Best Archer Build?

[Zanthy1]

So I've always liked the idea of an archer, taking a longbow and just shooting enemies from a solid distance. I have yet to play one in 5e yet, and I was hoping y'all could help! Only thing is, my DM is not super open to a lot of content. Specifically, I can only use the Players Handbook.

With that in mind, what do you think is the best DPS ranged build using strictly the Players Handbook. Things that I'd like to know,

Race, Background, Class, Feats, Spells, items, and also multiclassing. For the last one, when do you think would be the best time, if any?

[Foxhound438]

Vuman fighter with sharpshooter. pick battlemaster at 3 for precision attack.

background is up to you.

probably take crossbow master at 8 (after maxing dex at 6) to get one more shot in per turn.

A lot of people like ranger from 1 to 5, but past that they don't actually get a lot.

[Saint Jimmy]

I DM for my six year old cousin, he loves pretending to shoot a bow, so I faced this problem myself. The ranger seems like the best choice at first, but it actually looses some combat abilities for tracking and stuff like that. also, they get magic at level two, and if you don't use it you are at a large disadvantage. Knowing that, the fighter act.ually has some good ranged options in 5e. I would definitely do fighter and take the Archery talent (I think that's what it's called). That way you get good damage output and don't have to rely on magic to make you more useful.

Summary: do fighter because they have better damage output and don't need to rely on magic. (Unless you want magic... then go ranger)

[Zanthy1]

Vuman fighter with sharpshooter. pick battlemaster at 3 for precision attack.

background is up to you.

probably take crossbow master at 8 (after maxing dex at 6) to get one more shot in per turn.

A lot of people like ranger from 1 to 5, but past that they don't actually get a lot.

So you would say a crossbow is better than a longbow?

[Clover_Groom]

If you choose fighter, you have more ASIs so picking up Crossbow Master is easier, but the increase in damage die only amounts to +1 damage on average.
If you choose Ranger, you're going to be a bit more MAD (need Wisdom for spells), so Crossbow Master isn't as attractive in my opinion since you'll have 2 less ASIs to play with.
In the end, I think it's more of a preference. Like I said, the difference in damage is negligible.

[CaptAl]

So you would say a crossbow is better than a longbow?

Crossbow master allows you to use a hand crossbow as a bonus action with your off hand. There's some disagreement within the community about how it works, so ask your DM before you take it. Even if your DM doesn't allow the bonus action every turn, the feat still allows for fighting in melee with any ranged attack (spells, bows/crossbows) without disadvantage.

Fighter Battlemaster with archery style, Sharpshooter and Crossbow master is a machine gun, especially with a 3 level dip into Ranger for Horde breaker.

Fighter 6 (BM) or Ranger 5+ (Hunter)/Rogue (Assassin) makes for more of a sniper feel. Less machine gunner, more big blast.

[Zanthy1]

Crossbow master allows you to use a hand crossbow as a bonus action with your off hand. There's some disagreement within the community about how it works, so ask your DM before you take it. Even if your DM doesn't allow the bonus action every turn, the feat still allows for fighting in melee with any ranged attack (spells, bows/crossbows) without disadvantage.

Fighter Battlemaster with archery style, Sharpshooter and Crossbow master is a machine gun, especially with a 3 level dip into Ranger for Horde breaker.

Fighter 6 (BM) or Ranger 5+ (Hunter)/Rogue (Assassin) makes for more of a sniper feel. Less machine gunner, more big blast.

I am certainly more interested in a sniper as opposed to a machine gun lol

[Addaran]

I am certainly more interested in a sniper as opposed to a machine gun lol

For sniper feel, rogue or something like fighter/rogue might be better. Rogue is the only non-magical that will do one big attack. Fighter are more about multiple attacks.

But that depends what you consider a machine gun. You go from 1 to 4 attacks, X2 when you action surge. I know personaly, i'd like to play a crossbower but it's just so many attacks, it hurts my realisme. =(

[Specter]

It depends. Do you want to just fire a bow at will and do crazy damage? Then Fighter 16/Ranger 4. Maneuvers/improved crit, Sharpshooter, Hunter's Mark, Colossus Slayer, Action Surge. Go insane. Do you want stealth and damage? Then Ranger 5/Rogue 15. With Cunning Action and Pass Without Trace, they won't ever find you.

