This was my thought too. It technically has problems with multiclassing, because you'll keep getting extra shots even when you stop taking levels in arcane archer, but I don't see that as a massive issue.
I heavily played one for a while, big thing that the DM let me do is essentially create a feat that added an additional shot/short rest, 2 known shots, and (almost as a bonus) upped arrow recovery rate...and a +2 bonus to shot DCs cobbled into it
@@AzraelThanatosThat's a great way to spend power budget of an ASI, but focused more tightly into "I want my character to do my flavor thing more". Nice!
@@AllThingsFascinate The big thing to remember with the shots is that unlike other subclasses, such as the battlemaster, the ones that trigger on a hit only need to be used if you actually hit the target. And if your DM allows some of the older UA stuff, there's the close quarters archery style that is worth spending a feat for if you're using an actual bow over Crossbow Expert since it also removes the penalty against adjacent enemies, but also adds a bonus if they're within the close range band.
Things id like to see in a magic archer are: -Make attack and dmg rolls based on intelligence -get uses of arcane shots based on proficiency bonus -be able to summon your bow, create magic arrows out of thin air and change their dmg type to force or something like that -maybe you know all the different arrows, but can prepare an amount equal to your int modifier like spells -Scale the dmg of arcane shots earlier like rogues do with their sneak attacks as they level up in the class -empower your shots with extra dmg like smites or higher DC a number of times equal to your int modifier. Something similar to battle master superiority dice
I think that it would be better to get a certain number of shots at the same rate as PB, but it only increases based on your Fighter level. So, you gain another shot at 5, 9, 13, and 17 in the fighter class. This avoids any multiclass abuse.
@@greevar I wouldn't be worried about "multiclass abuse" with an Arcane Archer. I feel like people throw around multiclass abuse for just anyone doing a multiclass that has some kind of abuse. Multiclassing is an optional rule, you can just play without it if you are scared of an Arcane Archer multiclassing into god knows what because they can't even use a crossbow for their features. Like the only thing that seems mildly okay to me is that AA is a Fighter that also scales with Int, so you can multiclass into Wizard to get Action Surge to cast two spells on your turn. But then at that point you're just playing a Wizard that started out as an Arcane Archer.
In order to have that Hawkeye/Green Arrow theme, I find that starting with two levels of artificer really fits the build. With two levels, you get two attack cantrips (firebolt, ray of frost) and magical tinkering. But at level two, you get repeating shot infusion and three others to mess around with. Repeating shot makes your arrows magical and even gives you unlimited ammo. Making your bow(shortbow now, longbow next level) an infusion, you can now cast your spells with it as an arcane focus. Now your cantrips are spell arrows. Firebolt becomes a fire arrow and ray of frost (or acid splash) becomes a cold arrow. Now you go fighter for the rest of your career. Your focus for ASIs should be Dex, then Int, and Con if you're jammed up often. Since I assume you grabbed Sharpshooter at level 1, you don't really need any other feats. Well, except maybe magic initiate (artificer) for two more spell arrows. (Now that I look at it, maybe not. The only viable cantrips are thorn whip and acid splash, because you want to avoid saving throw spells unless you rolled high on Int). By taking the two levels of artificer, you make all your attacks magical, never need ammunition again, and give yourself two cool spell arrows. Even with the cantrip scaling, once you get extra attack, the effectiveness drops off. And you don't get the SS bonus to damage on the spell attacks. But the pros outweigh the cons. The only spellbow I have seen better than this is a hexblade warlock 5/arcane archer 15. The invocations for pact of the blade allow you to cast spells thru your bow (like artificer does) with improved pact weapon and agonizing blast and repelling blast makes shooting your eldritch blast thru your bow as good as shooting magical force arrows that push people back. Why only level 5? I hate accursed spector. It's creepy and doesn't fit with my epic magical bowman theme. Instead of repelling blast, you could instead swap it out for eldritch smite. Your two warlock slots are third level now, so that's +3d8 damage with a regular shot that knocks them prone. Unfortunately, you have to still buy arrows with this warlock/fighter build and carry them around unless you want to just fall back on being a warlock with eldritch blast.
