ranger/cleric bonus actions

[n00b]

Looking to make a Ranger/Cleric for our next adventure coming up. It looks like there are a lot of things that could compete for your bonus action in this build. Any thoughts to the best usage of the bonus action? I think we're running Storm King's Thunder so we'll be starting at level 1 and running through the end of the module which appears to be around 11.

Thanks.

Edit: Also looking at Monk/Cleric which seems it might have the same issue?

[HiveStriker]

Hey ;)

Well, honestly, it really depends on your choices.
From Ranger, use of bonus action is: two-weapon fighting, Hunter's Mark, Zephyr's Strike for the most part. Possibly arrow-buffing spells later, although you don't have that many slots for them. Also Healing Spirit but you should rarely use it in fight, especially since you'll go Cleric.

From Cleric, main uses besides features are Healing Words, Shield of Faith, Sanctuary, Spiritual Weapon. Apart from Healing Words, I don't see you using the other regularly to be honest: Sanctuary is the big panic buttin, SoF requires concentration so I expect you'll have other spells you'll prefer, Spiritual Weapon is not worth casting until/unless you can upcast it enough to make it better than a plain Conjure Animals.

So unless you expect to be in the need of spamming Healing Words regularly, you should be fine.

To pair with Ranger, the best (by far) Domains are the following...

1. Life (earliest benefit, even a 1 level could be enough): make the most out of your Healing Spirit out of fight. Up to level 6 can be nice if you have to be the primary healer or tank (extra CD, self-heal).

2. Tempest (late benefit, requires at least 2 levels, possibly 6): enjoy maximized Lightning arrow, otherwise get some nice spells like Fog Cloud. If you go melee Ranger, pick Booming Blade for extra pleasure and fluff.

3. Trickery (good at all levels): great CD for melee Ranger although extra bonus action competition. Besides that, excellent bonus spells overall. I'd stop at 5 max if you go Beastmaster (you really don't want to miss on Share Spell if you manage to reach very high level), otherwise it's really up to which spells you really want to use. I'd definitely go up to 7 myself (Polymorph, yummy, should have been on Ranger spelllist from the get go imho).

4. Nature (good at all levels although at least 6 is recommended): great for ranged Ranger in a principally ranged party of if you want to go for the full "Animal Herder" theme.
The level 6 feature is especially useful in magic campaign when you don't want to use Absorb Elements too much or simply need to help someone else survive. And half the spells are really great (other half sadly range from just decent to too situational).

5. Grave, for 2 or 5 levels depending on if you need to be a secondary healer, and only if you also grab Action Surge from Fighter or can have someone Haste you. Idea here is that you could maximize the damage of a spell-buffed attack. Kinda heavy investment on a one-trick pony though, so I'd say it's worth only if you want to have a nova damage option OR if you have such people in party and want to make teamwork shine. ^^
Besides that, having Spare the Dying as bonus action ranged + auto maximum HP when putting from 0 can spare you precious slots if you want to act as an emergency medic.

6. Forge: armor/weapon buff, magic weapon enhancements, good lasting spells (Heat Metal, Wall of Fire): nice way to expand in multiple ways.

7. Light: mainly for Fireball and "parry as reaction WIS times": if you don't feel like blasting (you have casters in party, you have many melee allies) not worth it imo.

My favorites "by default" are Life, Tempest and Forge, with Trickery and Nature close behind.

As for Monk / Cleric, it's basically the same, except actually simpler: you have many ways to use Ki on standard action, but you also have many ways to use it solely on bonus action (Dodge). So a Monk pummeling guys with style (extra damage, extra reach, Stunning Strike) while distributing Healing Words is as viable as a Cleric setting up Spirit Guardians then Dodging as bonus action and afterwards use Sacred Flame / Booming Blade / Command / Guiding Bolt while still Dodging.

[moonfly7]

Hey ;)

Well, honestly, it really depends on your choices.
From Ranger, use of bonus action is: two-weapon fighting, Hunter's Mark, Zephyr's Strike for the most part. Possibly arrow-buffing spells later, although you don't have that many slots for them. Also Healing Spirit but you should rarely use it in fight, especially since you'll go Cleric.

From Cleric, main uses besides features are Healing Words, Shield of Faith, Sanctuary, Spiritual Weapon. Apart from Healing Words, I don't see you using the other regularly to be honest: Sanctuary is the big panic buttin, SoF requires concentration so I expect you'll have other spells you'll prefer, Spiritual Weapon is not worth casting until/unless you can upcast it enough to make it better than a plain Conjure Animals.

