Your friends are playing a practical joke on you.
Pick the Ranger... Please pick the Ranger.
I'll sum it up for you:
Fighter: Gets Feats
That's great and all. But feats don't solve all your problems.
Ranger: Gets combat style feats (WITHOUT PREREQS) Which actually amounts to you getting the more worthwhile feats without having to waste feats on a bunch of garbage. They also get SPELLS and A CRAPTON OF SKILLS and MORE THAN ONE GOOD SAVE and AN ANIMAL COMPANION (If you want)
When the Ranger is to a certain level, their handful of spells grant them more combat prowess and versatility than an entire bucket of combat feats.
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What do you want of the character?
To be the most devastating archer? Go Zen Monk.
To have variety in combat? Go Fighter, you'll have feats that will let you support archery to the max and/or have multiple fighting styles. and full speed in heavy armor.
So what does Ranger offer that the other two don't, you might say?
Depth. You have skills, you can be stealthy and knowledgeable in nature lore. You can have potent bonuses in combat and tracking and sense motive skills of your favored enemies. You have some very good spells. You can have a potent animal companion, or give bonuses to your team.
Decide on your priorities and you'll find a choice that sings.
I have never played a Ranger, but I have played as a fighter. One huge thing about Rangers is that they have 6+ int mod for skills plus a lot of awesome class skills. Also, Rangers get favored enemy bonuses and get you get spells.
Pick Ranger. Fighters can use a bow, but Rangers can thrive with them.
+1 to what Moonrunner outlined.
I've always been fond of the ranger switch hitter build as well, since melee with a bow can be challenging. Zen monk covers those short comings easily, and I believe there are new options in the weapon master handbook, come to think of it, that may help.
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I wanted to pick Ranger with the Divine Marksman archetype, but everyone tells me that it is way more efficient to just pick a Fighter with a bow and then get the feats i want...
1) I just wanted to find out if that's true.
2) I would love to hear some tips on playing a ranged character (any tips you have, don't be shy, they might be found useful by me or others reading this thread).
Quantity is Nothing. Quality is Everything.
The Fighter Bonus Feats don't bypass feat pre-requisites. The Ranger Bonus Feats do. There is also Favored Enemy, Terrain, Skill Points, Spells, the list just goes on and expands.
If you have people telling you to pick a Fighter, then all they want you for is a Beatstick. And quite frankly, a Ranger is just as good a Beatstick as a Fighter, and a Barbarian would be even better than a Fighter if they want a Beatstick.
Quick point - he specifically wants to give up the spells to get half his favored enemy bonus on all ranged attacks. At that point, you're looking at something that's a bit more even, although I'd generally say the weight is on the fighter side. Vanilla ranger beats both options, though.
Ah yes, I missed that part of the archetype. Honestly even without spells, I'd still choose ranger. The skillpoints alone give you a huge edge in combat. The fighter doesn't have stealth or perception as class skills, nor does he have the skillpoints to spare for them. These skills are crucial at every level of the game.
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Quick point - he specifically wants to give up the spells to get half his favored enemy bonus on all ranged attacks.
Isn't that just a Slayer?
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I do have a general archery tip, have something you can smack someone with. You don't need to be super good at it, but sooner or later you're gonna be put in a spot where you can't 5 foot step away from danger.
There is a feat you can grab called point blank master as early as level 6 for an ranger or level 5 for a fighter that stops the AoOs. I'd still recommend having a longsword for when DR/Slashing rears its head though.
As a note, the archetype loses the spells this class gets. However it does gain the ability to deal a sizable amount of damage to enemies that aren't their favored enemy. Weather this is worth it or not depends on the campaign you're in as well as your playstyle. As a note there is a spell that lets you treat something as your "worst" favored enemy for a few rounds so you won't be completely screwed if the boss is not your favored enemy.
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Range Increment: Use range to your advantage. I see ranged attackers get within one range increment all the time to avoid penalties. The cumulative -2 per range increment isn't really all that bad. And when you factor in the +1/ten feet increase to the DC of a Perception check, coupled with the ranger's class skill, Stealth, you have the potential to go completely undetected through most wilderness encounters.
With a longbow, you could be 200 feet away from your target and only take a -2 to hit while your opponent is going to be at a +20 to the DC of their Perception check to see you.
As you level, you can get farther and farther away. Sure -6 is a big deal at level 2, but at level 12, you'll probably still hit and could be up to 439 feet away. Take the Far Shot feat and your ranges just get even more ridiculous. All I'm saying is, "Don't feel like you have to stay within one range increment."
Precise Shot: You don't want to hit allies in melee combat, so this feat is essential.
Multiple Bows: A fumble or Sunder can snap a bowstring really quickly. Having another bow so that you can still make efficient use of your primary attack mode is good.
Ammunition: Your sword and board fighter isn't going to have an alchemical silver long sword, and a cold iron long sword, and an adamantine long sword, and a holy longsword, and an axiomatic long sword, etc. But you could have arrows to defeat various damage reductions. A quiver with ten of each kind you want would be fine to start. Eventually, you should get some kind of Quiver of Plenty that allows you store, basically, as many as you want.
Green Arrow & Hawkeye: These guys are cool. One reason they are is because, along the lines of Ammunition (see above), they have an arrow for that. Find a way to fit acidic ampoules as arrowheads, grappling hooks, and whatever other cool thing you can think of that the DM will allow you to make or buy.
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Most of the d20pfsrd ammunition costs are listed here: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/weapons#martial-ammo
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There's no correct way to build a character, and the divine marksman archetype may be exactly what you're looking for! As someone who enjoys making and playing character concepts that are weird or "suboptimal", I will wholly approve of whatever you want to do regardless of how powerful the character is. That said, you were asking about power--and if you're concerned with that, there are some things to consider when picking classes, archetypes, and all of the things that go into builds:
- The strongest pure archer builds are generally accepted to use the Zen Archer archetype for the Core monk, as lots of people have already said. They get okay skill points but don't tend to be very exciting when you're not shooting stuff. They also have good defenses.
- Fighters can also be very good at shooting things with bows; fighters do not get very many skill points though, and none of their abilities help outside of combat. They can be very boring when you're not shooting things and they get affected by mind-affecting spells very easily.
- Rangers are not usually quite as good at shooting things as fighters and zen archers but they are still very good at it; on the other hand, they get LOTS of things to do outside of combat. They have lots of skill points, are good at tracking and perception, and have a limited capability to cast spells.
- Slayers are like rangers in a lot of ways; instead of spells, they get studied target that adds a static bonus to hit and damage versus one specific creature, and they get some sneak attack. They don't get an animal companion. It really sounds like you want a slayer, not a ranger, so this is what I'd recommend.
Feats that require an action of some type, particularly when it's a movement or a standard action, tend to be overvalued. That's because early on in a Pathfinder character's career, enemies are usually pretty easy and you won't really need them. Later on, when things are difficult, you're going to want to take full attacks, which means you won't have a chance to use very many of the extra actions that cost a movement action or a standard action to use. Bullseye Shot is pretty good when your character is new, but once you get Rapid Shot at level 3ish, you will do more damage on average by taking two attacks than you will by shooting one arrow and having a better chance to hit with it. This is especially true after level 6 when you get an iterative attack.
The primary advantage an archer has over a melee class is not that they do a lot of damage with one attack, it's that they do a fair amount of damage with a huge number of attacks. Bullseye Shot, past a certain point, will actually reduce the average damage you do per turn.
Arrow selection is also a nice perk of being an archer. I usually see people with cold iron arrows and silver arrows, in both traditional and blunt types. People often also buy weapon blanch, particularly adamantine. We have some hunters in the local pathfinder society group and I have slowly been convincing all of us to buy pheromone arrows. Beyond that, I haven't seen weird arrows get a lot of use--don't feel like they're required--but if that's what you want to do, by all means, do it! Just be aware that many of them are not particularly strong or efficient options, so you aren't necessarily making a stronger character by using a ton of expensive arrows.
A small static bonus to hit and damage is nothing to sneeze at, but don't forget just how powerful spellcasting is, either. Spellcasting is powerful because the right spell for the job can be better than a feat, and as a divine prepared caster, you can pick different spells to memorize each morning. And as more books are printed with more spells in them, your options get better. There are very good reasons to trade out spellcasting--particularly 4-level ranger spellcasting--but make sure you know what you're getting into when you do, and that you're going to get something worthwhile out of it.
Something you seem to be interested in is adding a flat damage bonus to your attacks, rather than being constrained by a favored enemy. For that reason, I'd think that the Slayer class is probably closer to what you're looking for. Early on it acts a little bit like bullseye shot--you spend a move action to study someone and then you can shoot them more accurately with your bow. Later on, as the bonus increases, you can study your target faster and you'll still be able to full attack. You also get the Ranger bonus feats, which are really nice, and slayers have tons of skills, just like rangers.
Good luck and have fun!
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Do you know what level your campaign is going to play til? Because bullseye shot is only useful for a couple of levels. After you can get 2 or more arrows off every round, you're likely to not use bullseye shot unless you have to hit with that one arrow, because multiple shots will usually give you a better chance to hit over the increase to accuracy. And shooting one arrow versus, say 4-5 is going to seem like a poor trade off, even with specialty arrows.
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Your gaming group is full of cruel people who want you to be frustrated.
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Honestly, Bulls-eye shot is best use on characters that favor standard attacks to full attacks, and those types of characters aren't usually full BAB classes. You're better off grabbing rapid shot for more firepower. Plus as long as you grab precise shot and have a good dex score, you should be okay enough for the special ammunition even with the penalties.
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Now, to be fair, archery fighters are actually really strong now. Though I think if I wanted to play a ranged fighter I'd want to use a thrown weapon.
I sincerely doubt that your friends are familiar with the features that make the fighter a legitimate choice, though, and it is WAY easier to build a competent archer ranger than archer fighter.
You're going to get much more out of spells and full attacks than you are out of Bulls-eye Shot in the long run. Or, if you really want that bonus more than spells, go Slayer. Studied Target gives a smaller (though scaling) bonus that can eventually be used as a swift action, allowing you to combined it with a full attack action.
At level 10, there is one more significant trump card the ranger has over the fighter.
There is a 3rd level spell "instant enemy".
With this spell you designate the target as your favored enemy for the remainder of its duration. Select one of your favored enemy types. For the duration of the spell, you treat the target as if it were that type of favored enemy for all purposes.
Swift action to cast, lasts minute per level. It is essentially the ranger's smite...except that the target need not be evil. No save, no spell resistance.
A ranger I played with bought 3 pearls of power just so he could have more uses of this spell. Anything he used this spell against...melted.
Anyone who claims fighter is a better archer than a Ranger should not be trusted...
Before level 10 Divine Marksman is vastly superior to a normal ranger. From levels 5 through 9 favored enemy grants you a static +2/+2 to hit and damage always. That's huge damage boost for an archer and more than any low level ranger spells will ever do for you in combat.
Instant enemy is a standard action to cast that's definitely worth in a surprise round but if you start in round one of combat a level 10 Divine Marksman will net roughly 100 damage from a full attack. I'd be very hesitant to cast a spell that buffs my damage instead.
The big up side of spell casting is that it vastly increases your versatility. Gravity bow is only a +2 damage on average. Falcon's aim does more but has a much shorter duration and can be acquired via a 5k magic item.
Pick a Freebooter Ranger and see everyone shut up about a fighter and love you to bits! (Freebooters apply a +hit to any target they designate, to their party)
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Ignore your friends. Play what you want.
I like the ranger better than the fighter for ranged builds, personally, but I haven't really evaluated the archery fighter since the weapon master's guide came out. Seems like the Armed Bravery ability might actually make the fighter's saves better than the ranger's, the Versatile Training ability for bows can add perception as a class skill and give you an effective 2 extra skill points per level.
Has anyone evaluated the ranged style feats or the ranged weapon mastery feats for an Archer fighter? Anyone have a feel for what they let you do that it would be hard to pull off as a ranger?
Improved precise shot early alone is worth way more than what the fighter gets. Go ranger.
I loved playing a ranger. So much fun. Please, please pick that which is most fun to you.
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Okay, looked it over. If you want to be able to make ranged trip or disarm attempts, the fighter had some cool options from the WMG. The fighter also has access to the Empty Quiver Style feat chain, which let's you use your bow like a mace while still applying all of your bow feats to the attack. Nothing game changing, but serves the same basic purpose as point blank master, and to me, whacking someone with a longbow is really cool.
Ranger gets improved precise shot at 6, as BNW noted. That's amazing if your pals keep getting in your way. It ends up being an effective +4 to hit bonus a lot of the time.
The last thing I would say is this. You should play what you want, as others have said, BUT! If your friends are trying to convince you to play a fighter over a ranger, there might be a good reason for it. If your pals are not very optimized, and you're here on the boards looking for advice about how to optimize an archer build, it might be a good idea to talk to your pals and GM about why they think you should play a fighter. If your other buddies are playing less than optimized builds, just be aware that with any optimized Archer build, including the fighter, ranger, paladin, slayer, and inquisitor, you're going to do about a billion damage all the time. While you should play what you want, if that's messing up the group dynamic, it's not going to be fun for anyone.
At level 10, there is one more significant trump card the ranger has over the fighter.
There is a 3rd level spell "instant enemy".
With this spell you designate the target as your favored enemy for the remainder of its duration. Select one of your favored enemy types. For the duration of the spell, you treat the target as if it were that type of favored enemy for all purposes.Swift action to cast, lasts minute per level. It is essentially the ranger's smite...except that the target need not be evil. No save, no spell resistance.
A ranger I played with bought 3 pearls of power just so he could have more uses of this spell. Anything he used this spell against...melted.
Instant Enemy works well on a melee ranger, but it has a range of close, so isn't as useful on a ranged ranger.
And on a two weapon ranger, Instant Enemy has an issue of being somatic, which means you need to have a free hand to cast it.
Instant enemy is a standard action to cast that's definitely worth in a surprise round but if you start in round one of combat a level 10 Divine Marksman will net roughly 100 damage from a full attack. I'd be very hesitant to cast a spell that buffs my damage instead.
Pretty sure instant enemy is a swift action to cast, which is what makes it so good.
Instant Enemy:
School enchantment; Level ranger 3
Casting Time 1 swift action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature that is not your favored enemy.
Duration 1 minute/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
With this spell you designate the target as your favored enemy for the remainder of its duration. Select one of your favored enemy types. For the duration of the spell, you treat the target as if it were that type of favored enemy for all purposes.
It is questionable if you can use a swift action during a surprise round, but I believe common opinion is that you can.
Pretty sure instant enemy is a swift action to cast, which is what makes it so good.
Instant enemy is a standard action to cast that's definitely worth in a surprise round but if you start in round one of combat a level 10 Divine Marksman will net roughly 100 damage from a full attack. I'd be very hesitant to cast a spell that buffs my damage instead.
Okay call me a fool...
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ALL archers (fighters, rangers, slayers, zen archers, etc) are POWERFUL damage dealers.
It really is more about what you want out of your archer.
Fighters - More consistent damage output, just pure damage
1) More consistent to hits (due to weapon training)
2) Higher static damage (due to weapon training)
3) Tons of feats
4) Overall more armor (thanks to armor training)
5) Not afraid to wear heavier armor
6) You are always at max possible strength, aka no need to spend time on buffing etc. You are always ready to start shooting
7) less overall skills
8) Able to handle most foes with the right feats
Ranger - More than just damage
1) Earlier access to some feats via combat styles (Improved Precise Shot,etc)
2) Good against specific enemy types
3) Spells! + buffing
4) Tons of skills
5) Tons of out of combat and in combat class features (tracking, etc)
6) More self-dependent (able to spell heal of of combat, etc)
7) May need to spend time buffing for more damage (gravity bow, etc)
8) Spells are unfortunately limited in supply.
Slayer - Ranger with no spells, but more damage output
1) Earlier access to some feats via combat styles (Improved Precise Shot, etc)
2) Able to study aka add damage to any enemy
3) Sneak attack = more damage
4) Tons of skills
5) Slayer Talents!
6) Plenty of out of combat and combat class features
7) No spells when compared to the ranger
8) Able to handle most foes. Just like a fighter
Zen Archer (Monk) - A LOT of arrows in the air!
1) More arrows when full-round (flurry) attacking
2) Lots of archery feats given for free!
3) Nice monk class features
4) Nice amount of skills
5) Less static damage per shot, but lots of arrows
6) Abundant Step(!)
7) Able to pull off shots other classes can't
8) Good saves
9) Ki is a powerful, but also limited resource
As you can see archery comes in every flavor. There are very few cons, it REALLY is just what YOU want!
A weapon master fighter who focuses on archery can actually outpace the ranger I almost all regards except spells. You have to waste bonus feats on Advanced Weapon Training but you can have tyre equivalent of 6 skills per level, and flat damage on every attack, plus the weapon mastery feats give crazy good options that fighters didn't have previously which may cause some to over look it.
Range Increment: Use range to your advantage. I see ranged attackers get within one range increment all the time to avoid penalties. The cumulative -2 per range increment isn't really all that bad. And when you factor in the +1/ten feet increase to the DC of a Perception check, coupled with the ranger's class skill, Stealth, you have the potential to go completely undetected through most wilderness encounters.
[...]
As you level, you can get farther and farther away. Sure -6 is a big deal at level 2, but at level 12, you'll probably still hit and could be up to 439 feet away. Take the Far Shot feat and your ranges just get even more ridiculous. All I'm saying is, "Don't feel like you have to stay within one range increment."
Decent advice, but this is completely controlled by the GM. I have a Zen Archer with 120 feet of Darkvision, a reduced range increment, and a minimum +25 Perception bonus. At 12th level, I've started encounters more than 60 feet away exactly twice. Terrain, weather, cover, the details of the scenario, and even the size of the battle map will all work against you on this. So check with your GM before you spend resources extending your range.
(If your GM will let use your range, remember that projectile weapons can go 10x the range increment: you can theoretically shoot people 1100 feet away at a -18 penalty, and there are many ways to cut that down.)Precise Shot: You don't want to hit allies in melee combat, so this feat is essential.
In Pathfinder, you don't have a chance of hitting your allies: you just take a -4 penalty to represent the difficulty of not hitting your allies. It's a hefty penalty, though, and you will also be taking a -2 or -4 penalty for cover 80% of the time, so you definitely want this feat.
Multiple Bows: A fumble or Sunder can snap a bowstring really quickly. Having another bow so that you can still make efficient use of your primary attack mode is good.
Fumble rules are optional in Pathfinder, so check with your GM. But this is still really good advice.
Since most of the ranged weapon enhancements are situational (Seeking, Distracting, etc.), I have found that it's much more cost effective to get multiple bows with a +1 enhancement than trying to load several onto on weapon. If you have someone in your party who buffs strength, start with 2 different composite bows, one for unbuffed Str rating and one for your normal Str rating. A non-composite backup bow is good, too, in case you take a Str penalty for some reason (drain, ray of enfeeblement, whatever). The Adaptive enhancement handles this, too, if your GM allows it.
Ammunition: Your sword and board fighter isn't going to have an alchemical silver long sword, and a cold iron long sword, and an adamantine long sword, and a holy longsword, and an axiomatic long sword, etc. But you could have arrows to defeat various damage reductions. A quiver with ten of each kind you want would be fine to start. Eventually, you should get some kind of Quiver of Plenty that allows you store, basically, as many as you want.
Green Arrow & Hawkeye: These guys are cool. One reason they are is because, along the lines of Ammunition (see above), they have an arrow for that. Find a way to fit acidic ampoules as arrowheads, grappling hooks, and whatever other cool thing you can think of that the DM will allow you to make or buy.
Check out the Elves of Golarion book for some really nice trick arrows. There are also some in the Alchemy Manual. GET DURABLE ARROWS AND WEAPON BLANCHES!
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To add onto what Gwen already brought up in ammunition, tangleshot arrows are literally amazing. Same entangle, lower DC to break out, but that's assuming they take the time to break out. Durable arrows are pretty solid too, especially if you're picking up 'bane' magical arrows. Raining arrows are also golden, throwing in holy water to your shots makes a lot of fights a lot easier. Really, you should be able to drain the holy water and put in whatever you want, but there's no rules for that (I should ask about that later) which would make them EVEN BETTER!
Weapon Blanches are a STEAL at the price they're listed at, and things like Ghost Salt blanch for 200 GP which coats 10 arrows lets you get past incorporeal, which just does wonders for your damage.
As far as a Green Arrow (and Hawkeye) build, Grenadier Alchemist is actually amazing for this. First we're taking the durable and tangleshots along with raining arrows, and now we're stacking Alchemical Weapon on top of those to combine our arrows with alchemical items. Now you could have a tangleshot acid arrow, a raining burst jar arrow, or any other combination like that, not to mention whatever weapon blanch you need to solve the problem. You can only alchemical 1 arrow a round, so make it count!
Oh, and pick up hybridization funnel and you can combine splash weapons, so now you can double up on the alchemical goodness. Let's not forget you're getting intelligence on damage for all of these too since they're a splash weapon.
EDIT: Curious if you could go concentrated splash to up damage from the splash weapon even more, although it won't work on your bomb. If your GM rules fusing a splash weapon with your arrow no longer allows it to count as a splash weapon, you can still get int to damage from the next step.
Grenadier Alchemist is your 'style' archer, and we're not even done yet. Now let's combo explosive missile onto all of this sexy mess, and now you can combine a bomb (and a bomb discovery) onto that entire slew with a standard action. Now you could combine that all with a frost bomb for stagger, tangleshot to ignore the restrictions of entangling only large and smaller creatures, or anything else.
So to recap, we're looking at:
-Arrow (tangleshot, durable, or raining)
-Weapon Blanch (any metal or ghostsalt)
-Alchemical Item (any splash weapon, our options are pretty wide)
-Explosive Missile (almost any bomb discovery, this is intense)
Giving us 4 different ways to customize a single arrow. Oh, also 6th level extract casting, but that could only help buff you even more before letting the arrows fly, nothing too important there.
Also anyone trying to convince you to pick fighter over ranger for anything doesn't have your best interest in mind.
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Weapon Masters Handbook does make fighters more attractive. They can match the Skills per level of the ranger with Versatile Training. They can more easily take Ranged Mastery Feats that allow you to shoot flyers out of the air than rangers. They can get a version of the inquisitor's solo tactics or the warpriest's sacred weapon damage.
However, the ranger still outclasses them at low levels, with IPS at 6th level, and still out damages them at high levels due to instant enemy.
Ranger also requires a lot less system mastery to work.
I have to mention Lastoth's Guide to Archery Rangers. A lot of new options have opened up since it was written (archetypes, feats, etc.), but it is still an excellent instructional manual on how the Ranger's unique abilities mesh with the fundamentals of archery. For that matter, it's just a great guide for archers in general.
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I know Fighter gets (and is currently getting, in this thread) a lot of hate, but there is an archetype for doing maneuvers at range using arrows, so that could fit the Hawkeye/Green Arrow theme as well, without having to get as complicated as N. Jollys alchemist archer suggestion.
You're referring to the Archer archetype, which is a trap. Please do not take the archer fighter archetype ever. The maneuvers it gains can be replicated by feats, and it loses access to both Armor and Weapon Training. It's weapon training replacement doesn't count as weapon training, so it locks them out of both gloves of dueling and advanced weapon training.
Ranger is a much better choice in my opinion than the Fighter. The fighter will do a bit more damage thanks to weapon specialization and such until you get access to Instant Enemy, but after that you will ROFLSTOMP things as you suddenly get a +8 to attack and damage. All you need is some pearls of power to keep it up all day. (You do have to focus you FE increases into 1 type, I suggest human if you don't know what campaign you're playing).
The other thing that makes rangers so good is the animal companion. Which you should use as a mount. Treat it as a mobile artillery platform for yourself and be able to always full attack, even while your mount is moving you. You don't even take an attack penalty unless your mount double moves, and that can be reduced with a feat (but you don't really need it). To get even more advantage out of this play a small size character with a medium mount. The small difference in 1d6 vs 1d8 isn't important, just don't bother with Gravity Bow or anything like that. The damage buff, again, isn't worth it.
As an alternative, Inquisitor Archers are also pretty bonkers with a bow. And with the Chivalry domain you can have a full progression mount instead of an animal companion at -4.
Take a look at this Ranger Archery Guide.
In closing, a fighter might do a bit more damage than you until you get Instant Enemy. But you have a lot more versatility and options the whole way compared to the fighter and will contribute more than just damage to a party.