Another way to fix the Arcane Archer is give them a flat 2 Arcane Shot uses whenever they roll initiative, rising to 3 with the 15th level feature. Simple, and matches the design intent of taking a short rest after each combat. I think you could start with 3 Arcane Shot options instead of 2 for a bit more variety. One Arcane Shot per Attack action (instead of one per turn) would also allow you get some synergy with Action Surge and use both your Shots in the first turn of combat if you want. Doubling your proficiency bonus on whichever of Nature or Arcana you choose would give you a little bit more to contribute out of combat. An Intelligence modifier bonus to initiative rolls would be nice too.
Arcane shots are really a lot more on the level of the rune knights runes. It would be unfair if they could use arcane shots as much as maneuvers because they are SO much better (excluding beguiling arrow & enfeebling arrow). Honestly if it wasn’t for crossbow expert providing a better alternative to curving shot then the arcane archer would be fine. Ya you can only use features twice per short rest but considering most of them are as good as second level spells (Imo banishing arrow & grasping arrow are closer to 3rd level spells) twice per short rest is actually really good.
One thing that i would really like to see in OneDND is that whenever they make subclasses for a class that doesnt usually use mental skills like Charisma, Wisdom or Intelligence, and the saving throws tied to that subclass is dependent on that pre-chosen mental skill, i think it would be best for the player to be able to choose the skill they want tied to that subclass. I know in some cases it might not fit (like the arcane trickster) but an arcane archer might as well be a wisdom based archer like a ranger or that eldritch knight are charisma based
I have this concept for a future campaign of an arcane archer multiclassed eith a battle smith artificer, the battle smith has a feature that lets you use your int for attacking and damage if you attack with a magic weapon, and since you can use an infusion to turn your bow magical, you can always use this. This means you won't be MAD as you can focus everythin into int. On top of that you have the steel defender as an additional front liner.
Sharpshooter+Archery Fighting Style is a powerhouse for any archer based build. Really wishing the close quarters archery style showed up out of the UA because it would give another way to go with closer combat than adding crossbow expert... For the number of shots, remember that unlike, say, the Battlemaster, your arcane shots normally trigger anyway. Either triggering on a successful hit or the one that's 1/2 damage on a failed save but always hits...
When I hear the idea of the Arcane Archer being someone who magically enchants their arrows, I think of Prince Aika from Oban: Star Racers. Every time he uses his bow, he chants an incantation before setting an arrow loose
Arcane Archer is one of the reasons why I think picking a subclass at a level other than 1st is a wrong way to go. Also, compare DnD arcane archer to Pathfinder 1e one - the latter is ridiculously good. Already feeling like re-writing the entire class/subclass system myself tbh.
I just ended up homebrewing the archer. I love the concept, but I feel like WotC put the bear minimum work into it. And then didn't even try play testing it.
Best thing I could come up with is the Battlesmith Artificer I'm multiclassing with 3 Levels of Arcane Archer. Fixes MADness and gets access to rope trick and cat nap for more arcane shots and action surges in a day, as well as some of the best in and out of combat utility in the game. Arcane Archer doesn't have any subclass features aside from curving shot after level 3 anyways.
This is how I make the arcane archer better you can use Your arcane shot feature equal to double your proficiency bonus, and you get to choose which ability score modifier gets added to the DC and you get to use your Arcane shots equal to twice your proficiency bonus and you start with all of them you just get to choose which one you would like to do
Because Arcane Shot uses Int for its DC, this character probably has ability scores that would allow multiclassing into wizard. 2 levels of Bladesinger or War wizard can help fix those low defense, utility, and X-factor scores because they bring 8 spells and 3 cantrips for defense and utility. And if you favor Bladesinger and pick up Booming Blade and Expeditious Retreat, there's some X-factor for those times you get stuck in melee.
