Druid is great for a multi because you can expend a wild shape to cast wild companion instead, that way you always have an animal companion regardless of subclass
I’ve personally been enjoying a great weapon drakewarden build with a two level dip of barbarian that uses a greatsword. I find that the drakewarden and beast master make good use of weapons without bonus action attacks available since most of the time when you can you’ll be using that for your pet.
Rangers are my go to class so I'll always love them. I played a horizon Walker and they're very solid and can be alot of fun. Right now I'm playing swarmkeeper/rune knight with the idea he'd be a world traveler looking to learn cultures and he's alot of fun who functions decently well I'm the front line but also does very well in the backfield. I think the next one i want to try on is the feywalker for that charismatic ranger that can be the party face
@@thedungeon1578 right after I sent that comment you talked about melee ranger, so that’s my bad, I absolutely love rangers and am playing my second one which is melee focused, making it feel different from the ranged one I have is challenging
@@danieljames7629 Haha, I've been there too, it's cool. But you are correct, that I tend to focus on ranged builds more, so I should give melee rangers a bit more attention too.
Hey Rob. Thought i'd share one of my possible builds for our next short campaign (as the one where my Phantom is right now is wrapping up). I'm choosing between this build and an airbending sorcerer but i'm leaning towards this as a friend requested i build and play a shadow blade wielder. Shadow blade is a spell i've generally avoided as i've considered it sub-optimal as our DM generally allows us to get cool weapons like the sunblade. this is a ranger multiclass themed around shadow. level 10 theorycraft as always: "Shadow Blade" fighter 2, gloomstalker 5, divine sorc 3 bugbear asi: resilient or skill expert: dex fighting style: superior technique (ambush), blind fighting metamagic: quicken spell, subtle spell key spells: shadow blade, longstrider, aid, goodberry, pyrotechnics, guidance role: burst striker/backup healer and scout/infiltrator key items: hooded lantern strapped to belt tactics: pre-combat: use remaining spell slots from previous day to cast goodberry. long rest then cast aid on party. cast longstrider on self. stealth and ask your party if you can scout ahead to generate surprise especially if there are areas of darkness/dark shadow. spam guidance for initiative. use ambush as needed. have scimitar drawn. round 1: if enemy in darkness/dark shadow/dim light... bonus action: upcasted shadow blade (3rd) move towards bbeg action: attack x3 action surge: attack x3 (use favored of the gods for misses) if enemy in bright light... move towards bbeg free object interaction: open lid on hooded lantern bonus action: quickened pyrotechnics action: attack x3 (use favored foe) action surge: attack x3 (use favored of the gods for misses) reaction: shield/absorb elements as needed round 2 onwards: if enemy in darkness/dark shadow/dim light... move towards bbeg action: attack x2 bonus action: 2WF scimitar if enemy in bright light... move towards bbeg bonus action: shadow blade action: attack x2 reaction: shield/absorb elements as needed so very straightforward. the dmg and defense though only gets very good if fighting in darkness/dark shadow/dim light. assuming those conditions, dmg report: 18d8 (SB) + 24 (dex) + 2d8 (DA) + 12d6 (BB)= 156 average dmg on turn 1. that's capable of one-shotting alot of CR 10 and below monsters. 6d8 (SB) + 8 (dex) + 1d6 (2WF) = 38.5 sustained
Nice. I like that break down, and that's some serious damage if you can get the right conditions, but even your sustained damage isn't bad IMO. Like you though, I've never been a huge fan of shadow blade. I don't think it's bad really, I just think some people overrate it. I've definitely taken and used it before, often with very good results. But like you said, decent magic weapons that are actually tailored to your character (pole arms with PAM, great weapons with GWM, ranged weapons with SS, etc) are just much better and don't constantly require that I try to fight in dim light/darkness and use spell slots. That said, it certainly performs a lot better when you have action surge to really get in some damage, like in your example.
