Looking for some cool Arcane Archer builds.

[tadkins]

This is for Pathfinder in particular.

I'm basically looking to build a cool archer-type character that's also heavily magic flavored. I want the arrow to be my main method of attack, but be capable of all that nice arcane utility such as scrying, flight, plane traveling, invisibility and the like.

With all the options available in Pathfinder I'm not sure what the best route would be. I'm leaning toward Ranger as the archer base, Wizard as the caster base. Not sure on archetypes and such. I'm also thinking it will be something with 10 levels in the Arcane Archer PrC, but I'm open to other possibilities. Other than that, the character will be a human (as much as this seems like an elf thing, I just can't bring myself to be an elf. xD).

Anyone have some knowledge/experience in this sort of thing and want to share?

[Florian]

A common version is Paladin/Sorcerer/Arcane Archer (4 lvl max)/Eldritch Knight.
A more combat-focused version is Slayer (7)/Wizard (1)/Arcane Archer

[tadkins]

A common version is Paladin/Sorcerer/Arcane Archer (4 lvl max)/Eldritch Knight.
A more combat-focused version is Slayer (7)/Wizard (1)/Arcane Archer

Interesting, thanks!

Would it be possible to substitute paladin for ranger? Not a fan of their RP/alignment restrictions. Also, any reason the Arcane Archer can't go past 4 levels?

[Florian]

Interesting, thanks!

Would it be possible to substitute paladin for ranger? Not a fan of their RP/alignment restrictions. Also, any reason the Arcane Archer can't go past 4 levels?

It depends whether you focus on combat or spellcasting. Pure Arcane Archer loses some CL and actually stops adding relevant stuff compared to the spell options you miss. So grab Imbue Arrow and finish the PrC with that. Switching to Eldritch Knight advances both.

Paladin has three reasons for it: CHA to saves, WIS as dump stat and access to Paladin scrolls and Wands for some hefty spells at reduced spell level.

Ranger can be done and brings one bonus feat, but you actually can´t do very much with the other class features, as not even the Animal Companion will progress without some serious feat investment (Boon Companion). It can be done, yes, but it doesn´t bring anything to the table. Using Fighter is the better option then.

[tadkins]

It depends whether you focus on combat or spellcasting. Pure Arcane Archer loses some CL and actually stops adding relevant stuff compared to the spell options you miss. So grab Imbue Arrow and finish the PrC with that. Switching to Eldritch Knight advances both.

Paladin has three reasons for it: CHA to saves, WIS as dump stat and access to Paladin scrolls and Wands for some hefty spells at reduced spell level.

Ranger can be done and brings one bonus feat, but you actually can´t do very much with the other class features, as not even the Animal Companion will progress without some serious feat investment (Boon Companion). It can be done, yes, but it doesn´t bring anything to the table. Using Fighter is the better option then.

Hmm, I gotcha. Would the pure Arcane Archer route be viable at all though? I don't think I'd mind a few lost caster levels for the greater emphasis on archery. As mentioned earlier the magic side would be mostly for utility/buffs. As long as I was able to do certain things like fly, plane shift, go invisible, maybe summon a meatshield when necessary, I'd be happy.
I don't picture this character getting into magic duels with other wizards, he'd just shoot 'em in the face. xD

Good point on the Ranger and the animal companion. What about an archetype that trades it out though?

[Slider Eclipse]

Important Question for this.. are you planning this for Pathfinder Society or just a game with friends?

If its for a homegame, nothing beats an Eldrich Archer (Magus) 9/Arcane Archer 3-8/Eldrich Archer X

you get an Arcane Archer feel from level 1 and all the nice things from the Magus.. including at 9th level the ability to use touch spells at range! from there decide how much you want from Arcane Archer (3rd level to get extra damage on your arrows, 5th if you want extra range, 7th for max possible damage or 8th for "Full" Arcane Archerness) then head back to your Magus to pick up some more useful goodies. (Like the ability to use any spell at your full range for sniping)

course, this is only for a Homegame, as the Society banned the archetype for combining two of the strongest forms of combat in the game, still very fun though.

[Florian]

Practically speaking, "good archery" is mostly feat-based.
You might consider basing it on a Magus (Eldritch Archer) and dipping 4 level into Arcane Archer later on. The gives you good casting access and CL, as well as the bonus feats necessary to engage in Archery.
Base it on a H-Elf so you can get "Elves"-only feat like Elven Precission and the Elven Combat Style chain to drop STR entirely, focusing on DEX and INT.

[NightbringerGGZ]

I would just go pure Magus with the Eldritch Archer archetype. Around level 9 you'll be able to use both ranged touch attack spells and normal touch attack spells. You can also pick up some limited spells of the Wizard list as a Magus, and you get to use your arcane pool to enhance your attacks each round. It pretty much perfectly accomplishes the theme of the PRC.

