Highest Damage with a Bow

[ArchStriker]

Hello, I am always creating new characters. I've been playing for a year, and havn't played an archer build yet. I would like to see if anyone can help me with creating a max dps archer build. I really don't care what class. I prefer drow, and I would like to have some hide abilities. Longbow would be good. Thanks, if you need anymore info just ask.

[drac317]

first off you would ned to do 3 lives as mainly ranger to get the flat +6 dmg with ranged

i know alot of work,but you did say highest

then go elf ftr12/rgr6/barb2 or some other such build for an AA/kensaiII longbow build.
helf works also but dont get elven ranged dmg.

edit: it might help to know if you want anything else out of the build like traps or umd or minor casting.

[ArchStriker]

No I don't prefer traps or casting. But if it would maintain most of it's damage, and get manyshot as quick as possible, then that would be nice.

[drac317]

well you could just go pure 20rgr and be nasty against your FE'sand get the capstone(that supposedly isn't working right)

or something like what i suggested to get kensaiII for the flat bonus dmg and power surge(+8str clikie),and at least six lvls of ranger to start to get manyshot asap.

theres tons of builds out there on the forums

edit: the reason i mention rouge(or monk for that matter) is its the only way to get evasion on a build like this,its not absolutely neede but nice to have.

[ArchStriker]

Thanks, what type of build like what combo. The PRE for ranger, should be arcane?Also is deepwood useful at all, the sniper shot seems kinda cool.

[sephiroth1084]

Deepwood Sniper is utterly useless at this point in time. Rangers only have two PrEs: Tempest and Arcane Archer.

[Brennie]

Highest DPS ranged character would be, in my opinion, found here:

Elf Kensai AA. Read down for revised builds, which are better.

More discussion can be found HERE. Start reading at about post 8. The early ones aren't that good.

18 fighter for Kensai III, feats, and other fighter fun stuff, ranger 1 for free bow strength and +2 (3 with enhancements?) damage to either undead (good for leveling) or evil outsiders (Good for endgame/raiding), and 1 bard as a AA qualifier, also for a smattering of skillponts, weak Inspire Courage (Weak is better than none), UMD, access to a few nice wands (like blur) and Focusing Chant.

Longbow Kensai does the heavy lifting for DPS gain. Power Surge + Haste boost + Manyshot will be huge burst DPS when you want to take down something fast, or just put the hurt on a boss. Mix in some Slayer arrow, and you are a burst DPS machine.

Big downsides are:

- Spellpoints. You won't have many, unless you have an "Always on" spellpoint item. You can re-apply slayer arrow once or twice if it gets dispelled (Damned beholders!), but after that you're SOL. Archivist necklace will be a useful-til-level-20 item for you.

- Progression. Kensai III and Arcane Archer +5 arrows and slayer arrows all come in at level 20. All other AA abilities are delayed 2 levels in comparison to a Ranger, and Kensai II is also put off. Most ranged feats come in 1 or 2 levels behind what a Ranger would have, due to BaB restrictions.

- Melee. It comes in late. However, with your good strength and high to-hit, you can whip out any Two-Handed weapon of choice and go to town in the low levels. TWF can fit in late, bringing Melee into good standing.

- Stat spread. If you want UMD AND spot (And you probably do. No point in being ranged if you dont' see the enemy til its meleeing you), You're going to have to invest some points in Int. Additionally, if you want to ever cast that one bar dspell you have, you're going to need a +3 or better charisma item. The charisma item can be hotswapped for casting/UMD though.

Half Elf offers some interesting tweaks to all of these builds. Rogue Dilletante seems like a natural fit, since we have dex above 13 anyway, and 3d6 extra damage is nice... except the 3d6 only take effect if you are within short range, which is a rather uncomfortable spot for rangers (Or simply difficult to maintain). Ranger Dilletante also seems promising, allowing you to turn your ranger level into something else, except that the "Bow Strength" wanna be line caps out at 26 strength, with everything passed that being wasted for ranged combat. If you don't get above 26 strength on a Kensai AA, you're doing it wrong.

For maximum dps, roll in 3 monk past lives, 3 ranger past lives, the Paladin "Active" past life feat, the barbarian "Active" past life feat, and the rogue "Active" past life feat. There are also rumors that the Sorceror "active" past life feat could, in theory, be taken on a pure fighter, which woudl garner higher DPS (Fighter Capstone adds attack speed to ranged combat, and natural 20 BaB also gives a speed increase)

[smithtj3]

Bow ranger is a tricky animal to max DPS out on because it relies on two stats to determine damage where as the traditional melee class relies on only one. With a fighter build, you only need to put points into strength and this determines how much damage you will due as well as how likely you are to hit your target. With a ranger using a bow, strength is still determining how much damage you due but your dexterity score is what determines how likely you are to hit.

This complicates things because if you put too much into dexterity you sacrifice points that could have gone into strength and ultimately damage. If you put too much into strength then you wind up missing and sacrificing damage in that respect. You need to do a great deal of gear planning and boss AC research before you start your ranger so you can figure out the exact to-hit figure you will need to achieve and how you will achieve it to leave as many points as possible available for strength.

Epic difficulties throw a bit of wrench into the whole dynamic as well because while these dungeons represent the most recognizable end game challenge, they aren't run as often as your standard end game content. If you plan on building your ranger for epic rather than normal end game, you are going to lose DPS in the level 17 - 19 content because your epic attack will be higher than necessary for that content. If you build your character for level 17 - 19 and ignore epic, you may find yourself missing more often on epic quests and as a result sacrificing DPS there.


