I come here again to absorb some knowledge from you. I'm about to start playing a new adventure starting at level 3 and I'm wanting to try something different. I always play magic or melee class and decided to change this time. I thought about making a Fighter Archer. My goal is to do a lot of damage or attack as many times as I can, but I don't know if pure Fighter is the best option. What do you think? Pure, a few levels of Rogue or Ranger? What do you think is best?? All 5e books can be used.
Pure Fighter will get you the most attacks. I advise against Rogue because you'll only be able to apply sneak attack damage on one of your attacks and the damage will be less than ideal if you sacrifice some levels in Fighter. Some of the cleric subclasses add on a d8 at level 8 to all weapon damage rolls but that would leave you with less attacks. Personally I would do pure Fighter and mix it up with some feats like sharpshooter or maybe even crossbow expert. Do you know how high a level you are going to?
Thanks for the answer! We're going to start at level 3. The DM said the table duration will be 4 months. I believe we will finish between level 6 or 10.
Fighter gets their second attack at level five and their third attack at level 11. So I could see a Fighter 6/Ranger 4. If you pick the battlemaste rsubclass for Fighter and the Hunter Subclass for Ranger you could potentially do an extra 2d8 damage on most of your attacks. Pick up the sharpshooter feat and the precision attack maneuver and you'll be all set with base damage+10+1d8 for two attacks per turn. You'll also have a little bit of spellcasting from Ranger, grab hunters mark and we can do base+10+1d8+1d6. Which is an average of 22.5+Dex for a long bow, not too shabby if you ask me.
Since you're ending around levels 6-10 (before fighters get their 3rd attack), and if you'd like to try something different, I'd like to suggest the protector archer:
Start with 1 level of fighter for the archery fighting style.
Then get 6 levels of ancestral guardian barbarian taking the sharpshooter feat instead of an ASI.
Finish with fighter levels (any subclass).
Place your highest score in DEX and at least 13 in STR for multiclassing purposes. With a bow, use the ancestral protectors ability to hinder the most deadly monster in an encounter.
I come here again to absorb some knowledge from you. I'm about to start playing a new adventure starting at level 3 and I'm wanting to try something different. I always play magic or melee class and decided to change this time. I thought about making a Fighter Archer. My goal is to do a lot of damage or attack as many times as I can, but I don't know if pure Fighter is the best option. What do you think? Pure, a few levels of Rogue or Ranger? What do you think is best?? All 5e books can be used.
I thank you all!
The highest known DPR in the game is based on what you're asking about, but I do know of a variant you might like.
First, the highest known, which involves some specific magic items I won't get into - just be aware that without the items you may not literally be the highest DPR in the game, but you'll do pretty ok:
Fighter (Battle Master) 11/Rogue (Assassin 3)/Ranger (Gloom Stalker) 3, with the remaining 3 levels assigned as you like based on desired access to things like ASIs or higher-level Ranger spells. The fundamental feats needed are Sharpshooter and Crossbow Expert.
The following variant has two sub-variants, depending on whether or not your DM allows firearms:
Samurai 20, must be an elf or half-elf
Fundamental feats: Sharpshooter, Elven Accuracy (if the firearm variant, incorporates Gunner and Piercer)
It's so simple because it has very few moving parts - you just lean into Samurai by exploiting how much synergy Samurai intrinsically has with Elven Accuracy. That said, while the firearm variant is more powerful, neither one can really topple Battle Master until later levels (Battle Master has diminishing returns - it gives you the most at level 3, and then later levels give you less and less, while Samurai has increasing returns, with higher levels being more powerful than earlier levels, so out the gate BM is more powerful, and then Samurai starts closing the gap), and even then it's quite difficult.
Go for any version of Elf, then go Samurai Fighter and take the Elven Accuracy feat. Now you can give yourself advantage on attacks 3 times a day, and each of those attacks is even more at advantage. It might even be worth it to take a couple levels of Rogue, not for sneak attack, but just so you can attempt to Hide as a bonus action to give yourself advantage on an attack.
Sticking with Stealth builds, another option is to go for a Goblin Fighter... Goblins can Hide or Disengage as a bonus action, which is a huge help on getting advantage for yourself or getting away from danger in ways that most other fighters can't. They're also one of the small races that still has a full 30 foot movement speed. I'd still recommend Battlemaster Fighter, as others have said, because you can take on a lot more cool trickshot arrows with that subclass... way more than Arcane Archer. Although there's a lot of fun you could have as an Eldritch Knight, since it opens you up to more spell selection, or you could double down on options for your Bonus Action each round by taking Echo Knight. There's a lot more to juggle with an Echo Knight, but it does give you, if nothing else, a decoy to keep attention off of yourself and some pretty unique movement options.
