The Ultimate One D&D Ranger Guide – Mastering Rangers

I do a standard S-F tier ranking and here’s how I categorize them:

S Tier – The absolute best of the best. These options can even broach into unfair territory and may be subject to being banned at certain tables. If you’re looking for power level alone, there’s functionally no reason not to use these.

A Tier – While not as broken as the S Tier options, these are as good as you can get without broaching into unfair territory, although some of them may be strong enough to feel unfair!

B Tier – These will not be as inherently powerful as A Tier options, but are still quite strong in their own right. These are likely a bit more situational or slightly weaker than the A tier options, but still very good.

C Tier – Decent options, but likely not particularly strong. These options don’t offer too much or may just be a bit too situational to be ranked higher, but are still options you should consider as these will be the average power level.

D Tier – While not completely useless, these options are either very weak or very situational so are unlikely to be used, but unlike F tier, these aren’t completely unusable or actively detrimental.

F Tier – Either so weak or so situational that these should functionally never be taken or considered unless in the most niche of circumstances.

Level 1

Starting Proficiencies – A Tier – Nearly the best proficiencies you can get! You’re only missing Heavy Armor which Ranger probably wouldn’t wear even if they could. Shield Proficiency is a bit wasted on Ranger, but you can totally make it work.

Favored Enemy – B Tier – Despite popular opinion, getting Hunter’s Mark for free and free castings of it is still pretty good.

Weapon Mastery – B- Tier – Weapon Masteries are overall pretty good and add a decent amount of power and versatility to your weapons.

1st Level Spells – A Tier – Spells are awesome, and even though they are weaker on half-casters, your first level options are still really strong.

Level 2

Deft Explorer – B- Tier – Expertise in a skill and languages are nice!

Level 5

Extra Attack – A+ Tier – Extra Attack is generally the most important ability on any martial class.

2nd Level Spells – A+ Tier – While getting second level spells two levels later than full casters, your spell choices are incredibly strong.

Level 6

Roving – B Tier – Extra movement speed on top of a climb and swim speed is solid.

Level 9

Expertise – B Tier – Expertise in two skills can definitely be relevant for good skill checks.

3rd Level Spells – A+ Tier – You’ll never have too many third level spell slots as the spells you can get at this point are very high impact.

Level 10

Tireless – C- Tier – This ability is alright, but a pretty poor copy of the Fighter Second Wind.

Level 13

Relentless Hunter – C Tier – Not losing concentration on Hunter’s Mark from damage is nice and all, but not that important.

4th Level Spells – B Tier – You do have some solid options, but only really a standout or two that’s not even that strong for the character level.

Level 14

Nature’s Veil – C Tier – Being able to go invisible a few times a day is definitely neat, this just isn’t that strong of an ability for the level.

Level 17

Precise Hunter – B+ Tier – Getting advantage on all of your attacks against one target is definitely pretty strong!

5th Level Spells – B- Tier – Out of all your spell levels, this is the least impactful.

Level 18

Feral Sense – C Tier – Blindsense can be good, but it’s mainly only relevant when built around.

Level 20

Foe Slayer – D- Tier – Not technically useless, but close.

The Complete Ranger Spell List

Ranger Spell Tier List – The Best Ranger Spells

Aasimar – A Tier – A generically strong species that gives you a lot of things for Rangers. Necrotic and Radiant resistance is always good, Darkvision is great to have, you get a bit of healing which Ranger doesn’t really get, you get Light for free, and a cool ability to transform into 3 different forms, all of which are reasonable to use. Assimar will always be a solid choice, no matter the class.

Dragonborn – B Tier – A decent race in general as you get a damage resistance, Darkvision, Flight at level 5, and a breath weapon that can be useful in a pinch. Decent in general as you get things Ranger doesn’t normally afford you, but generally outshined by Aasimar.

