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In D&D, threats often travel between planes, but the Horizon Walker Ranger follows hot on their heels to maintain balance and order.
The world of Dungeons & Dragons spans multiple planes of existence, meaning the darkness from one plane or another might occasionally threaten the rest of the multiverse. Fortunately, there are heroes, like the Horizon Walker Ranger, who dedicate their skills to following the trail of darkness from plane to plane to maintain the necessary balance that keeps everything in order.
Rangers have a unique skillset that allows them to track that which they find threatening and eradicate it before it can spread, and Horizon Walkers take their skills across the planes. With abilities that allow them to locate portals leading to other planes, they can easily travel wherever they are needed to carry out their duties.
Dexterity & Wisdom Are the Horizon Walker Ranger’s Core Stats
Dexterity is one of two core stats that ensure a Ranger is as powerful as they need to be. A high DEX score dictates the Ranger’s agility, boosting important skills like Acrobatics, Stealth and Sleight of Hand. DEX also contributes to armor class and initiative bonus, making characters harder to hit and potentially providing ample opportunity for them to reach a higher rung on the initiative ladder.
Wisdom is the second essential stat for Rangers, as it contributes to their spellcasting abilities and spell damage modifiers. A high WIS score will also provide an ample boost to essential Ranger skills like Survival, Medicine, Animal Handling, Insight and Perception and improves the player’s Passive Perception. This is essential for a Ranger, as it helps them detect threats. For example, a Ranger with a high Passive Perception will be much less likely to be surprised by sneaking attackers and more likely to hear nearby footsteps that alert them to potential danger.
Best Races for Horizon Walker Rangers
Finding a good race for a Horizon Walker will mean not only looking at racial bonuses that boost core stats, but other bonuses that play well into the Ranger’s abilities. Aarakocra and Kenku are both outstanding choices because they get +2 DEX and +1 WIS. Aarakocra can also fly, which gives them a bonus other races won’t have.
Elves are another powerful option because they gain +2 DEX, Keen Senses, Darkvision and the advantage of their Fey Ancestry, which grants them advantage against charm magic and doesn’t allow them to be magically put to sleep. The Wood Elf variant also gains +1 WIS, in addition to +2 DEX, as well as other useful features like Fleet of Foot (which increases their movement speed to 35) and Mask of the Wild (which allows them to use the nature around them to hide in plain sight). Halflings are also a good choice because they have +2 DEX and some of their variants receive +1 WIS as well.
Best Feats for Horizon Walker Rangers
Horizon Walker Rangers tend to walk through the planes on the lookout for threats, which makes the Alert feat perfect for their skillset. Alert not only grants them a +5 to their initiative bonus, but so long as they are conscious, they can’t be taken by surprise. That also means enemies don’t gain advantage on attacks against them simply because they don’t see the attack coming.
Sharpshooter is another outstanding feat for Rangers in general. It doesn’t impose disadvantage on ranged shots that exceed the weapon’s basic range, which can be a huge boon to the long distance Ranger. They can also choose to take a -5 penalty to their ranged attack rolls and on a successful hit they add an additional +10 damage.
For Horizon Walkers looking to make an impact on those long range piercing shots, Piercer can give them a major leg up. Not only do they gain a +1 DEX bonus when taking this feat, but once per turn, they can reroll a successful attack’s damage dice to potentially achieve a higher total. The new roll must be used, however, regardless of the outcome. Additionally, when the Piercer lands a critical hit with an attack that deals piercing damage, they can roll an extra damage die when figuring out the extra piercing damage they will take.
Best Spells for Horizon Walker Rangers
When it comes to choosing powerful spells that work well with the Horizon Walker Ranger’s skillset, there are a number of options that enhance their abilities. Longstrider, for example, increases a chosen target’s movement by +10, potentially getting the Ranger even closer to their desired landing point on a single turn. Hunter’s Mark is a classic Ranger spell that allows the caster to mark a target and deal additional damage, all the while keeping track of its position on the battlefield.
Lightning Arrow is also incredibly useful, as it allows the ranged weapon to instead become a bolt of lightning that deals 4d8 lightning damage on a successful hit and half as much if the target makes their save. This lightning also spreads to others within 10 feet of the initial target, forcing them to make a DEX saving throw or suffer 2d8 lightning damage on a fail (and half as much damage on a successful save). The number of d8s the player can roll for damage increases by 1d8 for each level cast above level three, making this spell grow in power alongside the character.
Ashardalon’s Stride works well for Horizon Walkers because it allows the Ranger to increase their speed by an additional 20 feet, all fueled by the power of explosive fire. To make it even more appealing, that fire can deal 1d6 damage to anything that isn’t being worn or carried, including people. When cast at higher levels, the speed increases by +5 feet per level, and its damage increases by 1d6.
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