So unless you expect to be in the need of spamming Healing Words regularly, you should be fine.

To pair with Ranger, the best (by far) Domains are the following...

1. Life (earliest benefit, even a 1 level could be enough): make the most out of your Healing Spirit out of fight. Up to level 6 can be nice if you have to be the primary healer or tank (extra CD, self-heal).

2. Tempest (late benefit, requires at least 2 levels, possibly 6): enjoy maximized Lightning arrow, otherwise get some nice spells like Fog Cloud. If you go melee Ranger, pick Booming Blade for extra pleasure and fluff.

3. Trickery (good at all levels): great CD for melee Ranger although extra bonus action competition. Besides that, excellent bonus spells overall. I'd stop at 5 max if you go Beastmaster (you really don't want to miss on Share Spell if you manage to reach very high level), otherwise it's really up to which spells you really want to use. I'd definitely go up to 7 myself (Polymorph, yummy, should have been on Ranger spelllist from the get go imho).

4. Nature (good at all levels although at least 6 is recommended): great for ranged Ranger in a principally ranged party of if you want to go for the full "Animal Herder" theme.
The level 6 feature is especially useful in magic campaign when you don't want to use Absorb Elements too much or simply need to help someone else survive. And half the spells are really great (other half sadly range from just decent to too situational).

5. Grave, for 2 or 5 levels depending on if you need to be a secondary healer, and only if you also grab Action Surge from Fighter or can have someone Haste you. Idea here is that you could maximize the damage of a spell-buffed attack. Kinda heavy investment on a one-trick pony though, so I'd say it's worth only if you want to have a nova damage option OR if you have such people in party and want to make teamwork shine. ^^
Besides that, having Spare the Dying as bonus action ranged + auto maximum HP when putting from 0 can spare you precious slots if you want to act as an emergency medic.

6. Forge: armor/weapon buff, magic weapon enhancements, good lasting spells (Heat Metal, Wall of Fire): nice way to expand in multiple ways.

7. Light: mainly for Fireball and "parry as reaction WIS times": if you don't feel like blasting (you have casters in party, you have many melee allies) not worth it imo.

My favorites "by default" are Life, Tempest and Forge, with Trickery and Nature close behind.

As for Monk / Cleric, it's basically the same, except actually simpler: you have many ways to use Ki on standard action, but you also have many ways to use it solely on bonus action (Dodge). So a Monk pummeling guys with style (extra damage, extra reach, Stunning Strike) while distributing Healing Words is as viable as a Cleric setting up Spirit Guardians then Dodging as bonus action and afterwards use Sacred Flame / Booming Blade / Command / Guiding Bolt while still Dodging.

I have to refute the dismissal of spiritual weapon, from everything I've seen from my cleric and when others play them it can be very helpful. And since its not concentration next turn you should be able to cast hunters mark.

[HiveStriker]

I have to refute the dismissal of spiritual weapon, from everything I've seen from my cleric and when others play them it can be very helpful. And since its not concentration next turn you should be able to cast hunters mark.
The important bit is here.
It's a very different situation between single-class Cleric and mixed-up Cleric and Ranger.

Between the facts that...
- Ranger has many other ways to use bonus action already (including the very basic full weapon attack that still does similar damage to basic Spiritual Weapon, for free)
- Ranger has many great spells to spend 2nd level slot (Pass Without Trace, Healing Spirit) and 3rd level (Conjure Animals, Plant Growth, possibly Lightning Arrow, possibly Domain spells like upcast Heat Metal / Elemental Weapon, or even Spirit Guardians).
- Cleric has also several other 2nd level spells that can provide more benefit (like Hold Person whenever it's applicable, Blindness when you have decent chance of applying effect, or Warding Bond).
- As a multiclass your spell progression is slower than a full Cleric...

Spiritual Weapon is completely *not* worth casting until you can upcast it at least as a 4th level spell.
But even then: you could instead use a 4th level Spirit Guardians in melee if you really wanna go for damage, or an upcast Conjure Animals, or Guardian of Nature provided you got there.

So, really, no, it's a spell you can keep prepared if you have a "slot" for it, but as this multiclass at least you'll rarely have it as the best option as far as cost/benefit ratio goes...

