Gloom Zealot - Xanathar's Guide

[Stormjack]

After my first read of Xanathar's Guide I think my next character may be a Barbarian Path of the Zealot/Ranger Gloom Stalker. I'm calling this a Gloom Zealot. The most compelling class features for this build are Divine Fury and Dread Ambusher. With this combo I anticipate a high DPR.

Gloom Zealot Progression
Gloom Zealot Levels 1-3: Take 3 levels of Barbarian and take the Path of the Zealot. This gives your PC Divine Fury.
Gloom Zealot Levels 4-6: Take 3 levels of Ranger and take the Gloom Stalker archetype. This gives your PC Dread Ambusher.
Gloom Zealot Level 7: Take 1 level of Ranger to gain the ability score (or feat).
Gloom Zealot Level 8: Take 1 level of Ranger to gain an Extra Attack. This bumps the round 1 average damage to 50 points, and subsequent rounds to 27.5 points (math below)
Gloom Zealot Level 9: Take 1 level of Barbarian Zealot to get the ability score (or feat).
Gloom Zealot Level 10: Take 1 level of Barbarian Zealot to get Fast Movement (+10 speed). Or continue with Gloom Stalker Ranger.
Gloom Zealot Levels 11-20: Remaining levels go toward the Gloom Stalker Ranger, anticipating Stalkers Fury (Ranger 11) and Shadowy Dodge (Ranger 15).

For those waiting on their copy of Xanathar's guide, here's the TLDR:
Divine Fury: While you're raging, the first creature you hit on each of your turns with a weapon attack takes extra damage equal to 1d6 + half your barbarian level (necrotic or radiant).
Dread Ambusher: ... bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your Wisdom modifier. At the start of your first turn of each combat, your walking speed increases by 10 feet (to end of turn). If you take the attack action on that turn, you can make one additional weapon attack as part of that action. If that attack hits, the target takes an extra 1d8 damage of the weapon's damage type.

Our campaign will start at 3rd level, and I expect will run to the mid-teens. Our group normally is limited to PHB only, but in this campaign the DM is also allowing XGTE. With 5e I haven't yet run a martial PC, so I'm looking for some guidance. Race, feats, and weapons are still to be determined. In our campaign, I'm expecting higher than normal stats (which can support MAD builds). But for general purposes I'll stick with a 27 point Human build.

Original Points: 15, 13, 13, 13, 11, 8
Human: Add +1 to all stats
Final: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 9

The first 3 levels will be in Barbarian to qualify for Path of the Zealot.
HP: 32 (12+7+7 & +6 for Con)
AC: 14
Weapon: Greataxe (1d12)

On each combat round he would average 16 points of damage using Rage (+2 damage) and Divine Fury (add 1d6+1).
Greataxe 1d12, +3 Str, +2 Rage, +1d6 +1 Divine Fury
Averages: 6.5 + 3 + 2 + 3.5 + 1 = 16
Using a Greatsword would bump that average to 16.5 on the first round.

The next 3 levels would be in Ranger, taking the Gloom Stalker archetype at Ranger 3. So at level 6 the PC gets the Dread Ambusher feature, gaining a first turn extra attack with a bonus 1d8 damage if the weapon hits:
Round 1 Primary Attack (Divine Fury) with Greataxe: 1d12, +3 Str, +2 Rage, +1d6 +1 = 16 average damage.
Round 1 Extra Attack (Dread Ambusher): 1d12, + 3 Str, +2 Rage, +1d12, +1d8 = 22.5 average damage.
Round 1 = 38.5 average damage
Later rounds = 16 average damage per round

The level 6 Gloom Zealot would have 60 HP (32+10+6+6 & +6 for Con). Additional gravy includes Umbral Sight for 60 feet of darkvision, which rocks for humans.

That's a quick first pass that doesn't include feats, analysis for 2 weapon fighting, and other features. Please let me know if any of the math is bad, or if there are some bad assumptions. Not being an expert at 5e, I'd really appreciate your feedback.

What feats would compliment this build?
What races should I explore?

Thanks for your help.

[Chugger]

I wouldn't go 3 barb and then 3 ranger.

I'd go 5 barb to get extra attack as quickly as possible - and the lvl 4 ASI (or feat).

I'd then go 3 ranger to get the gloom ability.

While you'd miss that burst opening in some fights, I think 2 attacks a round would serve you better in the long run on the way to lvl 8. I'd suggest doing a paper of your char at lvl 5 one way and then the other - and get out your dice - and have it duel various monsters as a lvl 5 barb and then as a lvl 3 barb/lvl 2 ranger and see what happens. Test it.