[CaptAl]

I am certainly more interested in a sniper as opposed to a machine gun lol

For that sniper feel I'd pick up sharpshooter, and the archery style. If you take Fighter to level 6 you pick up Battlemaster (precision/menacing are strong maneuvers), Extra Attack, Action Surge, and an extra feat/ASI along the way.
Then pick up Rogue levels for expertise in stealth and perception, cunning action (hide every round gain advantage guarantee your shots hits), and sneak attack damage. Go assassin if you want to try and maximize your one shot one kill ability. Go thief if you want to be better at getting into position for shots. Go AT if you want a little more out of combat utility.

Perfectly playable military sniper type from level 1. More sneak attack damage will get you nastier shots once a round.

[tieren]

The best sniper build is going to need rogue levels for sneak attack.

To qualify for sneak attack you need an ally within 5 feet of the target (easiest way). This can be the main tank of your group or could be a ranger beast companion or conjured helper.

I would recommend ranger/rogue combo. Hunters mark and colossus slayer/horde breaker will help up your damage. High level ranger abilities are actually low level rogue abilities (uncanny dodge, evasion, etc...) so there is some interesting synergy Maybe ranger 9/rogue 11.

Another thing to consider is Eldritch Knight instead of BM fighter. BM gets you precision strike which can help with sharpshooter, but EK can get you haste which moves you back into machine gun style.

[TripleD]

College of Valor Bard is another potential choice. You can use "Magical Secrets" to pick up Ranger spells that boost ranged attacks, and you still get Extra Attack, not to mention all those other fun Bard abilities and spells.

[Foxhound438]

So you would say a crossbow is better than a longbow?

In all cases short of the few corner case encounter that the difference in range, the hand crossbow will be the most effective. 2 attacks with a slightly smaller damage die is way better than 1, especially when you throw sharpshooter on top of that.

If you're dead set on a more snipery build, a primarily rogue character will do good for you, though even then CBM hand crossbow holds a ton of value there too: get skulker, use hand crossbow, and have two attempts at advantage to get sneak attacks.

[Naanomi]

Any medium race with a Dex bonus (wood elf, drow, V. human, air gensai)
Rogue 1/Fighter 1/Rogue +18
Assassin subclass
Sharpshooter and Skulker; Max Dex; other feats to taste (Alert, martial adept, lucky, mobile... maybe mage slayer to break concentration better than anyone)
Snipe away!

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

Without UA, I'd say Wood Elf Rogue 3/Battlemaster X going Mobile/Sharpshooter/Skulker is your best bet. Can't be caught, great at scouting, packs a punch.

With UA, I'd go Vuman UA Ranger (underdark archetype) the whole way, dropping Mobile. You lose certain things like Action Surge, ranged maneuvers, and hiding as a bonus action until late levels, but you gain back plenty of interesting features/magic to make up for it.

[JellyPooga]

I would recommend ranger/rogue combo. Hunters mark and colossus slayer/horde breaker will help up your damage. High level ranger abilities are actually low level rogue abilities (uncanny dodge, evasion, etc...) so there is some interesting synergy Maybe ranger 9/rogue 11.

Ranger/Rogue is a good combo; I wpuld tend towards even more focus on Rogue. Past level 5, when you get Extra Attack and Pass Without Trace, Ranger really doesn't offer much. Rogue 15 just about squeezes in free Wis Save proficiency, albeit only at level 20. So yeah, I'd go Ranger 5/Rogue 15 myself.

[TheProfessor85]

Ask the DM if you can use the revised ranger from WotC 's website. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/unearthed-arcana-ranger-revised a lot of people agree the ranger represented in the phb is lacking or broken in a bad way. If so the new ranger is quite fun

[Grod_The_Giant]

Honestly, a straight Assassin Rogue makes a pretty nasty sniper. Since you can hide as a bonus action, it's easy to just ghost around the outer edge of the battlefield-- Skulker will help with that, and you'll want Sharpshooter regardless. It's probably worth dipping for the Archery Combat Style; up to you how far from Ranger you want to go. Battle Master Fighter will get you a couple Superiority Dice to help with attack; Champion Fighter goes oh-so-nicely with all that Advantage-from-hiding and Sneak Attack; Hunter Ranger can potentially get you an extra attack and/or reliable sources of extra damage.