I feel that the class lore had more importance than the mechanics as elf live for centuries and could train to that level over a long time the only good way to introduce the class is in a high elf Kingdom as an elite guard or officer against a dangerous army
Honestly i wouldnt mind the lack of shots known and the lack of damage scaling if they improved how many times you can use it and how often. Like if the number of times you could use it per short rest were somthing like 2 times proficiency bonus then that would be pretty good and if at some point, like 11th level lets say, you could use an arcane shot twice per attack action would be pretty awesome. So either the damage need to scale or the uses and frequency of use needs to scale and that alone would make this a pretty decent subclass. Alternatively this subclass could use some other magical ability that is minor in terms of how flashy or effective it is but feels magical and cool (kinda like the curving arrow). Something like being able to add a small amount damage to your attacks. For example you could, after a short or long rest, pick an elemental damage type like fire, cold, lightning, etc and add that damage to your attacks. A small amount like 1d4 or your int modifier to every hit. Or a certain number of times per rest you could enchant an arrow before an attack to do a certain type of magical damage, that damage replaces the normal damage of that attack and the arrow is destroyed. So instead of doing 1d8 piercing damage now the attack does 1d8 fire or cold damage. Or at least give us some ranged cantrips and just reflavor it to being magic arrows being cast from your bow
The fact that a lv3 human battlemaster can have 6 different maneuvers and 6 superiority dice per short rest while a lv3 human arcane archer only gets 2 arrows known and 2 arrows per short rest is a real testament to how fucked this subclass is
I feel like this subclass is cool and all but now it feels like I should just play this instead of an actual ranger. How would you fix ranger or do you even think it needs fixing? in the games I have played only 2 people have played ranger when I love the idea of having an arrow slinging Legolas controlling the air and weak up close but awesome at range a balance of keeping your distance and positioning. : )
The Ranger has been much improved since the PHB originally came out. That being said, the Arcane Archer is sort of the worst ranged magical flavor character. Artificers can make their weapon magical, including unlimited ammunition. The "Hexbow" can summon their weapon out of the ether and use their casting ability for attack and damage. Unfortunately, the Arcane Archer is just a Fighter with a bow who can occasionally shoot a magic arrow. Even at 15th level, the only improvement you get to your Arcane Shot is that if you don't have any uses of it when you roll Initiative, you get _one_ use back. Out of your 2 maximum from start to finish.
Rangers aren’t really all that bad in my opinion. Certainly they have horrible subclasses aside from gloom stalker which is permanent invisibility. However ranger’s have spellcasting which puts them above every class that doesn’t. You use any summon spell and suddenly you have a bunch of creatures that can eat up the enemy’s action economy and protect you guys. Damage may be lacking, but spell versatility trumps anything else
@@thecrimsonfucker6999 Honestly, just the options from Tasha's make every Ranger subclass better. Although I think the Beast Master benefitted most from those additions. And the Druidic Warrior fighting style is fuckin' great.
Arcane Archer 7/Scout Rogue 3, or Arcane Archer X/Nature Cleric 1 are decent non-ranger Rangers. With half-elf as the race, you can have proficiency in all 8 ranger skills. Still, this conflicts with the Arcane Archer's Arcane Shot DC being based on Int.
This whole subclass is carried by Grasping Arrow imo. In any situation I wouldn't use Grasping Arrow, I would simply use Banishing Arrow. As a ranged Fighter, you don't have problems dealing damage. Up until level 5, your damage as a martial is still competitive with casters and even outstripping them until they get 3rd level spells. Once you start being outclassed in damage by huge damage nukes like Fireball and Spirit Guardians, the one thing you can offer besides mediocre damage is utility. Grasping Arrow and Banishing Arrow accomplish that. I disagree with the sentiment that the class has no bad options. Piercing and Seeking arrow are clearly bad options that I would never use past level 5 because they simply don't offer enough for one of your limited uses and DO NOT work with Sharpshooter (was incorrectly stated in the video that Sharpshooter works with all "literally all" the abilities). If you calc the damage at level 5 (one longbow shot with Sharpshooter, then Piercing Arrow which doesn't work with Sharpshooter since no Attack Roll) you actually do damage that is very close to a caster using Lightning Bolt on a single enemy, but as soon as you add another enemy in, Lightning Bolt already outdamages the Arcane Archer Fighter. The options are cool and thematic, yes, but if you want to contribute something unique to the party your damage isn't it. Grasping Arrow has no saving throw, reduces move speed, does guaranteed damage and is even useful against enemies that resist or are immune to poison. They also have to use their action to get rid of it or continue being debuffed by it, so they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. There's hardly any reason to use anything else when Grasping Arrow is so good. Banishing Arrow is also a reliable option as it targets Charisma, which is a famously bad saving throw for most monsters (and also the reason many magical effects do not target Charisma)
It's not a hot take to say that the banneret is better than the arcane archer, factually it gives you more per short rest, plus you get Persuasion expertise at level 7. And it is more, despite not adding anything other than support for your other melee allies! You are not forced into a specific build, only having at least a +1 in Charisma, MAYBE. I would argue that's even better than the champion, because his abilities come off more often.
