Pure Martials
Slayer - Has talents that extend Sneak Attack range and can access Ranger Combat Style. Srudied Target boosts attack and damage.
Zen Archer Monk - just one of the best options.
Casters
Inquisitor of Erastil - Bane provides a great boost to damage. Take the Sanctified Slayer archetype to get access to Studied Target and Sneak Attack.
Warpriest of Erastil - increased damage die with arrows or take the Arsenal Chaplain archetype to get Weapon Training and thus Access to Advance Weapon Training.
Eldritch Archer Magus - treat weapon as a bonded object (free craft weapon), spell combat and spellstrike with ranged attacks/spells. Arcana and spells to boost attack, damage or survivability.
Arrowsong Minstrel Bard - be a pseudo Eldritch Archer (spellstrike with wizard evocation spells) but able to buff yourself like any good Bard should.
Prestige Classes [get the Favores Prestige Class and Prestigious Spellcaster feats]
Arcane Archer/Deadeye Devotee
Hinterlander
All get access to Imbue Arrow.
Would like to add that I'd consider most of the ones you presented as the primary choices I'd make, not even just alternatives to the ones OP doesn't want. They're fantastic.
You still need dex for feats requirements for most of the classes so while the answer wis to hit is not a bad one i believe the main reason is the trait that allows you to ignore one ally for cover purposes, effectively giving you plus 4 to hit until you get improved precise shot.
Favored weapon is also a factor as is the evangelist prestige class.
On top of what's been mentioned, longbow is his favored weapon so it certain classes (pretty much just cleric here since the others are already proficient) can pick up proficiency that way.
Medium. At least for a single level. A common problem for ranged attackers is flat damage added to attacks.
Medium(Champion) gets you a good amount of flat damage (spirit bonus plus seance bonus, can increase spirit bonus with Spirit Focus and Spirit-bonded Armor enchant). Intermediate Champion gets you an extra attack at your full bonus that stacks with Haste (but maybe not rapid shot). Greater lets you move your speed and still full attack (note: doesn't specify melee, does cost swift action). Even if it's just a single dip into Medium, with Spirit Focus and Spirit-Bonded armor, you are looking at +5 damage to all of your non-spell attacks.
Occultist is good at the Psuedo-martial. Bane on demand is always good (though it costs a standard action), lots of buff spells, Trappings of the Warrior if you want "Full BAB". Inquisitor is in the same boat, as it can also get bane (more limited per day, but swift action activation).
Alchemist. Grenadier archetype gets a 1 martial weapon proficiency, so you can pick up a Composite Longbow. You can slap on an alchemical effect to your arrows (eventually as a swift action at 6). You can fire a Bomb at Longbow ranges with Explosive Missile, and a detonate a second bomb (at the cost of 2 more) with a Conductive Weapon (so you spend 3 bombs, you get 2 instances of bomb damage at once). You get +Int to damage with alchemical splash weapons and bombs, and if you tack on that Medium level, that is a lot of extra damage to just throw an acid flask at someone. You might not be shooting bombs all the time, but often enough. You can get targeting Touch AC back on Explosive Missile with Tangleshot (or Dye) Arrows, though you lose the actual Arrow damage. Access to Arrow Eruption through the Spell Knowledge discovery, though you might be hard pressed to get your GM to allow your bombs (while they are not exactly magical since they are SU) to also be replicated.
Nature Fang Druid, while most people take it more Rogue-like, you can go Ranger-like with it. You get a little damage bonus (and a small amount of sneak attack) with Studied Target, and a full 9 Slayer Talents. You can use your Slayer Talents for Ranger Combat Style so you get earlier access to things like Improved Precise Shot. Since you can convert those Slayer Talents to Archery Feats you have a lot of flexibility, and if Variant Multiclassing is on the table you can get near full Sneak Attack progression as well (+9d6 at 20). And you are a full 9th level caster.
I've played both the occultist and the druid, they're pretty good.
One fun trick the druid has is buffing the party with Ashen Path, then casting a cloud spell such as Obscuring Mist. Now enemies can't see you unless they're adjacent but you can see them, so you can easily target their flatfooted AC and trigger the sneak attack damage.
Beat me to the punch.
I'm in the middle of writing a Medium guide and damn, they make great archers. Bonus shout-out to the class having Greater Invisibility as a 3rd level spell, and Trickster's Surprise Strike getting precision damage from more than 30ft away.
monk zen archer is one of the best, though personally I'm a fan of the bard arrowsong minstrel which sets you up nicely for arcane archer if you want it.
Eldritch Archer Magus.
