Stealth Bow

[TheDr0wRanger]

Ok, so I've been wanting to try a sneaky archer forever, but I didn't find the Deepwood tree to be potent enough of it's own power to make it viable. I see a synergy with Shadowdancer's ranged compatible abilities that I want to exploit. I didn't see an opportunity until now. Deepwood by itself doesn't offer enough damage potential to work with what I want to do, and Arcane Archer just seemed out of character for the build. Besides that I'd have had to choose a Dex build to get the necessary ability scores for the Shadowdancer abilities, both expensive and weaker damage. Leveraging trees with cheaper options to get Dex to Damage like Monk removes the ability to get full-range sneak attack.

With Harper Agent it may well be doable. In fact, with and Int-Dex-Con build, the build could take advantage of Shadowdancer more than I had hoped. Int drives the dc for Shadow Manipulation, and Dex drives the dc for Executioners shot. I haven't been able to gather conclusive, recent information on what is and isn't working, but assuming they did work, I can see a lot of interesting potential here. A character that has a Hide-based bluff, ranged sneak attack in good numbers, an instant-death ranged strike, an emergency Wail-knockoff. The ability to dominate enemies on a short timer with them dying after is neat, and the exploding epic moment should pair well with IPS.
Sniper Shot and Leg Shot both contribute to the ability to screw around with aggro and enemies ability to get at you, especially if you are employing ranged attacks to maximum advantage. I also can see multiple options to shed or prevent aggro.

All in all I could imagine a very fun character here, but I thought I'd collect some thoughts while I was pondering the build.

So, does anyone else see the potential here? I know its probably not fit for the hardest content but it has a certain flavor that is enticing.

[Kawai]

Ok, so I've been wanting to try a sneaky archer forever, but I didn't find the Deepwood tree to be potent enough of it's own power to make it viable. I see a synergy with Shadowdancer's ranged compatible abilities that I want to exploit. I didn't see an opportunity until now. Deepwood by itself doesn't offer enough damage potential to work with what I want to do, and Arcane Archer just seemed out of character for the build. Besides that I'd have had to choose a Dex build to get the necessary ability scores for the Shadowdancer abilities, both expensive and weaker damage. Leveraging trees with cheaper options to get Dex to Damage like Monk removes the ability to get full-range sneak attack.

With Harper Agent it may well be doable. In fact, with and Int-Dex-Con build, the build could take advantage of Shadowdancer more than I had hoped. Int drives the dc for Shadow Manipulation, and Dex drives the dc for Executioners shot. I haven't been able to gather conclusive, recent information on what is and isn't working, but assuming they did work, I can see a lot of interesting potential here. A character that has a Hide-based bluff, ranged sneak attack in good numbers, an instant-death ranged strike, an emergency Wail-knockoff. The ability to dominate enemies on a short timer with them dying after is neat, and the exploding epic moment should pair well with IPS.
Sniper Shot and Leg Shot both contribute to the ability to screw around with aggro and enemies ability to get at you, especially if you are employing ranged attacks to maximum advantage. I also can see multiple options to shed or prevent aggro.

All in all I could imagine a very fun character here, but I thought I'd collect some thoughts while I was pondering the build.

So, does anyone else see the potential here? I know its probably not fit for the hardest content but it has a certain flavor that is enticing.

love running this ED outside of Fury.
works great

[Ausdoerrt]

Why not just go Elf with Dex-to-dmg for bows?

Horizon Shot is fun to have, but rarely all that practical. 6 levels of ranger is, IMO, the best splash; 12-13 if you're feeling generous. With 6 ranger levels and points in DWS you'll have a PB range of 45, which is more than enough for most fights.

For your idea, maybe mix this with rogue levels for synergy with DWS/higher SA damage.

[Saekee]

There are lots of fun possibilities:
1) If you splash monk, you are heading into the monkcher domain. Sounds like that is not what you want. Consider its advantages, though, and how you can modify it for your interests
2) Int-based would have great synergy with rogue trapping and in general the sneak attack die of course
3) Artificer is also something to consider splashing since you get a bonus feat at level 4 etc
4) Shadar-kai have the core enhancements that are super handy for stealth builds even if they will not create a max INT (seems like Drow would be best)

I haven't checked the changes to barbarian but there might be stuff there

lots of variants--9 monk, 6 rgr, 5 rogue (for 10k, improved evasion, etc)
Monkcher 12 monk 6 ranger 2 pally
12 rgr 7 rogue 1 fighter
14 rgr 5 rogue 1 fighter
12 rgr 6 rogue 2 pally
limitless--rangers make a great foundation
xbow variant 10 rogue/6 rgr/6 arti and use Great Xbow for fusillade and special snipe shots; also offers improved evasion

Lots of stealth stuff in my sig

You don't need a high dex for steath, especially since rangers can cast camouflage for stacking hide bonus.

Twists: Pin is a must, use before you snipe since they will be helpless! As an INT build you could twist energy burst

[unbongwah]

Int drives the dc for Shadow Manipulation, and Dex drives the dc for Executioners shot.
As a general rule, you don't want DC-based abilities to split your stat focus like this. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of DEX-based abilities in DDO. INT-based has more options, particularly if you're making a repeater build and/or have Harper; then you can use INT-based ED abilities like Energy Burst.

[TheDr0wRanger]

As a general rule, you don't want DC-based abilities to split your stat focus like this. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of DEX-based abilities in DDO. INT-based has more options, particularly if you're making a repeater build and/or have Harper; then you can use INT-based ED abilities like Energy Burst.

It's not so much that I want to split for both, but that I'll be able to get usable DCs with both just by building for his other necessities. Reflex saves, stealth and some bow feats require dex, so I'll have to have a tolerable score.


I was thinking if he's int and con based, I could afford to push dex without ruining the character. Especially as a character inclined to bluff, dump aggro and generally keep the fight out of close quarters(assuming I can make that happen, my Shuricannon never had any trouble during low levels).

Someone mentioned trying to go Dex build, at least as a pure it doesn't get off the ground. The cost of getting Dex-damage from Elf precludes huge amounts of utility from class trees. If I did a split I could get it from Rogue or Monk(I think, its been a while since I planned the build). But I don't have any idea what 45 meters or whatever is going to feel like in battle, I wanted horizon so I could hit at max distance and kill them as they come at me.

Perhaps the split will be better though, can anyone comment on how long it really takes them to notice ranged sneak attacks?