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Welcome to the survivalist’s guide to the best feats for Rangers in D&D 5e; I’ll reveal the premium feats to acclimate your Ranger to the harshest scenarios of your TTRPG. Feats are powerful customizations when coupled wisely with class abilities. Some feats are better than others, so I’ll direct you to Ranger feats that are worth your character’s time to learn.
Feats are spread out through several books, slowing the selection process for 5e’s best Ranger feats. I’m guiding your Ranger to the best feats and weeding out the worst. My feat recommendations come from officially published sources, such as the PHB, TCoE, XGtE, etc.
While I have your attention, I want to point out that Rangers are not bad characters. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything improved the Ranger class, but they were fine before the improvements. Beast Masters were the exception because they were not usable to the average player. The D&D community has embraced memes about Rangers being bad, but Rangers are fine. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!
How to Select Feats for Your Ranger
The Ranger class is MAD: Multiple Ability (Score) Dependent, meaning Rangers want 2-3 ability scores to be relatively high to take full advantage of their class abilities. Rangers typically want high Dexterity (sometimes Strength) for offense, Constitution for defense, and Wisdom for spellcasting/subclass features. This dependence on ability scores will make it difficult to justify taking a feat if it is numerically better to boost a stat by two. Feats that increase stats will be extra crucial to a Ranger.
Rangers possess various bonus action options, so feats that do not use bonus actions are preferred to avoid crowding the action economy. Using a bonus action isn’t a deal-breaker, though.
It’s common for Rangers to multiclass because high-level Ranger features are notoriously blah. My recommendations focus on the Ranger class, not the many multiclass combinations available. I’d welcome suggestions for overlooked feats that become worthwhile with a particular multiclass concept.
Top 10 Ranger Feats of D&D 5e
Unlike other classes that I’ve provided feat guides for, I narrowed the Ranger to a top ten list of feats. While other feats may suit your character, these ten feats should be strongly considered for an effective Ranger build if you don’t need +2 stat boosts. Some feats become more effective when coupled with others, so watch for synergies. Several feats on this list become unnecessary if you pick some of the others.
While my recommendations will help you identify feats that suit a typical Ranger, don’t shy away from feats that make your Ranger unique. As long as you know what you’re getting into, you can have fun with many feat options.
With the premise out of the way, here are my top ten feats for Rangers in D&D 5e!
#10 Infernal Constitution
Tieflings can take this feat to gain cold and poison damage resistance while boosting their Constitution. If your Tiefling Ranger has an odd Constitution stat, even it out with Infernal Constitution. Having cold damage resistance is especially helpful if you head to an arctic climate since you won’t have to roll to see if you handle the cold well. You’ll acclimate to chilly temperatures like a proper Ranger.
#9 Fey Touched
This is one of my favorite new feats because it allows you to grab useful spells and boost a stat. The common choices for spells I’d recommend include Bless, Gift of Alacrity, and Silvery Barbs.
#8 Elven Accuracy
Elven Accuracy is only selectable by Elves, but it’s a favorite of many D&D players. However, I didn’t place it higher because it’s preferable to increase your Dexterity. If you need to even out an odd Dexterity stat (or Wisdom), this is a great choice; however, you’ll likely be accurate enough to land hits with regular advantage (I’ve seen the math). Besides, I can’t guarantee you’ll have advantage frequently to use Elven Accuracy. Elven Accuracy would be more helpful if Rangers could deal massive damage with critical hits, but their crits are standard.
#7 Mobile
You might not need this feat if you choose my #1 feat option, but Mobile can help you kite enemies and stay away from trouble. You don’t want enemies getting close to you when you’re a ranged attacker, but melee attackers will eventually get in your grill. At that point, you can attack the assailant once with disadvantage then move away freely without needing to Disengage. You might outpace them since your movement speed increases. Mobile is great for avoiding lockdown tactics.
#6 Lucky
Kind of like Tough, I know Lucky is dull. It’s undeniably handy as an ace up your sleeve if you fail a saving throw or miss a crucial attack. Lucky can also effectively convert your attacks that have disadvantage into attacks with advantage. If you haven’t chosen my “better” feat recommendations, or if you’re at a high level and are happy with your stats, Lucky is fantastic.
#5 Piercer
I want to premise this one by pointing out that it barely made this list. The reason it’s relevant is the +1 to Dexterity and the damage type’s relevance for an archer. Only select this feat if you have an odd Dexterity stat to even out.
Regardless, you’ll enjoy the rerolls that Piercer grants you from time to time. Critical hits will feel more substantial, too.
#4 Alert
Going first in combat is critical, and Rangers make excellent strikers for focusing down enemies. Gloom Stalkers (from XGtE) are especially good at precision assassinations. It would also be unbecoming of a Ranger to be caught off guard, so Alert prevents that.
#3 Resilient (Con/Wis)
Gaining proficiency with Constitution or Wisdom saving throws is incredible for a Ranger. Those are essential saving throws to pass, and they commonly occur in the game.
Gloom Stalkers will select Constitution with Resilient because they already enjoy Iron Mind’s subclass feature that gives them proficiency with Wisdom saves. You can find Gloom Stalkers in XGtE.
#2 Sharpshooter
Sharpshooter is the damage boost you need! It increases your long-range accuracy by allowing you to attack without disadvantage beyond the weapon’s normal range. Ignoring partial cover is critical in crowds where your allies may get in the way of your clean shot.
I love the Ranger as a sniper. Taking the Archery Fighting Style helps mitigate the -5 to attack rolls, effectively reducing the penalty to -3. I can recommend this feat without reservation for Rangers because it doesn’t clash with their other abilities.
#1 Crossbow Expert
The best Ranger options involve attacking from range. It’s in the name of the class! Crossbow Expert gives you a bonus action to attack when you hold a hand crossbow, and it pairs amazingly with Sharpshooter. Recommending Crossbow Expert is tricky because Rangers already have dynamic bonus action economies, but Crossbow Expert is a standard choice and a golden standard for a feat. It’s fantastic at level one if you are a variant human or custom lineage character.
Ranger subclasses that clash with Crossbow Expert are the Monster Slayer and Horizon Walker (from XGtE). They like to use their bonus actions already, even if they’re less lethal than CBE + Sharpshooter. I understand if you want to use a longbow or other ranged weapon, especially if you want to be a long-range sniper.
If you doubt whether CBE is better than other bonus actions from the Ranger, you might enjoy the math from Pack Tactics’ YouTube video on the topic. He and his friends know their stuff and put a lot of effort into objectively analyzing the numbers of D&D 5e.
Conclusion
Crossbow Expert + Sharpshooter is the apex combination Rangers should consider. They’re not required, but you’ll be delighted with your character’s effectiveness in combat with these feats. Selecting supplementary feats like Alert and Resilient will further round out your character.
While my recommendations for Ranger feats are grounded in experience, game mechanics, and metagame knowledge, I recognize the subjective nature of feat recommendations. I attempted to explain assumptions and subjective points, but I welcome feedback on my blind spots. I’m confident that you’ve learned how to choose Ranger feats wisely by exploring my summary.
Tell me, which feats have I treated unfairly? In the comments section below, cast Message to communicate your thoughts. If you certainly agree with my recommendations or passionately disagree, I’d love to hear your ideas. I’m always learning more about this complex game. Thank you again for reading. I hope you’ll share this article with your friends to get a discussion started.
Before you go, your Passive Perception has shown you secret passageways to discover more content about feats and character concepts!
Loving the series.
Added to my Blog Database.
What about the gunner feat, for those who want their ranger to have a firearm?
Any character who wants to use firearms will probably do well to pick the Gunner feat.