This article contains affiliate links. If you’d like to support us, feel free to use these links 🛒 to buy books, dice, or similar products. Thank you 🙂
Archers are a common archetype in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) as in any fantasy setting, but how do you play them best? In this article I want to discuss classes, feats and a few other things with which you can build yourself a strong but also unusual character to become the next Robin Hood!
What’s important for archers?
To build a good character, we should first clarify what “good” actually means. I want to talk mainly about rules and mechanics in D&D 5e here and won’t go heavily into how your archer behaves in roleplay.
For me, a good archer should above all do one thing: deal a lot of damage from far away. This can come about through magic, dexterity or whatever. Additionally, the character should be relatively mobile to be able to keep their distance.
Good classes for archers in D&D
The class is probably the most important decision you’ll make for your character. Therefore you should carefully consider which of the options appeals to you. There are actually surprisingly many possibilities to create a strong archer.
Fighter
Perhaps the most obvious class to play an archer is the Fighter. With their Fighting Style, Fighters can handle pretty much all weapons well and the bow is no exception. The relatively simple “Champion” subclass with its increased chance for critical hits can deliver very good results.
There’s also the “Arcane Archer” subclass, which allows you to fire special, magical arrows. Depending on the situation, a “Piercing Arrow” or a “Banishing Arrow” can have a huge impact on a fight and thus the story of your world. Additionally, your shots become magical from level 7 onwards, which can be extremely important against certain monsters.
The Fighter is therefore a very solid choice for your archer!
Ranger
The elf quickly darting through treetops, shooting unseen from nowhere – for many, the Ranger represents the typical archer. In Dungeons and Dragons this class can also be used well for this purpose. Just like the Fighter, you can also choose the appropriate “Fighting Style” here and thus strengthen your attacks.
When it comes to subclasses, there are many that can fit. As a “Gloom Stalker” you can hide in the shadows and attack like an assassin with additional damage from ambush. You also get a bit more movement speed in the first round of each combat, which can help get into the right position.
At higher levels, the “Horizon Walker” can also become very strong. Besides the additional damage you can deal here, there’s the “Distant Strike” from level 11. With this you can teleport every time you attack and thus always stay at distance, pursue certain enemies or get over obstacles.
Overall, you can use most subclasses very well and it comes down more to your preferences and roleplay ideas!
Rogue
Anyone who has ever played Skyrim knows that shooting with the bow from ambush is fun and effective. As a Rogue you can do exactly that. Your “Sneak Attack” helps you deal extremely high damage when you surprise enemies or they are already in combat with one of your allies.
Here too, most subclasses are relatively suitable, with the “Assassin” with its guaranteed critical hit probably being the strongest. Especially in combination with “Sneak Attack” and possibly some other tricks that will be explained later, you can often finish off enemies with a single hit.
But the “Scout” is also interesting, as it allows you to always stay at distance by using your reaction when enemies get too close to you. This way you can be sure not to suddenly be surrounded by enemies and unable to get away.
Monk
Let’s come to the more unusual – but no less strong – possibilities to create an archer. Monks are generally very mobile and have the particularly interesting ability to catch projectiles and even throw them back. So you’re also well positioned against attacking archers.
But when it comes to dealing damage, the “Way of the Kensei” is a good choice. This allows you to choose two weapons – including of course your bow – which should deal additional damage. You can use both your Bonus Action and Ki points to deal extra damage. The attacks also become magical later.
Cleric
Also unusual, but an interesting option is the Cleric – specifically the “War Priest”. With this you can give an attack +10 to hit chance after you’ve rolled. Additionally, besides your many spells, you can also deal additional damage at higher levels.
Warlock
My personal favorite, because I always think Warlocks are cool. At first it sounds strange, since Warlocks are actually more arcane characters and use fewer weapons. What makes this combination possible, though, is the “Hexblade” subclass in combination with “Pact of the Blade” and “Improved Pact Weapon” which allows you to choose a bow as your pact weapon.
Besides the magic you can continue to cast, you have the possibility to deal extremely high damage with “Eldritch Smite” and turn defeated enemies into spirits.
The most important feats for archers
If you don’t know what feats are, we have a complete guide to feats.
Sharpshooter: This feat allows you, when you attack, to choose to take -5 to hit chance in order to deal +10 (!!!) damage. Especially at low levels, this is often enough damage to directly finish off an enemy. You also ignore cover and can always shoot at your weapon’s maximum range. The perfect feat for every archer!
Piercer: Since you’ll deal damage almost exclusively with arrows, why not always reroll ones? This feat also improves your critical hits, which for some of the classes (especially Rogues) results in significantly more damage.
Mobile: As mentioned above, mobility is important for archers to stay at distance. Therefore the increased movement speed and ignoring difficult terrain is very valuable. You can also quickly escape with this feat if an enemy does manage to get close to you, by attacking in melee and thus avoiding the “Attack of opportunity”.
Lucky: Generally this is of course a very strong feat, but especially in combination with “Sharpshooter” it allows you to hit more reliably and thus makes you significantly more effective. This feat is extremely strong especially for Rogues, as they can make sure their “Sneak Attack” hits as often as possible.
Crossbow Expert: This feat is a must for every archer with a crossbow. But even with the bow it can be very helpful, since you lose your disadvantage against enemies standing directly next to you. This allows you to charge into battle much more boldly or at least have to run away less.
What archers need otherwise
Generally it’s certainly sensible to have as much Dexterity as possible, since bows normally become stronger with it. This can then also be combined well with a “Finesse” weapon in case you do have to go into melee combat.
There are some magical bows in various rulebooks, though I don’t find any of them particularly exciting. So if your DM asks you whether you want magical items, it might be better to look for things that improve your movement.
Conclusion on archers in D&D
There are many possibilities to make a very strong archer. You can use both a “normal” Fighter or Ranger as well as a more unusual class. For feats, you should definitely choose Sharpshooter in my opinion, beyond that there are some interesting options or you simply improve your attributes when leveling up.
Do you have other unusual ideas or notice something that’s still missing here? Feel free to write a comment and I’ll gladly incorporate it!
Image source: Dice Scroller on OpenArt.io
