Deep Stalker Ranger (revised) multiclass question

[Foxydono]

EDIT 2: I'm a hunter conclave ranger, not deep stalker... I'm sorry!

So our party wiped. Why? Because we attacked a Lich at fourth level :D

We didn't even get a chance to act due to time-stop, but not that it would have mattered really. In any case I've rolled a new character, and because our DM was kind we can start off at 4th level again.

I've decided to make a 4th level hunter conclave ranger and I'm quite happy with the result. It's not the average cookie cutter sharpshooter/crossbow-expert build, but a melee one with weapon + shield. Even though two-handed might be better damage wise, I'm being a little defensive this time.

What I have so far: 18 str, feat: whip master (homebrew). I've taken the hunter conclave with horde breaker. The character will usually hide and rush into melee at the right time. I'm not relying on surprising people, but I of course hope to be first in combat, due to the explorer benefit (advantage on attack rolls).

Now I'm not sure how I want to progress the character later on and so I made this thread. For the discussion lets assume we go on till 15th level. First off I'm going to take at least another hunter level for the second attack, I cannot skip that one. But what after?
- I can solo the class of course, that is always a solid option.
- I can multiclass into rogue after 5th level. This gives me expertise Athletics and of course sneak attack. Going this route, it is probably best to do a 2nd or 3rd level afterwards for cunning action (dash mostly) and assassinate. But since I'm melee I might not suprise as often as a ranged character, so I'm wondering if I should take the 3rd level.
- So do I continue rogue after 2nd or 3rd level for uncanny dodge and maybe evasion or is it better to go hunter for greater favored enemy, defensive tactics and whirlwind?

I'm leaning towards:
5 lvls hunter conclave ranger.
9 lvls rogue (maybe even thief instead of assassin) - gives me +4 prof bonus and archtype ability.
1 lvl deep stalker for greater favored enemy (I'll probably know better what I'll be up against).

As for feats I'm considering the following:
Alert - for obvious reasons like being first to act and doing a lot of dmg.
+2 strength
Resilient (wis/con?)
War caster: since I'll be whip/shield
Shield master: because it has a lot of versatility

What do you guys recommend as the most optimal route considering it's a strength based ranger with hunter conclave? Please include what feats you would take as well. Any suggestions outside the box (like another class than rogue) are welcome as well!

Edit: for the completeness the whip feat I'm using will probably be: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?501943-Whip-Master-feat
It hasn't been approved be our DM though, so it might change. As for fighting style I've chosen +1 AC for max defense.

[Specter]

So you've taken Horde Breaker and are asking about Deep Stalker? I don't get it.

[Tauguy628]

A barbarian dip could be fun for being really tanky (unless you like heavy armor)
You could also get rouge(assassin) 3 + fighter 2 for some exelent nova damage.
Also, what is the rest of the party like? Are you a scout, tank, or DPS for your party/what do you need?
I would most likely use something like this in your position, but it is up to you:
Ranger 6/rogue 4(assassin)/fighter 4(battlemaster)/barbarian 4(probely bear or eagle as you will not be within 5 feet with your whip)/paladin 2 for smites(if you don't have the charisma for pally, take more ranger or rouge)

[Foxydono]

Let me simplify my questions to make it more clear:
1. Should I multiclass after 5th level?
2. If so, how would you multiclass?
3. What feats/skills would you take if the character would reach 15th level?

Also I was looking at the Swashbuckler rogue, and that looks like a viable option as well!

Edit: our party consist of a sorlock, a fighter, a cleric and me. Normally the fighter and me go in, while sorlock stays behind for ranged dmg and some assist and cleric for healing and is mainly assisting.

[Foxydono]

I'm using medium armor, so barbarian wouldn't help my AC since I can't wear my armor then. Of course not needing armor is better then having to put it on when a fight breaks out unexpectedly. Going for a third level barb would help a lot with surviveability, so I can definitely consider doing that.

I also considered assassin, but you since natural explorer partly overlaps with assassinate I would only benefit doing this if I manage to surprise my opponent, so I'm doubtful about it. As for fighter: it would give me action surge, but not much more since I already have a fighting style. But I admit that action surge is awesome by itself.

As for your last suggestion that would require me getting to lvl 20, so that's not an option unfortunately. The party balance is that the fighter and sorlock do the most damage, while I do a bit of damage and battlefield control and the cleric assists us as much as possible.

