@@lolimmune I run them as villains because having someone disappear in front of the party after turning out the lights, then my smug players respond with 'I have darkvision' '... that's not the problem friend...'
Can you explain me why at level 6 it does 10d6 of damage instead of 5d6? i mean shoudn't the d6 be from 3d6 from hunters mark on 3 attacks + 2d6 from bugbear surprise attack ? that would be a total of 5d6. I'm new to the game feel free to correct me. thanks
"Welcome home" was the final deal with me. I just play as a Dm since always (20+ years of DMing) but I enjoy hearing your builds. I even suggest some builds yo my players. But I wanna reiterate, I'm here because you make me feel home while I learn some crazy sht. Love from South America, and good luck in this hard times 🙇🏻♂️♿
Gloomstalkers also “can’t be seen” in darkness. If you can scheme attacking at night, gloomstalkers get auto advantage in the dark. This will definitely offset the sharpshooter penalty.
So am I right in thinking that if it's dark (not dim light) and they have darkvision they literally either have to use a light spell of some kind or you are essentially under the effects of greater invisibility, permanently, during the whole fight? Even when you're right next to them?
Fun suggestion: You should include a "sweet spot" in each video where you point out the individual level where the build is at its best compared to the others. It likely wouldn't add much time as you'd likely just mention it when you mention the primary feature that makes the build stand out. I remember recommending the Monger to a friend a while back for a level 9 one shot in large part because you mentioned that the build peaked at 9. He had a blast playing it and we likely never would have seen it in play if you hadn't mentioned that.
I should also mention that he spent the final combat chasing the big bad around through a plant growth disabling its reactions every round so it couldn't cast shield. It was EPIC.
Here's a challenge for you: make an artificer in support character, pick your top 2/3 burst and sustained builds, and recalculate their numbers assuming that artificer is giving them all magic weapons/equipment.
Favored foe doesn’t require a bonus action to activate, so you could spread this damage to other targets if/when you kill your marked target during the nova turn
Great video. One suggestion…please consider including a section on ideal party members to accompany each of your builds. It would allow you to link together some of your other builds to help develop an optimized party. Or perhaps a video series with some optimized parties.
So I have a request with a twist: Could you make a build around a concept/theme that is race/sub-race focused? (Vs classes for the most part like you have been, since very often the race is CL or VH). That takes the benefits of that race/sub-race as far as it can go. Or that only that sub-race could do so well or in that way? So for example a build that makes the most of a dragonborn's ability bonuses and racial traits. This might be a bit open ended since (keeping the same example) a dragonborn's powers might work equally well on a paladin or a warlock (not sure), but I hope I was clear at least
And the vigilant blessing giving you advantage on initiative so you almost always have that first round extra damage. Still this build is already pretty multiclass heavy. Depends on the campaign I think.
Note: you could start the game with a level in Arty. Not only would you gain con save proficiency, artificers are the only class in the game that gain proficiency in firearms from the start.
My Dm gave a Standard array only choice but we got lucky. He dropped the 10 and gave us a 16. I kmow this helps no one. But i think having a 13 Wis, you can kinda get away with that. At certain costs ofc. I gotta try out that idea in a one shot coming up for lvl 12.
Good point for a rules as written build. In my game I wave the proficiency requirements for firearms. Historically the whole reason firearms became popular was because anyone could become proficient with them. Bows were stronger and more effective than the first firearms. The advantage was that you could give a firearm to anyone and they were a force to be reckoned with.
@@dwightweiers830 the dm's guide also has Firearms as a sub proficiency of Martial. Meaning any character with proficiency in all Martial weapons already has proficiency in firearms. King of like if a class gave proficiency in "polearms".
I think that you are not giving Pass without Trace enough credit in this build. You mention how getting surprise on the enemy is really important, and I think PWT allows your party to reliably do that. After playing a lot of rangers recently PWT feels like the best thing you can be doing with a level 2 slot. Love the build btw, I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way.
Same was expecting to see Twilight or War Cleric. War cleric lets you cast Divine Favor before combat, and affects your weapon so you can split up your attacks, and then use that Bonus Action for a full attack. Or you could use Bless for higher AC enemies.
It would be so cool of you guys were selling clothes with the characters that your friend design, like the orc from this episode or that Bardbarian, with the name of the build
I really like the idea of a Gloomstalker Echo Knight Drow that was born in the Underdark and eventually found his way to Xhorhas and trained to become a Echo Knight. I think both Gloomstalker and Echo Knight are so good with each other both in flavour but also mechanically.
Great job, im done builds like this many times and i think its most reliant and recource free burst damage dealer of all. About swiftnes, i rly think that on lvl 10+ u can have potion of swiftnes, so its not a big deal.
If I might make an unasked for recommendation to investigate, consider this: Barbarians in a Rage cannot cast or concentrate on spells. The Psi Warrior, save the capstone Telekinetic Master feature, doesn't cast spells. *Insert Imperial March Theme Here*
I had a one shot gloom stalker! A reborn "scarecrow" (made by a hag, from the brain of an elf). She wasnt trusted by the village that paid some adventurers to kill the hag, and thus thrown into the river, bound, to see if she floated. She did not. But, since she doesnt have to breathe, she decided to just live in the sea, becoming one with the darkness and the seaweed. That is, until she got stuck on an anchor and got pulled up, eventually finding she had a knack for bow and arrow, a skill she doesnt remember ever gaining.
My first Ranger dip in 5e was a Gloom Stalker dip in a Battle Master Archer build. It was definitely a first-turn Nova build that would pour six attacks into an enemy on turn one. I ended a few boss encounters that way, and I was only using a Longbow.
I had something like this. Artillerist artificer (repeating shot infusion), Gloom stalker ranger (archery fighting style) and a dip in fighter for action surge n defense fighting style. Had a +14 to hit with a rifle (2d10+6). So on a burst round with action surge and sharpshooter it was. 6d10+96 plus 2d8
45:45 is the best meme. Also, this build is amazingly well-rounded. Even went for the level 4 feats instead of the "Nah, I'll just wait 3 more levels" I see so much.
I'm coming back to playing my first game 5e. Started playing in the early '80s. love your videos happy you're doing a bugbear build because That is going to be my first character build. Probably with pole arm and echo knight. I call it my Jack reacher build, 30 ft away with your echo Plus another 15 reach. or possibly 75 the next turn but your echo will dissipate. I might add some gloom stalker. love your content
Just saw the race selection for this one. I’m glad to see the Bugbear pick. I’m working on a Bugbear Vengeance Pally version of the Whippoorwill concept using Hunter’s Mark instead of Thunderous Smite. I’m curious to see how this build does. Back to the vid.
Idk if anyone has mentioned this, but i think if you're in the darkness and successfully used menacing attack, some DMs might argue that since they cant see you they cant be frightened. Id love other peoples rulings on this as this has confused me as well :)
With Sharpshooter giving you longer range, the Gloomstalker’s “invisibility” while in darkness, and the Assassin really wanting to go first, it might not be bad to add 1 level of Twilight Cleric for 300’ of Darkvision (which you can share) and advantage on initiative. It gives the flexibility of attacking 300’ away with a longbow (or I suppose 600’ if the enemies are sitting around a fire or something), and if you poison arrows beforehand you can make up for losing Hunter’s Mark in those niche cases. But even outside of that circumstance, 300’ Darkvision and advantage on initiative is pretty good to have for a single level dip-plus some cleric spells.
Every time I’ve built a Gloomstalker I’ve don’t Twilight Cleric between fighter 2 and 3 (character level 8) for the sake of the advantage on initiative and the dark vision bonus.