Dwarf – C+ Tier – Long range Darkvision, Tremorsense for scouting, and extra health is definitely nice. Resistance to poison damage and advantage to save against the poisoned condition is alright, but pretty rare so it’s not going to come up that often.

Elf – B- Tier – Darkvision is always great, an extra skill proficiency, as well as advantage on saving throws against being Charmed (even if it isn’t that common), but the real treat is being able to pick your lineage which all comes with things you’d be happy to have as a Ranger. I would say the Wood Elf lineage is probably the most appealing for the extra movement speed and spell options you wouldn’t normally get, but any of the options would be solid.

Gnome – C- Tier – Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws is excellent, especially for Rangers as these spells/effects can cause you to lose out on damage which is kind of your whole deal, but that’s the only exciting thing Gnome really gives you so you get no benefits until you’re making a saving throw.

Goliath – A Tier – Large Form and Powerful Build aren’t exciting for really any class, but getting a higher base speed and one of the many excellent Giant Ancestry abilities is awesome, especially Hill Giant for Topple which all martial classes love. That said, not all Rangers are attacking from up close which means that may not always be the species you’ll want.

Halfling – D Tier – Brave is an alright ability and Lucky is fun, but neither are that impactful.

Human – A- Tier – A free Heroic Inspiration every day, a free skill, and a free Origin feat is great for any class.

Orc – B Tier – A solid species for any martial character. Bonus Action Dash lets you get into the fight easier so you don’t miss out on damage which is great. Not going unconscious once per day also help tremendously if you’re going to be taking a beating in combat. Finally, long range Darkvision is generically good for any class making this a solid choice.

Tiefling – D Tier – Damage resistances and Darkvision are always great, but the spells package is just worse than what Elves could give you.

(For the purposes of this ranking, this is assuming that your Ranger is prioritizing Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom. If you’re looking to play a Strength Ranger, please refer to the Fighter Handbook as those background choices will more closely represent what you’re going for)

Acolyte – C Tier – While you can’t buff Dexterity which is really brutal, you can at least buff Wisdom, you get proficiency in Insight, and you get Magic Initiate (Cleric) which is a great feat. This wouldn’t be my first choice of background, but it isn’t terrible either.

Artisan – C- Tier – While you get solid proficiencies and you can buff Dexterity, the feat is terrible and only buffing Dexterity isn’t ideal.

Charlatan – B+ Tier – Perfect ability scores, solid feat, solid proficiencies. This is a great choice all around.

Criminal – A+ Tier – Perfect ability scores, excellent feat, excellent profiencies. This is the standard for Rangers.

Entertainer – B Tier – Buffing Dexterity is great and you get an excellent feat, but the rest is a bit disappointing. Still a solid choice, especially if nobody else in your party has the Musician feat.

Farmer – B Tier – You do miss out on buffing Dexterity, but buffing Constitution and Wisdom is good, you get a solid feat, and you get thematic proficiencies. This is a solid choice all around.

Guard – C- Tier – While you do get an awesome feat, proficiency in Perception, and the ability to buff Wisdom, not buffing Dexterity is pretty rough.

Guide – A+ Tier – Perfect ability scores with Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom (so you could go for the triple +1 which is rare for most classes), a solid feat, and good proficiencies. I would generally pick Criminal over this as Magic Initiate (Druid) is obviously not that exciting for a Ranger compared to Alarm, but either is a good choice.

Hermit – C+ Tier – Decent ability scores and an alright feat plus proficiencies. Nothing special all around.

Merchant – D Tier – Only boosting Constitution is not great and the rest of the package does not make up for it.

Noble – F Tier – Ranger (generally) cares about three ability scores and this background misses all of them.

Sage – B- Tier – While not boosting Dexterity is rough and your proficiencies aren’t great, you do get Magic Initiate (Wizard) which is always reasonably appealing.

Sailor – C+ Tier – Boosting both Dexterity and Wisdom is definitely solid and you get solid proficiencies, but the feat is functionally worthless for the average Ranger.

