A 'Wisdom-only' Ranger build?

[No brains]

I'm toying with the idea of making a ranger that prioritizes wisdom above strength or dexterity, but I'm hitting some snags that keep this idea from taking off.

My basic idea:
Custom Lineage. Small. +2 Wisdom. Telepathic feat for another +1 wis. Other choices irrelevant.

Standard Array: S: Whatever D: 14 C: 13 I:?? W:15(+3) C: Who cares?

Background: TBD

Level 1: 14 dex is enough to survive off of. Build choices are a little irrelevant here. I'd take the old Favored Enemy since the new thing will get in the way of spellcasting. The new Natural Explorer might work better than favored terrain since you can now get expertise in a wisdom-based skill, like Perception or Insight. Good, but uncommon to see.

Level 2: The Druidic Warrior fighting style lets you take "Gaelic Bonking Stick" as a spell, which you can now use with a club in your off hand to do 1d8 magic bludgeoning damage as a bonus action when we attack with a shortsword we could find in the garbage anywhere. Thorn whip will be useful for some control shenanigans later. Now for one of the good parts: spellcasting lets us take Entangling strike, which due to our Wisdom-first approach, will have a good bit bonus and save DC. I'm less sure of what to take as a second spell. I would like good choices for using my higher- than normal save DC for a ranger, but I think Longstrider will synergize with Thornwhip for our level 3 choices.

Level 3: Take Beastmaster and summon a new Primal Companion. Wisdom-first gives your beast a good hit bonus with its attack. Since you are small, you can now ride on your medium Beast of the Land. Using your mount in concert with Thorn Whip, Longstrider, and Entangling Strike, you can take some battlefield control by immobilizing enemies and yanking them away from your allies. Resolving Entangling Strike on an enemy before your beast can land its Charge-Maul can give it advantage on an attack and give disadvantage on OAs as you run back for another pass on the enemy.

It's at this point that the build frays apart into diverging possibilities for me. Where to go with 4th level and beyond? Are there even extant ranger spells that reward a higher wisdom? What can you suggest to make this build more fun and effective for the future?

Bonus stupid idea: Play a lightfoot halfling and hide on your medium mount all the time. Make people think all your powers belong to your mount.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

I'm toying with the idea of making a ranger that prioritizes wisdom above strength or dexterity, but I'm hitting some snags that keep this idea from taking off.

My basic idea:
Custom Lineage. Small. +2 Wisdom. Telepathic feat for another +1 wis. Other choices irrelevant.

Standard Array: S: Whatever D: 14 C: 13 I:?? W:15(+3) C: Who cares?

Background: TBD

Level 1: 14 dex is enough to survive off of. Build choices are a little irrelevant here. I'd take the old Favored Enemy since the new thing will get in the way of spellcasting. The new Natural Explorer might work better than favored terrain since you can now get expertise in a wisdom-based skill, like Perception or Insight. Good, but uncommon to see.

Level 2: The Druidic Warrior fighting style lets you take "Gaelic Bonking Stick" as a spell, which you can now use with a club in your off hand to do 1d8 magic bludgeoning damage as a bonus action when we attack with a shortsword we could find in the garbage anywhere. Thorn whip will be useful for some control shenanigans later. Now for one of the good parts: spellcasting lets us take Entangling strike, which due to our Wisdom-first approach, will have a good bit bonus and save DC. I'm less sure of what to take as a second spell. I would like good choices for using my higher- than normal save DC for a ranger, but I think Longstrider will synergize with Thornwhip for our level 3 choices.

Level 3: Take Beastmaster and summon a new Primal Companion. Wisdom-first gives your beast a good hit bonus with its attack. Since you are small, you can now ride on your medium Beast of the Land. Using your mount in concert with Thorn Whip, Longstrider, and Entangling Strike, you can take some battlefield control by immobilizing enemies and yanking them away from your allies. Resolving Entangling Strike on an enemy before your beast can land its Charge-Maul can give it advantage on an attack and give disadvantage on OAs as you run back for another pass on the enemy.

It's at this point that the build frays apart into diverging possibilities for me. Where to go with 4th level and beyond? Are there even extant ranger spells that reward a higher wisdom? What can you suggest to make this build more fun and effective for the future?

Bonus stupid idea: Play a lightfoot halfling and hide on your medium mount all the time. Make people think all your powers belong to your mount.

