Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Spec_Specter 03-08-07, 10:05 AM	I'm playing my first Epic game and I tend to be Archery focused Are there any sugestions on staying effective with a Bow while going agence Epic level monsters and such? Or anything I should look out for/focus on?
Yodasatomicweed 03-08-07, 12:04 PM	Epic Arcane Archer is fairly effective, due to the magic arrows they fire (they penetrate epic DR at level 11). Far Shot is nice. Improved Manyshot may be useful, but I find that I still prefer Rapid Shot. Watch out for shields with Infinite Deflection, as well as monks with the feat. Against monks, you're just sorta out of luck. OH! Combat Archery. Pick it up ASAP. Look at the bow here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ask/20061227a). You should be able to extrapolate the pricing for the Power Shot feature, and your arrows do more anyways. As an Arcane Archer, put a lot of special abilities on your bow, as your Enchanted Arrows cover the enhancement bonus. I've heard that Brilliant Energy may bypass the Infinite Deflection shield, but I'm not sure. What else are you looking for?
bluemage55 03-08-07, 01:17 PM	Archery is useless at epic levels because Infinite Deflection and wind wall. Don't bother.
aelryinth 03-08-07, 04:56 PM	Yeah, every monster in the Epic SRD has Infinite Deflection and Wind Wall, yessiree. ==Aelryinth
bluemage55 03-08-07, 05:29 PM	Yeah, every monster in the Epic SRD has Infinite Deflection and Wind Wall, yessiree. ==Aelryinth No, but being a one-trick pony whose trick is easily negated is not a good idea. It's no different from being a dedicated critical machine. Not every opponent you face may be immune, but the possibility of any opponent packing fortification if they so choose is an extreme deterrent.
Spec_Specter 03-08-07, 10:19 PM	I'm pretty confident that my DM isn't going to throw many anti-archery things at us because of the four of us playing, I'm probually the last held probually pick on (because I'm the only one that's not trying to be ridiculus and/or quasi-evil with his chracter) besides, he isn't that kind of person if anything, he keeps hinting that well be fighting alot of Dragons and/or Armys of random people...
bluemage55 03-09-07, 08:45 AM	In that case, make sure to get the Distant Shot epic feat and optimize your Spot check.
Spec_Specter 03-09-07, 12:37 PM	I usually max out my Spot anyways, and I made sure to have a means of getting quite a ways out of the battle (Dimension Door) for those long ranged shots without getting targeted myself
aelryinth 03-09-07, 03:14 PM	No, but being a one-trick pony whose trick is easily negated is not a good idea. It's no different from being a dedicated critical machine. Not every opponent you face may be immune, but the possibility of any opponent packing fortification if they so choose is an extreme deterrent. oh, you mean like targets popping up AMF's to shut down the casters and their buffs. Or baddies porting around to never let the fighters close in melee, and raining down death from afar. Or creatures so big that special manuver guys don't have a prayer. Or fighting only things with crit immunity so Rogues can't contribute for anything, or mental immunity so the beguiler/enchanter can't do anything, or silence spells so the bard is hosed. Yessirree, all classes do truly suck, because there is a trick that can shut them down. Best not to play the game at all. After all, building an uber tripper is absolutely useless in a game where Boots Of Steadfastness exist...since such minor things can be used to shut down any class, I suggest not playing the game at all...it's obviously broken. ===Aelryinth
bluemage55 03-09-07, 05:54 PM	oh, you mean like targets popping up AMF's to shut down the casters and their buffs. AMF can be beaten by epic wards. Or baddies porting around to never let the fighters close in melee, and raining down death from afar. The fighter can use magic items to port around as well in order to close on the enemy. Or creatures so big that special manuver guys don't have a prayer. Smart special maneuver guys find a way to make themselves Colossal or Colossal+ too. Or fighting only things with crit immunity so Rogues can't contribute for anything, or mental immunity so the beguiler/enchanter can't do anything, or silence spells so the bard is hosed. Rogues don't have to use criticals to contribute. I recommend the Unearthed Arcana variant to swap out sneak attack for fighter bonus feats. Mental immunity is a good reason not to bother with mind-affecting attacks. Silence spells are immobile unless they beat your SR, Will save, spell reflection, and possibly epic wards. If that happens, the bard should be glad it wasn't a save-or-die. Yessirree, all classes do truly suck, because there is a trick that can shut them down. Best not to play the game at all. After all, building an uber tripper is absolutely useless in a game where Boots Of Steadfastness exist...since such minor things can be used to shut down any class, I suggest not playing the game at all...it's obviously broken. Some classes are suboptimal in an epic game, 'tis true, but they don't suck. In reality, it is the particular strategy/build that a PC uses which will determine if they are effective. Some simply won't work. That's not to say the game is broken, only that the epic game is different.