Ranger/Cleric Build Help

[PeteNutButter]

So I want to play a ranger, but there are too many subpar levels beyond level 5. So I was thinking going Ranger 5/Cleric x to get extra attack and then full casting. Has anyone done this combo to any success? I'm looking to make an archer that can make up for his 1 less attack compared to the valor bard, via utility.

I have a few ideas in mind:

War cleric could add 3ish bonus attacks per long rest, as well as a good +10 to hit to offset Sharpshooter -5/+10... but once a day.

Tempest has cool flavor, and uses a reaction which otherwise remains usually unused on a ranger.

Light could create some cool combos using ensnaring strike to root foes, and hit them with fireballs (restrained gives disadvantage on dex saves).

Life cleric, because heals.

Proposed start 10, 16, 14, 8, 16, 8 V human with sharpshooter. Avoid crossbow expert to keep bonus action open for off heals with healing word.

So what domain would do this best? Are there other ranger or cleric spells I should look to use for an archer?

[bid]

So what domain would do this best? Are there other ranger or cleric spells I should look to use for an archer?
Any with divine strike. And your bonus action is taken by spiritual weapon, so forget domain spells.

Life has radiant damage and more effective spell slots since you need fewer for the same heal.

Nature dials its damage and has that outdoorsy feeling, not to mention dampen elements.

Tempest has lightning damage and can rebuke melee.

[Specter]

So I want to play a ranger, but there are too many subpar levels beyond level 5. So I was thinking going Ranger 5/Cleric x to get extra attack and then full casting. Has anyone done this combo to any success? I'm looking to make an archer that can make up for his 1 less attack compared to the valor bard, via utility.

I have a few ideas in mind:

War cleric could add 3ish bonus attacks per long rest, as well as a good +10 to hit to offset Sharpshooter -5/+10... but once a day.

Tempest has cool flavor, and uses a reaction which otherwise remains usually unused on a ranger.

Light could create some cool combos using ensnaring strike to root foes, and hit them with fireballs (restrained gives disadvantage on dex saves).

Life cleric, because heals.

Proposed start 10, 16, 14, 8, 16, 8 V human with sharpshooter. Avoid crossbow expert to keep bonus action open for off heals with healing word.

So what domain would do this best? Are there other ranger or cleric spells I should look to use for an archer?

As a reaction ranger gets Absorb Elements, which is A+.

The mechanically is why Cleric and not Druid/Monk/X to do something else? To attack with Wisdom go Nature, to attack a lot/righteously go War,to heal go Life. That's it. If I may suggest it, go Ranger 5/Cleric (War) 1/Druid 1/X, it will be solid.

[PeteNutButter]

As a reaction ranger gets Absorb Elements, which is A+.

The mechanically is why Cleric and not Druid/Monk/X to do something else? To attack with Wisdom go Nature, to attack a lot/righteously go War,to heal go Life. That's it. If I may suggest it, go Ranger 5/Cleric (War) 1/Druid 1/X, it will be solid.

I'd considered Nature for Shillelagh, but that'd be more of a melee build. So why go Druid 1? What else does that gain, besides restricting armor? Until my dex is 20 I'd be better off in medium armor, which wouldn't work if I took one level in druid.

And yes absorb elements is a great spell. :smallbiggrin:

Looks like I'm leaning towards War for those limited use bonus action attacks. Better than spiritual weapon when you have them up.

[Specter]

I'd considered Nature for Shillelagh, but that'd be more of a melee build. So why go Druid 1? What else does that gain, besides restricting armor? Until my dex is 20 I'd be better off in medium armor, which wouldn't work if I took one level in druid.

And yes absorb elements is a great spell. :smallbiggrin:

Looks like I'm leaning towards War for those limited use bonus action attacks. Better than spiritual weapon when you have them up.

Druid would be just to get Shillelagh without getting Nature as a domain. Not all that necessary.
But yeah, War is good. And then at level 2 there's the +10 to one attack, which pairs awesomely with Sharpshooter.

