Quote Originally Posted by Hal View Post
I'm currently running a hexcrawl exploration campaign. If the game is going to focus heavily on the wilderness exploration part, you might find you'll get a lot of mileage out of either a Ranger or a Druid. A lot of people complain about the Ranger's class features, but if you're spending a lot of time in the wilderness, they really do shine.

Druid won't have the same exploratory benefits, but their spellcasting makes up for it, along with wildshape scouting. If you're worried about healing due to the Gritty Realism elements, the Circle of Dreams will give you some backup in that regard as well.
FYI if I were to play a ranger, the DM already mentioned he would probably replace natural explorer with something else (perhaps expertise in survival or nature), as he felt that would negate a lot of the fun for him. I’ve always been intrigued by a gloomstalker, but am still worried we need that arcane power. Same with a monk. Maybe I just need to accept that would bring a fun and unique challenge to the group.