D&D (2024) What type of ranger would your prefer for 2024?

[Minigiant]

The best way to me is just making OP Ranger only spells and have a choice each spell level.

 

[Shardstone]

Actually writing something down actually makes it harder for WotC to do it because if they're inspired by it now they have to worry about accusations of plagiarism.

Was this a serious comment? Hard to tell if you are sarcastic or not.

 

[Minigiant]

I know it would never happen but...

RANGER'S AFFINITY​

Upon reaching the 2nd level, you can tune into an aspect of the primal power of nature and the wild to always have certain magics ready. You may choose a ranger affinity. When you reach a ranger level specified in your chosen affinity, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.
In addition, you can cast one of your listed spells from this feature without expending a spell slot. You must finish a Long Rest before you use this benefit again.

Beasts

Ranger Level	Spell
2nd	speak with animals
9th	conjure animals
17th	awaken

Elementals

Ranger Level	Spell
2nd	elemental slide**
9th	elemental weapon
17th	conjure elemental

Fey

Ranger Level	Spell
2nd	charm person
9th	dispel magic
17th	mislead

Predators

Ranger Level	Spell
2nd	hunter's mark*
9th	conjure barrage*
17th	conjure volley*

Prey

Ranger Level	Spell
2nd	cure wounds
9th	revivify
17th	reincarnate

Stone

Ranger Level	Spell
2nd	longstrider
9th	meld into stone
17th	wall of stone

Storms

Ranger Level	Spell
2nd	thunderwave
9th	lightning arrow*
17th	swift quiver

Wood

Ranger Level	Spell
2nd	entangle
9th	plant growth
17th	grasping vine

Whenever you gain a Ranger level, you can change your Ranger Affinity.

*spell should be changed and removed form primal spell list
**new spell

 

[Chaosmancer]

I fully believe that they are honest about coming up with a system that didn't work, I just wish they would come up with one that does.

And THAT is a perfectly reasonable response. I wish they would come up with one myself. Their alpha attempt failed though, and that happens. Other responses I have seen have been far more... vicious.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I'd reply, but I need to cough up all these words that keep getting shoved into my mouth...

I never called out any individual. I've seen different degrees of this from many different individuals. It is a distressingly common tactic in recent years to declare the WoTC designers to be liars. Heck, we still have people claiming they don't listen to survey feedback and that the 70% threshold is a marketing lie, despite literal years of evidence and them constantly referring to that threshold.

 

[Chaosmancer]

It's never 65 options or people have no idea what they want to play.
If someone comes with a concept in their head, it usually boils down to few options only.

Wrong. It is VERY OFTEN people who have no idea what they want to play. I have an entire process to trying to figure out what someone wants to play, because they so often are overwhelmed and don't know what to choose.

Idea was set fast, but as it was a 5th level character for a new player, character creation and explanation took few hours.

So... no. A few hours is a few more hours than I had.

That would be ideal.

So would no one ever getting sick or injuring themselves in an accident. But it is also impossible on every level.

Also what could be ideal, it for WotC to make premade starting characters for all classes in PHB from 1st to 4th level for people that do not have that luxury. Still remember 3.0 starting set...

Premades don't do you any good if you don't know what to choose to begin with.

Also, for all classes?! I hope you are ready for everyone to play the same subclass then, because otherwise you are making an obscene number of characters which will take up a MASSIVE amount of pages.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Fair, though I feel like the lack of validation hurts Ranger more than those two. Everyone knows that Bards and Wizards can be cool, regardless of the chosen flavour for their spellcasting. And if nothing else, the mechanical strength helps!

Whereas yeah, bit more of an uphill struggle for Ranger. They're not very good and their identity amongst the spellcasters is hard to pin down.

Their identity among casters? Yeah. But they absolutely can be cool. No one I've ever seen play a Ranger had any doubts as to their identity and the things they wanted.

I think it is more the mechanical failures than anything else that holds them back.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Yeeaah. Even with supplements like Icewind Dale, you'd think surely that could prompt something new for the nature classes. It being set in an extreme natural environment is the whole point. But nah only two new spells and they're both for Wizard.

Yeah, that is a REALLY frustrating problem. Clerics as well are anemic for spells, and yet wizards keep getting more and more.

 

[Rocker26a]

Their identity among casters? Yeah. But they absolutely can be cool. No one I've ever seen play a Ranger had any doubts as to their identity and the things they wanted.

I think it is more the mechanical failures than anything else that holds them back.

Oh for sure, the mechanical failures are the no. 1 killer. And yeah, Rangers can be cool of course, I don't mean to say they're an inevitable strike-out whenever they appear in a game, even the more underwhelming versions/revisions. Just, yeah. I feel like it can take a more conceited effort than you'd reasonably expect for other classes.

I think Rangers getting a defined corner of the Primal magic sphere, something that is just theirs, not Druid's or Barbarian's, would/will create a better starting point for actionable changes/additions. Not before/instead of any tries at the mechanical stuff necessarily, but. If there's a clearer perception of their deal on the magic side, you can start doing stuff more confidently maybe. Writing new/sprucing up old spells, new lore/flavour write-ups, it could help inform future attempts at their class abilities, etc. Like Bard got in playtest 6, where they associated Bards with "harnessing the words of creation" and so on. I'd like something like that for Ranger. If that makes sense.

 

[Horwath]

Wrong. It is VERY OFTEN people who have no idea what they want to play. I have an entire process to trying to figure out what someone wants to play, because they so often are overwhelmed and don't know what to choose.



So... no. A few hours is a few more hours than I had.



So would no one ever getting sick or injuring themselves in an accident. But it is also impossible on every level.



Premades don't do you any good if you don't know what to choose to begin with.

Also, for all classes?! I hope you are ready for everyone to play the same subclass then, because otherwise you are making an obscene number of characters which will take up a MASSIVE amount of pages.

no need to make all subclasses of all classes just the most simple for starting characters.
And that can be in soft-cover shipped together with PHB or some starter adventure for levels 1-4.

I.E:
Artificer, armorer
Barbarian, bear totem
Bard, lore
Cleric, life
Druid, moon
Fighter, champion
Monk, open hand
Paladin, devotion
Ranger, hunter
Rogue, thief
Sorcerer, draconic
Warlock, fiend
Wizard, evoker