[Biggstick]

It depends more on what you'd like to bring to the party by splitting away from Ranger and going Cleric. You've obviously chosen Cleric to bring support, but what else do they need? There are a few that stand out when going this route. Here are some of the pros of the ones that make a big impact on a Ranger build with 5 levels.

War This is the selfish Cleric route. You'll be able to provide Bless to the party, orrr utilize the level 2 spell Magic Weapon. Magic bows are rare in games that I play, so this spell is golden for you. You get access to the +10 Channel divinity (once a rest at Cleric 2, PC level 7, and twice a rest once you reach Cleric 6, or PC level 11) to improve your Sharpshooter shots. You also get the extra bonus action attacks when you really gotta burst that BBEG down.

Life Efficient healing for you and your party. The Channel Divinity + Mass Healing Word combo can be an absolute lifesaver if the party goes down and you need to get them all back up now. You'll never go wrong with Bless either.

Nature Not a ton of stuff stands out here, but the thing you're really here for is the level 6 elemental damage reduction based on reactions. This is a fantastic support ability for allies and yourself. You'll never go wrong with Bless either.

All of these choices also have access to the extra d8 of damage to weapon attacks at Cleric level 8 (PC level 13). Nature in particular stands out with you being able to change the damage type based on what you think will be effective.

Another option that does have the extra d8 to weapon attacks is the Trickery domain. Trickery really opens up some utility options if you can get creative with Blessing of the Trickster and the Channel Divinity options. The spell list isn't half bad either.

[bid]

orrr utilize the level 2 spell Magic Weapon. Magic bows are rare in games that I play, so this spell is golden for you.
Spiritual weapon does more damage, so magic weapon aint that useful.

And CD resets on short rest.

[PeteNutButter]

Spiritual weapon does more damage, so magic weapon aint that useful.
And CD resets on short rest.

You can do both...

[bid]

You can do both...
Erm. It's even better then. Woah.

[Biggstick]

Spiritual weapon does more damage, so magic weapon aint that useful.

And CD resets on short rest.

If he's a ranger who has two attacks and sharpshooter and is against something immune to regular weapons (which there are tons of), then magic weapon is absolutely useful. Having the spell ensures that you will always have a magic weapon to do damage to the enemy, which is an extremely useful thing to have.

I must have mistyped the CD reset, I'll correct it.

And you can absolutely have both up at the same time as one of the above posters mentioned. Always having a magic weapon available is a valuable thing to have.

[djreynolds]

It might be cheesy, but you could grab 1 level of monk for unarmed bonus and use a quarterstaff with dex, since you are going to max out that stat and wisdom as well. I made a ranger/monk it was very good, adding in cleric just seems to fit.

Monk is a cheap fit that you could grab at level whatever and until then use armor.

I would say after 8th level when your cleric gains divine strike, then its worth it.

[Arkhios]

one more thing to consider.

Magic Stone (cantrip for druids at least), from Elemental Evil Player's Companion pdf, is quite nice addition even for a ranged weapon attacker. Those pebbles can be shot as sling bullets, using your wisdom instead of dexterity as their ability modifier for attack rolls. And sling is a ranged weapon -> Archery style applies.

Sure, you can only create up to 3 magic stones with one casting, but honestly, with your two attacks per turn you'll be fine.

[Citan]

As a reaction ranger gets Absorb Elements, which is A+.

The mechanically is why Cleric and not Druid/Monk/X to do something else? To attack with Wisdom go Nature, to attack a lot/righteously go War,to heal go Life. That's it. If I may suggest it, go Ranger 5/Cleric (War) 1/Druid 1/X, it will be solid.
Hi all!
I'd like to second this build mixing Cleric and Druid, although I'd rather suggest Life for the Goodberry goodies. ;)

I'd considered Nature for Shillelagh, but that'd be more of a melee build. So why go Druid 1? What else does that gain, besides restricting armor? Until my dex is 20 I'd be better off in medium armor, which wouldn't work if I took one level in druid.