[Zevox]

So you've taken Horde Breaker and are asking about Deep Stalker? I don't get it.
Ditto. Hunter and Deep Stalker are two separate archetypes - barring some odd homebrew that allows a character to take two archetypes, they're mutually exclusive. :smallconfused:

[EvilAnagram]

Ditto. Hunter and Deep Stalker are two separate archetypes - barring some odd homebrew that allows a character to take two archetypes, they're mutually exclusive. :smallconfused:

Ywah, I'm not sure what's goon on there.

[Foxydono]

Hahaha, wow. I must be on drugs or something. Well I finally understand the question Specter asked.

So to clarify: I'm not a Deep Stalker, but a Ranger / Hunter Conclave. The title of the thread is kind of misleading now though... I'll edit my main post, and my main question still is what to do after 5 levels of a melee hunter conclave ranger. I'm sorry for being an idiot. Guess I don;t deserve an answer if I can't even get the title right :p

[MrStabby]

To be honest... I would stick with ranger.

Ranger 6 is now looking pretty good with greater favoured enemy. Sticking single class also means that you do not need to set stats for multiclassing - can have low dex and low wisdom if you wish. Furthermore, single classing ensures you hit every ASI.

For someone with a great weapon or polearm this seems like a pretty solid course of action. For someone with S&B you could use the shield mastery feat and athletics for some good shoving action.


For multiclass? Well you need dex to multiclass out so rogue could be fun. Nature cleric for quarterstaff and shield with shillelagh might work well (if you wanted to swap Wis for Str)- gives you some extra spell slots which might make the class more appealing as well as heavy armour (I don't think the new ranger has any heavy armour restrictions).

[beargryllz]

Do it

I have a wild elf ranger 2/rogue 1

I will probably get assassinate and another rogue lvl for the essential ASI. Then get colossus slayer and sneak attacks with poisoned arrows

That's my build for now

[EvilAnagram]

Hahaha, wow. I must be on drugs or something. Well I finally understand the question Specter asked.

So to clarify: I'm not a Deep Stalker, but a Ranger / Hunter Conclave. The title of the thread is kind of misleading now though... I'll edit my main post, and my main question still is what to do after 5 levels of a melee hunter conclave ranger. I'm sorry for being an idiot. Guess I don;t deserve an answer if I can't even get the title right :p

I would definitely stick with Ranger for another level, at least. After that, if you aren't interested in the defensive features Hunter's can get, go Rogue.

[Foxydono]

I would definitely stick with Ranger for another level, at least. After that, if you aren't interested in the defensive features Hunter's can get, go Rogue.

Is it not better to wait a bit before getting a 6th level in ranger? You don't get extra spells with another ranger level and you already got your +3 proficiency bonus. The only benefit will be the greater favored enemy, but I'm not sure yet what kind to pick. I was thinking if I get further into the campaign I'll have a better choice picking out my favored enemy. As for the defensive capabilities I was thinking of playing a Swashbuckler Rogue. This will give me a +2 on initiative due to charisma (I rolled for stats and got fairly lucky) and it also gives me the ability to avoid AoO's. This version is arguably better then Escape the Horde. Also Fleet of Foot is a nice feature, but will be replaced by the Rogue's cunning action. And Hide in Plain Sight is not that good being melee. Whirlwind attack at 11th level is nice though, but probably not worth the hunter levels.

As for going Swashbuckler you avoid AoO's, get a higher initiative, cunning action, uncanny dodge, evasion and expertise. So for defense this looks to me like the much better option. But greater favored enemy is quite good, I agree. But wouldn't it be better to take it after taking 3 rogue levels? This way I gain a lot of benefits and I'll be better able to choose who my favored enemy is.

And what feats would you recommend? Getting strength maxed first seems like the obvious thing to do. But you can get magical items for boosting strength as well and I'll be hitting plenty with 18 strength right? So wouldn't it be better to pick a feat instead? Alert may be overkill seeing as how I'll have +4 initiative and advantage on rolls. And besides I'm melee and have a high AC so I'm not that scared of getting hit/surprised. Warcaster could be nice since I'll have shield+weapon and also need concentration for Hunter's Mark, so advantage on rolls will be nice. ALternatively I could get resilient in con and/or wis saves, but I have an even number with those stats, so the bonus will be minimal.

[djreynolds]

If you plan to max out dex, and have a decent con and just a 13 in strength. 1 level of barbarian is huge. A 20 in dex for +5 and even a 14 in con will give 17AC, and you can rage as a bonus action.