D&D 5E Guide: How To Multiclass – Rangers
Multiclassing in Dungeons & Dragons adds versatility to any character. But how do you multiclass as a wilderness-stalking ranger? Let us help.
Rangers are one of the more popular classes in smaller parties because rangers, in their own way, already embody the elements of multiple classes. Blending the martial power of a fighter with the nature-focused magic of a druid, rangers can fill a number of roles at once, focusing on dealing damage, healing party members, and on occasion, casting spells to do something else.
But what happens when you decide to layer on multiclassing? It can get tricky–but if you do it right, there’s a lot you can pull off.
Rangers are weirdly well suited to multiclassing because a lot of their power comes from specific levels. Multiclassing out of ranger means you’ll need a dexterity and wisdom of 13, but if you’re playing a ranger the “default way” you’ll have those anyway. That said, it will mean your options are a little limited depending on what your other stats are–obviously if you’re rolling stats things can be different, but if you’re using the standard array, you’ll want to be careful where your stats go because your build might depend on where your ability score boosts go.
Even with all that in mind, a ranger can be a great choice to play around with. Let’s take a look at some popular options.
One-punch Ranger
One of the strongest partnerships for a ranger is something that lets them deliver one (or sometimes slightly more than one) extremely powerful punch. This is because rangers, at their core, are designed to deliver a single powerful blow. At 3rd level, most ranger subclasses grant you some ability that gives you extra damage on an attack whether it’s the hunter’s colossus slayer or the monster hunter’s slayer’s prey. Many of these stack with one of the ranger’s signature spells: Hunter’s Mark. To that end, if you can pick up a class that helps you front-load a lot of damage on a single strike, it’s a great combo with a ranger.
Rangers and rogues are a classic combo. Even just a single level in rogue is great for a ranger–you get sneak attacks, expertise, and all of it relies on your dexterity. You can kind of fluctuate between the two, depending on whether you want to pump your sneak attack damage or learn more spells and, in general, have more hit points. But with Hunter’s Mark and the class features of things like the Gloom Stalker or Monster Hunter, you’ll be dealing out tons of damage.
Rangers and fighters are another good match, though for wildly different reasons. Rangers rely on their attack action to deal damage, fighters are full of ways to make a basic attack go much further. With a ranger and fighter combo, you can rely on action surge to give you more attacks to boost the damage output of your Hunter’s Mark. With dual wield and extra attack, you can crank out many powerful hits. Or, with a battlemaster fighter, you can add in the staying power of maneuvers. You might also benefit from arcane archer, though you’ll have limited power with that class–it’ll count when it lands though.
Rangers and paladins are tricky, to say the least. They’re the most multiple ability-dependent (MAD) combo you can get out of this bunch. You need all of the following: a Dexterity, Strength, Charisma, and Wisdom at a 13 or more to make this combo work. This is possible, but you’ll want to know exactly where you’re going to focus. Combining something like Smite with a ranger’s extra damage and hunter’s mark can be pretty spicy, especially since you can use the “magical fighting styles” to supplement your spell lists.
Multiclass Mastery
Outside of delivering powerful attacks, there are plenty of other things you can get out of multiclassing as a ranger. These other options help highlight just how versatile the ranger is on its own because they can help play up the hidden strengths of a ranger.
Rangers and clerics can work exceptionally well together. You can pick one of the “martial domains”, which is to say any cleric that gets heavy armor proficiency or divine strike at 8th level. Nature cleric, fittingly enough, is one of the better examples. You can really play to theme here, with powerful spellcasting options from two unique spell lists. Alternatively, you can double down on the cleric’s spellcasting abilities and go full “gish”. Just pick one of the spellcasting styles and using Shillelagh as a cantrip to make all of your fighting Wisdom-based.
Rangers and druids are worth mentioning for similar reasons as clerics. The subclasses play very well together, though focusing on ranger means that subclasses that want to have druid levels (like the circle of the moon) aren’t necessarily the best. Pick Circle of the Lands or Dreams and supplement your spellcasting power to become a magical bastion on the battlefield.
Rangers and barbarians are cut out of magic entirely but can be resilient like no other. With access to powerful defensive spells from the ranger list and a barbarian’s rage, you can buff yourself up, deal out pretty extensive damage, and just really let loose. It’s a strange, primal mix, but it can work with the right barbarian subclass. Something like Path of the Totem Warrior or Path of the Zealot works especially well with what the ranger has to offer. But you’ll probably want to trade your Dex in for Strength-focused melee mastery.
D&D 5E Ranger Guide
Happy Adventuring, and let us know your favorite ranger multiclass builds in the comments!
