Need help with PHB Beasmaster build

[Starve]

My dnd experience is playing one year-long homebrew 4e campaign and a couple sessions of premade 3.5 campaign (did not finish the 3.5 campaign). My 4e character was a 2h Mordinkrad barbarian. From playing pathfinder I became obsessed with the druid/ranger/hunter classes because of their pets.

I need help making a Ranger - Beastmaster, but from what I've read they're quite under powered. I'm planning to play in a local dnd adventurer's league group so I only have access to the beastmaster in the PHB.
My build won't come online whatsoever until I hit level 4 so I can't test it in-game much. If anyone with dnd 5e experience could provide some input it would be appreciated.

I would like to make a melee beastmaster. I suppose I am combining my interest in 2h weapon barbarians with my interest in the druid/ranger beast.

My currently build ideas are:

Human Fighter1/RangerX
Str: 15 (+1)
Dex: 12 (+1)
Con: 14
Int: 8 or 10
Wis 13
Cha 8 or 10

Polearm Master
Glaive w/ heavy armor

Starting as Fighter for str and con proficiency + heavy armor + great weapon style.
Defensive style for + 1 AC from Ranger
The interaction between great weapon style and hunter's mark seems interesting.
I read smite works with great weapon style so I assume hunter's mark would work the same.
Unless I am mistaken, with polearm master I can do 1d10+1d6 + 1d4+1d6 and I will get to reroll 1 and 2s on all of those dice, in addition to rerolling 1s and 2s on my Polearm master opportunity attacks.

For additional feats I would like to choose sentinel and resilient(wis) which would make me prof in str, con, and wis while also bumping up my wis modifier to +2

With this build it looks like I would be able to do a decent amount of damage. I'm sure a Fighter or optimal ranger/rogue would do more damage but that doesn't bother me. I really just want to make a (ideally melee) beastmaster build. When enemies approach I will get an opportunity attack as well as have a pet in between us. I can use reach to stay behind my pet, basically using it as a meatshield.

I figure I could be a decent defender perhaps. If an enemy is approaching our squishies I can put myself inbetween them (longstrider can help).
Then I will be able to block some approaching and take an opportunity attack at one, perhaps stopping it completely if I have sentinel. Meanwhile in the same turn I can still use my attack action to have my pet hold off some targets on the other side of the battle.

I don't know how the combat goes in adventurer's league campaigns, but in my 4e campaign being ambushed from multiple angles was quite common.

The other option I've been considering is:

Human Fighter1/RangerX
Str: 15 (+1)
Dex: 12 (+1) (maybe Dex 15+1 instead?)
Con: 14
Int: 8 or 10
Wis 13
Cha 8 or 10

Sentinel or Shield Master at level 1?

1h sword or axe + Shield possibly focusing on dex to use a rapier but I'd prefer wearing heavy armor and using a str based weapon if it isn't too un-optimal

Start as Fighter for Protection. If I sit beside my pet I grant disadvantage to anyone trying to hit it.
I've read the pet can die very quickly, so if I want my build to be focused on my pet maybe I should take feats to protect it instead of dealing more damage?

With this build I also get Defensive style for + 1 AC from Ranger as well as + 2 AC from shield for decent overall AC, so maybe I can be a tank/healer/skillmonkey/utility spells?

Like I said before I would prefer a melee beastmaster, but another option I might consider is a healing focused or utility ranger who also specilizes in using a pet maybe? I'm not sure what rangers do. I am quite opposed to a Dex/Archery build tbh although if someone really wants to suggest one I am down to look at it.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, sorry if I am misunderstanding any rules about 5e, I haven't played dnd in at least a few years.

[Jack Bitters]

Well, I have no experience actually playing a beastmaster, but if you're interested in protecting your pet:

I would suggest finding a way to get mage armor as a spell. Perhaps Magic Initiate or dipping sorcerer/wizard. If you cast that on your pet, depending on the pet it will gain 0-3 points in AC. For example, a Wolf has an AC of 13(natural armor) with +2 dex, meaning that its new AC is 15 with mage armor. When you add your proficiency bonus of +2 on top of that, your pet will end up with a very solid armor class when you get it, ranging from 15 for the boar to 19 for a flying snake/giant poisonous snake.

If you get mage armor from taking a few levels in sorcerer, at level 3 you get access to the Warding Bond spell, which would give your pet resistance to damage and +1 AC. You can also pick up the shield of faith spell, if you're willing to give up concentration on Hunter's Mark, to boost AC by 2. In this way you can substantially boost your pet's defensive capabilities.

[peterispeter]

If you are a small race (halfling or gnome), you can actually ride your beast (assuming it is a medium creature). I would definitely take this idea into account (although you will need an exotic saddle most of the time).

[Naanomi]

They are not underpowered so long as your pet is alive, just a little mechanically strange... but if your pet dies and you cannot replace it immediately, you are not in good shape.

There are different ways of playing a beastmaster; you can support your pet in doing damage, or have it support you more. Riding it is an option... and don’t neglect a pet with combat control abilities (web, grapple, knockdown) even if they are not rocking impressive damage boosts (usually poison)

As mentioned above, riding your pet opens up a lot of options; but isn’t *necessary* to be a good beastmaster.

I wouldn’t recommend multi-classing... the difference between medium and heavy armor isn’t substantial (especially not when you need the DEX to multiclass anyways); and you can use a Great Weapon just fine without the supporting style. Your pet’s HP is completely dependant on your level as a ranger