Was browsing AoN and it caught me off guard; why does this character concept not even begin to come online until level 6?
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Probably the biggest reason is that it's effectively a level 2 spellcasting dedication on top of also giving you the eldritch shot activity, so it's noticeably stronger than its level 2 counterparts so Paizo put it at a higher buy-in.
The expert requirement means most characters couldn't enter it until 6 anyways (fighters aside... spellcasters would need to wait till 14 even), but that's not exactly an answer since it's an arbitrary choice too.
Definitely a little annoying the best way to play one is to just play a completely nonmagical character until you hit 6 and then just spontaneously become an eldritch archer, though.
To become Eldritch Archers in 3.x/PF1 it was also best to play a mostly nonmagical character, with just a dash of magic, while having excellent archer skills.
I'd say they replicated that fairly well here.
Only elite archers need apply, and they have a dose of magic too.
Seems to align with the lore, so I wouldn't say it's arbitrary.
Same too with Shadowdancer. They aren't rookie adventurers, they're accomplished before even being considered for entry. Gotta keep the gravitas to some of the archetypes.
(And yes, it's a more powerful feat too.)
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Definitely a little annoying the best way to play one is to just play a completely nonmagical character until you hit 6 and then just spontaneously become an eldritch archer, though.
The one exception to that is a Warpriest of a God with a bow as the dieties weapon. Comes on line at level 8 (Warpriest gains expert proficiency with the bow at level 7 but can't spend the class feat until level 8).
And given that it doesn't come online until level 8 anyway you even have the option of taking another archetype as long as you get 3 feats by level 6.
Obviously this warpriest will be a worse archer but has heal spells and divine magic to compensate for that.
Yah it is a shame. I think it would be nice for straight casters to be able to get in earlier but it lines up with 1e a straight wizard would need to be 13th. In 2E it is 14th.
Yah it is a shame. I think it would be nice for straight casters to be able to get in earlier but it lines up with 1e a straight wizard would need to be 13th. In 2E it is 14th.
Technically 12 if you use the Archer archetype.
I wish there was a way to get just Eldritch Shot by itself at level 1-2.
Yah it is a shame. I think it would be nice for straight casters to be able to get in earlier but it lines up with 1e a straight wizard would need to be 13th. In 2E it is 14th.Technically 12 if you use the Archer archetype.
Yes but your class feat at this level should be really good. It is much preferable to get this via one of many ancestry feats like Elven Weapon Familiarity, even if you have to take the Adopted Ancestry general feat to qualify.
For eveyone bar wizard that is enough. Wizards have to also take the follow up feat Elven Weapon Expertise, but that is level 13.So yes, just for them, maybe the Archer Archtype works. But then you have to take 2 other Archer feats as well. Too expensive unless it is the focus of your character - and it shouldn't be, be the wizard instead.
Yah it is a shame. I think it would be nice for straight casters to be able to get in earlier but it lines up with 1e a straight wizard would need to be 13th. In 2E it is 14th.Technically 12 if you use the Archer archetype.Yes but your class feat at this level should be really good. It is much preferable to get this via one of many ancestry feats like Elven Weapon Familiarity, even if you have to take the Adopted Ancestry general feat to qualify.
For eveyone bar wizard that is enough. Wizards have to also take the follow up feat Elven Weapon Expertise, but that is level 13.So yes, just for them, maybe the Archer Archtype works. But then you have to take 2 other Archer feats as well. Too expensive unless it is the focus of your character - and it shouldn't be, be the wizard instead.
You have to pick on every caster the lvl 13 feat with elf because bow is not included in the weapon that is considered simple for proficiency because it does not have the elf trait.
Definitely a little annoying the best way to play one is to just play a completely nonmagical character until you hit 6 and then just spontaneously become an eldritch archer, though.The one exception to that is a Warpriest of a God with a bow as the dieties weapon. Comes on line at level 8 (Warpriest gains expert proficiency with the bow at level 7 but can't spend the class feat until level 8).
And given that it doesn't come online until level 8 anyway you even have the option of taking another archetype as long as you get 3 feats by level 6.
Obviously this warpriest will be a worse archer but has heal spells and divine magic to compensate for that.
The other archetype you can take for the Level 2, 4, & 6 feats can be archer, which means you don't even need to worship a specific deity to become an Eldritch Archer.
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It’s a prestige archetype. The term went away, but the idea was kept.
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The other archetype you can take for the Level 2, 4, & 6 feats can be archer, which means you don't even need to worship a specific deity to become an Eldritch Archer.
Definitely a little annoying the best way to play one is to just play a completely nonmagical character until you hit 6 and then just spontaneously become an eldritch archer, though.The one exception to that is a Warpriest of a God with a bow as the dieties weapon. Comes on line at level 8 (Warpriest gains expert proficiency with the bow at level 7 but can't spend the class feat until level 8).
And given that it doesn't come online until level 8 anyway you even have the option of taking another archetype as long as you get 3 feats by level 6.
Obviously this warpriest will be a worse archer but has heal spells and divine magic to compensate for that.
You could but you don't get much from that mechanically (much less than you're going to get from another archetype) and, thematically, it just feels to me that a divine Eldritch Archer really SHOULD be using the favoured weapon of their God.
And some of the bow wielding Gods have some really nice spells. True strike and haste, for example.
I'd probably go Ranger myself for Gravity weapon and Hunted Shot. Or another spell casting class (likely druid)
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a fun way to get some level of magic on an archer character before eldricth archer is to be a a Monastic Archer monk who has taken ki strike( and then elemental ki for even more damage types)
its not full on magic, but its a fun way to do it.
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I wish there was a way to get just Eldritch Shot by itself at level 1-2.
I believe this is intended to be a full class option (shooting star magus) rather than an archetype.
The other archetype you can take for the Level 2, 4, & 6 feats can be archer, which means you don't even need to worship a specific deity to become an Eldritch Archer.
Definitely a little annoying the best way to play one is to just play a completely nonmagical character until you hit 6 and then just spontaneously become an eldritch archer, though.The one exception to that is a Warpriest of a God with a bow as the dieties weapon. Comes on line at level 8 (Warpriest gains expert proficiency with the bow at level 7 but can't spend the class feat until level 8).
And given that it doesn't come online until level 8 anyway you even have the option of taking another archetype as long as you get 3 feats by level 6.
Obviously this warpriest will be a worse archer but has heal spells and divine magic to compensate for that.
You could but you don't get much from that mechanically (much less than you're going to get from another archetype) and, thematically, it just feels to me that a divine Eldritch Archer really SHOULD be using the favoured weapon of their God.
And some of the bow wielding Gods have some really nice spells. True strike and haste, for example.
I'd probably go Ranger myself for Gravity weapon and Hunted Shot. Or another spell casting class (likely druid)
My take is that you should take a God with the Cold, Decay, Earth, Fire, Lightning, or Moon Domains so that you have a Focus Spell that you can use with Eldritch Shot.
I wish there was a way to get just Eldritch Shot by itself at level 1-2.
I didn't follow the Secrets of Magic playtest, but isn't that what the Magus will be about?