@@jimmyreinstein9993 the problem i always have with "unusual" dips like the cleric in this case, is that the DMs mostly say yeah your a hunter... why you want to have cleric ??? explain it to me...and i dont know the answer besides to say it fits very well to the build thematically and mechanically but i dont know how to argue.
I've been mulling a very similar build recently, and even threw up a detailed post a few weeks ago on your subreddit. In the end, I arrived at Wood Elf (and was given a free feat at level 1) Assassin Rogue 11/Gloomstalker Ranger 5/Battle Master Fighter 3/Twilight Domain Cleric 1. If I were to do it again, I'd do MPMM Bugbear, and Battle Master Fighter 11-12/Gloomstalker Ranger 5/Assassin Rogue 3/maybe Twilight Domain Cleric 1. I find that Twilight dipping is more valuable than seeking a Weapon of Warning, which uses an attunement slot, especially because it also provides some extra spells known/prepared, and the 300' sharable darkvision means you can see and engage targets well before you or your party can be detected. At a glance, I haven't found any officially published monsters with more than 240' of senses. Stack on Pass Without Trace on your party and do some night stalking. The key features to look for are focused on initiative, advantage, and number of attacks. Battle Master adds a lot of flavor, and in the version I'm actually running I chose to triple dip in maneuvers by grabbing the subclass, fighting style, and the feat that all give maneuvers. It keeps combat interesting, and being majority Rogue means you have some serious skills to pay the bills outside of combat. Just some thoughts for people considering alternatives on Colby's character!
Interesting fact, the Rapier and the Repeating Firearm were both invented in the 1600s. It's really not much of a stretch that they would both be available on a world that included Artificers. Especially, when soldiers have to compete with Magic using races.
Oh don't worry about having a juvenile sense of humor. My play group has a collective maturity of a 12 year old. You are not alone my friend. BTW I really love the build. This gives me some real solid pointers and goals to hit when building.
My Gloomstalker is a multiclass infiltrator rogue and also a Drow with the Drow High Magic feat. You may have adopted the darkness but I was born in it.
Narrative for my Harengon gloomstalker: part of a freedom loving tribe they would work to disrupt slaving activities in the underdark, countering the dark schemes of Drow.
Just started the episode and got 4 minutes in…given this will be a firearm build I kinda now wanna see Colby’s take on a GUNK build, since I’ve seen both treatmonk and PAck tactics talk on the subject. It’s also the kinda thing I think is 100% Colby’s style
The fact that's there's no limit on surprise attack definitely feels like an oversight. I bet there will be an errata that makes it once per creature, or maybe even once per turn.
I think it's this now Surprise Attack. If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.
@@zeoblow It does not need it. The limit is the creature has to have not taken a turn in combat. If anything that's a change that assassin needs to be more relevant. The only class getting too much power out of this is an Action Surging Fighter which could be fixed by it only applying to a single creature.
@@LupineShadowOmega I was just copying verbatim what it says on dndbeyond. You can only use the trait once per combat and it says if you surprise "a" creature, singular. That's unfortunate cause I prefer the op video method
When I grew up playing Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, I loved the idea of getting arrested or into a situation where my character had nothing on them. No weapons, no armor. Then Conjure Bound Armor and Conjure a weapon. I took this idea and made a character who is Gloomstalker and Hex Blade. Focus on CHA, DEX, WIS. Sneak around and talk your way in and out of situations. The character can stealth like crazy (invisible to dark vision, high dex, One with the Shadows, Mask of Many Faces), Armor of Shadows, and can conjure your pact weapon (pact of the blade for ranged weapons). You can opt to not go Hexblade but I like the synergy of maxing CHA for both damage and out of combat ability. Gloomstalker adds WIS mod to initiative so all you really miss out on is AC but you want to be rangeds anyway so a 15 AC isn't the end of the world.
Thri kreen was a lot of fun as a gloomstalker as well. Not sure how optimised it was but it was damn fun. Having advantage on stealth checks all the time was great
Just a thought. If you want to go the crossbow route, you can go the Zephyr strike route rather than Hunter's mark. It is also easier to get up before combat than Hunters mark.
Gloomstalker Backstory - Amarok was a whaler of the Iniruvik people of the Northern wastes. Young and brash Amarok was confident he could bring down any beast the All Father put before him. One night while Amarok slept, he heard the All Father call to him in the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore. Amarok awoke, grabbed his trusty harpoon and kayak and set out in the midnight tides. Suddenly a great whale, a beast with three sets of eyes and fins breached before him. Amarok understood this creature as a manifestation of the All Father, but pride overtook him and he hurled his weapon at the beast. Finding purchase in the blubber, the whale moaned low and dove beneath the surface. In his hurry Amarok failed to notice the rope of the harpoon had wound its way around his ankle and when the whale descended it pulled Amarok from his kayak and into the dark, cold depths of the Iniruvik Coast. As he struggled to free himself, Amarok heard the voice of the All Father tell him to let go of his life for he was destined for a grim task no mortal should have to contend with. Amarok was to search out the wayward gods of his people who have grown corrupt and polluted by an unknown force. In death the old gods could return to Ahnhome, the realm of the All Father to be freed of their corruption. When Amarok awoke he was laying on the shores of his village, his body cold and stiff. Though his eyes opened he felt no wind fill his lungs and the warmth of the sun offered no succour. Amarok grabbed his harpoon, laying nearby and without a word to his family he set off into the world, into the dark and corrupt dens of the fallen gods. His task was to slay those his people once worshipped, a mission which would forever condemn him as a villain to his people for they knew not the depth of the illness poisoning their gods. Amarok would have to search the vice-filled alleys, the perverted shrines, the cold caverns and shadowed valleys of his world to locate his gods and one by one send them to Ahnhome, to the All Father. Only when his task is complete will he be allowed to finally rest.
I was waiting to see if you'd fall into trap of either "Gloomstalkers get advantage from darkness" or "Gloomstalkers get advantage from ranger 10 invisibility". But you masterfully sidestepped that with the assassin advantage (which isn't negated by truesight). If I went this build, after assassin, I'd consider taking 1 level in twilight cleric to get advantage on initiative checks.
@@Mr911superstar 300' darkvision + Sharpshooter means you can always see the enemy further than they can see you. Being able to share that with 2-3 others is pretty valuable too, especially if you're outdoors and want to get the drop on enemies. A few extra spells you can swap out every day and the ability to ritual cast is pretty useful too.
Also, the Invisible condition is worded in a tricky way. Gloomstalkers do, in fact, get advantage from darkness, whether or not that creature has Truesight, Tremorsense, or Blindsight. The Invisible condition does not provide advantage because the attacker is unseen; any unseen attacker has advantage, regardless of whether or not they are Invisible. The Invisible condition provides advantage *because it says it does,* right in the condition description, and in a bullet point all to itself, with no restrictions or exceptions. A creature with these senses may know an Invisible target's location (the upside of these special senses is that attacking the incorrect space is an automatic miss per PHB page 194), but mechanically the Invisible creature still has its advantage on attacks, and attacks against it have disadvantage.
@@zacharylona that is true about the Invisibility condition! Anyone running RAW would give that advantage. But i know of too many DMs that think "it doesn't make sense", definitely check with your DM first. The gloomstalker one though is very clear it it only sidesteps darkvision, not any other senses.
