless. To each their own!

[@kuroyuki6254]

Personally I don't like gloomstalker. I understand why so many people do, but I feel like it's too similar to a rogue. If I'm playing a ranger I want to play a ranger

[@ConstructedChaos]

I can definitely respect that opinion-especially since Gloom Stalker is so often improved by taking a dip into rogue itself. But we see a lot of this throughout D&D classes. There are subclasses that trend a bit closer to other classes and “eat their lunch” to give people a chance for a different kind of build without the need for multiclassing.

[@davidwilliams5283]

I think Rangers are simply awesome. My Half-Elf Ranger looks like Tanis Half-Elven.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I absolutely agree! :)

[@MartyrPandaGaming]

Warforged Moon Druid with a splash of Hunter Ranger. Con and Wis, with some Dex. Any 1-Handed Weapon (opt. Versatile) and Shield. Breastplate for armour, because you can. Spells focus on AoE Crowd Control, then damage. Primary skills are Athletics and Stealth (surprise AoE CC is hilarious); pick one to focus. I would suggest Athletics so you also have better grappling/shoving changes with your low(er) Strength. Congratulations. You are now your DM and your Martial Party Member's biggest headache in combat.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahah yeah Ranger getting access to some druid spells helps it a lot. Before they switched back to class spell lists, the ranger was slated to have even more in OneD&D too!

[@MartyrPandaGaming]

@@ConstructedChaos Bad things happen at tables when I hear "X isn't good." Ranger in this case; yes, people at my table actually thought Ranger was bad. So I went *above and beyond* _out of my way_ to make the most annoyingly powerful, Walmart Brand, Chad tank. 6 Druid, 3 Ranger, 93 HP, 23 AC (15 from +1 Breastplate, +2 Dex, +1 Racial, +1 Class, +2 Shield), +10 Stealth and his primary spells are Thunderclap, Entangle, Searing Smite, Enlarge/Reduce, Erupting Earth and Spike Growth Upcast from Lv. 2 to Lv. 4. He doesn't hit that hard, since he only has 12 Strength, but a 23 AC and 15 DC on an upcast Spike Growth, while *also* having a 2nd Horde Breaker Attack, regardless of whether his first attack, with no disadvantage and not consuming any additional action eco. Rangers are broken.

[@1979ce]

you start off with good hype but then quickly lose me talking about uninteresting basic stuff like starting skills and equipment.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I appreciate the advice here!! Sorry to bog it down for ya. However, this is a class guide so I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything for any beginners watching!