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On another thread y'all helped me build a halfling ranger. Something that appealed to me about it was using the sling staff. I just like the cosmetic look and feel of the thing. But it has me wondering. Is the halfling sling staff actually worth spending an ancestry feat, especially for someone who gets martial weapon proficiency anyway?

As you consider these things, think about action economy, limited feat supply, and opportunity costs.

Compare:
A composite longbow does 1 less average damage per die, has +20 range, is deadly d10, but volley 30, and perhaps most importantly has reload 0.
A composite shortbow does 2 less damage per die, has -20 range, is still deadly d10, and can be used effectively within 30' and on a mount.

Is it worth spending an ancestry feat just to get a little extra damage and a better crit effect (stun)? Especially since it also has reload 1 and isn't deadly d10 (which makes up for the crit difference)? Reload 1 is a huge cost, considering action economy. One could take Running Reload, but that's just using more precious feats to counteract a poor initial selection, a significant opportunity cost.

I don't think so, which is sad. :(

Maybe let the "staff" portion be used as a light mace? Maybe let rangers use Crossbow Ace with any reload weapon? Is there some other cool idea within balance? Maybe slings and sling staffs should be reload 0? This last idea makes a lot of sense if you've ever actually fired a bow, sling, and crossbow, as a crossbow is significantly slower to load than a sling or sling staff, which in case you didn't know, don't need to be whirled around to fire.

If you agree, how would you change it? If not, what am I missing? Maybe there is something about proficiency or feat economy that I'm missing?

Help!

Hi all,

I'm new to Pathfinder 2e, but not to pen-and-paper RPGs. We're starting out at first level and I'm trying to build a Halfling Ranger specializing in the Staff-Sling. The other two characters in the party are a Gnome Druid and a Goblin Monk (we're short).

What advice would you give? Right now I've got 18 Dex, 10 Strength, and mostly use a staff-sling with precision strike, which takes an action to load, but does 1d10+1d8 against my hunter's target.

I'm stuck a bit on the Ranger Feat as none of them seem to work with a Staff Sling, except maybe Animal Companion. Am I aloud to ride a bear companion? If I'm riding my animal companion and use an action to give it two actions, can it move twice, then I use one action to reload the staff-sling and another to shoot? If I ride a pony instead, does it help when shooting a staff-sling, or only with melee weapons? Is there a better option than animal companion I'm not seeing, assuming the staff-sling?

I have LOTS of other questions, like what can I expect to maybe do at later levels? Will I ever be able to reduce the load time of the staff-sling? Does having it count as a "simple" weapon help gain expertise or mastery later?

How would you build it, assuming a halfling ranger with a staff-sling? Would a halfling rogue or fighter with a staff-sling work better?

Thanks in advance!