@@utkarshgaur1942 There's a slight bump to that too - if you're in magical darkness, and a creature with the Devil's Sight feature (not the Eldritch Invocation) is fighting you, you're still considered Invisible to it. This is because the Devil's Sight feature just enhances and relies on the creature's darkvision, whereas the Eldritch Invocation is standalone. Interestingly enough, you'd just straight roll for your attacks and you're attacked at advantage, though you'd have to guess the spaces to attack correctly.
I love this build and if my DM allows me to use firearms I’ll be doing it. We are playing the Wild Beyond the Witchlight campaign and using the Lost plot line. My character is a Rogue1/Ranger1 build based on a Custom Lineage chassis for a skill monkey build. However, his race is technically a Fairy, he lost his identity in the FeyWild and so lost his wings and memory of who he was (hence custom lineage). Depending on whether he remembers who is he before he gains third level ranger he will go Fey Wanderer (if he doesn’t) or Gloomstalker (if he does). He is happy go lucky but he was a fairy from the Winter Court so Gloomstalker fits better with the real identity whilst Fey Wanderer fits better for him right now.
I came up with a build very similar to this, but started Fighter and took Samurai as the subclass to get that guaranteed advantage on all attacks really early on. In my experience actually "surprising" enemies happens very rarely, at least in the campaigns I play in, which is why I skipped the Rogue levels and didn't grab Assassin. I actually think the strongest version of this build from level 11 upwards is just a straight fighter, since the third extra attack compensates for the Gloomstalker attack and gives you more sustained damage on rounds past the first. Gloomstalker is very nice though and does make the build stronger a bit earlier.
I'm using bugbear with that "Bladesinger Tank" build because my DM gave us free feat and we have a more generous stat array, so I hope it goes well. I really like the extra reach on melee attacks and potential to be a stealthy tank. haha
Favored foe damage has the benefit of benefit of being a free action, but the drawback of being only once per turn. Might be worth considering for the crossbow version that doesn't have time to prep hunter's mark or can't afford the spell slots, but it's definitely more situational for this character.
I've enjoyed every one of the Optimized videos I've watched since I found out about your channel, Colby! I love the warmth and fun you imbue into your work while also showing you've done your homework - it's a rarer combination in this space than I wish it was. I also really appreciated how much you talked about alternatives and your reasoning behind choices in this episode - it gave a great dive into your perspective, and helped me think more about how to design my own builds 😊
If I ever get to play in a Wildemount setting I'd be going Assassin 3 Gunslinger + especially for Piercing Shot I'd aslo be tempted by Gloomstlaker just for fog cloud and the bonus to initiative.
In testing the amount of dice I'm actually rolling and it is such a slog even with digital dice oml I'm glad the group I'm playing in right now are okay with pre rolling.
I can imagine a build that only takes 4 levels of gloomstalker and a monk dip (drunken master for defense?) but mainly goes for gunslinger to free up a feat and use the piercing shot ability to increase the amount of attacks by potentially a lot
I've built a level 3 fighter, level 5 gloomstalker, variant human with sharpshooter feat, using an oathbow. Fighter gives Action Surge, so another attack action (2 shots), which triggers another ambush attack! With advantage in the dark, it is worth taking -5 to hit to get +10 damage on every attack from sharpshooter. Archery fighting style gives +2 to hit. Ability score improvement to 18 dex for + 4 to hit. Proficiency bonus +3, so even after the -5, you still have +4 to hit and advantage. Battlemaster archetype gives precision attack, so if you still manage to miss, you can add another 1d8 to 4 attacks. So first round gives 6 shots at 1d8 + 4 dex bonus + 10 sharpshooter + 3d6 oathbow + 1d6 hunter's mark PER ARROW, and 2 lots of 1d8 ambush damage. 204HP average damage. Not bad at 8th level
Another great option for the first six levels is going Ranger 5, Peace Cleric 1. Nothing feels worse than missing on those opening salvos. With peace cleric 1, you can use concentration on bless (helping not only yourself but whole party), and you can use the d4 from emboldening bond (again helps the multiple party members) once a turn if you miss. This becomes far more useful once you eventually get sharpshooter. I'd be curious to see the math on the difference of having the extra d4s to hit over hunter's mark. Granted, this is more suited for sustained DPR than burst. Twilight Cleric is another good option for the increase hit, the vision makes you the true master of darkness, and a flying gloomstalker in mid game is definitely a scary thing.
I'm tossing up between running a vuman and bugbear gloom stalker and I think if I go vuman peace cleric 1 would absolutely insane, I had no idea how strong a 1 lvl dip for embolden would be. I you go bugbear, Twilight is the obvious choice because your whole build goes to instant shit the moment you have a crappy initiative roll. Really can't decide on which race to choose both have their plusses and minuses.
I'm so confused why your usual "best case scenario" for damage crunching didn't assume that your gloomstalker was invisible to the enemies. I've had gloomstalkers in my campaigns and I'd say they are invisible 40-50% of the time to the enemies. That's way more frequent than some of your other "best case scenario" options I've seen you use to get advantage.
Because its entirely reliant on the party as a whole and how they operate, if you are in a party with PCs that dont have dark vision, they will operate during the day or with light sources which means they seem you in dim light and are no longer invisible. Or you stay 60+ feet away and that has its own risks in combat
We’re doing a level 20 one shot and I decided to use this character for it. Though since we’re less likely to get a surprise round in a level 20 one shot, I decided to forgo the rogue levels and only go to 9 levels of Rogue in favor of 11 levels of fighter for more superiority die/maneuver’s, as well as having a 3rd attack
I understand that this is a ranged character, but Land’s Stride is fantastic! Let’s say you get into a brawl in a really large tavern and furniture gets flung everywhere. If you were a melee based character or you needed to get away from the Goliath who was about to give you a (bug)bear hug, now you don’t have to waste movement. You can just walk straight through those tables, chairs, and barstools without it being difficult terrain.
I'm not as worried about late game plateauing, as it is rare for campaigns I've played in to get anywhere near that high. Since I moved to my current area, I don't think I've played in a campaign that went past level 13, if even that high, Therefore, this is a great build for me, even if the campaign doesn'y use firearms. Another winner!
On the topic of Land's Stride: in Rime of the Frostmaiden the boots that allow me to ignore difficult terrain is pretty much the only reason my melee character is functional at all.
I guess I am not surprised since you are building for nova damage, but I always felt going war cleric 1+ was a good pairing with ranger for extra bonus action attack. less investment than a feat and ready when you need it!
So, when you have Superior Technique/Martial Adept d6's, I'm curious how you "rule" this in your builds. Do they increase to d8's when you become a Battlemaster at Level 3 Fighter? There's some debate on this, but it seems the original intent is for them to turn into d8's. At higher levels of Battlemaster, when your dice increase, you definitely, 100% have them increased to d10's(all 6 of them, assuming you have the style and the feat). Would you rule them to change into d8's at level 3 also? (Might be a good topic for Slidin in my DM's btw, if you haven't done it already)
did you consider instead of using crossbow expert for the build without a musket, to perhaps take sharpshooter at level 4 and wield a longbow until our next feat?
What would you recoment (if you are able just to take two classes) instead of the rouge lvl‘s? Great video by the way and my next char i am gonna play 😁
There is nothing RAW that your echo has to have the same weapon as you. Your echo is an echo of you when it comes to potential (imagine an alternate timeline version) there is no reason that your echo can't use a rapier while you fire your guns. And since you can make attacks from you or your echo as the origin you can use the extra attack as long as it is with the echo as the origin.
