Ssalarn wrote:
You know, we had a conversation about this yesterday in regards to the balance between the gunslinger and the average archer, and how most bow fighters will reliably far outdamage a GS. Gunslinger's gain Deadshot at 7th level, which allows them to pool all of their attacks into a single shot that adds an additional die to the damage for each one that connects is their equivalent to Clustered Shot. If you were to use the Deadly Aim feat though, you'd still only get a +4 to your total damage, whereas a fighter archer would get the Deadly Aim for each attack that hits, giving him 3x as much bonus damage (I'm assuming that the attack you make with Manyshot only gets Deadly Aim once since there's a single attack roll, but I could be wrong and it could be 4x as much) from the same feat, and the gap only widens from there. Clustered Shot removes pretty much the only balancing factor between melee and ranged fighters as well (more attacks, but each attack at lower damage so less getting through DR). So, you're not off base here in thinking that Clustered Shot is a little over the top given how strong archery currently is in the game. I've been running a lot of our current adventure in caverns and castles lately to rein in our party's Sohei archer, who at 7th level has an attack sequence +12/+12/+12/+12/+7 (Flurry with bow from Sohei, Rapid Shot, Ki point for extra attack) and hits for 1d8+1d6+8 (+1 Frost Composite Longbow Str rating +1, Point Blank Shot, Deadly Aim, Weapon Training from Sohei) and usually makes full attacks while running around on her mount to stay as far from combat as possible. Which has little to do with Clustered Shot, and a lot to do with why archers probably didn't need it in the first place :P
How is anyone firing a composite LONGBOW while mounted? Shortbows I can see but it literally says Longbows cannot be used while mounted, you literally have to dismount lose your full action and attack if you want to shoot so there goes the entire first round, maybe you could cast gravity bow or something to prepare for your next turn? So now they are firing 1d6 big damage coming through if upgraded to gravity they now do equal to longbow but you get no modifiers to hit unless it's adaptable or you have spent 200 300 400 or 500 gp based on your strength rating to just get your mod to hit. So I get my bab to my attack roll, nothing else unless enchanted or MasterCraft, my damage increases at most the level of the bow I don't get to two hand the arrow for 1.5 damage don't get to threaten unless I have a bunch of feats, have to fire or full move since I never spent points on dodge mobility and shot on run since it's the lowest of the options for a ranger and I don't want to be using a shortbow if I don't have too, if we get jumped or someone charges me I now have to 5 ft every action to fire a shot at this enemy or switch weapons, heaven forbid it's a skeletal creature that doesn't care about piercing damage and I've run put of arrows to hurt it since they disappear on hit... archers aren't op. You send someone after ranged enemies first in any real battle you limit them you hamper them you take them out so you can deal with the tank
