Best class and subclass for a longbow-weilder?

[samcifer]

So I'm considering playing a bowman using a longbow and am wondering which class and subclass would be best. Arcane Archer Fighters seem okay, but if a battle lasts more than two rounds, I'd lose out on effects, so I'm curious as to which way to go. I admit to a preference of having the Archer fighting style for the +2 accuracy, which would help to mitigate my usually poor die rolls on average.

As for race, I really like tabaxi, but could play a feral tiefling instead for the spell options.

Thought and/or advice?

[Easy_Lee]

Knowing nothing about the campaign, I'm partial to Gloomstalker Ranger 5 (6 if revised) / Rogue. You get your fighting style, extra attack, a bonus attack at the start of each fight, and scaling damage and options from rogue. The Ranger spell list includes Pass Without Trace, an added bonus. With Hunter's Mark, deal 3d8+4d6+12 damage the first round of combat at level 6, more if you take Sharpshooter or play a Revised Ranger and are fighting a Favored Enemy.

Don't abuse stealth too much if you do this, else the DM is likely to counter it.

[Skyblaze]

Arcane Archer Fighters seem okay, but if a battle lasts more than two rounds, I'd lose out on effects,

I mean, you don't need to use the arcane arrows every single turn you go. Battlemasters don't and they are not able to add their maneuvers on when you're confirmed to hit like arcane archers.

[MrWesson22]

If you want to use fighter, battlemaster is better. Precision attack turning sharpshooter misses into hits is a huge damage increase.

With ranger, gloom stalker and hunter are both great. And rogue is great. There is no particular rogue subclass that stands above the rest, so choose what you like for flavor.

There are lots of options for a longbow based character. Pact of the blade hexblade works once you get improved pact weapon. Bard works too once you steal swift quiver with magical secrets.

[Daphne]

Fighter: Arcane Archer, Battle Master or Eldritch Knight

Ranger: Hunter or Gloom Stalker

You could also go Rogue if you pick Wood Elf as race.

[MxKit]

I keep wanting to make a Rogue with some levels in Arcane Archer... Assassin 12/Arcane Archer 8, Arcane Archer 12/Assassin 8, or even Assassin 17/Arcane Archer 3, depending on if you value Extra Attack or Sneak Attack/maybe Death Strike more. Check with your DM first, because imo if you take Seeking Arrow you should definitely be able to use it to get your Assassinate (and Death Strike) off if you're smart about it. Stealth up to just peek at the enemies, retreat even around a corner a fair distance without being seen, and get off the first shot in combat without any chance of them noticing you.

If your DM doesn't like that idea or you don't think it'd come up too often, Arcane Trickster and Scout would be good subclasses for you, too. Again, a 12/8 split one way or the other might be best, but with Scout you might want to go all the way up to Scout 13/Arcane Archer 7, getting Ambush Master instead of one of your ASIs. Remember that if you want to use a longbow early, you'll either want to take at least one Fighter level early, or you'll want to be a high elf or wood elf. If you want to be a Tabaxi, I'd personally recommend going to Arcane Archer 3 or 5 (depending on if you want to get to Assassin 17; if not, go up to lv5), and only then multiclassing into Rogue. You can figure out what exact balance you want later, if you like.

[Potato_Priest]

I mean, you don't need to use the arcane arrows every single turn you go. Battlemasters don't and they are not able to add their maneuvers on when you're confirmed to hit like arcane archers.

Actually, a large number of the battlemaster maneuvers can be added on "when you hit an enemy with a weapon attack".

[samcifer]

Actually, a large number of the battlemaster maneuvers can be added on "when you hit an enemy with a weapon attack".

Yeah, looking over the maneuvers, only about 4 of them require melee attacks to work (including attacks against the fighter) and you get 4 superiority dice to start with at lv. 3, which makes for a good number of uses per combat. Between that and the extra attacks, I could make a character who can hit a lot each turn at high levels. Not the most damaging build, but if I mc ranger and take Hunter's Mark as a spell, I could do decent damage...

[Aett_Thorn]

Don't forget the Kensei Monk, as well. Especially when paired with a few levels of Ranger, they can do pretty well for themselves.

[samcifer]

Don't forget the Kensei Monk, as well. Especially when paired with a few levels of Ranger, they can do pretty well for themselves.

But the unarmed strikes would be useless for a ranged character, wouldn't they? Especially one wielding a longbow that requires both hands to use even if I was willing to enter melee with him.