[n00b]

My initial thoughts on progression are to maybe just take a 1 or 2 level dip initially as I want to get to level 5 Ranger as quickly as I can. Even tossing around the idea of not going Cleric until after getting Ranger 5. But after that it's probably going to be all Cleric until the end of the module.

[GoodGulfGas]

In Waterdeep DH & DotMM, I played a Gloom Stalker Ranger/War Cleric. I started with five levels of Ranger and then went Cleric the rest of the way. I started with a +2 to Wisdom and +3 to Dex, and then got Dex to +5 after two ASI's. I had lots of options for the bonus action and it was very versatile. The first level War Cleric "War Priest" feature let you make another attack as a bonus action.

I didn't even have Hunter's Mark. I used Divine Favor instead. Moving Hunter's Mark to a new enemy uses a bonus action and since I had lots of competing options for the bonus action, I couldn't afford to have Hunter's Mark taking up multiple bonus actions.

I would cast Divine Favor on one round and then maybe War Priest the next round. At Level 6 (ranger 5/War Cleric 1), with the Gloom Stalker's Dread Ambush feature and then the War Priest feature, I would get off SIX attacks in the first two rounds. No bad at all.

And the Gloom Stalker adds their Wisdom modifier to their initiative.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

Looking to make a Ranger/Cleric for our next adventure coming up. It looks like there are a lot of things that could compete for your bonus action in this build. Any thoughts to the best usage of the bonus action? I think we're running Storm King's Thunder so we'll be starting at level 1 and running through the end of the module which appears to be around 11.

Thanks.

Edit: Also looking at Monk/Cleric which seems it might have the same issue?

I would def take Monk over Ranger.

Monk's Bonus Actions Step of the Wind and Patient Defense gives you options that the Cleric doesn't have easy replacements for wheras the ranger is goingnto bebjust using a bonus action to deal damage.

Monk also has some nice subclasses that mix well with Cleric. One of my favorite Monk x Clerics is Monk (Shadow) x Cleric (Light). You get a Cantrip that will help you make shadows and it's going to be fun teleporting behind and enemy and lighting up the room (along with said ebemy).

Minimum 3 levels in Monk gets you a lot, but 5 levels gets you a lot more. The rest of the levels can be Cleric. Level 6 and 8 are decent caps for a cleric.

Plus you get to play a dark edgy character (monk) that wants to reform and make the world a brighter place. Or maybe not reform and just be a bright edgy character that makes the world a brighter (on fire) place.

[djreynolds]

I actually like war cleric.

You get a bonus action attack wisdom modifier a day. For an archer, it might be 3 to 4 extra attacks a day.

Yes you have hunters mark to move or this or that spell. But you also have 3 attacks waiting to be used... even better with sharpshooter.

So for an archery ranger I like war cleric

Forgot guided strike. +10.

[CTurbo]

This is what I would do

Variant Human Hunter Ranger 7/War Cleric X

16 Str, 10 Dex, 14 Con, 8 Int, 16 Wis, 8 Cha

Choose Archery fighting style, Giants as Favored Enemy, and Great Weapon Master as your free feat. Carry a Longbow and Maul/Greatsword. Wear Plate armor.

I'd start Ranger for the Str/Dex saves, but take 1 level of War Cleric early. Then go all the way up to Ranger 7 before flipping back to Cleric until the end.

Hunter 3 take Giant Killer
Hunter 4 take +2 Str
Hunter 7 take Multiattack Defense
Cleric 4 could be anything from +2 Str, +2 Wis, Res(Con), Alert, Sharpshooter, ect...


Your bread and butter is to attack with your big 2 handed weapon while concentrating on Bless only using War Priest on the big fights. Giant Killer and Multiattack Defense helps you go toe to toe with giants. You can fall back on your Longbow when needed and Archery(and Bless) will help tremendously with your low Dex score. Don't forget that War Priest works with ranged attacks too. Also don't forget that Guided Strike exists when you REALLY need to land that big attack.

You COULD stop at Ranger 5 if you want more Cleric levels, but I feel like Multiattack Defense is worth it considering it actually makes Giant Killer better and all Giants get multiple attacks anyway.

Spiritual Weapon is a good spell to have for when you're out of your War Priest attack.

[HiveStriker]

I would def take Monk over Ranger.

Monk's Bonus Actions Step of the Wind and Patient Defense gives you options that the Cleric doesn't have easy replacements for wheras the ranger is goingnto bebjust using a bonus action to deal damage.

