There will come a time when somebody in the party will be desperately in need of a heal (maybe even you) and you can pull out the clutch heal. Having it at low levels is far more impactful as well.
Otherwise go with Sharpshooter. It primarily removes the penalty for shooting at long range. With some weapons and encounter ranges, this can be a big deal. Elven Accuracy and +1 to hit don't balance the disadvantage for long range.
Potions are much more useful for quick and dirty healing than blowing a feat for it. And I’ve pretty much never seen a case where long range was necessary, particularly when the longbow’s regular range is already longer than the space most DMs will set up an encounter in. Sharpshooter isn’t bad, but cover is very situational and improving DEX and crit chance more than make up for the power attack option.
Potions don't work on unconscious people. They are also one use magic items. A Healer's Kit has 10 uses and can probably be found in most towns and cities.
You are correct about most encounters and long bows.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Potions are much more useful for quick and dirty healing than blowing a feat for it. And I’ve pretty much never seen a case where long range was necessary, particularly when the longbow’s regular range is already longer than the space most DMs will set up an encounter in. Sharpshooter isn’t bad, but cover is very situational and improving DEX and crit chance more than make up for the power attack option.
Against an AC 13 target at level 4 (fairly typical)
17 dex, archery fighting style, sharpshooter (attack +2/1d8+13), no advantage, gives 50% to hit for 17.5, 5% to crit for +4.5, total 8.975 dpr.
17 dex, archery fighting style, sharpshooter (attack +2/1d8+13), advantage, gives 75% to hit for 17.5, 9.75% to crit for +4.5, total 13.56 dpr.
18 dex, archery fighting style, elven accuracy (attack +8/1d8+4), no advantage, gives 80% to hit for 8.5, 5% to crit for +4.5, total 7.025 dpr.
18 dex, archery fighting style, elven accuracy (attack +8/1d8+4), advantage, gives 99.2% to hit for 8.5, 14.26% to crit for +4.5, total 9.125 dpr.
That's not even close. Let's check against AC 17 instead
17 dex, archery fighting style, sharpshooter (attack +2/1d8+13), no advantage, gives 30% to hit for 17.5, 5% to crit for +4.5, total 5.475 dpr.
17 dex, archery fighting style, sharpshooter (attack +2/1d8+13), advantage, gives 51% to hit for 17.5, 9.75% to crit for +4.5, total 9.36 dpr.
18 dex, archery fighting style, elven accuracy (attack +8/1d8+4), no advantage, gives 60% to hit for 8.5, 5% to crit for +4.5, total 5.325 dpr.
18 dex, archery fighting style, elven accuracy (attack +8/1d8+4), advantage, gives 93.6% to hit for 8.5, 14.26% to crit for +4.5, total 8.595 dpr.
Now, the dex does give you ac and initiative and it adds to melee attacks, so if the game is all about fighting veterans at close range I'd certainly take the elven accuracy, but if you're likely to actually be able to use your archery reliably, sharpshooter will generally do better for you.
Also, cover is not all that situational -- it's very common any time your allies are in close combat, because an ally in the path counts as half cover.
Potions are much more useful for quick and dirty healing than blowing a feat for it. And I’ve pretty much never seen a case where long range was necessary, particularly when the longbow’s regular range is already longer than the space most DMs will set up an encounter in. Sharpshooter isn’t bad, but cover is very situational and improving DEX and crit chance more than make up for the power attack option.
Against an AC 13 target at level 4 (fairly typical)
17 dex, archery fighting style, sharpshooter (attack +2/1d8+13), no advantage, gives 50% to hit for 17.5, 5% to crit for +4.5, total 8.975 dpr.
17 dex, archery fighting style, sharpshooter (attack +2/1d8+13), advantage, gives 75% to hit for 17.5, 9.75% to crit for +4.5, total 13.56 dpr.
18 dex, archery fighting style, elven accuracy (attack +8/1d8+4), no advantage, gives 80% to hit for 8.5, 5% to crit for +4.5, total 7.025 dpr.
18 dex, archery fighting style, elven accuracy (attack +8/1d8+4), advantage, gives 99.2% to hit for 8.5, 14.26% to crit for +4.5, total 9.125 dpr.
That's not even close. Let's check against AC 17 instead
17 dex, archery fighting style, sharpshooter (attack +2/1d8+13), no advantage, gives 30% to hit for 17.5, 5% to crit for +4.5, total 5.475 dpr.
17 dex, archery fighting style, sharpshooter (attack +2/1d8+13), advantage, gives 51% to hit for 17.5, 9.75% to crit for +4.5, total 9.36 dpr.
18 dex, archery fighting style, elven accuracy (attack +8/1d8+4), no advantage, gives 60% to hit for 8.5, 5% to crit for +4.5, total 5.325 dpr.
18 dex, archery fighting style, elven accuracy (attack +8/1d8+4), advantage, gives 93.6% to hit for 8.5, 14.26% to crit for +4.5, total 8.595 dpr.
Now, the dex does give you ac and initiative and it adds to melee attacks, so if the game is all about fighting veterans at close range I'd certainly take the elven accuracy, but if you're likely to actually be able to use your archery reliably, sharpshooter will generally do better for you.
Also, cover is not all that situational -- it's very common any time your allies are in close combat, because an ally in the path counts as half cover.
Allies being in the way is DM dependent in my experience, and you can usually move to clear the line of fire. Plus anything Large or bigger (aka more monsters than not) can’t really be covered by PCs.
Potions don't work on unconscious people. They are also one use magic items. A Healer's Kit has 10 uses and can probably be found in most towns and cities.
You are correct about most encounters and long bows.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Against an AC 13 target at level 4 (fairly typical)
That's not even close. Let's check against AC 17 instead
Now, the dex does give you ac and initiative and it adds to melee attacks, so if the game is all about fighting veterans at close range I'd certainly take the elven accuracy, but if you're likely to actually be able to use your archery reliably, sharpshooter will generally do better for you.
Also, cover is not all that situational -- it's very common any time your allies are in close combat, because an ally in the path counts as half cover.
Allies being in the way is DM dependent in my experience, and you can usually move to clear the line of fire. Plus anything Large or bigger (aka more monsters than not) can’t really be covered by PCs.
Not unless you've got a Rune Knight or Path of the Giant in your party.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.