Title pretty much says it. This is for an AL (Historic) character once I make it to tier 2. (Infinite rebuilds until then.) He started life as an Elf. The key feat is Elven Accuracy, and possibly sharpshooter (More likely with fighter build) Uses a bow, with cunning action to stay out of trouble and gain advantage from stealth. I should note that I always plan out to level 10 rather than 20, as that is the average lifespan of most characters. Assassin wins the rogue subclass debate (a guaranteed advantage at the start of combat) with Scout coming in second place. The decision is between 2rogue/8 battlemaster and 5 assassin/5 hunter ranger.
Advantages/Disadvantages of Battlemaster:
Action surge
5 maneuvers/5 dice (Which is more than you really need for ranged controlling.) which reset on a short rest. Therefore, fairly resource intensive
Easier to fit in Sharpshooter due to the extra feat at Fighter 6
Better action economy, as the bonus action is always available
Advantages/Disadvantages of 5 Hunter/5 Assassin
3d6 sneak attacks (as opposed to 1d6)
Colossus Slayer: 1d8 extra damage on most turns
Hunter's Mark
Access to some fun utility spells like Fog Cloud, cure wounds, and Spike Growth; 6 spell slots. The tradeoff is that casting eats into the action economy.
Uncanny Dodge
One less ASI. That means giving up Sharpshooter or taking Sharpshooter but settling for 18 Dex.
Less resource intensive (Can get by on one spell per fight and maintain peak effectiveness.)
Basically, it looks like the ranger is capable of putting out a ton of damage on a regular basis. The Battlemaster is much more dependent on short rests, but if Sharpshooter works well enough, the damage output may be comparable. The Battlemaster's setup is a lot simpler - cunning action will always be available and won't compete with casting.
Just out of curiosity, why do I not see an Assassin4-5/Battlemaster6-5 option here? Unless the ranger spells are really key, I think you can get more out of a balanced fighter/rogue build. The loss of a feat from reducing battlemaster is compensated by gaining one at rogue 4.
A 50% rogue/50% BM split feels mediocre. You pretty much have to go to fighter 5 for the two attacks. At that point, six for sharpshooter and seven for more maneuver dice are too good to pass up.
In a nutshell, 6/7 fighter levels blow the pants off 6/7 ranger levels, which basically grant one extra spell slot and some ribbon/fluff abilities. Whoop dee doo.
Balltemaster 8 is a particularly strange stopping point - the L7 Battlemaster ability is hot garbage. So's Rogue 2 - you're giving up both a Sneak Attack die and L3 subclass benefits (presumably, here, Assassin). The combo is even worse, because you're giving up Assassinating letting you auto-crit with your Maneuver dice for no clear reason. Is there a good reason Assassin 4/Battlemaster 6 isn't on the table?
Hunter and Assassin slightly oppose each other: Assassins want to go first, so their jam is a fresh target. Of course, if every attack hits, all but the first will get the extra damage, so it's not like it's terrible or anything. They're just opposing design intents. That's why mixing Assassin with Gloom Stalker is popular: both are designed to mazimize turn 1 damage out the gate, so they work particularly well together.
Assassin 5 is a deceptively bad stopping point: you gain a sneak attack die and uncanny dodge, and while uncanny dodge is fantastic, you're clearly building for increasing damage out, not decreasing damage in.
If you want to see what maximizing out-the-gate damage looks like, take a look at what Assassin 4/Gloom Stalker 4/Fighter 2 (Fighting Styles: Archery+Superior Technique[Menacing Attack], Feats: Sharpshooter+[Dexterity +2, Dex +1 Wis +1, Elven Accuracy, or Alert, depending on your race/stats/goals]) can do.
To answer your actual question, while both of your proposals have strange stopping points, Rogue 2/Battlemaster 8 has arguably better future potential, but Assassin 5/Hunter 5 is better right now. To recap, I suggested you consider these alternatives:
Assassin 4/Battlemaster 6 (should be way better than Rogue 2/Battlemaster 8)
Assassin 4/Gloom Stalker 4/Fighter 2 (abandons Hunter for Gloom Stalker, for better synergy with Assassin; you could certainly be Hunter 4 instead, if you strongly prefer)
Straight class with feats or no feats, a ranger will have better DPR shooting a bow than a fighter up until level 11. Aside from the hand crossbow battle master by a bit. You want a ranger subclass that doesn't use a bonus action for the subclass damage. Need to save that for hunter's mark or rogue abilities. I say ranger 5/rogue 5. Easy. You'll have more options and more power for most of the game. Even if the game goes into tier 4, the rogue/ranger is going to do what you want to do faster, better, and for more of the game.