While the normal attacks from the attack action can come from you or the echo, I think it leaves off the note on weapons because YOU are the one making the attack from their space so it’s assuming whatever weapon you’re using will be the one making the attack. Normally this is perfectly good for ranged builds, but it’s more difficult to do the melee attack from Unleash Incarnation as a ranged build since most people would interpret the weapon situation as requiring you to switch to a melee weapon for the Unleash Incarnation attack to work. That and the bonus action juggling makes it a little harder to pull off an ideal nova round.
You might actually have advantage on all your attacks long before rogue As a gloomstalker, you're invisible in darkness to creatures that rely on darkvision. Since you're invisible, you have advantage on your attacks. Yeah, some combats will be in light, but darkness is easy to come by
Just finished getting through all the Advertisements at the start of the video. I swear to ODIN himself. That if you multiclass hexblade warlock or start this build with it i will slay you
I also recommend 1st lvl rogue for the extra Proficiency. Makes things awkward, but if you start the campaign at lvl3 or higher it's fine. Also, dont go more than 4 lvls in gloomstalker if you can triple class with rogue and fighter. Extra attack from ranger doesnt stack with fighter extra attack, so save that lvl for fighter. Meaning: lvl1 rogue, then 4 lvls gloomstalker, then 3 more lvls assassin, then 12 lvls battle master fighter to finish the build. That way fighter alone gets you 2 extra attacks and 4 ASI's at lvl20 (if you get there).
Not getting extra attack until level 13 is really, really bad though. And an extra skill proficiency isn't really that big of a deal on a martial character. Colby's suggested build in this video is pretty spot on, in my opinion. Perhaps going mainly fighter instead of mainly Ranger would be better for more ASI's.
So a fun build that you could do similar to this, is a long (like very long range) sniper. Instead of musket (max range of 120) use the heavy crossbow (max range of 400). Now I tend to build my builds to lvl 20, mostly bc I'm currently stuck as forever DM so might as well dream of my builds at full power. Lol. Anyways; I built it as a Bugbear (MOTM) with the Violent Assassin background using class lvls as follows (not completely in order): Fighter 11 (Battle Master), Cleric 1 (Twilight for darkvision of 300), Ranger 3 (Gloom Stalker/boosts darkvision to 330) and Rogue 3 (Assassin). Paired with Goggles of Night magic item to further boost Darkvision to 390. So with some feats and fighting styles included along the way, I have a long range assassin that can snipe enemies with the Heavy Crossbow to pretty much max range whether it be light or dark with lots of damage raining down on my enemies from afar. Plus in my build I have a passive perception of 29+ (good luck sneaking up on my without me noticing something while I'm sniping)
@@jugglejunk so I did take the Alert feat as well. So the list of feats I took in this build is: Alert, Crossbow Expert, Sharpshooter and Observant. Keep in mind I roll for my stats. I have my players roll as well for my games.
i am very surprised that you did not assume advantage on the burst round after Gloom 3 due to invisibility - especially given how you usually handle damage calculations with you favorite spell Shadow Blade :D Was it to make the Assassin level look a bit better? (Damn your channel has grown. When I clicked it had 38 views, when I finished got back and commented it was already at 2.2k - back then it would stay at a hundred views for so long hahaha )
I love ranger, gotta be one of my favorite classes. I’d like to see a hunter build, I’ve had this idea to basically make McRee from overwatch. Go hunter, v human, dex and wis, crossbow expert and sharpshooter. At level 5 you already have 4 attacks a round. Then if you take fighter to 2 you have action surge. Eventually getting swift quiver for 5 a round but I really want a build around the level 11 ability, you attack any number of creatures wishing 10 feet of an area you choose and since you ignore the reload you can shoot up to any amount of creatures within that plus another attack within 5 feat from the level 3 ability, and another 1-2 depending if you use swift quiver later on. So any creature within 10feet of a location, that is a 5 by 5 square, meaning that can be a possibility of I think 25 people+2 for the crossbow expert and level 3 ability, then do action surge and do it all again for a possible 54 attacks in a round assuming you have that many crossbow bolts. Maybe like a graviturgy dip or something? There needs to be a way to clump enemies up but I can’t think of a great way off the top of my head
Gloomstalker is the best rogue subclass
Best stealth class period
I Like: Bladesinger's
(Fighter/Mage's)
&
Gloomstalker's (Ranger/Arcane Trickster's)...
@@lolimmune I run them as villains because having someone disappear in front of the party after turning out the lights, then my smug players respond with 'I have darkvision'
'... that's not the problem friend...'
Gloomstalker Is A RANGER Subclass...
@@jeffadams9807 ...thats the joke...
I vote for the name Boomstalkers for Gun using Gloomstalker Rangers.
Love the build!
Beat me to it.
Yup!
The drawing looks like broomstalker
Can you explain me why at level 6 it does 10d6 of damage instead of 5d6? i mean shoudn't the d6 be from 3d6 from hunters mark on 3 attacks + 2d6 from bugbear surprise attack ? that would be a total of 5d6. I'm new to the game feel free to correct me. thanks
@@tiagoadelino1734 2d6 for surprise attack works on *each* attack not just one, so it's a total of 6d6 just for surprise attack
"Welcome home" was the final deal with me. I just play as a Dm since always (20+ years of DMing) but I enjoy hearing your builds. I even suggest some builds yo my players. But I wanna reiterate, I'm here because you make me feel home while I learn some crazy sht. Love from South America, and good luck in this hard times 🙇🏻♂️♿
Woo hoo!
He's got that smooth voice that's just... comfortable... no other way to describe it... well not without getting into PG territory... LOL
The very same "welcome home" is what got me to subscribe! Didn't even have to finish the video first haha
Ditto! I love playing dnd but I find myself constantly thinking about character creations throughout my day, thank you for all your hard work!
De donde eres?
Gloomstalkers also “can’t be seen” in darkness. If you can scheme attacking at night, gloomstalkers get auto advantage in the dark. This will definitely offset the sharpshooter penalty.
And is also something to consider when menacing attacking, since they can't see you if it's dark.
Yeah, this is arguably as strong as the dread ambusher feature in most games, perhaps even stronger!
Goading attack might actually be more fun. Disadvantage against everyone else, except the one you can't see... oh wait.
So am I right in thinking that if it's dark (not dim light) and they have darkvision they literally either have to use a light spell of some kind or you are essentially under the effects of greater invisibility, permanently, during the whole fight? Even when you're right next to them?
@@LuckDragonLair yup...
Fun suggestion: You should include a "sweet spot" in each video where you point out the individual level where the build is at its best compared to the others. It likely wouldn't add much time as you'd likely just mention it when you mention the primary feature that makes the build stand out. I remember recommending the Monger to a friend a while back for a level 9 one shot in large part because you mentioned that the build peaked at 9. He had a blast playing it and we likely never would have seen it in play if you hadn't mentioned that.
I should also mention that he spent the final combat chasing the big bad around through a plant growth disabling its reactions every round so it couldn't cast shield. It was EPIC.
Here's a challenge for you: make an artificer in support character, pick your top 2/3 burst and sustained builds, and recalculate their numbers assuming that artificer is giving them all magic weapons/equipment.