Monk also has some nice subclasses that mix well with Cleric. One of my favorite Monk x Clerics is Monk (Shadow) x Cleric (Light). You get a Cantrip that will help you make shadows and it's going to be fun teleporting behind and enemy and lighting up the room (along with said ebemy).


Agreed that Monk and Cleric mixes well, strongly disagree on the bolded part.

For backliners Clerics, Ranger provide a reliable ranged attack that only Kensei Monk would match.
For frontliner Clerics, Ranger provide interesting options from both spells and features.
For all Clerics, Rangers provide extremely useful spells that they would otherwise never get (Healing Spirit, Conjure Animals, Speak With Animals and Plants).


My initial thoughts on progression are to maybe just take a 1 or 2 level dip initially as I want to get to level 5 Ranger as quickly as I can. Even tossing around the idea of not going Cleric until after getting Ranger 5. But after that it's probably going to be all Cleric until the end of the module.
How high is the module supposed to go?
And which Ranger archetype were you fancying?
And what kind of playstyle were you thinking of?
Depending on those three, how high to go Ranger and Cleric respectively would vary greatly.

Let's say for example you target char level 8.
- If you pick Gloomstalker, the WIS proficiency at level 7 is enough imo to warrant a single level dip in Cleric.
- If you go Hunter, the level 7 benefit may also be enough to limit Cleric to one level.
This means most Domains would be of little value to you except for Forge, Life and possibly Nature (extra rituals for animals management).
In other cases, stopping Ranger at 5 to get Cleric 3 is a sound option, meaning you open the way to Tempest, Knowledge, and possibly Trickery.

Let's say you target char level 11-12.
- Now Ranger 9 / Tempest 2 is something to consider if you expect to spend quite some time at that cap. Especially good with Gloomstalker thanks to Initiative bonus.
- In general, Ranger's 3rd level spells are *very* useful, so you may want to keep Cleric low.
- On another hand, you could decide to get Hunter Ranger 5 / Cleric 5 to make a Spirit Guardians build with high mobility (Mobile + Longstrider). Although in that case one could definitely argue Monk would be a better fit, apart from the fact you lose much on spellcasting. ^^

[n00b]

How high is the module supposed to go?
And which Ranger archetype were you fancying?
And what kind of playstyle were you thinking of?


Storm King's Thunder goes to level 11.

I'm considering either Gloom Stalker or Hunter

He'll be a front liner most likely.

I've looked at a Firbolg Gloom Stalker/War Cleric (or Tempest), actually using heavy armor and a greatsword.

16 13 12 10 16 8 to start, taking GWM and ASI's to Str while using cleric spells to buff or heal when necessary. Probably a 2 level dip in Cleric seems to fit best.

[Teaguethebean]

This is what I would do

Variant Human Hunter Ranger 7/War Cleric X

16 Str, 10 Dex, 14 Con, 8 Int, 16 Wis, 8 Cha


Gonna need 13 dex for that to work out.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

Agreed that Monk and Cleric mixes well, strongly disagree on the bolded part.

For backliners Clerics, Ranger provide a reliable ranged attack that only Kensei Monk would match.
For frontliner Clerics, Ranger provide interesting options from both spells and features.
For all Clerics, Rangers provide extremely useful spells that they would otherwise never get (Healing Spirit, Conjure Animals, Speak With Animals and Plants).


How high is the module supposed to go?
And which Ranger archetype were you fancying?
And what kind of playstyle were you thinking of?
Depending on those three, how high to go Ranger and Cleric respectively would vary greatly.

Let's say for example you target char level 8.
- If you pick Gloomstalker, the WIS proficiency at level 7 is enough imo to warrant a single level dip in Cleric.
- If you go Hunter, the level 7 benefit may also be enough to limit Cleric to one level.
This means most Domains would be of little value to you except for Forge, Life and possibly Nature (extra rituals for animals management).
In other cases, stopping Ranger at 5 to get Cleric 3 is a sound option, meaning you open the way to Tempest, Knowledge, and possibly Trickery.

