Deadly Archer Build Help, based off a character. Details inside.

[Nikushimi]

Hey there! I wanted to post this here because there are probably more experienced players and character builders out there than I am.

I am looking to build a character who is an archer based off of a character from an Anime.

Not sure how many watch it, but the anime in question is Lord Marksman and Vanadis. For those of you who may know this anime may also know the character I want to base this build off of which is the main character, Tigrevurmud Vorn or also just known as Tigre.

For those who don't know the anime, and to outline kind of what I want to do, I'll explain some details.

Tigre is an expert marksman. I mean, an incredibly accurate and deadly marksman. Able to hit precise targets from a long distance away. Here's a video of his ability https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_El9ecVY1M Start from around 1 minute to see what I mean by accuracy.

Anyways, he's able to accurately hit targets as well as grab arrows that are shot at him (or those nearby as in the clip below) and then shoot them from his bow as seen in this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYhpwgXtdsQ

I tried once to build this in 3.5, but got overwhelmed and wasn't sure how to do so.

Since my group moved to more 5e I wanted to see how I could build this type of a character in 5e.

My current thoughts are

Race: Human, Variant.
Variant Feat: Sharpshooter

Ability scores focusing on Dexterity and Intelligence (Intelligence for Arcane Archer)

Class: Fighter/Monk.

Fighter I might go Arcane archer as Tigre gets a bow later on that grants him some crazy magical powers with his arrows. Enough to even take out a dragon with one shot. Obviously this can't exactly happen in DnD, but I want the feel of it eventually.

Monk for being able to catch Arrows, and I might be able to talk my DM into allowing the "throw back" option to be shot from my bow, but unsure.

So, aside from that I'm unsure what to go.

There's the obvious choice of a Ranger instead of a fighter, but it just doesn't have the same feel I'm going for in my opinion, but if you think a Ranger might be better let me know why!

So, the basic build I am trying to do with this archer build is as follows

1. Deadly accurate.
2. Power. Able to do damage or hit precise points on target to deal extra damage.
3. Able to deflect or catch and re-use an arrow to shoot back at the enemy.
4. Quickly draw and knock arrows.
5. Magic Arrows. This screams Arcane Archer, but perhaps an item or something might substitute.
6. Able to shoot multiple arrows in rapid succession.

That's the gist of the character I'm looking for.

So let me know what you would suggest!

IMPORTANT!!: I would be starting at level 1 most likely, and we rarely get past level 5. However, build for a level 7 to 10 character when making suggestions.

I know that it's hard to build low level stuff, and I won't be god like, but I want a similar feel. Doesn't have to be god like, just viable and a good representation of the character I'm looking for. Thanks!

[Magicspook]

First off, you're going to have to decide between shooting lots of arrows, or doing a lot of damage with one arrow. You describe wanting both, which is not a thing.

Lots of arrows --> fighter, probably samurai for the advantage. Coupled with elven accuracy gives you a lot of attacks with a high chance of critting.
Lots of damage on one arrow: rogue. Do whatever subclass you feel like. Arcane trickster does magic while assassin gives you nuke potential, with a big caveat that you need a cooperating DM/party.

[Magicspook]

First off, you're going to have to decide between shooting lots of arrows, or doing a lot of damage with one arrow. You describe wanting both, which is not a thing.

Lots of arrows --> fighter, probably samurai for the advantage. Coupled with elven accuracy gives you a lot of attacks with a high chance of critting.
Lots of damage on one arrow: rogue. Do whatever subclass you feel like. Arcane trickster does magic while assassin gives you nuke potential, with a big caveat that you need a cooperating DM/party.

[Nikushimi]

First off, you're going to have to decide between shooting lots of arrows, or doing a lot of damage with one arrow. You describe wanting both, which is not a thing.

Lots of arrows --> fighter, probably samurai for the advantage. Coupled with elven accuracy gives you a lot of attacks with a high chance of critting.
Lots of damage on one arrow: rogue. Do whatever subclass you feel like. Arcane trickster does magic while assassin gives you nuke potential, with a big caveat that you need a cooperating DM/party.