Pure DPR is powerful, but not always the most fun. So I’ll throw out two alternatives that give you some control options and more out of combat utility with only a slight DPR difference. At the levels you are anticipating, the drop off from pure Fighter isn’t as big because you likely won’t get three attacks at Fighter 11. Go Fighter to start with Archery style and multiclass after level 5 or 6.
First, Arcane Archer 6/Scout 4. You get Disengage and move with a reaction, which is great for most ranged builds. You also get Sneak Attack at 2d6, which you should reliably get by targeting foes your allies are in melee with. You will want to be an elf to get Elven Archery, which will increase the likelihood you hit with Sharpshooter. Your third ASI will be DEX (possibly your first taken). Because you can disengage and move with a reaction, you don’t need XBE to avoid disadvantage imposed by being in melee. Typical longbow damage would be base + 10 + DEX + sneak on the first hit, or 26.5 average, with 19.5 average on the second attack. That’s without potential crits or Arcane Shot bonus damage and assuming 18 DEX. You’ll want at least some INT bonus here too, but it helps with being a skill monkey to have a decent INT.
Second, Arcane Archer 6/Inquisitive 4. You can use Insightful Fighting to generate sneak attack on anyone, especially if they have a low CHR. Same build otherwise as the Scout above, with the same average DPR. You’ll just trade the reaction disengage and move for sneak attack that can work on any opponent, without your hiding or nearby allies. It needs WIS and INT too, so it’s a little MAD. That makes it worse for me. But you may like it for character reasons.
Pure DPR is powerful, but not always the most fun. So I’ll throw out two alternatives that give you some control options and more out of combat utility with only a slight DPR difference. At the levels you are anticipating, the drop off from pure Fighter isn’t as big because you likely won’t get three attacks at Fighter 11. Go Fighter to start with Archery style and multiclass after level 5 or 6.
First, Arcane Archer 6/Scout 4. You get Disengage and move with a reaction, which is great for most ranged builds. You also get Sneak Attack at 2d6, which you should reliably get by targeting foes your allies are in melee with. You will want to be an elf to get Elven Archery, which will increase the likelihood you hit with Sharpshooter. Your third ASI will be DEX (possibly your first taken). Because you can disengage and move with a reaction, you don’t need XBE to avoid disadvantage imposed by being in melee. Typical longbow damage would be base + 10 + DEX + sneak on the first hit, or 26.5 average, with 19.5 average on the second attack. That’s without potential crits or Arcane Shot bonus damage and assuming 18 DEX. You’ll want at least some INT bonus here too, but it helps with being a skill monkey to have a decent INT.
Second, Arcane Archer 6/Inquisitive 4. You can use Insightful Fighting to generate sneak attack on anyone, especially if they have a low CHR. Same build otherwise as the Scout above, with the same average DPR. You’ll just trade the reaction disengage and move for sneak attack that can work on any opponent, without your hiding or nearby allies. It needs WIS and INT too, so it’s a little MAD. That makes it worse for me. But you may like it for character reasons.
And if other characters in your group have reliable ways of moving creatures (Crusher feat, Repelling Blast invocation, etc) with Grasping Arrow, the creature takes extra damage each turn it moves (not each round). So depending on turn order in initiative that could be significant before it gets a chance to attempt to break free
4th Level – Feat: Sharpshooter (50+ damage with action surge)
5th Level – Extra Attack (100+ damage with action surge)
6th Level – +2 Dex or if maxed, then Fighter Initiate: Archery, delay this until lv8 if more dex is needed
From this point on it's more a no brainer
Darts can be a good build since Tasha’s but I would probably skip Gunner and go sharpshooter or fighting initiate: Archery at 1st. And the other at 6. +2 Dex at 6 would probably only give you +1 to hit while archery gives you +2. Then focus on Dex after SS, Thrown Weapon, and Archery fighting styles are in place.
a half-feat at lv1 means you can start with 18 in dex and more importantly doesn't shut you down completly if an enemy gets into melee. At this level +6 to hit and 1d4+6 is great for most enemys you'll face. You'll start with 17ac also including your shield. If anything I'd be tempted to delay Sharpshooter to lv6 and max dex or take archery at four depending if you want the +1ac, initative and damage or to hit
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D&D, Youth Work and the Priesthood sadly do not typically interact... I do what I can!