I'd probably do something like vHuman Rogue 4/Hunter Ranger 5/Rogue +11, myself. Start with Skulker and take Sharpshooter with your first ASI, once you have more attack bonus.

[rollingForInit]

If you choose fighter, you have more ASIs so picking up Crossbow Master is easier, but the increase in damage die only amounts to +1 damage on average.
If you choose Ranger, you're going to be a bit more MAD (need Wisdom for spells), so Crossbow Master isn't as attractive in my opinion since you'll have 2 less ASIs to play with.
In the end, I think it's more of a preference. Like I said, the difference in damage is negligible.


One thing you're missing is that the fighter gets 4 attacks in total, and these are always online. No resources required. Rangers get 2 attacks. They can get more from damage from spells, but those are precious resources.

Just something to keep in mind if the adventure goes into the 11+ levels.

[djreynolds]

Humbly, IMO, it depends on what level you begin at. We are doing Storm King's Thunder, I began as a fighter, human variant and took archery style and sharpshooter.

My first problem was light. I often had to shoot at disadvantage at enemies beyond the torch I had set out in front of me or the light spell the cleric had placed for me, as the only human.

Recently, the new ranger came out, and interested I grabbed that.

And at 3rd I took a level in rogue, 1d6 extra damage at early levels is very powerful, so I think I will take 2nd level of ranger for a couple of reason, 1st is at 4th I could get access to darkvision, and at 2nd level get hunter's mark.

But you see the issues at hand, darkvision or something is important. An archer is well away often from the main body, kind of self sufficient. Not being able to see is a big deal, it nullifies sharpshooter at night because you may not use it if you are shooting at disadvantage because of no light.

Starting off as a fighter, may not seem the best idea if you are beginning at level 5 or 8, but having 10hp, and +2 to hit with any bow is a big deal at level 1.

So really what level is key, 4 levels of ranger gets you darkvision, I think 6 levels of Arcane trickster/EK gives you darkvision access.

Are you playing human just for a feat? Are playing a wood elf?

How quickly will you have access to the extra attack, do you want the extra attack, are you planning on your damage coming from sneak attack?

So give me the starting level, and race at least.

[deathadder99]

I'm surprised that Crossbow Expert isn't being mentioned in almost every build. Is it because the 2 attacks with same hand crossbow interaction is a bit sketchy and not all DMs allow it? My GF is interested in playing the new UA Ranger as an archer and I'm having a little trouble helping her come up with a build too.

I can't help but feel that Darkvision is quite important too, though Rangers get it as a no-concentration spell at level 5, which SHOULD be enough to use it when needed. Sharpshooter seems almost mandatory, but Crossbow Expert seems really strong too - the no disadvantage in melee is alright, but the bonus attack is where it really shines. Extra attacks give more chance to hit, more damage and more procs of Hunter's Mark. Seems definitely worth the drop to a 1d6 damage dice.

[TheBirba]

Sniper archers are my favourite archetypes and I pretty much tried them all and I'm an optimiser at hearth. Here are my advices:

Disclaimer #1. Your DM matters. If your DM takes into account lighting, if they let you sneak and ambush enemies easily, if crowd control is crucial etc, all are important factors when building a character. If none of the above apply, just play whatever gives the most raw damage.

Disclaimer #2. Your starting stats matter. If you're using standard point buy, and start at lvl 1, Humans are a no brainer: Sharpshooter makes a ton of difference early on, unless you're a rogue.

Disclaimer #3. Your starting level matters. In terms of raw damage, Rangers are best a low level, Fighters are best at high level. Rogues are consistent if you can always sneak attack. How quickly are you getting to Dex 20 + Sharpshooter? What maximum level do you expect to reach with your character?


The below points come from actual play experience.

