Math help with crossbow damage

[thorimar]

I'm hoping for a little math help from my friends on Enworld. There is a player in my gaming group playing a crossbow toting ranged combatant. We started playing in D&D 3.5 but have now converted over to Pathfinder. All except this one player. In his original build he chose to wield a great crossbow, but it feels to me like he is severely limited by this weapon, so I want to compare it with the heavy crossbow. The DM has limited the reload time on the great crossbow to a move action, even with feats, class abilities,etc because of the damage profile (2d8 damage, 18-20 crit, x2). So what I could use help with is comparing the damage profile of his current weapon/attack strategy with what I think will be a better re-build for him. I'll provide as much detail as I can turn you loose.

Basic stats:
Class: Fighter3/ Rogue5
Abilities: Str12/Dex22/Con14/Int18/Wis10/Cha15
Crossbowman Fighter Archtype
Sniper Rogue Archetype
Current attack: +15/+10

Old build: MW Great Crossbow (2d8 damage, 18-20 crit, x2)
Weapon focus (great crossbow); point blank shot; crossbow sniper (sneak attack, point blank range to 60', and +1/2 Dex mod to damage); Telling blow (all critical hits add sneak attack damage); Focused shot; Due to the ROF of the weapon he has been almost exclusively using Deadshot as his combat strategy

New build: MW Heavy Crossbow (1d10, 19-20 crit, x2)
Crossbow mastery, rapid reload, point blank shot, weapon focus (heavy crossbow), rapid shot, Focused shot, deadly aim. Obviously with this the likely strategy would be full attack progression with rapid shot.

So I see a few attack scenarios to consider:
1) Within 30 feet of enemy
2) More than 30 feet away from target
3) Critical vs normal damage at both those ranges.

Thanks for your consideration of this request for help.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

So wait, the DM is saying even with Crossbow Master feat, the great crossbow would take a move action to reload? If yes, then ditch it, full attacking is the whole point of archery. If Crossbow Master will work, take it and use Great Crossbow.

Why are you level 8 with only a masterwork weapon?

The heavy crossbow build should lose focused shot unless there's seriously nothing better left to take. You should be full attacking whenever possible. I suggest you drop Crossbow Fighter completely. Weapon Master 3 will get you Weapon Training 1, which then means in a few levels when he can afford the 16000 gp, he can get the Gloves of Duelling from APG, which is an extra +2 attack and damage.

For rogue, sniper is sadly a bit of a trap option. You see, APG, the same book that printed it, also printed Sniper's Goggles, which let you sneak attack at any range and make the archetype largely redundant (the 1st level benefit is still nice, but hardly necessary). If you have no other rogue archetpyes you like keep it I guess, but it gets kinda neutered by that item. I like the Rake. Note Bravado's Blade is not melee-only.

What you need is to be able to full attack sneak attack. This is incredibly hard in PF, which nerfed the bejesus out of ranged rogues. No longer does ring of blinking or the grease spell work. You either need an ally to buff you with Greater Invisibility, or the Shatter Defenses feat. With 3 Fighter levels, you can snag it at level 7+, though the feat costs are high. You can use Bravado's Blade to generate its benefit.

Suggested feats:
Rapid Reload
Crossbow Master
Point Blank Shot
Precise Shot
Rapid Shot
Deadly Aim
Clustered Shots
Shatter Defenses, Weapon Focus, and Dazzling Display (all 3 or none)

Avoid: Far Shot, it sucks, and Manyshot since it doesn't add SA damage to it. Focused Shot is ok if you have all the above already...good luck with that... Improved Precise Shot later on is actually possibly avoidable. Cover is annoying as hell, but as a rogue your biggest concern is concealment (it rapes sneak attack, it sure does!), and IPS is both very high level and only negates non-total concealment. Long before then you can get a Seeking enhancement on the crossbow and just plain ignore all concealment / miss chance. IMO, it is THE most essential weapon enhancement for a ranged rogue, by far.

Magic items to acquire:
+X Seeking Heavy Crossbow
Sniper Goggles
Gloves of Duelling
Circlet of Persuasion

EDIT: I should also point out that Deadly Aim for this build is absolutely not a required feat like it is for more martial archers, it's an insurance policy. Each penalty to hit means less chance of dealing SA damage aside from the feat's actual +2 damage / -1 to hit tradeoff. IMO, unless the target is very easy to hit, the feat is not worth using when you can sneak attack. Therefore, the only time you'd actually use Deadly Aim (other than again, jokingly easy to hit targets) is when you can't sneak attack, to keep your damage at least slightly relevant. It is by no means a high priority for you.