The Ranger: Overrated and Underpowered - A Rant by a Bard

I love the idea of a stealthy wilderness scout-warrior so I have tried to play a Ranger for over a year. Unfortunately for me, the D&D ranger is the red-headed stepchild of the adventuring world, and I'm tired of pretending otherwise. After a year trying to play a ranger, I can confidently/ angrily say that the class is fundamentally flawed and overshadowed in almost every aspect by the rogue.

The ranger's supposed strengths lie in its connection to nature, tracking abilities, and combat prowess. However, these features often fall flat in practice. The ranger's knowledge of the natural world rarely translates into meaningful advantages at my table, and their tracking skills are often situational at best. As for combat, the ranger simply cannot match the damage output or versatility of the other martial classes.
In contrast, and much to my annoyance, the rogue excels in nearly every area where the ranger falters. Rogues are masters of stealth, deception, and cunning. They can easily infiltrate enemy strongholds, disable traps, and pickpocket valuable items. In combat, rogues are devastating damage dealers, capable of unleashing massive sneak attacks that can cripple or kill even the toughest foes.

Let's talk about skills. The ranger's skill list is underwhelming. While they do have proficiency in a few useful skills like Animal Handling and Survival, their overall skill proficiency is limited compared to the rogue's extensive list. Rogues are proficient in a wide range of skills that are invaluable in both combat and non-combat situations, including Acrobatics, Deception, Investigation, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, and Stealth. I’m not green because of the camouflage, I’m literally green with envy.

The ranger's spellcasting abilities are also lackluster. While they do gain access to a few spells, their spell list is limited and often situational. Many of the ranger's spells are simply inferior versions of spells available to other classes. Rogues, on the other hand, don't need spellcasting, please refer to their skills.

Even the ranger's favored enemy feature is disappointing. While it does provide a small bonus against a specific type of creature, it's not enough to make a significant difference in combat. Rogues, with their Expertise feature, can gain a much larger bonus to their most important skills and abilities.

I’m tired of trying to make the army scout concept work via a Ranger.
The worst thing is that I was told that this would happen, guess I learn the hard way.