Author Topic: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?  (Read 16852 times)

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Maat_Mons

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #20 on: May 25, 2010, 02:44:30 AM »
Unseen seer?

It grants +4d6 skirmish damage and you can enter with dread necromancer to fuel travel devotion so, yeah, I'd agree with that. 
Of course, you'd be best off with some way of getting multiple ranged attacks per round...

What do you mean?  You use the dread necromancer's rebuke undead uses to fuel travel devotion so you can move as a swift action and full attack.  I admit you wouldn't get your 3rd iterative attack until at least 16th level without a skillful weapon or persistent divine power. 

The_Mad_Linguist

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #21 on: May 25, 2010, 02:46:02 AM »
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Rekcuf

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #22 on: May 25, 2010, 02:47:13 AM »
True archer  unfortunately it's homegrown

HD: d8
Base Attack Bonus: +1/lvl
Good Saves: Fort/Ref

Starting proficiencies: Light Armor, but not shields, Simple Weapons, Shortbow, Longbow and Greatbow

Class Skills (8+int mod/level, x4 at level 1): Balance, Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Handle Animal, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Geography, Local and History), Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Profession, Ride, Search, Spot, Survival, Swim, Tumble, Use Rope

Level/Ability

1/ Archery Style, Bonus Feat
2/ Evasion, Weapon Focus: Bow of Choice
3/ Uncanny Dodge
4/ Eagle Eye +1, Weapon Specialization: Bow of Choice
5/ Bonus Feat, Improved Archery Style
6/
7/ Improved Uncanny Dodge
8/ Eagle Eye +2, Greater Weapon Focus: Bow of Choice, Ranged Weapon Mastery
9/ Improved Evasion
10/ Bonus Feat, Greater Archery Style
11/ Elemental Arrow 1/day
12/ Eagle Eye +3, Greater Weapon Specialization: Bow of Choice
13/ Elemental Arrow 2/day
14/
15/ Bonus Feat, supreme Archery Style
16/ Eagle Eye +4, Elemental Arrow 3/day
17/ Golden Arrow 1/day
18/ Elemental Arrow 4/day, Weapon Supremacy: Bow of Choice
19/
20/ Bonus Feat, Eagle Eye +5, Elemental Arrow 5/day, True Archery Style

Archery Style -> At level one a true archer must decide to become a Volley Archer or a Sniper Archer. volley: Rapid Shot, Sniper: camouflage as the ranger ability.
Bonus Feats -> These feats are chosen from the Scout list of bonus feats.
Eagle Eye -> The True Archer gains an insight bonus to their attack rolls with ranged weapons.
Improved Archery Style -> Volley: Many Shot, Sniper: Power Shot (acts as power attack for projectile weapons)
Greater Archery Style -> Volley: Improved Rapid Shot, Sniper: When using the sniping maneuver (under the skill hide in PHB) you take only -10 to your hide check.
Elemental Arrow: The True Archer can add 5d6 of damage from a single element to a single attack.
supreme Archery Style -> Volley: Greater Many Shot, Sniper: Hide in Plane Sight, and they can now hide from creatures extraordinary senses (Scent, Blindsight, ect...).
Golden Arrow -> Once per a day the True Archer may make a single attack that cannot miss, but still rolls to see if a critical is struck. This ability must be used before an attack roll is made.
True Archery Style -> regardless of style the crit range and multiplier of the bow type which you have supremacy with increases (this stacks with improved crit and keen) in addition a volley archer gains arrow storm as a spell like ability 3/day while the sniper archer may turn any shot into a slaying arrow with a fort DC of 10 +1/2 level + Dex Mod 3/day

Maat_Mons

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #23 on: May 25, 2010, 04:08:31 AM »
If we're talking homebrew, I've been considering the possibility of rapid reload (elven double bow).  An elven double bow is not a crossbow, so it doesn't actually qualify for rapid reload, but it takes a move action to reload, so it's an incredibly close parallel.  An elven double bow fires two arrows with each attack.  Doubling your arrow output (then doubling it again with splitting) would be pretty good. 