I'd say it's up to your DM to hamper your allowed equipment, considering you take only 1 level of Druid... I'd personally waive this restriction, especially if in character concept you started Druid then "let it go" to focus on martial arts.
But even then, you would lose only 1 AC by wielding a light armor or the first medium armor available (I suppose here you would start with 16 DEX) for a few levels (unless you have a way to start with breastplate/half-plate).
More importantly, the Druid gives you a great selection of spells that complement both Ranger and Cleric spells.
Whereas Cleric focus on defense/offense buffs, Druid gives you a few control (Entangle, Faerie Fire, Fog Cloud) and mobility (Longstrider, Jump, Animal Friendship occasionally) options.
In addition to great cantrips to choose from: Thorn Whip, Shillelagh, Produce Flame, Magic Stone... And a Wild Shape ability that can at least be used for scouting/spying.
With that said, it's still a question of personal taste in the end. If you don't care about Wild Shape or no spells seem appealing to you, Druid is not a good choice.
Cleric has the advantage that most lvl 1 spells are always great to have for anyone. ;)

If you just dip Cleric, I'd be tempted by Nature or Trickery.
Nature is nice mainly because of domain features (giving protection against elemental, or choosing one elemental bonus damage, is great imo), but its spells are good too.
Trickery would be great for you because you get many exclusive spells useful for you as well as your group (Mirror Image, Pass Without Trace) and the CD clone can help you shoot into melee when necessary or, more interesting, increase the effective range of your spells, including the Touch ones. ;)
If you have a Rogue in your group, the Blessing of the Trickster will make him love you.
The only regret is that Divine Strike is poison, which is considered in this edition as just a damage type unless a feature/spell specifically sets the homonym condition, and it's commonly resisted.

Light and Life are good choices too, one for the spells, the other for the domain features. The remaining domains seem less interesting to me...

War is nice because of the +10 to hit CD, but you can get many other ways to enhance your to hit.
And as an Archer, you will have many less use-cases for spells such as Crusader's Mantle or Spirit Guardians which are best used on the front-line.

Tempest is nice but you don't plan on going Ranger high enough to get Lightning Arrows, which is a bit sad and thus diminishes the synergy quite a bit.

[PeteNutButter]

Hi all!
I'd like to second this build mixing Cleric and Druid, although I'd rather suggest Life for the Goodberry goodies. ;)

I'd say it's up to your DM to hamper your allowed equipment, considering you take only 1 level of Druid... I'd personally waive this restriction, especially if in character concept you started Druid then "let it go" to focus on martial arts.

It's AL so not really up to the DM.



But even then, you would lose only 1 AC by wielding a light armor or the first medium armor available (I suppose here you would start with 16 DEX) for a few levels (unless you have a way to start with breastplate/half-plate).
More importantly, the Druid gives you a great selection of spells that complement both Ranger and Cleric spells.
Whereas Cleric focus on defense/offense buffs, Druid gives you a few control (Entangle, Faerie Fire, Fog Cloud) and mobility (Longstrider, Jump, Animal Friendship occasionally) options.
In addition to great cantrips to choose from: Thorn Whip, Shillelagh, Produce Flame, Magic Stone... And a Wild Shape ability that can at least be used for scouting/spying.
With that said, it's still a question of personal taste in the end. If you don't care about Wild Shape or no spells seem appealing to you, Druid is not a good choice.
Cleric has the advantage that most lvl 1 spells are always great to have for anyone. ;)


