Sniper Builds!

[DracoKnight]

So I'm just curious how people generally build (martial) Snipers in 5e (I specify because the best sniper in the game is Warlock 2/Sorcerer 18, with Eldritch Spear, Distant Metamagic, and Spell Sniper). Anyways, here's how I did it:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sniper Character:

Variant Human: Crossbow Expert (using a heavy crossbow)

Level:
1. Fighter - Archery
2. Rogue (1d6)
3. Rogue
4. Rogue - Thief (2d6)
5. Rogue - Alert
6. Fighter
7. Fighter - Battle Master (Disarm, Distract, Trip)
8. Rogue (3d6)
9. Rogue
10. Rogue (4d6)
11. Rogue - Sharpshooter
12. Rogue (5d6)
13. Rogue - Skulker
14. Rogue (6d6)
15. Rogue - Observant
16. Rogue (7d6)
17. Rogue
18. Rogue (8d6)
19. Rogue - +2 Dexterity
20. Rogue (9d6)

Stats:

STR: 13
DEX: 18 (17 + Racial)
CON: 16
INT: 13
WIS: 17 (16 + Racial)
CHA: 14

Background: Soldier
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Has anyone come up with a better Sniper build?

[Spacehamster]

Race: V-Human
Feat: Sharpshooter
Skills: Perception, Sleigh of hand, Stealth, Atlethics, Survival, Insight(when taking ranger), Investigation(when taking rogue)
Background: Orphan

1-8 Champion fighter: Archery style, Crossbow expert, +2 AGI, +2AGI, half prof to initiative.
9-11 Spell less hunter ranger: Superiority die, Horde breaker, defensive style, Insight skill.
12-16 Assassin rogue: 3d6 Sneak attack, expertise stealth and perception, alert, cunning action, Investigation skill.
17-20 Champion fighter: 3rd attack, Observant feat, Mariner fighting style.


Starting ability scores:
STR: 8
AGI: 15(16)
CON: 15(16)
INT: 10
WIS: 13
CHA: 10

3-4 attacks, good at skills, can burst like crazy with action surge + spending precision die when taking -5/+10, 19 AC with studded leather due to 20 AGI and defense and mariner. :) also half prof initiative + alert with 20 AGI nets you 13 initiative which goes amazingly with assassinate pretty much making it 100% that you will attack with advantage first round of combat which in turn goes nicely with champion 19-20 crits when you do not get surprise auto crits.

[EvanescentHero]

Why thief? I would've picked assassin, for making that shot really count.

[RickAllison]

Are builds supplemented by magic allowed? I was thinking Assassin 17/Moon Druid 3. This build is more of a one-shot-one-kill sniper rather than a multi-firing archer.

Deep Gnome
Expertise in Athletics, Nature, Survival, and Stealth.

Using Wild Shape and his Athletics, he would find sniper perches that others can't reach. Pass Without Trace is his getaway spell, covering his tracks for the times when he does not get the equivalent 36d6+5 (131). He is deadly because he is never seen coming and never leaves any evidence behind. Scrying is pointless against him (yay, Svirnefblin Magic!).

Great at avoiding capture he would be awful in a stand-up fight.

[Specter]

For a dedicated sniper, ranger/rogue is better than fighter/rogue. You get Archery and Extra Attack, along with the almighty Pass Without Trace. Couple that with Expertise in Stealth, and you can beat anyone's passive Perception.
If you're human, ranger also gives you Darkvision at level 5, which is pretty much mandatory

If I were to name a progression, I'd go for Hunter 5/Assassin 13/Fighter 2.

[Archmage_Storm]

A nice sniper could be wood elf (prof in long bows), Lv 20 Assassin rogue, with the sharpshooter feat.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

The assassin's advantages on the first shot or two is likely the best rogue option for a Sniper, but the Mastermind would make a good scout-sniper, being able to Help as a bonus action from 30' away, and at lvl 9 can spy on targets to get vital info.

The build will probably want minimum 1 level of Fighter or 2 of Ranger for proficiencies and the archery style. If taking more, Hunter Ranger, Champion or Battlemaster fighter all suit the Sniper theme best.

Arcane Trickster, Eldritch Knight and the Banneret don't particularly add to the "Snipery-ness", due to a lack of spells or abilities that directly tie to ranged martial attacks, but would round out a lot of other, secondary aspects, like defense, out of combat abilities and support. But since a large part of the build is Rogue, you'll have a lot of strong skills and evasive techniques already.