[Psyren]

I think EA+AA is a great combination. EA Magus pretty much gives you nothing truly notable after 2nd level, so jumping out to PrC is a fine strategy. There's also synergy - Enhance Arrows stacks with your Arcane Pool bonuses, Imbue Arrow combos with Ranged Spell Combat, and Phase Arrow can be comboed with Ranged Spellstrike if you can cast as a swift or hold a previous round's charge. Imbue Arrow lets the magus put utility spells on his arrows like Glitterdust or Stinking Cloud.

I would probably do EA 9/AA 6/EA +5 for a total of 16 BAB and 6ths. The main downside though is that Greater Spell Combat is useless.

[Seward]

Bog standard arcane archer build is solid, if your focus is archery, not spellcasting.

Core:

Ranger6/Wiz1/Arc Archer10
by level 7, you want wpn focus point blank, rapid shot, multishot, improved precise shot
(retrain precise shot at L7, it's irrelevant if you have improved precise)

Fighter6/Wiz1/Arc Archer10
Similar to above build, but you don't get improved precise shot until level 13, instead
you get weapon spec and +1 hit/dmg weapon training. And a lot less skill points

You can fool around with archetypes or multiclassing, but these work pretty well.

It's tough to get the feat mix you need with something like Paladin/Sorcerer as entry,
but you could do Pal2/Ftr4/Sor1/Arc Archer10

If you're going noncore, you want clustered shot at some point. Quickdraw is also helpful.

[tadkins]

Thanks everyone so far. :)

The EA Magus looked pretty interesting and I love its emphasis on melding magic and combat. The only downside is that as far as I know, I wouldn't be able to get certain spells I was hoping to have, such as Plane Shift. Is there a way to remedy that?

[NightbringerGGZ]

Thanks everyone so far. :)

The EA Magus looked pretty interesting and I love its emphasis on melding magic and combat. The only downside is that as far as I know, I wouldn't be able to get certain spells I was hoping to have, such as Plane Shift. Is there a way to remedy that?

The Spell Blending Arcana is what you want. It allows you to pick a single spell from the Wizard spell list of the max-level that you can cast or two spells that are one level lower than your max level and add them to your spell list as Magus spells. You'll be limited to at most, 6th level spells.

Alternatively, if you play a Samsaran you can add some spells from alternate classes to your spell list. This lets you raid all arcane classes, so you can get some goodies like 2nd level Haste from the Summoner spell list.

[tadkins]

The Spell Blending Arcana is what you want. It allows you to pick a single spell from the Wizard spell list of the max-level that you can cast or two spells that are one level lower than your max level and add them to your spell list as Magus spells. You'll be limited to at most, 6th level spells.



Yup, I'd use that to get certain goodies I'd want such as Arcane Eye and a summoning spell or two.

Plane Shift would still be out of reach though. :(

[tadkins]

I suppose I might be asking a bit much here.

The more I think about it, the more I should just do a standard Wizard 20 that holds a bow. Should be able to be competitive with archery by just laying on the buff spells, right?

[Florian]

I suppose I might be asking a bit much here.

The more I think about it, the more I should just do a standard Wizard 20 that holds a bow. Should be able to be competitive with archery by just laying on the buff spells, right?

BAB and feat requirements is the limiting factor here. For example, you won´t be able to pick Manyshot until lvl 13, which is pretty late.

[Snowbluff]

A common version is Paladin/Sorcerer/Arcane Archer (4 lvl max)/Eldritch Knight.


Isn't that the stub I made earlier? :smalltongue:
Paladin2/Sorcerer4/Eldritch Knight2/Arcane Archer4/EK+8. Take magical lineage and heighten spell to cast the 3rd level spell.

I know some dirty tricks. Get (Greater) Named Bullet, and duplicate the effect with Abundant Ammunition or Full Pouch (use Alchemical arrows for this). That's some mad damage. Samsaran is a good race, because you can use it to poach spells.

Fighter/Wizard/EK/AA is a good build as well. IT helps you meet all of the feats pretty quickly.

[Honest Tiefling]

Might I ask why Slayer 7 for the alternate build instead of other classes?

[Florian]

Might I ask why Slayer 7 for the alternate build instead of other classes?

Studied Target is a very good passive DPR source, once you can activate it as a swift action, which is at 7th.

@Snowbluff:

Afaik, the Heighten easy entry trick was curbed.

[Honest Tiefling]

Aha! I see it now, thank you very much.

[tadkins]

BAB and feat requirements is the limiting factor here. For example, you won´t be able to pick Manyshot until lvl 13, which is pretty late.

Yup, I'm looking at the builds and it seems like the highest wizard spell level you can get with them is 6, which precludes some spells I'd like.

