So is Ranger really that bad?

[Terrapin]

I really wanted to Play a Beastmaster Ranger but every where I look, Ranger listed as C tier or I see comments like "Druid and Ranger are the worst classes in BG3".

Now, I know min/maxing isn't necessary in this game the adage "play what you want" rings true but I would prefer not to be gimped by my class choice.

So, is Ranger and Druid that bad and is there any chance of them getting any love upon full release?

[Lucky Mud]

Eh.. They pretty much just shoot a bow.
They don't have a ton of utility, and as bruisers they are far from the head of the class.

Sadly, I'd rank them at role-play tier.

[DeadBeat61]

Don't worry about being optimal, just play what you want.

[Lucky Mud]

Originally posted by DeadBeat61:

Don't worry about being optimal, just play what you want.

^ This is entirely true. I haven't seen anything in Early Access that required a party that was optimized and firing on all cylinders. There's room to sacrifice power for fun.

[Amix]

Ranger is not bad, other martial classes are better. There will be multi classing after release which will add advantages. Who knows you might get a perfect ranger!

[Foolswalkin]

Gloomstalker/assassin is probably optimal.
Beastmaster is quite good in EA and may well be still in full game.
Hunter past 5 is probably not worth it.

[fulf]

they're fine and Larian has homebrewed them to be a little better
I'm of the mind that nobody who gets two weapon attacks per turn can really be "that bad"

[Edstyles]

Ranger isnt that bad as people make it out to be . You are martial and with some spells in adittion if beastmaster you got a second meatwall with utility spells . Thats allready better than most meele classes get

[Muad'Dib]

Rangers aren’t as good as Barbarians, Paladins and Fighters when it comes to sustained damage over time or in one-shot damage. It’s an okay class right now.

[Meowella]

BG3 Rangers are stronger than some people realise because of the changes Larian made to Larian things up.

1) Skills. Everybody gets 2 skills from background and then between 2 and 4 for their class:
Rogues get 4, Bard/Ranger get 3, everyone else gets 2.
Larian changes mean Rangers get a further 1 from Favoured Enemy. So Rangers can have many skills, which is fantastic.

2) Shields.
In BG3, you wield both melee and ranged at once - so you get to benefit from your shield even if you're an archer. Rangers make excellent archers thanks to fighting style - archery adding +2 to hit.
But they also get to wear medium armour and use the shield at the same time for a strong AC (before magic wrecks the curve).

3) Giant Spiders.
One thing I am not certain of is how Larian will mess with beastmasters.
Giant Spiders have AC 14 (which comes from a Dex 18 in the tabletop), plus a bonus to AC from companion bond at 3rd level equal to your proficiency bonus.
If it's possible to Mage Armor on your companion, then you can change this to AC 13+dex (17) + PB (at 5th level this puts it at 20 ac) allowing it to be stronger... but if the hit points don't scale then it's irrelevent.
Also they HATE Beast Master Rangers because the Giant Poisonous Snake is the only strong tabletop companion (having played a goblin riding a giant poisonous snake before.. it's fun!)

It's a video game, not tabletop, so focusing on roleplay is not going to serve you as well as it would if you're gaming with friends and family - but also realise Rangers are not as weak and useless as people think.
Druids, however, stay kinda meh but as the only real way to be weak in dnd is to design your char to ignore combat entirely thinking it's good to be an adventurer who sucks in combat (that's what NPCs are for) then it doesn't matter too much.

[Lepakko]

BG3 has home-brew ranger. Better than base DnD 5th edition. So most "normal" DnD 5th edition tier list dont give full picture.

There isnt class in game what stop you clearing campaign. Just play what you want.

[aqvamare]

Originally posted by Terrapin:

I really wanted to Play a Beastmaster Ranger but every where I look, Ranger listed as C tier or I see comments like "Druid and Ranger are the worst classes in BG3".

Now, I know min/maxing isn't necessary in this game the adage "play what you want" rings true but I would prefer not to be gimped by my class choice.

So, is Ranger and Druid that bad and is there any chance of them getting any love upon full release?

They have range attack + Stealth, and how current AI works, you can game the game with a range attack-stealth class.

[CoffeeBro]

Originally posted by DeadBeat61:

Don't worry about being optimal, just play what you want.

Agree. BG 1&2, Icewind Dale, you name it, I'm a Ranger. I actually find the class easy to play. Anyhow, if you have the correct supporting companions, there should be no issue what so ever. If you remove a supporting class, then be ready to substitute for that class through scrolls or items.
But yeah, Ranger all the way imo.

[Edstyles]

Im not a fan of tier lists but if i were to put 1 on ranger id give it an A tier. Which is obviously really good.

Larian has improved ranger and beast master in particular more than enough to be more than viable.

[Blackdragon]

Three levels of Gloomstalker Ranger may be good for Alpha Strike builds (Fighter 5 / Assassin 4 / GS 3).

Otherwise I think it's pretty pointless and outclassed by Fighter/Rogue multiclasses. But I never liked the half-caster classes (Ranger, Bard etc.) so I may be biased.

[Pandasaur]

Hi! Professional 5e DM here. 5e Rangers have a huge focus on exploration, so most of those tier lists only consider combat. They're a hybrid, jack-of-all trades class: skills, utility magic, and combat, so of course they pale to the raw murder power of a Paladin (which is insanely overpowered in 5e) or a Wizard.

Now, a lot of the problems with a Ranger comes post level 8. They stop scaling as well as the other classes after that. Until then, their damage output is the same (if not sometimes better) than a fighter, depending on a subclass.

BG3 does you a huge favor though and lets you multiclass. My suggestion? If you want to play a Ranger, play up until level 8 then multiclass into a fighter or rogue. That'll give you a huge boost of martial power.

Until then, hunter's mark + two attacks + enchanted weapon damage + archery style + stealth advantage shots makes you a pretty awesome combatant.