Level 1:(see above) [ranger 1 & race]
Level 2:(see above) [ranger 2 & fighting-style]
Level 3:(@14:53) [ranger 3 & sub-class]
Level 4:(@17:51) [ranger 4 & ASI]
Level 5:(@20:04) ranger 5]
Level 6:(@20:49) [fighter 1 & fighting-style]
Level 7:(see above) [fighter 2]
Level 8:(@29:44) [fighter 3 & sub-class]
Level 9:(@34:42) [fighter 4 & ASI]
Level 10:(see above) [rogue 1]
Level 11:(@38:55) [rogue 2]
Level 12:(@39:15) [rogue 3 & sub-class]
Level 13:(@41:12) [rogue 4 & ASI]
Level 14:(see above) [ranger 6]
Level 15:(@46:00) [ranger 7]
Level 16:(@46:14) [ranger 8 & ASI]
Level 17:(@46:50) [ranger 9]
Favored foe doesn’t require a bonus action to activate, so you could spread this damage to other targets if/when you kill your marked target during the nova turn
You would need to recast your mark though as it requires concentration. Still if want to max that first round it is an option.
Great video. One suggestion…please consider including a section on ideal party members to accompany each of your builds. It would allow you to link together some of your other builds to help develop an optimized party. Or perhaps a video series with some optimized parties.
So I have a request with a twist:
Could you make a build around a concept/theme that is race/sub-race focused? (Vs classes for the most part like you have been, since very often the race is CL or VH).
That takes the benefits of that race/sub-race as far as it can go. Or that only that sub-race could do so well or in that way?
So for example a build that makes the most of a dragonborn's ability bonuses and racial traits.
This might be a bit open ended since (keeping the same example) a dragonborn's powers might work equally well on a paladin or a warlock (not sure), but I hope I was clear at least
I was going to ask this myself. Specifically for goblins.
Try signing gloomstalker ranger to Sade's "smooth operator", see if you get a giggle out of it. I sure did :)
That was fun
Oh, SINGING
The new Bugbear race options make for an ideal Gloomstlaker, extra damage, stealth, love it.
One level of Twilight Cleric gives you 330ft of dark vision... which significantly increases your ability to surprise (in the dark) from range
And the vigilant blessing giving you advantage on initiative so you almost always have that first round extra damage. Still this build is already pretty multiclass heavy. Depends on the campaign I think.
Only 300ft. The extra 30ft goes on top of the races dark vision and dark vision doesn't stack so you'd take the higher one
@@adlerofrowe9224Umbral Sight give you extra 30 ft of darkvision if you have one already.
Note: you could start the game with a level in Arty. Not only would you gain con save proficiency, artificers are the only class in the game that gain proficiency in firearms from the start.
The point buy spread given doesn't have room for 13 INT, unfortunately, so this would come at the cost of either 12 CON or 13 WIS.
My Dm gave a Standard array only choice but we got lucky. He dropped the 10 and gave us a 16. I kmow this helps no one. But i think having a 13 Wis, you can kinda get away with that. At certain costs ofc. I gotta try out that idea in a one shot coming up for lvl 12.
Good point for a rules as written build. In my game I wave the proficiency requirements for firearms. Historically the whole reason firearms became popular was because anyone could become proficient with them. Bows were stronger and more effective than the first firearms. The advantage was that you could give a firearm to anyone and they were a force to be reckoned with.
@@dwightweiers830 the dm's guide also has Firearms as a sub proficiency of Martial. Meaning any character with proficiency in all Martial weapons already has proficiency in firearms. King of like if a class gave proficiency in "polearms".
@@Barkstopper that also effects your initiative though which off sets your damage in this particular build
I think that you are not giving Pass without Trace enough credit in this build. You mention how getting surprise on the enemy is really important, and I think PWT allows your party to reliably do that. After playing a lot of rangers recently PWT feels like the best thing you can be doing with a level 2 slot. Love the build btw, I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way.
I had a gloomstalker arcane archer in a dnd party once, and I was playing a Cleric so I gave them holy weapon :D That was some chunky damage.
1 level of Twilight Cleric? I was totally expecting this since it will give you advantage on initiative rolls and also give you support spells.
1 level twilight and gloomstalker is so strong.
Same was expecting to see Twilight or War Cleric. War cleric lets you cast Divine Favor before combat, and affects your weapon so you can split up your attacks, and then use that Bonus Action for a full attack. Or you could use Bless for higher AC enemies.
It would be so cool of you guys were selling clothes with the characters that your friend design, like the orc from this episode or that Bardbarian, with the name of the build
If you're all about the "extra attacks/round", the Gloomstalket Monk is where it's at; with 8...especially if you got Mercy Monk for extra pain
Shadow monk for the flavor.
I really like the idea of a Gloomstalker Echo Knight Drow that was born in the Underdark and eventually found his way to Xhorhas and trained to become a Echo Knight. I think both Gloomstalker and Echo Knight are so good with each other both in flavour but also mechanically.
Love this build. I really want rangers to be good, and this shows that they really can shine!
YESSS!!!! I love the original theme song! It makes it feel so much more epic, lol. Thanks for the video Colby, I really enjoyed it. 👍🏻
Great job, im done builds like this many times and i think its most reliant and recource free burst damage dealer of all. About swiftnes, i rly think that on lvl 10+ u can have potion of swiftnes, so its not a big deal.
If I might make an unasked for recommendation to investigate, consider this:
Barbarians in a Rage cannot cast or concentrate on spells.
The Psi Warrior, save the capstone Telekinetic Master feature, doesn't cast spells.
*Insert Imperial March Theme Here*
I had a one shot gloom stalker! A reborn "scarecrow" (made by a hag, from the brain of an elf). She wasnt trusted by the village that paid some adventurers to kill the hag, and thus thrown into the river, bound, to see if she floated. She did not. But, since she doesnt have to breathe, she decided to just live in the sea, becoming one with the darkness and the seaweed.
That is, until she got stuck on an anchor and got pulled up, eventually finding she had a knack for bow and arrow, a skill she doesnt remember ever gaining.
Older video but stumbled on when looking at a ranger build for Astarion. Feels a build that still works great when translated to BG3.
My first Ranger dip in 5e was a Gloom Stalker dip in a Battle Master Archer build. It was definitely a first-turn Nova build that would pour six attacks into an enemy on turn one. I ended a few boss encounters that way, and I was only using a Longbow.
Colby singing at the end! Whoo. XD
I had something like this. Artillerist artificer (repeating shot infusion), Gloom stalker ranger (archery fighting style) and a dip in fighter for action surge n defense fighting style. Had a +14 to hit with a rifle (2d10+6). So on a burst round with action surge and sharpshooter it was. 6d10+96 plus 2d8
Every day is a day where I think about dual-wielding and hand crossbows and wonder how in the world that happened.
I drew up a build very similar to this a while ago but I threw in one level of twilight cleric to get that advantage on initiative rolls
45:45 is the best meme.
Also, this build is amazingly well-rounded. Even went for the level 4 feats instead of the "Nah, I'll just wait 3 more levels" I see so much.
I'm coming back to playing my first game 5e. Started playing in the early '80s. love your videos happy you're doing a bugbear build because That is going to be my first character build. Probably with pole arm and echo knight.
I call it my Jack reacher build, 30 ft away with your echo Plus another 15 reach. or possibly 75 the next turn but your echo will dissipate. I might add some gloom stalker.
love your content
Just saw the race selection for this one. I’m glad to see the Bugbear pick. I’m working on a Bugbear Vengeance Pally version of the Whippoorwill concept using Hunter’s Mark instead of Thunderous Smite. I’m curious to see how this build does. Back to the vid.
