What to do with my ranger after level 7?

[Rfkannen]

So we have been level 7 in this campaign for a loooong time (we have had one fight in the last 4 sessions and we took several months of hiatus before that) but the dm has said we are leveling up next session. And I am just not sure what to do.

So my character is a kobold gloomstalker, sharpshooter fear, stats are 7, 18, 12, 11, 15, 12. A couple sessions back we started using the alternate class features ua, only had two combats with them, but the climb speed is awesome. (also we are about to go into a massive dungeon so Im exited to try the new features out more!). I have a +1 magic longbow without the heavy property that the dm has said has secret powers that can be unlocked (vestige/weapons of legacy style)



I am exited by the theme of the spell lightning arrow, but mechanically that isn't very much, and the rest of the ranger class in general seems just kind of.... dull. I mean Im already doing way more damage than the rest of the party (kobold+sharpshooter+only person with a magic weapon=op), so power isn't a concern, but when other people are getting cool stuff to do i'm just kinda not.



I was originally going to multiclass into druid, my character's whole arc is that he is tied to the spirit of the desert so it made a lot of sense, but then we got a druid and that would feel kind of weird.



So yeah, not looking for power at all, more just neat stuff to do in and out of combat.



rest of the party is:

deep gnome battlemaster fighter (rapier and shield)

dragonborn whisper bard (uses one of those chult short spears)

kenku moon druid (moon druids)



What do you think? is higher level ranger more interesting than I give it credit? Should I mutliclass, and if so into what? If I don't, any tips on what feat to take?

ps. I made a thread on this a couple months ago before our hiatus, but I can't find it and we hadn't been using the alternate class features yet

[SLOTHRPG95]

Keep in mind that a Gloomstalker, you also pick up Fear for free at 9th level, which is a powerful crowd control option. Additionally, Stalker's Flurry at 11th level works nicely with Sharpshooter, since going -5/+10 on your attacks significantly ups your miss chance, even with Advantage. Finally, it's worth mentioning that next level you'll get your next ASI and can max out your Dexterity, versus having to wait three (or more) additional levels if you decide to multiclass now. With that said, here are pros and cons of multiclassing into common picks:

Druid
Pros: it fits your idea of who your character is, especially if you go Land (Desert) for your Circle, while Wild Shape can greatly aid in scouting, and the full spell slot progression and (eventually) higher-level spells will give you more options both in and out of combat.
Cons: you've already got a Druid in the party, so there might be some heavy overlap and you'll have to work hard with each other on role differentiation.

Rogue
Pros: you get Expertise, an extra skill, and Sneak Attack right off the bat, and more goodies every level after, including tools to keep you in the fight like Uncanny Dodge and Evasion.
Cons: no spell progression, unless you go Arcane Trickster, and even then it'll seem terribly slow even compared to straight Ranger. Combining partial caster classes means you round everything down, meaning no new spell slots until Ranger 7/Rogue 6, and you won't know any 3rd level spells until 20th level.

Fighter
Pros: a two-level dip gives you an extra fighting style (presumably Defense for an extra point of AC), a few hit points back every short rest, and Action Surge, also known as one of the greatest class abilities in the game. A third level can nab you BM maneuvers, a doubled crit range, Shield/Absorb Elements from EK, or even two Arcane Shots if that's more your style.
Cons: there's no benefit to doubling down on Extra Attack, unless you want to stick around all the way to Fighter 11, meaning that this is really only good for a dip. Also, compared to the other two options, you're not really gaining much more in terms of out-of-combat utility.

Hope this helps!

[da newt]

MC Cleric is also an option if you are looking for spells and some other cool features. You could create some interesting themes with this.

I'd go ranger 8 for the ASI, then Rogue (but I will admit I'm partial to Rogue and especially cunning action), and I'd probably go AT for Find Familiar so that I could spam the HELP action for the rest of the party.

[ImproperJustice]

I another game long ago I had a Ranger Gloomstalker 6 / Druid x

He was lots of fun, with a lot of options.
Wild Shaping to help with scouting was cool, and throwing some big control spells out at later levels to back up run and gun shooting was awesome.

It’s a solid combo.

[Guy Lombard-O]

I'd go with another level of Gloomstalker for 8th level. You get the ASI, which you could maybe use for Ritual Caster/Wizard (since you're not looking for power, but rather fun and options), plus it makes you a 4th level caster for multiclass spellcasting purposes.

[MrStabby]

Honestly? How attached are you to the character?

One good option might be to honourably retire your ranger. I mean there are things you can do to patch up the weaknesses in the class, a little rogue or a couple of levels of fighter will cover over the gaps for a few levels. The issue is that as you get to higher levels you are more and more going to be missing the things that probably drew you to the class in the first place.

Ask yourself what role you want to be playing in the campaign from level 8 onwards and then ask yourself what the best way of filling that role is. Then plan to bring that.