[Easy_Lee]

But the unarmed strikes would be useless for a ranged character, wouldn't they? Especially one wielding a longbow that requires both hands to use even if I was willing to enter melee with him.

Unarmed strikes don't require a free hand. The monk's mobility and ability to stun targets in melee actually make Kenseis pretty decent at being archers.

[Elminster298]

If you aren't looking for AL legal, I am very partial to Arcane Archer/Mystic(preferably Nomad but as long as you take Nomadic Arrow you're golden). It makes the Arcane Archer feel much more Arcane Archer-y.

[samcifer]

Unarmed strikes don't require a free hand. The monk's mobility and ability to stun targets in melee actually make Kenseis pretty decent at being archers.

true, but being a ranged character would make melee attacks an almost unused ability, right?

[Aett_Thorn]

true, but being a ranged character would make melee attacks an almost unused ability, right?

It gives you the ability to switch between archer and melee, though. And Kensei gives you a way to boost damage if you don’t need your bonus action to do more unarmed strikes. Or, you can use the bonus action for dodge to make it hard to hit you back.

[Alatar]

I mean, you don't need to use the arcane arrows every single turn you go. Battlemasters don't and they are not able to add their maneuvers on when you're confirmed to hit like arcane archers.

Yeah, if you rolled high on Init, and it's not yet clear what's going down, then I can see holding off. If your table features lots of smaller combats with occasional short rests, then it makes sense to pick your spots. Otherwise, I'm in favor of unleasing early. Whatever happens, it's probably best that it's over quickly.


If you want to use fighter, battlemaster is better. Precision attack turning sharpshooter misses into hits is a huge damage increase.

And if you hit on the initial roll, the Menacing Attack maneuver adds a damage die (initially a d8) and imposes the frightened condition on a failed Wisdom save. While frightened, all attacks and ability checks are made at disadvantage, and the target will unable to move toward you.

If you think your target might be immune to being frightened and you are at range, the Goading Attack maneuver adds a damage die and imposes disadvantage to attacks against anyone but you on a failed Wisdom save. The DC of these saves is based on your primary ability modifier.

Battlemaster is a nice option for an archer build. The maneuvers give you some useful tactical tools, which means more choices, less rote repetition. You get four uses (combat superiority dice) per short rest, compared to 2 arcane arrows for the arcane archer, and you pick up a one additional superiority die at 7th level and again at 15th. The die values trend upwards as well, topping out at a d12. And while you start out with only three maneuvers, you get two more at 7th, 10th and 15th levels.

Fighter also gets Second Wind, Action Surge, and it multiclasses well with rogue. And if you act now...

[Arelai]

If you start at level 10, Lore Bard getting Swift Quiver is lit.

Otherwise, Blade pact Warlock using the moonbow invocation with smite is good.

Mostly ignore charisma, go dex and con, take hex and use spells to smite. Take a level or 2 of a full caster for extra smite slots(if your dm allows you to use those slots to smite).

[bid]

Especially one wielding a longbow that requires both hands to use
"Two-Handed (p. 147). This property is relevant only when you attack with the weapon, not when you simply hold it."

Unless you try to use your bow as an improvised weapon, you have a free hand. Not to mention feet.

[samcifer]

"Two-Handed (p. 147). This property is relevant only when you attack with the weapon, not when you simply hold it."

Unless you try to use your bow as an improvised weapon, you have a free hand. Not to mention feet.

Okay, but I'm leaning a bit more towards Battlemaster for more options and more attacks per turn, tbh.

[Crgaston]

Not a tabaxi, but how about a Wood Elf Rogue 2/ Champion X with the Sharpshooter and Elven Accuracy fears, using Cunning Action to hide for advantage and go crit-fishing?

[pdegan2814]

My first 5e character was a Wood Elf Battle Master Fighter / Assassin Rogue archer, and I loved it. Getting the Sneak Attack damage every turn wasn't terribly difficult, especially once the rest of the players got the hang of it and made sure to end their turns next to one of the bad guys. :) Taking the Alert feat helped ensure I was higher than the enemies on the Initiative track, giving me one round at Advantage in most fights, which let me take advantage of the -5/+10 from Sharpshooter. And in some cases, I could use by Stealthiness and Cunning Action to stay hidden and maintain Advantage. Someone earlier mentioned Precision Attack to turn misses into hits, especially with Sharpshooter, and that's a big help. If I were to roll up a character like that again however I'd be very tempted to go Arcane Archer instead of Battle Master. Yes, making use of AA's Curving Shot eats your Bonus Action, but it's not limited to a handful of uses per rest. Plus, you're guaranteed to be doing magical piercing damage by level Ftr7, just in case a magic longbow hasn't dropped by then.

