Gloom Stalker leveling help

[Goji_64]

Hey guys, playing a level 7 Tortle gloom stalker. This is a dual wield melee character, and should be level 8 within the next session or two.

My stats are:
Str- 18
Dex- 14
Con- 14
Wis-12
Int- 12
Cha- 11

I have two ideas for my next ASI, and am in need of some opinions. I will either add +2 to wisdom, or do a +1 wis/con split, and taking Resilient(con) down the line to bump it to 16. It should be added that I do plan on getting an Amulet of Health once I have the 5k gold (halfway there). I plan on multiclassing hence the 13 wis minimum.

Does the amulet of health make the con bumps and resilient feat a little redundant, or does con save proficiency make it worth it? Or is it better to just boost the wisdom and reap the spellcasting and initiave benefits?

As for the multiclass, if it helps for insight, at some point (story triggered, I'd guess around level 9-10) I will be going barbarian. The rage and all that will be reflavored as my character going into a different fighting stance, improving his offensive capabilities. The subclass will be an adapted Champion Fighter (DMs idea), calling it the Path of the Champion. Very homebrewed but tailored to my character.

Just really wondering what you guys think about the ASI bumps and the amulet of health. Thanks for the reading!

[5eNeedsDarksun]

On your initial question I think that going Barbarian after your GS levels makes a difference. Given that you can't rage and concentrate at the same time I don't think it's the end of the world if you miss a Con check. Also, with the Amulet you will A) be decent at Con saves anyway and B) miss half the benefit of the resilient Con feat anyway as bumping Con effectively does nothing. For me definitely bump Wisdom. (Edit: If you absolutely figure you are missing to many Con checks down the road, then Warcaster probably gives a better benefit in your case.)
On the 2nd part of your post of getting out at 9th or 10th I'd say it depends on whether you are using Tasha's or not. If you aren't, bail out at 9. If you are, particularly if you don't have another source of temp HP, then you have a tougher decision to make.

[Goji_64]

On the 2nd part of your post of getting out at 9th or 10th I'd say it depends on whether you are using Tasha's or not. If you aren't, bail out at 9. If you are, particularly if you don't have another source of temp HP, then you have a tougher decision to make.

No Tasha's. My DM loathes that book. He's also not a fan of multiclassing but allows so long as there's a story driven reason for it. So I won't necessarily be able to pick exactly what level, I need to find the trigger first. In my case I need to find a certain NPC who will train me in the Path of the Champion. At the rate we've been traveling it'll probably be a level or two before I find him.

We're playing a Wildemount campaign, I think he is in the city of Rexxentrum. I'm not complaining, getting conjure animals and fear spells aren't bad compensation for having to wait.

What you said in the first half of your post is what I've kinda been coming around to too. Thank you for your input, really helps to have outside opinions.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

No Tasha's. My DM loathes that book. He's also not a fan of multiclassing but allows so long as there's a story driven reason for it. So I won't necessarily be able to pick exactly what level, I need to find the trigger first. In my case I need to find a certain NPC who will train me in the Path of the Champion. At the rate we've been traveling it'll probably be a level or two before I find him.

We're playing a Wildemount campaign, I think he is in the city of Rexxentrum. I'm not complaining, getting conjure animals and fear spells aren't bad compensation for having to wait.

What you said in the first half of your post is what I've kinda been coming around to too. Thank you for your input, really helps to have outside opinions.
Better make sure your DM knows you want out at 9 then. Hide in Plain Sight is not remotely worth a full level; if you were changing to a spellcasting class and needed the level to round up to a 5th level caster then maybe. As it is you get to be a 5th level caster for 9 levels of Ranger, which is a pretty good deal.
You're welcome. I agree that it helps to get other points of view. My thread on my Palard has definitely helped me out.

[Goji_64]

So is that the general consensus, +2 wisdom is the way to go? Maybe someone else has a different angle of looking at it, any input is appreciated.

[Khrysaes]

I'd argue that 7 or 8 maybe even better than 9, but I also don't care the ranger's spellcasting most of the time.

Mechanically: War Caster grants advantage to con saves but only concentration , while proficiency at level 8 is +3, increase to +6 and will apply to saves.

Advantage increases a roll by about +5 on average, but proficiency increases both maximum and average.

Amulet of health would give you 19 con, or +4 to saves, max of 24 BUT You lose the benefit of +1 con from either an ASI or resilient feat.

Resilient + amulet of health gives you a con of 19 and +7-10 to saves. Max 30

War caster + amulet of health gives you a con of 19, a max save of 24, but an average of 19ish ONLY for concentration.

You can't concentrate while raging, so you lose the benefit of War Caster.

Ergo: Amulet of health means you lose some of the benefits of ASI or resilient feat, BUT if you are concerned about con saves, resilient is better LONG TERM than Warcaster and applies to more situations. IF you have a attack cantrip, like booming blade, since you don't need to concentrate on it Warcaster may offer more to what you want.

I personally would take +2 wis at level 8, and if possible mutliclass then to barbarian, but again, if you want those spells 9 is good.

[Goji_64]

I'd argue that 7 or 8 maybe even better than 9, but I also don't care the ranger's spellcasting most of the time.