[JellyPooga]

It does depend on what you want out of being a "sniper". Do you mean:

- Best ranged DPR?
- Best single shot accuracy/damage?
- Best ranged stealth killer?
- Best with [specific ranged weapon]?
- Something else/any or all of the above?

As demonstrated by earlier posters than myself, there's several different approaches, but without knowing what you're looking for, specifically, you're going to get a very wide variety of answers here.

Also, those stats (I assume rolled) are godlike; you've a lot of wiggle room to cram extra Feats in, instead of ASI's. Most theory-building is best done with Standard Array or Point-Buy, but if you want a build that uses those stats, you might want to mention it.

Some other things you might want to clarify;
- Are you set on being Human?
- Are you set on the Soldier Background?
- Must the build be entirely non-magical?

[DracoKnight]

Why thief? I would've picked assassin, for making that shot really count.

I went with the thief over the assassin for Second Story Work, and Theif's reflexes. Assassin would be great, but my fears were already eaten up, so I couldn't take athlete, and moving twice on the first round of combat is very enticing.

[DracoKnight]

It does depend on what you want out of being a "sniper". Do you mean:

- Best ranged DPR?
- Best single shot accuracy/damage?
- Best ranged stealth killer?
- Best with [specific ranged weapon]?
- Something else/any or all of the above?

As demonstrated by earlier posters than myself, there's several different approaches, but without knowing what you're looking for, specifically, you're going to get a very wide variety of answers here.

Also, those stats (I assume rolled) are godlike; you've a lot of wiggle room to cram extra Feats in, instead of ASI's. Most theory-building is best done with Standard Array or Point-Buy, but if you want a build that uses those stats, you might want to mention it.

Some other things you might want to clarify;
- Are you set on being Human?
- Are you set on the Soldier Background?
- Must the build be entirely non-magical?

I'm not actually asking for build I can use. I'm using the build posted above (yes, the stats are rolled). I'm mainly curious because I have really seen a sniper built in 5e yet. The groups I play in prefer magic and melee, so ranged weapons go mainly ignored. I'm also seeing sniper as all of the above.

I built this (and am pretty set on playing it) but I'm curious to see how it stacks up against people who're experience at making ranged characters.

[Specter]

When you look at all great snipers from fiction (I'm a Metal Gear Solid guy myself), you can see it's not about the greatest damage per shot, but about firing precise shots and remaining hidden. But your concept might be something else entiely. As for background, you can go Bounty Hunter (from SCAG) which gives better skills (forget anything CHA-related).

[DeAnno]

Single classing in whatever class is giving you your superiority dice is actually pretty good for archers, if only because the dice will eventually get bigger and make you more accurate as a result (most of the time as an archer your superiority dice are basically Sharpshooter fuel.) Fighter in particular is really good because these sorts of builds tend to be hard up for feats and because Action Surge is Action Surge.

It's easy to list a bunch of ASIs/Feats an archer wants or needs because they have a couple specific ones of their own and also tend to want the strong general ones:

1) Crossbow Expert
2) Sharpshooter
3-4) ASI x 2
5) Alert
6) Lucky
7) Resilient Wis
8) Martial Adept (better if your Archetype has sup dice but not native maneuvers, like Scout or Monster Hunter)

That's already 8 ASIs, which is the max for a human Fighter! Archers are a very feat hungry breed. Getting to Fighter 11 quickly is important too for the third attack, and after that it can be hard to convince yourself to multiclass into Rogue or Ranger.

[JellyPooga]

1) Crossbow Expert
2) Sharpshooter
3-4) ASI x 2
5) Alert
6) Lucky
7) Resilient Wis
8) Martial Adept (better if your Archetype has sup dice but not native maneuvers, like Scout or Monster Hunter)

I prefer (in alphabetical order);

1) ASI('s)

2) Athlete - Standing up from prone quickly and shorter run-ups is essential for going from "ideal sniping position" to "across the next rooftop" in a hurry.

3) Mobile - See above about getting out of dodge in a hurry. Also, if you can plan your escape route to involve difficult terrain (alleys full of boxes/crates are traditional for that "70's cop show car chase" feel), this Feat helps immensely.