[samcifer]

Well, as one possibility, I made up a variant human Battlemaster fighter:

Starting level: 5

Stats: STR: 13, DEX: 20 (+2 for first ASI), CON: 14, INT: 10, WIS: 12, CHA: 10
AC: 16 (chainmail - 18 with shield), HP: 44

Race: Variant Human - feat: Resilient - DEX, Skill: Stealth, Stat boosts: +1 DEX and +1 STR.
Background: Outlander
Skills: Acrobatics and Perception
Fighting Style: Archery

Equipment: Chainmail, Shield, Longbow, Sling (with Shield), Rapier (in case I'm forced into melee)

Battlemaster Maneuvers: Maneuvering A., Precision A. (I tend to get poorer than average die rolls), Trip A.

[Crgaston]

Well, as one possibility, I made up a variant human Battlemaster fighter:

Starting level: 5

Stats: STR: 13, DEX: 20 (+2 for first ASI), CON: 14, INT: 10, WIS: 12, CHA: 10
AC: 16 (chainmail - 18 with shield), HP: 44

Race: Variant Human - feat: Resilient - DEX, Skill: Stealth, Stat boosts: +1 DEX and +1 STR.
Background: Outlander
Skills: Acrobatics and Perception
Fighting Style: Archery

Equipment: Chainmail, Shield, Longbow, Sling (with Shield), Rapier (in case I'm forced into melee)

Battlemaster Maneuvers: Maneuvering A., Precision A. (I tend to get poorer than average die rolls), Trip A.

With a 20 Dex, you’d be better off in studded leather armor for 17/19 AC and no disadvantage on Stealth.

[Strangways]

I notice that no one ever recommends a Champion Fighter. As boring as it is, critting on an 18-20 has got to be worth something.

Also, on the Battlemaster vs Arcane Archer question, some additional points to consider:

1) If you don’t think you’ll end up finding a magic bow, and that you’ll run into enemies with damage resistance, then Arcane Archer is preferable as your shots will count as magical from level 7 forwards.

2) Other things being equal, an arrow from an Arcane Archer is likely to hit more often than an arrow from a Battlemaster, due to the level 7 Arcane Archer ability, Curving Shot. Exactly how much more often depends on positioning and, of course, the Battlemaster can use his superiority dice to increase his chance of hitting, though that’s a limited resource.

3) Arcane shots are, on average, more powerful than superiority dice, but the Battlemaster gets more superiority dice than the AA gets arcane shots.

Overall, the Battlemaster seems better because his superiority dice get better and he gets more of them, but I don’t think BM is massively better.

[Mortis_Elrod]

For a longbow archer I have these recommendations for a non multiclass build.

Fighter: there are some great options here the best ones being Arcane archer and battle Master but an EK or Samurai (or even Cavalier) could do well here. This gives you extra attack more asi’s fighting style and good HD and armor.


Monk: Kensai is your best bet but I remember that a popular build was wood elf monks who merely dropped or stopped using the bow when they got into melee. No fighting style but a definitively unique way to play an unarmored skirmish archer. Also best counter archer since you get free arrows when the enemy bowmen shoots at you.

Rogue: again with the fighter a number of options work but Scout is very good if you want to never be touched. No fighting style or extra attack but you’ll probably be very sneaky and SA are nothing to laugh at. Just try not to miss that one attack roll.

Ranger: well I really dislike the PHB ranger and prefer the Revised version either work and Hunter and Gloomstalker stand out the most. Gloomstalker adds some more punch that first round of combat and some cool stealthyness. Hunter is well Hunter and is your go to for a Ranger that doesn’t need a pet. Ranger spells are something the Above don’t have access to and they add some options not usually available to the standard bowmen, something to consider. Same HD as fighter and has fighting style.


