Since I am a Gloom Stalker and Scout I want to learn any tips that could allow me to deal the most amount of damage on the first round of combat to take advantage of both sneak attack and dread ambusher. My original plan was to start off a fight hidden, cast hunter's mark as my bonus action on the most problematic monster in a horde, do my first attack which would grant me the +1d6 from hunter's mark plus the extra 2d6 from sneak attack, and then because of dread ambusher I would get another attack that would also get an extra 1d6 because of hunter's mark and then +1d8 of damage from dread ambusher, ending my turn. Is this already optimal, or is there a way to get even more damage at my current level? Btw I know rangers get extra attack at level 5 but I want to know what I can do currently.
I would take fighter levels. A longbow/crossbow, and sharpshooter. You’ll have the archery fighting style, action surge, extra attack, precise attack manoeuvres (Battle Master Subclass), and you can get sneak attack off of ranger attacks. So you can just stack all of it. If you take another level of ranger you can take pass without a trace on your whole party aswell to get surprise. But do that after another two levels of fighter.
I was thinking of taking some levels in fighter but I don't know how that would fit into what I'm trying to build in the endgame, could you explain just a tad further how that would work?
Also for a little more background in this homebrew campaign my DM has made the party fairly strong already, but the enemies are almost just as strong. I have the archery fighting style mixed with a sniper rifle that does 4d12+10, which is a crap load of damage but the monsters ACs are all 20+ to counteract this.
I am proficient in firearms as well and was planning to take the sharpshooter feat on the next time I get the choice of an ASI or a feat.
Your game is so homebrew there is nothing we can say that would help b/c the rules we know barely apply to your game. If you want more damage ask your DM for a magic item that gives you permanent Haste, or if they will let you MC into Paladin and use Divine Smite with your gun.
Some good options here, especially hearing about your insane gun and high monster AC. With a gun like that, to me it's more about accuracy and hitting through that high monster AC vs. more damage. The more attacks you get, the more often you land them, the more often you are rolling that insane 4d12+10. In fact, I would argue that sharp shooter probably isn't worth the decreased chance to hit.
What race did you choose? I'd say Elven Accuracy becomes a very attractive feat. Crossbow expert or Gunner to ignore the reloading property of your firearm is also fairly mandatory.
A dip in fighter to level 2-3 would certainly be attractive, level 2 for action surge for a nova round (that extra action would get you another attack + another dread ambusher attack) but I think even bigger at level 3, choosing Battlemaster and the precision maneuver to add that dice to your chance to hit would be pretty useful.
Other than that, anything and everything you can do to gain advantage on your attack rolls, and if you can snag elven accuracy for that third d20 roll to hit when you have advantage will keep your damage output up there. The rest that you have laid out is pretty solid.
You can also ask your DM if Paladin can get smite with a gun, just throwing it out there (but if you do grab sorcerer for quickened spell and the spell slots, the more you do the more damage you can do)
Why though? His gun is insane 4d12 +10, why look for a magic crossbow? Also, given the amount of dmg he does each time he hits, would you still push for SS? I would think a feat or ASI's to improve accuracy of hits would cause significantly more dpr.
With the gun’s big damage the most important thing is to hit with it, I present to you, Elven Accuracy, also just getting your DEX up by one effectively increases your chance to hit by 5% and therefore your damage by 5%, just a thought!
Since I am a Gloom Stalker and Scout I want to learn any tips that could allow me to deal the most amount of damage on the first round of combat to take advantage of both sneak attack and dread ambusher. My original plan was to start off a fight hidden, cast hunter's mark as my bonus action on the most problematic monster in a horde, do my first attack which would grant me the +1d6 from hunter's mark plus the extra 2d6 from sneak attack, and then because of dread ambusher I would get another attack that would also get an extra 1d6 because of hunter's mark and then +1d8 of damage from dread ambusher, ending my turn. Is this already optimal, or is there a way to get even more damage at my current level? Btw I know rangers get extra attack at level 5 but I want to know what I can do currently.
If you had stuck with just Ranger I would say shoot reload shoot reload shoot Action, Action, Bonus action (crossbow expert)
My level 8 Gloomstalker can do massive amounts of damage and at range.
I also have plenty of accuracy, I took archery as a fighting style so I gain +2 to ranged weapons and since the homebrew sniper is considered a +1 weapon by my DM I have +11 to hit because of my proficiency with firearms as well. This is the reason I was planning on taking sharpshooter, because even then it would still basically be like rolling a +6 to hit and the extra damage is still useful even when my gun does so much already.