Scribe – B Tier – Solid ability scores, ok feat, and good skill proficiencies. Solid background over all.

Soldier – C Tier – Good ability scores, but the rest of the package is extremely unexciting.

Wayfarer – B Tier – Pretty much the same deal as Scribe, solid ability scores, ok feat, and good skill proficiencies.

Animal Handling – C Tier – While there’s likely an expectation that Rangers are good at handling animals, this is not a check that comes up often in the average campaign making it a tougher choice.

Athletics – D Tier – This is a pretty uncommon skill check and the average Ranger isn’t going to be strong anyway making this a strange choice.

Insight – A+ Tier – An absolutely excellent skill that at least one party member should be good at.

Investigation – B Tier – While you very likely won’t have good Intelligence, Investigation is an excellent skill for someone to be good at.

Nature – A- Tier – In functionally every campaign, there’s going to be a lot of interaction with nature as that’s kind of the deal with explorers making this a reasonably valuable skill.

Perception – A+ Tier – An awesome skill that you definitely want to be good at as it’s going to come up extremely often.

Stealth – A Tier – An excellent skill that you can get plenty of mileage out of.

Survival – B+ Tier – There is considerable overlap here with Nature which is awkward, but if you have to navigate in the wilderness often or you need to scrounge for food, this is a good skill to have.

While not every feat can be mentioned as that would be an oppressively long list, the ones I would at all consider would be here (all the Origin feats included as any of the backgrounds could be potential choices). Feats left off the list are not ones I would normally not consider for any Ranger build, but a full reference on the all the feats in the Player’s Handbook and their associated rankings, check the link below.

The D&D Feats, Fighting Styles, and Epic Boons Tier List

Origin Feats

While your Origin feat is tied to your background, it’s good to know how good each feat is to help consider which background you may want or if you decided to pick Human as your species. Past level one, I would functionally never consider taking an origin feat (though it is allowed).

Alert – A+ Tier – An excellent feat, and unlike other martials, going first is generally better as Rangers have more battlefield control.

Crafter – F Tier – The feat is just bad unless there’s something big about it I’m missing.

Healer – C Tier – It’s an alright feat overall, especially since Ranger doesn’t really have a good way to heal their allies.

Lucky – C Tier – A decent feat in general, fine for any class or build.

Magic Initiate (Cleric) – B+ Tier – Guidance is an excellent cantrip to have and you can never have too many Guidance on your team (plus you get another cantrip which can be an attack cantrip to give you a decent ranged option). Furthermore, getting Healing Word is really good for Ranger in general as that gives you a good healing option.

Magic Initiate (Druid) – B+ Tier – This is functionally as good as Magic Initiate (Cleric) as you’d probably get functionally the same things you would if you chose it. Technically speaking, I would say that Magic Initiate (Cleric) is probably a smidgen better, but it’s super close.

Magic Initiate (Wizard) – B Tier – These cantrips can give you a decent ranged option for Ranger compared to the other initiate feats (not that you really need it) and you can pick up a pretty strong combat spell like Shield or Silvery Barbs which can obviously be really useful.

Musician – A Tier – A generically excellent feat for any class.

Savage Attacker – D Tier – This is at its best for martial characters, but a pretty weak feat in general.

Skilled – C+ Tier – A reasonable feat for nearly any class (save Bard or Rogue who doesn’t really need it).

Tavern Brawler – D- Tier – Rangers probably aren’t using unarmed strikes much, and if they were, you would be doing so to make grappling possible, not to just push someone 5 feet.

Tough – A- Tier – Extra health is always great, especially if you’re fighting on the front line.

Fighting Styles

While these weren’t feats in fifth edition, they do count as feats now so they should be considered as well! That being said, I would functionally never take these for one of your general feats and should only be considered if your class gives you one of these for free.

Any feat with an asterisk means that you need to be/use this in an extremely specific class/build to get the most use out of it.

