Best Archer [Archive] - Wizards Community

Best Archer [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Chaos11688
01-18-05, 11:24 PM Can anyone give me a link to 3.5 builds for the best archer in terms of general combat and then sniping. thank you very much and it would nice if there was a build that was pretty good at level 6:)
DNDGuroMaster
01-19-05, 12:18 AM The prestige classes used in this post, and their locations, are thus:
Order of the Bow Initiate (Sword and Fist) – note, not the OotBI from 3.5’s Complete Warrior
Peerless Archer (Silver Marches – a Forgotten Realms campaign accessory)

First, the Combat Archer:

Human
Level Class Feats Class Abilities
1 Ranger PBShot, Precise Shot Fav En (?), TWF*, Ambidex*,
. Track
2 Fighter Rapid Shot BF
3 Fighter Far Shot, WF BF
4 Fighter
5 Fighter Weap Spec BF/WS
6 OotBI Quick Draw RSA +1d6
7 OotBI Close Combat Shot
8 Peer Arch Expert Bowyer, RSA +2d6
9 Peer Arch Imp. Crit. Sharp Shooting 1, Fletching +1
10 Peer Arch Power Shot
11 Peer Arch RSA +3d6, Fletching +2
12 Peer Arch Manyshot Sharp Shooting 2
13 Peer Arch Fletching +3
14 Peer Arch RSA +4d6
15 Peer Arch Combat Reflexes Threaten, Fletching +4
16 OotBI RSA +5d6
17 OotBI Sup. Weap Foc
18 OotBI Zen Archery RSA +6d6
19 OotBI Free Attack, Zen Archery
20 OotBI Sup. Weap Spec
Base Saves Fort +14 Ref +8 Will +8

To use this exact progression, you must be either Human or Strongheart Halfling, because the early levels are very feat intensive to meet the prerequisites of OotBI and Peer Arch by 5th and 7th levels, respectively. A similar build can be played by other races, but you must remove either Zen Archery, Manyshot, or Improved Crit, and move the first level of Peerless Archer back to 10th level, shifting levels 3 and 4 of OotBI up to character levels 8 and 9. Improved Crit is probably the best option for a 3.5 player, as they could stick a level of DWS into the build somewhere, only losing the Superior Weapon Specialization from the 7th level of OotBI.

This build provides some great combat abilities to an archer. By 7th level he no longer suffers AoO’s from firing his bow in melee. At 10th character level, he is able to make Power Attacks with his bow, helping him deal damage and break through lower degrees of DR. By the 5th level of Peer Arch (12th character lvl) he no longer suffers any chance of striking his friends in combat due to them providing cover to the enemies (not otherwise able to be achieved without an epic feat in 3.0). This also replicates a large portion of the 3.5 feat Improved Precise Shot. At 15th level this combat archer gains a large measure of his power. The threaten ability of the Peer Arch allows him to threaten at 10 feet as if he were wielding a melee reach weapon. This, in combination with Combat Reflexes, allows him to be just as effective at melee range as a fighter with a pole-arm; better, actually, since he’ll have a much higher dexterity, allowing him numerous AoO’s within each round. At 19th level, the addition of the Free Attack and stacking Zen Archery abilities of the OotBI makes this archer a combat god, especially if you have another party member who wields a reach weapon.

By 19th level, with a Dex score of 24 (easily obtainable by the higher levels), and under the effects of Haste, this archer is able to fire up to 18 arrows a round; 11 of them at one target. Here’s the breakdown: 4 arrows from iterative attacks, 1 arrow from Rapid Shot, 4 arrows from Manyshot (during your hasted action), 1 arrow from an AoO, and 1 arrow from Free Attack. You also have the possibility of 7 more AoO’s due to Combat Reflexes.
DNDGuroMaster
01-19-05, 12:19 AM btw that build wasn't made by me, i dont remember who made it, i saved it to my pc though.
LordArkan
01-19-05, 12:24 AM btw that build wasn't made by me, i dont remember who made it, i saved it to my pc though.

If its an archer build, there's a good chance that ksbsnowowl did it. ;)
talion09
01-19-05, 12:47 AM Assuming of course that you are playing in a 3.5 campaign, isn't the Order of the Bow Initiate from Sword and Fist illegal? Or rather, hasn't it been replaced with the OOTBI version in the Complete Warrior? I'd double check with your DM about whether or not he would allow the older version.