I had actually initially thought about ranger/druid due to the obvious synergy in flavor. Why not to go druid on this build:
Most of those spells are options as ranger spells. If they benefited the character enough to take them as spells known they'd already be there.
Archers dont want to bring enemies closer.
Works in conjunction with Magic Stone build. See argument against below.
Bow will do more damage. If resistances are an issue, cast magic weapon.
It doesn't lend itself well to a dedicated range build. Consider Druid 1/War cleric/ranger 5. If I magic stone pre-combat I can shoot them all in round one, if not I have one left over and basically force me to use my bonus action every round, struggling to get to that sweet spot of having both 3 stones and a bonus action still up if I ever want to use my War Cleric attack. Also the benefit is very slight, higher wisdom over dex = better save DC, but lower AC, lower initiative, and 1 less damage for not using a bow. Ultimately your wasting your precious action economy to do something you could do better with dex, leaving you no time to cast healing words, or other great bonus action options.
Now you are two levels deep in a class that had little to add to your kit and gain... a little out of combat versatility? Even if you if you go moon as an attempt at a panic button if enemies get in melee range, a brown bear will not last more than a round against a tough level 7/8 fight. Admittedly could be good if you can count on your team to kill the enemies and just need to buy time, but you could also just cast sanctuary or something.
In summary you are putting yourself further behind on cleric 8th level bonus damage, cleric ASIs and powerful higher level cleric spells. I think I'll stick to the ranger cleric. :smallbiggrin:

[Citan]

In summary you are putting yourself further behind on cleric 8th level bonus damage, cleric ASIs and powerful higher level cleric spells. I think I'll stick to the ranger cleric. :smallbiggrin:
Mate... I didn't try in any way to CONVINCE you to dip Druid.
As I said, it's a matter of personal taste first and foremost. You don't like the Druid spells (I note you didn't say anything about the many good lvl1 spells though ^^), nor do you find any interest in Wild Shaping, it's okay. I have no say in the matter and every combination you could make between Ranger, Cleric and Druid would work well anyways... ;)

The only case where I would have pushed a bit would have been if you planned on going Life Cleric in a party which has no other potential healer, because Life Goodberries is one of the best out-of-combat healing. But I feel you are gonna favor an offensive domain so no point. ;)

[PeteNutButter]

The only case where I would have pushed a bit would have been if you planned on going Life Cleric in a party which has no other potential healer, because Life Goodberries is one of the best out-of-combat healing. But I feel you are gonna favor an offensive domain so no point. ;)

Life Cleric good berry is strong, definitely. Lots of strong combos w druid and cleric. What I am saying is it doesn't add much to a ranger build since those druid spells are almost all ranger spells.

[Biggstick]

The only case where I would have pushed a bit would have been if you planned on going Life Cleric in a party which has no other potential healer, because Life Goodberries is one of the best out-of-combat healing. But I feel you are gonna favor an offensive domain so no point. ;)

I mean, if that was the route the OP was going, Ranger has Goodberry on their spell list. There isn't a reason to give up an entire level of Cleric spell progression for the Goodberry spell to specifically come from the Druid spell list when you could pick it up from the Ranger one. Other then Wildshape, you really don't gain anything that Cleric can't provide other then an armor restriction detail that you're going to have to work out with the DM.

[Citan]

I mean, if that was the route the OP was going, Ranger has Goodberry on their spell list. There isn't a reason to give up an entire level of Cleric spell progression for the Goodberry spell to specifically come from the Druid spell list when you could pick it up from the Ranger one. Other then Wildshape, you really don't gain anything that Cleric can't provide other then an armor restriction detail that you're going to have to work out with the DM.
Hey, you're right, I forgot Goodberry was also on Ranger.
Although I don't agree with your last sentence: most of Druid level 1 spells can be put to good use for a Ranger.

They are not "must-have" though, no argue there. ;)

Life Cleric good berry is strong, definitely. Lots of strong combos w druid and cleric. What I am saying is it doesn't add much to a ranger build since those druid spells are almost all ranger spells.
I'd say the opposite: most ranger spells are druid spells. The nuance is that Ranger still gets a few exclusive but has to learn them, whereas Druid knows all of them, so being Druid allows you to focus your Ranger learning on the few exclusive ones, and you get a nice boost in number of prepared spells.
The problem after is more of having enough slots to use all these spells. ^^

But then again, as I said, for a one-level dip it's perfectly dispensable and a matter of personal taste first (some would vastly prefer Druid over Cleric for mechanical and fluff reasons, when other prefer Cleric. To each his own. ;))
For 3 or 5 levels, things would be much different: dipping a Land Druid would be plain better than going Ranger as far as spellcasting go. But that's not the OP choice because he's set on Cleric so no need to expand here. ;)