If I just went with a pure Wizard 20, how effective of an archer could I make myself with transmutations and the like?

[Florian]

Yup, I'm looking at the builds and it seems like the highest wizard spell level you can get with them is 6, which precludes some spells I'd like.

If I just went with a pure Wizard 20, how effective of an archer could I make myself with transmutations and the like?

Not effective at all. Unlike divine casters, the Wizard lacks the stacking mix of bonus types and the regular buff spells are superseded by equipment. The most you can do is getting a Courageous Bow and the Opportunistic Gambler traits to push morale boni a bit and maybe quicken True Strike. A mm rod won´t work as bows are two-handed.

[tadkins]

Not effective at all. Unlike divine casters, the Wizard lacks the stacking mix of bonus types and the regular buff spells are superseded by equipment. The most you can do is getting a Courageous Bow and the Opportunistic Gambler traits to push morale boni a bit and maybe quicken True Strike. A mm rod won´t work as bows are two-handed.

Got it. Thank you very much for your help. Goes for the rest of you who responded in this thread as well. :)

On second thought, might just forgo the whole bow thing and just be a blaster instead. xD

[Psyren]

If it's high-level spells you want, Fighter 1/Wizard 5/EK 3/AA 4/EK +7 will get you +16 BAB and 17th-level casting (9th-level spells), all in core.


Not effective at all. Unlike divine casters, the Wizard lacks the stacking mix of bonus types and the regular buff spells are superseded by equipment. The most you can do is getting a Courageous Bow and the Opportunistic Gambler traits to push morale boni a bit and maybe quicken True Strike. A mm rod won´t work as bows are two-handed.

Unfortunately, Courageous weapons only work on fear saves (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1gg#v5748eaic9tf0) now, nothing else.

[tadkins]

If it's high-level spells you want, Fighter 1/Wizard 5/EK 3/AA 4/EK +7 will get you +16 BAB and 17th-level casting (9th-level spells), all in core.


Perfect! Thank you. :)

[Molosse]

Perhaps an idea from the outfield here, but a Vigilante Warlock using a Conductive weapon into Arcane Archer could be fun.

[Ravenica]

I've been looking at trying a Empyrial Bloodline sorc 1/zen archer 8 build for giggles for a while now (possibly earlier entry at zen archer 6 if your gm approves going with the flurry bonus since thats what you will use for shooting arrows) since you can also merge it with quinggong monk you can squish in even more customization for abilities as well.

won't be the "best" but the added maneuverability, ac, and focus on wisdom for everything will make it pretty effective

[Azoth]

If Third Party is allowed, I am a fan of Sorcer6/Zealot1/Bladecaster2/Arcane Archer4/Bladecaster+7. Zealot is in Path of War:Expanded. Bladecaster is in Path of War(on the PFSRD)

It loses 3CL natively, but that can be made up with Magical Knack and an Orange Ioun stone. So unfortunately, you cap out at 8th level spells. Upside is that you finish with 17BAB so laying a beat down isn't hard. It also ends with a native IL of 15 so 8th level martial manuevers as well.

Another variant is Wizard6/Warder1/Bladecaster2/Arcane Archer4/Bladecaster+7. This one gets 9th level spells natively and still ends with BAB17. Granted it doesn't get 9th level spells until lvl20, it does still get them.

For either build, picking up the trait Focused Initiator will push your IL to 17 letting you nab a 9th level manuever at level 20.

[Snowbluff]

Why would anyone use Zealot over Warlord, especially if they are multiclassing and have no PP? :smallannoyed:

[Azoth]

Collective gives everyone a 110ft telepathic communications network for free, native access to sleeping goddess which gives PP, a bump to Will saves. Granted, it is a small amount, but it would allow for augments in a pinch when needed.

That build I did initially to imitate Gowther from Nanatsu No Taizai for a build challenge a friend issued. It was an odd build focused on archery, enchantment, and general mind games. So in that instance Zealot was more beneficial to the build than the free feat from being a Warlord. I also had to suck up Crossblooded and still burn 2 feats on eldritch heritage to pull it off.

[Snowbluff]

Collective gives everyone a 110ft telepathic communications network for free, native access to sleeping goddess which gives PP, a bump to Will saves. Granted, it is a small amount, but it would allow for augments in a pinch when needed. Augments are actually very ineffecient for most powers, IIRC. Also, Sleeping Goddess can be accessed via a trait. Furthermore, Warlords gambits are powerful class features that scale with stats rather than class levels, making it much better for a short dip. Considering that Swift actions for gish builds are generally unused in PF, having something like Pinhole gambit available to give a huge boon to a party based on your casting stat for the low cost of a swift action, it's no contest.

[Azoth]

As I said, the suggestion came from remembering a build for a challenge where Zealot was more useful. Didn't say it would always be, but did argue its validity as an option.