Ranger Beastmaster Style

[Sun Wukong]

My rangers do not have extend spell feat because I've never felt the need for it. Anyhow, about the point of spending feats to get things like Rapid Shot, etc, you would first have to get Point Blank Shot (1 feat), Rapid Shot (2 feats), Manyshot (3 feats), Improved Rapid Shot (4 feats), One Shot (5 feats), oh and you also need to have high dexterity to qualify for these feats. While Natural Bond and Epic Animal companion are just two feats, which today require no ability score investment in wisdom. Thus mechanically speaking, I do not see a reason for anyone to go for Beastmaster Style... You can literally get more by going for something else.


As for the two-weapon variant:
The build I posted had Favored Power Attack against 5 of its favored enemies. Undead, Outsiders, Giants, Elementals, and Orcs. Four of those are pretty much what epic areas are populated with, and who knows when the next orc-based horde event starts.

The two-handed ranger variant you suggested would get 4 Favored Power Attack feats for free, thus you just need to spent one pre-epic feat on Favored Power Attack to have it against five out of your six favored enemies on a Ranger 25/Frenzied Berserker 5 build. Now, you could potentially get Favored Power Attack against all six favored enemies that you have, but that basically means that you will get your fifth Frenzied Berserker level at level 30. It is doable, in a way. Not to mention that the 68.5~ damage on avarage is easily 205.5~ points of damage on critical hits, if you use a '20/x3' weapon. Oh, certain Epic Warmace has +1d4 damage on it, and the keen property too, so it would be 71~ on an avarage hit and 213~ on critical hits. (You could use Blades of Fire for additional 1d8 fire damage per hit.)

Oh, and you would have spare feats to get both Epic Prowess and Expose Weakness...

[Babuguuscooties]

Are you suggesting duel-wielding warmaces on a ranger, sir?

[Sun Wukong]

Chad suggested two-handed ranger variant, which would hit like a truck.

[metaquad4]

@Sun Wukong:

Regarding my suggestion, all the feats affect the animal companion. Not the ranger.

Regarding Chad's power attack ranger, improved power attack (the feat given at 5 FB) is already given at ranger 11. So, 5 FB would be utterly redundant.

[chad878262]

FB5 gives Enhanced Power Attack, doubling the damage from PA or IPA, so it's different.

[Sun Wukong]

Now, as for the two-handed build that is already possible, if I give up on Steadfast Determination I can grab Oversized Two-weapon Fighting and go for Two-weapon Fighting combat style. Or just suffer the -4 AB instead of -2 AB from two-weapon fighting and keep Steadfast Determantion.

The damage on the two-weapon build would be:
1d8 (Battleaxe)
+ 4 (Enchantment Bonus)
+ 10 (Strength modifier)
+ 20 (Improved Power Attack, boosted by Enchanced Power Attack and Favored Power Attack)
+ 6 (Favored Enemies)
+ 2d6 (Bane of enemies)
= 51.5~ (Main hand, off hand is 46.5~)

You could do simple math and say that the two-weapon build is better because of:
51.5*6 + 46.5*6 = 588~ (If all attacks land, and do not score critical hits)

And that the two-handed build would only get:
71*6 = 426~ (If all attacks land, and do not score critical hits)

But the thing is, the two-handed build would be able to get Expose Weakness among other things while the two-weapon build cannot without dropping the Favored Power Attack feats and lose -10 damage per hit. Thus:
41.5*6 + 36.5*6 = 468~ (If all attacks land, and do not score critical hits)

I suppose you could still argue that the two-weapon build is the better option, it does more damage if all attacks land. But the two-weapon build does those attacks at -2 AB, possibly at -4 AB. While the two-handed build with its avarage damage at 71 is far more likely to disrupt enemy spellcasters, a disrupted spell is a round spent at doing nothing, hence improve the survivability of the two-handed ranger.

Now, I suppose you could scratch Frenzied Berserker and Power Attack on a two-weapon ranger and go for Northlander Hewing Instead:
8 (Battleaxe)
+10 (Strength modifier)
+4 (Enchantment Bonus)
+ 7 (Favored Enemies)
+ 2d6 (Bane of enemies)
+ 10 (Northlander Hewing)
= 46~ (Main hand, off hand is 41~)

It would do:
46*6 + 41*2 = 358~ (If all attacks land, and do not score critical hits)

You basically have higher AB as Northlander Hewing only drops it by -2, and since you have not wasted feats on Cleave and Great Cleave you could get Two-weapon defense feats for +2 AC if you have 17+ dexterity. You could even use Northlander Hewing with Combat Expertise.



Thus the issue I have with the suggested two-handed ranger combat style is the base damage per hit that it is capable of pulling off. I would just wait for 100% RCR and make a ranger that picks player races as favored enemies and then go for a bit of mage hunting. How many of them would actually have high enough concentration skill not to get disrupted by that 71~+ avarage hit? You can go on about using Premotion, but not everyone has it active 24/7, etc... Hmn... Those squishy arcanists tend to be favorite characters of choice for the many volunteer devs, DMs, and QC members alike... So on that ground, go ahead and add it! You have my seal of approval!


Well basically, this suggested two-handed ranger combat style would hit like a truck and there is no way around it:

Level 2: Power Attack
Level 6: Improved Favored Enemy (x2)
Level 11: Improved Power Attack
Level 21: Favored Power Attack (x2)

You could drop the number of Favored Power Attack feats but it would not really change much. I could still squeeze in the feats to get Favored Power Attacks for each favored enemy of my Frenzied Ranger. Thus if you want to add it, lower the number of Favored Power Attacks.

Oh... I just realised that level 6 gives Improved Favored Enemy. And I suggested that you should lower the number of Favored Power Attacks to just two... One at level 6 and the second at level 21.

Improved Favored Attack, doesn't it give +5 damage against specific favored enemy? The two-handed ranger combat styles are just a mess.... Anyhow, you could go for:

Two-handed combat style:
Level 2: Power Attack
Level 6: Favored Power Attack
Level 11: Improved Power Attack
Level 21: Favored Power Attack

But it will produce bit of extra power creep. Rangers can do 71+ damage per hit, etc... So why not buff x, y, and z?


Anyhow, anything about those beast master styles?