Retiering the Classes: Mystic Ranger, Trickster, Wild Monk

[Troacctid]

All ToB classes, Bard (even at lower levels because UMD and Diplomacy), Shugenja, DFA, Warlock, and Duskblade from the top of my head.

Sorry, I just can't see the Mystic Ranger as higher tier than any of these classes at high levels.

At low levels it's about on par with or a little better than Shugenja, Bard, and Swordsage.

I baaasically wrote the book on Warlocks and no way are they holding up against Mystic Ranger. Dragonfire Adept is the same story.

Bard is squishier and has weaker spellcasting. It catches up to Mystic Ranger around level 16 and never really surpasses it. Yeah, Bard has a better skill list, but it's not like Rangers have a shortage of skills that they want—Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge (nature), Spot, Listen, Hide, Move Silently, and Handle Animal are all fine choices, and you can add Sense Motive and Tumble with Skilled City-Dweller if you really need to.

I can't imagine a Shugenja spell loadout from that outmatches prepared casting from the entire Ranger list, at least not until you get to much higher levels that shouldn't be weighted very highly anyway. Shugenja spells are pretty limited, and a lot of the best ones are also on the Ranger list. Based on the analysis we had during the Shugenja's discussion thread, I think you'd have a very hard time surpassing the Mystic Ranger at low levels, and even at high levels, it's not like you get any of the top-tier 9ths—it's stuff like foresight and etherealness.

Duskblades don't even get higher-level spells than Mystic Rangers, so, like...huh?

Fairly certain most Shugenjas beat the Mystic Ranger in any niches its spells cover. Bards certainly rise to match them; the Mystic Ranger 5th level spell list is very limited. I think most of the tier 3s are at least as flexible. But maybe I'm underestimating the Ranger 1-4 spells.

It's basically the Druid list.