@@thedungeon1578 yeah i find it overrated. i only find it decent in those conditions. I'd never consider it great as i don't like the idea of using concen to just up the dmg a little bit of a weapon when magic weapons do the trick. I decided to make the build anyways because of the friend's request and i've always though shadow blade to be one of those "cool" spells thematically/flavor/RP-wise. i retained the tactics/theme of the build in round 1 when not fighting in dim light/darkness/shadow by using pyrotechnics + blind fighting and there's a significant drop off in turn 1 dmg as i'm just using a scimitar: 6d6 (scimitar) + 24 (dex) + 12d6 (BB) + 1d4 (favored foe) + 2d8 (DA)= 98.5 average i lost about 40% even with me adding in favored foe. Normally, i think it would be nice though if i can get a magical scimitar or short sword from my DM but i'm also wary to ask for something good (like a sun blade) as i may end up just not using shadow blade anymore. though i think thematically it would be cool to be dual wielding a shadow blade and a sun blade (by turn 2) on a build that has themes of darkness, shadow and light (divine sorc).
While the ability scores are the greatest hindrance for the paladin/ranger multiclass, Dex based paladins can be made functional and dumping WIS is often frowned upon anyway, so a little bit more should be doable, though it greatly hinders your race choices. Best recommendations are Normal Human (+1 in all stats, you'll need it) or tortle from MOTM. For this multiclass I really like using a Hazuyari (Japanese bow spear, sometimes called a bow bajonet), there are also Chinese, Korean and Native American (ghost lance bow) versions. So you can shoot your arrows and when they come too close you stick 'em with the pointy end (of your bow). This is of course a really cool look, where you make yourself look like a nature~ry archer that you should bum rush. Surprise, you walked right into a paladin and paladins love it when their quarry comes to them. 😂😂🤣😁😁😁 Fae wanderer works well with this idea, both in theme and mechanically (wisdom added to CHA skills) + expertise may convince more enemies to come to you. Another race that I love for ranged or casters is the wild hunt shifter (While shifted you get advantage on wisdom checks, and no enemy within 30ft can get advantage on you.) combined with the athlete feat and going prone everytime at the end of your turn. So that they have to run up all the way within 5 ft to not have disadvantage.😉😊😊😊
I had fun playing a Eladrin Elf horizon walker/ archfey warlock multi class that teleported around the battlefield and dealt lots of nova damage with my eldritch smites
i agree with your assessment that the ranger is the most improved class since release. imo they are the 6th best class nowadays, essentially better than any other non-full caster class in the game. xanathars gave them a boost subclass wise and tashas gave them a big boost when it comes to the base class, subclass choices and rules interactions (conjure animals). i'd say gloomstalker and beastmaster are the top 2 ranger subclasses. fey wanderer, swarmkeeper and hunter are in the middle. horizon walker, monster slayer and drakewarden are the worst ones. ranger is one of the classes i have the most experience in being that it's one of my top 3 fave classes along with warlock and sorc so i'll have alot to say. haha. I'll give some highlights of some classes: 1. artificer- for 2 level dip you gain access to a familiar, a pet (pot of awakening) and 2 infusions which you can pick up something useful like returning weapon, spellwrought tattoo bless, clockwork amulet, etc. i think you're underrating this multiclass. They have a lot to offer. 2. barb- for a 2 level dip, reckless attack is worth it for STRangers. rage is a nice bonus but you don't have to use it every fight, especially with limited uses with that 2 level dip. so you can play tactically. with fights that you won't need your ranger spellcasting, use favored foe (works with rage) and rage. in fights that you do need spellcasting, don't use rage and use the ranger spells that will help mitigate reckless attack's penalty to you by playing a skirmisher style such as with zephyr strike. 3. bard/cleric/fighter/rogue- if i wanted an initiative boost, i'd rather just dip level 1 twilight cleric and be less MAD. add fighter 2 dip for action surge and another fighting style to that gloomstalker/assassin combo you have and you have the best martial nova build in the game. imo there's too much overlap here or requires a heavier level investment that a bard doesn't add much to the ranger with a dip. if i wanted expertise, i'd go rogue instead. i'd switch your rating for bard with artificer. fighter is an S imo. action surge is always useful to any build. 