Archery – B+ Tier – What was the best Fighting style was functionally nerfed due to the Sharpshooter changes, but if you’re planning on using a bow, you’re picking this feat.

Blind-Fighting* – B+ Tier – This fighting style won’t be that good unless your team is all about shrouding the combat in Darkness or something of the like, but if they do, this will functionally mean that you’ll always have Greater Invisibility active as you’ll have advantage on all your attacks while enemies will have disadvantage to hit you (within the Darkness of course).

Defense – A- Tier – +1 to AC is just universally good. This will always be a good option if you don’t need a specific Fighting style to help your build out.

Dueling – B- Tier – +2 to damage rolls as long as you only are using one hand for your weapon is quite good and was previously the most common Fighting style for martials using a sword and shield. That said, I would venture to say most Rangers are probably going to be duel wielding instead, but if you aren’t about that life, then this is a good choice.

Great Weapon Fighting – F Tier – This was already either the worst or one of the worst Fighting styles before, and while it’s been simplified, it’s technically even weaker. Unfortunately, there’s definitely no good reason to take it now.

Interception* – B- Tier – While this does not scale well into the later levels at all, Interception can block a surprising amount of damage in the early levels as, at level 1, you’re blocking an average of 7.5 damage at the cost of your reaction which is really good. I would definitely swap out of this once you gain a few levels, but this is quite strong early.

Protection – A Tier – From what may have been the worst Fighting Style to one of (if not just) the best! While this only works if you’re in close proximity with an ally, trading your reaction to give disadvantage on all attacks to that person until your next turn is really good and actually makes the “tank” style character more viable. With that in mind, I wouldn’t expect the Ranger to pick this up versus the Fighter or Paladin, but if you like it, go for it.

Thrown Weapon Fighting* – A- Tier -While not many builds can make proper use of this, +2 to damage rolls is excellent for those who can.

Two Weapon Fighting – A Tier – Adding additional damage to your extra attacks is great, especially as this works with the Nick property and the Dual Wielder feat.

Unarmed Fighting – C- Tier – If you are really committed to punching people and you don’t want to play a Monk, this Fighting style isn’t bad. You get pretty good damage if you’re committed to using no weapons or shields and a bit of bonus damage when grappling. This is not super viable long term compared to playing a Monk, but if that doesn’t bother you, then this is solid.

General Feats

Charger – C Tier – Rangers are generally not charging headlong into battle as they can pretty effectively fight from a distance or just stand there and fight. That being said, this will be relevant on the first turn you’re engaging an enemy in melee and could be relevant for each other enemy you engage in melee, so it’s still fine.

Crossbow Expert – C+ Tier – While you can obviously use bows just fine, Crossbow Expert is still good enough to consider, especially if you’re looking to play with two Hand Crossbows.

Crusher – C- Tier – This is a solid feat in general, but most Rangers probably aren’t using bludgeoning weapons making this pretty hard to use.

Defensive Duelist – A+ Tier – Rangers rarely have use of their reaction and are generally holding a Finesse weapon making this a really easy choice for most Rangers.

Dual Wielder – A Tier – If you’re looking to maximize your DPR, this is how you’re doing it. While not every Ranger is going to be looking to do that, I think dual wielding Scimitars like Drizzt Do’Urden is going to be way too tempting.

Fey-Touched – A- Tier – This is a great way to increase your Wisdom as you get Misty Step and another great spell of your choosing (generally Silvery Barbs if it’s allowed at your table).

Great Weapon Master – B Tier – It may be weird to see this as an option considering no heavy weapon also has the finesse property, but there is some value here! First off, if you’re going STRanger (Strength based Ranger), then this is going to be good. However, even as a standard Ranger, this feat works with both Longbows and Heavy Crossbows making it a reasonable pick up if you’re looking to fight from a distance.

Inspiring Leader – A- Tier – While Wisdom is not generally going to be your priority, this is an excellent feat to have if you’re looking to buff it and you don’t have a party member with it yet.

