The "Clerically" Correct Archer

[Arcticwarrior]

just something I'm trying out. My cleric is about to TR and was thinking of makin her an arcane archer cleric. 2 monk/18 clr. Using zen archery I think she could be quite useful. here it is:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Alixer 
Level 20 Lawful Neutral Elf Male
(2 Monk \ 18 Cleric) 
Hit Points: 282
Spell Points: 1481 
BAB: 14\14\19\24
Fortitude: 17
Reflex: 15
Will: 22

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(36 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength              8                     8
Dexterity            14                    18
Constitution         14                    16
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               18                    27
Charisma             14                    18

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 8
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 8
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 8
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 8
+3 Tome of Wisdom used at level 20

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               2                     8
Bluff                 2                     4
Concentration         6                    26
Diplomacy             2                     4
Disable Device       n/a                   n/a
Haggle                2                     4
Heal                  4                     8
Hide                  2                     4
Intimidate            2                     4
Jump                 -1                    -1
Listen                4                    10
Move Silently         2                     4
Open Lock             n/a                   n/a
Perform               n/a                   n/a
Repair               -1                    -1
Search               -1                     1
Spot                  4                    10
Swim                 -1                    -1
Tumble                n/a                   n/a
Use Magic Device      n/a                   n/a

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Mental Toughness
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Cleric
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Cleric
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Favored Soul
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot I
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Vitality I


Level 2 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I


Level 3 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Zen Archery
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life I


Level 4 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Follower of the Sovereign Host
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II
Enhancement: Cleric Charisma I


Level 5 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot II


Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapons
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Vitality II


Level 7 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage II


Level 8 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Lightning Reflexes
Enhancement: Unyielding Sovereignty


Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer I


Level 10 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Force Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III


Level 11 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Vitality III


Level 12 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Rapid Shot
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +2 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Charisma II


Level 13 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Acid Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life II


Level 14 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +3 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV


Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Explosive Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot III


Level 16 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life II


Level 17 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Terror Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +4 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot IV


Level 18 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Manyshot
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life III


Level 19 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life III


Level 20 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Slaying Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +5 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II

[jwdaniels]

Can you take Arcane Archery enhancements as a Divine caster?

[Visty]

Can you take Arcane Archery enhancements as a Divine caster?

you can

[Arcticwarrior]

if you're an elf

[karnokvolrath]

Looks pretty solid to me.

Also when using ranged it alot easier to not get tunnel vision and forget to heal. (at least for me).

I like charicters like this that can do alot, ok melee, good ranged, caster, evasion.

Very fun stuff.

[k1ngp1n]

Absolutely horrible damage from this build + no cleric enhancements/feats, so BB will suck as well. This build strikes me as a self-healing, irrelevant DPS.

[Arcticwarrior]

Looks pretty solid to me.

Also when using ranged it alot easier to not get tunnel vision and forget to heal. (at least for me).

I like charicters like this that can do alot, ok melee, good ranged, caster, evasion.

Very fun stuff.

yea... good thing I DONT play in first person cause I cant see anything around me...

[Arcticwarrior]

Absolutely horrible damage from this build + no cleric enhancements/feats, so BB will suck as well. This build strikes me as a self-healing, irrelevant DPS.

really?

1.because BB isnt dependant on enhancements

2. The build is also WITHOUT items

3. by the time they get slayer its pretty good dps and from on

4. I do realise that it is a little low on sp but it will suffice if you are drinking sp pots anyhow

5. and YES, there is cleric enhancements/feats

[unbongwah]

I'm skeptical of any archer build which doesn't have Bow STR (and decent STR natch). Still, you may want to check out this thread; the build is somewhat similar and the OP says he's doing good ranged DPS and got good Blade Barrier DCs.

[Arcticwarrior]

I'm skeptical of any archer build which doesn't have Bow STR (and decent STR natch). Still, you may want to check out this thread; the build is somewhat similar and the OP says he's doing good ranged DPS and got good Blade Barrier DCs.

hmmm it does look good, but he doesnt get zen archery til lvl 20

[k1ngp1n]

really?

1.because BB isnt dependant on enhancements

No maximize or empower or quicken. 7 Second cast time for maybe 150 a tick?

2. The build is also WITHOUT items

You don't have bow strength. Even if you did it wouldn't matter. Zen Archery doesn't control your damage mod either. So you'll be doing base damage with your longbow. With a BAB 15, you'll be highly reliant on Divine Power for manyshot, but you don't have extend! So you'll be recasting every 2ish minutes. That can be a massive drain on the SP if you're planning on party healing as well.

3. by the time they get slayer its pretty good dps and from on

Slayer arrows are good dps if you have some other damage dealing arrows between the nat 20s. A 500 dmg on a 20 and plink plink plink between isn't even pretty good dps...

