Ranged Attack Bards?

[SkyBane]

Speaking specifically of O-Bards here. I can't seem to find any online builds on the internet despite scouring as hard as I can. I know Prescient is considered the go to for this set up, but I'm currently looking at Cunning and thinking it's alright. I haven't gotten very far, but this is what I have cobbled together.

Sariel, level 2
Eladrin, Bard
Bardic Virtue: Virtue of Cunning
Eladrin Subrace: Standard Eladrin Racial Traits

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 8, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 18.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 8, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16.


AC: 17 Fort: 12 Reflex: 15 Will: 17
HP: 30 Surges: 8 Surge Value: 7

TRAINED SKILLS
Streetwise +10, Arcana +11, Perception +8, Acrobatics +5, Bluff +10, Diplomacy +10

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Dungeoneering +4, Endurance +2, Heal +4, History +7, Insight +4, Intimidate +6, Nature +4, Religion +5, Stealth +1, Thievery +1, Athletics

FEATS
Bard: Ritual Caster
Level 1: Moonbow Dedicate
Level 2: Battle Song Expertise

POWERS
Bard at-will 1: Jinx Shot
Bard at-will 1: Staggering Note
Bard encounter 1: Firemetal Shot
Bard daily 1: Arrow of Warning
Bard utility 2: Moment of Escape

ITEMS
Ritual Book, Hide Armor, Adventurer's Kit, Arrows (30), Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Lute, Distance Shortbow +1
RITUALS
Traveler's Chant, Comprehend Language

Am I on the right trail here? I know I don't really have a RBA, but I'm wondering how necessary that is for an O-Bard. Mostly I just haven't seen anything to really go off of (all the bard builds I've found in researching are valorous).

[masteraleph]

RBA is mostly unnecessary.

In all honesty, my usual way to do a ranged bard (or ranged/melee) would be Virtue of Valor. I'd find a way to get daggers as an implement (either use a Bard's Songblade, MC Sorcerer, or find a way to get Ki Focuses and use that). In Heroic tier, you don't need any real melee Encounter powers- Blunder, Echoing Weapon, and Rhyme of the Blood Seeking Blade all work beautifully, and you still have Staggering Note. Be a Half-Elf, take Combat Virtuoso as a feat at some point and grab Magic Weapon with your Dilettante. And being Virtue of Valor, you can still go War Chanter in Paragon (which does require you to go into melee for enabling, but by that time you're probably more ready). In fact, the reason you're probably running into Virtuous Bards is purely War Chanter.

Cunning, though, also works fine. In Heroic tier, there's honestly not a huge amount of difference between them. I wouldn't bother with a 14 in WIS, though; I'd stick 16s into both INT and CHA. Moonbow Dedicate is fine, though if you're not dedicated to Sehanine, I'd take the Elemental Initiate theme and use a Ki Focus with a dagger. Alternatively, have a dagger in one hand for weapon attacks, be a Sun Elf, and use whatever more mainstream implement you want. Firemetal's fine as a power, but Blunder's incredible, especially with Cunning.