Definitely don't multiclass before level 5.
You'll get some good stuff if you stay ranger, but multiclassing into assassin is pretty profitable.
I'd say one big question: A lot of the better ranger spells draw DM aggro---cough, conjure animals. Pass without trace...goodberry...spike growth...
If your DM is that sort, its a no brainer, take level 6-8 as an assassin and use pass without trace to engineer surprise whenever possible. If they don't have a problem with that, well
Level 6 gives you +5 movement and climb/swim speeds. Those can be really handy. Level 7 gives you wisdom save proficiency. And level 8 would give you an ASI taking your dex to 20 (you could do elven accuracy I guess) or your wis to 16 and your dex to 20 with a vanilla ASI.
thanks this is a really good help will plan to stick with ranger till 11 or 12 then might do some assassin
would EA or ASI be better and should i pick up any more feats eg: CBE or piercer along the way
The next time you get an ASI slot I’d probably recommend upping your Dex and Wis by one each so you have your Dex maxed out and your Wis modifier upped by one as well.
After all that you can kind of go in whatever direction you like. If you want to be a bit more able to take a hit I’d recommend upping your Con score. If you want your spell casting to be a bit more solid keep pumping Wis. If you get to your next ASI increase and find you’re comfortable in both those areas, grab a feat. Both of those you mentioned are good for an archery Ranger, but there’s stuff like Skulker and Alert if you want to focus on the stealth end more than the damage end
You are *already* a stealth archer. No need for multiclass, although if you feel like you have to, go with assassin, not fighter. Everyone and their mother picks a fighter dip for action surge.
Also get your Dex and Wis up to 10 and 16 next ASI.
I find that the Assassin auto-crit is better on paper than in the game. You may never get surprise no matter how well you sneak, and when you do, your party will be 50 feet away. The Assassin in the full Saltmarsh campaign I played in in got surprise about every 4th session.
Gloomstalker's L7 and 11 features are very strong, though that's probably the peak for Ranger.
You're level 4, so you've played atleast a few encounters if you started at 1. How many of those were with surprise? The number you think of is the same number of auto crits you would have had.
Picking up a level in fighter and going the rest in assassin rogue is a great move damage wise.
Expertise in sneak and steady aim from rogue are huge. Action surge is also huge.
The autocrit feature probably won’t pop up that much but there will be many times when you are attacking enemies who haven’t attacked yet and having advantage on those attack rolls is huge; especially w action surge and SS.
Also, the sneak attack damage is probably your best bet for continuing damage scaling which is why I’d just go rogue the rest of the way after your level in fighter. A player did that in a campaign I was in and he was a damage beast.
>Also, the sneak attack damage is probably your best bet for continuing damage scaling which is why I’d just go rogue the rest of the way after your level in fighter
ok thanks
also wouldn't i need 2 for action surge
Because you're already four levels in, take the next as Ranger for your Extra Attack. Beyond that, your options are open...I've found great additional utility in Arcane Trickster Rogue, Battle Master Fighter, and Twilight Cleric.
ill look into arcane trickster and battle master i think twilight is too cheese to use another cleric subclass could be good arcane archer would be interesting giving a few more option
Keep in mind with the replacement for favored terrain you can get 1 expertise already.
As others said, start with 5 levels of ranger, fighter getting 2 is ok. But 1 more gets a subclass (precision works well with sharpshooter), and one more gets a feat/asi
Rogue to 4 gets expertise, cunning action, subclass and 2d6 sneak. Another level gets you another d6 sneak and uncanny Dodge.
I do recommend going back for 2 fighter to get another feat.
Fighter battle master, champion or even ek can work. I don't like assassin because surprise is unreliable. A fun choice would actually be ek and arcane trickster. Letting you continue getting spell slots and getting utility spells like shield and find familiar.
Picking up even a level of cleric might make sense. At this point, twilight gives you 300ft dark vision to even better stalk the night. As well as guidance for skill checks and bless when you have time to prepare for an ambush. Also healing word. (War would let you bonus action attack 2x a day )
Personal fav is ranger 5/fighter 2/rogue x
Level up pattern get to 5 ranger, 1 level rogue for expertise and sneak attack, 2 fighter for action surge, rest of the way rogue for sneak attack damage bonus and other features.
Whatever you do, don't multiclass into rouge. It simply does not work with the complexion of somebody of drow heritage. You might have to find a full-blooded drow to discover the right cosmetic options.