Warlock: Specifcally the Hexblade or rather Hexbow, as soon as you hit level 3 you are the most charismatic archer of them all. Something to consider here is that maxing out CHA is very strong since you can have a backup weapon or change your pact weapon and use the same stat. You also get shields and medium armor. Sure there’s nothing stopping you from just using EB all day but at 5th level you get Eldritch Smite, which is usable with ranged weapons unlike the other smite. In the long run you get a lot of cool stuff while still being somewhat of a fullcaster and being equivalent to a Kensei monk. Only you also get other invocations as you only need the 4 and for most of your career it’s the 3 (improved pact weapon, eldritch smite, Thirsting Blade, Lifedrinker). This one happens to be my favorite and works well with Tabaxi.

[Mortis_Elrod]

If you start at level 10, Lore Bard getting Swift Quiver is lit.

Otherwise, Blade pact Warlock using the moonbow invocation with smite is good.

Mostly ignore charisma, go dex and con, take hex and use spells to smite. Take a level or 2 of a full caster for extra smite slots(if your dm allows you to use those slots to smite).

Or he can just be a hexblade and use only charisma. Moonbow invocation is super out of date btw.

[bid]

Stats: STR: 13, DEX: 20 (+2 for first ASI), CON: 14, INT: 10, WIS: 12, CHA: 10
AC: 16 (chainmail - 18 with shield), HP: 44
Race: Variant Human - feat: Resilient - DEX, Skill: Stealth, Stat boosts: +1 DEX and +1 STR.

I was wondering how you managed to get Dex20 at level 5...
Nice rolled stats, (16 14 12 12 10 10) barely above standard array.

[MxKit]

1) If you don’t think you’ll end up finding a magic bow, and that you’ll run into enemies with damage resistance, then Arcane Archer is preferable as your shots will count as magical from level 7 forwards.

2) Other things being equal, an arrow from an Arcane Archer is likely to hit more often than an arrow from a Battlemaster, due to the level 7 Arcane Archer ability, Curving Shot. Exactly how much more often depends on positioning and, of course, the Battlemaster can use his superiority dice to increase his chance of hitting, though that’s a limited resource.

Yeah, the magic weapons thing and the Curving Shot ability are pretty big details to consider, though as mentioned they might not end up being important depending on the campaign. They might end up being really good, though, especially the shots counting as magical.


3) Arcane shots are, on average, more powerful than superiority dice, but the Battlemaster gets more superiority dice than the AA gets arcane shots.

Overall, the Battlemaster seems better because his superiority dice get better and he gets more of them, but I don’t think BM is massively better.

I wanted to take another look for comparison, and honestly I think you're right:

Battle Master:
-Starts out knowing three maneuvers at 3rd level.
-Learns two more at 7th, 10th, and 15th, for a total of nine maneuvers known.
-Starts out with four superiority dice at 3rd level. They are d8s. The BM can usually add these to their attack. The effects are less magical and more standard fighting things for the most part.
-Gains another superiority die at 7th level and at 15th level, for a total of six superiority dice.
-Superiority dice increase to d10s at 10th level and d12s and 18th level.
-Relentless at 15th level makes sure the BM has at least one superiority die per battle.
-Superiority dice recharge on a short or long rest.

Arcane Archer
-Starts out knowing two Arcane Shots at 3rd level.
-Learns one more at 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th, for a total of six Arcane Shots known.
-Starts out with two uses of Arcane Shot at 3rd level. They usually add about 2d6 damage to your attack, but this varies and some don't do damage at all. The effects are more magical.
-Never gains any more uses, for a total of two uses ever.
-The damage the Arcane Shots do increases at 18th level, usually doubling the damage, or just adding 2d6 damage if it didn't do damage before.
-Ever-Ready Shot at 15th level makes sure the AA has at least one Arcane Shot per battle.
-Arcane Shots recharge on a short or long rest.

In all honesty, I think the only thing making the Arcane Archer lag behind here at all is the fact that it never gains any more uses after the first two. I think Wizards overvalued the eventual damage and magical effects a bit too much, though I never would have given them anywhere near as many uses as the Battle Master gets superiority dice. I still think they should have gotten one more use at 10th level, and maybe one more at 18th level.

That said, otherwise I think they're actually quite balanced. As a Battle Master, you can eventually learn 9 out of the 16 existing maneuvers, or just a little over half—less than 5/8ths of them. As an Arcane Archer, you can actually learn 6 out of the 8 Arcane Shot options, meaning you end up knowing 3/4ths of them. The number is less, but it still seems fair, or even a bit weighted on the AA's side. And the damage they do is actually better, on the whole, besides the ones that don't start off doing damage at all. Eventually, a Battle Master can add 1d12 to an attack they spend a superiority die on. Eventually, an Arcane Archer can add up to 4d6 to an attack they use an Arcane Shot on. Even the ones that start out without damage wind up on par with the BM's maxed out superiority dice, doing 2d6 damage. And some of them allow you to deal force damage to the target, which is iirc the least resisted damage type in the game.

