Nagog
2021-03-12, 12:53 AM
So I've been working on a Ranger rebuild lately, as after WoTC released their 4th attempt at fixing the class (each one continuing to fail to break into the scene in any meaningful way) I decided to try my hand at it and see how I can do. A few thoughts before we begin:
1. I found that while the UA Variant Ranger was the best of the lot at doing what Rangers were supposed to do, even that felt really clunky and bad, and I felt that it doesn't do what it does better than any other class built that direction could do. Rangers as a whole have been very very Bonus Action heavy, and particularly in combat it takes 2-3 Bonus Actions to achieve the proper damage output, and when the target dies you've got to start over. This rebuild will be attempting to divorce the Ranger from that heavy action economy gouging.
2. On that same topic, I found that one of the major issues with the class were worsened by the spell list. Hunters Mark is by far the best spell on the list, but being both Bonus Action and Concentration, it competed with literally everything else in the class that you want to have running in combat. All the other spells competed with it as well, and there is a massive disparity in spell.choices for Melee Rangers, which kills the trope of dual-wielding Rangers. As such, this rebuild completely removed the Spellcasting feature, as it's far easier to remove that than to rework each spell on the list and add some to open it to other playstyles.
3. This rebuild is built to be as reflavor-able and adaptable as possible. It's open to be played as a Striker/Skirmisher in combat, as a martial Crowd Control class, or as a Ranged Support/Damage class. The choice is up to the player, and I do that intentionally as to allow for a wide variety of playstyles and characters to fit under the Ranger umbrella.
Without further ado:
Tier 1:
Level 1: Augmented Ails(need a better name)
Augmented Ails: 1/turn, add 1d4 Acid, Poison, (perhaps others) damage to one attack (no action required). Damage scales with level to 1d6 at 6th level and to 1d8 at 14th level.
Once per turn, when you hit an enemy with an attack, subject them to a Wisdom save or be poisoned for 1 minute, making a new save at the end of each of their turns.
Level 2: Fighting Style, increased Movement Speed (+10ft) and Expertise in 1 skill (limited list: Survival, Stealth, Nature, Arcana, Athletics, Acrobatics, perhaps more?) and 1 kit or tool (limited list: Herbalism kit, alchemy supplies, needs more options)
Level 3: Subclass Ability
Level 4: ASI
Level 5: Extra Attack and Predator's Grasp
Predator's Grasp: at 5th level, at the beginning of your turn you may empower your attacks with a powerful paralyzing agent. Whenever you hit an enemy on that turn with a weapon attack, you may cause a burst of paralyzing agents to erupt from the point of contact. The target must make a Constitution Saving Throw against your Spell Save DC. On a failed save, they are paralyzed until the end of their next turn or until they are attacked, regardless of the attack's success or failure. If a target successfully saves against this effect, they become immune to it until the beginning of your next turn.
You may use this feature a number of times per day equal to your Proficiency Bonus, and regain expended uses on a long rest.
Tier 2:
Level 6: Augmented Ails improvement (1d6)
Level 7: Subclass Feature
Level 8: ASI
Level 9: Natural Guide
Natural Guide: When you make a skill check in which you are proficient, you may grant allies with 10 feet of you advantage on checks with that same skill for that round.
Level 10:
Tier 3:
Level 11: Subclass Feature
Level 12: ASI
Level 13: Basilisk's Gaze
Basilisk's Gaze: At 13th level, you become proficient in replicating the petrifying effects of the Basilisk. As an action, make a Melee weapon attack roll against a target. On a hit, the target must roll a Constitution Saving Throw as the petrifying salve begins to take effect. On subsequent rounds, you may use your Action to continue the effect, subjecting the target to further Constitution Saving Throws. A target may close to willingly fail these saves. On 3 successes, the target resists the salve's effects and is immune to this ability for 48 hours. Upon 3 failures, the target is turned to stone and suffers from the Petrified condition until destroyed or healing magic restores them. You may only succeed with this ability once per day, gaining back your capacity for Petrification on a long rest.
Level 14: Augmented Ails Improvement (1d8), Vanish (as currently presented, Hide as Bonus Action)
Level 15: Subclass Feature
Tier 4:
Level 16: ASI
Level 17:
Level 18:
Level 19: ASI
Level 20:
Further Notes: the most controversial ability on the list, Predator's Grasp, is powerful, but I feel it is balanced properly for the following reasons:
-Auto-crit applies only to melee attacks, only with a range of 5ft.
-Paralysis ends when attacked or at the end of the target's next turn; so it can be used to either boost damage or to deny them their attacks, but not both.
-With removing the Spellcasting from Ranger, it lessens the viability of Paladin/Ranger Multiclassing, as 5 levels into Ranger won't grant any spells to further fuel Smites. If you coordinate with party members to achieve that damage, you're playing a really good Support (akin to Grave Domain's Channel Divinity, but less damage boost (Grave CD doubles all damage, crit only doubles damage dice)) and that should not be punished.
-The delivery method allows for different subclasses to interact with it in different ways: some subclasses grant an extra dice to damage once per round, which would be doubled on a crit (using Extra Attack to set up then knock down). Other subclasses (specifically BM, Hunter, and Gloom Stalker) get an additional attack, which would allow for an additional potential Paralysis, or in the case of BM, an extra crit.
-The wording stresses that it must be a Weapon attack, so a Monk's Flurry of Blows (which must be Unarmed Strikes) don't proc the stun.
-Each target can only be subjected to the save once per round, unlike Stunning Strike which can be spammed on a single target.