In the campaign I am running, simply having the +2 from Archery fighting style has put the Ranger in the group well ahead of the rest in to-hit and thus, near or at the top in most fights for damage. Early on, it is a huge boost, the effects of which diminish slightly as you level, but +2 is nothing to scoff at at any tier play. So, any class that allows a fighting style pick wants it, IMO. This is just in game experience (was in another with similar results, early on the Fighter with Archery topped damage just from hitting more often) I would suggest making sure you get the style, then focus on Dex to max, Sharpshooter as a really "should have" feat then scan through the subclasses that allow the above and pick what special tricks appeal to you. The base damage of having the above setup should have you easily carrying your weight, if not excelling in DPR for most fights, so anything above that is more RP flavor, or maybe utility assists.
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Good morning friends!
I come here again to absorb some knowledge from you. I'm about to start playing a new adventure starting at level 3 and I'm wanting to try something different. I always play magic or melee class and decided to change this time. I thought about making a Fighter Archer. My goal is to do a lot of damage or attack as many times as I can, but I don't know if pure Fighter is the best option. What do you think? Pure, a few levels of Rogue or Ranger? What do you think is best?? All 5e books can be used.
I thank you all!
Pure Fighter Archer is just way better than anything. Take Battlemaster or Champion instead of Arcane Archer unless you want too.
Pure Fighter will get you the most attacks. I advise against Rogue because you'll only be able to apply sneak attack damage on one of your attacks and the damage will be less than ideal if you sacrifice some levels in Fighter. Some of the cleric subclasses add on a d8 at level 8 to all weapon damage rolls but that would leave you with less attacks. Personally I would do pure Fighter and mix it up with some feats like sharpshooter or maybe even crossbow expert. Do you know how high a level you are going to?
Keep your friends close, and enemies closer.
Thanks for the answer! We're going to start at level 3. The DM said the table duration will be 4 months. I believe we will finish between level 6 or 10.
Fighter gets their second attack at level five and their third attack at level 11. So I could see a Fighter 6/Ranger 4. If you pick the battlemaste rsubclass for Fighter and the Hunter Subclass for Ranger you could potentially do an extra 2d8 damage on most of your attacks. Pick up the sharpshooter feat and the precision attack maneuver and you'll be all set with base damage+10+1d8 for two attacks per turn. You'll also have a little bit of spellcasting from Ranger, grab hunters mark and we can do base+10+1d8+1d6. Which is an average of 22.5+Dex for a long bow, not too shabby if you ask me.
Keep your friends close, and enemies closer.
It looks pretty solid to me. I liked the idea! Thank you for your help!
Since you're ending around levels 6-10 (before fighters get their 3rd attack), and if you'd like to try something different, I'd like to suggest the protector archer:
Place your highest score in DEX and at least 13 in STR for multiclassing purposes. With a bow, use the ancestral protectors ability to hinder the most deadly monster in an encounter.
The highest known DPR in the game is based on what you're asking about, but I do know of a variant you might like.
First, the highest known, which involves some specific magic items I won't get into - just be aware that without the items you may not literally be the highest DPR in the game, but you'll do pretty ok:
Fighter (Battle Master) 11/Rogue (Assassin 3)/Ranger (Gloom Stalker) 3, with the remaining 3 levels assigned as you like based on desired access to things like ASIs or higher-level Ranger spells. The fundamental feats needed are Sharpshooter and Crossbow Expert.
The following variant has two sub-variants, depending on whether or not your DM allows firearms:
Samurai 20, must be an elf or half-elf
Fundamental feats: Sharpshooter, Elven Accuracy (if the firearm variant, incorporates Gunner and Piercer)
It's so simple because it has very few moving parts - you just lean into Samurai by exploiting how much synergy Samurai intrinsically has with Elven Accuracy. That said, while the firearm variant is more powerful, neither one can really topple Battle Master until later levels (Battle Master has diminishing returns - it gives you the most at level 3, and then later levels give you less and less, while Samurai has increasing returns, with higher levels being more powerful than earlier levels, so out the gate BM is more powerful, and then Samurai starts closing the gap), and even then it's quite difficult.
Here's a fun one...
Go for any version of Elf, then go Samurai Fighter and take the Elven Accuracy feat. Now you can give yourself advantage on attacks 3 times a day, and each of those attacks is even more at advantage. It might even be worth it to take a couple levels of Rogue, not for sneak attack, but just so you can attempt to Hide as a bonus action to give yourself advantage on an attack.