How is shooting many arrows and doing damage not a thing?

A Shortbow does 1d6+Dex in damage and a Longbow does 1d8+Dex. Multiple arrows would do a couple d6 or d8 + Dex per arrow. A fighter with Extra attack can get 2 Arrows, so that's 2d6+Dex or 2d8+Dex when you get an extra attack at level 5.

Sharpshooter has the chance to add +10 to the damage. With Arcane Archer taking Burst Shot on the attack that's an extra 2d6 Force damage.

I get what you're saying with Rogue cause of Sneak Attack and stuff, and even the Steady Aim from Unearthed Arcana, but we don't use Unearthed Arcana.

Also, I would prefer to TRY to stick to being a Human, but could settle for being an Elf.

But, I'm just confused how being able to shoot multiple arrows and doing damage isn't a thing.

Are there no items that allow multiple shots in 5e or?

[MrStabby]

Sounds like you want kensei to 5, then a bit of fighter (1), then rogue (1). That will take you to 7 for your start. Then one more fighter for action surge, then rogue for more sneak attack.

This gives you some powerful shots, deflect arrows and sometimes the ability to fire a lot of arrows on one turn.

[bendking]

Your best classes for this concept are Samurai Fighter and Kensei Monk.
You could potentially go for Samurai 5, then go into Kensei 3. That's probably what I would do. But then you would only catch arrows at level 8.
If you really want to catch arrows, go Kensei Monk 5 --> Samurai Fighter 3.
I wouldn't go into Monk 5 because you wouldn't be using your Stunning Strike which is the killer feature of the Monk.

[da newt]

I believe what magicspook was getting at is that you can build to maximize your damage per shot OR damage per round via many attacks, to do one requires you to compromise the other.

Sharpshooter feat, archery fighting style, and MAX Dexterity are the basics.

Monk or Gloves of Missile Snaring allow you to catch arrows. While this is really cool and part of your vision, from an optimization stand point, it doesn't come up that often unless you are fighting humanoids all the time.

I don't think Arcane Archer is as strong as some of the other options (Battle Master Fighter, Samurai, Ranger).

Other than that, there are many different paths to build good archers depending on how you want to flavor it.

[airless_wing]

I'd just go straight Arcane Archer and snag yourself a pair of Missile Snaring Gloves for the 'catch an arrow' trope.

The Arcane Shot options of the Arcane Archer are good, but it's their level 7 ability that makes them wild. By lvl 7, you can have +10 to hit (max Dexterity, +2 archer fighting style), so you shouldn't ever really miss. But if you do, you can redirect your arrow to attack a different target. If you want the "I never miss my shots" feel for a character, it's hard to go wrong with Arcane Archer.

[Nikushimi]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

Could you provide me with a few more details on what those give me? I can look them up, but I'd appreciate some insight to figure out how those classes would work in doing what I was looking for.

If I remember correctly Kensai Monks are weapon specialists and Samurai's just have a bunch of focus on hitting, or at least empowering themselves and allies (I think. It's been a while since I've read up on them).

But, these are some good ideas to help me get started.

I realize I won't be 100% like the character in mind, but it's more the "feel" I'm going for, and thus why I used the "Optimization" tag for my post so I could optimize the feel/character concept I had in mind.

Any other input would be appreciated! Thank you!

[MrStabby]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

Could you provide me with a few more details on what those give me? I can look them up, but I'd appreciate some insight to figure out how those classes would work in doing what I was looking for.

If I remember correctly Kensai Monks are weapon specialists and Samurai's just have a bunch of focus on hitting, or at least empowering themselves and allies (I think. It's been a while since I've read up on them).

But, these are some good ideas to help me get started.

I realize I won't be 100% like the character in mind, but it's more the "feel" I'm going for, and thus why I used the "Optimization" tag for my post so I could optimize the feel/character concept I had in mind.

Any other input would be appreciated! Thank you!