Mage Slayer – A Tier – Just an excellent feat to mess with spellcasters and to get a functional charge of Legendary Resistance.

Medium Armor Master – C- Tier – This is not a feat I generally love, but this will likely give you a functional +1 to AC while also improving your Dexterity so it’s definitely not an awful choice.

Piercer – B- Tier – A solid feat if you’re using mostly ranged weapons, but you probably won’t get much value out of this otherwise. Still good overall.

Resilient – B- Tier – Always a solid option if you’re looking to make a particular saving throw better.

Ritual Caster – C+ Tier – I wouldn’t be too excited about this, but if your party is really bereft on spellcasters, it could be nice to pick up to get some extra utility.

Sentinel – C+ Tier – While a solid feat, keeping the enemy in front of you in particular may not be in your best interest as you are not the most hardy martial compared to a Barbarian, Fighter, or Paladin, but this can still be good if this is a part of your team’s general strategy.

Sharpshooter – D Tier – From what may have been the best feat in the 2024 handbook to one of the weakest ones. You still get a much larger range, the ability to ignore cover, and +1 to your Dexterity, but not having the -5/+10 damage bonus is extremely brutal. This is more feasible if your DM lets you take shots at massive ranges and/or uses cover a lot, but not something I would take otherwise, even on ranged Fighters.

Shield Master – C+ Tier – This is a really good feat, but only buffing Strength is rough (unless you’re using Strength of course) and Rangers don’t typically use shields making this a really niche choice.

Skulker – C Tier – For more assassin type Rangers, this can be a really nice feat. If you’re looking to go this direction, I would definitely take a few levels in Rogue to get Cunning Action so you can hide as a bonus action as hiding in combat won’t be that feasible otherwise, but if you put all that work in, you do get a pretty reasonable payoff.

Slasher – B Tier – Decent buffs to what would likely be your main source of damage and you can increase Dexterity. Simple and good.

Speedy – C Tier – While this generally wouldn’t be my first choice, being faster is never a bad thing for any class.

War Caster – B Tier – While you can technically stow or draw your weapons when you’re attacking, this makes it so you can still use somatic components with your hands full on top of getting advantage on all concentration checks which is obviously nice.

(These builds assume 17 in Dexterity at level 1 barring the STRanger which would have 17 Strength level 1 instead)

Dual Wielder – A- Tier – This is likely the primary play style of Rangers moving forward. Between the Dual Wielder feat and the Nick weapon mastery, you can make up to 4 attacks in a single turn by level 5 which is obviously nice. There is of course natural contention between your bonus action attack and Hunter’s Mark, but as long as you take your first turn to set it up, this will provide a lot of damage and make the best use of putting a Hunter’s Mark on your enemy. If you want to go this route, take Dual Wielder at level 4, Defensive Duelist at level 8, Mage Slayer at level 12, then whatever you want for level 16.

The Range(d)er – B Tier – While not nearly as good as it used to be, the ranged Ranger still holds up if you’re looking to attack from a distance. I would be wary to go this route if your team is constantly knocking enemies prone, but if that isn’t the case, then feel free. For this play style, I would probably take Mage Slayer or Piercer at level 4, buff Dexterity to 20 at level 8, then Great Weapon Master at level 12 (you will need at least 13 Strength to make this work, so your starting stat distribution should be 13 STR, 17 (+2 from background) DEX, 16 (+1 from background) CON, 8 INT, 12 WIS, and 8 CHA).

The STRanger – C+ Tier – Sometimes you don’t want to use Dexterity as your primary stat as a Ranger. While I don’t personally see why you wouldn’t want it, going Strength instead is a viable play style. If you were doing this, it would likely to do some Polearm stuff so I would look to grab Polearm Master at level 4, Great Weapon Master at level 8, and Mage Slayer at level 12.