4) Mage Slayer - Disadvantage on Concentration checks when you shoot someone? Yes please!

5) Magic Initiate - Cantrips: Minor Illusion (provide your own concealment), True Strike (actually useful to someone setting up a stealth-shot and not engaged in combat), 1st level spell: (your choice of:) Disguise Self, Feather Fall, Jump or Longstrider.

6) Sharpshooter - For obvious reasons.

7) Skulker - Only need light obscurement to hide, don't reveal yourself when you botch the shot and are still a crack shot at "magic hour", when everyone else is struggling to see in the dim light of dusk/dawn.

I'd go full 20 Assassin Rogue. Expertise in Stealth, Perception, Athletics and Acrobatics. Roughly a Dex>Wis>Con=Str=Cha>Int ability score distribution. Focus on setting up and executing that one critical strike. Use poison if necessary.

[MaxWilson]

So I'm just curious how people generally build (martial) Snipers in 5e (I specify because the best sniper in the game is Warlock 2/Sorcerer 18, with Eldritch Spear, Distant Metamagic, and Spell Sniper). Anyways, here's how I did it:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sniper Character:

Variant Human: Crossbow Expert (using a heavy crossbow)

Level:
1. Fighter - Archery
2. Rogue (1d6)
3. Rogue
4. Rogue - Thief (2d6)
5. Rogue - Alert
6. Fighter
7. Fighter - Battle Master (Disarm, Distract, Trip)
8. Rogue (3d6)
9. Rogue
10. Rogue (4d6)
11. Rogue - Sharpshooter
12. Rogue (5d6)
13. Rogue - Skulker
14. Rogue (6d6)
15. Rogue - Observant
16. Rogue (7d6)
17. Rogue
18. Rogue (8d6)
19. Rogue - +2 Dexterity
20. Rogue (9d6)

Stats:

STR: 13
DEX: 18 (17 + Racial)
CON: 16
INT: 13
WIS: 17 (16 + Racial)
CHA: 14

Background: Soldier
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Has anyone come up with a better Sniper build?

It depends on what your stats are. The last time I rolled up a medium-lowish-stats guy and made him an archer for fun, I think this is what I had planned for him:

Dex 15, +1 for variant human = 16. Other stats were in the 9-13 range, I don't remember exactly what.
End goal: Eldritch Knight 11, Swashbuckler 9, for a DPR similar to a straight-up Fighter 20 while still having all the fun of Panache and Cunning Action (Hide) and Athletics Expertise and Persuasion expertise.

Progression:
1: Fighter 1, Sharpshooter, Archery
2: Rogue 1, Sneak attack, Stealth + Athletics Expertise
3: Rogue 2, Cunning Action!
5: Swashbuckler 4, ASI (Dex 16 => 18)
6: Swashbuckler 5, Uncanny Dodge, 3d6 sneak attack
7: Swashbuckler 6, Persuasion + Perception Expertise
8: Swashbuckler 7, Evasion, 4d6 sneak attack
9: Swashbuckler 8, Dex 18 => 20
10: Swashbuckler 9, Panache
12: Eldritch Knight 3, Shield, Absorb Elements, Mage Armor, Booming Blade (AFB, not sure exactly if I was able to afford all these spells right off at 3)
13: Eldritch Knight 4, Disguise Self, Skulker
14: Eldritch Knight 5, Extra Attack
17: Eldritch knight 8, Alert, Darkness (Enlarge would be fun too and perhaps would have been chosen instead; but Alert combos well with Darkness for defensive advantage akin to Blur, while also granting advantage on most ranged attacks AND letting you Cunning Action (Hide) for defensive purposes)
20: Eldritch Knight 11, Third Attack

[Foxhound438]

from a purely mechanical standpoint, you're way better off getting fighter 5 for 2x attack. Not purely on theme, but you get 3 die rolls (4 with skulker) to try to land your sneak attack damage. You lose out on theif's reflexes, but it's a lot more versatile to have 2 attacks every round with sneak on one than it is to only have 2 attacks on the first round and one thereafter. You're not likely to have a good "sniping" situation in every combat, so you really should branch out a bit to be able to handle a variety of circumstances.

[Hrugner]

I'd need to have the Pennant of Vind rune from rune master for the doubled range and a little bit of flight. I'd go arcane trickster for haste and use the haste action as an attack and the real action to ready an attack to attack at the start of the next person's turn as well as grabbing a familiar to use as a spotter.