Oh no most people doesn't run D&D games pass 10-15lvl. Because they don't know how to. Some of us or most of the people i know me included. Runs game from 5-20+ lvl. My friends and i are playing a game where the lowest lvl character is lvl 57 the hightest is lvl62. Most DMs doesn't run games beyond 10-15 Because "it's to hard!" And they didn't even try. The formula to running a game at every level is to have a copy of all your players character sheets. Everything, and creat charaters and creatures around that. See most DMs doesn't play higher then 15 lvl because they get frustrated when the PCs one shots the DMs big boss baddy. Because they are not taking into account what they can do. And the most important thing is ARE YOU PLAYERS HAVING FUN!? If the answer is yes? Then whats the problem? If you want to give them a challenge? Idk get smarter? You're DM you're God/Goddess. You can set it up to make them think. I killed off my 17th level players with Kobolds. Mainly because they did a stupid and rushed in knowing there was Kobolds. And most of them either died by traps or by fire. But then again i wasn't playing with my friends so of corse they did. Think of D&D as a strategy game If you want to give them a challenge out think them, predict what they might do. And keep in mind player like playing high level because they like feeling powerful give that to them. Sometimes just throwing hit points At something doesn't work. Sometimes you have to be methodical about things. If you want to reduce the amount of spells they have before they get to the boss make them. If someone has a power word kill. And you don't want them to use that on your boss. Make them use it on something else. There is many ways to get around thing's back when i was in high school everyone always played about 10th lvl.
I would change it so that you can use as many arcane shots equal to your proficiency bonus per short or long rest.
Another good option! Basically anything to get this subclass more shots
This was my thought too. It technically has problems with multiclassing, because you'll keep getting extra shots even when you stop taking levels in arcane archer, but I don't see that as a massive issue.
I heavily played one for a while, big thing that the DM let me do is essentially create a feat that added an additional shot/short rest, 2 known shots, and (almost as a bonus) upped arrow recovery rate...and a +2 bonus to shot DCs cobbled into it
@@AzraelThanatosThat's a great way to spend power budget of an ASI, but focused more tightly into "I want my character to do my flavor thing more". Nice!
@@AllThingsFascinate The big thing to remember with the shots is that unlike other subclasses, such as the battlemaster, the ones that trigger on a hit only need to be used if you actually hit the target.
And if your DM allows some of the older UA stuff, there's the close quarters archery style that is worth spending a feat for if you're using an actual bow over Crossbow Expert since it also removes the penalty against adjacent enemies, but also adds a bonus if they're within the close range band.
Things id like to see in a magic archer are:
-Make attack and dmg rolls based on intelligence
-get uses of arcane shots based on proficiency bonus
-be able to summon your bow, create magic arrows out of thin air and change their dmg type to force or something like that
-maybe you know all the different arrows, but can prepare an amount equal to your int modifier like spells
-Scale the dmg of arcane shots earlier like rogues do with their sneak attacks as they level up in the class
-empower your shots with extra dmg like smites or higher DC a number of times equal to your int modifier. Something similar to battle master superiority dice
fantastic ideas
This concept is like 90% there already on a Battle Smith Artificer, and that's without considering their robot pal.
Instead of only two uses, I usually do Intelligence modifier.
I think that it would be better to get a certain number of shots at the same rate as PB, but it only increases based on your Fighter level. So, you gain another shot at 5, 9, 13, and 17 in the fighter class. This avoids any multiclass abuse.
@@greevar I wouldn't be worried about "multiclass abuse" with an Arcane Archer. I feel like people throw around multiclass abuse for just anyone doing a multiclass that has some kind of abuse. Multiclassing is an optional rule, you can just play without it if you are scared of an Arcane Archer multiclassing into god knows what because they can't even use a crossbow for their features. Like the only thing that seems mildly okay to me is that AA is a Fighter that also scales with Int, so you can multiclass into Wizard to get Action Surge to cast two spells on your turn. But then at that point you're just playing a Wizard that started out as an Arcane Archer.
