Rangers are a versatile class that combines Druid-style spellcasting, Fighter-style combat capabilities, and Rogue-style skills to create a versatile and capable class. They focus on techniques that are particularly useful against their specific favored foes and acquire the ability to cast spells that harness nature’s power, much like a druid does. Their spells emphasize speed, stealth, and the hunt.
The ranger spell list includes optional spells available from Tasha’s Cauldron. In 5e, ranger spells primarily focus on increasing single-target damage, providing groupwide utility, and laying down area of effect damaging and battlefield effects. The Spells Known column of the Ranger table shows when more ranger spells of your choice must be learned, each of which must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
The ranger spells include Absorb Elements, Alarm, Animal Friendship, Beast Bond, Cure Wounds, Flame Arrows / Lightning Arrow, Flame Arrows / Lightning Arrow, and more. These spells are an interesting mix of buffs and utility options with direct damage spells and healing options.
As you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the ranger spells you know and replace it with another spell from the ranger spell list. Spike Growth is one of the best early-game spells Rangers have access to that can accomplish this task, covering a 20-foot radius.
In summary, rangers are a versatile and capable class that can thrive in various environments. They possess a variety of spells, including Entangle, Searing Smite, Aid, Enhance Ability, Gust of Wind, Magic Weapon, Summon Beast, Elemental Weapon, and Meld.
📹 The Best Ranger Spells In D&D 5e
MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to …
Do Rangers have a spell focus?
It is not necessary for Rangers to possess a focus or component pouch in order to cast spells. In lieu of this, a component pouch is a requisite item. It should be noted that JavaScript may be disabled or blocked by an extension, and that not all browsers support cookies.
Can rangers have magic?
In 5e D and D, the Ranger class is considered a “Half-Caster”, meaning they are not magic-based like Wizards or Clerics. However, they have a lot of magic they can use. This may not align with some players’ visions of Rangers, who don’t have magic like characters like Aragorn or Robin Hood. To address this, some players can create mundane Ranger spells and flavor them to not be magical, pretending they are abilities. The spells are listed in a manner that suits the player’s vision, from mundane to more difficult. Some spells may not work, and the rules can still be followed.
Are ranger spells divine?
Divine spells represent a potent instrument at the disposal of clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers. In contrast to arcane or psionic abilities, which are predominantly shaped by deities or divine forces, divine spells derive their potency from a divine source.
Can a ranger learn a cantrip?
The Druidic Warrior class enables players to master two cantrips from the Druid spell list, which are considered to be ranger spells. Wisdom represents their capacity for spellcasting. As the character’s level increases, they may replace one of their cantrips with another spell from the Druid spell list. Dueling bestows a bonus of +2 to damage rolls with melee weapons and ranged attacks utilizing thrown weapons.
What spells can a ranger have in D&D?
The objective is to create a spell that lasts for one minute and encompasses a variety of magical elements, including a gust of wind, a healing spirit, conjuration, and abjuration. Additionally, the spell should include a component that allows for the instant divination of animals or plants.
Do Rangers use divine magic?
Divine magic, or the Power, is a form of magic granted by prayer to the gods and practitioners are known as divine spellcasters. It requires the Weave for function and cannot be directly manipulated. This type of magic is predominantly used by clerics, druids, rangers, paladins, and blackguards. Druids receive their power from their patron deities, but they often view it as coming from nature. Only deities with a direct connection to nature can provide spell power to druids. When using divine magic, a tangible feeling of appreciation is felt, depending on the practitioner’s patron.
What are 0 level spells?
Zero level spells are small, useful tricks that magic users can perform at will from their first level. They have a limited usage per level, meaning a 3rd-level Divine Spellcaster can use three zero level spells per day. These spells include Bleed, Bless, Daze, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Ghost Sound, Guidance, Heal Wound, Inflict Wound, Know Direction, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Purify Food and Drink, Ray of Frost, Sacred Flame, Spark, and Virtue.
What are the spells for level 1 ranger?
The first level spells include Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard. Players can start with equipment, wealth, armor, weapons, adventuring gear, tools, mounts, vehicles, trade goods, expenses, and Trinkets. Spells can be cast by name, school, source, casting time, range, duration, components, concentration, ritual spells, class list, and more. Players can add new spells and learn from their class list. Spells can be categorized by name, school, source, casting time, range, duration, components, concentration, ritual spells, and class list.
What type of spellcasting does a ranger use?
Wisdom is a spellcasting ability used for ranger spells, based on your attunement to nature. It is used when a spell refers to your spellcasting ability and when setting the saving throw DC for a ranger spell. At 2nd level, you can adopt a specific fighting style as your specialty, but you cannot take it more than once. The spell save DC and proficiency bonus are calculated using the Wisdom modifier.
Can a halfling be a ranger?