Feats should go more toward rerolls than damage since failure to hit is the measure of success for a sniper. If there were a way for a halfling to get longbow range they would be the choice here.

So 19 arcane trickster 1 rune scribe. for 2 1200 foot longbow sneak attacks a round.

[Chaosvii7]

(Any) Ranger 9 / Storm Cleric 11. Lightning Arrow with that Channel Divinity to max the damage rolls, at an 8th level spell slot (from multiclassing) gives you about 100 damage on a hit. Make sure you take Elemental Adept to cut through resistances, of course. It's not the most robust build but it's one I've been stewing over for a while.

[Saeviomage]

Eagle barbarian with a ballista?

[djreynolds]

So I'm just curious how people generally build (martial) Snipers in 5e (I specify because the best sniper in the game is Warlock 2/Sorcerer 18, with Eldritch Spear, Distant Metamagic, and Spell Sniper). Anyways, here's how I did it:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sniper Character:

Variant Human: Crossbow Expert (using a heavy crossbow)

Level:
1. Fighter - Archery
2. Rogue (1d6)
3. Rogue
4. Rogue - Thief (2d6)
5. Rogue - Alert
6. Fighter
7. Fighter - Battle Master (Disarm, Distract, Trip)
8. Rogue (3d6)
9. Rogue
10. Rogue (4d6)
11. Rogue - Sharpshooter
12. Rogue (5d6)
13. Rogue - Skulker
14. Rogue (6d6)
15. Rogue - Observant
16. Rogue (7d6)
17. Rogue
18. Rogue (8d6)
19. Rogue - +2 Dexterity
20. Rogue (9d6)

Stats:

STR: 13
DEX: 18 (17 + Racial)
CON: 16
INT: 13
WIS: 17 (16 + Racial)
CHA: 14

Background: Soldier
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Has anyone come up with a better Sniper build?

Awesome build

I like the thief, very underrated archetype. I just love what he can do.

You do need precision. You must hit. Swashbuckler may be a little better as at 13th level as they do get advantage on athletics/acrobatics as a bonus action and can add charisma to initiative. But thief is just fine. Could lose the alert feat.

But the potential of assassin to well assassinate is too big to pass up. I would select eladrin, misty step could be very beneficial and you will get darkvision, could lose the skulker feat.

I like the build, but I would lose skulker in favor of lucky and snag precision. And instead of BM, the scout from UA will give you extra infiltration stuff and skills. And you need a 20 in dex ASAP.

Everything hinges on dropping the target with one shot.

UA fighter scout archetype, assassin. Eladrin for misty step and darkvision. Sharpshooter, Crossbow expert, Lucky and Dex. And Alert over observant. You just need precision. The UA scout allows you to add SD dice to skill rolls.

[MaxWilson]

You do need precision. You must hit. Swashbuckler may be a little better as at 13th level as they do get advantage on athletics/acrobatics as a bonus action and can add charisma to initiative. But thief is just fine. Could lose the alert feat.

Swashbucklers make good archers because you don't need an ally standing next to the enemy to get your sneak attack damage in--you get your sneak attack as long as there are no other enemies within 5' of you, which as an archer you're trying to arrange anyway. (But the thing I really love about swashbucklers is their no-concentration single-target no-save crowd control/non-magical charm. I probably wouldn't go Swashbuckler if not for that.)

BTW, Alert is great for archery duels in the dark. When you're beyond darkvision range, you'll be attacking normally and he'll be at disadvantage. It's more useful than you might think, even aside from the surprise + initiative benefits.

I agree that thieves are fun.

[djreynolds]

I think the OP has it. He has to come to a decision though

Is his sniper... James Bond or Carlos Hancock. I know he can work in any urban environment and the wild, but for me the urban environment also means a good selection of social skills and the wild, nature and survival.

I need his concept. I want to see his sniper. Why a heavy crossbow, seems like a lot of work? Why not a light, seems more practical? Obviously he can switch out.

Is this an adventure for a one time gritty urban game. Is this a guy who is going to go out and adventure?

With all those rogue levels, it becomes an all or nothing.

I prefer the machine, minimum of 2 attacks, 3 attacks preferred or access to swift quiver and archery style. And 8 levels of rogue is plenty, 4d6 extra in SA damage is nice. And 4d6 is easier to swallow missing then 9d6 is.