You also, if I remember correctly, get 3 rages per long rest at lvl 4. You don't want to go as far as you were planning with only 2 rages a day - that would suck. With three you already have to be careful, but with 2 - you're very weak in many fights. With no shield your AC is low - you do want to be raging.

What are you going to do about ranger spells? You can't cast while raging. Many are strong out of combat spells. I'd think about this.

There are many other ways to go - the obvious feat to use w/ 2hnd is GWM - but you take a -5 to hit. It's not fun to swish all the time, because of that -5. I'd say as nice as xgte classes are, maybe going battlemaster instead of gloom as a va human with gwm would give you precision and 4 chances per short rest to "fix" close misses - rolls you can make after seeing your d20 roll.

Also consider PaM and a glaive - test that out - maybe it would be cool.

[GlenSmash!]

I've been thinking of making a similar character. Gloomstalker's ability to reroll misses is very attractive on a GWM character.

But like Chugger said, I would not delay getting extra attack as long as you have.

[Sudsboy]

Wouldn't the Hunter Ranger offer more DPR with either Colossus Slayer or Horde Breaker?

[GlenSmash!]

Wouldn't the Hunter Ranger offer more DPR with either Colossus Slayer or Horde Breaker?

I'm not a math wiz, maybe somebody better at number crunching could run it.

Colossus slayer is very reliable damage, but if you're the first one to hit the creature it's not very helpful on that attack. Horde breaker is one of my favorites since Hordes can be pretty nasty in 5e due to the action economy and Bounded accuracy, but Horde Breaker is situational.

The advantage gloom stalker has is that its abilities trigger on the first round of combat, making it a very predictable thing.

So is extra movement, one attack , and 1d8 per combat worth more than 1d8 per turn (and potentially not the first turn) or one attack per turn when multiple foes are bunched together? I guess it boils down to how many rounds your combats usually last or how many times you encounter Hordes?

If your combats typically last two rounds or less, I think Gloom stalker is a no-brainer. 4 or More, and I think you go Colossus slayer. Horde breaker if you are just scared of groups.

Of course it's more complicated by the higher level abilities. Gloom Stalker gets Wisdom save prof which is really nice, and the chance to re-roll some misses which could be a big bonus to Great Weapon Master (or Sharpshooter for that matter). I think both of those are better than the hunter options personally.

[Biggstick]

Being a primary martial character without a second attack at level 5 sucks. And it sucks even worse to not have that second attack at level 6. To have to wait until level 8 just seems like an incredibly long time to wait, and something I'd avoid altogether.

Another point, primary martial characters, especially ones using a Great Weapon that isn't a Polearm, pretty much need Great Weapon Master to stay competitive damage-wise. You're playing a Human and have elected to go with the stat bonus. That's great and all, but building a character like this will become feat heavy.

If you're really focused on pairing these two classes together, I'd suggest one class only have three levels, while you focus on the other. Start out with 5 levels in either Barbarian or Ranger, pick up three levels in the other, and then come back to the primary class. Change out your standard Human and go with Human Variant, grabbing Great Weapon Master as a feat. Run with a 16 Str, 14 Dex, 14 Con, 13 Wis, an 8-9 in Int and an 8-9 in Int (your choice on these last two). Wear medium armor, so that your AC is at least 16 (or 17 once you get Half Plate). The biggest reason we're wearing armor on this character is so that we can find magic armor in the future to receive the benefit from eventually.

Run 5 levels of either Barbarian or Ranger, picking up a +2 Strength at level 4 for your ASI. You'll be set up for your attack stat, and have your primary combat feat for your entire career with this build, as well as having a second attack. Pick up your additional 3 levels in the second class, and then go back to the primary! Let's take a look at what this might look like for the character RP/buildwise.

First 5 levels as a Ranger. You'll have access to a few spells like Hunter's Mark, Goodberry/Cure Wounds, and Pass w/o Trace. You can make other choices obviously, but these are some of the most common. You'll grab GWF or Defense as your fighting style, to either up your offensive output or increase your defensive capabilities (because if you're in the front, you'll probably be getting attacked, and a little extra AC is a good thing).

So you've gone your 5 levels of Ranger, protecting the wilderness/world/etc with your party, and you've found that what you're currently doing just isn't enough. There is a...strength inside of you that is just itching to get out. Have some sort of revelation in character, and boom, start picking up Barbarian levels. Right from the start, Rages will only be used as a tool when you need to take less damage, as you'll only have two of them until you're Barbarian level 3. The second level of Barbarian opens up Reckless Attack, which combined with GWM makes for some pretty strong damage potential. Lastly, your third level of Barbarian. This brings you a bit of extra damage on the first attack, a third rage, and most importantly a mechanic that makes you cheap and easy to bring back to life. By level 8, you should hopefully have a party member capable of bringing people back to life. This takes a pretty solid burden off of them in not being required to "pay" to bring you back to life.

