Among the twelve basic classes inDungeons & Dragons,the ranger has always been viewed as one of the weakest options. Part of this reputation comes from its lackluster first-level abilities and the slow progression it gets per level in the original rules. Another part of it comes from the two subclasses the ranger could choose from in the2014 Player’s Handbook: the hunter and the beastmaster.
While the hunter is a somewhat effective but bland choice, the beastmaster attracted many new players with the idea ofworking side by side with an animal companion. It’s a common fantasy trope, and for a good reason, since it is a fun and versatile character option in theory. Onlythe 2014 beastmaster was plagued with inefficiencies and mechanical downsidesthat made the subclass a common choice for the weakest option in the TTPRG. It has needed official improvements for years, and with the new2024 Player’s Handbook,it gets them.
Ranger’s Companion Versus Primal Companion
Alterations To Beastmaster’s Core Ability
The2024 version of rangersbenefits frommany changes that have been unofficially available for a while now, through Unearthed Arcana and fan-made content. The biggest changes from the 2014 rules are the revisions to the classes' 3rd-level ability, where the beastmaster gets their animal companion; or, as it is now called, primal companion. Whereas once, beastmasters chose from among a list of low-power beasts for their sidekick, nowthey choose one of three base stat blocks that can apply to any number of different animals.
What Is The Strongest Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranger Subclass?
Ranking the abilities provided by the ranger subclasses to determine whether the hunter, beastmaster, or gloomstalker is the most powerful.
The stat blocks are calledthe beast of the land, beast of the sky, and beast of the sea. Each includes the ability scores and actions that the primal companion can take. The idea here is that players can decide what animal they want to adventure with but still maintain a level of power and balance to keep up with other characters. A beast of the land could be a dog, a bear, a dinosaur; the options are up to the player and DM, but the stats work the same.
Beast of the Land
Beast of the Sky
Beast of the Sea
5 + Ranger level x 5
4 + Ranger Level x 4
5 + Ranger Level x 5
Damage per hit
1d8 + 2 + Wisdom mod
1d4 + 3 + Wisdom mod
1d6 + 2 + Wisdom mod
Climbing speed
Flyby, flying speed
Amphibious, swimming speed, extra darkvision
Extra effects
Charges for extra damage and knocking enemies prone
Grapples on a hit
The stat blocks improve with the ranger’s level and proficiency bonus, gaining more hit points and higher damage. The previous beastmaster did this as well, though to a lesser extent. In addition,the new beastmaster can restore life to its animal companion using spell slotsor choose a new one during a long rest; the old version could lose its companion permanently, and had to actually find a new existing beast to get a new one.
Beastmaster & The Action Economy
The Real Problem With D&D’s 2014 Beastmaster, And How It Got Fixed
All of those changes are nice to improve the beast’s durability, but thereal problem with the 2014 beastmasteris that it took an action to command the animal companion to make it do anything besides move or dodge. This meant thatit was directly competing with the ranger’s own actions and limiting what the character themselves could be doingquite a bit, especially at early levels. Later on, beastmasters could use one of their two attacks to command the beast to attack, or use a bonus action to command it to dash, help, or disengageonly if it did not attack.
Given the fact that many of the beast options weren’t very powerful on their own, exchanging the ranger’s whole turn to let this companion attack usually meant a lower damage output. If beastmasters chose not to have their companion take actions, they were essentially left without a subclass.
Because of this, many experienced players avoided this subclass like the plague. Unless they had a really powerful beast companion,it was almost always better to be using the ranger themselves to take attacks or cast spellsthan to use up actions giving commands. It was a simple problem that held the beastmaster back for years, but the primal companion feature fixes this quite easily.
Within the new rules,beastmasters can use their bonus action from the start to command the beastto do anything from attacking to dashing to helping, and that alone makes the subclass much more viable. Beyond that, they can still substitute one of their attacks to have the beast attack, in addition to using their bonus action to give a command, which means the beast can be doing a whole lot more than before every turn.
Additional Improvements To The Beastmaster Are Icing On The Cake
A Few More Features To Top Off The 2024 Renovation
Beyond that major change, the beastmaster gets a few other improvements. At level 7,they can use their bonus action to command the beast to take two actions, as long as one of them is dash, disengage, dodge, or help. The beast gets an extra attack later on, just like in the original rules, but now players can choose to make the attacks deal force damage and add extra damage to enemies that are affected byhunter’s mark.
Many of the ranger’s class features in the2024 Player’s Handbookrevolve around hunter’s mark, amping its damage, taking its concentration requirement, and more. While this shift in focus may narrow players' choices with the class, it is nice to at least see some hunter’s mark synergy with the primal companion.
The last beastmaster feature, share spells, works the same as it did originally,allowing the beats to share in the spell effects of anything the ranger casts on themselves.All in all, these changes do much toimprove both the ranger’s reputationand the viability of this classic subclass. It may still not stand up to something like the gloomstalker in terms of sheer damage, but with these new rules,Dungeons & Dragonsfans should finally be able to experience the beastmaster the way they wished to back when it first debuted.