And you must have some utility. Healing, or party face, or buff magic, or stealth/survival.

I love the build, best thing is, for me, is this guy can still go in and sneak with two daggers, my preferred method for landing sneak attacks.

[DracoKnight]

I think the OP has it. He has to come to a decision though

Is his sniper... James Bond or Carlos Hancock. I know he can work in any urban environment and the wild, but for me the urban environment also means a good selection of social skills and the wild, nature and survival.

I need his concept. I want to see his sniper. Why a heavy crossbow, seems like a lot of work? Why not a light, seems more practical? Obviously he can switch out.

Is this an adventure for a one time gritty urban game. Is this a guy who is going to go out and adventure?

With all those rogue levels, it becomes an all or nothing.

I prefer the machine, minimum of 2 attacks, 3 attacks preferred or access to swift quiver and archery style. And 8 levels of rogue is plenty, 4d6 extra in SA damage is nice. And 4d6 is easier to swallow missing then 9d6 is.

And you must have some utility. Healing, or party face, or buff magic, or stealth/survival.

I love the build, best thing is, for me, is this guy can still go in and sneak with two daggers, my preferred method for landing sneak attacks.

I was kind of drawing inspiration from two different snipers when I made this: The Winter Soldier from Marvel Comics, and Sinon from SAO.

This would be for an urban campaign, but I would grab skill proficiencies that would allow me to operate in the wilderness too. Heavy crossbow over light or hand crossbow, because the DM disallowed the firearms from the DMG, so it's the closest thing to a sniper rifle that I was going to get.

[djreynolds]

There we go, very cool image.

What about ranger? The spell less variant, or the scout from the UA.

Would your DM allow urban as favored terrain?

I like the build as it is. I would just grab precision over disarm. Maybe grab skulker earlier, just for the "dim" vision.

I like the thief and I see the climbing stuff as well running over rooftops, similar to the ninja in the "Wolverine" movie.

I really like the UA scout, it has defense, offense, and skills with superiority dice.

[DeAnno]

It's interesting that we're seeing two very diverging paths for "ranged martial" in this thread. The true "Sniper" tends to have an emphasis on stealth and will use the Skulker feat, along with subtle things like spells and Rogue abilities, wheras the "Gunslinger" usually takes Crossbow Expert and uses Fighter features to tear the enemy apart in plain sight.

Setting up actual sniping takes a lot of work, and may not always be practical, but is brutally effective when you can pull it off. On the other hand, Gunslingers can basically play like melee characters who happen to be able to attack at range. Do people following the purer Sniper path tend to get a lot of opportunities to use it in real play? In my experience Dungeon environments can tend to make utilizing stealth, surprise, and isolated positioning much trickier, which can slant certain types of campaigns away from areas where Snipers shine.

There's definitely a lot of overlap in jobs they can do, since both paths take Sharpshooter early; Snipers can usually maintain respectable dpr with that alone even in non-ideal conditions, and Gunslingers still have the advantage of long range even if Longbows aren't their ideal weapon and they're a bit more lacking in subtlety. Each is definitely much more capable in its specialty than the other though.

[Specter]

I prefer (in alphabetical order);

1) ASI('s)

2) Athlete - Standing up from prone quickly and shorter run-ups is essential for going from "ideal sniping position" to "across the next rooftop" in a hurry.

3) Mobile - See above about getting out of dodge in a hurry. Also, if you can plan your escape route to involve difficult terrain (alleys full of boxes/crates are traditional for that "70's cop show car chase" feel), this Feat helps immensely.

4) Mage Slayer - Disadvantage on Concentration checks when you shoot someone? Yes please!

5) Magic Initiate - Cantrips: Minor Illusion (provide your own concealment), True Strike (actually useful to someone setting up a stealth-shot and not engaged in combat), 1st level spell: (your choice of:) Disguise Self, Feather Fall, Jump or Longstrider.

6) Sharpshooter - For obvious reasons.

7) Skulker - Only need light obscurement to hide, don't reveal yourself when you botch the shot and are still a crack shot at "magic hour", when everyone else is struggling to see in the dim light of dusk/dawn.