Hmm, I like the idea of going more SAD to improve spell effect, and the basic premise of using the fighting style to do it, so there's not as much of an opportunity cost here vs other melee styles, like there would be if you had to use a feat.
I'm assuming the Telepathic feat is for communicating with the mount? If that's not a need then Fey Touched would be another great option. As for fighting style I get that your short sword from the garbage won't be used at low levels if you have your mount. Once you hit 5th, under your plan it would be used at least once a round, and twice if your mount is disabled. I don't love a martial character that is stuck hitting with a 14 in their attack stat as they level up, and 2 weapon fighting is pretty meh in 5e. If it were me I'd go sword (beating stick) and board with PAM.
Good luck. Sounds like a fun build.

[Rukelnikov]

I made this build a while ago, maybe you'll find it interesting.

If I did that now I'd probably go with a Quandrix familiar for more shenanigans.

[Lavaeolus]

If we want to further capitalise off our Wisdom, it may be worth considering which subclasses benefit:

• Fey Wanderers get to add their WIS modifier to Charisma checks. Ta dah! You're now a capable party face. Beguiling Twist also relies on your spell save DC. At 15th level, you can cast misty-step without a spell slot [WIS mod] times.
  
  
• Gloom Stalkers get to add their WIS mod to initiative and get proficiency in WIS saves. While not directly benefiting from a WIS score, the improved darkvision may synergise with a character who prides themselves on Perception; it might be particularly nice on a race that wouldn't ordinarily get darkvision.
  
  
• Monster Slayers start out with Hunter's Sense; a higher WIS will let you use it more often, although its use might be a bit campaign-dependent. At 11th level, you can try to stop a spell being cast with your reaction once per short rest; the creature is forced to roll against your spell save DC.
  
  
• Finally, Swarmkeepers can use their swarms to move people about, again dependent on their spell save DC.

That's not to talk you out of Beast Master, but just to poke it if there's any other routes we could consider.

One thing I'm curious about is if going WIS-first might benefit any multiclassing. To my mind the obvious ports of call are Druid and Cleric, both being Wisdom classes that won't hurt our spell-slot progression. Although I don't know if you'd prefer to stay single-classed.

Arcana Cleric could get you some Wizard goodies, and there are a few domains that I could generally see as useful one-level dips (e.g. Order, Knowledge, Twilight). Although none of those are really specifically getting better due to the WIS-focus. Nature Cleric is a little redundant but certainly can make thematic sense, and I suppose could be useful if you wanted Shillelagh at level 1.

[No brains]

Hmm, I like the idea of going more SAD to improve spell effect, and the basic premise of using the fighting style to do it, so there's not as much of an opportunity cost here vs other melee styles, like there would be if you had to use a feat.
I'm assuming the Telepathic feat is for communicating with the mount? If that's not a need then Fey Touched would be another great option. As for fighting style I get that your short sword from the garbage won't be used at low levels if you have your mount. Once you hit 5th, under your plan it would be used at least once a round, and twice if your mount is disabled. I don't love a martial character that is stuck hitting with a 14 in their attack stat as they level up, and 2 weapon fighting is pretty meh in 5e. If it were me I'd go sword (beating stick) and board with PAM.
Good luck. Sounds like a fun build.

Oops, yes. The idea of using Telepathic was to communicate with the beast when 'talking' wouldn't be idea. Especially in the halfling bonus build. Theoretically the bonus feat doesn't have to be Telepathic. Regarding alternate feats, I think Shadow-Touched might be situationally better, but I have to check the eligible spells. I will eventually be able to share spells with the beast, and I'm sure I can share Invisibility with the beast. Sharing Misty Step seems like more of a DM call. What would be a good secondary spell for Fey/Shadow Touched? Heroism? False Life?

As for the shortsword, I would likely ditch it entirely after hitting 3rd. The way I see it, it just gives me the most DPR specifically for level 2. Shortsword primary to get the +2 from dex (it's something) and Shillelagh to have a d8 offhand attack. Going forward, I might exclusively try to use spell attacks or the Shillelagh. I'm unsure how DMs would call using that spell with PAM, but it would be an interesting choice for a BA attack if I want to land that Entangling Strike.

Thanks for your feedback. I'm glad it passes the 'sounds fun' test.

I made this build a while ago, maybe you'll find it interesting.

If I did that now I'd probably go with a Quandrix familiar for more shenanigans.

I do really like that build! I had another player in a party who tired for something like that! I'll have to let them know about this, it might work better for them!