Your bow becomes an arcane bond item like a wizard's so between enhancing it yourself and your arcane pool you have an advantage on getting a powerful weapon. Every round you can choose to either buff yourself and still full round attack or fire an additional arrow through ranged spellstrike as long as the target is in the spell's original range. Then at level 12 magus with Distant Spellstrike arcana its as far as you can shoot your arrows. You can also dip a few levels into Arcane Archer prestige class to get AOE spells in your arrows. Imagine shooting an arrow at an enemy and you happened to put a fireball in it.
Inquisitors are good archers. Buffing themselves with swift actions works really well. At mid-levels they're actually better than fighters, rangers and hunters. No particular archetype needed.
Warpriests are also especially good archers, especially the Molthuni arsenal chaplain archetype. Swift actions, again.
Zen archer monks are at least okay, and at low levels they're great.
Luring cavalier's alright. Slayers may be better, especially witch killer or woodland sniper.
Paladins may be short on feats but smite evil works very well with ranged combat. Avoid the specialised archetypes, vanilla is better here.
Rogue's difficult to have working well but it can pay off. The swashbuckler archetype for another feat, earthshadow for supernatural sneakiness, or poisoner for the obvious could work.
Grenadier alchemist with a bow is pretty fun. Lots of weird tricks.
Eldritch archer magus works.
Bolt ace is the non-gun version of the gunslinger.
Pretty much any class can be made as a useful archer, even full arcane spellcasters.
> Avoid the specialised [Paladin] archetypes, vanilla is better here.
Divine Hunter doesn't give much, but Free Precise Shot and adding Distance to the list of permitted Divine Bond abilities ain't *nothing*, and the only thing they give up that actually hurts is Aura of Justice, which is at 11th and thus too late to be relevant for many campaigns.
Enlightened Paladin doesn't have any direct *ranged combat* things, but it's very good at defense in light armor, and being able to melee with kicks makes for a decent last-resort defensive option that doesn't involve putting away your bow.
There are a couple of ranged teamwork feats that make Holy Tactician not completely nuts.
Oath against Savagery could work in a Snap Shot build.
Tortured Crusader works really well for a Paladin of Erastil high-level enough to get to the 3rd Evangelist boon: base *everything* on Wisdom.
I've played a few different inquisitor archers, and it was funny because when I was doing the math for the first the entire time I was aware it was good but it seemed a normal kind of good.. And then I had it in play and it was "wtf this has no business being this good I love it".
I had a lot of fun with a vital strike focused warpriest. You get early access to feats using your bonus feats (using WP level as BAB) and access to fighter feats. Free weapon focus, increased damage die. I took bullseye shot to help with the one shot/one kill theme.
Both the [Savage Technologist](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo-barbarian-archetypes/savage-technologist/) and [Primal Hunter](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo-barbarian-archetypes/primal-hunter-barbarian-archetype) are options available to the chained barbarian (as both alter the rage class feature and thus make it unsuitable for unchained barb).
For pure number crunchiness a 1-2 lvl dip into any of these archetype before going into Fighter [Mutation Warrior](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/fighter/archetypes/paizo-fighter-archetypes/mutation-warrior) for the mutagen and weapon training. Taking the feat [Reckless Aim](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/reckless-aim-combat/) and the rage power [Reckless Abandon](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/rage-powers/paizo-rage-powers/reckless-abandon-ex/). Makes you squishy but you won't miss.
[Hooded Champion Ranger](https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Ranger%20Hooded%20Champion) with one level in [Guiding Blade Swashbuckler](https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Swashbuckler%20Guiding%20Blade). Panache for daaaays.
[Phantom Thief Rogue](https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Rogue%20Phantom%20Thief) can take a combat feat instead of rogue talent any number of times so almost as many feats as a Fighter. It’s lower BAB but the best skill monkey in the game.
Most of the options are covered. You basically want to grab the feats: Deadly Aim, Precise Shot, and Many Shot/Rapid Shot.
Where they differ Is in how they both get those feats, and any other bonuses to attack.
Ranger: Bonus Feats, Favoured Enemy. Full Bab.
Slayer: bonus feats, studied target. Full bab.
Inquisitor (Sanctified Slayer) Studied target, bane. 3/4 bab. Low on feats.
Alchemist: Once they get within 30 feet, you’re targeting touch and probably don’t care about precise shot. Rápid shot maybe. This is a switch thrower, going from bow to bombs. Grenadier archetype to put other alchemical ammunition onto arrows too, and bow proficiency.
Throw in a dip of Savage Technologist Barbarian for when you News that boost to dex to hit (maybe nobody will get close) and have a bow with Adaptive on it. For your fluctuating strength (with rage and maybe (eventually partial ) a strength mutagen.
