Good LongBow Class?

[Sigmar1]

hello friends

i am new to 5e (our DM decided today we are gonna try it :p) so i wanted to ask, which is the best class for Varian Human bow-user? Barbarian/fighter/ranger/whatever? i am used to 3.5e but its my first time with 5e. I assume the only house rule is "no crossclass".

also is there any guide with feats/skills/builds etc?

thanks

[rooster707]

I'm pretty new to 5e also, but there are a bunch of guides and things here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?377491) that you might find useful.

[JAL_1138]

(any) Fighter* or (hunter) Ranger with archery fighting style and the Sharpshooter feat are really good archers.

*be careful with the Battlemaster subclass as several maneuvers are melee-only, I think.

Edit: Don't overlook the Crossbow Expert feat, especially if combined with Sharpshooter. It's been errata'd a bit so it doesn't work with a shield in one hand as some guides may suggest it does, but for pure damage it's great.

[RealCheese]

Fighter, Rogue or Ranger all make excellent archers.
Decide what you want your character to do outside of combat and take it from there?
A bard or a war cleric can make for a good archer too, the bard stealing ranger spells before the ranger gets access to them and the war cleric just being more of a mix between support caster and archer with an archer build.

Edit: And the crossbow expert feat makes sense even as a longbow user if you expect your character to get up in somebody's face and still want to use your bow at that close range.

[Sigmar1]

so what the diff between the fighter/rogue/ranger classes in order to see what feets me the most?

i mean fighters gets more attacks,rangers gets more actual damage etc

:)

[TopCheese]

The bard is perhaps the best archer out there as they can poach ranger spells (that help with ranged weapons) a few levels early.

[Sigreid]

There's a lot of questions that lead to that answer, I'll try to cover a few.


If you have someone in the party that will melee most opponents, and you want to be sneaky Rogue is solid for single target damage via sneak attack.
If you want to be a solid archerer at low-mid levels with solid abilities with virtually any weapon A fighter is a good choice. At higher levels his extra attacks will give him reliable damage as long as his quiver isn't empty. But he'll empty that fast.
Low levels a Ranger is as good as a fighter. Mid levels with spell support he will be better than a fighter when he has the right spell slots to burn. Higher levels the fighter's extra attacks will start catching him up and the fighter never needs spell slots.
Bard can be a lot like a ranger, but with more spell slots to burn, better skills, and more versatile spell options.
Paladins and barbarians don't really get to use any of their cool powers with a bow.

[JoeJ]

If you want to do cool trick shots, look at battle master fighter. A lot of the maneuvers are can be used with a bow (not all of them however, so choose carefully if you go this route).

[PoeticDwarf]

hello friends

i am new to 5e (our DM decided today we are gonna try it :p) so i wanted to ask, which is the best class for Varian Human bow-user? Barbarian/fighter/ranger/whatever? i am used to 3.5e but its my first time with 5e. I assume the only house rule is "no crossclass".

also is there any guide with feats/skills/builds etc?

thanks

Fighter if you want to do damage and ranger if you want to have spells.
A build around a weapon isn't often smart. You can better choose class and then weapon (crossbow rogue)

[Citan]

hello friends

i am new to 5e (our DM decided today we are gonna try it :p) so i wanted to ask, which is the best class for Varian Human bow-user? Barbarian/fighter/ranger/whatever? i am used to 3.5e but its my first time with 5e. I assume the only house rule is "no crossclass".

also is there any guide with feats/skills/builds etc?

thanks
Hi! :)

There is no real "best class", it depends on what role you want to fill.
With that said:
- Fighter is a good all-around choice (2/3/4 attacks every turn) with each archetype bringing synergizing abilities;
- Rogue is great to be a striker (SA) but you need a partner to get Sneak Attack in most cases;
- Hunter Ranger is the solid choice if you want to be a ranged cleaner (Colossus Slayer and Volley abilities, Sharpshooter and Crossbow feats).
- Bard gets to learn best Ranger spells at lower levels in addition to its own greatness.
And other classes can work as archer really, although it requires more planning or a bit of multiclassing.

