Ranger spells in D&D with focused absence of concentration.
Spread throughout the first three levels, the Ranger spell list in the Player's Handbook in 2024 removes Concentration from four spells. No level four or five Ranger spells are losing Concentration requirements, hence high-level play calls some cautious decision-making. Though all of the spells that lost Concentration requirements have some decent use, none of them are absolutely essential for a basic Ranger build.
The 2024 Player's Handbook: Changes in Ranger Spells
Hail of Thorns
Using a low-level spell, a nice choice to add some additional damage into the mix is hail of thorns. Originally cast at first level, a ranged weapon strike causes extra piercing damage on a target hit. Thorns are harsh. While the 2024 version changes it to a bonus action that can be taken straight after landing the hit and removing the Concentration window, in the 2014 Player's Handbook it could be cast as a bonus action that would apply to the next hit within a subsequent minute of Concentration being maintained.
Barkinksky
Though it's getting buffed on two counts, Barkskin performs in the same basic manner that it did previously. Under the 2014 rules, touching a willing creature and employing barkskin may provide their skin a bark-like texture and increase their AC to 16 for an hour as long as Concentration was kept. Apart from eliminating the concentration need, the 2024 Player's Handbook raises the minimum AC by use of barkskin to 17.
Magic Weapon
Under the 2024 ruleset, magic weapon's future looks to be like barkskin's. Magic weapon used to scale to +2 with level four spell slots and +3 with level six slot offered a +1 benefit to a selected nonmagical weapon for an hour with continuous Concentration. The 2024 Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook reduces Concentration and shifts the +2 scaling down to level three spell slots, therefore possibly encouraging more use of the spell than in past years.
Arrow of lightning
The 2024 adjustments to lightning arrow change the nature of casting the spell in the same manner as hail of thorns, therefore shifting a pre-emptive choice to a bonus action used following an attack. Level three spells increase damage; they deliver 4d8 lightning damage when the attack strikes their target and half as much damage when it misses. Ten-foot creatures must make dexterity saving throws, take two-d8 on failures and half damage on succeeds. For every spell slot level above three, the equation gains still another 1d8.