-You need Sharpshooter. Period. You also need Crossbow Expert to maximise damage as you get an extra bonus attack each round, or - if your DM disallows it - to use a heavy crossbow for a d10 instead of d8. Unless you're a rogue, that is.
- Fighters, Rangers and Rogues all make for good archers; Fighters make for the least utility outside of combat but backgrounds help (take the Urchin background and you're suddenly a rogue, for instance). Rangers have a nature themed spells which you may like or not, plus extra nature themed fluff that entirely depends on your DM. Rogues don't have to be loot-crazed thieves, even if they choose the Thief archetype.
- If you go Fighter, you can choose any archetype, although I agree Battle Masters are the most fun. Get Sharpshooter asap and you can use it pretty much always, especially with Precision Attack. Fighters also get your Dex at 20 by lvl 6.
- If you go Ranger, you have to go Hunter, but you'll be wreaking havoc between lvl 1-10. You get 1d8+1d8+1d6+Dex per attack, which is more than than what Fighters can sustain before lvl 11=. Sharpshooter is statistically less effective because of the higher average damage each attacks does, but still great.
- If you go Rogue, Assassin brings you the most damage, but honestly there are so mani "ifs" to it that any archetype will do. You need Dex 20 more than you need Sharpshooter - you only get one attack per round and you want to make sure you hit it. Using your bonus action to hide and get advantage (=Sneak Attack) is pretty cool.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I'm surprised that Crossbow Expert isn't being mentioned in almost every build. Is it because the 2 attacks with same hand crossbow interaction is a bit sketchy and not all DMs allow it? My GF is interested in playing the new UA Ranger as an archer and I'm having a little trouble helping her come up with a build too.

I can't help but feel that Darkvision is quite important too, though Rangers get it as a no-concentration spell at level 5, which SHOULD be enough to use it when needed. Sharpshooter seems almost mandatory, but Crossbow Expert seems really strong too - the no disadvantage in melee is alright, but the bonus attack is where it really shines. Extra attacks give more chance to hit, more damage and more procs of Hunter's Mark. Seems definitely worth the drop to a 1d6 damage dice.
Mostly because the OP asked for a sniper build, as opposed to a machine gun.

[Haydensan]

Seems a like a bit of an oddball but because you didnt specify a level range ill drop one of the highest ranged average DPR build concepts down for you.

Valor bard at level 11 has around the highest if not the highest ranged archery based long term DPR.

It seems a bit odd i know but because of magical secrets allows you to access swift quiver earlier than any other class iirc. To maximise your ranged damage you're best maximising the number of instances that you can use sharpshooter, the fighter is best at this at the very high levels i think (dont quote me on that) because of their massive amount of attacks per round.

But a valor bard at level 11 is getting two attacks when they take the attack action, and then an additional 2 attacks from their bonus action with swift quiver up. Of course you wont be able to do this every fight, but in the fights you do have it up in, you will be putting out a massive amount of damage.

As a side note I'd consider a dip into fighter to maybe get archer fighting style.

Edit: Just noticed you're more interested in the one shot sniper damage rather than the machine gun style.

[TheUser]

So I've always liked the idea of an archer, taking a longbow and just shooting enemies from a solid distance. I have yet to play one in 5e yet, and I was hoping y'all could help! Only thing is, my DM is not super open to a lot of content. Specifically, I can only use the Players Handbook.

With that in mind, what do you think is the best DPS ranged build using strictly the Players Handbook. Things that I'd like to know,

Race, Background, Class, Feats, Spells, items, and also multiclassing. For the last one, when do you think would be the best time, if any?

Use a light crossbow and a shield. Human Variant Battlemaster with any choice of menacing, goading, pushing or tripping attack.

16 dex 16 con start (anything else w/e)

Crossbow expert at level 1: two atttacks, one standard one bonus, can attack in melee without disadvantage.

level 4 take sharp shooter

level 6/8 take dex upgrades.

You can use medium armor and a shield while your dex isn't 20, and can swap to light armor at level 6/8 when your dex goes up. AC is 19 17 without any magical gear; hawt.