Instead of twisting your head about mechanics though, since you're new to DD5, I'd suggest you just try to imagine what role you'd like to fill in combat (striker/defender/controller/etc) and outside (scout? party-face? thief? brawler?), and how you would do it (sheer force/sneakiness? spells? manipulating others).
Pick your class once you know your concept, and if you have difficulty finding the one that would best fit your concept, ask for advice here. :)

You'll have time to think about cheeky multiclass combinations after a few games. :)

[djreynolds]

hello friends

i am new to 5e (our DM decided today we are gonna try it :p) so i wanted to ask, which is the best class for Varian Human bow-user? Barbarian/fighter/ranger/whatever? i am used to 3.5e but its my first time with 5e. I assume the only house rule is "no crossclass".

also is there any guide with feats/skills/builds etc?

thanks

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?444476-Archer-Straight-up-or-Multiclass

this guy has a good thread going that is asking the same thing. You might find what you're looking for there. Archer's are easy to optimize in terms of damage output, so for me, concept trumps. And dark vision is a huge bonus especially for lower levels, ambushes, etc. Grab elf, and at 4th level grab sharpshooter. Ranger will give you more options and hunter's mark is actually pretty cool. What is your party composition? Do you have a rogue? Does he need your help scouting? Eldritch knight is a real good archer, and in full plate can tank and provide some nice spells. Do you have a cleric? Do you have a paladin wasting spell slots on smites? Who's your back up healer? Is the warlock firing of blasts in the back, because the fighter just got rocked and you need to fill the line?

[Squeak]

In terms of pure DPS at max level, probably a bard with Sharpshooter, Swift Quiver and Foresight. BUT, this really depends on him being able to maintain concentration on Swift Quiver, so against high damage enemies this might not work. And of course, the Bard can't use any other concentration spells at the same time.

A pure Fighter is only slightly behind a Bard in ranged DPS capabilities and has no worries with concentration issues. (Note that the Fighter might actually be better with extreme magical cheese such as +3 Bow with stacking +3 arrows, since the Bard's big advantage is the accuracy gains from the foresight spell.) Of course a Bard brings a LOT of additional utility to the party too so the best overall choice is still a Bard.

[TopCheese]

The issue with BM fighter is that their tricks don't grow with the character. You are performing the same tricks at level 3 as you will be at level 15. Those tricks may be worth the resource mangement at level 3 but as you get to level 6 or higher those tricks aren't worth the resource management anymore.

Fighter makes an excellent dip class though. Fighter 1, 2, 3, and 5 are all great for builds.

[coredump]

Ranger5/Rogue5 then
Ranger5/rogue5/Battlemaster 3or4 then finish off with Rogue

Vuman and Wood elf are both really good choices, and you will want Sharpshooter as soon as you feel comfortable.

This build gives you a ton of damage, great stealth and perception, cunning action, hunter's mark, precision shot, collosus slayer or horde breaker, action surge, archery style..... Basically, it kicks butt.

[MaxWilson]

The bard is perhaps the best archer out there as they can poach ranger spells (that help with ranged weapons) a few levels early.

Not so much. The Bard doesn't get Archery (fighting style), which is vital to effective Sharpshooting. And he has to spend his Concentration and a 5th level spell slot on Swift Quiver in order to exceed what a fighter gets for free at level 11. The Fighter could could take Crossbow Expert and do more damage, at level 11, than the Bard with Swift Quiver is doing--although at least the bard won't have to worry about ammunition limits. And unlike the bard he'll still have his concentration free for readying actions, or Expeditious Retreat, or whatever--and he's got an Action Surge too.

The bard would be better off spending that 5th level spell slot to conjure 16 Giant Owls or something. 16 attacks for 144 damage >>> 2 attacks for 40 damage.