Ok, so for my suggestion of Kensei to 5, Rogue 2, Fighter 1 to start gets you:

Monk gets proficiency in longbows, makes you fast and able to get into a great position, lets you deflect arrows, helps boost your AC, gets you 2 attacks and gets you get a d4 extra damage... oh and slow fall - which I find surprisingly useful. You also get stunning strike, an ability that it really powerful - although you are an archer primarily, on those one to two occasions per day where you chose to close with an enemy or are forced to you can burn through Ki to be a very effective melee combatant for a short period.

Whatever you do you will want a second attack and it sounds like your idea needs at least 3 levels in monk for the deflect arrows ability. If you went for any other combination of classes you couldn't start at level 7 and have both of these features. For your ASI you probably want sharpshooter

Rogue 2 gets you sneak attack, cunning action and expertise. Sneak attack lets you do a bit more damage, not much but a nice bonus. Cunning action lets you use your bonus action to hide - if you do so successfully then it enables advantage to both help with sharpshooter and to make enemies eligible for sneak attack. Expertise can pump your stealth to enable you to pull off hiding more reliably. Add more rogue later as you level up.

Fighter 1 is mainly for the cheapest way of picking up the archery fighting style.

All in all the aim is to get the monk things you want and to be able to make multiple attacks each turn with sharpshooter and the greatest chance of hitting


If you are prepared to have a slightly slower progression I think shadowmonk is possibly better in the long run than kensei - but you want to take it to 6 for shadowstep. It can grant you the advantage you need for sneak attack as well as giving you a lot of great utility spells. Likewise ranger might add more than fighter but you would want to take it to three levels. It depends on taste really and how quickly you want things online.

[Smoothjedi]

How is shooting many arrows and doing damage not a thing?

A Shortbow does 1d6+Dex in damage and a Longbow does 1d8+Dex. Multiple arrows would do a couple d6 or d8 + Dex per arrow. A fighter with Extra attack can get 2 Arrows, so that's 2d6+Dex or 2d8+Dex when you get an extra attack at level 5.

Sharpshooter has the chance to add +10 to the damage. With Arcane Archer taking Burst Shot on the attack that's an extra 2d6 Force damage.

I get what you're saying with Rogue cause of Sneak Attack and stuff, and even the Steady Aim from Unearthed Arcana, but we don't use Unearthed Arcana.

Also, I would prefer to TRY to stick to being a Human, but could settle for being an Elf.

But, I'm just confused how being able to shoot multiple arrows and doing damage isn't a thing.

Are there no items that allow multiple shots in 5e or?

I think you misunderstood what he was asking. I think the distinction was do you want all your damage to be behind one arrow (sneak attack), or do you want it spread out across a lot of attacks (fighter)? I don't think anyone disputes that you can do a lot of damage with a lot of attacks.

[Nikushimi]

I think you misunderstood what he was asking. I think the distinction was do you want all your damage to be behind one arrow (sneak attack), or do you want it spread out across a lot of attacks (fighter)? I don't think anyone disputes that you can do a lot of damage with a lot of attacks.

To be fair, I didn't really see a question in that comment, but it's fine.

Mainly, I guess I was looking for a bit of both. Having damage in one shot and being able to shoot multiple arrows.

Though, damage in one shot doesn't have to be godly, but just decent. Able to output at least 10 damage per arrow would be nice. With Sharpshooter that's easily doable if the arrow hits.

But mainly was looking for
1. Accuracy and Range.
2. Power.
3. Rapid shots.
4. Catch and reuse arrows aimed at me or someone else nearby.
5. Magic Arrows.

Kind of in that order. To me, Accuracy and Range are the most important. Power comes second and then many shots. The rest is a bit more for fluff than anything.

So, I had thought there might be options to choose each round what kind of shot I want to do.

EDIT: I was also looking for any suggestions as for skills and stat placement.

He's very observant and intelligent. Able to deduce things and notice things rather quickly. Good at hunting and cooking and such.

Was thinking Dex as main stat and Int for second most. Perception, Investigation/Insight, Survival, and probably Athletics or Acrobatics, but unsure. If people have suggestions for those as well it'd be appreciated. Thanks!

[Smoothjedi]

To be fair, I didn't really see a question in that comment, but it's fine.