4. druid- what you said with so much overlap spell list wise and how druids limit your armor options along with the druid subclasses generally not being top heavy aside from the moon druid, is the reason i'd rank this lower. the reason to play druid is for the higher end spells so it would require a higher level investment and at that point you're playing more of a caster instead of a gish which is what rangers are. i'd rank this much lower than you did and place it at the same level as bards. 5. monk- i think you're rating this too high. monks don't add much here with a dip as the main think to get from the monk is focused aim. so as you said this is more of a monk is better with ranger than a ranger is better with monk. 6. paladin- this is a very MAD multiclass. i wouldn't bother and just rate this low. doing this multiclass means you dump con which is a no-no for me. 7. sorcerer- there's still alot of value in quicken spell but for caster type rangers such as beastmasters. being able to lets say quicken spell dissonant whispers then having your pet, your summon and yourself make opportunity attacks while still having your action to attack again and use extra attack to command your pet to attack twice. i think you're underrating this. gaining access to shield and 1st level abilities such as favored of the gods/tides of chaos as well as better spell slot progression for a level 2-4 dip here offers alot. divine soul offers alot in particular as you also gain access to the cleric spell list aside from the sorc spell list. imo tthis is at least as good as your rating on cleric, if not higher. imo sorc is the best caster multiclass for the ranger. 8. warlocks- for melee, darkness + devil sight still has some viability but for ranged rangers, this is a sub-optimal pick. simply pick misty visions for on-demand obscurement with alot of out of combat uses. the 2nd best martial nova combo is actually the warlock variation, substituting assassin with hexblade, crit-fishing with hexblade's curse then spiking with eldritch smite. take note for eldritch smite, it's your choice to knock prone or not. gloomstaker hexblades deserve an s tier imo. 9. wizards- they arguably have the best spell list in the game (with caveats for the clockwork soul in the 1st 2 tiers and bards being technically superior overall as they can just steal all the best spells) but that best spell list only matters if you're mainly a wizard. a wizard dip spell wise doesn't offer anything that you couldn't get elsewhere like if you simply wanted shield, a familiar and misty step. i would rate this lower than sorcs and warlocks.
RAW, barbarians should be able to use Favored Foe while raging because it's a feature and not a spell: "If you are able to cast spells, you can't cast them or concentrate on them while raging." However, RAI, it shouldn't be allowed per Jeremy Crawford on Twitter: "The Rage feature in D&D prevents the barbarian from concentrating on a spell or on anything, like Favored Foe, that requires you to concentrate on it as if it were a spell." The wording (if you prefer RAI) should be changed to include spell-like abilities. For example: "You can't cast spells or concentrate on anything requiring concentration while raging."
@@TheRobversion1 Still feels like a big deal to me. Losing resistance to physical damage and the use of your main subclass abilities (as in, rage effects) on top of the 2.5 less damage is a lot.
@@joshuawoodfolk8202 huh? how will you lose rage? you use rage. not use favored enemy. rage dmg resistance, advantage to str checks and dmg bonus will all remain on.
i'm busy playing a gloom stalker/cleric. got up to level 5 in ranger and just taken my first level in life cleric. that opening round nova damage is insane with sharpshooter and the amount of healing i can do with goodberry is just awesome
wizard is the most powerful. I've said that 1000 times. This is comparing combinations with ranger. the wizard one is comparing combinations with wizard. the bard one compares combinations with bard, etc. This isn't a straight class video, it's about multi-classing. It looks at a ranger, who wants to combine with different classes. Also, just because wizard is the best solo class doesn't mean it combines the best with everyone else in the game. Some classes have a lot better synergy than others.
Druid is great for a multi because you can expend a wild shape to cast wild companion instead, that way you always have an animal companion regardless of subclass
I’ve personally been enjoying a great weapon drakewarden build with a two level dip of barbarian that uses a greatsword. I find that the drakewarden and beast master make good use of weapons without bonus action attacks available since most of the time when you can you’ll be using that for your pet.
Nice.