4. I do realise that it is a little low on sp but it will suffice if you are drinking sp pots anyhow

Designing a build with the idea of drinking pots is not a good idea.

5. and YES, there is cleric enhancements/feats

You took empower healing, but no quicken. How do you expect to heal through taking damage? (Such as getting hammered by an errant Orthon in ToD, or through the blades in an epic DQ, or the blades in Shroud?) You also don't have the Radiant Servant PrE which means no free aura/burst healing.

Comments in red.

[Arcticwarrior]

really?

1.because BB isnt dependant on enhancements

yes but I'll be kiting through the bb while shooting at mobs, also you said enhancements not feats

2. The build is also WITHOUT items

I dont need bow strength to do much damage, I get manyshot so it deals more damage

3. by the time they get slayer its pretty good dps and from on

or I use manyshot and dont forget I'm TR'ing so I might have a lit II bow or min II bow from my TR for lvl 12.

4. I do realise that it is a little low on sp but it will suffice if you are drinking sp pots anyhow

what I meant by this, is I will be drinking pots in large raids such as ToD or Shroud or Epic VoN 6, so its somewhat irrelevant if I'm going to be drinking pots anyhow

5. and YES, there is cleric enhancements/feats

I'll just kite around orthons and in about 5-8 seconds the non-main tank dps will attack them all

my comments in green .

[shablala]

just something I'm trying out. My cleric is about to TR and was thinking of makin her an arcane archer cleric. 2 monk/18 clr. Using zen archery I think she could be quite useful. here it is:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Alixer 
Level 20 Lawful Neutral Elf Male
(2 Monk \ 18 Cleric) 
Hit Points: 282
Spell Points: 1481 
BAB: 14\14\19\24
Fortitude: 17
Reflex: 15
Will: 22

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(36 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength              8                     8
Dexterity            14                    18
Constitution         14                    16
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               18                    27
Charisma             14                    18

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 8
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 8
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 8
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 8
+3 Tome of Wisdom used at level 20

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               2                     8
Bluff                 2                     4
Concentration         6                    26
Diplomacy             2                     4
Disable Device       n/a                   n/a
Haggle                2                     4
Heal                  4                     8
Hide                  2                     4
Intimidate            2                     4
Jump                 -1                    -1
Listen                4                    10
Move Silently         2                     4
Open Lock             n/a                   n/a
Perform               n/a                   n/a
Repair               -1                    -1
Search               -1                     1
Spot                  4                    10
Swim                 -1                    -1
Tumble                n/a                   n/a
Use Magic Device      n/a                   n/a

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Mental Toughness
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Cleric
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Cleric
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Favored Soul
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot I
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Vitality I


Level 2 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I


Level 3 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Zen Archery
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life I


Level 4 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Follower of the Sovereign Host
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II
Enhancement: Cleric Charisma I


Level 5 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot II


Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapons
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Vitality II


Level 7 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage II


Level 8 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Lightning Reflexes
Enhancement: Unyielding Sovereignty


Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer I


Level 10 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Force Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III


Level 11 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Vitality III


Level 12 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Rapid Shot
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +2 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Charisma II


Level 13 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Acid Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life II


Level 14 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +3 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV


Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Explosive Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot III


Level 16 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life II


Level 17 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Terror Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +4 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot IV


Level 18 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Manyshot
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life III


Level 19 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life III


Level 20 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Slaying Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +5 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II

I think taking Dex stat defeats the purpose of Zen Archery. This would work better with STR based archer with 1lvl ranger and Bow Strength + Zen Archery.

[wax_on_wax_off]

I'm skeptical of any archer build which doesn't have Bow STR (and decent STR natch). Still, you may want to check out this thread; the build is somewhat similar and the OP says he's doing good ranged DPS and got good Blade Barrier DCs.

Thanks for the reference, ive never had one of my threads reference before (that i know of).

I am having an excellent time with my radiant archer, ill have 30 wisdom at level 16 (32 at 20 w/out exceptional and just +2 tome, can be 36 with +3 tome and +3 exceptional).

The reason that I've left zen archery until level 20 (or around there anyway) is because to qualify for manyshot you have to have a 17 dexterity after tomes. At level 15 i have 17 base + 6 item = 23, when i get a couple more APs ill take elven dexterity I to get to 24. My wisdom is 28 atm (level 15) so zen archery would only get me +2 attack, plus, with divine favour and divine might i barely ever miss anyway. The primary purpose of getting zen archery will be when i get up to that 32 wisdom and then zen archery will be netting me +4 to attack and freeing up an item slot and 2 APs. This should set me up to be able to hit epic mobs which is where the attack bonus will matter.