And the magical effects are in some cases more impressive than the BM's maneuvers, too, even if most of them don't last long. Bursting Arrow is basically a tiny fireball that does force damage (ie, not as good as fireball when it comes to size or damage dice, but a MUCH better damage type); Grasping Arrow is especially neat since it locks down one enemy and does extra damage to it every turn it moves, requires no Concentration to hold them there, and even if they decide to break free they have to waste their action on it; as I said before, Sneaking Arrow is a great way to stealth and set up surprise attacks and not even give your position away immediately by attacking; Shadow Arrow basically blinds the target to any ranged attackers on your team, such as bowmen (like you) and casters, for a full turn, which gives them disadvantage to attack anyone who's not standing right next to them and gives anyone trying to attack them from a distance advantage. Like I said, I don't think this all means they shouldn't ever get more uses of their shots, but two at first and really not many more as they level sounds right.

And finally I have to say that while a lot of people LOVE to advise to dip Battle Master for superiority dice, it's early level dips where the Arcane Archer actually does measure up with or even exceed the Battle Master, imo. Yes, it's two Arcane Shots to four superiority dice, but many of them actually add more damage than the superiority dice at that point (1d8 vs 2d6), almost half of them do force damage, and the magical effects really can be way more useful than the maneuvers, depending on your build, your party, and what you're trying to do. And you still get them back on a short rest, so they're not prohibitively difficult to recharge fairly often. It's almost like taking a dip into Wizard, and while you might get fewer spell slots, you can use your "spells" along with your weapon attacks as part of the same attack action, and you get the "slots" back after a short or long rest instead of only after long ones.

[Arelai]

Or he can just be a hexblade and use only charisma. Moonbow invocation is super out of date btw.

Yeah I have the new book I just haven’t bothered looking through all of it since most of it ends up about the same as the UA.

Also, hex blade is fine, you can go dex if you want to pick a different subclass and it’s fine. If you do go hexblade though, you can flavor your EB as using your pact bow-which is slick. In case you don’t want to smite and have the repelling last for knock back, or if you’re at high enough levels where an Agonizing EB is just better than using a bow with 1 attack.

[Citan]

So I'm considering playing a bowman using a longbow and am wondering which class and subclass would be best. Arcane Archer Fighters seem okay, but if a battle lasts more than two rounds, I'd lose out on effects, so I'm curious as to which way to go. I admit to a preference of having the Archer fighting style for the +2 accuracy, which would help to mitigate my usually poor die rolls on average.

As for race, I really like tabaxi, but could play a feral tiefling instead for the spell options.

Thought and/or advice?
Hi!
It depends on your playstyle and the kind of encounters you generally get.
Let's make a quick (or not ^^) breakdown of the interesting features.

Devotion Paladin 3: counterintuitive choice, but provided great CHA and long encounter (3-4+ rounds depending on 16-18-20 CHA) the action investment in Sacred Weapon is extremely valuable to enable Sharpshooter: plus your weapon is magical, so arrows shot should bypass physical resistances (not sure about RAW but at least I always rule like this).

Paladin 2+: two of the smite spells (don't remember whichever though) work with ranged attacks, so may be nice to work with.

Ranger 2+: Ranger has the best "riders on ranged attacks" spells, especially Ensnaring Strike which is first level. May be good to grab.

Rogue: Sneak Attack is always a good way to make your archery count, especially if you have ways to enhance crit chance.

Fighter: highest number of attacks without buffs.

Hexblade Warlock: broken ability for 1st level feature makes you extra good against BBEG.

Manoeuvers: I don't know about all the "manoeuvers-like" archetypes for Fighter/Ranger, but anything that helps with precision, restraining movement or applying fear is good to have.

Spells: Bless (Cleric), defense spells (Sorcerer, Wizard, Druid, Cleric), Haste (Bard, Land Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard), Hold Person/Monster for autocrit (Sorcerer, Wizard, Bard?, Druid?), Hex (Warlock), Bestow Curse (Bard, Wizard), Swift Quiver (Bard, Ranger) are great to help your damage.