At this point, head back to Ranger, as you already have everything you need ASI-wise for the character (which is the reason to go for a 4th level of Barbarian). We also don't need to push any further in Barbarian, because the only benefit we're getting out of 5th level Barbarian is an extra 10' of movement (as we already have a second attack from Ranger).

This character is primarily a Ranger with a few Barbarian levels. These few (3) Barbarian levels increase both the offensive output (Reckless Attack+GWM) and defensive bursts (Rage x 3) for the character. The times you're using Rage should be limited to the times in which you absolutely have to be the one tanking. They're more like emergency buttons to be pressed only in the most dire of times. Otherwise, act like a standard melee Ranger who swings a huge weapon with some spells to support them.
First 5 levels as Barbarian. You're getting all the sweet goodness of early Barbarian levels, and running pretty much the same leveling scheme we had before of GWM as your Human Variant feat and +2 Strength at level 4. But now that you're level 5, your Barbarian has come to the conclusion that raw violence isn't going to always be the answer to every situation presented. Getting more in touch with the world will open up this Barbarian's eyes.

Ranger 1 doesn't bring much in terms of combat prowess (depending on if you're using Revised or PHB Ranger). What it does bring though is a host of potential flavor in favored enemies and favored terrain. All of a sudden, your Barbarian has become a solid tracker and excelling in some sort of terrain. Level 2 of Ranger pushes this further, by granting the Barbarian access to spells and a fighting style. While Rages might have been the standard way your character has approached combat thus far, having access to spells might change how you approach future situations. The Fighting style is a simple boost that doesn't really need explanation. Ranger 3 brings you the real bonus, as you now gain a bit more damage on your first turn, extra movement, and the ability to see in the dark. If you were the party scout, or the party's "trapfinder," you are now able to walk about the place and actually see in the dark.

You come back to Barbarian after your third level of Ranger, as you're probably starting to feel like three Rages just isn't enough to get you through the day anymore. And Barbarian 6 provides that sweet relief, but giving you your 4th Rage.
After going through both break-downs, I would definitely prefer the small dip into Barbarian and staying primarily Ranger versus a Barbarian dipping Ranger. It just feels like a smoother character build, and makes sense to give more offensive/defensive tools in Rage/Reckless Attack/easy Revivify for a GWM Ranger.

[GlenSmash!]

...If you're really focused on pairing these two classes together, I'd suggest one class only have three levels, while you focus on the other. Start out with 5 levels in either Barbarian or Ranger, pick up three levels in the other, and then come back to the primary class.

I agree with most of what you wrote except this.

Even If I was going Ranger Primary, I would still start as Barbarian. Con Save Proficiency makes the difference to me. So 1 Barb/5 Ranger/2 Barb/X Ranger is what I would do.

It would still suck to not have extra attack at level 5 but I think I could suck it up for 1 level. 3 levels not so much, but one level I could do it.

Also Ranger abilities beyond level 11 don't have much appeal to me so if the game was expected to go beyond 14 I would consider getting more Barb levels instead of Ranger Levels.

But all that is of course just my personal preference.

[Stormjack]

Thanks for the great tips. In my haste to acquire those key class features at 6th level, I missed the value of getting that extra attack asap. Thanks for that @Chugger and @Biggstick. I can wait until level 7 or 8 for the full Gloom Stalker/Zealot combo.

@GlenSmash!, I’m glad to see you were considering something similar. It’s validation this combo has merit.

We typically have 8-9 players. Some combat runs 2-3 rounds, while others take much longer. To keep our group challenged the DMs throw more monsters at us than a typical small group would encounter. Consequently, most of our encounters occur in large areas (outdoors, in buildings, and underground). Do the larger spaces and encounter sizes make Polearm Master more attractive than usual?

In our current campaign I’m running a Sorlock, and another player has a straight Warlock. We’ve had multiple encounters where the spells and ranged weapons have wiped out our opponents before our tanks can even engage. That makes the initiative and movement bonus from Dread Ambusher more compelling.

Orcish Fury looks like it could compliment this combo if I ran a half orc. But I’ve just no interest in running one.

Is Dual Wielding worth considering? With the Barbarian bent it seems less in character.

@Biggstick, thanks for the great comparison build breakdowns! It helps to see them side by side. I’m with you on keeping the Barbarian dip smaller.

[Biggstick]

I agree with most of what you wrote except this.

