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Re: Ranged Combat Mechanics
Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:20 pm
by aaron22
imho, and i played an archer for about a year, is the best combo is F8/Ra7/OOBI10/EA5. you will do so much damage and your AB will be stupid high. UMD for def and offensive boosts. easy build. easy play. good at all levels. can be an expensive build.
Re: Ranged Combat Mechanics
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:57 pm
by Khazrak
Paladin or cleric archers can also be very potent, and pretty flexible. My halfling paladin (she's only level 18 - paladin 16 fighter 2, soon to be paladin 16 fighter 4) has auto-extend on all her spells, 35 AB with all possible self-buffs + Heroism, and hits for 50+ damage per shot with Divine Might + Divine Favor. Crits have gone a little upwards of 80 damage solo, but normally land between 70-80. Operates fine at most ranges. The biggest issue is AB, as while my STR is 21 buffed and my CHA is 28 (for +14 damage or +28 with Manyshot), my DEX bonus is locked at +5. Small size helps, but this is decidedly not good, as it means my total AB will be lower than someone else's.
(Damn if my defenses and Lay-on-Hands and self-buffs ain't rockin', though. And +1d6 damage bullets make each hit feel even bigger - the above numbers are with mundane ones.)
With that said, throwing weapons get utterly screwed over in the current system. Being even just a little away feels like being a mile away as far as attack penalties are concerned. Shortbows and bows are well off; slings are alright.