Arelith

Hi, the fundamental idea about this character is an elven archer who hunts and guides people in the wild. There are a few things I value

1, map reveal, that really adds to the scout theme, thou I have to pick lm/travel domin Cleric / 12 ranger to have that

2, wildness movement speed, would be great if I can have 20% but 10% is not bad

3, hide/ms and spot/search/listen because i’m a hunter after all

I have a few builds in mind, but not sure if they are valid

1, 21 Cleric/4ranger/5 aa zen archery or 21 Cleric /9 ranger , summon tank and take out enemies with arrow storm. Self buffing ability.

2, 12ranger 18AA, pure archer, no tumble, not sure if I am going to miss the 3 tumble ac

3, monk, ranger/bard, 19aa,

4, shadowdancer aa with 11 or 13 SD level, this one gives best hide and sneaking abilities, how much firepower will I miss out thou? Will that be compensated by the sneak attack?

5，this is a weird one, ranger/warlock/AA, with darkness and maybe something else depends on he pact...

Shaman? xD
I keep recommending shaman its becoming redundant.

Shaman 18/ Ranger (Archer path) 3/ Arcane Archer 9
This nets you the wilderness exploration.
But you lose out the out of combat movement speed. You get extended haste though!
Hide and Detection, just plan your build out properly and make sure to skill dump on AA/Ranger.

CL is 22 or is it 25? Too lazy to compute.
Pick up Zen Archery if you want some kind of DC in your shammy.
Fast track your shaman levels on pre epic, just make sure you get 4ApR when you build it. Should net you some Epic Spell focus when planned right. Can get scry too if you want.

+5 arrows, great AB (On approximate 57-low60s), terrible AC (can't really boost it up with AA unless you go zen/monk or CHA/Div)

I think a competent archer these days needs to really crank up the damage out-put as much as possible and worry about other things far less. I think 8-9 ranger, 3 pal/bg, 18-19 AA is the way to go. Also gets decent AC as a bonus but is mostly focused on doing a lot of damage.

ty for both

1, well how can I forget shaman, I’ll keep that in mind. I’ve tried melee ranger shaman and that’s not bad

2, good to know that adding pal/BG into the mix is boosting damage (thou how? Div might?)

xf1313 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 22, 2022 11:42 pm

2, good to know that adding pal/BG into the mix is boosting damage (thou how? Div might?)

Yes. But its MAD, it will require grinding for equipments if you want CON. Otherwise, just be a glass cannon and invest in STR DEX CHA gear.

I'd recommend trying out 21 Ranger/9 AA on the test server.

Pros:
- High AB(Full BA class, maxed Dex, AA bonus to AB, Bane of Enemies, Nature Sense)
- Good dmg(AA bonus to dmg, Bane of Enemies, Favoured Enemies, Ranger archer path)
- Can use Bladethirst to buff to give +4 enchantment to melee party members
- Animal Companion from Ranger level 4 onwards(The bear is/was decent tank before summon rework)
- Has all the quirks you mentioned
- Possibility to get Greater Spell Focus Transmutation/Abjuration for Teleport/Stat buffs/Shield vs Magic missiles
- Blinding Speed(But with 8 min CD/5 after it ends)
- +5 Arrows for piercing most Damage Reductions

Cons:
- Low AC(No Shield/Maxed Tumble/Wisdom AC from Monk)
- Low Saves(No high saves class or Cha to saves)
- Generally bad in melee(But that's expected of most AAs)
- Animal Companion stuck at level 21

xf1313 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 22, 2022 8:48 am

2, 12ranger 18AA, pure archer, no tumble, not sure if I am going to miss the 3 tumble ac

I think an even number of AA offers you very little in this build. You don't get the +1 Attack/Damage from Arcane Archer (that comes on the Odd Levels) and your class skill options are limited, as are the HP gain.

Maybe modify to 13 Ranger 17AA, with that 13th Ranger level coming at 30.

I've played 7 Ranger / 6 Fighter / 17 AA in the past, and currently am playing 9 Ranger / 4 fighter / 17 AA (taking 4th fighter level at 24 to get WS and EWS... this gives up +2 attack and gains net +4 damage, but still has +54 ranged attack unbuffed and 1-8+19 raw damage before adding in all the extra damage bonuses. I'm a glass cannon and have to rely on others to buff me out, but it is a lot of fun all the same.

The Kriv wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:39 am

I think an even number of AA offers you very little in this build.

18th aa has a bonus feat.

The Kriv wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:39 am

Maybe modify to 13 Ranger 17AA

why suggest this?

The Kriv wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:39 am

I've played 7 Ranger / 6 Fighter / 17 AA in the past, and currently am playing 9 Ranger / 4 fighter / 17 AA

These look far more decent.

Also there's 21 ranger 9 aa which is apparently also up there in the tiers of Archer builds.

Just because I don't think anybody mentioned it, but I went with 5 Rogue / 6 Ranger / 19 Arcane Archer.

Pros:
Full tumble (but your AC is still garbage)
Open lock as class skill
More skill points (I started as Rogue at level 1)
You can start with Wisdom < 11 (also possible for fighter start)
6 ranger still gets you animal language which is fun

Cons:
Lose 1 BAB due to 3/4 BAB class pre-epic
No weapon specialization from fighter so lower damage

I'm sure there are some other pros/cons as well. But this ended up fitting very well into my vision for the character and was fun to play. I really never felt lacking for either AB or damage, but it absolutely wasn't perfectly optimized for those things