The Halfling and Ranger are closely related due to their strong connections to their home country and expertise in hunting their Favored Enemy. Halfling Rangers can build melee-oriented, range-oriented, or defensive fighters, with Archery or Dueling being the best choice for an all-around Ranger. They also have a wide range of spells that add flavor and utility to their arsenal. Rangers can become spell-oriented or weapon-oriented combatants, with specializations like Fey Wanderer, Gloom Stalker, and Horizon Walker.
The Rogue, with proficiency in various weapons, can easily acquire Finesse melee or ranged firearms and take advantage of their DEX bonus. Their skill proficiencies, such as stealth, sleight of hand, and acrobatics, make them masters of espionage. Their Expertise trait adds additional skills, potentially making them a jack-of-all-trades. Their innate Lucky feature allows them to redo attacks and Skill Checks, making them relevant to any situation.
The Halfling’s DEX bonus and small stature make their Traits tied to DEX, making them hard to hit. Uncanny Dodge, Evasion, Blind Sense, and Slippery Mind make them extremely hard to hit.
Can Rangers prepare spells?
The 5e Ranger Table, as presented in the PHB, indicates that a Ranger has Known Spells, signifying that they are privy to a predefined number of spells from their spell list. This differs from the approach observed in Clerics, who prepare spells from the entire list.
I really feel bad for Rangers when it comes to 5th level spells. Ranger: “I have studied the bow my entire life, my practice and devotion to my training allows me to perform the spell for Swift Quiver!” (Level 17) Bard: “I know my way around the bow, I found this neat spell called Swift Quiver that really makes it easier to shoot with it effectively” (Level 10)
I honestly kinda feel like Hunter’s Mark should be both a spell AND a class feature by tying it into Favored Enemy. Make it so that you gain the benefit of Hunter’s Mark against all foes that are your Favored Enemy. If you’re not fighting your Favored Enemy, you can still cast it like normal, but if you ARE fighting your Favored Enemy, it gives you a lot more freedom in your spell choices for that battle. Also, make it so you have a number of Favored Enemies equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1), to give extra importance to the stat.
Realistically the class variants UA tip toed around an important fact about hunters mark and ranger spells with concentration requirements. Concentration is a rule designed to keep the power level of full casters in check compared to all the other classes, and half casters should not have to worry about concentration on any of their class specific spells. The only legitimate reason so many ranger spells have concentration is because those spells are fair game for bards to pick up as spell secrets 5 to 8 levels before rangers get them naturally, and if they didn’t have concentration then some of them would be best in slot automatic picks. If you’re a DM and one of your players is a single class ranger you should seriously consider house ruling that they alone don’t need to worry about concentration. Trust me, it’s not going to come anywhere close to challenging the power levels of the full casters or the smite spam from the paladin.
Gonna be 100% brutally honest @everyone in the comments talking about the class variant features UA, it does NOT help the ranger that much. If you want a fairer comparison, You really have to ignore vanilla rangers entirely. Suuure getting to cast hunters mark a lot can be helpful, but compared to the bonuses you can get if you COMMUNICATE WITH THE DM when choosing the favored enemies with the REVISED RANGER, it’s much less powerful. Seriously can NOT understate how much better the ranger revised class is compared to literally anything else. There are definitely some nice things in the variant class features, but it realllly doesn’t help with the ranger’s problem of feeling pathetically weak at most stages of the game. Just play a revised ranger and swap out the primal awareness switch option and take spell versatility and you’ll be fine honest. Being able to cast hunter’s mark 5 times a day is not as good as proper DM communication.
it really hurts how much hunter’s mark invalidates what few spells ranger has just by being concentration. ranger has really cool spells now, but you can’t use any of them because they’re almost all concentration. when i read the new class variants i couldn’t believe my eyes when i saw the part saying hunter’s mark could not only be a natural spell that doesn’t count towards the ranger’s spell total with it’s own charges independent of spell slots but also that it *wouldn’t require concentration* (the side effect seemingly being that you would need burn another use of it when your target was defeated). i just wish the class variants did something to address ranger’s late game scaling absorb elements has saved my ass and my friend’s asses more times than i care to admit. really underrated spell cure wounds is good to take if your party lacks strong healing. otherwise, if you do decide to take it, be VERY *VERY* conservative about using or you’re gonna find yourself in fights as just a worse fighter zephyr strike is better than hunter’s mark if you’re committed to being a melee ranger… until you reach 5th level. after that it becomes a (still very useful) movement utility cordon of arrows is disgusting and there is nothing that says you can’t cast this spell multiple times in the same general area lightning arrow is great and the save is only associated with enemies around the intended target
If I get that far, I use Guardian of Nature over Hunter’s Mark. It’s just better. You have options, and you’re not locked into one target. You do still need to concentrate, which sucks, but as long as you take War Caster like a smart person, you’ll be guarding nature in no time. I usually play a melee ranger anyhow.