In order to have that Hawkeye/Green Arrow theme, I find that starting with two levels of artificer really fits the build. With two levels, you get two attack cantrips (firebolt, ray of frost) and magical tinkering. But at level two, you get repeating shot infusion and three others to mess around with. Repeating shot makes your arrows magical and even gives you unlimited ammo. Making your bow(shortbow now, longbow next level) an infusion, you can now cast your spells with it as an arcane focus. Now your cantrips are spell arrows. Firebolt becomes a fire arrow and ray of frost (or acid splash) becomes a cold arrow. Now you go fighter for the rest of your career. Your focus for ASIs should be Dex, then Int, and Con if you're jammed up often. Since I assume you grabbed Sharpshooter at level 1, you don't really need any other feats. Well, except maybe magic initiate (artificer) for two more spell arrows. (Now that I look at it, maybe not. The only viable cantrips are thorn whip and acid splash, because you want to avoid saving throw spells unless you rolled high on Int). By taking the two levels of artificer, you make all your attacks magical, never need ammunition again, and give yourself two cool spell arrows. Even with the cantrip scaling, once you get extra attack, the effectiveness drops off. And you don't get the SS bonus to damage on the spell attacks. But the pros outweigh the cons. The only spellbow I have seen better than this is a hexblade warlock 5/arcane archer 15. The invocations for pact of the blade allow you to cast spells thru your bow (like artificer does) with improved pact weapon and agonizing blast and repelling blast makes shooting your eldritch blast thru your bow as good as shooting magical force arrows that push people back. Why only level 5? I hate accursed spector. It's creepy and doesn't fit with my epic magical bowman theme. Instead of repelling blast, you could instead swap it out for eldritch smite. Your two warlock slots are third level now, so that's +3d8 damage with a regular shot that knocks them prone. Unfortunately, you have to still buy arrows with this warlock/fighter build and carry them around unless you want to just fall back on being a warlock with eldritch blast.
Another way to fix the Arcane Archer is give them a flat 2 Arcane Shot uses whenever they roll initiative, rising to 3 with the 15th level feature. Simple, and matches the design intent of taking a short rest after each combat.
I think you could start with 3 Arcane Shot options instead of 2 for a bit more variety. One Arcane Shot per Attack action (instead of one per turn) would also allow you get some synergy with Action Surge and use both your Shots in the first turn of combat if you want. Doubling your proficiency bonus on whichever of Nature or Arcana you choose would give you a little bit more to contribute out of combat. An Intelligence modifier bonus to initiative rolls would be nice too.
Arcane shots are really a lot more on the level of the rune knights runes. It would be unfair if they could use arcane shots as much as maneuvers because they are SO much better (excluding beguiling arrow & enfeebling arrow). Honestly if it wasn’t for crossbow expert providing a better alternative to curving shot then the arcane archer would be fine. Ya you can only use features twice per short rest but considering most of them are as good as second level spells (Imo banishing arrow & grasping arrow are closer to 3rd level spells) twice per short rest is actually really good.
One thing that i would really like to see in OneDND is that whenever they make subclasses for a class that doesnt usually use mental skills like Charisma, Wisdom or Intelligence, and the saving throws tied to that subclass is dependent on that pre-chosen mental skill, i think it would be best for the player to be able to choose the skill they want tied to that subclass. I know in some cases it might not fit (like the arcane trickster) but an arcane archer might as well be a wisdom based archer like a ranger or that eldritch knight are charisma based
Imagine a D&D game wears every one play’s a underrated subclass.
I have this concept for a future campaign of an arcane archer multiclassed eith a battle smith artificer, the battle smith has a feature that lets you use your int for attacking and damage if you attack with a magic weapon, and since you can use an infusion to turn your bow magical, you can always use this. This means you won't be MAD as you can focus everythin into int. On top of that you have the steel defender as an additional front liner.
Sharpshooter+Archery Fighting Style is a powerhouse for any archer based build.
Really wishing the close quarters archery style showed up out of the UA because it would give another way to go with closer combat than adding crossbow expert...
For the number of shots, remember that unlike, say, the Battlemaster, your arcane shots normally trigger anyway. Either triggering on a successful hit or the one that's 1/2 damage on a failed save but always hits...
When I hear the idea of the Arcane Archer being someone who magically enchants their arrows, I think of Prince Aika from Oban: Star Racers.
