PF2: Monastic Archer Stance

[Kaskos]

Hi Guys,

Not new to Pathfinder 2 but new to Monk.
I almost have a requirement to fill the ranged slot in our party and I have decided a Monk will be that choice (played Rogue and Ranger and fancy something different)

They have the feat of course - Monastic Archer Stance but i'm having a real struggle putting a build together that seems on par at least with a melee Monk. Of course i don't mind switching from melee to Ranged when needs must.

We're going in at level 13 (with level 13 starting gold/items) and was hoping someone could give some pointers on a good, strong build.
Or tell me they suck in comparison to using fists :smallconfused:

[Rynjin]

You want the Zen Archer Monk archetype.

Edit: Oh this is PF2. Yeah I got nothing for ya.

[farothel]

I haven't seen a monk archery build before in PF2 (just the regular, my fists are considered all special materials kind of type), I would take fighter if you don't want rogue or ranger. Or maybe take the Monastic Archer Stance and add the Archer dedication to it, to grab some of the feats that you otherwise can't take or that don't really work with a bow.

As for equipment, of course the best magical bow the GM let's you get away with. Or even a longbow and a shortbow, in case you want to do archery on short range (where the volley ability of the longbow gets in the way). Flaming rune on one, frost rune on the other and you have the bow for every encounter.

[stack]

Well, you can flurry with a bow while in the stance, so you can get your two best attacks off and still have two actions left. Stunning fist is nice for tagging a save or stun to help control big enemies. Combining this with your action economy and movement boosters (elf w/ fleet?) means you can skirmish effectively. Whether your party can adapt to that kind of tactic is a different question.

Ki strike can help with damage. If you go that way, tacking on elemental fist can help hit weaknesses. Sacred ki too, if fighting enough aligned enemies.

If you can take Jalmeri Heavenseeker (uncommon archetype), that could do good things for your damage with Heaven's Thunder.

Obviously max out fundamental runes on your bow. With your potential maneuverability, you should be able to avoid having to deal with the volley trait on a longbow (staying outside of 30 and inside of 50 to use monastic archer), but depending on the party and campaign you may be better off with a shortbow.

Remember that you can still punch things when needed.