Mainly, I guess I was looking for a bit of both. Having damage in one shot and being able to shoot multiple arrows.

Though, damage in one shot doesn't have to be godly, but just decent. Able to output at least 10 damage per arrow would be nice. With Sharpshooter that's easily doable if the arrow hits.

But mainly was looking for
1. Accuracy and Range.
2. Power.
3. Rapid shots.
4. Catch and reuse arrows aimed at me or someone else nearby.
5. Magic Arrows.

Kind of in that order. To me, Accuracy and Range are the most important. Power comes second and then many shots. The rest is a bit more for fluff than anything.

So, I had thought there might be options to choose each round what kind of shot I want to do.

EDIT: I was also looking for any suggestions as for skills and stat placement.

He's very observant and intelligent. Able to deduce things and notice things rather quickly. Good at hunting and cooking and such.

Was thinking Dex as main stat and Int for second most. Perception, Investigation/Insight, Survival, and probably Athletics or Acrobatics, but unsure. If people have suggestions for those as well it'd be appreciated. Thanks!

Honestly I think just straight up fighter is the way to go. Arcane Archer has a lot of potential, but it's squandered by only allowing two shots per rest, which is pretty bad later on. I'd probably go half elf since you want so many skill proficiencies, but full elf would give more dex up front. Elven accuracy is important so you can get triple advantage.
Sharpshooter eventually as well so you're not at disadvantage for long range. This is a good reason as well to go straight fighter as you can pick both feats up faster.
Samurai has some strong ways to get that advantage, but there's probably other good options for reliable advantage.
So to sum up:
1: Accuracy and range from fighter fighting style, sharpshooter and elven accuracy
2: sharpshooter for power
3: Fighter to get 3+ attacks
4: get gloves of missile snaring
5: Maybe buffs from EK, but Arcane Archer scales poorly

[Expected]

To be fair, I didn't really see a question in that comment, but it's fine.

Mainly, I guess I was looking for a bit of both. Having damage in one shot and being able to shoot multiple arrows.

Though, damage in one shot doesn't have to be godly, but just decent. Able to output at least 10 damage per arrow would be nice. With Sharpshooter that's easily doable if the arrow hits.

But mainly was looking for
1. Accuracy and Range.
2. Power.
3. Rapid shots.
4. Catch and reuse arrows aimed at me or someone else nearby.
5. Magic Arrows.

Kind of in that order. To me, Accuracy and Range are the most important. Power comes second and then many shots. The rest is a bit more for fluff than anything.

So, I had thought there might be options to choose each round what kind of shot I want to do.

EDIT: I was also looking for any suggestions as for skills and stat placement.

He's very observant and intelligent. Able to deduce things and notice things rather quickly. Good at hunting and cooking and such.

Was thinking Dex as main stat and Int for second most. Perception, Investigation/Insight, Survival, and probably Athletics or Acrobatics, but unsure. If people have suggestions for those as well it'd be appreciated. Thanks!

In this case, a Wood Elf Samurai Archer 0-20 starting with 17 Dex and 16 Wis is exactly what you're looking for--it can attack many times (Action Surge, Extra Attack 1-3, and Rapid Strikes that allows you to forego advantage on one attack to attack again as a part of the same action), deal a lot of damage (Sharpshooter -5 Atk, +10 Dmg), and with high accuracy (Fighting Spirit grants advantage and Elven Accuracy allows you to reroll a d20 and choose between the three, thus improving accuracy and crit chance).

Take Elven Accuracy at 4, Sharpshooter at 6, +2 Dex at 8, and Crossbow Expert if you plan on being in melee range to avoid disadvantage and for a Bonus Action attack when not using Fighting Spirit. With 16 Wis, Indomitable, and Wis saving throw proficiency, you will have a high chance of succeeding on ST's.

Not to mention that if the enemy manages to take you down to 0 HP and you have Strength Beyond Death, you get another turn (including another Action for Attack+Extra Attack and a Bonus Action) and only go unconscious if you are still at 0 HP at the end of your turn, which you can avoid by using Second Wind.