Ranger - Best Subclass?

[VengeanceBringer]

Just wondering the general thoughts on ranger as a class in this game. Specifically was curious to see what subclass (be it ranger base class or one of the subclasses provided). Is animal companion worth giving up for one of the subclasses?

[sarang]

Best subclass is one you have most fun with. Ranger is a strong class, cant go wrong with it. Animal companion is a good tool to have. If you dont have many frontliners it can act as one. Or if you want to combat on a horse and flank enemies, there is that option too.

Play however you want to play mate.

[VengeanceBringer]

Originally posted by kobuks:

Best subclass is one you have most fun with. Ranger is a strong class, cant go wrong with it. Animal companion is a good tool to have. If you dont have many frontliners it can act as one. Or if you want to combat on a horse and flank enemies, there is that option too.

Play however you want to play mate.

I completely agree. I was just seeing what people in the community generally play when they go ranger. I am very partial to the vanilla ranger as I love having the companion but I know other really like the ones such as the Stormwalker and so forth. Appreciate the feedback

[Specer]

If you want to dip 1 level into ranger just for animal companion then dont, since comapnion gain level based on level of ranger. So that means if you want to get 1 level of ranger, then pet will be always at first level.

Edit: I would rather get wandering marksmen. But i depends on what is your main class.

[VengeanceBringer]

Originally posted by Specer:

If you want to dip 1 level into ranger just for animal companion then dont, since comapnion gain level based on level of ranger. So that means if you want to get 1 level of ranger, then pet will be always at first level.

Edit: I would rather get wandering marksmen. But i depends on what is your main class.

Ah nope. I usually go pure ranger or not at all. I find that if I want to aim for martial prowess solely, then there are better options to do so.

[wendigo211]

Depends a bit on the difficulty. On higher difficulties the Freebooter's Bane and Bond abilities help with the inflated enemy ACs, making it a very useful spec. You probably don't need it on the lower difficulties though. Might not be a bad choice to turn Lann into one.

[Naked Granny]

My favorite subclass of Ranger is... Hunter.

[Kalephrex]

I went hard on Lann's Zen Archer as a ranger-like class which to summarize means he basically gets to use ki for an extra attack and advantage on all attacks for like 15 turns. The animal companion can be viable if you get the Companion Boon feat, just keep in mind that if you don't build a tanky companion you could just end up with a vulnerable pet that either needs constant management or maintenance in terms of healing or revival. Personally I think classes like Magus Arcane RIder or Cavalier Beast Rider have been companion play but they do skew more melee. Hope this helps!