Not every potential multiclass is going to be mentioned as most don’t synergize well with Rangers, just the ones I would consider. For a more thorough breakdown on multiclassing, check out the link below.

The Ultimate Guide To Multiclassing in One D&D

Cleric – C+ Tier – While it would be weird to want Heavy Armor proficiency as a Ranger, that is technically a perk of going Cleric. More realistically, going a level or two into Cleric will speed up spellcasting progression and get you some spells if that’s what you’re looking for.

Fighter – B- Tier – The classic multiclassing choice for any martial. You don’t really need the proficiencies, but getting another Fighting Style and Action Surge at level 2 will always be relatively tempting.

Rogue – D Tier – While you’d think that Rangers and Rogues go hand in hand, there really isn’t a compelling reason for a Ranger to go into Rogue. Sneak Attack is alright, but Cunning Action doesn’t work well with dual wielding nor Hunter’s Mark making this an awkward choice.

Beast Master Ranger Build Guide: You get a combat pet that is actually strong to help you in battle. If that doesn’t convince you, nothing will!

Fey Wanderer Ranger Build Guide: Use the cunning of the Fey to teleport past, confuse, and charm your enemies.

Gloom Stalker Ranger Build Guide: The master of quick kills, Gloom Stalkers excel in fighting and ambushing their enemies in the dark.

Horizon Walker Ranger Build Guide: Dedicated to hunting down extraplanar threats, Horizon Walkers utilize this extraplanar energy to empower their abilities.

Hunter Ranger Build Guide: With an emphasis on versatility in combat, Hunters get a lot of options in their abilities to play exactly how you want to play them.

Monster Slayer Ranger Build Guide: Focused on tackling one enemy at a time, the Monster Slayer prioritizes their Slayer’s Prey to deal additional damage to their target of choice.

Swarmkeeper Ranger Build Guide: Allied with a magical swarm of insects (or fey), Swarmkeepers can use their swarm to attack enemies, reposition you, or reposition enemies.

Ranger Rankings

These rankings in particular I found to be a bit more awkward than the rest of the classes. Gloom Stalker and Swarmkeeper still reign supreme which wasn’t a big surprise, but there were tougher decisions past that. As mentioned in the beginning, the way I’m grading these classes does unfairly favor classes with multiple weaker abilities rather than fewer, stronger ones, but that really cam to a head here. While Beast Master has all solid abilities, it is only four total abilities where Horizon Walker and Fey Wanderer have substantially more, but weaker abilities. While by the rankings, both Horizon Walker and Fey Wanderer outclass Beast Master, in reality, I believe Beast Master is going to feel stronger than them, especially in earlier levels. With that in mind, Beast Master received a significant bump in the rankings and may shift around more as more playtesting occurs.

1. Gloom Stalker – B+ Tier
2. Swarmkeeper – C+ Tier
3. Beast Master – C Tier
4. Horizon Walker – C Tier
5. Fey Wanderer – C- Tier
6. Hunter – C- Tier
7. Monster Slayer – C- Tier

Beast Master

Primal Companion (Level 3) – B Tier – Your companion is pretty good as you get multiple forms and it does scale, but this will constantly eat into your bonus action which is really at odds with a class that’s more or less built around Hunter’s Mark.

Exceptional Training (Level 7) – B Tier – Solid upgrades to your main ability as you’ll ignore all resistances and make your companion that much harder to hit.

Bestial Fury (Level 11) – B- Tier – Extra attack for your companion isn’t as good as it would be on a player, but it is still more damage. Furthermore, they can share in the Hunter’s Mark damage as well, but how are you going to have time to use Hunter’s Mark with a companion?

Share Spells (Level 15) – B- Tier – While you don’t have many options here, you do have some solid options to share making this pretty reasonable.

Fey Wanderer

Dreadful Strikes (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Free damage is free damage I guess.

