STR 15 DEX 16+2 CON 13 WIS 15 INT 10 CHA 8
Traits: Fate's Favored, Deadeye Bowman
1 - Precise Shot, Rapid Shot
2 - +1 STR
3 - Weapon Focus
4 - +1 WIS, +1 DEX
5 - Extended Bane
6 - +1 DEX
7 - Spell Bane
8 - +1 WIS, +1 DEX
9 - Manyshot
10 - +1 DEX
11 - Clustered Shots
12 - +1 WIS, +1 DEX
13 - Snap Shot
14 - +1 DEX
15 - Improved Precise Shot
16 - +1 WIS, +1 DEX
17 - Improved Snap Shot
18 - +1 DEX
19 - Combat Reflexes
20 - +1 WIS, +1 CON
You're locked into Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Manyshot, Clustered Shots, and Improved Precise Shot. Everything else is pretty much optional, I took the Bane feats because improving on your base class never hurts. I couldn't tell if the stat arrays included the human bonus or not. If they don't, I'd go with:
STR 14 DEX 16 CON 14 WIS 14 INT 13 CHA 12
and raise WIS at level 2.
Generally, Archer Inquisitors are Preachers because Teamwork feats aren't great for ranged fighting.
Ravener Hunter and Sanctified Slayer get brought up together because they're good archetypes that stack but Sneak Attack isn't worth trading away Judgment for an Archer. It's pretty hard to get off ranged sneak attacks. Two exceptions would be a Waves Mystery Ravener Hunter who selects the Watersight Revelation or a Flames Mystery Ravener Hunter who selects the Gaze of Flames revelation and fights from within Obscuring Mist. I still don't think Sneak Attack is great on an archer because Obscuring Mist is another buff to cast before you start attacking and trying to fight so close up takes away one of the benefits of being an Archer.
Ravener Hunter is still potentially quite good for an Archer Inquisitor even if Sanctified Slayer isn't. The Wood Mystery can boost your attack rolls with a bow via the Wood Bond revelation. This thread has some discussion on what can be done with it. Mysteries and Revelations are on average better than Domains or Inquisitions but what you want might depend on your build. Keep in mind that it doesn't switch the relevant stat to Wisdom - all your Revelation stuff will still be based off Charisma. I'd consider asking your DM to just switch it to WIS if you wanted a revelation that needed CHA but a lot of the better Revelations don't interact with your ability scores anyways.
Another archetype I'd consider is the Sacred Huntsmaster. You trade Judgment for an Animal Companion. I don't know if that's pushing it too much with your DM banning summons but an Animal Companion that you hand out free feats to is quite good. Animal Companions can be difficult in games with low item access, though, since you have a whole second character to equip.
It's hard to find a guide on Archery because there's not much variation on it. You pretty much just take the feats I brought up, cast Divine Favor on the first round of combat, then fire your bow as many times as you can, adding Judgment and Bane as appropriate. Zenith's Guide to Guides has three guides listed for the Inquisitor, though. Jadeite's guide and Bodhi's guide are both quite helpful. I haven't read through the Inquisitor's Symposium yet but it was published more recently, so it might have included options the other guides don't cover.
I can't really comment on the Spheres stuff because I'm unfamiliar and it looks like a lot to take in.
Just creating an Inquisitor with a longbow should be fairly straightforward with the usual archery feats. People really like the Sanctified Slayer for some good reasons, but it's not strictly better than normal Inquisitor. Preacher is great in general.
An Inquisitor with a longbow does usually lack access to Point Blank Master (you don't get attacked for shooting a bow in melee), so using Sanctified Slayer to get Slayer Talent to get Ranger Archery Style to get Point Blank Master is pretty useful. On the other hand, you can build a Slayer to be good with both a longbow and a melee weapon setup fairly easily. Those stat arrays look fantastic for a multi-purpose character.
Domain and Inquisition present a lot of choices; there are some strong abilities out there, like Rage from Anger Inquisition or Touch of Chaos and Aura of Chaos from the Chaos\Protean Domain. Ravener Hunter adds the option of Mysteries, which can be quite powerful; the Mysteries that grant an armor bonus effect like Spirit Shield from Ancestor work really well with a dexterity-based Inquisitor, since they grant a growing "armor" bonus that doesn't cap your dexterity AC bonus like armor does.
As a side-note, if you want a memorably, shockingly lethal Inquisitor, a two-weapon Ravener Hunter can use the Surprise Charge Revelation from the Battle Mystery to move up with an immediate action and full attack with both weapons. Inquisitors are devastating with two weapons, and Surprise Charge means you can case a target from across the room, maybe throw a spell at it to weaken, and then suddenly cut it to pieces in a blade-storm that nobody saw coming.
Wow my jaw hit the floor with Taudis comment, "Teamwork feats aren't great for ranged fighting."