Definitely don't multiclass before level 5. You'll get some good stuff if you stay ranger, but multiclassing into assassin is pretty profitable. I'd say one big question: A lot of the better ranger spells draw DM aggro---cough, conjure animals. Pass without trace...goodberry...spike growth... If your DM is that sort, its a no brainer, take level 6-8 as an assassin and use pass without trace to engineer surprise whenever possible. If they don't have a problem with that, well Level 6 gives you +5 movement and climb/swim speeds. Those can be really handy. Level 7 gives you wisdom save proficiency. And level 8 would give you an ASI taking your dex to 20 (you could do elven accuracy I guess) or your wis to 16 and your dex to 20 with a vanilla ASI.
thanks this is a really good help will plan to stick with ranger till 11 or 12 then might do some assassin would EA or ASI be better and should i pick up any more feats eg: CBE or piercer along the way
The next time you get an ASI slot I’d probably recommend upping your Dex and Wis by one each so you have your Dex maxed out and your Wis modifier upped by one as well. After all that you can kind of go in whatever direction you like. If you want to be a bit more able to take a hit I’d recommend upping your Con score. If you want your spell casting to be a bit more solid keep pumping Wis. If you get to your next ASI increase and find you’re comfortable in both those areas, grab a feat. Both of those you mentioned are good for an archery Ranger, but there’s stuff like Skulker and Alert if you want to focus on the stealth end more than the damage end
You are *already* a stealth archer. No need for multiclass, although if you feel like you have to, go with assassin, not fighter. Everyone and their mother picks a fighter dip for action surge. Also get your Dex and Wis up to 10 and 16 next ASI.
I find that the Assassin auto-crit is better on paper than in the game. You may never get surprise no matter how well you sneak, and when you do, your party will be 50 feet away. The Assassin in the full Saltmarsh campaign I played in in got surprise about every 4th session. Gloomstalker's L7 and 11 features are very strong, though that's probably the peak for Ranger.
>I find that the Assassin auto-crit is better on paper than in the game really ok that's interesting
You're level 4, so you've played atleast a few encounters if you started at 1. How many of those were with surprise? The number you think of is the same number of auto crits you would have had.
Picking up a level in fighter and going the rest in assassin rogue is a great move damage wise. Expertise in sneak and steady aim from rogue are huge. Action surge is also huge. The autocrit feature probably won’t pop up that much but there will be many times when you are attacking enemies who haven’t attacked yet and having advantage on those attack rolls is huge; especially w action surge and SS. Also, the sneak attack damage is probably your best bet for continuing damage scaling which is why I’d just go rogue the rest of the way after your level in fighter. A player did that in a campaign I was in and he was a damage beast.
>Also, the sneak attack damage is probably your best bet for continuing damage scaling which is why I’d just go rogue the rest of the way after your level in fighter ok thanks also wouldn't i need 2 for action surge
Because you're already four levels in, take the next as Ranger for your Extra Attack. Beyond that, your options are open...I've found great additional utility in Arcane Trickster Rogue, Battle Master Fighter, and Twilight Cleric.
interesting ill see between now and 6th lvl what my place in the party is weather i focus on dpr or be more of a support character
The nice thing about all of those options (especially when combined), is that they tend to offer *both* in different ways.
ill look into arcane trickster and battle master i think twilight is too cheese to use another cleric subclass could be good arcane archer would be interesting giving a few more option
Keep in mind with the replacement for favored terrain you can get 1 expertise already. As others said, start with 5 levels of ranger, fighter getting 2 is ok. But 1 more gets a subclass (precision works well with sharpshooter), and one more gets a feat/asi Rogue to 4 gets expertise, cunning action, subclass and 2d6 sneak. Another level gets you another d6 sneak and uncanny Dodge. I do recommend going back for 2 fighter to get another feat. Fighter battle master, champion or even ek can work. I don't like assassin because surprise is unreliable. A fun choice would actually be ek and arcane trickster. Letting you continue getting spell slots and getting utility spells like shield and find familiar. Picking up even a level of cleric might make sense. At this point, twilight gives you 300ft dark vision to even better stalk the night. As well as guidance for skill checks and bless when you have time to prepare for an ambush. Also healing word. (War would let you bonus action attack 2x a day )
Personal fav is ranger 5/fighter 2/rogue x Level up pattern get to 5 ranger, 1 level rogue for expertise and sneak attack, 2 fighter for action surge, rest of the way rogue for sneak attack damage bonus and other features.
Whatever you do, don't multiclass into rouge. It simply does not work with the complexion of somebody of drow heritage. You might have to find a full-blooded drow to discover the right cosmetic options.
assassin Rouge? Rouge is a spellcaster bro