[Nidgit]

Another option, utilizing Swarmkeeper:

Same start, taking Druidic Warrior for Thorn Whip and the cantrip of your choice (Shillelagh, Frostbite, whatever) while prioritizing Wisdom. Gathered Swarm allows you to pull an enemy up to 15 feet on a failed save, which stacks with Thorn Whip's 10 feet of forced movement.

At level 5, you get Spike Growth. With up to 25 feet of forced movement, you can deal 10d4 piercing damage in addition to the cantrip. Plus, the enemy is now stranded in spikes. You can also simply choose to move the target a little less far so they don't end up right next to you.

Things get even better at 7th level, when you can use a bonus action to gain a modest fly speed with hover for a minute. Simply buzz up in the air and out of reach.

Three feats that go extremely well with this build are Spell Sniper, Fey-Touched, and Mobile. Spell Sniper doubles the range of your Thorn Whip, allowing you to stand outside Spike Growth while achieving maximum damage. It's also another way to pick up a Wisdom-based attack cantrip. Fey-Touched offers Misty Step for a cheeky escape and you can grab Dissonant Whispers to send your enemy plunging back into the spikes, only to let you yank them back again next turn. Alternatively, Silvery Barbs is always useful and better guarantees the failed Gathering Swarm save. Lastly, Mobile grants you better positioning and allows you to freely Disengage into the air when you pull them into your trap.

For alternative results, partner with a Cleric or find another way to get Spirit Guardians.

[Psyren]

While Beastmaster does work for a WIS-SAD ranger, have you also considered Fey Wanderer? They add their Wis modifier to all face skills, so you can have a pretty solid out-of-combat role if your party doesn't already have a face. You also get the ability to bounce charm and frighten effects among your enemies, which synergizes interestingly with some thematic races, most notably Eladrin (Autumn and Winter, which you can switch between each day if you want to). And with Shillelagh + PAM, Hunter's Mark and later Fey Reinforcements, you'll have pretty solid DPR in major fights.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

If we want to further capitalise off our Wisdom, it may be worth considering which subclasses benefit:

• Fey Wanderers get to add their WIS modifier to Charisma checks. Ta dah! You're now a capable party face. Beguiling Twist also relies on your spell save DC. At 15th-level, you can cast misty-step without a spell slot [WIS mod] times.
  
  
• Gloom Stalkers get to add their WIS mod to initiative and get proficiency in WIS saves. While not directly benefiting from a WIS score, the improved darkvision may synergise with a character who prides themselves on Perception; it might be particularly nice on a race that wouldn't ordinarily get darkvision.
  
  
• Monster Slayers start out with Hunter's Sense; a higher WIS will let you use it more often, although its use might be a bit campaign-dependent. At 11th level, you can try to stop a spell being cast with your reaction once per short rest; the creature is forced to roll against your spell save DC.
  
  
• Finally, Swarmkeepers can use their swarms to move people about, again dependent on their spell save DC.

That's not to talk you out of Beast Master, but just to poke it if there's any other routes we could consider.

One thing I'm curious about is if going WIS-first might benefit any multiclassing. To my mind the obvious ports of call are Druid and Cleric, both being Wisdom classes that won't hurt our spell-slot progression. Although I don't know if you'd prefer to stay single-classed.

Arcana Cleric could get you some Wizard goodies, and there are a few domains that I could generally see as useful one-level dips (e.g. Order, Knowledge, Twilight). Although none of those are really specifically getting better due to the WIS-focus. Nature Cleric is a little redundant but certainly makes thematic sense, and I suppose could be useful if you wanted Shillelagh at level 1.

I flipped through the Ranger spells and there's surprisingly few that directly depend on saves, so despite hating to be the guy that when someone comes on saying they'd like to build X tells them to build Y, I think you make a point about subclass and the OP might want to consider it. There's not too much in the main class here to incentivize a Wis based build, even though the idea seems sound enough.
There are spells like Charm Animal that would get the Ranger a mount and would support the flavor the OP is looking for regardless of subclass.

[Psyren]

I flipped through the Ranger spells and there's surprisingly few that directly depend on saves, so despite hating to be the guy that when someone comes on saying they'd like to build X tells them to build Y, I think you make a point about subclass and the OP might want to consider it. There's not too much in the main class here to incentivize a Wis based build, even though the idea seems sound enough.
There are spells like Charm Animal that would get the Ranger a mount and would support the flavor the OP is looking for regardless of subclass.

