Ranger Bonus Feat Question

[Cthulhudrew]

I was making a ranger NPC the other night, and it occurred to me suddenly that Rapid Shot and Manyshot don't seem all that particularly... well, hunter like (not that Two-Weapon Fighting is, but that's another issue...)

Anyway, it seems to me that Point Blank Shot and Far Shot (or Precise Shot)- you know, the precision bow feats- would be better suited to a hunter-type of character.

My question is, if I were to substitute these feats (say Point Blank Shot for Rapid Shot, and Far Shot for Manyshot) would that seem an unbalanced tradeoff?

 

[Falling Icicle]

My question is, if I were to substitute these feats (say Point Blank Shot for Rapid Shot, and Far Shot for Manyshot) would that seem an unbalanced tradeoff?

Why not just take them with your regular feats? But I do see your point. I think it would have been better if they just gave you bonus feats and let you choose any archery feat you want. But I won't complain over such a nitpicky issue considering how grateful I am for the enormous improvements to the Ranger class in 3.5.

 

[Li Shenron]

My question is, if I were to substitute these feats (say Point Blank Shot for Rapid Shot, and Far Shot for Manyshot) would that seem an unbalanced tradeoff?

Rapid Shot and Manyshot give benefits similar to the ones given in melee by the 2WF feats, an that's IMHO why it was the first choice of the designer.

I think there is no balance problem at all if you give other archery feats instead of those 2.

There is however a minor gripe on Manyshot. I believe it's good design to grant fixed bonus feats only at the minimum level you could qualify for (or otherwise, grant bonus feats from a list instead), and Manyshot granted at 6th level is very good because you would anyway need BAB +6 in order to get the feat. If you give Far Shot (which coul de taken at level 1 in theory) at level 6, you are basically forcing a player to not take Far Shot with regular feats until level 6, otherwise he is wasting one of his bonus feats.

There are many examples of this minor design mistake in several published books.

 

[Starglim]

I've thought since 3.5 came out that Precise Shot / Improved Critical / Improved Precise Shot would be ideal as a third ranger combat style. This gives you Improved Critical early, but the feats in the style aren't as damage-oriented as the Rapid Shot style, as Li Shenron pointed out.

 

[Plane Sailing]

My question is, if I were to substitute these feats (say Point Blank Shot for Rapid Shot, and Far Shot for Manyshot) would that seem an unbalanced tradeoff?

Those feats will have a smaller affect on your combat effectiveness, and so for most cases they will be "weaker" than the extant virtual feats - so I'd say that it shouldn't be a problem.

However, a human ranger might want to take PBS and far shot as his 1st level feats anyway, for instance.

I find it helps if I don't think of the ranger bonus feats as restrictive, but - uh - bonuses to speed the ranger on the path of mastering his chosen form. He just sorts out what he wants to do with his inborn feats to complement the bonus ones.

Cheers