The 2024 rules remaster for Dungeons and Dragons is finally complete, with all three core books out at last. While this new take on Dungeons and Dragons has, for the most part, gone over quite well, one class is still stuck with the short end of the stick.
Beginning with the new Player’s Handbook in September 2024, Wizards of the Coast has been rolling out the 2024 rules update for D&D. These new rules, found in the online Basic Rules and the now-complete set of updated core rulebooks, are based on multiple rounds of community feedback that began in 2022. The new books add many features that fans already homebrew into games, make martial classes far stronger and more versatile, strengthen monsters, turn the DMG into a more usable manual, and much more.
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D&D 2024’s Ranger Still Lacks Identity
Unfortunately, not everything has been improved with this 2024 version of the game. In particular, the changes to D&D 5e‘s Ranger leave much to be desired. Though the new Ranger is, to a notable degree, stronger than its 2014 counterpart, its identity has largely been siphoned away. The class has very little in the way of totally new features; in fact, it’s lost out on a number of features—which the PHB expects fans to substitute with spells and skill proficiencies (which the class now has more of). The class has lost many flavorful, albeit weak, abilities centered around tracking and exploration, instead gaining a new emphasis on the Hunter’s Mark spell. The spell is generally nothing special, and the perks granted to it by the class come online far too slowly.
Currently, D&D 2024‘s Ranger feels like little more than a Fighter subclass, and a particularly directionless one at that. The Ranger has always struggled with this conundrum; no other class has been subject to as much community disagreement when it comes to pinning down a core identity. Some want the Ranger to keep its magical powers, citing Aragorn’s use of healing magic in Lord of the Rings as an archetypal example, while others want it to fully lean into martial prowess. Others still want the class to pursue the Beastmaster archetype as part of the main class, embodying something of a Pokemon Trainer archetype.
To Improve The Ranger, D&D Needs To Improve Exploration
The issue with pinning down a mechanical identity for D&D‘s Ranger is the game’s vague approach to exploration. Luckily, D&D 2024‘s remastered Dungeon Master’s Guide has simplified exploration into a defined system that’s easier for DMs to understand. However, the Ranger has little means of interacting with this system, and the mechanics themselves aren’t present in the Player’s Handbook.
If WOTC wants D&D 5e‘s Ranger to stand out, it should tie the class more deeply to this exploration system—especially considering exploration ought to be a ‘pillar’ of the game. As it stands, the Ranger is propped up as a combat-first class with some exploration features, in addition to spellcasting features that are outdone by just about every other class. While DPS is important, an exploration focus would be far better when it comes to making the Ranger stand out.
WOTC Needs To Make Hard Decisions With Rangers
Just as WOTC made hard-and-fast decisions with orcs in 2024 (omitting them from the Monster Manual, changing up their lore, etc.), it needs to do the same with Rangers. The class is currently a mix of competing ideas, with spellcasting, martial, and exploration elements all fighting each other within the Ranger. An improved Ranger would be one that comes down hard on certain elements of identity, choosing a route and sticking to it.
Dungeons and Dragons
- Franchise
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Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
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1974
- Designer
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E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson