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This is my first time attempting to build an archer, plus I am rather new to pathfinder in general, but I think I have level one figured out. I was wondering about some good feats to take later on, as well as items to buy and skills to put ranks into.
This is for PFS, so my ability scores were on a 20 point-buy system. I am a human, so the stats I chose were:
STR: 12
DEX: 20
CON: 10
INT: 12
WIS: 11
CHA: 8
I do not see a need for charisma anywhere, and it fits my character well. I take the extra intelligence for skill ranks and perhaps focused shot later on. I was unsure whether I should put more points into strength somehow, as a composite longbow down the road would be very useful.
I am interested in my character being like a ranged assassin, and thus I took the traits highlander and reckless, putting my 4 skill ranks (My favored class is fighter) into stealth, sleight of hand, acrobatics, and climb. The feats taken are Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and Rapid Shot. Next level I plan on Deadly Aim, but would still like advice on that. I have leather armor, a longbow, and a dagger, as well as adventuring gear such as rations and rope.
Is this first level set-up fine, or are there things I can change to help me be more useful in combat? As well, are there any feats that are absolutely necessary to take later on for an archer? Thanks!
At Wisdom 11, your Will Save will be a weak point...
Personally, I'd drop the dex score down to 19 or even 18 - +4 is entirely enough to do well with for your main stat.
Something like
12
19
12
12
12
9
would probably work out better - the +1 to will saves and +1 hp per level will help you out a lot more in the long run than +1 to hit & ac, I think.
You could also reduce Cha even further to 7 to get 14 str for some extra damage, or con/wisdom.
Personally, I'd drop the dex score down to 19 or even 18 - +4 is entirely enough to do well with for your main stat.
Something like
12
19
12
12
12
9would probably work out better - the +1 to will saves and +1 hp per level will help you out a lot more in the long run than +1 to hit & ac, I think.
You could also reduce Cha even further to 7 to get 14 str for some extra damage, or con/wisdom.
^ good suggestions.
Plus, WIS is your Perception influencing stat, and having good Perception seems like it just fits with an Archer, you know?
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I know this is not what you are asking for, but If you want to be an Archer Fighter, do not take the Archer archetype. It is a trap. Your Weapon Training replacement does not count as weapon training, so you can never benefit from Gloves of Deuling. The Ranged Maneuvers are very limited and don't make up for the loss. You also give up armor training, which is very useful to an Archer thanks to your need for a high Dex.
A CRB fighter, or a Weapon Master, Lore Warden, Eldritch Guardian, or Sensate are all better choices for an archery based fighter.
Moving on to Stats. Lower your Dex down to 18 and increase CON and STR. You need more STR for static damage, and you need more CON to stay alive.
Imbicatus is really onto something there. Archer fighters make worse archers than non-archetype fighters.
Imbicatus has the right of it: most fighter archetypes are way worse than the base class because they take away the single redeeming quality fighter has: weapon training.
Just build a vanilla fighter and specialize him/her with a composite bow, Archery is one of the things fighters do best because of the sheer amount of feats needed to pull it off.
Also strength in very important anyway because the best option for you is using composite bows (and they use STR for dmg) and because you'll want to be a switch hitter (early level especially when you can't use the bow in melee).
Build something like this:
Human
Str 16 Dex 18 Con 12 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 07
Start with Point-Blank Shot,Precise Shot and ONE between Rapid Shot and Weapon Focus (longbows). Also get yourself a 2 handed sword as soon as possible. You are probably going to dominate early level game play.
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Imbicatus has the right of it: most fighter archetypes are way worse than the base class because they take away the single redeeming quality fighter has: weapon training.
Just build a vanilla fighter and specialize him/her with a composite bow, Archery is one of the things fighters do best because of the sheer amount of feats needed to pull it off.Also strength in very important anyway because the best option for you is using composite bows (and they use STR for dmg) and because you'll want to be a switch hitter (early level especially when you can't use the bow in melee).
Build something like this:
Human
Str 16 Dex 18 Con 12 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 07
Start with Point-Blank Shot,Precise Shot and ONE between Rapid Shot and Weapon Focus (longbows). Also get yourself a 2 handed sword as soon as possible. You are probably going to dominate early level game play.
Alright, I really like this setup. Hopefully I can get the gold for a +3 composite bow in my first adventure. Would you guys recommend I get rapid shot or weapon focus? As well, should dodge or toughness be on my list of feats to get later on?
Sadly the Archer Archetype is a trap for beginners. It is badly constructed. The vanilla Fighter is simply a better archer.
Look into the feat: Extra Traits, t lets you take 2 additional traits for the cost of 1 feat, of which as a fighter, you have many. These traits can be used to enhance your "ranged Assassin" fluff you want.
Stats: Do NOT go for a DEX 20. The tradeoff for the last points is atrocious. You also need to have a moderate STR to actually deal damage, and as a backup for the times when you cant use your bow.
Rogar's proposed spread is okay, but for my taste lacking in skillpoints:
Str 16 Dex 18 Con 12 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 07
Id personally go with:
Str 14 Dex 18 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 07
I know this is not what you are asking for, but If you want to be an Archer Fighter, do not take the Archer archetype. It is a trap. Your Weapon Training replacement does not count as weapon training, so you can never benefit from Gloves of Deuling. The Ranged Maneuvers are very limited and don't make up for the loss. You also give up armor training, which is very useful to an Archer thanks to your need for a high Dex.
