Is The Beast Master Weak?

[PapaQuackers]

Hi guys, im pretty new to running 5e but ive noticed that the beast master ranger in our group seemsvastly inferior to the other players and even the other ranger archetype. I onlyhave the PHB and MM so maybe the DMG has something Im missing

[BW022]

Hi guys, im pretty new to running 5e but ive noticed that the beast master ranger in our group seemsvastly inferior to the other players and even the other ranger archetype. I onlyhave the PHB and MM so maybe the DMG has something Im missing

That appears to be the general take. Mechanically it, and the ranger in general, appear weak, especially at higher levels. The animal companion doesn't really scale well and having to give up your actions to get it to attack is extremely weak. A druid at 5th-level can easily summon animals vastly stronger than the animal companion.

Of course... it depends upon the DM and campaign. In a wilderness based campaign with lots of travel, tracking, and against the ranger's favorite enemies... plus roleplaying the animal companion fairly well (giving it lots of checks, tracking assists, etc.) it could be alright. However, in standard modules and adventures -- cities, dungeons, etc. -- the class would appear to under perform.

[Boci]

I heard that its fine, they get 3 attacks to a hunter rangers 2 (although the hiunter ranger has some options for bonus attacks). The bigger problem is how to fluff the animal companion needing to be told to attack for levels 3 and 4 (until the ranger gains extra attack). You tell the wolf to attack the ogre three rounds in a row, then on the 4th round you attack and the wolf sits there going "master didn't tell me to do anything, so I'm going to spend my turn sniffing this patch of grass".

[TheTeaMustFlow]

The damage isn't really the problem of the Beastmaster - it's very good at lower levels and remains fairly competitive on that score at higher levels. The problem is a) your animal companion is very fragile - at 4hp/level, a mediocre armour class, and awful saving throws (there is to my knowledge not a single animal in the PHB proficient in any saving throws, b) the animal companion lacks attack options in a situation that calls for anything other than clawing faces off, c) it lacks any means of dealing different damage types, meaning it is ineffective against the many creatures resistant or immune to normal attacks, and d) animals, particularly the larger ones (i.e. the ones worth a damn in a fight) can't be brought in to a lot of places. Try bringing your bear into the pub. Or into the town, for that matter. There's also the problem that the beast being incapable of attacking without orders, though justifiable balance-wise, offends common sense.

Edit: It should be noted that the new UA Beastmaster (http://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/UA_RevisedRanger.pdf) is generally agreed to be an improvement on most fronts, as is the UA Ranger generally.

[ad_hoc]

The Beastmaster isn't weak it is just that their strengths don't tend to be the most fun.

The big benefit of Beastmaster is to have a lot of additional hit points in a fight. This makes the party more resilient but isn't very fun for the Beastmaster.

Another major benefit that is often overlooked are the advantages to the exploration pillar that a beast provides.

[Naanomi]

The damage is fine, while the beast is alive... Even top notch with the right (poisonous) pet choices... but once it goes down (and it will) you are left without a lot of resources to replace it. The mechanics are a bit wonky as well, which can feel weird to people to play sometimes.

That said me and my Giant Crab have had many great adventure together and I've enjoyed the class despite those shortcomings

[Daishain]

Well, you are not alone at least. Polls done by WotC show that the beastmaster is widely considered both the least powerful and least fun subclass. My general impression has been its also the most common subject for homebrew tweaks (some excellent HB articles for such are found here btw).

There are people who contend otherwise, and I have seen powerful beastmaster builds, but for the most part that latter comes down to building up a character specifically made to alleviate or bypass the flaws. A halfling using a panther companion as a mount for instance is among the more famous such cases. I'm rather of the opinion that you shouldn't have to go for a gimmick just to keep up with a party that isn't heavily powergaming.

I do recommend having the DM take a look at UA's revised Ranger, linked by theteamustflow above. It is a considerable improvement all around, though the first level abilities do strike me as slightly too powerful, I'd be thinking about toning some of that stuff down or at least making it more circumstantial.

[PapaQuackers]

Is the Unearthed Arcana a source book or just like a place where I can find things Wizards as officially put forth to supplement material without paying for it?

[Willie the Duck]

Is the Unearthed Arcana a source book or just like a place where I can find things Wizards as officially put forth to supplement material without paying for it?

UA is the series of articles published where WotC puts forth its musings on what to add to the game. The material is "official" in that it is put out by WotC. Where it stands in comparison to the Core/Supplement/Dragon Magazine article divide previous editions had--well, that's unclear. WotC still stands by the whole every-gaming-group-has-to-decide-for-itself-what-material-to-use mantra. It is, however, the closest thing to an official update that you're going to see for a long time.

[Daishain]

Is the Unearthed Arcana a source book or just like a place where I can find things Wizards as officially put forth to supplement material without paying for it?
What Willie said. It is particularly important to note that the UA articles are playtest material rather than something approved for official play, several of them include things that are poorly balanced, and any DM would be well advised to consider carefully the implications of allowing a particular piece of UA material.

Note that I am not advising that DMs ignore UA articles entirely, just that they also don't accept them blindly.

[Falcon X]

I think of UA as beta testing. It's by the company, but they are giving it to the internet to review before they actually publish it.

For a ranger, I would go ahead and allow the UA revision. I've heard nothing but complaints about the ranger in the book. Do note that the UA version is a very significant step up, but shouldn't be unbalanced. Your player should love it.

[Giant2005]

The Beastmaster sucks if the player chooses a sucky companion.
If they have a powerful companion designed for combat such as one of the snakes, then they will be ahead of the bell curve.
If they have a weak companion that they chose purely for flavor such as a squirrel or something, then they will be below the bell curve.
If they are choosing one of the weaker options for flavor, don't have them play a BM. Just make them a Hunter that has a pet.