By level 11 you get 4 attacks per turn at +11. You can trip attack at melee then sharpshooter with action surge still at advantage (because crossbow expert).

1 regular attack and 6 sharpshooter attacks.

Max 7d6 + 105 action surge damage if you want to sharpshooter all your hits. 5 of those attacks could be with a maneuver which adds a d10 (not reccommended) so you have a potential round 1 Nova of 7d6 + 5d10 +105.

Potential 4d6 + 60 on standard rounds. With +11 to hit without any magical gear you can potentially sharpshooter with precision attack.

I can't reconcile playing it because I don't know how you'd actually reload a crossbow with a hand occupied using a shield but the game says a light crossbow is one-handed and ignores reloading with x-bow expert so it's legit.... ****ing hilarious.

After level 12 start taking Rogue levels for Assassin and lulz your way to victory.

[Saggo]

I can't reconcile playing it because I don't know how you'd actually reload a crossbow with a hand occupied using a shield but the game says a light crossbow is one-handed and ignores reloading with x-bow expert so it's legit.... ****ing hilarious.

Ammunition requires a free hand, so you would need to unequip the shield to reload. Wouldn't work so well.

[TheUser]

Ammunition requires a free hand, so you would need to unequip the shield to reload. Wouldn't work so well.

Ahh there's the problem, ok no shield then!

[Citan]

So I've always liked the idea of an archer, taking a longbow and just shooting enemies from a solid distance. I have yet to play one in 5e yet, and I was hoping y'all could help! Only thing is, my DM is not super open to a lot of content. Specifically, I can only use the Players Handbook.

With that in mind, what do you think is the best DPS ranged build using strictly the Players Handbook. Things that I'd like to know,

Race, Background, Class, Feats, Spells, items, and also multiclassing. For the last one, when do you think would be the best time, if any?
Basically... "It depends".:smallbiggrin:

To make a good archer, you need/want...
- Archery Fighting Style (required)
- As many attacks as possible (recommended)
- Sharpshooter (required)
- anything increasing your damage per attack (recommended)
- Crossbow Expert (recommended unless specific Lore Bard build)
- any spell improving your ranged attacks (recommended)

For that, the best chassis are Fighter or Hunter Ranger.
Fighter gets 3 attacks per Attack at level 11, and 4 at 20.
Ranger gets Horde Breaker (easy to enable with a bow) at 3, Volley at 11.

Beyond that, it really just depends on your fluff and playstyle.
I'm personally fond of Eldricht Knight 15 / Hunter Ranger 5.
You get Archery and another style (in order of preference when allowed: Close-Quarters Shooter, Mariner, Defense).
You get 3xattacks per Attack, Haste for the biggest fight as well as Horde Breaker, Hunter's Mark and Pass Without Trace.
So when you need to, you can make, per turn, 6 attacks per turn (3 Attack, 1 Haste, 1 Horde Breaker, 1 bonus action thanks to Crossbow Expert feat), or 5 attacks per turn which each (except Horde Breaker one) gets extra 1d8 (Hunter's Mark).

Another option could be EK 11, Hunter Ranger 3, Rogue 1, and either Wizard 5 (for Mirror Image, Haste and Magic Weapon) or Grassland Druid (Invisibility, Pass Without Trace, Haste, but also Plant Growth and Heat Metal to quote a few good spells).
You trade ASIs for a larger pool of spellcasting (in spell known and slots), along with Expertise in Stealthing, so you can really play the wild assassin. ;)

Otherwise, using a Hunter Ranger as a chassis up until lvl 11 for Volley and adding Rogue (more single-target damage), Cleric (Bless) or Druid (control spells) can work great too.
The thing about Volley is that the number of situations where it totally trumps the Fighter's 3*attacks is not so large: basically when enemies are clumped together but you still have clear view.
However, the number of situations where you can hit at least 3 enemies should not be so hard either, at least if you have someone in your group that can aggro enemies.
And you also get several spells that enhance your archery quite a bit.
So it's more a matter of campaign setting (a bit) and your personal taste between more situational greatness and spells (much more) as to whether go for it or not.

