As posted on the Steam Bug Forum:
"I'm not sure if this is a bug or not, but it may be so I am posting it here. I have a Sylvan Elf Level 2 Ranger engaged in an outdoor fight. He's not engaged in melee, and has a clear line of sight on a ranged attack in open daylight. He's used a bonus action to cast Hunter's Mark on the enemy, but when I mouse over the enemy, it shows the attack as being at Disadvantage due to the creature being in bright light? I understand DA due to dim light(though not sure I'm in full agreement on this one yet) or darkness(reasonable), but bright light? I went ahead with the attack, and the combat log does show the attack roll was made at DA, though it still hit regardless..." My guess is that this was a bug, but I'm curious what may have caused it. Also, just noticed this now, the creature is displayed as "Unknown Creature", however it shows as "Brimstone Viper" in the Advantage/Disadvantage area of the creature's popup window. Not sure if that's intended, but it does identify the unknown creature.
Here's a screenshot of the issues.
"
I've had this in a few fights against enemies like orcs and spiders. Seems like a bug.
Any clue what prompts it, so I might avoid the bug until it's resolved?
Afraid not. Closing the distance got rid of the disadvantage for me mid fight.
Ahh, ok. This makes sense, then. 5e has two ranges for ranged weapons, normal and long. When firing at long range, the attack is made at disadvantage. And the pictured shot was taken from on top of a tower some distance away, which may have exceeded the cell range listed as Short in the weapon description.
Alright, so the bug here is that the enemy pop up window is describing the cause of disadvantage incorrectly, and should be reading something like "Brimstone Viper is beyond Normal Range" or "Normal Range exceeded for this weapon", if the range is, in fact, the reason for the disadvantage.
Devs, if this is the case, two things:
First, you may want to change the descriptor of range from "Short" to "Normal". Without any other factors, Normal range gives you a normal attack roll, seems an easier reference to remember. In some systems, shooting a ranged weapon at very short range will give you a penalty, so indicating something is within Short range in relation to a ranged weapon might be confusing to some.
Secondly, you may want to change the disadvantage warnings for long range shots to reflect accurately why the disadvantage is taking place. I was so confused. lol