I will have to disagree, as a archer two penalties that really hurt is soft cover from allies and shooting in melee to a tune of -8 to hit. Obviously at level 1 you should be taking point blank and precise shot to get that down to -4 from soft cover. At level 3 you get solo tactics and take Friendly fire maneuvers...your allies no longer provide soft cover.. THAT IS HUGE. Oh take rapid shot at 3 :)
Coordinated shot will give you anywhere from +1 or +2 to hit. Enfilading fire wil give you another +2 to hit (teamwork feat bonus are untyped so stackable) For these reasons I'm not a huge fan of ravener hunter due to the lvl 6 solo tactics.
Sanctified slayer is pretty awesome a additionaly +1 hit/damage for a move action at level 7 it is a swift(during 1st round I would usually cast divine favor and study someone if I really wanted them dead) I agree sneak attack isnt great..although the one time I had to go melee the group was in shock how nasty a mace and shield archer was. I found with judgement I would take either precision (+attack) or damage...so study was superior since it wasnt just x times a day unlimited boost is always good.
I went with feather domain and have a animal companion..I picked up boon companion and improved spell sharing (bought a ring of tactical precision asap) The I would study and cast divine favor..5 rounds for me and my companion as the companion rushed in to rip things to shred.
Preacher was really good but imo there is better now.
Spells that are really nice:
lvl 1:Divine favor will be your main one hands down. Litany of sloth is good if you are in a corner and really need to get out of it. Heighten awareness is always good. Cure light in a pinch
lvl 2: Bloodhound!! Get pheromone arrows...shoot just one and you and your animal companion now have +2 hit and damage. 1hr per level sets you up nicely. Others are nice if needed resist energy, restoration lesser..stricken heart when you get a armor of spell storing.
Lvl 3. Heroism!! By this point you should get a rod of lesser extend use it on this spell and share with your animal companion both will get +2 hit and +2 saves. Magic weapon, greater is nice...get a +1 seeking bow and add your own +modifier to the bow. Resist energy, communal isnt flashy but I've saved my party with that.
Lvl 4: Divine power and invisibility greater (now you can sneak attack with the bow pretty reliably since you know, they cant see you.
I agree pretty much with taudis but I would go for feats" lvl 1 Point Blank and precise. Lvl 3: Rapid shot and Friendly fire maneuver. Lvl 5:I went animal companion so boon companion. lvl 6 Coordinated shot. lvl 7 Deadly aim Lvl 8 was told ranger combat would only allow first choice so went with Combat trick and picked up manyshot Lvl 9 I was able to afford the ring and went with improved spell sharing and clustered shot.
Admitedly I'm only up to lvl 10 right now, but the character destroys everything.. Honest when you tell the Gm 120 damage and they tell you to do individual damage due to Dr and you tell them clustered shot...you can almost see a tear :)
If this character is going to start at level 6 anyway, then the delayed Solo Tatcics from Ravener won't hurt you. I myself have a Ravener/Slayer though I haven't had a chance to play her yet much due to my current character being a melee powerhouse. I went with the Battle Mystery, taking Weapon Mastery as the first Revelation for the bonus feats. I took Skill At Arms for the level 8 one, though that's because the character is a half-orc and I needed Martial Proficiency to use the Orc Hornbow. That won't be of any use to you since the Orc Hornbow would still be Exotic for a human and you already have proficiency with the Longbow.
The biggest drawback to Sanctified Slayer is that each target requires a new swift-action to use Study Target, while Judgement only needs a swift action at the beginning. Since Inquisitors also need a swift action to activate Bane, this can cause an action-jam. It also depends on how your GM works "pre-buffing" and beginning combat.
One advantage to Surprising Charge is that it gets you right into the fight if you had a slow start. Pure archers can benefit from it quite a bit, since they can reposition to a better shooting angle (or retreat) and still full attack. Abundant Revelation grants an extra use/day too, which means that you can get at least 3/day fairly early.
Wow my jaw hit the floor with Taudis comment, "Teamwork feats aren't great for ranged fighting."
I will have to disagree, as a archer two penalties that really hurt is soft cover from allies and shooting in melee to a tune of -8 to hit. Obviously at level 1 you should be taking point blank and precise shot to get that down to -4 from soft cover. At level 3 you get solo tactics and take Friendly fire maneuvers...your allies no longer provide soft cover.. THAT IS HUGE. Oh take rapid shot at 3 :)
Coordinated shot will give you anywhere from +1 or +2 to hit. Enfilading fire wil give you another +2 to hit (teamwork feat bonus are untyped so stackable) For these reasons I'm not a huge fan of ravener hunter due to the lvl 6 solo tactics.
Or you can take the Deadeye Bowman trait and not rely on two other party members to make your feats work. This is kind of meta but I feel like if you've got two melee fighters in your party that are able to set up flanks often enough to turn your feats on, then those players are good enough at playing Pathfinder that their characters probably don't need much help dealing damage to whatever they're flanking. Plus, instead of relying on those teammates, you can help them with Preacher! Protecting your team from crits is sweet.