[Saggo]

Ahh there's the problem, ok no shield then!

So the interesting thing is unlike the other bows/crossbows, you could fire the Hand Crossbow with a shield. But since you couldn't reload it, you would only get one shot.

[Cl0001]

It's down to fighter or ranger. Both make good archers, but they both have their benefits and disadvantages. Rangers are generally considered weak (see of you can use the updated class) but they have magic and the hunter path is actually really strong. I made a ranger and I could lay on damage by stacking magical effects. Fighters will get off more attacks though. And if you go champion, you'll get more criticals too. IMO though, lvl 20 fighter is the best.

[Foxhound438]

It's down to fighter or ranger. Both make good archers, but they both have their benefits and disadvantages. Rangers are generally considered weak (see of you can use the updated class) but they have magic and the hunter path is actually really strong. I made a ranger and I could lay on damage by stacking magical effects. Fighters will get off more attacks though. And if you go champion, you'll get more criticals too. IMO though, lvl 20 fighter is the best.

early on. Past 5, the hunter doesn't get a ton of love. Volley is cool and all, but splitting your damage between multiple targets is very hard to justify. Almost always better to focus fire. The big boons are hunter's mark at 2, colossus slayer at 3, a feat at 4, and 2x attack at 5, and past that there's nothing great. Some spells give a small improvement, but those usually compete with mark for concentration.

[Citan]

early on. Past 5, the hunter doesn't get a ton of love. Volley is cool and all, but splitting your damage between multiple targets is very hard to justify. Almost always better to focus fire. The big boons are hunter's mark at 2, colossus slayer at 3, a feat at 4, and 2x attack at 5, and past that there's nothing great. Some spells give a small improvement, but those usually compete with mark for concentration.
I really don't know how anyone could say that. I mean, sure, occasions where there are mobs crawling around that "could use" an AOE is not so common, but when they happen, you are glad that Ranger gets both at-will AOE and dedicated spells.
Add to that the fact that, contrarily to AOE spells, Ranger benefits from any buff that could affect his to-hit (such as Bless) or damage (Divine Favor, Magic Weapon, Elemental Weapon).
So when someone has such a spell in the party, buffing the Ranger can be the best option, because he gets good both at single-target (Extra Attack with Hunter's Mark, or end of career Swift Quiver) and AOE (Volley or Conjure Barrage/Volley).

Even without external buff, it still makes for a respectable single-target damage-dealer. Not coming close to a Fighter, but well, Fighter is supposed to be the best. It's the necessary counterpart for everything else a Ranger gets in skills and spells. ;)

Volley will never beat AOE spells, that's for sure. But it's to be expected from an at-will ability. And Ranger gets AOE spells too (which I do regret require a non-magical ammunition. Choice certainly made for simplicity, but it would have been a nice way to upgrade these spells).

You also tend to undervalue spells quite a bit for a Ranger. ;) Spike Growth does require concentration, but Plant Growth does not, and it's great for an archer to prevent enemies from reaching him too fast. ;)

With that said, the key difference between Ranger and Fighter imo is that you probably always want to stay pure class as the latter, to get 4th attack, while you can certainly bear to lose 1-2 levels of Ranger to instead get Action Surge (Fighter), Expertise and Sneak Attack (Rogue) or extra spellcasting (WIS-casters) to take a few examples.

[Socratov]

If we open the discussion up to ranged attack specialist:

Warlock 2/Sorcerer 18

take Eldritch Blast, Agonising blast, Repelling Blast and the quicken Metamagic, Spell Sniper feat for extra range and ignoring of cover

Your turn:

Action: eldritch Blast for 4d10+4*Cha.mod
Bonus action: Quicken Eldritch Blast (this can be done 9 times a day before converting spellslots) for another 4d10+4*Cha.mod

Range 240'

Which, when maxing Cha at 20, will end up on average for: 84 dmg on average (swinging between 48 and 120) per turn

But wait, there is more:

You can, once they are in reach (i.e. within 90'), hex them for an additional dmg of 1d6 per beam. For 4 beams that will increase the damage on average by 14 (swinging between 4 and 24 damage) per casting of EB. What's more, each beam that hits has the potential to move the target back by 10'. Maximally that means 80' movement backwards for the enemy. That's not just kiting, that's just making sure you're never hit.

if you are willing to make sure they never get to you and sacrifice half your damage, you can even take the distance metamagic to double the range once again to 480', ensuring a 40' setback at very long range. Sure, Dashing will get them closer by 20' a round, but that's nothing what a quickened EB + EB can't fix once within range of 240'.