I appreciate you guys throwing out ideas and for a little bit more background the level of encounters is usually something like this:
Scenario 1: My party gets attacked by 1 or 2 very high damaging monsters with 25+ AC to counterbalance the insane damage we deal
Scenario 2: This one has gotten us almost killed a few times; my party gets attacked by a horde of monsters that are semi-intelligent so that they will often have mounts/companion creatures that will attack us in tandem with the actual monster, with both of the monsters' ACs being about 20-22.
Last post for right now but if you guys think sharpshooter still isn't that good when my damage is so high are there even any feats that could increase accuracy besides elven accuracy since I am a Lightfoot Halfling?
I'd highly consider Lucky if your DM will allow you to take it. I'd be very attracted to 3 levels of fighter for *precision* battle maneuvers to add to your hit rolls. In a vacuum there's nothing wrong with sharpshooter, but a +6 to hit on monsters with 20-25 AC means you are having to roll 14-19 just to hit. All that 4d12 ++ damage means nothing if you don't hit often.
The odds to hit go up significantly rolling with advantage. Now that I know you went halfling, we can take out the elven accuracy recommendation. Gunner / crossbow expert would allow ignoring reload properties of the gun, more shots off, more chances to hit. Lucky gives you 3 re-rolls a day. Fighting Initiate can get you lower dice battle master maneuvers for a +1d6 to hit vs multiclassing fighter. Piercer on d12 damage also looks very attractive. Shadow touched for invisibility so your first attack is at advantage.
One more thing, say my character was level 20, would 5 levels in Gloom Stalker Ranger/3 levels in Gunslinger Fighter/12 levels in Scout Rogue be a good class setup? the idea behind it is that with gunslinger fighter I could get both Action Surge and Trickshots (Deadeye Shot for advantage on attack rolls if I need and Violent Shot for extra damage if I need) along with 6d6 of sneak attack with the extra action granted by ranger I could have 6 attacks of the first turn of combat, say a fight goes like this:
I'm hidden before the fight starts (hopefully don't get seen by monster's passive perception) so I have advantage on my first attack I use my bonus action to cast Hunter's Mark.
1st Attack: Roll to hit, deal the 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark +6d6 from Sneak Attack (I wouldn't be hidden after this attack).
2nd Attack: Because of the Extra Attack feature granted by a level 5 ranger you get another attack. So, roll to hit, deal the 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark + use 1 grit point to activate violent shot (increases misfire by +2 but allows you to roll one additional damage die per grit point spent) so basically deal 5d12+10 +1d6 if I don't roll a 1, 2, or 3 (my sniper's misfire score is 1).
3rd Attack: According to Dread Ambusher from the Gloom Stalker, if you take the attack action on your first turn of combat you gain an additional attack for that action and that attack will get +1d8 of extra damage. So, roll to hit, deal 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark +1d8 from Dread Ambusher.
*Use Action Surge*
4th Attack: Roll to hit, deal 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark.
5th Attack: Do the EXACT same thing as you did on your 2nd Attack.
6th Attack: Do the EXACT same thing as you did on your 3rd Attack.
This is assuming every attack will hit and the monster even survives this onslaught.
One more thing, say my character was level 20, would 5 levels in Gloom Stalker Ranger/3 levels in Gunslinger Fighter/12 levels in Scout Rogue be a good class setup? the idea behind it is that with gunslinger fighter I could get both Action Surge and Trickshots (Deadeye Shot for advantage on attack rolls if I need and Violent Shot for extra damage if I need) along with 6d6 of sneak attack with the extra action granted by ranger I could have 6 attacks of the first turn of combat, say a fight goes like this:
I'm hidden before the fight starts (hopefully don't get seen by monster's passive perception) so I have advantage on my first attack I use my bonus action to cast Hunter's Mark.
1st Attack: Roll to hit, deal the 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark +6d6 from Sneak Attack (I wouldn't be hidden after this attack).
2nd Attack: Because of the Extra Attack feature granted by a level 5 ranger you get another attack. So, roll to hit, deal the 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark + use 1 grit point to activate violent shot (increases misfire by +2 but allows you to roll one additional damage die per grit point spent) so basically deal 5d12+10 +1d6 if I don't roll a 1, 2, or 3 (my sniper's misfire score is 1).
