Ranger is ass?

[Kreddi]

I wanted to either play:
1. High Damage Dealer that isn't a caster and preferably ranged. Any summons would be a plus as I like summons.
2. Tanky melee with supportive capabilities

So I was thinking ranger to fulfil my #1 priority, but I heard from a friend with a lot of 5E experience that figher does ranged combat better. Is that the case?
I did the summon with my ranger and the frog has 1 HP and does low damage, which is kind of a let down.
To fulfil my #2 priority I was thinking of playing Paladin. Was gonna do a lawfully good playthrough anyways, and I've always liked Paladins in games.

Should I just reroll and go with Paladin if Ranger keeps on having a mediocre summon and lower ranged damage than a fighter?

[Metallicus]

The Ranger in BG3 uses some homebrew by Larian and is one of my favorite classes to play. If you go Gloomstalker sub-class or even add a pet with the Beastmaster you will have a blast and do lots of damage. To me the most boring class is wizard followed by Warlock.

[Carnasid]

ranger with a level 2 fighter dip will do just fine with ranged damage.
Or you could dip paladin for ranged divine smites, since those work on ranged attacks in BG3.

[sevensided]

Play a beastmaster subclass (you won't get it till lvl 3). The actual beastmaster pets are useful contributions to all fights.
In character creation, ignore the option that gives you find familiar- its a waste. Instead, take the option that gives you fire resistance.

A dedicated fighter can do more damage at range, but not while having a pet (which adds another target for enemies to deal with, and a source of damage for yourside), nor with the various spells a ranger can use.

[Crimsomrider]

Not sure why people keep saying that. I play as a Drow Ranger who can't be hit (high AC) with Dual Crossbows and absolutely destroys entire packs of enemies while bosses melt like butter.

Here's an example how much she can do in a single turn and this is her without damage buffs;
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3019131912

[Neblunoa]

Ranger summons are very opp at high levels

[Syynx]

Originally posted by sevensided:

Play a beastmaster subclass (you won't get it till lvl 3). The actual beastmaster pets are useful contributions to all fights.
In character creation, ignore the option that gives you find familiar- its a waste. Instead, take the option that gives you fire resistance.

A dedicated fighter can do more damage at range, but not while having a pet (which adds another target for enemies to deal with, and a source of damage for yourside), nor with the various spells a ranger can use.

Dire Raven's blind attack is so good and most attacked straight up miss it

[Cat]

Ranger companions get stronger at level 5 and I think it's 8 and 9? Then level up as well as get benefits from your beast master. They won't ever replace a full on fighter or anything, but they aren't as useless as they first appear.

[IRMcG]

Ranger's great when you get to level 3+. Gloomstalker is great for damage dealing, but if you want pets you need to go beastmaster which has wolves and things instead of the small familiars.

[Kreddi]

Originally posted by sevensided:

Play a beastmaster subclass (you won't get it till lvl 3). The actual beastmaster pets are useful contributions to all fights.
In character creation, ignore the option that gives you find familiar- its a waste. Instead, take the option that gives you fire resistance.

A dedicated fighter can do more damage at range, but not while having a pet (which adds another target for enemies to deal with, and a source of damage for yourside), nor with the various spells a ranger can use.

I chose familiar thinking that would be what gave me pets in the long run.
Can I have both a familiar and a pet out?

[Syynx]

Originally posted by IRMcG:

Ranger's great when you get to level 3+. Gloomstalker is great for damage dealing, but if you want pets you need to go beastmaster which has wolves and things instead of the small familiars.

I swapped from Beastmaster to Hunter and didn't notice any differences besides the missing companion. What does Hunter do specifically?

[Vilinira]

I love my ranger shes so versatile! Based on what you chose you can gain heavy armor proficiency and if your preferred weapon choice is ranged it gives you a +2 to hit with bows. I put a feat into duel weapon fighting or something and can now use two longswords and while I didn't go with heavy armor, with all my subclass abilities, medium armor mastery and other buffs have me sitting at a 22 AC. Hunters mark is a bonus action to use and adds even more damage to your attack, I think both ranged and melee. Play what you think is fun, I rerolled my character because I thought ranger sucked and I ended up not liking my play through as much.

[Syynx]

Originally posted by Fish:

I love my ranger shes so versatile! Based on what you chose you can gain heavy armor proficiency and if your preferred weapon choice is ranged it gives you a +2 to hit with bows. I put a feat into duel weapon fighting or something and can now use two longswords and while I didn't go with heavy armor, with all my subclass abilities, medium armor mastery and other buffs have me sitting at a 22 AC. Hunters mark is a bonus action to use and adds even more damage to your attack, I think both ranged and melee. Play what you think is fun, I rerolled my character because I thought ranger sucked and I ended up not liking my play through as much.

My dex ranger with light armor almost has as much AC as my tank, if I try out a heavy armor Ranger should I do a STR build?

[Scearcely]

Originally posted by Kreddi:

Can I have both a familiar and a pet out?

you can have both a familiar and a pet(companion) at the same time
familiars are very weak unless you're running chain warlock, and still pretty bad even then

[Cat]

Originally posted by Kreddi:

Can I have both a familiar and a pet out?

Yes.

[Kyutaru]

The pet rangers get really eats into their balancing chips. You have to make use of it as much as possible to get the most out of them.