Rangers are my go to class so I'll always love them. I played a horizon Walker and they're very solid and can be alot of fun.
Right now I'm playing swarmkeeper/rune knight with the idea he'd be a world traveler looking to learn cultures and he's alot of fun who functions decently well I'm the front line but also does very well in the backfield.
I think the next one i want to try on is the feywalker for that charismatic ranger that can be the party face
I feel like these ratings would be different if you looked at melee rangers instead of strictly ranged
I definite focused MORE on ranged, but I did talk about Barbarian being especially good as a melee build. Fighter does really well too.
@@thedungeon1578 right after I sent that comment you talked about melee ranger, so that’s my bad, I absolutely love rangers and am playing my second one which is melee focused, making it feel different from the ranged one I have is challenging
@@danieljames7629 Haha, I've been there too, it's cool. But you are correct, that I tend to focus on ranged builds more, so I should give melee rangers a bit more attention too.
Hey Rob. Thought i'd share one of my possible builds for our next short campaign (as the one where my Phantom is right now is wrapping up). I'm choosing between this build and an airbending sorcerer but i'm leaning towards this as a friend requested i build and play a shadow blade wielder. Shadow blade is a spell i've generally avoided as i've considered it sub-optimal as our DM generally allows us to get cool weapons like the sunblade. this is a ranger multiclass themed around shadow. level 10 theorycraft as always:
"Shadow Blade"
fighter 2, gloomstalker 5, divine sorc 3
bugbear
asi: resilient or skill expert: dex
fighting style: superior technique (ambush), blind fighting
metamagic: quicken spell, subtle spell
key spells: shadow blade, longstrider, aid, goodberry, pyrotechnics, guidance
role: burst striker/backup healer and scout/infiltrator
key items: hooded lantern strapped to belt
tactics:
pre-combat:
use remaining spell slots from previous day to cast goodberry. long rest then cast aid on party. cast longstrider on self. stealth and ask your party if you can scout ahead to generate surprise especially if there are areas of darkness/dark shadow. spam guidance for initiative. use ambush as needed. have scimitar drawn.
round 1:
if enemy in darkness/dark shadow/dim light...
bonus action: upcasted shadow blade (3rd)
move towards bbeg
action: attack x3
action surge: attack x3 (use favored of the gods for misses)
if enemy in bright light...
move towards bbeg
free object interaction: open lid on hooded lantern
bonus action: quickened pyrotechnics
action: attack x3 (use favored foe)
action surge: attack x3 (use favored of the gods for misses)
reaction: shield/absorb elements as needed
round 2 onwards:
if enemy in darkness/dark shadow/dim light...
move towards bbeg
action: attack x2
bonus action: 2WF scimitar
if enemy in bright light...
move towards bbeg
bonus action: shadow blade
action: attack x2
reaction: shield/absorb elements as needed
so very straightforward. the dmg and defense though only gets very good if fighting in darkness/dark shadow/dim light. assuming those conditions, dmg report:
18d8 (SB) + 24 (dex) + 2d8 (DA) + 12d6 (BB)= 156 average dmg on turn 1. that's capable of one-shotting alot of CR 10 and below monsters.
6d8 (SB) + 8 (dex) + 1d6 (2WF) = 38.5 sustained
Nice. I like that break down, and that's some serious damage if you can get the right conditions, but even your sustained damage isn't bad IMO. Like you though, I've never been a huge fan of shadow blade. I don't think it's bad really, I just think some people overrate it. I've definitely taken and used it before, often with very good results. But like you said, decent magic weapons that are actually tailored to your character (pole arms with PAM, great weapons with GWM, ranged weapons with SS, etc) are just much better and don't constantly require that I try to fight in dim light/darkness and use spell slots. That said, it certainly performs a lot better when you have action surge to really get in some damage, like in your example.
