Good Animals to Wildshape into [3.5]

[Teapot Salty]

Hey guys. So I'm gonna make a wildshape ranger, but being restricted to small/medium makes me wonder, what are good animals to become? Thanks, and as always, go nuts.

[eggynack]

Well, fleshraker dinosaurs have always been a very good combat form, despite their medium size, and by the same token, the desmodu hunting bat has always been a very good defensive form, albeit likely a bit less powerful when you lack spells to defend. With more limited book access, the deinonychus (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dinosaur.htm#deinonychus) also works well for combat stuff.

[Droningbass]

It really depends on what you want to do, I suppose.

If you're looking for flying/scouting wild shapes, I would have to recommend two options from the Monster Manual II. At your lower levels, the Dire Hawk provides a Medium-sized option with a great flight speed. Later, it might be worth looking at the Legendary Eagle. The Legendary Eagle is Small, has an amazing flight speed, and outstanding Armor Class due to its Dexterity score.

For your melee fighting/tanking, I imagine that a lot of people will direct you towards dinosaurs. However, I am not so sure that most druids "would be familiar with" dinosaurs (as is required for Wild Shape), unless their grove just happens to be nestled in the middle of Jurassic Park. If you are seriously stuck with Small/Medium sized animals to choose from, then I would suggest that you look at two more creatures from the Monster Manual II. The Legendary Ape packs a serious punch for a Medium-size animal, but it has pretty awful AC. A more balanced option would be the Legendary Wolf, which has a decent AC, packs a pretty good wallop, and has a pretty considerable land speed.

If you're hoping to do a lot of Wild Shaping, I would also advise you to invest in some Wilding Clasps (so you can wear your best magic items) and possibly the Beastskin Armor property from the Magic Item Compendium.

Hope this helps!