[Vogie]

I'd suggest a 2-level Cleric dip. In addition to more spells and cantrips.
War domain gives you additional attacks and Divine Favor when you need to nova, and your channel divinity allows you to Sharpshoot with ease.
Tempest domain allows you to maximize your Lightning Arrow damage, gives you a new reaction, and access to Thunderwave.
Grave gives you a ranged Spare the Dying, Undead-dar, and allow you to Curse a target creature to set up one of your teammates to do something amazing

[Telwar]

I'd go with another level of Gloomstalker for 8th level. You get the ASI, which you could maybe use for Ritual Caster/Wizard (since you're not looking for power, but rather fun and options), plus it makes you a 4th level caster for multiclass spellcasting purposes.

I'll second the 8th level of ranger for the ASI/feat.

Then, personally, I'd hit up two levels of rogue and/or two levels of fighter for Cunning Action and Action Surge. But you might want to look at cleric instead, depending on if you can fluff any of the domains to match your spirit of the desert thing.

[SyllinTheWizard]

One option I’ve always wanted try with the Gloom Stalker is to build the ultimate ambush master. After Ranger 8, you could take 2 levels of Fighter for action surge. Use action surge to make 6 attacks in the first round of combat (with +1d8 on 2 of them). Next, take three Rogue levels for Stealth expertise and Assassin. Imagine making those 6 attacks critical hits in a surprise round! You could then tag on a level of War Cleric for a 7th critical hit attack in this theoretical round (and Divine Favor is much more flexible for this scenario compared with Hunter’s Mark).

That’s 14 levels, and you could take another 1-2 Fighter and 1 more Rogue for ASIs and either combat maneuvers or arcane shots, then probably take more Rogue until level 20.

That’s what I’d want to do, but it does depend on what kind of character you want to play. And on your DM allowing a four-way multiclass.

[krazedkoi]

I gotta stay listen to the folks and hit that level 8 ranger.

Then? Don’t give up on Druid!
I’ve run two different games where the party had two druids and nobody ever stepped on toes. Usually they were just glad that “someone else got them” because druids have a different outlook on the world than most other classes.
Just don’t go moon druid, Circle of the Land: Desert sounds like it could be fun for you?

Cleric is also another good choice since you have decent wisdom and they’re always useful. Maybe forge or trickery or knowledge?

*edit*
I would probably go rogue if I didn’t go druid because cunning action is amazing

[Nidgit]

Ranger 8 or 9 is indeed probably worth it! The ASI for max Dexterity is always good, but you could maybe try Magic Initiate of you'd rather have a little more utility.

Ranger's a bit tricky since it tends to favor quiet competency over flashier abilities. I'd agree with those suggesting a possible Rogue dip- Assassin combines nicely with Gloomstalker for some really powerful first-turn damage, while Arcane Trickster offers a lot of fun utility.

It's a bit outside the box, but you might also consider moving into Monk. Monks have a lot of neat tricks, and you could pretty easily focus your Ki on stuff like deflecting arrows, Dodging, and Dashing. Kensei works best for an Archer, but Shadow Monk could make for a really fun and mobile twist on a stealthy sniper.

[CTurbo]

level 8 - ASI - get Dex to 20
level 9 - get 3rd spell slot(Fear)
level 10 - Fade Away/Hide in Plain sight - this would be REALLY nice for a sharpshooter
level 11 - Stalker's Fury - 1 extra attack on a miss is GREAT
level 12 - ASI/feat - several potential feats options here. Alert, Mobile, Lucky, Ritual Caster, Magic Initiate, Observant(+1 Wis), or even Skulker.



I think you get something really stronger at each level until 11 for sure and if you're interested in a feat, level 12. After that, I would start taking Rogue levels. Land Druid(desert) would work though and certainly add some utility to your character.

[Keravath]

There are a good choice of options for a gloomstalker ranger ...

1) Levels of rogue. If your DM gives out surprise rounds then Assassin rogue can have a lot of synergy especially with the gloomstalker extra attack in the first round and allowing for advantage (and sneak attack) against ranged targets before your team mates move into range. However, neither the kenku nor the Dragonborn have darkvision so if you want to stay in the dark to get your gloomstalker invisibility it may take some work.

Rogue is so good though that almost any rogue will work well - arcane trickster gives a lot of additional versatility for example. Swashbuckler is good if you like melee though might work better with higher charisma.

2) One level of life cleric. Depending on how your DM runs things, by taking a level of life cleric, your good berry and healing spirit spells become more useful (healing spirit less so since the errata but still useful especially if you increase your wisdom).

3) Druid provides some spell casting synergy.

I would likely take gloomstalker to 8 for the ASI then either multiclass or go onto 11/12 for the reroll on miss and ASI. Sharpshooter works well for this type of character since you have several ways to get advantage on your attacks.

[Specter]

I would definitely go to level 9, at least. Level 8 brings an ASI or feat, which are never bad, and level 9 will bring 3rd-level spells like Lightning Arrow, Conjure Animals and Protection from Energy that no caster multiclass will bring sooner.

Level 10 is kinda lame, so after that you can go Fighter/Druid/Rogue/etc.