3rd Attack: According to Dread Ambusher from the Gloom Stalker, if you take the attack action on your first turn of combat you gain an additional attack for that action and that attack will get +1d8 of extra damage. So, roll to hit, deal 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark +1d8 from Dread Ambusher.
*Use Action Surge*
4th Attack: Roll to hit, deal 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark.
5th Attack: Do the EXACT same thing as you did on your 2nd Attack.
6th Attack: Do the EXACT same thing as you did on your 3rd Attack.
This is assuming every attack will hit and the monster even survives this onslaught.
I’d swap it around a bit, and go for Battlemaster instead, and get up to 3rd attack there(don’t remember level, sorry (it’s like 12 or something)). Go to 5 on gloomstalker and get pass without a trace to maximise your suprise round chance. After that it’s exactly what you described but more attacks and less sneak attack.
This is theoretically 12 attacks each dealing big gun damage, with some SA to mark it off, nice!
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So my PC is a level 4 Gloom Stalker Ranger and a level 3 Scout Rogue multiclass, his stats are:
14 Strength
20 Dexterity
16 Constitution
14 Intelligence
17 Wisdom
12 Charisma
Since I am a Gloom Stalker and Scout I want to learn any tips that could allow me to deal the most amount of damage on the first round of combat to take advantage of both sneak attack and dread ambusher. My original plan was to start off a fight hidden, cast hunter's mark as my bonus action on the most problematic monster in a horde, do my first attack which would grant me the +1d6 from hunter's mark plus the extra 2d6 from sneak attack, and then because of dread ambusher I would get another attack that would also get an extra 1d6 because of hunter's mark and then +1d8 of damage from dread ambusher, ending my turn. Is this already optimal, or is there a way to get even more damage at my current level? Btw I know rangers get extra attack at level 5 but I want to know what I can do currently.
I would take fighter levels. A longbow/crossbow, and sharpshooter.
You’ll have the archery fighting style, action surge, extra attack, precise attack manoeuvres (Battle Master Subclass), and you can get sneak attack off of ranger attacks. So you can just stack all of it.
If you take another level of ranger you can take pass without a trace on your whole party aswell to get surprise. But do that after another two levels of fighter.
I was thinking of taking some levels in fighter but I don't know how that would fit into what I'm trying to build in the endgame, could you explain just a tad further how that would work?
Also for a little more background in this homebrew campaign my DM has made the party fairly strong already, but the enemies are almost just as strong. I have the archery fighting style mixed with a sniper rifle that does 4d12+10, which is a crap load of damage but the monsters ACs are all 20+ to counteract this.
I am proficient in firearms as well and was planning to take the sharpshooter feat on the next time I get the choice of an ASI or a feat.
Your game is so homebrew there is nothing we can say that would help b/c the rules we know barely apply to your game. If you want more damage ask your DM for a magic item that gives you permanent Haste, or if they will let you MC into Paladin and use Divine Smite with your gun.
Alright, thank you.
Some good options here, especially hearing about your insane gun and high monster AC. With a gun like that, to me it's more about accuracy and hitting through that high monster AC vs. more damage. The more attacks you get, the more often you land them, the more often you are rolling that insane 4d12+10. In fact, I would argue that sharp shooter probably isn't worth the decreased chance to hit.
What race did you choose? I'd say Elven Accuracy becomes a very attractive feat. Crossbow expert or Gunner to ignore the reloading property of your firearm is also fairly mandatory.
A dip in fighter to level 2-3 would certainly be attractive, level 2 for action surge for a nova round (that extra action would get you another attack + another dread ambusher attack) but I think even bigger at level 3, choosing Battlemaster and the precision maneuver to add that dice to your chance to hit would be pretty useful.
Other than that, anything and everything you can do to gain advantage on your attack rolls, and if you can snag elven accuracy for that third d20 roll to hit when you have advantage will keep your damage output up there. The rest that you have laid out is pretty solid.
You can also ask your DM if Paladin can get smite with a gun, just throwing it out there (but if you do grab sorcerer for quickened spell and the spell slots, the more you do the more damage you can do)
I would definitely take the Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter feats and try to get a magic handcrossbow as soon as i can.
Why though? His gun is insane 4d12 +10, why look for a magic crossbow? Also, given the amount of dmg he does each time he hits, would you still push for SS? I would think a feat or ASI's to improve accuracy of hits would cause significantly more dpr.
With the gun’s big damage the most important thing is to hit with it, I present to you, Elven Accuracy, also just getting your DEX up by one effectively increases your chance to hit by 5% and therefore your damage by 5%, just a thought!
