Personally, I like it. The biggest problem with having a sniper is that oftentimes games happen in small, cramped dungeons, and usually with few places to hide. Then again, this build doesn't keep the sniper from being capable in close quarters, they're simply best suited being a distant combatant.
Isn't there a sniper archetype for Slayer? Afaik it sucks, because taking the slayer talent deadly range does exactly the same but better.
What you need is a way to cast Greater Invisibility for full-attack sneaking. And you don't need to re-stealth. An Arcane Trickster might actually be a very good sniper, but it lacks a reliable to-hit. And as Aldrius said, you need to have other possibilities or you'll sit out many combats.
Rogue / Evangelist of Norgober can do it once per day.
Problem:
I have found that making ranged builds that remain stealthed is incredibly challenging in pathfinder. Firstly, full attacks for these builds are not an option since in order to remain stealthed after shooting, a character must spend a move action. Secondly, Rogue is the class that best thematically fit the sniper archetype yet cannot effectively snipe without the 20,000 gp item: Sniper Goggles.Goal:
Create an unchained rogue archetype that successfully solves both of these problems without creating an overpowered class.Feedback:
1) Do you agree that the "sniper" archetype in pathfinder is underdeveloped and underpowered as is? If not, how would you build a competent sniper using RAW?
2) Do you think that this archetype's design is flawed? If so, what should be changed?Thank you for your time!
The greatest problem I see is that sniper builds are completely dependant on Sniper Goggles, and that the existence of that item discourages people from investing into increasing their SA range. Since there is no difference between someone who invested into increasing their SA range and someone who didn't when they equip Sniper Goggles.
Also, I don't think that full attacks should be a thing of concern for snipers. In my opinion snipers are those who embodies the 'One Shot Kill' principle. Someone who cranks out eight arrows per round into some unfortunate whelp from 1000 ft away isn't a sniper. That's a marksman. The snipers in media I'm familiar with are killing their target with one skillful shot. Not five.
1) The Sniper Rogue archetype is a good trade for what it gives, but it is underwhelming for a dedicated sniper. As it is, the only way to get SA on someone 500 ft away is with the Sniper Goggles.
2) The original Sniper Rogue archetype?
It should simply be more of a trade-off than it is now. Take some of your rogue talents and more of your class abilities to make you specialize in being a Sniper as a full-time job.
Yours?
Deadly Range (Ex): A sniper is able to make incredibly precise shots from distances that other's could only dream of. He increases the range at which his sneak attack can be applied by 10 feet for every Sniper level he possesses. This ability replaces Finesse Training, Trapfinding, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, and Danger Sense.
I think you're paying too much for Deadly Range (Ex). 10 ft/level isn't worth all that you're giving away. Danger Sense and Finesse Training should be enough.
Improved Stealthy Snipe (Ex): At 8th level, a sniper becomes a master of stealth, able to fire shot after shot without giving the enemy a chance to dodge. A sniper with this ability counts as having 15 ranks in stealth for the purposes of determining the effects of his skill unlock. In addition, after being stealthed and then proceeding to full attack, the sniper can attempt to return to stealth without spending any action but with an additional -10 penalty. This ability replaces Improved Uncanny Dodge.
I would probably make this ability come at level 10 instead of 8, and in place of the 10th level Advanced Rogue Talent instead of Imp Uncanny Dodge.
What you're giving away is essentially Greater Invisibility, which a Ninja can take as a Master Trick first at level 10. That should be what you're comparing this ability to.
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There are several options other than Sniper Goggles which extend the range at which you can do sneak attack damage. To me, the real benefit of sniper goggles is the +2 damage per sneak attack die.
Also, it is quite simple to get full attacks with ranged sneak attack on all of them. All you need is for you to be able to see the target and them to not be able to see you;
Greater Invisibility
Tiny Hut
Darkness + Darkvision
Deeper Darkness + See in Darkness
Fog Cloud / Eversmoking Bottle + Goz Mask
Fan of Autumn
Et cetera.
Those are all options that would work for almost any character. When you start getting in to class specific builds (e.g. Dark Lurker rogue or Flame Dancer bard) the options increase exponentially.
That said, the proposed archetype seems fine to me except that, as written, Sniper's Edge would replace ALL instances of Rogue's Edge rather than just forcing the 5th level use to be for Stealth. I'd also suggest splitting up the benefits of 'Improved Stealthy Sniper'... give Master Sniper as a bonus feat at 6th level, allowing 3 attacks when using Master Sniper at 11th, and leaving the 15 rank skill unlock to actually trigger at 15 ranks/15th level normally.
Isn't there a sniper archetype for Slayer? Afaik it sucks, because taking the slayer talent deadly range does exactly the same but better.
What you need is a way to cast Greater Invisibility for full-attack sneaking. And you don't need to re-stealth. An Arcane Trickster might actually be a very good sniper, but it lacks a reliable to-hit. And as Aldrius said, you need to have other possibilities or you'll sit out many combats.
Rogue / Evangelist of Norgober can do it once per day.
Yeah, but they changed the ability granted by the archetype in an errata last year. The new ability (with the same name as a Slayer Talent) has its uses.
At 2nd level, when the sniper makes an attack against a target who is within his weapon's first range increment and completely unaware of his presence, that attack ignores the 30 foot range limit on ranged sneak attacks, and if it is a sneak attack, he adds his sniper level as a bonus on his sneak attack damage roll. After this first attack, the target is aware of the sniper's presence.
I agree with Wonderstell's suggestions for improving the archetype.
I also have the opinion that a better approach for creating a "sniper" is a class or archetype that focuses on dealing burst damage with a single attack. I'm not sure if the rogue is a good chassis for that.