Otherworldly Glamour (Level 3) – C- Tier – If you have to make Charisma rolls, then this ability is good, but realistically you should not be doing these checks often.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D- Tier – Not a good spell, but thematic I guess.

2nd Level Spells (Level 5) – B+ Tier – Misty Step is awesome and pretty important to this class.

Beguiling Twist (Level 7) – C+ Tier – This ability is super niche, but it is pretty solid if you come across enemies that charm or frighten.

3rd Level Spells (Level 9) – D+ Tier – Not a great summoning spell, but usable need be.

Fey Reinforcements (Level 11) – C- Tier – Getting a free cast of Summon Fey that doesn’t require concentration is definitely nice, but you only get this once per day which is super restrictive.

4th Level Spells (Level 13) – B Tier – Dimension Door is a great pickup and not normally available to Rangers!

Misty Wanderer (Level 15) – A- Tier – A bunch of free teleportations and you can bring a friend? Great ability when you need to reposition constantly.

5th Level Spells (Level 17) – D Tier – Not a fan of this spell at all, but it is pretty unique.

Gloom Stalker

Dread Ambusher (Level 3) – A- Tier – While this is way worse than the previous version, this is still a very powerful ability. Bonus speed for a turn, bonus damage a few times a day, and bonuses to initiative make the old version of this proud. These are good changes, even if the ability is weaker.

Umbral Sight (Level 3) – B Tier – Better Darkvision (or Darkvision if you didn’t have it) and you can be invisible to any enemy that’s relying on darkvision to see you. Specific, but solid.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Disguise Self is not always going to be helpful, but it at least can be in unique situations.

2nd Level Spells (Level 5) – D- Tier – I personally hate Rope Trick as it’s so specific in when you’d even want to use it, but if you’re short resting in dangerous territory and simply hate having available spell slots, you have this I guess.

Iron Mind (Level 7) – B- Tier – Proficiency in Wisdom is really good and makes passing those checks that much easier.

3rd Level Spells (Level 9) – B Tier – Fear is a great spell and Rangers never gets good CC so this is a pretty great spell to pick up.

Stalker’s Flurry (Level 11) – C+ Tier – Additional damage and additional effects for your Dreadful Strike is definitely nice, but with how few charges you get of Dreadful Strike, this won’t be as impactful as you’d like.

4th Level Spells (Level 13) – B+ Tier – An excellent buff that any Ranger would be happy to have for tougher fights.

Shadowy Dodge (Level 15) – A Tier – Imposing disadvantage on one attack isn’t great, but teleporting away with your reaction is really good and could potentially make the enemy waste their turn. The most interesting thing about this feature is that there’s no limit on how many times a day you can use this, so you can be a real pain in the butt if you keep walking up to the enemy you’re teleporting away from.

5th Level Spells (Level 17) – D Tier – Unique, but very specific use cases make this really hard to use.

Horizon Walker

Detect Portal (Level 3) – F Tier – When is this ability supposed to be helpful?

Planar Warrior (Level 3) – C+ Tier – Not a big damage increase, but if you have no better use of your bonus action, this has no limit on charges. The issue is you probably do have better uses for your bonus action, but still.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Specific, but this can be really good against extraplanar enemies if you encounter them.

2nd Level Spells (Level 5) – B+ Tier – Misty Step is awesome and you’ll always be happy to have it.

Ethereal Step (Level 7) – D+ Tier – Etherealness is an alright spell, but only one cast per short or long rest is a bit restrictive. Realistically though, how often do you need to cast this?

3rd Level Spells (Level 9) – B Tier – Haste is a really solid buff whether you use it on yourself or another martial ally.

Distant Strike (Level 11) – B- Tier – This ability is super weird, but free teleportation is always good, so I guess this is pretty good? A really hard ability to evaluate as it is so combat specific.

4th Level Spells (Level 13) – B Tier – Single target CC is nice and Banishment is one of the better ones.

