Help building a Beast Conclave Ranger (low levels)

[Miele]

Hey everyone,

I'd like some inputs for building a level 5 character, I want to play a Beastmaster Ranger (yeah, WoW hunter!) because... ok I admit it, because I have a pretty miniature of an archer with a big wolf miniature that pairs with it.
Due to campaign progression, I'll swap from my AT rogue to this character next level, which means I'll be level 5. I'd like to be efficient in combat and exploration and I have no particular restrictions in terms of what I can pick or do, as long as it's in a book and not campaign setting specific (Eberron races for examples don't make sense for us). We currently play in the Forgotten Realms.

Multiclassing would be okay I guess, but not more than 1 level dip probably as we advance slowly and I'd like to have at least 1 ASI.

Race: Wood elf. Pretty set in stone, being my favourite one since the days I played Warhammer Fantasy with miniatures. Standard lineage, no custom.
Stats: Point buy.
Combat style: Archery preferred as the mini holds a bow.

I'm asking because I'd really like a 1 level dip in a class that makes sense (say druid for example), but I'm not the king of optimization and maybe you can suggest me interesting paths or alternatives to take, spells to pick, etc.

-------

Alternate path #1: make this miniature a druid that uses a longbow and that shifts in Dire Wolf form (so Moon Druid). Wood elf and level 5 still stay, but what spells do you usually prepare for a Moon Druid?

Alternate path #2: Another Ranger archetype with a summoning spell? Summon Beast is a 2nd spell level slot I think, which would force me to spend all 5 levels as ranger (or druid 2 / ranger 3 missing out an ASI for one more level).

Thank you!

[RogueJK]

Race: Wood elf. Pretty set in stone, being my favourite one since the days I played Warhammer Fantasy with miniatures. Standard lineage, no custom.
Stats: Point buy.
Combat style: Archery preferred as the mini holds a bow.

I'm asking because I'd really like a 1 level dip in a class that makes sense (say druid for example), but I'm not the king of optimization and maybe you can suggest me interesting paths or alternatives to take, spells to pick, etc.


I'd advise against dipping out of Ranger as a Beastmaster. Your companion's capabilities scale based on Ranger levels, so you really need to stick to Ranger in order for your Beast to stay fully powered up and competitive with enemy scaling. In addition, Ranger gets 2nd level spellcasting and Extra Attack at Level 5, so you'd have those right off the bat when starting with 5 levels of Ranger, which is a significant combat boost.

Be sure to use the new Primal Companion options from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, as the standard PHB beast companion options are markedly inferior... TCoE truly "fixed" the broken Beastmaster subclass. A Beast of the Land Primal Companion in Wolf shape is better in a number of way than a standard Wolf companion.

At Level 5, it could look something like this:
Wood Elf Beastmaster Ranger 5
STR 10
DEX 14+2
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 15+1
CHA 8
+2 DEX for 18 DEX as your Level 4 ASI. Then plan for either +2 WIS or Sharpshooter at Level 8, then take whichever you didn't take at Level 12.
Archery fighting style.
Racial Perception skill proficiency.
Ranger skill proficiency in Stealth, Survival, and Animal Handling, with Expertise in Perception or Stealth from Canny.
Background skill proficiency in Acrobatics and something else of your choice like Nature, Insight, Medicine, or Sleight of Hand.


But if you're dead-set on dipping 1 level into a multiclass with your Beastmaster at the cost of delaying Extra Attack and 2nd level spellcasting plus decreasing your Companion's capabilities, then 1 level of Druid doesn't get you much. A better (or less bad) option could be 1 level of Cleric, something like Peace, Twilight, Trickery, or Nature. This would get you additional WIS-based cantrips and 1st level spells, plus some handy Level 1 subclass abilities.



Alternate path #1: make this miniature a druid that uses a longbow and that shifts in Dire Wolf form (so Moon Druid). Wood elf and level 5 still stay, but what spells do you usually prepare for a Moon Druid?

