Help with an archer ranger

[S'mon]

- Sword and shield: this isn't a bad option for you if you're worried about dying

Since per RAW it's an Action to don or doff a shield, I don't think that works well with a dedicated archer. Best bet is to aim to stay out of melee, but if forced into melee you can draw a sword (use shortsword or rapier for finesse) as object interaction and attack with it in same round. While still holding onto your bow.

(I'm assuming that AL GMs don't ignore the object interaction rules & allow free swaps, if that's not the case then sword & shield is great yup)

 

[Eltab]

If you have "lucky dice" or "unlucky dice" then plan wisely which ones you bring to the table. I used to have a d20 that rolled like it thought it was a d12 in the wrong body.

Read up carefully on the Stealth and Hide rules, so you know what you can / can't do, mechanically. Things that worked in old editions have been changed.

Make a Monster Knowledge check whenever possible; try to get your Favored Enemy (and Favored Terrain) abilities to work for you. If you don't speak up, they become DM-dependent, and he has a lot of other pressing things to think about.

As noted above, check your weapons to be sure you are using the ones you will be best at.

 

[Horwath]

Take ranger to 5th level.
Elven accuracy for 5th level feat.
Take gloom stalker at 3rd level.
If multiclassing is allowed, go for 2 levels of rogue for cunning action. Combined with wood elf hiding and shooting from hidind with Elven accuracy that is 3d20 roll for attack and you take the highest.
3rd level rogue can be either Assassin or Scout. Both have their uses and are great to combine with Gloomstalker ranger.

 

[Nutation]

The AL Red War adventure is one of their epic modules, particularly dangerous, and you were a new 1st level character with no extra resources. Almost any AL adventure that you play hereafter will be easier.
You can freely rebuild your character until 5th level, so you can try different things.