D&D (2024) Ranger 2024 is a bigger joke than Ranger 2014:

[Chaosmancer]

Yeah. For instance, Gloom Stalkers are skilled at fighting Aberrations and the creatures of the underdark, but they're not bad at others. A Monster Slayer has features for fighting undead, werewolves, and the creatures of the night, but they're useful against everything. Giant Slayer, Dragon Slayer, Beast Master... It's a thematic thing to hang their hat on.

It would be thematic, but it would bring all the problems that favored enemy carries only dialed up to 11.

Again, I am looking at the paladin. The paladin has great tools for fighting undead and fiends, they are phenomenal at it.... they are also really really really good at fighting dragons, aberrations, humanoids, golems, elementals... you never feel like "if we don't fight undead or fiends, my abilities are useless" It is more like when you do get to fight them you feel like "awesome, my abilities just dialed up to 11 instead of 10"

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I've never seen a D&D campaign that didn't feature undead at some point. But things like fiends, giants, dragons? Often Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Campaign. And beasts are a pushover past the early levels. "My superpower is I'm really good at fighting squirrels."

 

[Horwath]

Favored Enemy has always been the Ranger's unique thing. What if their subclasses were all designed around creature themes. Then, your favored Enemy becomes what your subclass is built around.

favored enemy is too narrow ability and depends on DM charity to make it useful or heavy metagaming from players side on beforehand knowledge of campaign.

Or you need to make benefits from FE very broad, to be useful in many situations.

 

[Minigiant]

Favored Enemy should just be Hunter's Prey

Bunch of Humaniods: You cleave them
One Big o' Monsters: You deal more damage
Elite beastie: You counter attack
Spellcaster: You keep them from casting

 

[mellored]

But they never got pushback on Divine Smite dealing extra damage to fiends and undead.

Forgot about that one.

But the Abjure X is now just Abjurer Foe.

The ability to heal poison and disease is thematically relevant against fiends and undead.

Thematically relevant abilities sound good.

Favorite Foe Elemental:
You get concentration free castings of Elemental Resistance and Elemental Weapon.

 

[mellored]

I've never seen a D&D campaign that didn't feature undead at some point. But things like fiends, giants, dragons? Often Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Campaign. And beasts are a pushover past the early levels. "My superpower is I'm really good at fighting squirrels."

Supposedly they are including expending the CR for creatures.

No mention of beasts specifically, but low level vampires and high level oozes where mentioned.

Though I do at some extra mid level beast for the moon druid.

 

[Corinnguard]

Maybe not at the top of your lungs, but considering a caster can identify a verbal only spell from a decent distance away with no penalty, does suggest it’s not a whisper either.

This sounds pretty situational as it depends on where the caster happens to be when they are trying to identify a verbal only spell. A caster on a crowded, noisy city street is going to have a harder time perceiving a verbal only spell than one in a much quieter area. The former will require a caster to roll for a Perception check to perceive the verbal only spell from the ambient background noise of the city street, and then an Arcana, Religion or Nature check to see if it is a spell that they recognize.

Remember when Concentration was a skill? A Concentration skill would be really handy on trying to identify a verbal only spell on a crowded city street.

Favored Enemy has always been the Ranger's unique thing. What if their subclasses were all designed around creature themes. Then, your favored Enemy becomes what your subclass is built around.

True, but the problem with Favored Enemy is how often do they show up in a given adventure. If they are in an adventure, then your Ranger is in luck. Favored Foe otoh lets you pick any target from fight to fight.

 

[mellored]

True, but the problem with Favored Enemy is how often do they show up in a given adventure. If they are in an adventure, then your Ranger is in luck. Favored Foe otoh lets you pick any target from fight to fight.

Favored Foe is a slightly reworked Hunter's Mark you got a few times a day for free.

Oh.. Duh.. we should just do the same as the other classes. Have a general option and a specific one.

Hunter's Mark:
you can cast Hunter's Mark twice per long rest + 1 per short rest for free.

Dragon Slayer
You can expend one use of Hunter's Mark to cast Ensnaring Strike.

Elemental Slayer
When you use Hunter's Mark you can choose for it to deal cold, fire, thunder or acid damage.

 

[Corinnguard]

Favored Foe is a slightly reworked Hunter's Mark you got a few times a day for free.

Favored Foe is like those bonus spells that every Ranger subclass gets basically.

 

[Rocker26a]

Have a general option and a specific one.

This was something I was dabbling with for Hunter's Mark. I wanted to put together some alternative castings/upcasts to bring it more into parity with the Smite spells, around the theme of particular monster abilities. So if you be a good Ranger and assess the incoming threat, you've got something to really shut them down when they show up.

Like for example, I thought one that specifically targeted creatures with the innate ability to enter the Ethereal plane would be neat. While they're in range of your spell they're locked to this plane and their movement is halved. Meant for Ghosts/similar creatures, technically works on Phase Spiders.

Another was, a variant that specifically targeted Regenerating creatures. Prevents that trait from functioning and the target gains vulnerability to the damage type that nullifies their regeneration normally. Meant for Trolls/similar creatures, might help with a Vampire.