the #dnd Ranger is what happens when you try and expand a single rather 2D character (aragorn) into a character class and I hate it?
WIZARD: I study the art of magic
FIGHTER: I wield many weapons
ROGUE: I am skilled and cunning
RANGER: a dragon pooped in this room 2 weeks ago having a bow and maybe owning a pet dog are not a fantasy archetype worthy of an entire character classcan we just fold it back into the fighter already, it's barely a subclass. or maybe replace it with something that makes more sense like an official Monster Hunter
— Oliver Clegg 🌈 (@deathbybadger) April 17, 2020
It’s a class for the “cool, stoic, loner going off on his own” characters, but that archetype of “hero” was a bit outdated even by 3.5’s day. It’s like the writers keep it around because “well, people are going to want to play as Drizzt, right?” Nowadays, we don’t, really. Drizzt isn't much of a ranger.
He has a figurine of wondrous power, not an animal companion, and he likes wielding 2 weapons, which was a hallmark of drow in Unearthed Arcana (the book).
He's more fighter than ranger, but he has occasionally been statted up as a fighter/ranger.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) April 17, 2020
I only read the first 3 so far(it was a gift). I remember that some guy by the name of M. told him he had a ranger’s soul or something like that. So he kind of is like that in lore I suppose. Maybe he would be a beastmaster in 5e. He REALLY loved that panther. The panther isn’t a panther. It’s a magic item.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) April 18, 2020