Let's say you target char level 11-12.
- Now Ranger 9 / Tempest 2 is something to consider if you expect to spend quite some time at that cap. Especially good with Gloomstalker thanks to Initiative bonus.
- In general, Ranger's 3rd level spells are *very* useful, so you may want to keep Cleric low.
- On another hand, you could decide to get Hunter Ranger 5 / Cleric 5 to make a Spirit Guardians build with high mobility (Mobile + Longstrider). Although in that case one could definitely argue Monk would be a better fit, apart from the fact you lose much on spellcasting. ^^

You can't really disagree that Monk's BA gives the Cleric more options that they don't already have... They literally don't get a way to use a bonus action for dashing and dodge. These are both very valuable for front and back line characters.

Dodge makes you very, very hard to hit. Disadvantage on attacks with a good AC? Nice.

Dash? Get to or from a sticky situation? Get in between a squishier party member and your enemy? Dash to get to a creature in order to finish it off? Nice.

You may not like these options, but Clerics and Rangers don't get options like this. They have to eat OA or keep their current AC (or concentrate on an AC boosting spell which takes concentration...).

BA SotW and PD are a lot nicer thab people think.

[HiveStriker]

You can't really disagree that Monk's BA gives the Cleric more options that they don't already have... They literally don't get a way to use a bonus action for dashing and dodge. These are both very valuable for front and back line characters.

I never disagreed on that.
I disagreed on the fact that Monk was "in essence" a better dual-class than Ranger for a Cleric. Because what you say about Monk giving more options that Cleric doesn't already have is equally true for Ranger.

I would def take Monk over Ranger.

Monk's Bonus Actions Step of the Wind and Patient Defense gives you options that the Cleric doesn't have easy replacements for wheras the ranger is goingnto bebjust using a bonus action to deal damage.

This is plain wrong and just shows a big lack of knowledge of Ranger strengths, sorry.

It's completely dependant on what you want to play.

Let's recall, for a start, that most Monk features would be nullified by wearing armor. You'd keep only the bonus action features. Whether that is good or bad is heavily dependant on your playstyle.

Tempest Cleric clad in heavy armor, using Booming Blade on top of Spirit Guardians? No problem: you probably won't move that much past the first round, so Dash first round and Dodge the following is a sound strategy. Or try and use one of the few points of Ki remaining on a Stunning Strike.

Light Cleric that stays in the back usually, using crossbow while concentrating on Bless, but needs to dart in at times to get an ally up with Healing Words or position optimally for a Fireball? The extra speed would help greatly here to get in range and back to safety and you want to keep the bonus action for the spell so extra speed is important.
And Monk giving Extra Attack would make shortbow a better choice. ^^

On that note, a Ranger / Cleric could instead keep concentration on a Conjure Animals, or maybe cast Plant Growth so whole party can rain arrows and possibly spells like Fireball (Light) or maximized Shatter (Tempest) with better targeting efficiency.

A Ranger 5 / Life Cleric X would be enough to make out-of-combat healing a non-issue in 90% of days as well.

As I said... It's all about what you want to contribute to party.

Storm King's Thunder goes to level 11.

I'm considering either Gloom Stalker or Hunter

He'll be a front liner most likely.

I've looked at a Firbolg Gloom Stalker/War Cleric (or Tempest), actually using heavy armor and a greatsword.

16 13 12 10 16 8 to start, taking GWM and ASI's to Str while using cleric spells to buff or heal when necessary. Probably a 2 level dip in Cleric seems to fit best.
Hmm...
How to allocate stats depends on what spells you'd like to use.
Only obvious choice is the 16 in STR.
IF those are rolled, well, you already set up the best distribution.
IF you are point-buy, I'd actually be very partial to the following repartition instead (still Firbolg of course): 16 / 14 / 14 / 8 / 14 / 8.
Going Gloomstalker with this means one less point of extra Initiative than with your distribution, which is however compensated by the extra point in DEX mod.
Going Cleric with this means DC one point lower than with your distribution and one less spell prepared.
On other hand, it means one higher HP every level, one point better DEX saves, one point better concentration, and the number of Ranger spell known (which is your primary class) don't depend on WIS mod.

I think this is optimal if you see yourself as primarily a melee fighter that rarely use offensive spells, which is the feeling you give me in your description.
It probably means that Bless (and possibly Zephyr's Strike) will be your usual concentration spells, with Shield of Faith for fights where you want to tank, and of course Healing Words... And possibly Sanctuary for emergency escape from a swarm once you can prepare it.
Plus you'll know Fog Cloud as a nice utility.