Idk if anyone has mentioned this, but i think if you're in the darkness and successfully used menacing attack, some DMs might argue that since they cant see you they cant be frightened. Id love other peoples rulings on this as this has confused me as well :)
I’d say the things that are most terrifying are the things that stalk you in the dark that you cannot see but know are there
With Sharpshooter giving you longer range, the Gloomstalker’s “invisibility” while in darkness, and the Assassin really wanting to go first, it might not be bad to add 1 level of Twilight Cleric for 300’ of Darkvision (which you can share) and advantage on initiative. It gives the flexibility of attacking 300’ away with a longbow (or I suppose 600’ if the enemies are sitting around a fire or something), and if you poison arrows beforehand you can make up for losing Hunter’s Mark in those niche cases. But even outside of that circumstance, 300’ Darkvision and advantage on initiative is pretty good to have for a single level dip-plus some cleric spells.
Every time I’ve built a Gloomstalker I’ve don’t Twilight Cleric between fighter 2 and 3 (character level 8) for the sake of the advantage on initiative and the dark vision bonus.
@@jimmyreinstein9993 the problem i always have with "unusual" dips like the cleric in this case, is that the DMs mostly say yeah your a hunter... why you want to have cleric ??? explain it to me...and i dont know the answer besides to say it fits very well to the build thematically and mechanically but i dont know how to argue.
I've been mulling a very similar build recently, and even threw up a detailed post a few weeks ago on your subreddit. In the end, I arrived at Wood Elf (and was given a free feat at level 1) Assassin Rogue 11/Gloomstalker Ranger 5/Battle Master Fighter 3/Twilight Domain Cleric 1. If I were to do it again, I'd do MPMM Bugbear, and Battle Master Fighter 11-12/Gloomstalker Ranger 5/Assassin Rogue 3/maybe Twilight Domain Cleric 1.
I find that Twilight dipping is more valuable than seeking a Weapon of Warning, which uses an attunement slot, especially because it also provides some extra spells known/prepared, and the 300' sharable darkvision means you can see and engage targets well before you or your party can be detected. At a glance, I haven't found any officially published monsters with more than 240' of senses. Stack on Pass Without Trace on your party and do some night stalking.
The key features to look for are focused on initiative, advantage, and number of attacks. Battle Master adds a lot of flavor, and in the version I'm actually running I chose to triple dip in maneuvers by grabbing the subclass, fighting style, and the feat that all give maneuvers. It keeps combat interesting, and being majority Rogue means you have some serious skills to pay the bills outside of combat.
Just some thoughts for people considering alternatives on Colby's character!
Interesting fact, the Rapier and the Repeating Firearm were both invented in the 1600s. It's really not much of a stretch that they would both be available on a world that included Artificers. Especially, when soldiers have to compete with Magic using races.
History FTW!
Hmmm thinking of this with the dart build that you made before, because i like the theme of throwing poison darts.
Rogue with motionless aim. Which gives you advantage! One great archer
Oh don't worry about having a juvenile sense of humor. My play group has a collective maturity of a 12 year old. You are not alone my friend.
BTW I really love the build. This gives me some real solid pointers and goals to hit when building.
My Gloomstalker is a multiclass infiltrator rogue and also a Drow with the Drow High Magic feat.
You may have adopted the darkness but I was born in it.
Narrative for my Harengon gloomstalker: part of a freedom loving tribe they would work to disrupt slaving activities in the underdark, countering the dark schemes of Drow.
Same thing but mine is an Assasin for hire part of a Company called the Hare Company and a Squad called Bad Hare Day
"I am one with the shadows, silent and deadly!" BAAAAAAAANNGG!!
* Half the Underdark now knows your location *
Reeeealy sneaky, pal.
Just started the episode and got 4 minutes in…given this will be a firearm build I kinda now wanna see Colby’s take on a GUNK build, since I’ve seen both treatmonk and PAck tactics talk on the subject. It’s also the kinda thing I think is 100% Colby’s style
10:07 Mordenkainen's Monster's of the Multiverse? Mordenkainen's MoM?
Mordenkainen: Whatcha reading there?
Colby: Your mom
lol!
The fact that's there's no limit on surprise attack definitely feels like an oversight. I bet there will be an errata that makes it once per creature, or maybe even once per turn.
I think it's this now
Surprise Attack. If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.
@@zeoblow It does not need it. The limit is the creature has to have not taken a turn in combat. If anything that's a change that assassin needs to be more relevant. The only class getting too much power out of this is an Action Surging Fighter which could be fixed by it only applying to a single creature.
@@LupineShadowOmega I was just copying verbatim what it says on dndbeyond. You can only use the trait once per combat and it says if you surprise "a" creature, singular. That's unfortunate cause I prefer the op video method
@@zeoblow are you looking at the right bugbear? this is the newest version from motm
I imagine a montage of gearing up once this character gets rogue levels
When I grew up playing Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, I loved the idea of getting arrested or into a situation where my character had nothing on them. No weapons, no armor. Then Conjure Bound Armor and Conjure a weapon. I took this idea and made a character who is Gloomstalker and Hex Blade. Focus on CHA, DEX, WIS. Sneak around and talk your way in and out of situations. The character can stealth like crazy (invisible to dark vision, high dex, One with the Shadows, Mask of Many Faces), Armor of Shadows, and can conjure your pact weapon (pact of the blade for ranged weapons). You can opt to not go Hexblade but I like the synergy of maxing CHA for both damage and out of combat ability. Gloomstalker adds WIS mod to initiative so all you really miss out on is AC but you want to be rangeds anyway so a 15 AC isn't the end of the world.
Thri kreen was a lot of fun as a gloomstalker as well. Not sure how optimised it was but it was damn fun. Having advantage on stealth checks all the time was great
Just a thought. If you want to go the crossbow route, you can go the Zephyr strike route rather than Hunter's mark. It is also easier to get up before combat than Hunters mark.
Gloomstalker Backstory - Amarok was a whaler of the Iniruvik people of the Northern wastes. Young and brash Amarok was confident he could bring down any beast the All Father put before him. One night while Amarok slept, he heard the All Father call to him in the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore. Amarok awoke, grabbed his trusty harpoon and kayak and set out in the midnight tides. Suddenly a great whale, a beast with three sets of eyes and fins breached before him. Amarok understood this creature as a manifestation of the All Father, but pride overtook him and he hurled his weapon at the beast. Finding purchase in the blubber, the whale moaned low and dove beneath the surface.
In his hurry Amarok failed to notice the rope of the harpoon had wound its way around his ankle and when the whale descended it pulled Amarok from his kayak and into the dark, cold depths of the Iniruvik Coast. As he struggled to free himself, Amarok heard the voice of the All Father tell him to let go of his life for he was destined for a grim task no mortal should have to contend with. Amarok was to search out the wayward gods of his people who have grown corrupt and polluted by an unknown force. In death the old gods could return to Ahnhome, the realm of the All Father to be freed of their corruption.
When Amarok awoke he was laying on the shores of his village, his body cold and stiff. Though his eyes opened he felt no wind fill his lungs and the warmth of the sun offered no succour. Amarok grabbed his harpoon, laying nearby and without a word to his family he set off into the world, into the dark and corrupt dens of the fallen gods. His task was to slay those his people once worshipped, a mission which would forever condemn him as a villain to his people for they knew not the depth of the illness poisoning their gods.
Amarok would have to search the vice-filled alleys, the perverted shrines, the cold caverns and shadowed valleys of his world to locate his gods and one by one send them to Ahnhome, to the All Father. Only when his task is complete will he be allowed to finally rest.
Love it!
@@DnDDeepDive It’s a very short version of the whole story, but I imagine most people don’t want to read a 200 page novel in the RUclips comments.
You're so wholesome it hurts
My favorite ASMR channel
the GloomSniper
Wood Elf Gloom Stalkers keep killing Strad.
But not with Daylight! lol it’s not actually sunlight.