Moon Druids will typically fire off a Concentration spell in Round 1, then shift into Combat Wild Shape with their Bonus Action and wade into melee. So you'll want to focus on healing/utility spells like Goodberry, Cure Wounds, Healing Spirit, Detect Magic, Pass Without Trace, etc. for use out of combat when you're not Wild Shaped, and Concentration spells like Faerie Fire, Entangle, Moonbeam, Flaming Sphere, Summon Beast, Summon Fey, Call Lightning, etc. to cast in combat to Concentrate on before Wild Shaping.

Similar to the Beastmaster, Moon Druid is heavily reliant on Druid levels to keep their Combat Wild Shape competitive with enemy scaling. So I wouldn't dip into Ranger here. Just go straight Moon Druid.


Alternate path #2: Another Ranger archetype with a summoning spell? Summon Beast is a 2nd spell level slot I think, which would force me to spend all 5 levels as ranger (or druid 2 / ranger 3 missing out an ASI for one more level).

This will be tougher to pull off, because the Summon X spells rely on upcasting into higher level slots in order to scale their AC, HP, number of attacks, and damage modifiers, so they can keep up with enemy power scaling. The delayed Ranger spell progression puts a cramp on that. Summon Beast is great for a Druid as a 2nd level spell at Level 3-4 before upcasting it into 3rd starting at Level 5 or switching to one of the 3rd level Summoning spells (like Conjure Animals or Summon Fey), but Summon Beast starts to lose its luster if you're a Ranger at Level 5/6/7/8 and can still only cast Summon Beast as a 2nd level spell. (Summon Beast can still be an option for a Ranger at Level 5+, it's just not as solid as an option as it would be for a Druid at Level 3.)

However, if you're wanting to focus on Summoning, you could perhaps start Ranger 2 or Fighter 1 if you really want Archery fighting style, then take your levels in Shepherd Druid from there. That'd be starting as Ranger 2/Shepherd Druid 3 or Fighter 1/Shepherd Druid 4. Or just go straight Shepherd Druid 5, since you'll still have Longbow proficiency from Wood Elf but you won't ever have more than 1 Longbow shot per round, so bow shots will be an afterthought on a character that's primarily a Druid and therefore Archery Fighting Style won't be as necessary.

Either way, R2/D3 or F1/D4 or D5, this gets you summoning available right off the bat, along with Shepherd Druid's Spirit Totem to buff your summoned creatures. As you gain further Shepherd Druid levels, your summoned creatures will be further buffed with their higher-level summoning-focused subclass features, and you'll gain further access to 3rd/4th/5th level Summoning spells like Conjure Animals, Summon Fey, Summon Elemental, Summon Draconic Spirit, etc.


With the Moon Druid or Shepherd Druid route, I'd focus on WIS more than DEX, even if dipping Ranger or Fighter. As mentioned above, longbow attacks will be secondary, with spellcasting and summoning (and potentially Combat Wild Shape) being your primary focus, and your Druid spellcasting keys off WIS. This is even true for the Summon X spells, which rely on WIS for their attack modifiers and special abilities. You'll also want a way to boost your Concentration checks, since you'll be rely on Concentration spells more than an Archery-focused Ranger would. That'd look something like this:

Wood Elf Shepherd or Moon Druid 5 (or Ranger 2/Shepherd Druid 3 or Fighter 1/Shepherd Druid 4)
STR 8
DEX 14+2
CON 15
INT 10
WIS 15+1
CHA 8
Either +2 WIS or Resilient CON as your Druid 4 ASI, then whichever one you didn't take at Druid 8. Then +2 WIS for 20 WIS at Druid 12.

[J-H]

I second the call to stick with Beastmaster all the way, and use the Tasha's Land Beast options.
RogueJK has it pretty much nailed down, although I'd be tempted to pick up Sharpshooter at level instead of just a "numbers go up" - although +Dex adds to your AC, hit, damage, and initiative...

