So I have come up with an idea of something I thought was really cool and wanted some advice as to how to build this character
I wanted to create a barbarian archer. He basically goes crazy and shoots arrows into his foe. What do you think?
Hurler barbarian is sub-optimal. Thrown weapons suck in general.
If you want to make a archer barbarian then yes, you're best bet is to go with the urban barbarian archetype. After that is pretty much all feats to do the rest of your work. I'd recommend dragon totem as well for the ability to grow wings and fly while raging.
I play a level 9 Archer Barbarian in PFS.
Invulnerable Rager/Urban Barbarian Archetypes.
Rage dex with Urban Barbarian and head down the Superstition line of rage powers, taking the Human Favored class bonus to the Superstition ability.
Other Rage Powers: Reckless Abandon, Ghost Rager, etc
Other than that, pretty much the standard feat fare:
Point Blank Shot
Precise Shot
Deadly Aim
Rapid Shot
Clustered Shots
grabbing an adaptive bow to maximize that tasty strength bonus while raging seems an obvious step.
also, urban barb can rage normally OR controlled rage, if you feel you need more hit (controlled rage for more dex) or more damage (regular rage for STR bonus on the Comp. bow damage).
and claxon, be careful, lest you tempt the resident optimizers to build a crazy thrower build. not me of course, but i'm quite sure it could be managed.
I disagree with taking Adaptive, as this type of build will mainly be raging to up Dex with the Urban Barbarian archetype.
The Seeking Enchant will find more varied use.
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I agree with the adaptive bow, since urban barbarians can buff both Strength and Dex, so you can get a +1 to hit&damage. But yeah, an Invulnerable Urban Barbarian with a +x courageous (and later, adaptive) bow makes a nice barbarian archer. Focus stats like a normal archer, maybe multiclass fighter for the extra feats.
Regarding Adaptive, I think it depends on how much gold your PC has access to, for purchasing. If you're rolling in gold, sure, go for Adaptive.
But if you are agonizing over what enchant to go with on your +1 composite bow, go Seeking.
Remember, Deadly Aim gives you a -2 to your shots, as does Rapid Shot.
And very often, you will be firing at enemies who have a cover bonus.
And firing into melee...well, be sure you have precise shot.
While Reckless Abandon helps to mitigate one of those minuses, you'll still be Dex-Raging most of the rest of the time to make sure you're hitting your targets, making Adaptive less attractive.
Now...if you have a buddy who's frequently giving you bull's strength, etc...well, sure, go for it!
Regarding Adaptive, I think it depends on how much gold your PC has access to, for purchasing. If you're rolling in gold, sure, go for Adaptive.
Adaptive is a fixed cost, 1000gp enhancement. It doesn't count towards the enhancement cost of the bow.
Since Bull's Strength and/or belts stack with rage, there's no reason NOT to get Adaptive. Also, you will never, ever have to swap out your bow again.
But if you are agonizing over what enchant to go with on your +1 composite bow, go Seeking.
Seeking is nice, but Improved Precise Shot is better and it doesn't have a gp cost.
When you start tossing out If 4 arrows per round at 6th level (Rapid Shot, Manyshot, and iterative attacks), you'll want to consider Conserving or Endless Ammunition. (Although Durable arrows are PFS legal now, which helps. These are in the Elves of Golarion book.)
Remember, Deadly Aim gives you a -2 to your shots, as does Rapid Shot.
And very often, you will be firing at enemies who have a cover bonus.
And firing into melee...well, be sure you have precise shot.
Agreed. If you don't have Precise Shot, you aren't building a ranged fighter.
Your BAB going up will help offset the minus to hit, and you can use your Adaptive bow to increase damage without using Deadly Aim. Weapon Focus will help your to hit, also.
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Two main problems.
1. Feats. You need lots of them. Splashing Fighter helps with this - a human fighter can have Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and Rapid Shot at level 1. After that you can go whatever class you want and still make a decent archer.
2. Varying strength. Until you get an Adaptive bow, any boosts to strength won't actually help you deal more damage.
There's also the fact that just about everything with regards to Barbarians is geared towards getting into melee and soaking up lots of damage, but don't let that stop you. I'm sure there are a few useful rage powers out there for archers. You could also be a Ranger with an Urban Barbarian splash, if you want.
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1 lvl of fighter at first lvl is almost mandatory so that you start the game with precise shot. A second lvl of fighter can be also a nice addition for the bonus feat. The Archer archetype replaces Bravery with a bonus to Perception and an increasement to your range increment. Minor but welcomed bonuses.
If you want to be slightly more optimized at the cost of having weird roleplay, start as 1 level divine hunter paladin over fighter. Gives the same precise shot feat effectively, but you also get a +2 will. Of course, after that you become an ex paladin for the barbarian, but hey +2 will for free basically.