There are also a few that use spell attacks - most notably the summon spells, but also a few others like Steel Wind Strike.

[Kane0]

If we want to further capitalise off our Wisdom, it may be worth considering which subclasses benefit:

Fey Wanderers get to add their WIS modifier to Charisma checks. Ta dah! You're now a capable party face. Beguiling Twist also relies on your spell save DC.

That's not to talk you out of Beast Master, but just to poke it if there's any other routes we could consider.

3 levels of Fey Ranger is my favourite way of making an alternative-face character, its really fun to be able to be a non-charisma face.

Anyways, don't forget that at level 15 you can double-up on Primal Savagery by using Share Spells in addition to it's regular stuff by using your bonus action, so make sure you pick that up somewhere.

[No brains]

3 levels of Fey Ranger is my favourite way of making an alternative-face character, its really fun to be able to be a non-charisma face.

Anyways, don't forget that at level 15 you can double-up on Primal Savagery by using Share Spells in addition to it's regular stuff by using your bonus action, so make sure you pick that up somewhere.

Oh god, a computer crash just ate my reply. Short recap

Share Spells + Primal Savagery = looks jank, but cool. Better than Paladins.

MCs unlikely.

Gloom stalker is pretty good without high concepts.

Saving Fey Wanderer for Bard synergy shenanigans.

Overlooked Monster Slayer and Swarmkeeper. MS actually has good spells that work with a high DC.

Want to elevate Beastmaster this time because BM being bad can turn newbies away from game. I want to let people do an archetype they think is cool.

I'm very grateful to everyone for their input.

I want to name Wisdom-SAD Rangers 'Somber Rangers'. It's like Power Rangers with sad wisdom.

[Unoriginal]

Oh god, a computer crash just ate my reply. Short recap

Share Spells + Primal Savagery = looks jank, but cool. Better than Paladins.

MCs unlikely.

Gloom stalker is pretty good without high concepts.

Saving Fey Wanderer for Bard synergy shenanigans.

Overlooked Monster Slayer and Swarmkeeper. MS actually has good spells that work with a high DC.

Want to elevate Beastmaster this time because BM being bad can turn newbies away from game. I want to let people do an archetype they think is cool.

I'm very grateful to everyone for their input.

I want to name Wisdom-SAD Rangers 'Somber Rangers'. It's like Power Rangers with sad wisdom.

A Sombre Hero, if you will.

[Naanomi]

I like 'off stat' characters... And a wisdom focused Ranger works just fine. I like Monster Slayer wisdom build as sort of a 'mage hunter'

(I also like Wis or Cha based rogues and I have a Dex based Artificer I want to explore)

[Arkhios]

Just ditch the shortsword and use a quarterstaff for Shillelagh. At 4th level, take polearm master and you'll be equivalent to having Two-Weapon Fighting Style, except both your weapons are the same shillelagh and benefit from Wisdom. Though, you could just use a shield with the companion using your bonus actions (and take some other feat instead; maybe Fighting Initiate and Dueling Style?).

With the Primal Beast companion, you'd make a remarkably good warrior shaman or whatever, even with the lack of many spells relying on wisdom saves. I'd take either the outlander or hermit background.
Also, I would stick to Ranger, if only for the companion's improvement, or at most, have a quick dip in druid, to expand your spell options (thunderwave is my absolute favorite from any spell list).

Alternative to Thorn Whip, you could take Magic Stone and use Sling, so that you could make better use of Ranger's spells, as they have many that work specifically and only with Ranged weapons. A sling is a ranged weapon, which you can use to hurl the magic stones (still benefiting from your wisdom), and what's more, it doesn't even have the Loading property so you can make use of Extra Attack with it. A small downside is that you can have up to 3 magic stones at once, but I'd say it's tolerable, for a Cantrip.

[Quietus]

Oh god, a computer crash just ate my reply. Short recap

Share Spells + Primal Savagery = looks jank, but cool. Better than Paladins.

MCs unlikely.

Gloom stalker is pretty good without high concepts.

Saving Fey Wanderer for Bard synergy shenanigans.

Overlooked Monster Slayer and Swarmkeeper. MS actually has good spells that work with a high DC.

Want to elevate Beastmaster this time because BM being bad can turn newbies away from game. I want to let people do an archetype they think is cool.

I'm very grateful to everyone for their input.

I want to name Wisdom-SAD Rangers 'Somber Rangers'. It's like Power Rangers with sad wisdom.

