A True Arcane Archer. Mod 6 Style

[Impaqt]

Dragonmarks +1, they are worth way more spell points than mental toughness. Since they work off of your character level they only get better. At level 20 extended that will be 4 minute displacements versus casting them 1 minute at a time. It is much easier to keep them up all the time, and saves spell points over taking mental toughness.

If you plan on using extended displacements a lot then dragon marks are the way to go on an elf. With just extra dragon mark III, 6 AP, you are looking at 5 displacements lasting 4 minutes each between shrines.

To cast 20 minutes worth of displacements as a 5th level or even 7th level caster takes lot of spell points.

Mental toughness at level 20 even is only worth 105 spell points or 105/30 or 3.5 extended displacements lasting only a little over a minute with 7 levels of wizard (84 seconds). So, with MT and IMT you could cast 7*84=588 seconds of displacement.

It is two feats and 6 AP, but it adds up to more than MT & IMT, and it is not even close, 588 seconds versus 1200 seconds.

Yes, I can see that pont.. But its one spell then.... I can use the extra spell points for any spell.

I feel Displacement on this build is more of a "Whoops! Too much aggro" backup..... Its NOT a melee build. On a Melee focused build, I might be inclined to go with the Dragonmarks.

[EinarMal]

Yes, I can see that pont.. But its one spell then.... I can use the extra spell points for any spell.

I feel Displacement on this build is more of a "Whoops! Too much aggro" backup..... Its NOT a melee build. On a Melee focused build, I might be inclined to go with the Dragonmarks.

Yeah, I can see that, for constant displacement they are awesome, especially as it is one less thing to manage as keeping up 1 minute buffs (while not as bad as 30s!) can still be painful at times.

I really hope they continue to work on ranged combat, everytime I try it, I end in melee A LOT more than I intended!

[EinarMal]

I still think the middle levels for a 11/5 Ranger/Wizard build are very tough...

I am actually doing something like this and IMHO just go Ranger 1-11 that makes you a good archer and a typical Ranger. The Wizard on the end is the "whip topping". By that point the last 5 levels don't add much going pure Ranger so by adding the wizard stuff in at the end you are actually coming out ahead in many ways over a pure build.

[Impaqt]

I am actually doing something like this and IMHO just go Ranger 1-11 that makes you a good archer and a typical Ranger. The Wizard on the end is the "whip topping". By that point the last 5 levels don't add much going pure Ranger so by adding the wizard stuff in at the end you are actually coming out ahead in many ways over a pure build.

The Big drawback to doing this is SKills... WIzards get COncentration and Repair (Neither are important for this build) so you'll be cross classing your skills the last 5 levels. May not be a big deal to most, but I try to plan my characters with resonable skill sets for the build.

[binnsr]

Have you considered doing your Arcane Archer enhancements via your elven levels and using your 'Ranger Specialty' for Deepwoods Sniper? That could be interesting..

[sigtrent]

Have you considered doing your Arcane Archer enhancements via your elven levels and using your 'Ranger Specialty' for Deepwoods Sniper? That could be interesting..

They are most likely mutualy exclusive, although this is the first case we have had a racial "class" in an enhancement so who knows for sure?

[binnsr]

They are most likely mutualy exclusive, although this is the first case we have had a racial "class" in an enhancement so who knows for sure?

I was kind of hoping we could get an elven ranger that had checked that on Risia

although, perhaps I should have just said so in the first place

[winsom]

I don't see your 2nd and 3rd Favored Enemy picks. I think its interesting to see what other's pick. My ranger is getting Undead, Evil Outsiders and Aberrations.

1 level of wizard doesn't get you much. some spell points, and a couple 2 minute spells.

Impaqt, you seem to want to use the Wizard levels to buff your rangers defenses? You can do this with a single level of wizard and scrolls, although there will be some scroll failure chance and Blur scroll is 3 minutes while Displacement scrolls last less than a minute... A single wizard level gets you Extend Spell and and significantly more Spell Points. Each wizard level after 1st is significantly less of a bonus, unless you plan on building a good wizard-offense as well. Wizard 3rd might be an OK (not good) stopping-point for a DDO Arcane Archer that mostly wants to fight with weapons rather than spells.

If you plan to start with INT 13 or 14 (drow 15+) and wear the best INT item you can find, your spell DCs will not be that different from INT 17+ wizards. You would also have to put at least some level-up points into INT, rather than all DEX.. If you want multiple Wizard levels you really want a good INT, in my opinion, otherwise there is a lot of unused potential you are paying levels for.

I think if you want to take more than 1 to 3 wizard levels then you should be trying to play an actual wizard, at least part-time, rather than a buffed-up Ranger.

Consider how Base Attack Bonus +16 is required for Many-shot to fire off 4 arrows at once. That is a very potent character ability. You would have to be ranger 14/ Wizard 5 = 19th level before you can do what other archers are doing at 16th.
Ranger 15th is another favored enemy and +2 damage to all previous favored enemies. You could plan for Ranger 15/ Wizard 5th, but I think if you are going to invest that much into wizard you might as well get a lot more out of the wizard class by taking at least 7 wizard levels (Charm Monster, Solid Fog, Wall of Fire, etc).

I have a ranger that will look like: Ranger 11/Fighter 7 or 8, and might take Ranger 12 or Wizard 1. I started with INT 13, so the Wizard choice is feasible. Note that I'm heavily building for combat (base attack and enhancements) so I'm limiting my Wizard levels to one or zero. I am also not considering Arcane Archer though, but I could easily enough if I spent a feat on Mental Toughness and the other feat pre-reqs.

[EspyLacopa]

Consider how Base Attack Bonus +16 is required for Many-shot to fire off 4 arrows at once. That is a very potent character ability. You would have to be ranger 14/ Wizard 5 = 19th level before you can do what other archers are doing at 16th.
Ranger 15th is another favored enemy and +2 damage to all previous favored enemies. You could plan for Ranger 15/ Wizard 5th,

Actually you'd hit BAB +16 at Ranger 14, Wizard 4, so level 18.