[3.5] Ranged attack character? is it possible?

[macdaddy]

Given Core, All Completes, PHB2, Is it possible to make a quality ranged attack character in 3.5?

It can be bow, Meta magic reserve feats, warlock, whatever.

[Note: This means no Bard DFI, etc al]
[Note the 2nd: The build should not have to rely on a specific costly magic items and should be effective at mid-levels, not just 20th level]

[Greenish]

Well, there's always the Mailman (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1765181).

Ranger/Fighter with Weapon Focus chain and Rapid Shot just volleying arrows (preferably the right type of Bane) can deal damage. It won't do much anything else, but it damage it can do. Of course, archery is mostly about having a really fancy magic bow.

[Mountain]

I'm a big fan of the factotum manyshot archer. Given enough optimization, you can throw out quite a bit of damage; something like 16-20 shots/round if I remember correctly, and each one does considerable damage.

The thing is, ranged combat is possible. It just takes much more optimization to make ranged better than melee, unless you're talking about a blasting spellcaster. Even though blasting is generally a waste of time for a caster, they can be quite good at it.

Judging by the original post, it seems like you're talking about a ranged combatant that isn't casting spells to deal his damage.

Factotum with manyshot is pretty effective by level 8, but not useless before then, and only gets better as it levels.

I've also been working on a crossbow sniper build that deals massive CON damage from 60 feet away while remaining hidden. (or just normal damage when fighting something with no CON.)

[Particle_Man]

Maybe soulborn.

No, wait, come back! :smallbiggrin:

The elf racial substitution levels for soulborn allow one to smite (some alignments I hate, 5/9ths of what I will ever encounter) with bow and arrow (within 30' but you can't have everything). There is an incarnum feat that adds smites/day (and damage to smites), and a soulmeld or two that add to weapon damage or ranged weapon damage. Then at 6th level on just take Extra Smiting from Complete Warrior for even more smites.

Not the most powerful archer, but it is amusing that it can be done with what is considered one of the weaker classes.

[Gwendol]

Ranged attacker? Warmage seems to fit the bill.

[Brookshw]

The swift hunter scout ranger can put out some very respectable damage, I believe that can be built within your confines but could be wrong.

[Greenish]

The swift hunter scout ranger can put out some very respectable damage, I believe that can be built within your confines but could be wrong.Swift Hunter, Scout, and Travel Devotion are all in completes (C.Adventurer, C.Scoundrel, and C.Divine), so the basics are there. Greater Manyshot is EPH, though, so that's a no-go.

[Feralventas]

Mail-man's been mentioned.

Other 'casters with the Reserve feats from Complete Mage let you spam various ranged offensive effect. They're spell-likes too, so you can nab Empower or Quicken Spell-Like Ability to make more use of them. I'm fairly sure some of them involve ranged attacks.

Warlock can do fine as a blaster.

Scout4/Ranger16 with Swift Hunter can do some decent damage.

You can build one of those absurdly-long ranged attack builds and dip a 'caster to use Divination spells to spot for you.

Binder with any combination of Leraje, Malphas, Andromilious and maybe Malphas can do a very nice Sneak-Attack/Sudden Strike build. I've heard it mentioned that you can use the summoned raven from Malphas' abilities to spot for you inside a building and shoot into it with a Brilliant Energy Weapon.
....but then I remembered that's Tome of Magic and off your list sorry.

Master of the Unseen Hand can do some decent ranged combat with Violent Thrust; Caster that gets Telekinesis or maybe Eidalon Ghost Feats for 5 levels to get it as a Supernatural Ability, then Master of the Unseen Hand. Get a whole tone of arrows and projectiles that you can toss around en-mass. You could also consider larger weapons to be able to deal more damage, or Magic Weapon (Mass) to deal with DR/Magic at least.

[macdaddy]

What is the mailman build? Not finding it.
I found the mailman build. It appears to rely heavily on Practical Metamagic, which is from the races of the dragon, which is NOT allowed. Same with Incantatrix, which is from Faerun, also not allowed.

Maybe you could do something similar with a focused specialist conjurer using Arcane Thesis (Orb of Force), and/or Meta magic school focus (conj) to some extent. But I doubt it would have the same flexibility or dmg output.

For Warlock, most people say its not too good as a blaster. You are "required" to take hellfire warlock, which increases it for a limited number of times unless you can auto-heal the con damage.

It doesn't matter to me if the build is archery, sneak attack, ranged touch ability, spells, whatever.

What DOES matter is that:
1. it is not heavily item dependent (i.e. doesn't require Bane arrows, Hank's magic bow, etc al).
2. It has adequate power throughout its build (i.e its playable at 4th-7th. You don't have to wait until 10th for it to start doing adequate damage).
3. It can compete on damage comparable to a two handed fighter with power attack. I wouldn't expect it to put out the same KIND of damage, but at least be close enough that it could be complementary.

[Karnith]

What is the mailman build? Not finding it.
It got linked to earlier in the thread (you can find it described here on the old Wizards boards (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1765181)), but it's a direct-damage-focused build that revolves around (ab)using metamagic reducers and action economy tricks to get extremely consistent and powerful blasty spells. It's particularly famous for using the Orb of X line of spells; Orb of Force and Orb of Fire with Searing Spell are generally the staples.

[Emperor Tippy]

Factotum 8/ Ranger 11/ Fighter 1 does archery quite well but it requires access to Dungeonscape.

Without access to Factotum Archers end up running into some fairly hard limits unless you go very high OP (which again tends to require more sources than what you listed as available).

[Big Fau]

Clerics with Zen Archery can pull it off, although that route usually just uses a bow to hit things once the spells have done the dirty work.

[Eldariel]

Clerics with Zen Archery can pull it off, although that route usually just uses a bow to hit things once the spells have done the dirty work.

Yeah, DMM Persist can be pulled off with these sources to actually get a really good basic Cleric Archer. It's about the only physical option that works at long ranges. And you're still a Cleric, of course.

[Urpriest]

It doesn't matter to me if the build is archery, sneak attack, ranged touch ability, spells, whatever.

What DOES matter is that:
1. it is not heavily item dependent (i.e. doesn't require Bane arrows, Hank's magic bow, etc al).
2. It has adequate power throughout its build (i.e its playable at 4th-7th. You don't have to wait until 10th for it to start doing adequate damage).
3. It can compete on damage comparable to a two handed fighter with power attack. I wouldn't expect it to put out the same KIND of damage, but at least be close enough that it could be complementary.

Which Monster Manuals are available? A Summoning-focused Druid can pull pretty good DPR at range.

[holywhippet]

I saw one build based around the arcane archer some time back. Since the AA gets weapon enhancements as they level up they only need to put a +1 enchantment on their bow and use the other 9 slots for damage dealing enchantments. The end result is a whole lot of dice rolling for each volley.

[Eldariel]

I saw one build based around the arcane archer some time back. Since the AA gets weapon enhancements as they level up they only need to put a +1 enchantment on their bow and use the other 9 slots for damage dealing enchantments. The end result is a whole lot of dice rolling for each volley.

You can do that with anyone thanks to spell called "Greater Magic Weapon" (can be cast by any caster in the party, lasts hours per level, makes weapon enhancements completely obsolete). Clerics are of particular note, since with Strand of Prayer Beads they're hitting +5 weapons around level 15-16 (depending on if they also invest in Orange Prism Ioun Stone or not).

The only real advantage Arcane Archer has is Imbue Arrow which, granted, goes great with Sublime Chord (shoot AMFs at people!). Smiting Spell sorta does the same tho, so again a Cleric probably does it better.