I did not cover everything, but this should prove a large enough panel already: just pick whatever you reallly want for offense depending on how "magical" and how "striker" you want to be, and deduce your build from its. :)

[Kane0]

Want to get wacky?

Blade pact warlock 3 or higher with rogue thrown on top. Take the invocation to make your pact weapon anything and the one to smite with it, rogue adds sneak attack and cunning action. If you choose to, Hexblade allows you to focus on charisma so you can also double as the face of the group with rogue expertise.

[samcifer]

With a 20 Dex, you’d be better off in studded leather armor for 17/19 AC and no disadvantage on Stealth.

The DM will allow scalemail at most to start with, which would be the same. Looking to get the feat later that reduces damage from physical attacks by 3

[samcifer]

I was wondering how you managed to get Dex20 at level 5...
Nice rolled stats, (16 14 12 12 10 10) barely above standard array.

Those are set stats our dm has our group use instead of rolling or point buy. As a variant human, I can take the 16 for DEX, add a +1 as a variant human, then take the Resilient DEX feat for another +1 (for 18) and proficiency with DEX saves from lv. 1. My Lv. 4 ASI is +2 DEX for the 20 maximum.

[samcifer]

The reasoning for preferring BM over Arcane Archer is getting to use my effects more often 4 Sup. Dice is better than two effects per short/long rest as the fighter attacks more often and while I can only use 1 die per attack, I can use one for each attack during the same turn and at 3 or 4 attacks per turn, I can have one serious turn or spread them out over several turns (my preferred strategy) for longer battles or two or more battles between rests. With the Martial Adept feat, I can gain yet another die for a minimum of 5 per rest, letting me use my effects more often. I just get to do stuff more often as a BM than I ever could as an AA, hence my choice between the two. If I could get more magical effect shots as an AA, I'd be more inclined to go that route.

[Mikal]

The DM will allow scalemail at most to start with, which would be the same. Looking to get the feat later that reduces damage from physical attacks by 3

Studded leather is cheaper/less AC than scalemail, so it's "lesser" in every way. Studded Leather does better for you cause you can actually implement stealth.
Heavy Armor Mastery feat isn't very good for your character because it only affects non magical damage, and it increases strength, which you don't care about.
You'd do better to use that for either a CON/DEX ASI, sharpshooter, elven advantage, or even magic initiate for hunter's mark or hex.
If you DO want something heavier than light armor, then medium armor mastery might be ok, since it can add an additional +1 to max dex (now a max of 18 AC vs. 17 from studded leather armor and 20 dex) and can remove your stealth disadvantage from half plate.

[samcifer]

Studded leather is cheaper/less AC than scalemail, so it's "lesser" in every way. Studded Leather does better for you cause you can actually implement stealth.
Heavy Armor Mastery feat isn't very good for your character because it only affects non magical damage, and it increases strength, which you don't care about.
You'd do better to use that for either a CON/DEX ASI, sharpshooter, elven advantage, or even magic initiate for hunter's mark or hex.
If you DO want something heavier than light armor, then medium armor mastery might be ok, since it can add an additional +1 to max dex (now a max of 18 AC vs. 17 from studded leather armor and 20 dex) and can remove your stealth disadvantage from half plate.

Okay then.

[Mikal]

Okay then.

I mean, if you want heavy armor go with it, just my two cents on the pros (few) and cons (many) I see with going heavy armor when so dex heavy.

[samcifer]

I mean, if you want heavy armor go with it, just my two cents on the pros (few) and cons (many) I see with going heavy armor when so dex heavy.

But I DO have a really good stealth check at +8, so yeah, having disadvantage on it would really bite...

[Mikal]

But I DO have a really good stealth check at +8, so yeah, having disadvantage on it would really bite...

I figured you would, since it's almost a no brainer with high dex, but didn't want to assume. So yeah, I'd say studded leather (5 gp less, 12 AC) and if you want the look of heavier armor eventually invest in half plate with medium armor mastery if you got the free feats/ASIs for it.

Or get Mithril Plate, since that also negates the disadvantage.

Heavy Armor Mastery is still a bit of a trap though, IMO.

[SharkForce]

i'm partial to the battlemaster fighter into rogue build as well (precisely when you go rogue is up to you, i personally think fighter is really good up to 11). you could also mix and match some ranger in there too... probably hunter is the strongest ranger archetype, for rogue i like arcane tricksters but YMMV and really they'll all do fine :)