Every time he uses his bow, he chants an incantation before setting an arrow loose
Arcane Archer is one of the reasons why I think picking a subclass at a level other than 1st is a wrong way to go. Also, compare DnD arcane archer to Pathfinder 1e one - the latter is ridiculously good. Already feeling like re-writing the entire class/subclass system myself tbh.
I just ended up homebrewing the archer. I love the concept, but I feel like WotC put the bear minimum work into it. And then didn't even try play testing it.
Best thing I could come up with is the Battlesmith Artificer I'm multiclassing with 3 Levels of Arcane Archer. Fixes MADness and gets access to rope trick and cat nap for more arcane shots and action surges in a day, as well as some of the best in and out of combat utility in the game. Arcane Archer doesn't have any subclass features aside from curving shot after level 3 anyways.
This is how I make the arcane archer better you can use Your arcane shot feature equal to double your proficiency bonus, and you get to choose which ability score modifier gets added to the DC and you get to use your Arcane shots equal to twice your proficiency bonus and you start with all of them you just get to choose which one you would like to do
Because Arcane Shot uses Int for its DC, this character probably has ability scores that would allow multiclassing into wizard. 2 levels of Bladesinger or War wizard can help fix those low defense, utility, and X-factor scores because they bring 8 spells and 3 cantrips for defense and utility. And if you favor Bladesinger and pick up Booming Blade and Expeditious Retreat, there's some X-factor for those times you get stuck in melee.
I feel that the class lore had more importance than the mechanics as elf live for centuries and could train to that level over a long time the only good way to introduce the class is in a high elf Kingdom as an elite guard or officer against a dangerous army
Honestly i wouldnt mind the lack of shots known and the lack of damage scaling if they improved how many times you can use it and how often. Like if the number of times you could use it per short rest were somthing like 2 times proficiency bonus then that would be pretty good and if at some point, like 11th level lets say, you could use an arcane shot twice per attack action would be pretty awesome. So either the damage need to scale or the uses and frequency of use needs to scale and that alone would make this a pretty decent subclass.
Alternatively this subclass could use some other magical ability that is minor in terms of how flashy or effective it is but feels magical and cool (kinda like the curving arrow). Something like being able to add a small amount damage to your attacks. For example you could, after a short or long rest, pick an elemental damage type like fire, cold, lightning, etc and add that damage to your attacks. A small amount like 1d4 or your int modifier to every hit.
Or a certain number of times per rest you could enchant an arrow before an attack to do a certain type of magical damage, that damage replaces the normal damage of that attack and the arrow is destroyed. So instead of doing 1d8 piercing damage now the attack does 1d8 fire or cold damage.
Or at least give us some ranged cantrips and just reflavor it to being magic arrows being cast from your bow
I really want this class to be good, but it really feels like they're set up to fail.
The fact that a lv3 human battlemaster can have 6 different maneuvers and 6 superiority dice per short rest while a lv3 human arcane archer only gets 2 arrows known and 2 arrows per short rest is a real testament to how fucked this subclass is
I feel like this subclass is cool and all but now it feels like I should just play this instead of an actual ranger. How would you fix ranger or do you even think it needs fixing? in the games I have played only 2 people have played ranger when I love the idea of having an arrow slinging Legolas controlling the air and weak up close but awesome at range a balance of keeping your distance and positioning. : )
The Ranger has been much improved since the PHB originally came out. That being said, the Arcane Archer is sort of the worst ranged magical flavor character. Artificers can make their weapon magical, including unlimited ammunition. The "Hexbow" can summon their weapon out of the ether and use their casting ability for attack and damage. Unfortunately, the Arcane Archer is just a Fighter with a bow who can occasionally shoot a magic arrow. Even at 15th level, the only improvement you get to your Arcane Shot is that if you don't have any uses of it when you roll Initiative, you get _one_ use back. Out of your 2 maximum from start to finish.
Rangers aren’t really all that bad in my opinion. Certainly they have horrible subclasses aside from gloom stalker which is permanent invisibility. However ranger’s have spellcasting which puts them above every class that doesn’t. You use any summon spell and suddenly you have a bunch of creatures that can eat up the enemy’s action economy and protect you guys. Damage may be lacking, but spell versatility trumps anything else
@@thecrimsonfucker6999 Honestly, just the options from Tasha's make every Ranger subclass better. Although I think the Beast Master benefitted most from those additions. And the Druidic Warrior fighting style is fuckin' great.