I'd go full 20 Assassin Rogue. Expertise in Stealth, Perception, Athletics and Acrobatics. Roughly a Dex>Wis>Con=Str=Cha>Int ability score distribution. Focus on setting up and executing that one critical strike. Use poison if necessary.

Dude, you're high. Sharpshooter as the 6th ASI? Come on.
And Mage Slayer is better for melee builds, ranged builds end up missing on its two main benefits.

What a sniper needs is (in order):
- Sharpshooter
- Crossbow Expert (if you're using a crossbow)
- Alert (if you're an Assassin)
- Observant

Anything else is nice to have, or just fluff.

[JellyPooga]

Dude, you're high.

Dude, you need to improve your reading comprehension. I listed them alphabetically and made a point of mentioning the fact. You even quoted me saying so :smallwink:

edit: Although, in hindsight, I did get Mage Slayer, Magic Initiate and Mobile somewhat barse ackwards...

[MaxWilson]

There we go, very cool image.

What about ranger? The spell less variant, or the scout from the UA.

Would your DM allow urban as favored terrain?

I like the build as it is. I would just grab precision over disarm. Maybe grab skulker earlier, just for the "dim" vision.

I like the thief and I see the climbing stuff as well running over rooftops, similar to the ninja in the "Wolverine" movie.

I really like the UA scout, it has defense, offense, and skills with superiority dice.

Note to DMs: enabling multiple modes of navigation is fun. Making sure players have ways to climb over/under/around/through things if they want to enhances play. Also, tightropes and other tests of balance are important for keeping Acrobatics at least slightly relevant in your campaign compared to Athletics. They also make exciting environments in which to fight mooks, and allow even mooks to feel like a threat to higher-level characters unless they go out of their way to nullify the danger (which is its own kind of payoff).

More rooftop/waterfall battles please.

[PoeticDwarf]

So I'm just curious how people generally build (martial) Snipers in 5e (I specify because the best sniper in the game is Warlock 2/Sorcerer 18, with Eldritch Spear, Distant Metamagic, and Spell Sniper). Anyways, here's how I did it:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sniper Character:

Variant Human: Crossbow Expert (using a heavy crossbow)

Level:
1. Fighter - Archery
2. Rogue (1d6)
3. Rogue
4. Rogue - Thief (2d6)
5. Rogue - Alert
6. Fighter
7. Fighter - Battle Master (Disarm, Distract, Trip)
8. Rogue (3d6)
9. Rogue
10. Rogue (4d6)
11. Rogue - Sharpshooter
12. Rogue (5d6)
13. Rogue - Skulker
14. Rogue (6d6)
15. Rogue - Observant
16. Rogue (7d6)
17. Rogue
18. Rogue (8d6)
19. Rogue - +2 Dexterity
20. Rogue (9d6)

Stats:

STR: 13
DEX: 18 (17 + Racial)
CON: 16
INT: 13
WIS: 17 (16 + Racial)
CHA: 14

Background: Soldier
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Has anyone come up with a better Sniper build?

You could do the same with hand crossbow for beginners

[Specter]

Dude, you need to improve your reading comprehension. I listed them alphabetically and made a point of mentioning the fact. You even quoted me saying so :smallwink:

edit: Although, in hindsight, I did get Mage Slayer, Magic Initiate and Mobile somewhat barse ackwards...

Oh yeah. Derp's on me. :smallbiggrin:

[Dralnu]

Pure Assassin Rogue. Take the Sharpshooter feat. Use a Heavy Crossbow if the target is within 400 ft, otherwise use a Longbow. Your Sneak Attack when you Assassinate is the most damage possible in a single hit, I'm pretty sure.

There, all done.

[djreynolds]

Do you want one shot, or many adding up?

For one shot you need lucky and precision.

Your build, 17 rogue/3BM is spot on. Precision adds 1d6 to your shot, and +5 from dex and +2 from archery to land 9d6 of sneak attack damage. Expertise in perception should carry you enough to where observant is not needed. You will have 5asi/feats.

15/14/13/12/10/8 or 27 point buy in. Inorder, as a human variant to land a 20 in dex, you will have 3 feats/asi and 1 feat from human variant left over. I would take skulker, sharpshooter, alert, and crossbow expert because you want to use a crossbow, but do you need to reload fast with 1 attack, do you need to use a crossbow in melee when you can just pull out 2 short swords or just one, or go short sword and shield. You could lose crossbow expert in favor of lucky.

