I'm not sure what to do, I love ranger but it isn't that viable, so I was thinking maybe a fighter/rogue archer would be better 19 fighter/1 rouge for sneak attack and expertise

then I noticed that the level 20 fighter class feature would probably get me more damage, so I'm not sure what to do, should I get another chance at a stronger hit or get a bit of guaranteed damage?

also, what subclass do you recommend, I've got all three core rulebooks.

also thinking of maybe a few levels in druid for the nature flair

edit: I think I heard something about samurai being good, the battle master is also good from what I've heard

Ranger is 100% "viable", but that depends on what you want to get out of it. Why do you think ranger isn't going to be a good choice?

i just wanna be an amazing archer, sorta hunter, the best subclasses won't fit her very well

a wood elf btw

I would probably go with an elf get a background that has woodsey things and go straight fighter.  You might also go ranger with Tasha's alternate class rules.

what subclass do you recommend

Quote from Eliza_da_bard >>

i just wanna be an amazing archer, sorta hunter, the best subclasses won't fit her very well

Rangers are perfectly viable archers, so what is the issue there? Why don't any of the subclasses fit them?

the subclass I would pick would be beastmaster or hunter and there are a whole lot of better options to get the same effects, also half of rangers class features are extremely situational and I think the amount of attacks fighter gets will serve me better

If you *just* wanna be a cool archer, then I'd go fighter over ranger. All the ranger flavors feature more around some kind of mystical stuff added in. If you wanna be a cool archer plus a beast companion, or a cool archer plus fey magic, or a cool archer plus darkness powers, then ranger is what you want.

just a cool archer, i still need to figure out what fighter subclass i want though

Rangers are perfectly fine archers.  If you're not a fan of the Favored Terrain/Enemy featues, Tasha's Cauldron has replacement features that better suit generalists.  The fighter makes an excellent bowman as well, of course.  It depends on whether "exceptional bowman" is the most critical piece of your kit or whether you like the increased versatility the ranger grants.  Hunters and Beastmasters are fine, if only with a Primal Companion a'la Tasha's in the case of the Beastmaster, but it's also easy enough to homebrew an expanded spell list onto those classes like everyone else gets.  If you really like the ranger class but are concerned about underperforming, I wouldn't worry.  Rangers are perfectly fine in combat and their spellcasting and survivalist features make them useful to almost any adventuring party, even outside their favored terrain.  Take Natural Explorer instead and you'll be a boon to the team.

If you strongly prefer the idea of fighter?  Most of the Battlemaster's maneuvers work with arrows, and it makes a fantastic trick-shot archer.  I also tend to like Samurai for bow-focused fighters.  Samurai is simpler, but unlike the Champion, in this case "simple" is not a detriment to the class overall.  For elves especially, being able to fire an entire barrage of advantage shots can be a huge boon if you end up taking Elven Accuracy.  Both make splendid archers, but they're both archers without much else to their name.  The ranger can arche while also doing other stuff, which may work out in your favor.

thanks, I think samurai would work better because I just want to put a whole ton of arrows into a target and have them die. and advantage really helps with that (i think, I'm still kinda new to d&d, also the biggest thing I am trying to do now is force myself to acknowledge that fighter isn't boring)

also, because the only ability score i care about is dex i can get that maxed out with 2 ability score improvements leaving me with 5 that i can use for feats, ideas for that?

Quote from Eliza_da_bard >>

also, because the only ability score i care about is dex i can get that maxed out with 2 ability score improvements leaving me with 5 that i can use for feats, ideas for that?

 Yeah, don't expect to get to level 20. The truth is the vast majority of campaigns fizzle out between levels 1-6, and the ones that don't tend to only get to about levels 10-12. Take your character one level at a time and try to enjoy them that way instead of planning for something that most likely won't happen, so don't put any bets on the certainty you'll get those late level class features.

Having said that, Crossbow Expert is good if you want to use a crossbow instead of a bow, as this feat allows you to bypass the whole only shooting one bolt thing. It also let's you be in melee and not have disadvantage on ranged attack rolls which is great if you get jumped. Sharpshooter is your go to damage feat as it means each shot you land will deal an extra 10 damage, but take a -5 to hit which isn't going to end up being a huge deal if you take the archery fighting style and can give yourself advantage.

You'll want workable Constitution as well on a fighter, especially since you can use Finesse melee weapons and fight in close if you need to.

Elven Accuracy synergizes exceptionally well with Samurai fighters, and Sharpshooter is a standard must-have for any archer.  Beyond that?  Take feats that seem like they'd fit your character, or that give you abilities the party needs.  No need to iron down a rigid, unbending plan of progression before you even play.

I mostly make characters for fun, thank you for all of the help!

also, I do have a decent con stat, all my stats are good except for charisma and that is my dump stat.

You’re gonna want some Con and Wis too. Con for saving throws and when you do get hit (‘cause you will), and Wis for saves and Perception (to spot hidden targets).

If you wanna do short-range, higher volume fire, then I recommend a Hand Crossbow, the Crossbow Expert Feat, and the Piercer feat. If you wanna go longer range, standard rate of fire then I suggest a Longbow and the Sharpshooter feat. If you are playing any qualifying race then I suggest the Elven Accuracy feat as well.

thanks agian for all the help, i think i know what i am doing with this character now!

11 Battlemaster/9 Gloomstalker would be a solid utility/damage build.