A weapon master fighter who focuses on archery can actually outpace the ranger I almost all regards except spells. You have to waste bonus feats on Advanced Weapon Training but you can have tyre equivalent of 6 skills per level, and flat damage on every attack, plus the weapon mastery feats give crazy good options that fighters didn't have previously which may cause some to over look it.
The Dedicated Adversary feat also lets the fighter (or anyone, really) pick a favored enemy type and get the attack and damage bonus (no other advantages, though).
2 quick notes:
Light armor proficiency is a waste. Just buy the critter some mithral chain shirt, Leather, masterwork studded leather, or darkleaf lemmelar
Pathfinder does not have a large long and large tall catagory anymore. All large creatres are 10 by 10.
Improved precise shot early alone is worth way more than what the fighter gets. Go ranger.
If you're primarily after Improved Precise Shot, Zen Archer is a much better choice.
Ranger has to choose between Point Blank Master and Improved Precise Shot as the 6th level bonus feat. Unless you are in a long range game, the smart choice is Point Blank Master because there is no other way for the ranger to get this feat. Not provoking in melee lets you get more full attacks (because you don't have to keep moving away) and you can use the Point Blank Shot bonus damage (if you have it).
(Zen Archer already has Point Blank Master by level 6, so Improved Precise Shot is the obvious choice.)
A decent alternative, though, is a one level Warpriest dip with the Air blessing: that lets your weapon not provoke for one minute, which covers most combats. Warpriest 1/Ranger 6 gets you both Improved Precise Shot and the equivalent of Point Blank Master by level 7, well earlier than any fighter build can get it.
There's also the Deadeye Bowman trait, which helps with cover penalties; you'll still want Improved Precise Shot, but this trait makes it less painful while you're waiting for it.
Actually...
Check to see if your GM is using the cover rules: a lot of GMs either ignore them or don't understand them or just don't like them. If your GM doesn't make you take soft cover penalties, Improved Precise Shot is much less valuable.
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I know Fighter gets (and is currently getting, in this thread) a lot of hate, but there is an archetype for doing maneuvers at range using arrows, so that could fit the Hawkeye/Green Arrow theme as well, without having to get as complicated as N. Jollys alchemist archer suggestion. No offense to N. Jolly, that sounds like a pretty awesome and cool build, but it also feels less and less like a martial the more stuff you tack on there.
To be fair, some builds fire arrows. Some do it better than others.
This build fires tangleshot acid/alchemist hybrid ghost salt tipped frost exploding arrows. An arrow for every situation, indeed. Pick a god and pray when you're at the other end of this bow. (For added fun, add conductive to the bow, burns 3 uses of your bombs to double bomb damage.)
As for your point, fighter MIGHT (not willing to run the math myself) have bigger numbers all day, but Ranger has skill points, animal companion, spells, and numerous class features that make them straight out better at everything outside of combat. I'm easily willing to give up some in combat numbers to be a more functioning character in normal RP situations.
We can argue what the GM allows and such and how they play the game, but by rules skill points are generally VERY helpful for interacting with the world around you, and as the fighter gets 2 and the Ranger gets 6 (aside from everything else) as well as a better skill list, I'm gonna have to side Ranger for all the above.
...unless you're willing to play the alch build, which is basically a toolbox.
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Go, go, power ranger.
There, fixed that for you.
Pathfinder does not have a large long and large tall catagory anymore. All large creatres are 10 by 10.
They do still exist as different categories. Large (long) and large (tall) are both listed on Table 8-4 from the CRB. But you are correct that they take up the same space. They only differ in reach.
I wanted to pick Ranger with the Divine Marksman archetype, but everyone tells me that it is way more efficient to just pick a Fighter with a bow and then get the feats i want...
1) I just wanted to find out if that's true.
2) I would love to hear some tips on playing a ranged character (any tips you have, don't be shy, they might be found useful by me or others reading this thread).
3) How much do all these different types of arrows cost? http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/weapons/weapon-descriptions/ammun ition
Funny you should mention this. I am currently mulling over a combo regarding the Divine Marksman archetype.
(Gnoll Killer trait, Shapeshifting Hunter feat, Feral Hunter 4, Divine Marksman 4: when not fighting a favored enemy, +4 to attack and damage with all ranged weapon attacks.)