Sticking with Stealth builds, another option is to go for a Goblin Fighter... Goblins can Hide or Disengage as a bonus action, which is a huge help on getting advantage for yourself or getting away from danger in ways that most other fighters can't. They're also one of the small races that still has a full 30 foot movement speed. I'd still recommend Battlemaster Fighter, as others have said, because you can take on a lot more cool trickshot arrows with that subclass... way more than Arcane Archer. Although there's a lot of fun you could have as an Eldritch Knight, since it opens you up to more spell selection, or you could double down on options for your Bonus Action each round by taking Echo Knight. There's a lot more to juggle with an Echo Knight, but it does give you, if nothing else, a decoy to keep attention off of yourself and some pretty unique movement options.
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Pure DPR is powerful, but not always the most fun. So I’ll throw out two alternatives that give you some control options and more out of combat utility with only a slight DPR difference. At the levels you are anticipating, the drop off from pure Fighter isn’t as big because you likely won’t get three attacks at Fighter 11. Go Fighter to start with Archery style and multiclass after level 5 or 6.
First, Arcane Archer 6/Scout 4. You get Disengage and move with a reaction, which is great for most ranged builds. You also get Sneak Attack at 2d6, which you should reliably get by targeting foes your allies are in melee with. You will want to be an elf to get Elven Archery, which will increase the likelihood you hit with Sharpshooter. Your third ASI will be DEX (possibly your first taken). Because you can disengage and move with a reaction, you don’t need XBE to avoid disadvantage imposed by being in melee. Typical longbow damage would be base + 10 + DEX + sneak on the first hit, or 26.5 average, with 19.5 average on the second attack. That’s without potential crits or Arcane Shot bonus damage and assuming 18 DEX. You’ll want at least some INT bonus here too, but it helps with being a skill monkey to have a decent INT.
Second, Arcane Archer 6/Inquisitive 4. You can use Insightful Fighting to generate sneak attack on anyone, especially if they have a low CHR. Same build otherwise as the Scout above, with the same average DPR. You’ll just trade the reaction disengage and move for sneak attack that can work on any opponent, without your hiding or nearby allies. It needs WIS and INT too, so it’s a little MAD. That makes it worse for me. But you may like it for character reasons.
And if other characters in your group have reliable ways of moving creatures (Crusher feat, Repelling Blast invocation, etc) with Grasping Arrow, the creature takes extra damage each turn it moves (not each round). So depending on turn order in initiative that could be significant before it gets a chance to attempt to break free
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
A dart thrower can rival this, due to the Bonus Action attack:
Battle Master Fighter with Human or Custom Lineage
1st Level – Feat: Gunner (+1 Dex, ranged atk 5ft.), Thrown Weapon Fighting Style (+2 dmg)
3rd Level – Battle Master Subclass taking Quick Toss and Precision Attack
4th Level – Feat: Sharpshooter (50+ damage with action surge)
5th Level – Extra Attack (100+ damage with action surge)
6th Level – +2 Dex or if maxed, then Fighter Initiate: Archery, delay this until lv8 if more dex is needed
From this point on it's more a no brainer
Darts can be a good build since Tasha’s but I would probably skip Gunner and go sharpshooter or fighting initiate: Archery at 1st. And the other at 6. +2 Dex at 6 would probably only give you +1 to hit while archery gives you +2. Then focus on Dex after SS, Thrown Weapon, and Archery fighting styles are in place.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
a half-feat at lv1 means you can start with 18 in dex and more importantly doesn't shut you down completly if an enemy gets into melee. At this level +6 to hit and 1d4+6 is great for most enemys you'll face. You'll start with 17ac also including your shield. If anything I'd be tempted to delay Sharpshooter to lv6 and max dex or take archery at four depending if you want the +1ac, initative and damage or to hit
In the campaign I am running, simply having the +2 from Archery fighting style has put the Ranger in the group well ahead of the rest in to-hit and thus, near or at the top in most fights for damage. Early on, it is a huge boost, the effects of which diminish slightly as you level, but +2 is nothing to scoff at at any tier play. So, any class that allows a fighting style pick wants it, IMO. This is just in game experience (was in another with similar results, early on the Fighter with Archery topped damage just from hitting more often) I would suggest making sure you get the style, then focus on Dex to max, Sharpshooter as a really "should have" feat then scan through the subclasses that allow the above and pick what special tricks appeal to you. The base damage of having the above setup should have you easily carrying your weight, if not excelling in DPR for most fights, so anything above that is more RP flavor, or maybe utility assists.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.