As Ranger spells, my suggestions would be Longstrider (heavy melee = you want mobility), Zephyr's Strike (same reason, for when Bless would be "overkill" on accuracy), Absorb Elements (always useful ime, especially for someone who naturally aggroes), Pass Without Trace (obvious), Healing Spirit (obvious), Conjure Animals (obvious), Wind Wall (underrated protection against ranged).

Good case could be also be made though for Ensnaring Strike (not very reliable considering targeted stat, but when it works it's nice to avoid a target escaping you), Plant Growth (hard to play without bothering allies when many melee around. If you're the main/only one, can be used to protect you as well as backliners from melee enemies), Silence (if you can Grapple/Prone a caster inside), Water Breathing (if setting in lush environment or you expect many watery scenes).

I wouldn't put too much emphasis on 3rd level spells though, considering it will be the pinnacle of your career. ^^
On that note, if you are not that interested in those, in that case keeping Ranger at 7-8 and instead pushing Cleric may be a better option.
Or even tri-classing in Shadow Monk to get a few Dodge on bonus action and a few more spells.
Although I don't think it would outweigh Ranger 7 benefit (Gloomstalker's WIS prof is very important considering the number of bad effects targeting WIS, and Hunter's Escape the Horde / Multiattack Defense are both very strong options for a frontliner).

[kazaryu]

Hey ;)

1. Life (earliest benefit, even a 1 level could be enough): make the most out of your Healing Spirit out of fight. Up to level 6 can be nice if you have to be the primary healer or tank (extra CD, self-heal).



also don't forget that technically the life cleric thing applies to every berry from good berry. taking its healing from 10hp to like.....40. although thats some cheesy **** and i wouldn't be surprised if the DM says no. i know that i would. then again, if they're gonna say no to that, they're also probably going to nerf healing spirit. that being said, even if healing spirit were once/round the cleric buff would be great for it.

[HiveStriker]

also don't forget that technically the life cleric thing applies to every berry from good berry. taking its healing from 10hp to like.....40. although thats some cheesy **** and i wouldn't be surprised if the DM says no. i know that i would. then again, if they're gonna say no to that, they're also probably going to nerf healing spirit. that being said, even if healing spirit were once/round the cleric buff would be great for it.
True true I forgot that Ranger had Goodberry too. :) Nice catch!

[kazaryu]

You can't really disagree that Monk's BA gives the Cleric more options that they don't already have... They literally don't get a way to use a bonus action for dashing and dodge. These are both very valuable for front and back line characters.

i think you're overhyping how important a bonus action dash is for a backline character...and actually a front line character. being able to bonus action dash is really only significant for characters that want to move back and forth between the front and the backline. i.e. characters (like monks and rogues) that are front line damage dealers, but aren't actually tanky enough to stay in the front lines and need to back off. a cleric that is focused on being a backline damage dealer is just fine sitting 40 feet away from the main melee and not dashing. that goes doubly so if they're using a bow as their primary action.

secondly: no, obviously clerics can't bonus action dodge. thats not the same as them not having similar options. for a support primary cleric sanctuary is much, much better than a bonus action dodge. on top of being more efficient. and against a large chunk of non material enemies (i.e. undead/fiends) protection from evil functions in a similar manner for clerics that are actually dealing damage (and in fact can stack with sanctuary for those that aren't). now, of course those benefits are niche, no denying that. but clerics do have them. not saying that a BA dodge is a bad thing, or obsolete. just pointing out that its not as unique as you pretend.




Dash? Get to or from a sticky situation?

if you're a front line cleric, you should already be i the sticky situation. if you're not, ya done goofed. (or you're in a niche situation)
if you're a backline cleric trying to escape a sticky situation 1. your party is not working together. or 2. your party is all unconcious/otherwise unable to help you. regardless a BA dash isn't realistically going to help you. it might. but again, thats a niche situation, not really a general benefit.


Get in between a squishier party member and your enemy?

if you ally is so isolated, and you watched an enemy approach him to the point that you can't get close enough to even use a ranged aid on him.... well let me put it this way move+sanctuary+ranged cantrip is going to do more to help your ally than dashing and being physically present....


Dash to get to a creature in order to finish it off? Nice. its like you're pretending cleric don't have ranged damage....


They have to eat OA or keep their current AC oh no...the healer might take a bit of damage...its not like they're designed to be tanky or anything...


SotW and PD are a lot nicer than people think.

no they're not. people understand exactly how useful they can be. what people are objecting to is your assertion that these options are superior to the ranger's options (or base cleric options).