I was waiting to see if you'd fall into trap of either "Gloomstalkers get advantage from darkness" or "Gloomstalkers get advantage from ranger 10 invisibility". But you masterfully sidestepped that with the assassin advantage (which isn't negated by truesight).
If I went this build, after assassin, I'd consider taking 1 level in twilight cleric to get advantage on initiative checks.
You are probably better off taking rogue 4 and taking alert tbh
@@Mr911superstar
300' darkvision + Sharpshooter means you can always see the enemy further than they can see you. Being able to share that with 2-3 others is pretty valuable too, especially if you're outdoors and want to get the drop on enemies. A few extra spells you can swap out every day and the ability to ritual cast is pretty useful too.
Also, the Invisible condition is worded in a tricky way. Gloomstalkers do, in fact, get advantage from darkness, whether or not that creature has Truesight, Tremorsense, or Blindsight. The Invisible condition does not provide advantage because the attacker is unseen; any unseen attacker has advantage, regardless of whether or not they are Invisible. The Invisible condition provides advantage *because it says it does,* right in the condition description, and in a bullet point all to itself, with no restrictions or exceptions. A creature with these senses may know an Invisible target's location (the upside of these special senses is that attacking the incorrect space is an automatic miss per PHB page 194), but mechanically the Invisible creature still has its advantage on attacks, and attacks against it have disadvantage.
@@zacharylona that is true about the Invisibility condition! Anyone running RAW would give that advantage. But i know of too many DMs that think "it doesn't make sense", definitely check with your DM first.
The gloomstalker one though is very clear it it only sidesteps darkvision, not any other senses.
@@utkarshgaur1942
There's a slight bump to that too - if you're in magical darkness, and a creature with the Devil's Sight feature (not the Eldritch Invocation) is fighting you, you're still considered Invisible to it. This is because the Devil's Sight feature just enhances and relies on the creature's darkvision, whereas the Eldritch Invocation is standalone. Interestingly enough, you'd just straight roll for your attacks and you're attacked at advantage, though you'd have to guess the spaces to attack correctly.
I'd like to see a gloomstalker rogue. It makes sense to have a rogue with similar abilities, using daggers instead of ranged
I love this build and if my DM allows me to use firearms I’ll be doing it. We are playing the Wild Beyond the Witchlight campaign and using the Lost plot line. My character is a Rogue1/Ranger1 build based on a Custom Lineage chassis for a skill monkey build. However, his race is technically a Fairy, he lost his identity in the FeyWild and so lost his wings and memory of who he was (hence custom lineage). Depending on whether he remembers who is he before he gains third level ranger he will go Fey Wanderer (if he doesn’t) or Gloomstalker (if he does). He is happy go lucky but he was a fairy from the Winter Court so Gloomstalker fits better with the real identity whilst Fey Wanderer fits better for him right now.
Sorcerer 3 for shadow blade. Its probably the best bonus action spell for this build
I came up with a build very similar to this, but started Fighter and took Samurai as the subclass to get that guaranteed advantage on all attacks really early on. In my experience actually "surprising" enemies happens very rarely, at least in the campaigns I play in, which is why I skipped the Rogue levels and didn't grab Assassin. I actually think the strongest version of this build from level 11 upwards is just a straight fighter, since the third extra attack compensates for the Gloomstalker attack and gives you more sustained damage on rounds past the first. Gloomstalker is very nice though and does make the build stronger a bit earlier.
I would like that u talked about Sephyr strike in this build, it's awesome the amount of damage it does in this build
I'm using bugbear with that "Bladesinger Tank" build because my DM gave us free feat and we have a more generous stat array, so I hope it goes well. I really like the extra reach on melee attacks and potential to be a stealthy tank. haha
Favored foe damage has the benefit of benefit of being a free action, but the drawback of being only once per turn. Might be worth considering for the crossbow version that doesn't have time to prep hunter's mark or can't afford the spell slots, but it's definitely more situational for this character.
I've enjoyed every one of the Optimized videos I've watched since I found out about your channel, Colby! I love the warmth and fun you imbue into your work while also showing you've done your homework - it's a rarer combination in this space than I wish it was.
I also really appreciated how much you talked about alternatives and your reasoning behind choices in this episode - it gave a great dive into your perspective, and helped me think more about how to design my own builds 😊
If I ever get to play in a Wildemount setting I'd be going Assassin 3 Gunslinger + especially for Piercing Shot I'd aslo be tempted by Gloomstlaker just for fog cloud and the bonus to initiative.
In testing the amount of dice I'm actually rolling and it is such a slog even with digital dice oml I'm glad the group I'm playing in right now are okay with pre rolling.
my Gloomstalker Ranger is multiclassed Grave Domain Cleric.
Crossbow expert and perhaps themed an awful lot like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I can imagine a build that only takes 4 levels of gloomstalker and a monk dip (drunken master for defense?) but mainly goes for gunslinger to free up a feat and use the piercing shot ability to increase the amount of attacks by potentially a lot
I've built a level 3 fighter, level 5 gloomstalker, variant human with sharpshooter feat, using an oathbow.
Fighter gives Action Surge, so another attack action (2 shots), which triggers another ambush attack!
With advantage in the dark, it is worth taking -5 to hit to get +10 damage on every attack from sharpshooter.
Archery fighting style gives +2 to hit. Ability score improvement to 18 dex for + 4 to hit. Proficiency bonus +3, so even after the -5, you still have +4 to hit and advantage.
Battlemaster archetype gives precision attack, so if you still manage to miss, you can add another 1d8 to 4 attacks.
So first round gives 6 shots at 1d8 + 4 dex bonus + 10 sharpshooter + 3d6 oathbow + 1d6 hunter's mark PER ARROW, and 2 lots of 1d8 ambush damage.
204HP average damage.
Not bad at 8th level
Having an oathbow at level 8 is kinda OP
Another great option for the first six levels is going Ranger 5, Peace Cleric 1. Nothing feels worse than missing on those opening salvos. With peace cleric 1, you can use concentration on bless (helping not only yourself but whole party), and you can use the d4 from emboldening bond (again helps the multiple party members) once a turn if you miss. This becomes far more useful once you eventually get sharpshooter. I'd be curious to see the math on the difference of having the extra d4s to hit over hunter's mark. Granted, this is more suited for sustained DPR than burst. Twilight Cleric is another good option for the increase hit, the vision makes you the true master of darkness, and a flying gloomstalker in mid game is definitely a scary thing.
I'm tossing up between running a vuman and bugbear gloom stalker and I think if I go vuman peace cleric 1 would absolutely insane, I had no idea how strong a 1 lvl dip for embolden would be. I you go bugbear, Twilight is the obvious choice because your whole build goes to instant shit the moment you have a crappy initiative roll. Really can't decide on which race to choose both have their plusses and minuses.
I'm so confused why your usual "best case scenario" for damage crunching didn't assume that your gloomstalker was invisible to the enemies. I've had gloomstalkers in my campaigns and I'd say they are invisible 40-50% of the time to the enemies. That's way more frequent than some of your other "best case scenario" options I've seen you use to get advantage.
Because its entirely reliant on the party as a whole and how they operate, if you are in a party with PCs that dont have dark vision, they will operate during the day or with light sources which means they seem you in dim light and are no longer invisible. Or you stay 60+ feet away and that has its own risks in combat
Firearm user let's goooo
Long have I waited
"A gloom stalker should be a true stalker"
Oh... We now know why this one sticks to the dark places 😂
You gotta be kidding, I was just thinking about a gloomstalker ranger using a gun
We’re doing a level 20 one shot and I decided to use this character for it. Though since we’re less likely to get a surprise round in a level 20 one shot, I decided to forgo the rogue levels and only go to 9 levels of Rogue in favor of 11 levels of fighter for more superiority die/maneuver’s, as well as having a 3rd attack
Gloom gloom gloom gloom.
