| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I’m not sure which is better for playing the basic “Elf Archer” Fantasy.
I’d like to play an Elf Ranger in a campaign starting in 2 weeks (not this Friday but next Friday).
So I pick my Ancestry: Elf
I pick my class: Ranger
Making multiple shots per turn being somewhat the Elven Ranger fantasy (Legolas rapid firing arrows) I’m looking at Flurry for my Hunter’s Edge.
Feat at level 1 is Hunted Shot and that would look like Take an Action: Hunted Shot take two shots at -0, -3 for Flurry on my Multi-Attack Penalty.
Or I wait for level 2 to take Archer Dedication and at level 6 I take Double Shot, which is two attacks against 2 separate enemies (one being my Prey, one not, assuming) at -2. Well that’s actually a bit better than -3...
Then we get to level 8 to get Triple Shot and now I can make 3 attacks at merely -4 to hit against my prey. I don’t know how it interacts or if it does with Flurry. Otherwise I suppose I would Hunted Shot twice (?) (2 Actions) for 4 attacks at something like 0/-3/-6/-6 ? Rather than 3 at -4?
Is there any benefit to being a Flurry Ranger if I take Archer or alternatively does the Archer actually offer anything meaningful to the Ranger class at all?
Alternatively it doesn’t appear the Ranger goes particularly deep into “being an Archer” as it were anyway... most feats don’t seem to add more attacks or anything. Just extra status effects on top of an attack you’re already making such as making the target flat footed.
Do any Archetypes interact well with the Ranger? It seems like the Beastmaster has poor synergy with the Ranger due to BMC not getting the Ranger’s Hunter’s Edge effect... and the Archer may not really offer anything particularly meaningful either? I don’t know... slightly disappointed I suppose. I may be misunderstanding the rules though.
You can't use hunted shot twice per turn. It has the flourish trait and that means it can only be used once. It also wouldn't even work using double shot+hunted shot as double shot also has the flourish trait. Triple shot is quite weak in the action side as it takes 3 actions and does not in fact interact with your flurry, it would probably be better to take hunted shot and haste yourself for 5 strikes in a given turn 3 of them having -6 penalty.
Archer is not a good archetype for classes that have archery style feats usually like the fighter or ranger. Pf2 often is better to branch out in different styles as shooting 4 times a turn with a -2 penalty is one of the best ways to hit from a big distance you will get.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Doing 4 shots in 6 second is pretty close to what you see in the movies. So your a good archer right at level 1, and remain a good archer automatically. Just make sure to upgrade you weapon.
As mentioned, feats in this edition are more about getting more things to do, rather than stacking more and more bonuses.
I just went and timed it from the movie scene. It was 5 shots in 6 second. And he did not move.
The only way I can think to get a 5th attack is Haste. But there might be something else.
Tho it is on a per target basis, I think it just doesn't get any better than a Flurry ranger. Even if you do a double shot with a feat, you can attack 3 times with excellent MAP and still have an action left for an animal companion. You're gonna hit often, and have a decent chance to crit.
Considering that different characters' rounds are happening in the course of the same 6 seconds, anything that let's you fire an arrow as a reaction would theoretically satisfy the "5 arrows in 6 seconds" observation.I just went and timed it from the movie scene. It was 5 shots in 6 second. And he did not move.
The only way I can think to get a 5th attack is Haste. But there might be something else.
there we go.
Mobile stance + opportunity attack can get a 5th attack.Maybe some other option as well.
Yeah combat archetypes like archer are meant to let classes without native feat support for a style branch out into it. Just stay Ranger if you want to use a bow and a beast.
That said, the only "must haves" beyond 1st level are the Distracting Shot feats, which are great. I'm personally a fan of Quick Draw, because I like my Rangers to be able to switch hit between the longbow, shortbow, and elven curve blade or short sword as the situation dictates. But if you're just going to use a shortbow all the time you can really just hold it in exploration mode and be fine. Far shot is cool if it fits your concept and might actually see use.
If you're nasty, then Snares can be great on a ranged build. Figure out choke points, trap them up ahead of time, then start shooting the enemy bland make them charge you. At about level 8 Snare damage gets absurd. But they are only good if you find opportunities to use them at all.