@@thedungeon1578 yeah i find it overrated. i only find it decent in those conditions. I'd never consider it great as i don't like the idea of using concen to just up the dmg a little bit of a weapon when magic weapons do the trick. I decided to make the build anyways because of the friend's request and i've always though shadow blade to be one of those "cool" spells thematically/flavor/RP-wise.
i retained the tactics/theme of the build in round 1 when not fighting in dim light/darkness/shadow by using pyrotechnics + blind fighting and there's a significant drop off in turn 1 dmg as i'm just using a scimitar:
6d6 (scimitar) + 24 (dex) + 12d6 (BB) + 1d4 (favored foe) + 2d8 (DA)= 98.5 average
i lost about 40% even with me adding in favored foe. Normally, i think it would be nice though if i can get a magical scimitar or short sword from my DM but i'm also wary to ask for something good (like a sun blade) as i may end up just not using shadow blade anymore. though i think thematically it would be cool to be dual wielding a shadow blade and a sun blade (by turn 2) on a build that has themes of darkness, shadow and light (divine sorc).
While the ability scores are the greatest hindrance for the paladin/ranger multiclass, Dex based paladins can be made functional and dumping WIS is often frowned upon anyway, so a little bit more should be doable, though it greatly hinders your race choices. Best recommendations are Normal Human (+1 in all stats, you'll need it) or tortle from MOTM.
For this multiclass I really like using a Hazuyari (Japanese bow spear, sometimes called a bow bajonet), there are also Chinese, Korean and Native American (ghost lance bow) versions. So you can shoot your arrows and when they come too close you stick 'em with the pointy end (of your bow).
This is of course a really cool look, where you make yourself look like a nature~ry archer that you should bum rush. Surprise, you walked right into a paladin and paladins love it when their quarry comes to them. 😂😂🤣😁😁😁
Fae wanderer works well with this idea, both in theme and mechanically (wisdom added to CHA skills) + expertise may convince more enemies to come to you.
Another race that I love for ranged or casters is the wild hunt shifter (While shifted you get advantage on wisdom checks, and no enemy within 30ft can get advantage on you.) combined with the athlete feat and going prone everytime at the end of your turn. So that they have to run up all the way within 5 ft to not have disadvantage.😉😊😊😊
Good comments, thanks. I like the tortle suggestion especially.
I had fun playing a Eladrin Elf horizon walker/ archfey warlock multi class that teleported around the battlefield and dealt lots of nova damage with my eldritch smites
i agree with your assessment that the ranger is the most improved class since release. imo they are the 6th best class nowadays, essentially better than any other non-full caster class in the game. xanathars gave them a boost subclass wise and tashas gave them a big boost when it comes to the base class, subclass choices and rules interactions (conjure animals).
i'd say gloomstalker and beastmaster are the top 2 ranger subclasses. fey wanderer, swarmkeeper and hunter are in the middle. horizon walker, monster slayer and drakewarden are the worst ones.
ranger is one of the classes i have the most experience in being that it's one of my top 3 fave classes along with warlock and sorc so i'll have alot to say. haha. I'll give some highlights of some classes:
1. artificer- for 2 level dip you gain access to a familiar, a pet (pot of awakening) and 2 infusions which you can pick up something useful like returning weapon, spellwrought tattoo bless, clockwork amulet, etc. i think you're underrating this multiclass. They have a lot to offer.
2. barb- for a 2 level dip, reckless attack is worth it for STRangers. rage is a nice bonus but you don't have to use it every fight, especially with limited uses with that 2 level dip. so you can play tactically. with fights that you won't need your ranger spellcasting, use favored foe (works with rage) and rage. in fights that you do need spellcasting, don't use rage and use the ranger spells that will help mitigate reckless attack's penalty to you by playing a skirmisher style such as with zephyr strike.
3. bard/cleric/fighter/rogue- if i wanted an initiative boost, i'd rather just dip level 1 twilight cleric and be less MAD. add fighter 2 dip for action surge and another fighting style to that gloomstalker/assassin combo you have and you have the best martial nova build in the game. imo there's too much overlap here or requires a heavier level investment that a bard doesn't add much to the ranger with a dip. if i wanted expertise, i'd go rogue instead. i'd switch your rating for bard with artificer. fighter is an S imo. action surge is always useful to any build.