What's more, it's a SAD build, and doesn't suffer the reliability problems a SS build uses.

Edit: As Odigity friendly pointed out you get 4 beams of EB, not 5.

[odigity]

Valor bard at level 11 has around the highest if not the highest ranged archery based long term DPR.

...

But a valor bard at level 11 is getting two attacks when they take the attack action, and then an additional 2 attacks from their bonus action with swift quiver up.

Why level 11? Valor Bard gets Extra Attack at 6th, 5th lvl spells at 9th, and Magical Secrets at 10th. Isn't that everything?

[odigity]

Action: eldritch Blast for 5d10+5*Cha.mod
Bonus action: Quicken Eldritch Blast (this can be done 9 times a day before converting spellslots) for another 5d10+5*Cha.mod




For 5 beams that will increase the damage on average by 17.5 (swinging between 5 and 30 damage) per casting of EB.


Eldritch Blast never gets to 5 beams. It follows the same progression as all attack cantrips:


1st-4th: 1x
5th-10th: 2x
11th-16th: 3x
17th-20th: 4x

[Specter]

If Champion is the way, I highly recommend a level of War Cleric for Divine Favor. That 1d4 on every attack that doubles on crit goes a long way. If you get a 14 WIS, that's also a few extra attacks per rest, machinegun style. You lose the capstone, but that's way down the road for most builds to worry.

[Jjj111]

We're a little off topic, haha.

[Specter]

We're a little off topic, haha.

Yep. Thanks, Warlock 2!

[Sabeta]

Your turn:

Action: eldritch Blast for 5d10+5*Cha.mod
Bonus action: Quicken Eldritch Blast (this can be done 9 times a day before converting spellslots) for another 5d10+5*Cha.mod


The spell creates more than one beam when you reach
higher levels: two beams at 5th level, three beams at
11th level, and four beams at 17th level. You can direct
the beams at the same target or at different ones. Make
a separate attack roll for each beam.

Where do you get 5d10? Shouldn't that be 4d10?
I agree that Eldritch Blast is a great way to create a Ranged character, and bonus points if you make your Arcane Focus a Bow. Really helps sell the whole Arcane Archer thing.

[Naanomi]

In pure damage I think Fighter 20 5X sharpshooter/crossbow mastery shots hedges out the warlock; even more so if magic-initiate gives you Hex.

I did play a Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4/Sorcerer +3/Fighter 1/Rogue 3/Fighter +1/Warlock +7 intended to hurl as many eldritch blasts from extreme range at the cost of almost all other spell utility was a lot of fun though

[MeeposFire]

My personal favorite is a fighter(EK)8/warlock2/rogue10

You cast EB and then attack once with your ranged weapon of choice. Most of the time you will get sneak attack on your ranged attack. Get crossbow mastery and you can do it in melee range too.

[Citan]

If we open the discussion up to ranged attack specialist:

Warlock 2/Sorcerer 18

take Eldritch Blast, Agonising blast, Repelling Blast and the quicken Metamagic, Spell Sniper feat for extra range and ignoring of cover

if you are willing to make sure they never get to you and sacrifice your damage, you can even take the distance metamagic to double the range once again to 480'. Sure, Dashing will get them closer by 10' a round, but that's nothing what a quickened EB + EB can't fix.

What's more, it's a SAD build, and doesn't suffer the reliability problems a SS build uses.
Thanks for the demonstration but OP point was an Archer build, not a ranged attacker build. I think pretty much everyone here knows how deadly a build made upon Agonizing / Repelling Blast can be.