I want you in my room.
We can all fight together
While wearing studded leather.
Merch idea: t-shirts with a pocket that has a small d4 logo that says "welcome home" above it
I understand that this is a ranged character, but Land’s Stride is fantastic! Let’s say you get into a brawl in a really large tavern and furniture gets flung everywhere. If you were a melee based character or you needed to get away from the Goliath who was about to give you a (bug)bear hug, now you don’t have to waste movement. You can just walk straight through those tables, chairs, and barstools without it being difficult terrain.
I'm not as worried about late game plateauing, as it is rare for campaigns I've played in to get anywhere near that high. Since I moved to my current area, I don't think I've played in a campaign that went past level 13, if even that high, Therefore, this is a great build for me, even if the campaign doesn'y use firearms. Another winner!
Colby (& everyone else) would y'all choose the M.O.M Bugbear or a race with an innate fly speed (ex. Owlin) for an Archer build?
On the topic of Land's Stride: in Rime of the Frostmaiden the boots that allow me to ignore difficult terrain is pretty much the only reason my melee character is functional at all.
Bugbear lore! How are they so stealthy? They're basically wookies. Anyone know?
I guess I am not surprised since you are building for nova damage, but I always felt going war cleric 1+ was a good pairing with ranger for extra bonus action attack. less investment than a feat and ready when you need it!
So, when you have Superior Technique/Martial Adept d6's, I'm curious how you "rule" this in your builds. Do they increase to d8's when you become a Battlemaster at Level 3 Fighter? There's some debate on this, but it seems the original intent is for them to turn into d8's. At higher levels of Battlemaster, when your dice increase, you definitely, 100% have them increased to d10's(all 6 of them, assuming you have the style and the feat). Would you rule them to change into d8's at level 3 also?
(Might be a good topic for Slidin in my DM's btw, if you haven't done it already)
I think it would remain a d6, RAW, but can see plenty of people hand waving it to a d8 for sure.
Zepher Strike is awesome
did you consider instead of using crossbow expert for the build without a musket, to perhaps take sharpshooter at level 4 and wield a longbow until our next feat?
What would you recoment (if you are able just to take two classes) instead of the rouge lvl‘s?
Great video by the way and my next char i am gonna play 😁
Let's go! I've been looking for a way to do a gunslinger and after the short from yesterday I got MEGA Hyped for this build!
I love this intro. Instantly, I can tell that the build is going to be kickass.
There is nothing RAW that your echo has to have the same weapon as you. Your echo is an echo of you when it comes to potential (imagine an alternate timeline version) there is no reason that your echo can't use a rapier while you fire your guns. And since you can make attacks from you or your echo as the origin you can use the extra attack as long as it is with the echo as the origin.
While the normal attacks from the attack action can come from you or the echo, I think it leaves off the note on weapons because YOU are the one making the attack from their space so it’s assuming whatever weapon you’re using will be the one making the attack. Normally this is perfectly good for ranged builds, but it’s more difficult to do the melee attack from Unleash Incarnation as a ranged build since most people would interpret the weapon situation as requiring you to switch to a melee weapon for the Unleash Incarnation attack to work. That and the bonus action juggling makes it a little harder to pull off an ideal nova round.
You might actually have advantage on all your attacks long before rogue
As a gloomstalker, you're invisible in darkness to creatures that rely on darkvision. Since you're invisible, you have advantage on your attacks. Yeah, some combats will be in light, but darkness is easy to come by
Just finished getting through all the Advertisements at the start of the video. I swear to ODIN himself. That if you multiclass hexblade warlock or start this build with it i will slay you
I love the new bugbear!!!!!
I also recommend 1st lvl rogue for the extra Proficiency. Makes things awkward, but if you start the campaign at lvl3 or higher it's fine. Also, dont go more than 4 lvls in gloomstalker if you can triple class with rogue and fighter. Extra attack from ranger doesnt stack with fighter extra attack, so save that lvl for fighter. Meaning: lvl1 rogue, then 4 lvls gloomstalker, then 3 more lvls assassin, then 12 lvls battle master fighter to finish the build. That way fighter alone gets you 2 extra attacks and 4 ASI's at lvl20 (if you get there).
Not getting extra attack until level 13 is really, really bad though. And an extra skill proficiency isn't really that big of a deal on a martial character. Colby's suggested build in this video is pretty spot on, in my opinion. Perhaps going mainly fighter instead of mainly Ranger would be better for more ASI's.
Love that this is a Turn 1 Nova Build! You are absolutely right Colby turn 1 nova is highly superior to turn 2 nova
So a fun build that you could do similar to this, is a long (like very long range) sniper. Instead of musket (max range of 120) use the heavy crossbow (max range of 400). Now I tend to build my builds to lvl 20, mostly bc I'm currently stuck as forever DM so might as well dream of my builds at full power. Lol. Anyways; I built it as a Bugbear (MOTM) with the Violent Assassin background using class lvls as follows (not completely in order): Fighter 11 (Battle Master), Cleric 1 (Twilight for darkvision of 300), Ranger 3 (Gloom Stalker/boosts darkvision to 330) and Rogue 3 (Assassin). Paired with Goggles of Night magic item to further boost Darkvision to 390. So with some feats and fighting styles included along the way, I have a long range assassin that can snipe enemies with the Heavy Crossbow to pretty much max range whether it be light or dark with lots of damage raining down on my enemies from afar. Plus in my build I have a passive perception of 29+ (good luck sneaking up on my without me noticing something while I'm sniping)
Is there also room for the Alert feat in your build? I mean which self respecting Bugbear (MMOTM) wouldn't snatch that up!!!
@@jugglejunk so I did take the Alert feat as well. So the list of feats I took in this build is: Alert, Crossbow Expert, Sharpshooter and Observant.
Keep in mind I roll for my stats. I have my players roll as well for my games.
i am very surprised that you did not assume advantage on the burst round after Gloom 3 due to invisibility - especially given how you usually handle damage calculations with you favorite spell Shadow Blade :D
Was it to make the Assassin level look a bit better?
(Damn your channel has grown. When I clicked it had 38 views, when I finished got back and commented it was already at 2.2k - back then it would stay at a hundred views for so long hahaha )
Dang it.... Now I want a shepherd build.
YESSS I have been looking forward to seeing how you would build a Gloom Stalker!
I love ranger, gotta be one of my favorite classes. I’d like to see a hunter build, I’ve had this idea to basically make McRee from overwatch. Go hunter, v human, dex and wis, crossbow expert and sharpshooter. At level 5 you already have 4 attacks a round. Then if you take fighter to 2 you have action surge. Eventually getting swift quiver for 5 a round but I really want a build around the level 11 ability, you attack any number of creatures wishing 10 feet of an area you choose and since you ignore the reload you can shoot up to any amount of creatures within that plus another attack within 5 feat from the level 3 ability, and another 1-2 depending if you use swift quiver later on. So any creature within 10feet of a location, that is a 5 by 5 square, meaning that can be a possibility of I think 25 people+2 for the crossbow expert and level 3 ability, then do action surge and do it all again for a possible 54 attacks in a round assuming you have that many crossbow bolts. Maybe like a graviturgy dip or something? There needs to be a way to clump enemies up but I can’t think of a great way off the top of my head