I’ve been playing a Githyanki Hunter Ranger with a greatsword and honestly it’s been amazing. It’s a fairly feat heavy build (War Caster, Great Weapon Master, Wizard Magic Initiate for Green-Flame Blade & Shield). With things like Hunter’s Mark and Zephr Strike alongside the features of the GWM feat (as well as Horde Breaker) my Gith is strong against large groups and tighted clustered enemies.
I disagree with Zephyr Strike at only 2. If you ever do decide to go melee ranger you have a minute long disengage, and 1 use of a dash & extra d8 and all it costs you is a bonus action and 1st level spell slot. When I play the class that spell is right next to hunter’s mark, sometimes even more advantageous.
I like the ranger thematically but wish they were more effective. Literally all we need is the god damn revised ranger. It made favored enemy feel actually helpful by making it do more damage and made you feel like an adept explorer with feasibly advantage. As well, xanathar subclasses having subclass spell lists were an amazing choice that helped amazingly.
I like ranger aesthetically, if you were to ignore its man many flaws its a fun class to roleplay and play ass just ignore the other classes who have better spell slots and will be able to cast more spells and reach their spell cap alot faster. Or the fighter who can action surge and hit as fast as you. But hey you got long range arrows to stick it up your enemies ass and if there is every a situation for it. Your survival skills might come in clutch.
Ranger is for when you don’t trust anyone you play with to have common sense. They can have healing spells, illusion spells, locate object, having just one ranger in your party covers every possible utility scenario when normally the responsibility would be split across the party. Also ranged combat with a meatshield in your party is kinda op. Quick edit: get magic initiate.
Currently playing a Ranger/Hunter with a sharpshooter feat. Zephyr Strike and Ensaring Strike are awesome spells to have, combined with the Colossus Slayer feature from the subclass. Dealt some solid damage so far with it. Genuinely enjoying playing as a ranger so far; only downside I see is most good spells (IMO) require concentration, so the limited use sucks.
After seeing the spells laid out I think I have an idea to make a better ranger. Arcane Quiver Magic item. It functions as a staff but for conjure volley, fire arrow, lighting arrow, and swift quiver. Give this to a ranger basically boost their spell slots, give this to any bow user, they get the best of ranger
You want to fix the ranger here is the quickest and easiest table rule Hunter’s Mark is a ranger exclusive cantrip you can keep the level 1 spell in the book as the non Ranger knock-off spell but for Rangers Hunter’s Mark is an ability that adds one D6 of damage to every successful attack and damaged scales adding one D6 at 5th, 11th and 17th level
Rangers are good up to around level 8 from PHB. After that they don’t really scale. They’ll be usable up to around 11, but then everyone else eclipses them. Gloomstalker lets them work at 12 since that “stalkers fury” is essentially a lvl 20 Epic boon in a class ability, but yeah, beyond 12 rangers from phb are not good and thats mostly their problem. If at say, 17 they got a third attack, they wouldn’t be a subpar fighter with a 1 warlock dip. (Although healing spirit is sooo broken.) If you use the UA ranger stuff though, ranger can be effective up to around 18th level, although since they get all this stuff at around level 10, so you gotta hope getting Swift Quiver is worth the deep ranger dive. For their spells, the best ranger spells DO NOT need your spellcasting mod, so you can ignore that stat for more important stuff like con/dex/whatever you need to mulitclass out of ranger unless your using UA stuff, then ywah, get them feats!
Played a Rogue/Ranger recently and while standing in the middle of a forest cast Locate Animals or Plants. In the MIDDLE OF A FOREST, trying to find a small animal to try and use for scouting. Like a squirrel or something. DM apparently wasn’t ready for that. “There’s uh… Um… Uh… Nothing? Yea you don’t sense anything. No animals at all in fact. Zero.” Me: We’re in a forest… DM: Mhmm. So we had the wizard run an arcana check of like 25 to check for magic. DM: Yea no magic. Just a forest. Literally nothing special. Me having done some math and double checked with a surface area calculator: The spell works within a circle going 5 miles in any direction. You’re telling me, this is just a random ass plain Jane forest WITH NO ANIMALS FOR A TOTAL OF 78.5 MILES AROUND US????? DM: Wait, that big?… Uh… Yea I’m committing to it.”
I think the best way to compare ranger spells would be with the Paladin. The only other martial half caster should be about even, but it isn’t unfortunately 🙁 The revised ranger is great. I think another possible bonus would be to give each conclave additional spells just like Paladins get Oath spells. And for a class that can’t swap spells on the fly this would be great.
Just give them a Ranger only magic bow early and they will be alright. I like to put a +1 / +2 vs Monstrosities and leave a missing magic gem that allows it to add some new stuff as they level up…like 4+1 charges of force arrows +1D8 (recharge daily) and / or 1x per day Lightning Arrow similar to the spell.
Davvy: Rangers don’t get cantrips Tiefling Ranger: giggles sure. Also certain backgrounds can give you a cantrip or two I believe the acolyte background gives you one or two and I might be mistaken but I think either The Gnome or the halfling also start with cantrips but I’m almost completely sure that the tiefling isn’t the only one