If you had stuck with just Ranger I would say shoot reload shoot reload shoot Action, Action, Bonus action (crossbow expert)
My level 8 Gloomstalker can do massive amounts of damage and at range.
stand back, find an engaged enemy cast hunters mark and sneak attack with a ranged weapon
For everyone asking, my PC is a lightfoot halfling so I could gain that extra dex and some stealth.
I also have plenty of accuracy, I took archery as a fighting style so I gain +2 to ranged weapons and since the homebrew sniper is considered a +1 weapon by my DM I have +11 to hit because of my proficiency with firearms as well. This is the reason I was planning on taking sharpshooter, because even then it would still basically be like rolling a +6 to hit and the extra damage is still useful even when my gun does so much already.
I appreciate you guys throwing out ideas and for a little bit more background the level of encounters is usually something like this:
Scenario 1: My party gets attacked by 1 or 2 very high damaging monsters with 25+ AC to counterbalance the insane damage we deal
Scenario 2: This one has gotten us almost killed a few times; my party gets attacked by a horde of monsters that are semi-intelligent so that they will often have mounts/companion creatures that will attack us in tandem with the actual monster, with both of the monsters' ACs being about 20-22.
Last post for right now but if you guys think sharpshooter still isn't that good when my damage is so high are there even any feats that could increase accuracy besides elven accuracy since I am a Lightfoot Halfling?
I'd highly consider Lucky if your DM will allow you to take it. I'd be very attracted to 3 levels of fighter for *precision* battle maneuvers to add to your hit rolls. In a vacuum there's nothing wrong with sharpshooter, but a +6 to hit on monsters with 20-25 AC means you are having to roll 14-19 just to hit. All that 4d12 ++ damage means nothing if you don't hit often.
The odds to hit go up significantly rolling with advantage. Now that I know you went halfling, we can take out the elven accuracy recommendation. Gunner / crossbow expert would allow ignoring reload properties of the gun, more shots off, more chances to hit. Lucky gives you 3 re-rolls a day. Fighting Initiate can get you lower dice battle master maneuvers for a +1d6 to hit vs multiclassing fighter. Piercer on d12 damage also looks very attractive. Shadow touched for invisibility so your first attack is at advantage.
These all sound great, I'll do some research on them to see what I think will suit me best, but right now gunner sounds very enticing.
One more thing, say my character was level 20, would 5 levels in Gloom Stalker Ranger/3 levels in Gunslinger Fighter/12 levels in Scout Rogue be a good class setup? the idea behind it is that with gunslinger fighter I could get both Action Surge and Trickshots (Deadeye Shot for advantage on attack rolls if I need and Violent Shot for extra damage if I need) along with 6d6 of sneak attack with the extra action granted by ranger I could have 6 attacks of the first turn of combat, say a fight goes like this:
I'm hidden before the fight starts (hopefully don't get seen by monster's passive perception) so I have advantage on my first attack
I use my bonus action to cast Hunter's Mark.
1st Attack: Roll to hit, deal the 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark +6d6 from Sneak Attack (I wouldn't be hidden after this attack).
2nd Attack: Because of the Extra Attack feature granted by a level 5 ranger you get another attack. So, roll to hit, deal the 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark + use 1 grit point to activate violent shot (increases misfire by +2 but allows you to roll one additional damage die per grit point spent) so basically deal 5d12+10 +1d6 if I don't roll a 1, 2, or 3 (my sniper's misfire score is 1).
3rd Attack: According to Dread Ambusher from the Gloom Stalker, if you take the attack action on your first turn of combat you gain an additional attack for that action and that attack will get +1d8 of extra damage. So, roll to hit, deal 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark +1d8 from Dread Ambusher.
*Use Action Surge*
4th Attack: Roll to hit, deal 4d12+10 +1d6 from Hunter's Mark.
5th Attack: Do the EXACT same thing as you did on your 2nd Attack.
6th Attack: Do the EXACT same thing as you did on your 3rd Attack.
This is assuming every attack will hit and the monster even survives this onslaught.
I’d swap it around a bit, and go for Battlemaster instead, and get up to 3rd attack there(don’t remember level, sorry (it’s like 12 or something)). Go to 5 on gloomstalker and get pass without a trace to maximise your suprise round chance. After that it’s exactly what you described but more attacks and less sneak attack.
This is theoretically 12 attacks each dealing big gun damage, with some SA to mark it off, nice!