Come to think of it though, wouldn't an aptitude elven double bow work? 

Dragonamedrake

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #24 on: May 25, 2010, 05:39:28 AM »
See if your DM will allow the Pathfinder Arcane Archer found at...

http://www.pathfindersrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/arcane-archer

Then go this...

Mystic Ranger 6/Bard 1/Sublime Chord 3/Arcane Archer 10

Take 2 Flaws

(1)   Mystic Ranger 1   Otherworldly , Precise Shot, Weapon focus(Longbow)
(2)   Mystic Ranger 2   
(3)   Mystic Ranger 3   Rapid Shot(Combat Style), Point Blank Shot
(4)   Mystic Ranger 4      
(5)   Mystic Ranger 5   
(6)   Mystic Ranger 6   Sword of the Arcane Order
(7)   Bard 1         
(8)   Arcane Archer 1      
(9)   Arcane Archer 2   Extend Spell
(10) Arcane Archer 3      
(11) Sublime Chord 1   
(12) Sublime Chord 2   Persist Spell
(13) Sublime Chord 3   
(14) Arcane Archer 4      
(15) Arcane Archer 5   Open Feat   
(16) Arcane Archer 6      
(17) Arcane Archer 7      
(18) Arcane Archer 8   Open Feat   
(19) Arcane Archer 9      
(20) Arcane Archer 10   

This gives you a 17 BAB, 9th lvl spells, and some Bardic ablilities... Throw in a Persistant Polymorph into a Arrow Demon plus get a splitting enchantment and your looking at shooting 20 shots a round... all of them +10 arrows. That doesnt even account for Imbue arrow, Seeker Arrow, Phase Arrow, and Arrow of Death. Fill in the open feats with whatever you want... Item Familiar being one of my favorites if its allowed.

Dragonamedrake

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #25 on: May 26, 2010, 06:21:45 PM »
I was thinking about an uber crossbow build of some sort.

I was thinking Arificer 4/Warblade 16

Use the Caft Homunculus to make an Arbalester. Then take Improved Homunculus, Item Familiar Feat, and the Weapon of Legacy line of feats(Least Legacy, Lesser Legacy, Greater Legacy).

I recall seeing a Warblade build using crossbows... This would be feat intensive but you would have one hell of a weapon when it was all said and done.

Also there was a way to make the weapon industructable and tie your life force to said object... I will need to look that up too... I will try and come up with a build later.

Optimator

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #26 on: May 26, 2010, 09:29:52 PM »
My favorite is Scout 3 Ranger 17

Shadowhunter

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #27 on: May 26, 2010, 10:13:52 PM »
Scout 6/Ranger 14. Possible with 1 level swapped for Targeteer.
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Gilfanon

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #28 on: May 27, 2010, 01:22:45 AM »
I remember seeing a build like this a while back by JaronK (I think). With a few modifications, I made it unplayable:

Race: Human
Build: Feat Rogue 1/Targeteer Fighter 2/Overwhelming Attack Monk 1/Warblade 16
Feats: TWF, ITWF, GTWF, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, EWP: Hand Crossbow, EWP: Great Crossbow, Hand Crossbow Focus, Crossbow Sniper, Improved Critical (Great Crossbow), Lightning Maces (and pre-reqs), Roundabout Kick (and pre-reqs).

In short, you want to get a third hand (try the Spare Hand from MIC), dual-wield two aptitude splitting great crossbows of speed, stay in the Blood in the Water stance, and have the Dancing and Raging Mongoose maneuvers. Liberally interpreting aptitude weapons, you can: reload both of your great crossbows as free actions; activate Raging Mongoose and full attack with 13 splitting bolts, or 26 total, each dealing 2d8+.5*Dex damage; crit on 25% of those botls, or 6.5 on average; get +1 to hit and +1 to damage through Blood in the Water and an extra attack via Roundabout Kick each time you threaten a critical, and get an additional attack via Lightning Maces each time you confirm a critical. So those 6.5 criticals in the first volley, if all are confirmed, turn into an additional 13 splitting bolts, or 26 total, each with the bonuses of Blood in the Water, and each having a 25% chance of scoring a critical, etc., etc....

