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There was "The Ranger, Revised" pdf in the 2016 playtest material. A Beastmaster Ranger was considered the weakest class by many GMs and players, which apparently caused the need for a "revised" version.

However, I've never heard how exactly the playtesting ended. Googling "ranger revised" gives me the same 2016 pdf and nothing more.

What happened to the "revised" ranger from the Unearthed Arcana? Was it renamed from "revised" to something else? Was it published in any official source book, changed or unchanged? (I don't have access to all of them so I can't check it myself for now) Or was it abandoned by WoTC?

This is a technical duplicate of this question, which was answered in 2017, but things probably changed in 2021, so that accepted answer doesn't answer the question anymore.

Also, I'm asking about Beastmaster Ranger specifically, which could be changed/revised in latter source books (XGtE,TCoE, whatever) as an additional Ranger archetype.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Seems like a bounty to that would be better than reasking, probably should close as a dupe \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Feb 19, 2021 at 19:28
  • \$\begingroup\$ Are you specifically looking for the Ranger beastmaster? There have been a few ranger variants to hit UA. \$\endgroup\$
    – JohnP
    Feb 19, 2021 at 19:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ @JohnP I'm asking about Beasmaster primarily \$\endgroup\$
    – enkryptor
    Feb 19, 2021 at 19:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ @NautArch does narrowing it down to Beastmaster make it a better question? \$\endgroup\$
    – enkryptor
    Feb 19, 2021 at 19:35
  • \$\begingroup\$ Honestly not sure, but you're getting relevant answers so /shrug! \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Feb 19, 2021 at 20:00

2 Answers 2

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The "Ranger, Revised" was never fully incorporated. It remains one of the few UA articles that I see as having real value, and which I use in my world.

It usefully revised the PHB ranger archetypes of Hunter and Beast Master, plus added a new one of Deep Stalker.

Later books added several new archetypes, which were better designed and fixed many of the original problems. The Gloom Stalker in the Xanathar's Guide is similar to the Deep Stalker in the UA article, but better designed.

So, in my world, if you choose to be a Ranger, you need to have some idea of what archetype you're going to pick at 3rd level. If you're going to pick Hunter or Beast Master, I'll let you use the "Ranger, Revised" template. If you're going to pick any of the others, you'll use the standard Ranger template.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Have to say that I've seen the Revised Hunter in action and it's close to OP in many ways in my opinion. I'm not sure I'd let someone pick it again - did you have a different experience? But also, that part doesn't seem to answer the question and may not be necessary to include. \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Feb 19, 2021 at 20:03
  • \$\begingroup\$ The revised ranger is good. But compared to, say, the barbarian or the paladin? I don't see them as overpowered at ALL. \$\endgroup\$
    – PhilB
    Feb 20, 2021 at 0:58
  • \$\begingroup\$ You may have had a different table experience :) Just when I saw it used it was quite powerful. \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Feb 20, 2021 at 1:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ They are powerful. But most classes are if played well. I've been playing with, and DMing for, revised rangers since it came out, and have not found them to be unbalanced. \$\endgroup\$
    – PhilB
    Feb 20, 2021 at 6:43
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Unfortunately not truly. However, we got something close in Tasha's magic paintbrush-- erm, Cauldron of Everything, with the "Optional Features" for ranger and other classes.

The only time we've seen a class revision added to a sourcebook was once again, in Tasha's with Artificer.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Still doesn't revise beastmaster afaik \$\endgroup\$
    – Korpse
    Feb 19, 2021 at 19:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ I believe Tasha's does change Beastmaster by allowing your companion to attack on a bonus action. \$\endgroup\$
    – Nick
    Feb 19, 2021 at 19:40
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    \$\begingroup\$ @JohnP - it replaces the feature that gives a beast companion with a primal companion kind of feature, which includes a way to use your bonus action to command it to attack. \$\endgroup\$
    – RallozarX
    Feb 19, 2021 at 19:49
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    \$\begingroup\$ @RallozarX - Thanks for the clarification, I haven't read it that closely yet. \$\endgroup\$
    – JohnP
    Feb 19, 2021 at 19:50
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    \$\begingroup\$ @enkryptor From Tasha's: Primal Companion 3rd-level Beast Master feature, which replaces the Ranger’s Companion feature \$\endgroup\$
    – Nick
    Feb 22, 2021 at 11:14

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