Mechanically: War Caster grants advantage to con saves but only concentration , while proficiency at level 8 is +3, increase to +6 and will apply to saves.

Advantage increases a roll by about +5 on average, but proficiency increases both maximum and average.

Amulet of health would give you 19 con, or +4 to saves, max of 24 BUT You lose the benefit of +1 con from either an ASI or resilient feat.

Resilient + amulet of health gives you a con of 19 and +7-10 to saves. Max 30

War caster + amulet of health gives you a con of 19, a max save of 24, but an average of 19ish ONLY for concentration.

You can't concentrate while raging, so you lose the benefit of War Caster.

Ergo: Amulet of health means you lose some of the benefits of ASI or resilient feat, BUT if you are concerned about con saves, resilient is better LONG TERM than Warcaster and applies to more situations. IF you have a attack cantrip, like booming blade, since you don't need to concentrate on it Warcaster may offer more to what you want.

I personally would take +2 wis at level 8, and if possible mutliclass then to barbarian, but again, if you want those spells 9 is good.

I too would prefer Ranger 8/Barb 1 but there's no guarantee the timing will work out as such. I am ok with that.

In regards to War Caster, it should be noted that I have a pair of homebrewed weapons that allow gems to be socketed and grant special bonuses. My DM informed me that with all six, of what he is calling, Legendary Gems (3 per weapon) socketed I would be able to cast whatever spells those six specific gems contain (idk what yet) while raging. I would also be able to cast a concentration spell through each weapon. The concentration save would be at disadvantage when holding 2 spells at once, War Caster would even it out to a straight roll.

Sorry, maybe I should of included that to begin with :smalleek:

To give an idea of the range of abilities the gems grant, I currently have a malachite that does 1d4 acid, an Obsidian gem that does 1d4 necrotic, and an Azerite that does 1d4 cold damage on hit socketed to my main hand. I also have a Tiger's Eye gem that grants a +5 to perception, a gem that adds 10ft swim speed, a Jasper gem that casts Ensnaring strike, Star Rose Quartz casts Cure Wounds, Bloodstone casts Identify, a gem for Snare, even a gem for casting Enemies Abound etc etc...the list goes on and on. The gem is expended once the spell is cast or after an hour for things like the damage, and perception gems.

Does that change the weighting of certain feats over others? Am I best off going +2 wis at 8, war Caster at 12, +2 str at 16? Do you see any room to fit Sentinel or Resilient (Con) in there at all? Once again, thanks for reading.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

I too would prefer Ranger 8/Barb 1 but there's no guarantee the timing will work out as such. I am ok with that.

In regards to War Caster, it should be noted that I have a pair of homebrewed weapons that allow gems to be socketed and grant special bonuses. My DM informed me that with all six, of what he is calling, Legendary Gems (3 per weapon) socketed I would be able to cast whatever spells those six specific gems contain (idk what yet) while raging. I would also be able to cast a concentration spell through each weapon. The concentration save would be at disadvantage when holding 2 spells at once, War Caster would even it out to a straight roll.

Sorry, maybe I should of included that to begin with :smalleek:

To give an idea of the range of abilities the gems grant, I currently have a malachite that does 1d4 acid, an Obsidian gem that does 1d4 necrotic, and an Azerite that does 1d4 cold damage on hit socketed to my main hand. I also have a Tiger's Eye gem that grants a +5 to perception, a gem that adds 10ft swim speed, a Jasper gem that casts Ensnaring strike, Star Rose Quartz casts Cure Wounds, Bloodstone casts Identify, a gem for Snare, even a gem for casting Enemies Abound etc etc...the list goes on and on. The gem is expended once the spell is cast or after an hour for things like the damage, and perception gems.

Does that change the weighting of certain feats over others? Am I best off going +2 wis at 8, war Caster at 12, +2 str at 16? Do you see any room to fit Sentinel or Resilient (Con) in there at all? Once again, thanks for reading.
Hmm, I liked my two 3rd level spells, though I wasn't going Barbarian, so the concentration thing wasn't in play. Plant Growth is non-concentration and works really well when you have plants around. If you go 8/1 would your DM be OK with you taking another Ranger level down the road if you wanted to?

[Goji_64]

Hmm, I liked my two 3rd level spells, though I wasn't going Barbarian, so the concentration thing wasn't in play. Plant Growth is non-concentration and works really well when you have plants around. If you go 8/1 would your DM be OK with you taking another Ranger level down the road if you wanted to?

Oh yeah, no problems there. The level splits are all my choice once I "unlock" it, I guess you can say. I'm also still not sure how far into barbarian I would go, but getting Ranger 9 is definitely part of the plan. Longbow + Conjure Animals and summoning two deinonychus are my idea for an alternate combat style for when I can't get into range or just don't want to get in melee range. I currently have a Grey Bag of Tricks I am using instead of conjure animals, and man is it fun. I don't quite hit as hard, but numbers aren't everything.

I love to use Zephyr Strike, and to a lesser extent Hunter's Mark, so I view getting Rage as an "oh s**t!" button. The party consists of me, a theif rogue, divination wizard, tempest cleric, hexblade warlock, and an echo knight fighter. The echo knight plays pretty cautiously, so I do end up taking quite a few hits for the team and I feel this is where Rage would come into play.