Even If I was going Ranger Primary, I would still start as Barbarian. Con Save Proficiency makes the difference to me. So 1 Barb/5 Ranger/2 Barb/X Ranger is what I would do.

It would still suck to not have extra attack at level 5 but I think I could suck it up for 1 level. 3 levels not so much, but one level I could do it.

Also Ranger abilities beyond level 11 don't have much appeal to me so if the game was expected to go beyond 14 I would consider getting more Barb levels instead of Ranger Levels.

But all that is of course just my personal preference.

I can understand taking Barbarian for the proficiency saving throws, but I'd rather have a more powerful set of starting gear and Dex saving throws then Con saving throws. You can absolutely pick up Resilient Con on this character at PC level 11 (Ranger 8, Barbarian 3), but that might be a little late for your liking. What's nice about it is if you did go that route (or even the starting of Barbarian and picking up Resilient Dex), you're going to have proficiency in Str, Dex, Con, and Wis saving throws at character level 11.

In regards to choices once you're level 14 (Ranger 11 // Barbarian 3), it seems strange that you'd want to go for Barbarian when it will take you 3 more levels before you receive any benefit for doing so. Let's break it down a little the progression and what you're actually getting. I'm going to do this based off of PHB Ranger, rather then Revised (because I've seen more PHB Ranger then Revised, and I think a DM is more likely to allow it then Revised Ranger).

PC level 15
Ranger 12 // Barbarian 3 = ASI
Ranger 11 // Barbarian 4 = ASI
Winner: Tie. Same exact thing.

PC level 16
Ranger 13 // Barbarian 3 = 4th level spells, specifically Freedom of movement, as it's a concentration free buff useful during Rages. Additionally, for the Gloom Stalker, this includes automatic access to Greater Invisibility.
Ranger 11 // Barbarian 5 = 10' of move speed.
Winner: Definitely the Ranger. Greater Invisibility for this particular build is a solid combat buff when you don't want to use a Rage. And if you do want to use a Rage, you have Freedom of Movement to keep you from ever getting caught up.

PC level 17
Ranger 14 // Barbarian 3 = Access to the Hide action as a bonus action, making Greater Invisibility even more powerful mid-combat. Flavor text for not being able to tracked except magically (which is arguably the only way you're being tracked at this point of the campaign, making it not as a big a deal).
Ranger 11 // Barbarian 6 = 4th Rage, and saving throw re-rolls once per Rage. This is a pretty sweet level for this particular combination.
Winner: Barbarian wins out here. Another usage of Rage, plus another saving throw bonus on top of our potential 4 saving throw proficiencies is pretty sweet.

PC Level 18
Ranger 15 // Barbarian 3 = The Gloom Stalker gains Shadowy Dodge. Being able to impose disadvantage on a single attack against has some value for a Ranger like this, but it's definitely a situational ability.
Ranger 11 // Barbarian 7 = Advantage on initiative + the ability to not be surprised as long as you're willing to burn a Rage is fantastic.
Winner: Definitely the Barbarian. It feels good to roll high initiative, and being able to go first or during a surprise round is a powerful ability.

PC level 19
Ranger 16 // Barbarian 3 = ASI
Ranger 11 // Barbarian 8 = ASI
Winner: Tie. The exact same thing.

PC level 20
Ranger 17 // Barbarian 3 = 5th level spell slots. The reason I say spell slots, because the only spell really interesting to a melee Ranger on this list imo is from the Gloom Stalker list, Seeming. And even that might not be very useful at the level 20 range.
Ranger 11 // Barbarian 9 = Increased damage for attacks while Raging (jumps from +2 to +3), and extra damage dice when rolling critical hits. In regards for combat, this is a decent capstone.
Winner: I'd say in a clear-cut-and-dry comparison between the levels, the Barbarian wins out here as well.
So I was surprised after doing all this to find that Barbarian, once you eat through the tougher bits of PC level 15 and 16, actually turns out to be better overall. However, I'm someone that prefers a bit more spell casting, and Gloom Stalkers access to Greater Invisibility and Freedom of Movement (and more castings of them) is what really sell the Ranger levels for me, and has me choosing the Ranger progression over Barbarian progression. I can definitely see why people would go with the Barbarian levels though, as I would agree that on paper the Barbarian levels provide a more tangible benefit to this primarily melee Ranger.


Thanks for the great tips. In my haste to acquire those key class features at 6th level, I missed the value of getting that extra attack asap. Thanks for that @Chugger and @Biggstick. I can wait until level 7 or 8 for the full Gloom Stalker/Zealot combo.