I'm playing a wisdom-forward Ranger in Adventurer's League (AL) currently. I actually ended up with 16 dex to start, and had some build restrictions I added to myself (nautical game, I wanted a character who could function equally well under water and above), but I definitely had some observations :

- I have been using a heavy crossbow with crossbow expert. Every time I consider switching to use Shillelagh or Magic Stone instead, I run into the same issue; the bonus action to activate them reduces my output that round by 1 attack, or denies my primal beast its attack. DPS wise this isn't great. As a result, despite AL allowing me to change any aspect of my build at any time between games, I have never opted to use either cantrip, and just stick to the ranged fighting style, without sharpshooter. I've felt fine playing this way.

- Summon Beast/Fey/Elemental is powered off of your Wisdom. These spells benefit from everything that buffs your primal companion's attacks, including...

- Any magic item that gives +spell attacks. These are gold. Moon sickle, or in my case, staff of power (I dipped into Sorcerer, and am considering doing a 15/5 split at high levels). These add to my own spell attacks when they come up, but also bump the attack bonus on my primal companion and my summons. VERY useful, and if I dual wield sickle and staff, my spell attacks and save DCs are terrific.

- Particularly in early game, anything that adds spells to your spells known, or gives you free casts, will feel incredible. Look through Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse for races, in my case I am playing a Triton, and get Fog Cloud, Gust of Wind, and Water Walk added to my spells known, and 1/day free cast of each. Each of these has been useful. Fairy would let you keep the small size, and add druidcraft, fairie fire, and enlarge/reduce. Misty Step and Shadow Touched are also potential strong picks, as they play into...

- Share Spells. Don't get totally hung up on this, level 15 is late. But if you get it, there's some extremely silly things you can do. Any spell with a range of Self gets shared, which means that you can pick up Primal Savagery and Produce Flame (via fighting style, magic initiate, or druid dip); if you attack with your cantrip, your primal companion gets one for free. Your 3d10, eventually 4d10, becomes 6d10/8d10 at-will, without impacting your primal companion or using your concentration. There are a lot of spells that can be shared that you wouldn't expect- Pass Without Trace gets a free area extension, a few cantrips get duplicated, Absorb Elements is shared if you're in an AOE. For my Triton, that free gust of wind will also be duplicated.



Multiclassing - don't sleep on this one! Endgame for my character is likely to be Beastmaster15/Sorcerer5. This will let me get VERY silly with my novas. Haste on myself, which duplicates to my primal companion. Then any turn after that, I can take my action to Primal Savagery, my bonus action to quicken Primal Savagery, my Haste attack to command my pet to attack, who then gets two attacks plus their haste attack. Total potential of 16d10 primal savagery plus 3d6+18 from my pet (beast of the sea wearing horseshoes of speed so he can move on land, he has an auto-grapple feature instead of the charge). Admittedly, this is level 20, so silliness is expected. This build also gets 6th level spell slots, so Summon Elemental can be used instead of Haste if I just want to flat add 3 attacks from a summon.

Druid (shepherd) is also a very interesting multiclass option here. I've considered the possibility for levels 5, 7, and 11 as good beastmaster/shepherd breakpoints. 5 for extra attack and aid, 7 to add a climb/swim speed and more importantly, make the companion's attacks magical. And 11 if you really want to emphasize that this is about you as a combatant (primal companion's second attack comes onlin) with a few Druidid tricks.

[PattThe]

consider the following: gun

If you want a wisdom ranger build why not dump every stat to get a huge Wisdom score asap and use a feat from level one to take spell sniper. Avoids needing to invest in Dex for the nonmagical variant- which is just heavy crossbow.
Enjoy being a bolt-spamming wizard in medium armor and good hp on a horse always a hundred feet from the front lines. And you can HEAL!

[XmonkTad]

consider the following: gun

If you want a wisdom ranger build why not dump every stat to get a huge Wisdom score asap and use a feat from level one to take spell sniper. Avoids needing to invest in Dex for the nonmagical variant- which is just heavy crossbow.
Enjoy being a bolt-spamming wizard in medium armor and good hp on a horse always a hundred feet from the front lines. And you can HEAL!

But if you take a non-wis class spell you can't use wisdom for the attack roll. The available options aren't very good.

[Naanomi]

But if you take a non-wis class spell you can't use wisdom for the attack roll. The available options aren't very good.

Plus you generally can't tack on your rider abilities and spells to a spell attack