A lot of the archery spells (Ensnaring Strike, Hail of Thorns) take your bonus action and concentration. At 2nd level you get Spike Growth, Silence, and Pass Without Trace, which are all handy in certain circumstances.
Absorb Elements is a nice reaction spell if you get hit with a fireball or breath weapon.

[Miele]

Thank you forthe insight. Indeed the 5th level is too important to be delayed.

[Quietus]

I'm playing a Beastmaster in an AL game right now, and I can tell you that with the Tasha's primal beasts, he's felt powerful all the way through. It does make you MAD - you'll want to raise Wisdom to at least 14, possibly 16 to get the full value out of your pet - but dropping two ranged martial attacks and following up with a beast attack, as your basic chassis, feels pretty great. I've also taken the opportunity to lean into the increased Wisdom requirement to really get use out of the spellcasting options. I would recommend picking up Entangle and Pass Without Trace. You can skip Hunter's Mark, you get more out of using your bonus action to attack with your beast than dropping HM most turns. Spend your feat on whatever you want - stats, Elven Accuracy, or Fey Touched/Shadow Touched are all great options here. Resilient : Con is also valuable. I ended up with Crossbow Expert, but that's got everything to do with my guy being in an aquatic campaign and needing to use a heavy crossbow. You could take Sharpshooter if you regularly fight targets with low enough AC to make it worthwhile.

Take all of the Tasha's skill replacements available. They're all great, even Favored Foe because your action economy is already spoken for. Getting a little extra damage as a free rider is absolutely worthwhile.

[Ganryu]

Actually, Tasha's revision is one of the best rangers in the game I'd go far as to say. Grab druidic warrior - Shillele-... that one stick cantrip.

You can now pretty much fully devote to wisdom, and are no longer MAD. Wisdom you can get to 18, get Dex to 14, no more, and then get your con score as high as you can, probably 16. Even a few spare points to mess around with elsewhere.

Hit enemy with a stick, then have fido{Land animal companion} go catch it.

[ImproperJustice]

There’s a thread here on best spell options for a Ranger as well.
I agree that Hunter’s mark is less useful for a Beastmaster Ranger.

But Beastmaster is great, and versatile and you can go a lot of ways with melee or ranged.
Whips are iconic for a Bestmaster and give you a dex based reach weapon.

You could potentially generate some interesting battlefield control options between pet placement, reach, and something like Sentinel.

I wouldn’t be afraid to switch between the Sky and Land pets as needed as well.

[Kane0]

Yep Wood Elf Beastmaster with all the Tashas options enabled is pretty great fun. With your ASI you can get something like Magic Initiate, Wood Elf Magic or Fey Touched if you want to stretch out your spellcasting otherwise theres plenty of other great options like mobile, piercer, sharpshooter, skill expert, observant, lucky and resilient.

[Quietus]

Actually, Tasha's revision is one of the best rangers in the game I'd go far as to say. Grab druidic warrior - Shillele-... that one stick cantrip.

You can now pretty much fully devote to wisdom, and are no longer MAD. Wisdom you can get to 18, get Dex to 14, no more, and then get your con score as high as you can, probably 16. Even a few spare points to mess around with elsewhere.

Hit enemy with a stick, then have fido{Land animal companion} go catch it.

If you have 16 dex (or str), then the action cost of casting shillelagh again requires 3+ rounds of attacking before you'll catch up. If you can stomach putting 16 in both stats (or 16/14 and bump up to 16/16 at level 4), you'll be fine.

[RogueJK]

If you can stomach putting 16 in both stats (or 16/14 and bump up to 16/16 at level 4), you'll be fine.

Yep.

As shown in my above example, with point buy you can easily start with 16 DEX, 14 CON, and 16 WIS - covering your three needed stats - even without totally dumping all your other stats. And even Standard Array can start 16/13/16 or 16/14/15 or 17/14/14.

You can then raise DEX and/or WIS with ASIs, as desired.