Feat and spell stuff
I don't think Point Blank Shot is worth it using the Elephant in the Room homebrew options. I certainly wouldn't take it before Weapon Focus if it's not acting as prerequisite anyways. Sanctified Slayer giving you the option to have Manyshot and Clustered Shots that quick is pretty cool, though. Nice find with that!
Major +1 on the spells too. That's some good Inquisitor advice.
The biggest drawback to Sanctified Slayer is that each target requires a new swift-action to use Study Target, while Judgement only needs a swift action at the beginning. Since Inquisitors also need a swift action to activate Bane, this can cause an action-jam. It also depends on how your GM works "pre-buffing" and beginning combat.
For what it's worth, Studied Target allows you to study an additional target for each +1 (2 targets for one action at 5th, 3 targets at 10th, etc.) and doesn't remove the option to use it as a move action at 7th, so you can activate it and Bane in the same round if you don't full attack. Bane also doesn't take a swift action each round to maintain, which is especially relevant for an archer who can begin full attacking a new opponent right away and wouldn't turn Bane off to conserve it while they move from one enemy to another. It's an unusual situation that a Sanctified Slayer needs to activate both Bane and Studied Target at the same time.
I do think Judgment is better for an Archer because the damage scales way faster and that's gonna be super relevant with all the attacks you make. You have to wait until 8th to really get it going but that's also right when you start making enough attacks for it to be a huge boost.
For what it's worth, Studied Target allows you to study an additional target for each +1 (2 targets for one action at 5th, 3 targets at 10th, etc.) and doesn't remove the option to use it as a move action at 7th, so you can activate it and Bane in the same round if you don't full attack. Bane also doesn't take a swift action each round to maintain, which is especially relevant for an archer who can begin full attacking a new opponent right away and wouldn't turn Bane off to conserve it while they move from one enemy to another. It's an unusual situation that a Sanctified Slayer needs to activate both Bane and Studied Target at the same time.
At higher level Studied Target lets you maintain your Study bonus against multiple targets simultaneously, but it doesn't say it lets you actually Study multiple targets with the same action. That's why they're given the ability to 'drop' one of their currently studied targets with a free action without resetting all Study targets. So for a Sanctified Slayer, each new target requires two swift actions to 'calibrate' unless it's the same Bane type as the last target.
If starting at level 6 then heck yeah go with Ravener...although I went with a animal companion but that was my route...Forgot about deadeye bowman it might be worth ravener..if the gm allows deadeye though.
Missed the part about elephant in room feat taxes and spheres of power I admit to not being sure exactly what they are since I tend to play PFS and currently on exhausted on the sleep scale :)..in that case yeah go weapon focus
Coordinated shot is actually nice if only one person is next to the target you get +1..if there are 2 then you get +2. More to hit the better imo. If using deadeye bowman then you can probably skip friendly fire.
I'll admit times per day abilities make me nervous and would rather have teamwork feats than preacher abilities. Also goes into why I would prefer study vs judgement. I'm gonna use level 10 as my example mainly because I'm lazy and my character is 10 :P Judgement wise you arent too bad off 4x per day +3 to hit and +4 damage for the encounter is not bad..kudos you went through the dark times of once or twice a day. Meanwhile study target is +3 to hit and damage (boo) but unlimited times a day is still nice, not to mention +3 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival. One grey thing I forget to check is if the +3 DC to spell effects apply to inquisitor spells..so very few aim at a opponent so always down there for me. So the bluff and sense motive are nice for social things...especially bluff I never have enough skill points for bluff :P +3 to knowledge is nice..add in heroism and heightened awareness I'm at +7 not counting my wis or skills overkill is always nice. So I would still go for studied due to it being unlimited and having a couple other perks going for it.
As for combat and the "action-jam" never happens from my experience..first round is buff (divine favor) since I can't bane I study...next round with my extra knowledge I make sure I know what the opponent is and then I bane it...if it squishes I study the next thing and let some arrows into it and see if it squishes too..on a big boss I would just bane it again. Don't think anything has survived 5 rounds.
I know gear is tough to get but here is some things you really want: Efficient quiver...maybe 2. Jaunt boots are nice, silver nocking point, swarmbane clasp, extend metamagic rod (lesser) a ring of tactical precision if you go the animal companion route. Weapon A adaptable seeking composite longbow (I admit to only going with +1 and using greater magic weapon on it) This hurt a lot but adamantine durable arrows...clustered shot works on Dr and adamantine is for hardness. Armor Spellstoring mithril agile breastplate..you put striken heart in it when you are hit it triggers the spell and they take 2d6 damage and become staggered for one round...meaning that monster with 8 attacks coming at you, can only hit you that one time (and you run for the hills at that point)