A CRB fighter, or a Weapon Master, Lore Warden, Eldritch Guardian, or Sensate are all better choices for an archery based fighter.
Moving on to Stats. Lower your Dex down to 18 and increase CON and STR. You need more STR for static damage, and you need more CON to stay alive.
I had also come by to say that the Archer archetype is a mistake. The archetype actually makes you worse, and the only thing you really gain is the ability to make combat maneuvers with ranged weapons (which can also be done if you take the appropriate feats from Ranged Tactics Toolbox). Overall, the Archer archetype is terri-bad.
I also agree with him that you only need 18 dex to start with and instead put those other points into str and con.
You stats should roughly be dex>str=con>int/wis>cha.
Edit: STR: 14 DEX: 18 (with the +2 from human) CON: 14 INT: 12 WIS: 12 CHA: 7
As for your first 3 feats, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and Rapid Shot. Followed by:
Deadly Aim
Improved/Weapon Focus Longbow
Improved Precise Shot
Many Shot
Improved/ Weapon Specialization Longbow
Point Blank Master
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typically fighter optimized stats in 20 point buy is 16 14 14 12 10 8 in no particular order. For an archer focused fighter
14 16 14 10 12 8 would be ideal, but you can swap INT and WIS if you want more skills.
Racial +2 can go into human for an 18 DEX which should suffice.
Feats are pretty much chosen for you for archery.
1) PBS, Rapid Shot, Precise Shot
2) Weapon Focus
3) Deadly Aim
4) Weapon Specialization
5) Point Blank Master
6) Snap Shot*
7) Clustered Shots*
8) Greater Weapon Focus
9) Improved Snap Shot
10) Combat Reflexes*
11) Manyshot*
12) Greater Weapon Specialization
*These do not have to be taken in this exact order
Eventually you will also want to invest into Greater Bracers of Archery, Gloves of Dueling, and a Sash of the War Champion.
As for traits, I recommend picking up Perception as a class skill, this can be done a few different ways, but look into Seeker.
Assuming he isn't playing PFS bracer's of falcon's aim are better than bracers of archery until he can afford the greater version.
I would also recommend he take Manyshot well before level 11. It's more important than Combat Reflexes, Snap Shot, or Improved Snapshot as he will likely get more use out of it. Especially since Improved Snap Shot was errata'd to only 10ft total distance. Assuming melee characters are doing their thing well, you're in the back and the enemy doesn't get close.
I would say depending on how frequently he is encountering enemies with DR he should take his level 6 and 7 feats as Manyshot and Clustered Shots.
I recommend Rapid shot first. +3 to hit is fine, you'll have +4 to hit when using point blank shot, which is most of the time.
Two attacks do much more to increase your damage than +1 to hit does.
If you have a goblin, it might have 16 AC. That means you'll need a 12 to hit it with point blank shot and rapid shot, and deal 6 points of damage to cut it down. There's a 45% chance to hit, and a 50% chance to bring the goblin down if you hit, but you have two shots to do so with. If you take weapon focus you have 60% chance to hit it, and 50% chance to kill it if you hit, but only one shot.
Despite taking rapid shot, it might be a good idea to grab a few Chakram for throwing at first level, instead of a longbow, because, as you say, you can't add your strength to damage at first. 1d8+4 might well be better than two attacks of 1d8+1, especially if you need to punch through damage reduction.
Let's see:
Why is it better to start with high str over int for an archer?
First of all, as Guru-Meditation wrote it's largely a matter of taste. Personally I don't think +1 skill point is going to be that much of a game changer. Let's face it, a fighter's role is not being the skill monkey. The class is not built that way and it's MAD enough that you don't want to split your ability points more than stricltly necessary. 16 base strength makes it easier for you to get to str 20 by getting a belt of phisical might (the +4 version that you need for this costs 40k gold, for a nifty +4 to str and of course dex). You want str 20 because you want to max dpr, and the best weapon for you is a +5str composite longbow (masterwork later enchanted of course) and in order to use that you need str 20, while being an archer you also want to max dex.
A human fighter with int 10 still gets +3 skill points/level, enough to build a niche for yourself in the skill department (work out with your friends where to put those points in order to give the party the most complete set of skills possible), and +1 skill/level isn't going to make a tremendous difference or turn your fighter into a skill monkey anyway.
My philosopy is: excell at what you can do well, don't invest resources for things other members of the party can do better than you. You are an archer, your role is to be a ranged killing machine. Build your character to be that killing machine. Note that this won't impact your roleplay in any way. Your character is a very specialized and trained soldier. His job is killing people from afar and possibly getting a tad of utility in noncombat situations (although low charisma makes sure you won't be the face of the group, but hey! You can't do everything well, there are other people playing too, and their contribution should be as significant and satisfying as yours)
Feats
Master_marshmallow is spot on with his suggestions. Nothing more to say there besides "try to find the space for general feats like Iron will, Improved initiative, Dodge and Toughness". These, while not mandatory, are ALWAYS good to have for a fighter, you get 21 feats so you should find a place for them.
Suggested traits
Choose one or more of these if your GM allows traits.
Indomitable Faith (+1 Will)
Reactionary (+2 Initiative)
Hunter’s Eye (Your parents had you blessed by Erastil as a youth, and you are a prodigy with a bow. You do not suffer a penalty for the second range increment when using a longbow or shortbow, and you are always considered proficient with one of these weapons)-> NOTE THIS IS AN ANDOREN FACTION TRAIT FOR PFS