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Despite the Ranger’s reputation as an underpowered class inDungeons & Dragons, the Gloom Stalker Ranger is one of the most feared builds in the entirety of the game. The synergy and power of the Gloom Stalker Ranger’s subclass features is difficult to overstate.
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In fact, they’re so powerful that the Gloom Stalker is easily a contender for the subclass capable of dealing the most damage, especially on its first turn. If you are interested in taking up an assassin-like character who can down enemies before they even get a chance to retaliate, look no further than this build.
Species
As with nearly all optimized builds, either Variant Human or Tasha’s Custom Lineage are required here to ensure you gain access to a feat at level 1.
That being said,many tables allow thehomebrewrule of a free feat at first level.If this is the case at your table, other powerful species options include Tabaxi, Elf, Feral Tiefling, Halfling, Grung, Goblin, Kobold, and Aarakocra.
All of these species choices provide a +2 bonus to Dexterity which is our primary ability score.Additionally, each one comes with its own unique benefits which can modify your playstyle or insulate you from certain types of harm.
For example,the Halfling’s Brave feature will help you immensely against the Frightened conditionwhilethe Aarakocra’s flight will keep you safe from opponents who rely on melee attacks.
Always be sure tocheck with your DM (Dungeon Master)when selecting your species.
Some DMs don’t allow certain speciesat their tables or in specific campaign settings they’re running.
Ability Scores
As mentioned above, Dexterity is our primary ability score and the only one you need to worry about increasing over the course of your character’s career.
However, it’s also important to hit certain numbers in some other ability scores for the purposes of multiclassing later on. Namely,you need 13 Wisdom to dip one level into Cleric and 13 Charisma if you desire taking Warlock levels in the later parts of the game.
The Gloom Stalker Ranger isone of the most customizable multiclassesin the game and offers a couple of different build options that are similarly powerful.
If you don’t wish to take levels in Warlock,feel free to dump your Charisma score.
Below is a table that shows what your starting ability scores should look like. Your mileage on achieving these scores may vary based on what method of ability score generation you’re using.
Suffice to say, meeting a score of16 Dexterity, 14 Wisdom, and 14 Constitution should be your primary goals.
9
16
14
8
13
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Feats
As with all optimized martial builds,a large portion of the Gloom Stalker Ranger’s power comes from itsaccess to feats.
The two feats responsible for this power increase areCrossbow Expert and Sharpshooter.At first level, you’ll want to pick upCrossbow Expertto prevent melee enemies from imposing disadvantage on ranged attacks, while also giving you access to a reliable bonus action attack.
Once you unlock your first ASI (Ability Score Increase) at level 4, takeSharpshooterto significantly increase your damage output thanks to the power attack feature, which gives you a -5 penalty to hit in exchange for +10 damage on a successful attack.
Thanks to the Archery fighting style and fairly consistent advantage on attacks due to either Surprise or our Umbral Sight Gloom Stalker subclass ability,the -5 penalty to hit is almost entirely offset.
In other words,you want to use power attack against just about every enemy aside from those with an exceedingly high AC (Armor Class).
Cleric & Fighter Levels
The Gloom Stalker Ranger will take multiclass dips into both Cleric and Fighter in order tomaximize its utility and first round damage output.One level of Life Cleric is taken at level 6 in order to give our party access to the all powerful healing ofLifeberries.
This is a community name for the combination of the First level Ranger spell Goodberry with the Life Cleric’s Disciple of Life subclass ability.This combo allows each of your Goodberries to heal for four hit points instead of one.
As you’re able to create ten Goodberries that last 24 hours with each casting of the spell,Lifeberries provide an unmatched amount of outside of combat healing.
Meanwhile, the Fighter levels are taken in order to give us access toAction Surge as well as Battlemaster maneuvers once you hit Fighter 3.
The Precision Attack maneuver makes it so thatpower attacking with Sharpshooter is nearly guaranteed to hit against any enemy. Maneuvers also increase our overall damage by a handful of d8s, which is a welcome boon.
Other maneuvers such asTrip Attack, Disarming Attack, and Maneuvering Attackgive you combat utility in case you’re able to’t finish off your target.
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Multiclassing Level Progression
There are a couple of different options for leveling your Gloom Stalker. The Hexblade Warlock multiclass buildprioritizes additional survivability and consistency, while the Rogue multiclass focus looks totake full advantage of the Surprised condition earlier in the game.
Below you’ll see a table detailing these two different progressions. If you’re interested in the Rogue focus, be aware that this buildrelies heavily on the DM’s interpretation of Surprised,which is often a highly variable condition from table to table.
The Arcane Trickster Rogue subclass is a great alternative optionfor additional spellcasting and utility if the Assassin subclass won’t work well in your DM’s game.
The Assassin Rogue subclass needs toreliably impose the Surprised condition on its enemiesto effectively make use of its Assassinate ability, so check with your DM on how they run Surprised before committing to this build.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
10
11
12
13 - 20
Rogue
Spells
Perhaps the most important boon that the Gloom Stalker Ranger offers to its party is the constant casting of the Second level spellPass Without Trace.
Thanks to the +10 stealth bonus this spell provides to party members,Pass Without Trace makes surprising enemies many times easier than it realistically should be. Needless to say, your primary spellcasting job is maintaining concentration on Pass Without Trace.
Other than turning your party into an ambushing machine, you’ll use your remaining spell slots tocast Goodberry at the end of each adventuring dayand provide your party with additional utility when necessary.
Other important spells to pick up includeHealing Word, Absorb Elements, Speak With Animals, Longstrider, and Detect Magic.
If you go theWarlock dip progression, you will alsogain access to the powerful Shield spellas a defensive reaction as well asExpeditious Retreatin case you ever find yourself in a position where you must retreat.
Optimized Play
What makes the Gloom Stalker Ranger such an impressive build is its ability toeliminate even the most dangerous foes before they get a chance to take a turn.
For this reason, you shouldalways aim to use Action Surge on your first turn of combat in important fightsas it combos with your Dread Ambusher Gloom Stalker feature to provide two additional attacks.
This results ina total of seven attacks on your first turn of combat by level 9.Due to Sharpshooter providing +10 damage to each of these attack rolls, that’s more than enough to take down most enemies before they get a chance to move.
Don’t be surprised when yourDM ratchets up the encounter difficultyin response to you bringing such a powerful character to their table.