Any feedback or suggestions on Tier 4 abilities would be greatly appreciated, as I have little to no experience with tier 4 abilities and their capacity.
1. I found that while the UA Variant Ranger was the best of the lot at doing what Rangers were supposed to do, even that felt really clunky and bad, and I felt that it doesn't do what it does better than any other class built that direction could do. Rangers as a whole have been very very Bonus Action heavy, and particularly in combat it takes 2-3 Bonus Actions to achieve the proper damage output, and when the target dies you've got to start over. This rebuild will be attempting to divorce the Ranger from that heavy action economy gouging.
2. On that same topic, I found that one of the major issues with the class were worsened by the spell list. Hunters Mark is by far the best spell on the list, but being both Bonus Action and Concentration, it competed with literally everything else in the class that you want to have running in combat. All the other spells competed with it as well, and there is a massive disparity in spell.choices for Melee Rangers, which kills the trope of dual-wielding Rangers. As such, this rebuild completely removed the Spellcasting feature, as it's far easier to remove that than to rework each spell on the list and add some to open it to other playstyles.
3. This rebuild is built to be as reflavor-able and adaptable as possible. It's open to be played as a Striker/Skirmisher in combat, as a martial Crowd Control class, or as a Ranged Support/Damage class. The choice is up to the player, and I do that intentionally as to allow for a wide variety of playstyles and characters to fit under the Ranger umbrella.
Without further ado:
Tier 1:
Level 1: Augmented Ails(need a better name)
Augmented Ails: 1/turn, add 1d4 Acid, Poison, (perhaps others) damage to one attack (no action required). Damage scales with level to 1d6 at 6th level and to 1d8 at 14th level.
Once per turn, when you hit an enemy with an attack, subject them to a Wisdom save or be poisoned for 1 minute, making a new save at the end of each of their turns.
Level 2: Fighting Style, increased Movement Speed (+10ft) and Expertise in 1 skill (limited list: Survival, Stealth, Nature, Arcana, Athletics, Acrobatics, perhaps more?) and 1 kit or tool (limited list: Herbalism kit, alchemy supplies, needs more options)
Level 3: Subclass Ability
Level 4: ASI
Level 5: Extra Attack and Predator's Grasp
Predator's Grasp: at 5th level, at the beginning of your turn you may empower your attacks with a powerful paralyzing agent. Whenever you hit an enemy on that turn with a weapon attack, you may cause a burst of paralyzing agents to erupt from the point of contact. The target must make a Constitution Saving Throw against your Spell Save DC. On a failed save, they are paralyzed until the end of their next turn or until they are attacked, regardless of the attack's success or failure. If a target successfully saves against this effect, they become immune to it until the beginning of your next turn.
You may use this feature a number of times per day equal to your Proficiency Bonus, and regain expended uses on a long rest.
Tier 2:
Level 6: Augmented Ails improvement (1d6)
Level 7: Subclass Feature
Level 8: ASI
Level 9: Natural Guide
Natural Guide: When you make a skill check in which you are proficient, you may grant allies with 10 feet of you advantage on checks with that same skill for that round.
Level 10:
Tier 3:
Level 11: Subclass Feature
Level 12: ASI
Level 13: Basilisk's Gaze
Basilisk's Gaze: At 13th level, you become proficient in replicating the petrifying effects of the Basilisk. As an action, make a Melee weapon attack roll against a target. On a hit, the target must roll a Constitution Saving Throw as the petrifying salve begins to take effect. On subsequent rounds, you may use your Action to continue the effect, subjecting the target to further Constitution Saving Throws. A target may close to willingly fail these saves. On 3 successes, the target resists the salve's effects and is immune to this ability for 48 hours. Upon 3 failures, the target is turned to stone and suffers from the Petrified condition until destroyed or healing magic restores them. You may only succeed with this ability once per day, gaining back your capacity for Petrification on a long rest.
Level 14: Augmented Ails Improvement (1d8), Vanish (as currently presented, Hide as Bonus Action)
Level 15: Subclass Feature
Tier 4:
Level 16: ASI
Level 17:
Level 18:
Level 19: ASI
Level 20:
Further Notes: the most controversial ability on the list, Predator's Grasp, is powerful, but I feel it is balanced properly for the following reasons:
-Auto-crit applies only to melee attacks, only with a range of 5ft.
-Paralysis ends when attacked or at the end of the target's next turn; so it can be used to either boost damage or to deny them their attacks, but not both.
-With removing the Spellcasting from Ranger, it lessens the viability of Paladin/Ranger Multiclassing, as 5 levels into Ranger won't grant any spells to further fuel Smites. If you coordinate with party members to achieve that damage, you're playing a really good Support (akin to Grave Domain's Channel Divinity, but less damage boost (Grave CD doubles all damage, crit only doubles damage dice)) and that should not be punished.
-The delivery method allows for different subclasses to interact with it in different ways: some subclasses grant an extra dice to damage once per round, which would be doubled on a crit (using Extra Attack to set up then knock down). Other subclasses (specifically BM, Hunter, and Gloom Stalker) get an additional attack, which would allow for an additional potential Paralysis, or in the case of BM, an extra crit.
-The wording stresses that it must be a Weapon attack, so a Monk's Flurry of Blows (which must be Unarmed Strikes) don't proc the stun.
-Each target can only be subjected to the save once per round, unlike Stunning Strike which can be spammed on a single target.
Any feedback or suggestions on Tier 4 abilities would be greatly appreciated, as I have little to no experience with tier 4 abilities and their capacity.