| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| #1HermanTheWizeMar 23, 2015 11:56:33 | When ever I play a bow character I always have the question, when should I get sharpshooter?
Should a character wait till a certain dex 18 / 20. How does that change with the archery fighting style?
My question here is when do others like to get sharpshooter? Assuming not variant human. |
| #2FrogReaverMar 23, 2015 12:09:43 |
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| #3Mommy_was_an_OrcMar 23, 2015 12:10:24 | You should get Sharpshooter at the time when you feel you have a significant attack edge compared to the 'normal' PC. Aka Advantage consistently at some point in every combat. It isn't unusable with the +2 to hit from Archery style, but still carries a lot of math risk at that point given that you likely sacrificed a +1 to hit/damage by not bumping Dex or a +1d6+stat attack by not taking Crossbow Expert. |
| #4melloredMar 23, 2015 12:17:22 | +2 Dex won't give you as much damage as sharpshooter. (against your average opponent).
However gives you AC, skills, inititive, and saves. |
| #5SterlingRatMar 23, 2015 12:28:30 | It depends on your group and what you want to do.
I will always take 20 dex first (+1 to hit and damage is the cake; +1 AC, one of the "Big 3" saves, Stealth/Acrobatics and Initiave is the icing.)
I will probably have a fairly high AC and a bunch of HP... my group may need me to stand in front and be a target for melee enemies. Crossbow Expert so I can hold shield for AC or a rapier for opportunity attacks, then Sharpshooter maybe.
On the other hand, if the groups has a Paladin, Barbarian, Blade-lock and a Melee Fighter already on the front lines, Sharpshooter (and possibly Skulker) before Crossbow Expert.
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| #6Coredump00Mar 23, 2015 13:59:25 | I took human so I could start with SS; I really liked the range and cover benefits, the -5/+10 was secondary. If I had gone wood elf, I would have picked it up at 4th level. It makes my archer feel like an archer. |
| #7Old_CrowMar 23, 2015 17:33:18 |
I agree with the folks who point out that the ability to ignore cover is a big part of the feat. But if we're willing to ignore it for a second and just look at the damage, I can do some math that might help you out.
There are two things to consider here - your damage without sharpshooter, and the effective AC you'll be up against (opponent AC - your attack bonus). If you use a hand crossbow and have +2 dex, that's a low extreme where the -5 to hit won't hurt as much. If you have a heavy crossbow, +5 dex, and hunter's mark, the reduced hit chance is a bigger deal. Here's a quick table showing the breakpoint for EAC at a given base damage - that is, the combination of damage and EAC at which the -5/+10 option improves your average damage vs. adding +2 to Dex:
Base Damage Effective AC Formula: minimum EAC at which ((base_dmg + 10)*(1 - 0.5*(EAC+4))-((base_dmg+1)*(1 - 0.5*(EAC-2)) >= 0
So for example - if you have 18 dex and a hand crossbow, then your base damage is 3.5 + 4 = 7.5. That means that against an EAC of 10, SS is a better option for damage than +2 Dex. That probably translates to an actual AC of 19 - +4 dex, +3 proficiency, +2 archery style. That's pretty high for the monsters you face at level 8, so I'd say go for Sharpshooter. But say you have 16 Dex, a longbow, and hunter's mark for 11 damage. Then you need an EAC of 7, translating into an actual AC of 15. Any monster with higher than 15 AC is going to drag down your damage if you use SS, so I'd probably go with Dex. If people are interested I can expand this to include the impact of advantage and sneak attack. Quick bonus table - assuming you aren't trading off against Dex and just want to know whether to use SS, here are the breakpoints:
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| #8FunkySpunkApr 01, 2015 22:44:54 | ASAP. |