Bard Archer Optimization (Anti - Caster) Please help

[Nosta]

I am looking at Building a level 20 Arcane Duelist (Archer)
and I need Advice on my Feats

I am wanting to take advantage of the Disruptive and spell breaker feat i get for free i'm just not sure what would be a good set up for a level 20 build

[exelsisxax]

Well, archers don't in any way benefit from either disruptive or spellbreaker, so the answer is: don't.

[RifleAvenger]

If your GM rules in your favor, the Combat Patrol feat increases threatened range and doesn't mention melee weapons, and the snap shot feat gives you a threatened range of 5ft with a ranged weapon. RAW they work together, giving you a 20ft threatened range at 20th level so long as you spend a full round action setting up Combat Patrol. With these and combat reflexes you can snipe anyone moving around the battlefield and pressure spellcasters with Disruptive and Spellbreaker. That requires a lot of feats you might not have though. This is the only first party way I know for sure works RAW, but likely not RAI.


Point Blank Shot
Rapid Shot
Weapon Focus
Snap Shot
Dodge
Mobility
Combat Reflexes
Combat Patrol
Disruptive
Spellbreaker
Comes online by 14th level for a non-human, 12th for a human or another race w/ an open bonus feat. You can add Improved Snap Shot at some point for an extra 5ft of threatened range.


I think I heard of some obscure magical ranged weapon that gives a threatened range on its own? If that actually exists, getting one would work. Use the feats above, but you don't need Weapon Focus or Snapshot.

If your GM is willing to allow Third Party feats, there's one called Threaten Zone, and an improved version, that straight up give a 20ft and 30ft threatened range around you. They would stack with Combat Patrol too, for a truly huge threatened range of 35-45ft at 20th lvl. Beyond being 3rd party, they're feat intensive (Last Ditch, Combat Reflexes, Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, and Quick Draw), with Last Ditch also being 3rd party, and Last Ditch and Quick Draw essentially being feat taxes.


Point Blank Shot
Rapid Shot
Quick Draw
Combat Reflexes
Last Ditch
Threaten Zone
Improved Threaten Zone
Dodge
Mobility
Combat Patrol
Disruptive
Spellbreaker
Comes online with Threaten Zone by 12th level. Can get Combat Patrol added by 14th for a human (take dodge/mobility early), 16th for a non-human, 20th for Improved Threaten Zone.

If you have any feats left over for any of these builds somehow, try to get stuff like precise shot, multi-shot, and clustered shots to help with firing into bad situations, doing more damage, and not getting dicked over by DR.

The big issue is, being a Bard, pretty much none of the feats you really need beyond Disruptive and Spellbreaker are free. And if you're not starting at 20th, you're not going to have ANY threatened range for a long time between slow BaB and slow acquisition of feats.

[NightbringerGGZ]

You could maybe figure something out using Empty Quiver Style, but a Bard is going to struggle to get all the standard archery feats already without tossing that into the mix as well. Personally, I'd opt for a melee build with reach or just go ranged and find another archetype.