@GlenSmash!, I’m glad to see you were considering something similar. It’s validation this combo has merit.

We typically have 8-9 players. Some combat runs 2-3 rounds, while others take much longer. To keep our group challenged the DMs throw more monsters at us than a typical small group would encounter. Consequently, most of our encounters occur in large areas (outdoors, in buildings, and underground). Do the larger spaces and encounter sizes make Polearm Master more attractive than usual?

In our current campaign I’m running a Sorlock, and another player has a straight Warlock. We’ve had multiple encounters where the spells and ranged weapons have wiped out our opponents before our tanks can even engage. That makes the initiative and movement bonus from Dread Ambusher more compelling.

Orcish Fury looks like it could compliment this combo if I ran a half orc. But I’ve just no interest in running one.

Is Dual Wielding worth considering? With the Barbarian bent it seems less in character.

@Biggstick, thanks for the great comparison build breakdowns! It helps to see them side by side. I’m with you on keeping the Barbarian dip smaller.

So with the build both yourself and I have proposed, you have 14 Dexterity. You also have access to a Longbow. Nothing is preventing you from throwing out a Hunter's Mark, and plinking away with the best of them with your Longbow from range. And then as you're approaching melee combat, simply throw the Longbow to the ground (typically allowed by DM's as a free action) and pull out your Great Weapon. Engage in melee combat, using either Rages to tank through the burst, or proper positioning alongside your other martial allies.

I definitely wouldn't look at Duel Wielding, but that's just me.

PAM is a great feat, and is considered a staple in many GWM builds. It really depends on you if you want to fit PAM into your build. I would personally look at GWM being a higher priority, as you'll already have decent uses of your bonus action with both Rage and Hunter's Mark. But, you might decide that having opportunity attacks when someone approaches your reach (10') or having a bonus action attack available to you when you make an attack roll is more important then the flat damage increase given by GWM (and unreliable bonus action attack it grants when killing a creature or landing a critical hit).

[GlenSmash!]

snip

Solid points all around Biggstick. For me Dex saves are almost never a priority, they mostly just reduce damage, which on a Barb/Ranger I'm not likely to be that concerned about. I'd rather spend the ASI I would have had on Resilient somewhere else. But that's just me.

Your comparison of multiclassing is brilliant, and exactly highlights what I would like out of more Barb levels, but why another player like you or Stormjack wouldn't.

Though even I might want Ranger 12 for the extra feat. I think this is a character that needs GWM and could benefit from Mobile for sure. I'm also a sucker for Lucky on well, any character. Particularly Mobile can let you Reckless attack, then get away form an enemy without taking Opportunity Attacks, which could save you some uses of Rage (admittedly this is highly situational). That being said, i have always found extra movement to be handy on a Melee character. I couls see myself using Longstrider quite a bit with this type of character.

I also think Longbow with 14 Dex and Proficiency and Hunter's Mark will still be used in a lot of combats. especially if your in the situation where it's better to caste a spell in the first round of combat, like laying down a Spike Growth.

I find Dual Wielding to be lackluster past level 4. It's better on a ranger using Hunter's Mark, but doesn't compare to GWM or PM on a Barbarian.

I also think that for a character with Reckless Attack GWM is a higher priority than PM.

[GlenSmash!]

Solid points all around Biggstick. For me Dex saves are almost never a priority, they mostly just reduce damage, which on a Barb/Ranger I'm not likely to be that concerned about. I'd rather spend the ASI I would have had on Resilient somewhere else. But that's just me.

Your comparison of multiclassing is brilliant, and exactly highlights what I would like out of more Barb levels, but why another player like you or Stormjack wouldn't.

Though even I might want Ranger 12 for the extra feat. I think this is a character that needs GWM and could benefit from Mobile for sure. I'm also a sucker for Lucky on well, any character. Particularly Mobile can let you Reckless attack, then get away form an enemy without taking Opportunity Attacks, which could save you some uses of Rage (admittedly this is highly situational). That being said, i have always found extra movement to be handy on a Melee character. I couls see myself using Longstrider quite a bit with this type of character.

I also think Longbow with 14 Dex and Proficiency and Hunter's Mark will still be used in a lot of combats. especially if your in the situation where it's better to caste a spell in the first round of combat, like laying down a Spike Growth.

I find Dual Wielding to be lackluster past level 4. It's better on a ranger using Hunter's Mark, but doesn't compare to GWM or PM on a Barbarian.

I also think that for a character with Reckless Attack GWM is a higher priority than PM.

Edit: I forgot to add. Mobile works even better on a Revised Ranger, since they get dash as a bonus action. It less useful on a PHB Ranger.