By the way, for such a build I'd prefer going Warlock 5 to also get Eldricht Spear, so I can finish a foe before he even gets a chance to reach me, with or without the Distant Metamagic. ;)

[Socratov]

Eldritch Blast never gets to 5 beams. It follows the same progression as all attack cantrips:


1st-4th: 1x
5th-10th: 2x
11th-16th: 3x
17th-20th: 4x

Oops, indeed. Tahnks for pointing out (You too Sabetha). I have amended my post

In pure damage I think Fighter 20 5X sharpshooter/crossbow mastery shots hedges out the warlock; even more so if magic-initiate gives you Hex.

I did play a Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4/Sorcerer +3/Fighter 1/Rogue 3/Fighter +1/Warlock +7 intended to hurl as many eldritch blasts from extreme range at the cost of almost all other spell utility was a lot of fun though
Sure, but you will suffer from the -5 to to-hit. I have used sharpshooter in play, and while the -5 seems little, it has often been the difference between hitting and not hitting for me. This is, of course, purely anecdotal, but tanking your to-hit is not that great an idea.

Unless you tend to roll pretty high or crit a lot.

Thanks for the demonstration but OP point was an Archer build, not a ranged attacker build. I think pretty much everyone here knows how deadly a build made upon Agonizing / Repelling Blast can be.
that's pretty much dependant on what you see as archer and wether or not you are willing to fluff your arcane focus as a concept of bow, much like Shaman King had a focus which was a concept of sword. By then the build is just a means to an end.

By the way, for such a build I'd prefer going Warlock 5 to also get Eldricht Spear, so I can finish a foe before he even gets a chance to reach me, with or without the Distant Metamagic. ;)
Eldritch Spear, IMO, delivers less then 3 lvls of Sorcerer. first, 3 lvls of sorcerer get you 9th lvl spells, more sorcerer spellslots and 3 more sorcery points. What's more, should you go Wild Magic Sorcerer you get spell bombardment, by which I mean, random chances to create even more beams, where you have a (1-0.9^8=57% chance to trigger an extra 5.5 on average dmg roll). This feature increases your EB+Quickened EB damage by an expected value of 3.

Sure the 300' base range on EB is nifty (turning it with spellsniper and distant spell to 1200' range which would, I guess, qualify you for artillery status as you'd need a scryer or lvl 7 eagle totem barbarian to spot targets for you, but I digress). I think the times you will need that kind of range are easily taken care of by distant spell. Besides, if you take the more sorcerer levels you can get the fun metamagics subtle spell and empower spell as well. The former is great for non combat situations or sneaky situations, and the latter will make sure 5 of your 8 dice in the great combo's stay above the lowes. this will make sure you will need less shots to down an enemy. That efficiency will make the difference between a crazed gunman and and professional (https://youtu.be/9NZDwZbyDus?t=37s). Be efficient, be the proffessional.

[djreynolds]

For me, what level?

Right now I'm using a lantern or torch, darkness sucks. Having no darkvision is a negative. But as soon as you level up, the wizard can throw that on you.

Also getting to that 2nd attack is big for a fighter or ranger.

I like 12 fighter/ 8 rogue, simple. You could go 11 fighter/ 6 rogue/3 ranger... 4 ASI/feats

[Zanthy1]

I'm liking the idea of a mix between fighter, ranger and rogue. Flavor wise I definitely want to use a longbow, I find crossbows a boring method of role play.

[djreynolds]

You will enjoy it, lots of skills and you really feel the part of a stealthy scout. And you can still melee effectively. I'm enjoying mine and he's 1/1/1.
But using a torch sucks, for now.
Caves and dungeons and nighttime, the gods are cruel.

[Zanthy1]

You will enjoy it, lots of skills and you really feel the part of a stealthy scout. And you can still melee effectively. I'm enjoying mine and he's 1/1/1.
But using a torch sucks, for now.
Caves and dungeons and nighttime, the gods are cruel.

I would probably go some variant of elf for darkvision and the boost to dex

[Specter]

I played a Ranger 9/Battlemaster 3/Assassin 3 as an archer. The only other party member who came close interms of DPR was the Vengeance Paladin. Sharpshooter lets you target anything on the battlefield, and Lightning Arrow was a sweet moment in my day.