As far as the ranger PrE, arcane archer is the only realistic option for bow damage as a result of the Slayer arrow imbue which grants 500 points of damage on a vorpal strike. Deepwood Sniper has nothing even remotely close to that. As far as the ranger capstone and alacrity (rate of fire) increases, none of them give you the advertised bonus. It's commonly believed to be about 50% of what is described. So the capstone gives about a 12% increase to firing speed. Other items and weapons sets operate under the same rule and there is some date to suggest that certain combinations do stack.

For max DPS with a bow, the elf is the class to work with because it is the nature of their enhancements being tailored towards bow attack and damage. Going pure ranger also has the advantage of letting the character make the most out of the favored enemy feats and enhancements.

Notable AA gear includes:

- The Amrath AA ring and necklace set
- The black dragon scale armor from Gianthold
- The quiver from the Abbot raid
- The tumbleweed ring
- Silverbow from the Temple of Vol quest
- A Greensteel Lit II bow
- Windhowler bracers
- Bloodstone or Shimmering Arrowhead trinkets
- Raven's Eye item set from Red Fens

[ArchStriker]

Thanks, but can someone give me a link to a build.

[timetorun177]

Search hElves Angel.

[smithtj3]

Thanks, but can someone give me a link to a build.

The thread below does a very thorough job of explaining the complexities of the bow ranger specifically and also details several builds that are designed for ranged combat.

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=263907

[drac317]

Bow ranger ranger not always means ranged, and ranged is not always a ranger. the two are not mutally exclusive.

Notable AA gear includes:

- The Amrath AA ring and necklace set is better for non-ranger AA,as it doesnt stack with capstone
- The black dragon scale armor from Gianthold is not bad but will cap your dex without ftr armor mastery, and alacrity doesnt stack with haste
- The quiver from the Abbot raid same as above
- The tumbleweed ring will latter be replaced by AA set and arrowhead
- Silverbow from the Temple of Vol quest is sweet if you dont have any other bows
- A Greensteel Lit II bow
- Windhowler bracers would be better if they get epic treatment or just dropped the save altogether and make it 5d6 on a crit and the clickie is useless, change it to a sonic arrow clickie version of flame arrow to be useful
- Bloodstone or Shimmering Arrowhead trinkets
- Raven's Eye item set from Red Fens have very little benefit for using two slots

my thoughts

[Brennie]

- The Amrath AA ring and necklace set is better for non-ranger AA,as it doesnt stack with capstone (According to THIS POST and THIS POST they do actually stack. Infact, according to those posts, the Ranger Capstone stacks with every other attack speed bonus available to ranged players.)
- The black dragon scale armor from Gianthold is not bad but will cap your dex without ftr armor mastery, and alacrity doesnt stack with haste (The previous posts confirm that haste doesn't stack with Alacrity, and Black Dragon scale is made useless by both Haste and the Quiver, and considering that its so *hard* to get black dragonscale armor, and a pain in the keister to repair it, I'd agree with your assessment. However, who cares about capping dex? its not like it affects you reflex saves or to hit or anything, just means less AC)
- The quiver from the Abbot raid same as above (Disagree strongly. Quiver takes up an otherwise never-really-useful slot, gives you a much better capacity than you woudl otherwise have, and gives you an alacrity boost for every moment you don't have haste on. Why would you *not* get the quiver? Sure it doesn't stack with haste, but its amazing otherwise)
- The tumbleweed ring will latter be replaced by AA set and arrowhead Agreed. Ring slots are precious.
- Silverbow from the Temple of Vol quest is sweet if you dont have any other bows (Its the best DPS bow til you get your LitII. Especially good for Manyshotting Harry, Sully, and the like, with appropriate ammo)
- A Greensteel Lit II bow
- Windhowler bracers would be better if they get epic treatment or just dropped the save altogether and make it 5d6 on a crit and the clickie is useless, change it to a sonic arrow clickie version of flame arrow to be useful (What else are you gonna stick in a Bracer slot? The DPS gain is pretty fantastic, with a nice static to-hit and damage, and then a little bit of "on vorpal strike" to go along with it. I routinely see 40-50 sonic damage even on endgame stuff. Combine +5 AA arrows, x3 crit, slayer arrow, and windhowler, and your 20's will be rockin the house!. Also, the clicky isn't useful for damage, but it sure gets rid of enemy firwalls, fogs, clouds, and disco balls (?) pretty well!)
- Bloodstone or Shimmering Arrowhead trinkets

my thoughts

My thoughts on your thoughts in yellow

[Anneliese]

Personally, I like the 18 barbarian / 1 fighter or ranger / 1 bard for high damage on 1 target

Feats:
WF: Ranged, PBS (for AA)
Power Attack, Cleave (for frenzied berserker)
Rapid Shot, Manyshot, IC:Ranged (for more damage)
bow strength (ranger level or fighter feat)


Pros/Cons:
+High damage without a bow (power attack+frenzied berserker III + Min2)
+Vicious does not reduce your HP on ranged attacks (6D6 extra damage per shot)
+High strength due to Rage
+With Barbarian speed and sprint boost, you can run fast if needed
+High DR (+8/-)
+UMD as a classskill (Heal scrolls)

+/- No Toughness - but you are a D12 class, and get +3 con enhancements, +4 con from rage and +3 con from rage enhancements (+10con is +200hp at level 20)

-No evasion
-Cannot use many magical items while raged
-Missing Precise Shot & IPS (can be very nice in situations where you line up multiple mobs)


IMHO, missing PS/IPS is the main downside to this build.

[drac317]

My thoughts on your thoughts in yellow

only going to really disagre on the silverbow-yes its nice,but an icyburst shockingburst of puregood pust out more constent dmg and is just as sick on crits

[ArchStriker]

Lol, lots of posts and "thoughts" on the matter. Thanks guys.