I was originally going to build this character with a monk level or two as well but feat wise it just didn't work. The only valuable feat on the monk list (afaik) is toughness so the second feat is wasted. Further, my experience was that ranged combat is useless until you get manyshot, until level 9 when i got arcane archer and manyshot i was buffing and using a sunblade or whatever melee weapon was handy even with my 8 strength. Everything changed once i got manyshot though.

Wizard was an important level to fit into the build to avoid having to take mental toughness, to get an extra metamagic feat (extend spell - very important for radiant servant auras and cleric buffs) and to use wands and low level wizard scrolls without UMD (invis scrolls, blur wands etc.). In this way the wizard freed up 2 feat slots with just 1 level.

Fighter was a better choice than monk because i could use it to take manyshot and weapon focus: ranged at level 9. Sure, my AC is, maybe, 13, but i don't hang around long enough as a rule to get smacked too much.

Strength shot was another feat i couldn't fit into the build. However, divine might gives +6 damage at 15 cleric which is equivalent to 22 strength without an item slot and without spending a feat on it. Focusing on charisma instead of strength has also been excellent for radiant servant class features and even at level 15 i can run around the sands and destroy mummies. I was in madstone today in fact and destroyed 2 giant skeletons which was hilarious. Radiant Servant burst has hit for 750 damage on a critical and my healing aura is ticking at 15 and 30 on a crit 15% of the time.

It has sucked how many times ive been made helpless by ray of enfeeblement however and i can't have a 1000 stack of cold/silver/adamantine arrows nor 1000 stacks of spell components as they all weigh too much. I recently relented and equipped a +6 strength item which has made this better.

Annoyed at party members who don't drag mobs into your blade barriers? Turn on manyshot and get the aggro to do it yourself, annoyed at mobs who don't walk into your blade barriers? Manyshot them or in the case of arcane skeletons hit the turn undead button (never fails on them even without eternal rest and a sacred item).

Before becoming an arcane archer this build was a breeze as i could walk through catacombs and necropolis 1 killing undead faster with turn undead faster than a wizard could firewall them (had races in different wings of bloody crypt).

[GhoulsTouch]

With dex items, being an elf, and starting with above average dex anyway, do you feel Zen Archery is necessary?

[Arcticwarrior]

ok ok, how bout a 17 clr/1 rngr/2 monk? I like the monk cause it gives +2 stacking wisdom due to stance, and reflex, and extra feats, the lvl 1 ranger was for the feat that I automatically get so I dont have to get it. here it is:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Alixer2 
Level 20 Lawful Neutral Elf Female
(2 Monk \ 1 Ranger \ 17 Cleric) 
Hit Points: 302
Spell Points: 1443 
BAB: 14\14\19\24
Fortitude: 19
Reflex: 13
Will: 21

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(34 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             14                    14
Dexterity            10                    12
Constitution         14                    18
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               18                    26
Charisma             10                    10

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Dexterity used at level 6
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 8
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 8

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               0                     3
Bluff                 0                     0
Concentration         6                    27
Diplomacy             0                     0
Disable Device       n/a                   n/a
Haggle                0                     0
Heal                  4                    12
Hide                  0                     1
Intimidate            0                     0
Jump                  2                     2
Listen                4                    10
Move Silently         0                     1
Open Lock             n/a                   n/a
Perform               n/a                   n/a
Repair               -1                    -1
Search               -1                     1
Spot                  4                    10
Swim                  2                     2
Tumble                n/a                   n/a
Use Magic Device      n/a                   n/a

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Mental Toughness
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Cleric
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot I


Level 2 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage I
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I


Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Reptillian
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I


Level 4 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life I


Level 5 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I


Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Rapid Shot
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II


Level 7 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot II
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Vitality II


Level 8 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Lightning Reflexes
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage II


Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapons
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage I
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Spell Penetration I
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II


Level 10 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life II
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III


Level 11 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Force Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +2 Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer I


Level 12 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Manyshot
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot III


Level 13 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life II
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV


Level 14 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +3 Arrows


Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom III


Level 16 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life III
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life III


Level 17 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +4 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot IV


Level 18 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Spell Penetration II


Level 19 (Cleric)


Level 20 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Acid Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Explosive Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Slaying Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Terror Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Improved Empower Healing I
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +5 Arrows
Enhancement: Cleric Smiting I

[Arcticwarrior]

With dex items, being an elf, and starting with above average dex anyway, do you feel Zen Archery is necessary?

yes because I'd like to be able to solo alot of things, as clerics know, soloing is never their strong side. Zen archery just gives a bonus to attack.

[GhoulsTouch]

Yeah you lose out on evasion but 1 monk 2 ranger might work dump dex for more strength, then I seen you wanted a solo build. Where is Zen Archery in your last build?

Is focusing on ranged good for a solo build?

[Visty]

I like the monk cause it gives +2 stacking wisdom due to stance,

which you cant take advantage of as bows uncenter you

[GhoulsTouch]

I dont think he would have his bow out all the time.