Battlemaster. Crits double your Battlemaster damage dice and Action Surge makes your Assassin opener twice as strong. By contrast, a Hunter's abilities are all better after the opener has opened and it's time to mop up - that is, Assassins and Battlemasters are synergistic strong openers, but Hunters are strong closers.
3 battlemaster/9 soul knife. Elf with elven accuracy. Sharpshooter feat. Spend bonus action to gain advantage with steady aim, roll 3d20 with a decent chance to crit. Precision attack and homing strikes can be used to ensure you don’t miss.
really accurate even with 18 dexterity.
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Title pretty much says it. This is for an AL (Historic) character once I make it to tier 2. (Infinite rebuilds until then.) He started life as an Elf. The key feat is Elven Accuracy, and possibly sharpshooter (More likely with fighter build) Uses a bow, with cunning action to stay out of trouble and gain advantage from stealth. I should note that I always plan out to level 10 rather than 20, as that is the average lifespan of most characters. Assassin wins the rogue subclass debate (a guaranteed advantage at the start of combat) with Scout coming in second place. The decision is between 2rogue/8 battlemaster and 5 assassin/5 hunter ranger.
Advantages/Disadvantages of Battlemaster:
Advantages/Disadvantages of 5 Hunter/5 Assassin
Basically, it looks like the ranger is capable of putting out a ton of damage on a regular basis. The Battlemaster is much more dependent on short rests, but if Sharpshooter works well enough, the damage output may be comparable. The Battlemaster's setup is a lot simpler - cunning action will always be available and won't compete with casting.
What do you think?
Just out of curiosity, why do I not see an Assassin4-5/Battlemaster6-5 option here? Unless the ranger spells are really key, I think you can get more out of a balanced fighter/rogue build. The loss of a feat from reducing battlemaster is compensated by gaining one at rogue 4.
A 50% rogue/50% BM split feels mediocre. You pretty much have to go to fighter 5 for the two attacks. At that point, six for sharpshooter and seven for more maneuver dice are too good to pass up.
In a nutshell, 6/7 fighter levels blow the pants off 6/7 ranger levels, which basically grant one extra spell slot and some ribbon/fluff abilities. Whoop dee doo.
Gloomstalker Ranger 5 Assassin Rogue 3 toss in 2 levels fighter.
Balltemaster 8 is a particularly strange stopping point - the L7 Battlemaster ability is hot garbage. So's Rogue 2 - you're giving up both a Sneak Attack die and L3 subclass benefits (presumably, here, Assassin). The combo is even worse, because you're giving up Assassinating letting you auto-crit with your Maneuver dice for no clear reason. Is there a good reason Assassin 4/Battlemaster 6 isn't on the table?
Hunter and Assassin slightly oppose each other: Assassins want to go first, so their jam is a fresh target. Of course, if every attack hits, all but the first will get the extra damage, so it's not like it's terrible or anything. They're just opposing design intents. That's why mixing Assassin with Gloom Stalker is popular: both are designed to mazimize turn 1 damage out the gate, so they work particularly well together.
Assassin 5 is a deceptively bad stopping point: you gain a sneak attack die and uncanny dodge, and while uncanny dodge is fantastic, you're clearly building for increasing damage out, not decreasing damage in.
If you want to see what maximizing out-the-gate damage looks like, take a look at what Assassin 4/Gloom Stalker 4/Fighter 2 (Fighting Styles: Archery+Superior Technique[Menacing Attack], Feats: Sharpshooter+[Dexterity +2, Dex +1 Wis +1, Elven Accuracy, or Alert, depending on your race/stats/goals]) can do.
To answer your actual question, while both of your proposals have strange stopping points, Rogue 2/Battlemaster 8 has arguably better future potential, but Assassin 5/Hunter 5 is better right now. To recap, I suggested you consider these alternatives:
Straight class with feats or no feats, a ranger will have better DPR shooting a bow than a fighter up until level 11. Aside from the hand crossbow battle master by a bit. You want a ranger subclass that doesn't use a bonus action for the subclass damage. Need to save that for hunter's mark or rogue abilities. I say ranger 5/rogue 5. Easy. You'll have more options and more power for most of the game. Even if the game goes into tier 4, the rogue/ranger is going to do what you want to do faster, better, and for more of the game.
Battlemaster. Crits double your Battlemaster damage dice and Action Surge makes your Assassin opener twice as strong. By contrast, a Hunter's abilities are all better after the opener has opened and it's time to mop up - that is, Assassins and Battlemasters are synergistic strong openers, but Hunters are strong closers.
If you're going ranger I'd suggest Gloom Stalker instead of Hunter.
3 battlemaster/9 soul knife. Elf with elven accuracy. Sharpshooter feat. Spend bonus action to gain advantage with steady aim, roll 3d20 with a decent chance to crit. Precision attack and homing strikes can be used to ensure you don’t miss.
really accurate even with 18 dexterity.