I believe that all PRCs from the 3.0 books (ie. tome and blood, sword and fist, etc) are superceded by the new versions in the Complete series. I believe that there was even a pdf available on the dnd homepage that listed all the 3.0 PRCs, and then gave the 3.5 versions, along with what books both versions were in.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Chaos11688 01-18-05, 11:24 PM	Can anyone give me a link to 3.5 builds for the best archer in terms of general combat and then sniping. thank you very much and it would nice if there was a build that was pretty good at level 6:)
DNDGuroMaster 01-19-05, 12:18 AM	The prestige classes used in this post, and their locations, are thus: Order of the Bow Initiate (Sword and Fist) – note, not the OotBI from 3.5’s Complete Warrior Peerless Archer (Silver Marches – a Forgotten Realms campaign accessory) First, the Combat Archer: Human Level Class Feats Class Abilities 1 Ranger PBShot, Precise Shot Fav En (?), TWF, Ambidex, . Track 2 Fighter Rapid Shot BF 3 Fighter Far Shot, WF BF 4 Fighter 5 Fighter Weap Spec BF/WS 6 OotBI Quick Draw RSA +1d6 7 OotBI Close Combat Shot 8 Peer Arch Expert Bowyer, RSA +2d6 9 Peer Arch Imp. Crit. Sharp Shooting 1, Fletching +1 10 Peer Arch Power Shot 11 Peer Arch RSA +3d6, Fletching +2 12 Peer Arch Manyshot Sharp Shooting 2 13 Peer Arch Fletching +3 14 Peer Arch RSA +4d6 15 Peer Arch Combat Reflexes Threaten, Fletching +4 16 OotBI RSA +5d6 17 OotBI Sup. Weap Foc 18 OotBI Zen Archery RSA +6d6 19 OotBI Free Attack, Zen Archery 20 OotBI Sup. Weap Spec Base Saves Fort +14 Ref +8 Will +8 To use this exact progression, you must be either Human or Strongheart Halfling, because the early levels are very feat intensive to meet the prerequisites of OotBI and Peer Arch by 5th and 7th levels, respectively. A similar build can be played by other races, but you must remove either Zen Archery, Manyshot, or Improved Crit, and move the first level of Peerless Archer back to 10th level, shifting levels 3 and 4 of OotBI up to character levels 8 and 9. Improved Crit is probably the best option for a 3.5 player, as they could stick a level of DWS into the build somewhere, only losing the Superior Weapon Specialization from the 7th level of OotBI. This build provides some great combat abilities to an archer. By 7th level he no longer suffers AoO’s from firing his bow in melee. At 10th character level, he is able to make Power Attacks with his bow, helping him deal damage and break through lower degrees of DR. By the 5th level of Peer Arch (12th character lvl) he no longer suffers any chance of striking his friends in combat due to them providing cover to the enemies (not otherwise able to be achieved without an epic feat in 3.0). This also replicates a large portion of the 3.5 feat Improved Precise Shot. At 15th level this combat archer gains a large measure of his power. The threaten ability of the Peer Arch allows him to threaten at 10 feet as if he were wielding a melee reach weapon. This, in combination with Combat Reflexes, allows him to be just as effective at melee range as a fighter with a pole-arm; better, actually, since he’ll have a much higher dexterity, allowing him numerous AoO’s within each round. At 19th level, the addition of the Free Attack and stacking Zen Archery abilities of the OotBI makes this archer a combat god, especially if you have another party member who wields a reach weapon. By 19th level, with a Dex score of 24 (easily obtainable by the higher levels), and under the effects of Haste, this archer is able to fire up to 18 arrows a round; 11 of them at one target. Here’s the breakdown: 4 arrows from iterative attacks, 1 arrow from Rapid Shot, 4 arrows from Manyshot (during your hasted action), 1 arrow from an AoO, and 1 arrow from Free Attack. You also have the possibility of 7 more AoO’s due to Combat Reflexes.
DNDGuroMaster 01-19-05, 12:19 AM	btw that build wasn't made by me, i dont remember who made it, i saved it to my pc though.
LordArkan 01-19-05, 12:24 AM	btw that build wasn't made by me, i dont remember who made it, i saved it to my pc though. If its an archer build, there's a good chance that ksbsnowowl did it. ;)
talion09 01-19-05, 12:47 AM	Assuming of course that you are playing in a 3.5 campaign, isn't the Order of the Bow Initiate from Sword and Fist illegal? Or rather, hasn't it been replaced with the OOTBI version in the Complete Warrior? I'd double check with your DM about whether or not he would allow the older version. I believe that all PRCs from the 3.0 books (ie. tome and blood, sword and fist, etc) are superceded by the new versions in the Complete series. I believe that there was even a pdf available on the dnd homepage that listed all the 3.0 PRCs, and then gave the 3.5 versions, along with what books both versions were in.