Spectral Defense (Level 15) – D+ Tier – Resistance to one attack is not great, but if you have no better use for your reaction, have at it.

5th Level Spells (Level 17) – C+ Tier – Rangers normally can’t teleport long distances, but now you can! Help your full caster homies out!

Hunter

Hunter’s Lore (Level 3) – B- Tier – I’m not sure if I’m overrating or underrating this ability, but I love it. You want to use Hunter’s Mark liberally anyway, so getting the full work up on what the enemy is about seems good to me.

Hunter’s Prey (Level 3)– C+ Tier – Do you want a little bit of extra damage that’s a little specific to set up or do you want a little bit of extra damage that’s a little specific to set up? Both abilities are fine, whichever you decide on.

Defensive Tactics (Level 7) – C Tier – Both abilities are really specific, but Multiattack Defense is acceptable, even if it isn’t exciting.

Superior Hunter’s Prey (Level 11) – D- Tier – Free damage is free damage, but why on earth is this all the ability does?

Superior Hunter’s Defense (Level 15) – C+ Tier – Trading your reaction for resistance for the turn is a pretty good deal, especially since Multiattack Defense will make it difficult for enemies to connect multiple times.

Monster Slayer

Hunter’s Sense (Level 3) – C Tier – A worse version of Hunter’s Lore, but I still do love this ability.

Slayer’s Prey (Level 3) – D+ Tier – This is an additional, but worse Hunter’s Mark. Not terrible, especially in prolonged fights, but this ability is pretty weak.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Specific, but this can be really good against extraplanar enemies if you encounter them.

2nd Level Spells (Level 5) – D- Tier – While cool in concept, Zone of Truth just doesn’t really function correctly in practice. Not a well designed spell unfortunately.

Supernatural Defense (Level 7) – C+ Tier – A little specific, but mathematically, this is close to having advantage on rolls so with that perspective, this is decent.

3rd Level Spells (Level 9) – D- Tier – Realistically this probably deserves F Tier and I’m being kind, but this spell is so incredibly niche that I’ve only ever heard of it being used in conjunction with Planar Binding.

Magic’s-User Nemesis (Level 11) – C+ Tier – Every short or long rest, you get a slightly worse, but free Counterspell. What’s not to like?

4th Level Spells (Level 13) – B Tier – Single target CC is nice and Banishment is one of the better ones.

Slayer’s Counter (Level 15) – B+ Tier – This ability is so weird, so cool, and pretty strong all at the same time. A Dragon tries to hit you with their breath weapon and you just plop em with an arrow and you’re mostly good to go.

5th Level Spells (Level 17) – C- Tier – I’m not a big fan of this spell, but it can be helpful in the right encounter.

Swarmkeeper

Gathered Swarm (Level 3) – B Tier – A smidgen of damage, forced movement, or a small amount of free movement with a successful attack is definitely solid!

Cantrips & 1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C+ Tier – Both Mage Hand and Faerie Fire are solid spells, even if Faerie Fire is at odds with Hunter’s Mark.

2nd Level Spells (Level 5) – C- Tier – Web is a great spell, but you already have Entangle which does a very similar thing, but you have both need be.

Writhing Tide (Level 7) – B+ Tier – Any flying speed can be really good, and this is no different.

3rd Level Spells (Level 9) – D Tier – Gaseous Form is a really niche spell, but it can be helpful if you’re trying to break in or escape from somewhere.

Mighty Swarm (Level 11) – B+ Tier – Strong buffs to an already good ability.

4th Level Spells (Level 13) – B Tier – Arcane Eye is a great spell, you just won’t always have the spell slots for it. Still, probably better you casting it as you’re still useful without spells than a full caster ally.

Swarming Dispersal (Level 15) – B+ Tier – This is just a worse version of the new Gloom Stalker capstone ability, but realistically, even a worse version of that ability is pretty good!

5th Level Spells (Level 17) – D- Tier – Especially for this level, Insect Plague is just not a great spell.