I guess you can get some Kaorti resin bolts, but when you expect to make an infinite number of attacks, damage per bolt really seems inconsequential.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2010, 01:31:53 AM by Gilfanon »

Rymosrac

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #29 on: May 27, 2010, 05:44:20 AM »
That build's a few years old. JaronK's is a deliberately conservative version of the infinite attack build meant to make it playable.
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Havok4

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #30 on: May 27, 2010, 11:26:38 AM »
I love that effectively but not actually infinite damage trick. It has such neat imagery associated with it.  Although the dual wielding handcrossbow builds all end up looking cool.

Rymosrac

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #31 on: May 27, 2010, 12:03:01 PM »
Indeed they do. And abusing aptitude + blood in the water + lightning maces + snap kick etc. Is probably the closest approximation of a minigun we've come up with yet.
Shh. My common sense is tingling. . .

Empirate

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #32 on: May 27, 2010, 12:06:34 PM »
How do you increase damage output vs. DR with archer types? Playing an archer type, you're basically relying on lots of attacks, and being able to full attack always, but what about that Lich (DR 15/magic and bludgeoning) who'll laugh in your face?
Me, I'm a fan of Power Shot (Power Attack for bows), the 3rd level ability of the Peerless Archer PrC (Silver Marches). The rest of the PrC is a bit meh, but Power Shot rocks. Especially combined with Woodland Archer (-->Adjust for Range)!

Havok4

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #33 on: May 27, 2010, 12:43:26 PM »
Force weapon (+2 MIC) enhancement makes DR a non-issue and is well worth it for your average volley archer.

PhaedrusXY

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #34 on: May 27, 2010, 12:50:29 PM »
Force weapon (+2 MIC) enhancement makes DR a non-issue and is well worth it for your average volley archer.
If you can afford that, you can afford Hank's Bow, which is much better. You might have to change your name to Hank to get it to function properly, though. :D
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Saxony

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #35 on: May 27, 2010, 01:08:05 PM »
My ranged builds always involve either the Splitting weapon enhancement or Palm Throw.

Thri-Kreens are great with multi-weapon fighting and Palm Throw. Or just Splitting Hand Crossbows. That's 26 attacks. Combine with the Woodland Archery feat (Races of the Wild) to get mega accuracy bonuses (+100 if all but the last attack hits).

In any case, such a build wants sneak attack. Or skirmish. Which ever, really. +35 damage on each hit from 10d6 Sneak Attack (or otherwise) multiplied by 26 is, well, lots of damage.

Wounding weapons (+1 weapon enhancement) also work very well. 1 con damage per landed attack adds up quickly with a large number of attacks build. If all 26 hits land, that's 13 hp per HD down the drain. Also insta-gib for any creature with less than 26 Con.

Time Stands Still and Island in Time also work well in combination.

Poison is also a nice idea. 75 gp a dose for Drow Sleep poison is cheap at higher levels. With 26 attacks, it's more than 60% likely that a foe will roll a natural 1 if each of one's attacks forces a save. That's an instant win against anyone not immune to poison. Good against bosses.
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Rymosrac

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #36 on: May 27, 2010, 01:38:42 PM »
A ranged build without one of those two is probably shooting itself in the foot.
Shh. My common sense is tingling. . .

carnivore

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #37 on: May 27, 2010, 02:13:21 PM »
personally i prefer to have a Splitting Force bow ....

 :D

Unbeliever

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #38 on: May 27, 2010, 02:54:00 PM »
personally i prefer to have a Splitting Force bow ....

 :D
Yeah, had a friend in a 15th level game w/ a very vanilla swift hunter using greater manyshot and it was totally impressive.  Able to keep up and then some w/ any practical optimization party.

Endarire

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Re: What's your favorite build for an optimal archer?
« Reply #39 on: May 28, 2010, 02:43:49 AM »
Would a Wounding bow confer this bonus on its ammo?
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