krunchyfrogg
Explorer
Which Archer PrC(s) is/are best?
Best Archer?
- Thread starter krunchyfrogg
- Start date
The_Gneech
Explorer
Order of the Bow Initiate from Complete Warrior is the one I would choose for pure arrow-shootin' goodness. But you may actually be better off just sticking with Fighter and getting yourself a ton o' feats.
-The Gneech
-The Gneech
Nyeshet
First Post
Prior to PHB2 I would probably have said Cleric. Now, however, the straight Fighter can do some real damage. Penetrating Shot, a 60 ft line attack, can be devestating in the right situation. Perhaps Fighter 12+ with a few levels of OotBI could work well also.
The main problem with OotBI is that it is as limited as the Rogue. Beyond 30 ft its main bonus to attack (Precise Shot, +xd8 bonus damage) is useless. I think there is a feat that extends this to 45 ft, but by then the foe can close with you in one round, meaning that the advantage of the bow is lost - and possibly more of a liability, in fact. Then there is the fact that while certain feats allow for more shots than normal, bonus damage only applies to the first shot that strikes, making the other shots even less useful (as they have less chance to strike in the first place and now also subpar damage compared to the first shot).
Thus, a pure fighter is more useful in the current setup. Looking to all core sources, there are about 30 archery feats as I recall, and third party sources have a few others beyond these that are also quite balanced and useful.
The main problem with OotBI is that it is as limited as the Rogue. Beyond 30 ft its main bonus to attack (Precise Shot, +xd8 bonus damage) is useless. I think there is a feat that extends this to 45 ft, but by then the foe can close with you in one round, meaning that the advantage of the bow is lost - and possibly more of a liability, in fact. Then there is the fact that while certain feats allow for more shots than normal, bonus damage only applies to the first shot that strikes, making the other shots even less useful (as they have less chance to strike in the first place and now also subpar damage compared to the first shot).
Thus, a pure fighter is more useful in the current setup. Looking to all core sources, there are about 30 archery feats as I recall, and third party sources have a few others beyond these that are also quite balanced and useful.
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Nonlethal Force
First Post
I could've swore we just had a thread like this not more than a week ago. That isn't a complain, just a sugestion to the OP to go digging on page 2 or 3 to see if you can find the thread I am trying to remember. Might be some good ideas in there.
As far as archer - I always liked the cleric builds just because they use a bit of forethought. Ranger wants to be the no-brainer, but it really isn't. A rogue sniper can be a hellion on the battlefield, but it's damage is conditional to sneak attack.
There are many ways to go. By "best" do you mean average in any situation or stelalr in one situation? Both equate to best, and you often can't have both.
As far as archer - I always liked the cleric builds just because they use a bit of forethought. Ranger wants to be the no-brainer, but it really isn't. A rogue sniper can be a hellion on the battlefield, but it's damage is conditional to sneak attack.
There are many ways to go. By "best" do you mean average in any situation or stelalr in one situation? Both equate to best, and you often can't have both.
Nyeshet
First Post
Again, with Manyshot and Rapidshot, only the first shot / arrow counts, as bonus damage does not apply to the others, regardless of whether it is from sneak attack, precise shot, skirmish, etc.
And, again, the benefit of being a ranged combative falls significantly beyond 30 ft (which is too close for comfort, as it means only only have one attack before the enemy is upon you, striking at you every time you prepare to attack due to AoO).
And, again, the benefit of being a ranged combative falls significantly beyond 30 ft (which is too close for comfort, as it means only only have one attack before the enemy is upon you, striking at you every time you prepare to attack due to AoO).
Nyeshet said:
Greater Manyshot allows you to apply extra damage to every arrow. Theres a feat in one of the Dragon Mags (January?) that lets you deal skirmish damage out to 60'. Then a feat from Complete Adventure that lets you ranger/scout levels stack for Skirmish/Favored enemy and allows you to deal skirmish damage to your favored enemies even if they are noramlly immune.
So I'd say Ranger2/Scout18 or Scout 4/ranger16 is it best Archer, depending on if you want a bunch of abillities or some spells.
SteveC
Doing the best imitation of myself
For me, the key to playing an archer is the Arrowguard spell, a ranger spell that makes you threaten with your bow and not provoke attacks of opportunity when you fire it. So either a few levels of ranger, or some use magic device, and you're good to mix things up with the bow.
--Steve
--Steve
SteveC said:
The spell is called Arrow Mind and it plus a number of very good archery related spells are a good reason to take Ranger levels.
Deepwoods Sniper from the 3.0 Splat book is a very good PRC for archers. It has not been released for 3.5, but requires very little in the way of changes.
The most over powered PRC was Peerless Archer from the 3.0 FR Silver Marches region book, it gave ranged power attack, cheap magic arrows and threatening an area.
