How to Progress - Ranger Build

[Bohrdumb]

Alright folks, last night we rolled up PCs.

I've got the following stats after racial bonuses (Wildhunt Shifter) as a Ranger.
Str 10
Dex 16
Con 14
Int 9
Wis 14
Cha 8

At the moment I am the only melee character in the group. However, I'm not sure we'll melee through all of our encounters. We've got a Sorc and a Bard in the group so we can charm our way through, and Stealth will surely come into play.

That being said, I'm trying to figure out where to go from here. Some of my thoughts:

Rng 3, Fighter 3, Rang 1, Fight 1. In that order.
This let's me get Archetype features from the Ranger, jump to the Fighter for Action Surge and Maneuvers (not sure which archetype yet), then a level in both to get some feats or skill boosts.

Now I've also pondered a few other classes - Rog is another obvious choice.

I haven't decided on my Ranger Archetype though. Hunter is obvious dmg dealer, but Beast Master would let me pick up a Giant Crab to help hold the front lines in some fights.

What am I missing? Any obvious synergy jump out to anyone that I should be considering?

[coredump]

Alright folks, last night we rolled up PCs.

I've got the following stats after racial bonuses (Wildhunt Shifter) as a Ranger.
Str 10
Dex 16
Con 14
Int 9
Wis 14
Cha 8

At the moment I am the only melee character in the group. However, I'm not sure we'll melee through all of our encounters. We've got a Sorc and a Bard in the group so we can charm our way through, and Stealth will surely come into play.

That being said, I'm trying to figure out where to go from here. Some of my thoughts:

Rng 3, Fighter 3, Rang 1, Fight 1. In that order.
This let's me get Archetype features from the Ranger, jump to the Fighter for Action Surge and Maneuvers (not sure which archetype yet), then a level in both to get some feats or skill boosts.

Now I've also pondered a few other classes - Rog is another obvious choice.

I haven't decided on my Ranger Archetype though. Hunter is obvious dmg dealer, but Beast Master would let me pick up a Giant Crab to help hold the front lines in some fights.

What am I missing? Any obvious synergy jump out to anyone that I should be considering?
I would start by comparing that build with a straight Fighter 8, and then with a straight Ranger 8. I'm doubtful that a ranger/fighter split is going to be worthwhile. But it will depend on what abilities you find valuable.

[Shining Wrath]

Deferring ASI / Feats (are feats in use?) by 2 levels seems sub-optimal. Sniper can make your ranger quite a bit better, as will 2 points of Dexterity.

[Mandragola]

Yeah just go up as a ranger to at least 5. It's kind of sub-optimal to multiclass for action surge instead of grabbing an ASI, 2nd level spells and a 2nd attack - which is like an action surge every turn.

Ranger progression does suffer a bit after level 5, so that's the time to think about maybe multiclassing.

[Ardantis]

With no character concept other than potential levels in fighter, this sounds like a Hunter ranger.

[Xetheral]

I too would suggest Ranger (Hunter) 5 first, Followed by 4 levels in Fighter (Battlemaster). There's no point to taking Fighter 5 if you already have extra attack, so after Fighter 4 either return to Ranger if you like the spells, or start with Rogue or some other class.

This gives you the amazing Horde Breaker ability and extra attack ASAP, and only delays one ASI by a single level.