Arcane Archer 7/Scout Rogue 3, or Arcane Archer X/Nature Cleric 1 are decent non-ranger Rangers. With half-elf as the race, you can have proficiency in all 8 ranger skills. Still, this conflicts with the Arcane Archer's Arcane Shot DC being based on Int.
Ah yes, this makes me want to play an arcane archer..
Green Arrow is not bad but a class that feels like Hawkeye would be much better.
This whole subclass is carried by Grasping Arrow imo. In any situation I wouldn't use Grasping Arrow, I would simply use Banishing Arrow. As a ranged Fighter, you don't have problems dealing damage. Up until level 5, your damage as a martial is still competitive with casters and even outstripping them until they get 3rd level spells. Once you start being outclassed in damage by huge damage nukes like Fireball and Spirit Guardians, the one thing you can offer besides mediocre damage is utility. Grasping Arrow and Banishing Arrow accomplish that.
I disagree with the sentiment that the class has no bad options. Piercing and Seeking arrow are clearly bad options that I would never use past level 5 because they simply don't offer enough for one of your limited uses and DO NOT work with Sharpshooter (was incorrectly stated in the video that Sharpshooter works with all "literally all" the abilities).
If you calc the damage at level 5 (one longbow shot with Sharpshooter, then Piercing Arrow which doesn't work with Sharpshooter since no Attack Roll) you actually do damage that is very close to a caster using Lightning Bolt on a single enemy, but as soon as you add another enemy in, Lightning Bolt already outdamages the Arcane Archer Fighter. The options are cool and thematic, yes, but if you want to contribute something unique to the party your damage isn't it. Grasping Arrow has no saving throw, reduces move speed, does guaranteed damage and is even useful against enemies that resist or are immune to poison. They also have to use their action to get rid of it or continue being debuffed by it, so they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. There's hardly any reason to use anything else when Grasping Arrow is so good.
Banishing Arrow is also a reliable option as it targets Charisma, which is a famously bad saving throw for most monsters (and also the reason many magical effects do not target Charisma)
It's not a hot take to say that the banneret is better than the arcane archer, factually it gives you more per short rest, plus you get Persuasion expertise at level 7.
And it is more, despite not adding anything other than support for your other melee allies!
You are not forced into a specific build, only having at least a +1 in Charisma, MAYBE.
I would argue that's even better than the champion, because his abilities come off more often.
I agree with you...
Oh no most people doesn't run D&D games pass 10-15lvl.
Because they don't know how to.
Some of us or most of the people i know me included. Runs game from 5-20+ lvl.
My friends and i are playing a game where the lowest lvl character is lvl 57 the hightest is lvl62.
Most DMs doesn't run games beyond 10-15
Because "it's to hard!" And they didn't even try.
The formula to running a game at every level is to have a copy of all your players character sheets.
Everything, and creat charaters and creatures around that.
See most DMs doesn't play higher then 15 lvl because they get frustrated when the PCs one shots the DMs big boss baddy.
Because they are not taking into account what they can do.
And the most important thing is
ARE YOU PLAYERS HAVING FUN!?
If the answer is yes? Then whats the problem?
If you want to give them a challenge? Idk get smarter?
You're DM you're God/Goddess.
You can set it up to make them think.
I killed off my 17th level players with Kobolds.
Mainly because they did a stupid and rushed in knowing there was Kobolds.
And most of them either died by traps or by fire.
But then again i wasn't playing with my friends so of corse they did.
Think of D&D as a strategy game
If you want to give them a challenge out think them, predict what they might do.
And keep in mind player like playing high level because they like feeling powerful give that to them.
Sometimes just throwing hit points
At something doesn't work.
Sometimes you have to be methodical about things.
If you want to reduce the amount of spells they have before they get to the boss make them.
If someone has a power word kill.
And you don't want them to use that on your boss.
Make them use it on something else.
There is many ways to get around thing's back when i was in high school everyone always played about 10th lvl.
You should NOT play an arcane archer, 5e is not 3e
I think the background clips are good, but the same clips in every video is kinda boring maybe add a few clips.
Our guy knocks out a new video pretty much every day, dude. You gotta lower those expectations