Sharpshooter at level 1, alert, ASI, ASI, skulker and lucky. And if you can find some magic item darkvision, dump skulker then for something else, like your crossbow expert or resilient.

[Specter]

Pure Assassin Rogue. Take the Sharpshooter feat. Use a Heavy Crossbow if the target is within 400 ft, otherwise use a Longbow. Your Sneak Attack when you Assassinate is the most damage possible in a single hit, I'm pretty sure.

There, all done.

One shot is not optimal. If you take 5 ranger levels, for instance, you make up for lost Sneak Attack with Hunter's Mark and Colossus Slayer, and still get another attack, that crits with Assassinate. And going full rogue, you have no access to martial weapons.

[MaxWilson]

One shot is not optimal. If you take 5 ranger levels, for instance, you make up for lost Sneak Attack with Hunter's Mark and Colossus Slayer, and still get another attack, that crits with Assassinate. And going full rogue, you have no access to martial weapons.

Nitpick: I'm pretty sure Colossus Slayer isn't going to help you make a sniper-like "one hit, one kill", since it requires the target to be damaged beforehand. Hunter's Mark trades your concentration and your bonus action and a requirement to be within 90 feet (? AFB) of the target for an extra d6 damage.

[Specter]

Nitpick: I'm pretty sure Colossus Slayer isn't going to help you make a sniper-like "one hit, one kill", since it requires the target to be damaged beforehand. Hunter's Mark trades your concentration and your bonus action and a requirement to be within 90 feet (? AFB) of the target for an extra d6 damage.

I'm aware of that, but CS would kick in the second arrow, and Hunter's Mark would apply to both, unlike Sneak Attack. So it's really a matter of 20d6 (1 assassin attack) vs. 18d6+2d6 and 2d8 (2assassin/hunter attacks). If raw damage is what you want, definitely take the second.

You could also go fighter instead of ranger for 4 attacks in the first round, but you'd miss on Pass Without Trace.

[Spacehamster]

One shot is not optimal. If you take 5 ranger levels, for instance, you make up for lost Sneak Attack with Hunter's Mark and Colossus Slayer, and still get another attack, that crits with Assassinate. And going full rogue, you have no access to martial weapons.

As ranged I would say that horde breaker is much better for an additional possibility of a -5/+10 attack per turn. :)

[RickAllison]

One shot is not optimal. If you take 5 ranger levels, for instance, you make up for lost Sneak Attack with Hunter's Mark and Colossus Slayer, and still get another attack, that crits with Assassinate. And going full rogue, you have no access to martial weapons.

See, that is where concepts of a sniper differ. To many, adding a second shot removes it from being a true sniper and moves it more to Designated Marksman territory (the guys using battle rifles rather than the much heavier sniper rifles).

Rifleman: suppressive fire, standard soldier
Designated Marksman: makes targeted shots in combat as part of a squad, heavier rifle
Sniper: makes surgical rifle shots from long distance, generally works alone or with a spotter.

[Specter]

See, that is where concepts of a sniper differ. To many, adding a second shot removes it from being a true sniper and moves it more to Designated Marksman territory (the guys using battle rifles rather than the much heavier sniper rifles).

Rifleman: suppressive fire, standard soldier
Designated Marksman: makes targeted shots in combat as part of a squad, heavier rifle
Sniper: makes surgical rifle shots from long distance, generally works alone or with a spotter.

I see it kinda like Manhshot from 3.5; why fire one arrow when you can take two, pull them together and put one in their head and another in their heart? But it's just a matter of style, anyway.

[djreynolds]

See, that is where concepts of a sniper differ. To many, adding a second shot removes it from being a true sniper and moves it more to Designated Marksman territory (the guys using battle rifles rather than the much heavier sniper rifles).

Rifleman: suppressive fire, standard soldier
Designated Marksman: makes targeted shots in combat as part of a squad, heavier rifle
Sniper: makes surgical rifle shots from long distance, generally works alone or with a spotter.

Excellent point, three choices for an archer. If you are unsure of what you want your role to be, take the one, the designated marksman, that will allow you flexibility to do both with some competence but not true mastery.

Sniper is a specialized build, for specialized warfare, one shot one kill stuff. But when the guards come down upon him, he is running.
Rifleman is designed for the guards with multiple attacks.

The Designated marksman will let you do a little of both.