You can't use hunted shot twice per turn. It has the flourish trait and that means it can only be used once. It also wouldn't even work using double shot+hunted shot as...One exception is that it may be worthwhile for a switch-hitting Fighter. Mainly so that they have top-tier proficiency in two weapon groups; +2 to all attacks for large portions of the game is definitely worth a feat. Also gets you critical specializations 3 levels early.
Yeah that's fair to say. There's a few circumstances where it will be good but most times if it is being done for over specialization it won't work well.
i mean yeah id definitely take archer on any martial class especially fighter (switch hitter), barbarian (for when you can't rage), and ranger (same deal as fighter) just to have that option.
but i play free archetype so i often forget how limited the base system is with choosing things via dedications.
i mean yeah id definitely take archer on any martial class especially fighter (switch hitter), barbarian (for when you can't rage), and ranger (same deal as fighter) just to have that option.
but i play free archetype so i often forget how limited the base system is with choosing things via dedications.
For the ranger is a bit hard to say as you really aren't getting your bang for the buck. You could just pick hunted shot and twin takedown and become an strong combatent in both without much investiment.
But yeah with free archetypes makes a lot of sense, in my table we could probably do that but normally sacrificing the feat unless you plan on retraining it later it's a bit hard.
I like my Rangers to be able to switch hit between the longbow, shortbow, and elven curve blade or short sword as the situation dictates.
Hm. Switching between bow and melee weapon is one thing, but if you normally use a longbow I can't think of a reason to switch to short bow unless you're mounted.
And I see now why so many people on the internet don't seem to know the difference between "your" and "you're". Stupid spell checker. Probably ought to quarantine 'em.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'd say you should avoid Double Shot and Triple Shot as a Flurry Ranger.
Flurry Rangers deal comparable whiteroom damage to a Fighter with Triple Shot, so we can conclude a Flurry Ranger using Triple Shot is a downgrade as you are not using your class' main damage boost, lowered MAP.
Ranger is light on archery feats, you get your power mostly from Hunter's Edge and Hunted Shot at 1st level. Distracting Shots at higher levels are also very strong. If you want to power up archery with class feats and don't want to pick up other Ranger utilities you can pick up Rogue Dedication and Sneak attack, if your party has a way to apply flat-footed for ranged attackers (Trip, Grapple, bottled lightning, Shared Stratagem, etc...).
I like my Rangers to be able to switch hit between the longbow, shortbow, and elven curve blade or short sword as the situation dictates.Hm. Switching between bow and melee weapon is one thing, but if you normally use a longbow I can't think of a reason to switch to short bow unless you're mounted.
And I see now why so many people on the internet don't seem to know the difference between "your" and "you're". Stupid spell checker. Probably ought to quarantine 'em.
Volley penalties. Precision rangers might not mind using an action to move away, but flurry rangers want to just keep shooting, making it easier to drop a longbow and quickdraw a shortbow if someone gets close.
Price is a thing, but generally you wind up having a fundamental runes to spare in normal loot drops. Property runes are a bit rarer, so that could lower DPR eventualy, but for a good long while I think two bows is the way to go as a Ranger.
And if I only had one bow, I'd probably favor the shortbow. 30 feet distances won't always be possible indoors, and Hunt Prey gives the shortbow 120 feet to fire without penalty. Again, I'd prefer to have a long bow to avoid penalties past that point, but 0-120 feels like a more practical range setting than 35-200.
Hm. Gonna have to think about that.
On a fighter, or I guess probably an Archer archetype, you usually want to just use one bow and point blank stance. But quick draw is real good on a ranger if you have a variety of magic weapons.
Also, it makes rangers really good with bombs, and doubling the range on bombs is really helpful. Quickdraw bomb > quick draw bomb> hunted shot kind of rocks when you can trigger elemental weakness.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hm. Gonna have to think about that.
You gonna really like ranger. One of the best class chassis in PF2. You can do a lot with them. Ranger, Bard, Fighter are three of the best classes in PF2.