APG Eldritch Archer v Magus Shooting Star

[Moppy]

Eldritch Archer is an archetype from the APG

https://2e.aonprd.com/Archetypes.aspx?ID=59

Activate Three Actions Eldritch Shot; Requirements You are wielding a bow; Effect You Cast a Spell that takes 1 or 2 actions to cast and requires a spell attack roll. The effects of the spell do not occur immediately but are imbued into the bow you're wielding. Make a Strike with that bow. Your spell flies with the ammunition, using your attack roll result to determine the effects of both the Strike and the spell. This counts as two attacks for your multiple attack penalty, but you don't apply the penalty until after you've completed both attacks.

I prefer this to the magus's shooting star synthesis.

Am I supposed to?

Mainly, the magus is limited to the spell's range.

[Cordell Kintner]

Shooting Star unlocks further class feats like Comet Spell. You can also apply non-attack spells with the Magus.

I would like if they allowed touch spells up to 30 feet with a Shooting Star magus, that would give them so much more versatility.

[shroudb]

There are definately enough pros and cons to each ability that you cant say that one is strictly better than the other.

EA:
spell inherits bow range +
spell autohits +
spell automisses -
only attack spells -
need to take all 3 actions in the same round -

Magus:
spell uses it's own range -
spell doesnt autohit -
spell doesn't automisses +
any spell you like +
you can break the spellcasting and the strike+

The good part is that you CAN combine them both.
And shoot an arrow loaded with BOTH spells

[Reticent]

Shooting Star does work with a much larger variety of spells than Eldritch Shot will, and you do get subsequent chances to hit with it if your initial shot misses. That's not to say that Shooting Star is better than Eldritch Shot- but they're different enough that I wouldn't just replace SS with ES.

Shooting Star does seem pretty weak when compared to the other two syntheses though, so I do think it needs some improvement just for internal class balance.