Ranger Conclave: Hunter 5e
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Before the days of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, before ranger subclasses were called conclaves, we had Hunter and Beast Master. Beast Master was… let's go with… messy, leaving most ranger players leaning towards Hunter as the default go to option. And while it might not hold up that well against the new conclaves for the most part, Hunter does deliver on providing flexible choices that provide a meaningful benefit in most fights. It’s not perfect, but it's a pretty solid first attempt at making the generic Hunter character archetype.
See Also: Best Feats for Hunter Ranger
3rd Level: Hunter’s Prey
Hunter’s Prey gives you three new ways to specialize in killing: Colossus Slayer, Giant Killer, and Horde Breaker. While Colossus Slayer and Giant Killer may seem like synonyms, each has some meaningful distinction to set them apart mechanically.
Colossus Slayer is the easiest damage boost you could ask for; if you hit something, if its already damaged, you can deal a bonus 1d8 to it, and can do this once a turn. With extra attack, this is basically always on against anything you’re attacking.
Giant Killer is a killer new reaction you get that rewards you for going head to head against big threats in such a cool way: if it hits you, you get to hit it back. Extra attacks are crazy good, but this being limited to just larger or larger creatures makes it something you don’t necessarily want to default to.
Horde Breaker closes things out with another bonus attack option, this time giving you the bonus attack any time you attack so long as its against something within 5 feet of the original target.
All three play great, but Giant Killer really does want you to be a melee character where the other two work just as well with a crossbow or longbow. Any three of these can help define your character's martial strength.
7th Level: Defensive Tactics
Defensive Tactics doesn’t quite reach the same tier of general usability that Hunter’s Prey does. Escape the Horde imposes disadvantage on opportunity attacks made against you, Multiattack Defense gives you a flat +4 AC against subsequent hits from a single source, and Steel Will gives you advantage on saves against being frightened. If all three of these were a package deal, I’d say it's reasonable. Having to choose one makes the whole feature feel lacking, as none carry a lot of raw power behind them. Multiattack Defense is definitely the most unique of the three, and the one I’d lean towards especially seeing as how it plays well with Giant Killer, but if you went Horde Breaker, maybe Escape the Horde is more what you want.
Steel Will isn’t too great comparatively, though. More monsters make multiple attacks a turn than try to fear you, and anything can make an attack of opportunity. The window for Steel Will to shine is so much smaller than the other two I find it hard to ever consider.
11th Level: Multiattack
Multiattack isn’t Extra Attack, but instead another way to approach a group of enemies set up between a ranged and melee option. In play, both Volley and Whirlwind Attack are going to struggle to be that useful, especially if you went Horde Breaker in the first tier. For either to be good, you basically need to be attacking more than three creatures within the area, and there just aren’t enough encounters where that’ll be the case. In some encounters it’ll come up, but not enough that this ability really excites me in a way that other modern subclasses do.
Of the two, I think Volley is marginally better, as even on melee characters having a tool to skirmish tends to be pretty handy, and this one can be giving you three or four attacks at once at range where Whirlwind Attack needs you to be somewhere you probably don’t want to be.
If this scaled with Extra Attack I’d be a lot more interested. Needing to find three or more things clumped together before either starts working, though, is not ideal.
15th Level: Superior Hunter’s Defense
Superior Hunter’s Defense closes out the subclass with Evasion, a feature that probably should just be base ranger, Stand Against the Tide, or Uncanny Dodge. The only unique one to ranger of the three is Stand Against the Tide, and it stands out like a brilliant gem, offering you a tool that doesn’t really protect you, but instead leverages enemy failings against their allies. Melee characters looking to get way in over their head can absolutely thrive with this new reaction, while other archetypes will have no problem picking up Uncanny Dodge or Evasion, whichever you’d rather. They’re both known quantities common to Monks and Rogues, and both superb abilities too.
All Together
Hunter looks and plays better as you assemble the pieces into a coherent lane. Horde Breaker, Escape the Horde, Whirlwind Attack, and Stand Against the Tide clearly set up a martial bladesmith who thrives when outnumbered and surrounded. A Giant Killer with Steel Will, Volley, and Evasion looks like an excellent dragon slayer primed with tools for bringing down massive threats from a distance while using volleys to thin out their hordes of minions.
If you’re sticking with the PHB and want to make a solid ranger, I think Hunter is pretty hard to go wrong with. The numbers are fine, the build choices are pretty interesting, and while you won’t be doing the most damage in the world, you can reliably set up the fantasy you want with these fighting options. Not the strongest, but a solid ranger subclass for sure.
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