4. druid- what you said with so much overlap spell list wise and how druids limit your armor options along with the druid subclasses generally not being top heavy aside from the moon druid, is the reason i'd rank this lower. the reason to play druid is for the higher end spells so it would require a higher level investment and at that point you're playing more of a caster instead of a gish which is what rangers are. i'd rank this much lower than you did and place it at the same level as bards.
5. monk- i think you're rating this too high. monks don't add much here with a dip as the main think to get from the monk is focused aim. so as you said this is more of a monk is better with ranger than a ranger is better with monk.
6. paladin- this is a very MAD multiclass. i wouldn't bother and just rate this low. doing this multiclass means you dump con which is a no-no for me.
7. sorcerer- there's still alot of value in quicken spell but for caster type rangers such as beastmasters. being able to lets say quicken spell dissonant whispers then having your pet, your summon and yourself make opportunity attacks while still having your action to attack again and use extra attack to command your pet to attack twice. i think you're underrating this. gaining access to shield and 1st level abilities such as favored of the gods/tides of chaos as well as better spell slot progression for a level 2-4 dip here offers alot. divine soul offers alot in particular as you also gain access to the cleric spell list aside from the sorc spell list. imo tthis is at least as good as your rating on cleric, if not higher. imo sorc is the best caster multiclass for the ranger.
8. warlocks- for melee, darkness + devil sight still has some viability but for ranged rangers, this is a sub-optimal pick. simply pick misty visions for on-demand obscurement with alot of out of combat uses. the 2nd best martial nova combo is actually the warlock variation, substituting assassin with hexblade, crit-fishing with hexblade's curse then spiking with eldritch smite. take note for eldritch smite, it's your choice to knock prone or not. gloomstaker hexblades deserve an s tier imo.
9. wizards- they arguably have the best spell list in the game (with caveats for the clockwork soul in the 1st 2 tiers and bards being technically superior overall as they can just steal all the best spells) but that best spell list only matters if you're mainly a wizard. a wizard dip spell wise doesn't offer anything that you couldn't get elsewhere like if you simply wanted shield, a familiar and misty step. i would rate this lower than sorcs and warlocks.
Good added commentary, as always. You could be right that I'm underselling Artificer.
RAW, barbarians should be able to use Favored Foe while raging because it's a feature and not a spell:
"If you are able to cast spells, you can't cast them or concentrate on them while raging."
However, RAI, it shouldn't be allowed per Jeremy Crawford on Twitter:
"The Rage feature in D&D prevents the barbarian from concentrating on a spell or on anything, like Favored Foe, that requires you to concentrate on it as if it were a spell."
The wording (if you prefer RAI) should be changed to include spell-like abilities. For example:
"You can't cast spells or concentrate on anything requiring concentration while raging."
@@joshuawoodfolk8202 fair enough on favored foe and rage. not a big loss though. just 2.5 dmg per round.
@@TheRobversion1 Still feels like a big deal to me. Losing resistance to physical damage and the use of your main subclass abilities (as in, rage effects) on top of the 2.5 less damage is a lot.
@@joshuawoodfolk8202 huh? how will you lose rage? you use rage. not use favored enemy. rage dmg resistance, advantage to str checks and dmg bonus will all remain on.
i'm busy playing a gloom stalker/cleric. got up to level 5 in ranger and just taken my first level in life cleric. that opening round nova damage is insane with sharpshooter and the amount of healing i can do with goodberry is just awesome
Shillelagh-focused ranger with monk who focuses more on wisdom sounds a bit more streamlined
That works as well. I should have mentioned that. Good call.
First
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Que?
Wizard is the most powerful class in the game. Bizarre scale you have.
wizard is the most powerful. I've said that 1000 times. This is comparing combinations with ranger. the wizard one is comparing combinations with wizard. the bard one compares combinations with bard, etc. This isn't a straight class video, it's about multi-classing. It looks at a ranger, who wants to combine with different classes. Also, just because wizard is the best solo class doesn't mean it combines the best with everyone else in the game. Some classes have a lot better synergy than others.