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Hi , i´m the GM of a player that currently plays a Elf Ranger ( archer style).
The thing is , he is currently a litle "sad" that his character only "get´s in position and fire with full round action two arrows", and asked me for advise on how to make his PC more "exciting" to play, with some "tweaks/flavour", like "headshots" , "twin arrows", "crippling shots" , etc , and with a description of his PC as a "Wood Ranger with good markmanship and good skills to contribute to a team ".
Of course , i said to him that somethings have to come up from him , and his "roleplay" , but he wants to know how to better do this "mechanically" ( traits, skills , feats , archetypes , etc).
Let me just say that his character is leveling up to LVL 2 now , and we play in PFS.
He could splash a level or two of wizard and go Arcane Archer, that would be more "exciting". That's PFS legal, right?
PFS? That rules out called shots and stuff.
BTW, how is he firing two arrows if he's only now leveling up to 2nd?
The main way to get options is to play a class with options, meaning a caster or at least multiclass caster (or "honorary caster", like the alchemist). As long as he's level 1, he can change his character.
He could invest in some wands, potions and scrolls.
Well, the best advice is to gain more levels. What he should realize is that at level 1, you're a just starting out and aren't amazing at most things. Also, unless he's a Human with the bonus feat, I don't think he can fire two attacks at level 1 (since it requires rapid shot which has a prerequisite feat and you only start with one feat).
Mechanically, the archer path is all about feats. The Ranger bonus feat list is a good starting point. Stuff like point blank and precise help hit targets in all situations. Rapid Shot and Manyshot increase the number of arrows you can fire (as well as simply gaining levels). These all take time to gain the necessary levels.
One can argue that a Fighter with the Archer Archetype makes a better archer than a Ranger with the Archer style since it gains more feats faster, but the Ranger makes a better outdoorsman and a far better spell caster.
Because of the styles, the Ranger archetypes don't address a combative capability like archery. Skills are also not going to assist in shooting stuff in the face, though it certainly can help with the 'Wood Ranger' concept with stealth, survival, and perception.
It can also help to get a compound bow. They come in different levels based on the strength bonus and allow you to add strength bonus to the damage rolls (the idea being that the bow hits harder but you have to be stronger to actually use it). So if the player's ranger has a strength of 14 or higher, you can get the Compound Bow +2 and do an extra 2 damage. Now, don't get a compound bow that has a value higher than the character's strength bonus.
Understand that no class is exactly amazing and exciting at the first level. Though with the right feats, a ranger can get pretty fancy and fire a half dozen arrows a round, or fire one shot while moving, or punch through damage resistance using Clustered Shot.