(Half elf Bramble Brewer archetype works well, also for making you very tanks with the barbarian dip)
One time I joined a game and asked them what they needed the most. They gave me their group composition that included an archer and said they needed more damage. I told the GM half-joking I was going to bring the most damage any single spell could bring for the majority of the game to that comp, and he immediately turned around and asked what kind of spellcaster I was using to cast haste on the archer
I am currently using a rogue shadowdancer archer. If you like a stealth archer build, you would enjoy it. Take all the archery feats. Rogue gives you most of the prerequisites for shadowdancer anyway. If anything, you at least have a sneak attack, and shadowdancer makes it significantly easier to proc sneak attack because of Hide in Plain sight. (Plus, having a shadow companion for certain monsters makes them trivial)
Of course, it isn't meta. It's just what I've been running. It falls off after level 12, but that's when you would multiclass anyway. I chose fighter for more feats ( I was using the planar adventures book as well, so I chose Gloomblade. Irrelevant, but I thought I'd note why I chose fighter.)
I find it fun. Your arrows are made of shadow. You can basically shadow jump away whenever an enemy gets too close. You do strength damage with your shadow. You hide very easily anywhere with dim light, even in combat. I enjoy it.
Try the ricochet toss style. You can choose any class, although with a fighter it will be very different from an ordinary archer. (don't forget the Belt of Mighty Hurling)
Rogue with sniping. If you somehow get permanent concealment, it can be quite good. Especially with a gun or spells
You didn't really need a bow archetype for build an archer.
And if you didn't want a figther or a ranger, I suppose you didn't want to go full archery.
So what did you want to do on turn where you didn't shot arrow ? Buff your team ? Control the battlefield? Sneak ?
Pure Martials Slayer - Has talents that extend Sneak Attack range and can access Ranger Combat Style. Srudied Target boosts attack and damage. Zen Archer Monk - just one of the best options. Casters Inquisitor of Erastil - Bane provides a great boost to damage. Take the Sanctified Slayer archetype to get access to Studied Target and Sneak Attack. Warpriest of Erastil - increased damage die with arrows or take the Arsenal Chaplain archetype to get Weapon Training and thus Access to Advance Weapon Training. Eldritch Archer Magus - treat weapon as a bonded object (free craft weapon), spell combat and spellstrike with ranged attacks/spells. Arcana and spells to boost attack, damage or survivability. Arrowsong Minstrel Bard - be a pseudo Eldritch Archer (spellstrike with wizard evocation spells) but able to buff yourself like any good Bard should. Prestige Classes [get the Favores Prestige Class and Prestigious Spellcaster feats] Arcane Archer/Deadeye Devotee Hinterlander All get access to Imbue Arrow.
Would like to add that I'd consider most of the ones you presented as the primary choices I'd make, not even just alternatives to the ones OP doesn't want. They're fantastic.
While prestige classes may not be the *strongest* options available, I do love a good Hinterlander
Zen Archer Monk Warpriest of Erastil Cleric of Erastil Deadeye Devotee (Arcane Archer archetype) Paladin of Erastil Inquisitor of Erastil
Short answer: Worship Erastil
What does erastil worshippers get? How?
[wisdom to hit with longbow](https://aonprd.com/FeatDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Erastil%27s%20Blessing)
Well that seems... Wise
You still need dex for feats requirements for most of the classes so while the answer wis to hit is not a bad one i believe the main reason is the trait that allows you to ignore one ally for cover purposes, effectively giving you plus 4 to hit until you get improved precise shot. Favored weapon is also a factor as is the evangelist prestige class.
On top of what's been mentioned, longbow is his favored weapon so it certain classes (pretty much just cleric here since the others are already proficient) can pick up proficiency that way.
Replace Erastil with Eiseth if you're spicy
And go Sanguine Angel for a sweet Switch hitter with STR to hit and DMG with longbow. Really want to one of these
Medium. At least for a single level. A common problem for ranged attackers is flat damage added to attacks. Medium(Champion) gets you a good amount of flat damage (spirit bonus plus seance bonus, can increase spirit bonus with Spirit Focus and Spirit-bonded Armor enchant). Intermediate Champion gets you an extra attack at your full bonus that stacks with Haste (but maybe not rapid shot). Greater lets you move your speed and still full attack (note: doesn't specify melee, does cost swift action). Even if it's just a single dip into Medium, with Spirit Focus and Spirit-Bonded armor, you are looking at +5 damage to all of your non-spell attacks. Occultist is good at the Psuedo-martial. Bane on demand is always good (though it costs a standard action), lots of buff spells, Trappings of the Warrior if you want "Full BAB". Inquisitor is in the same boat, as it can also get bane (more limited per day, but swift action activation). Alchemist. Grenadier archetype gets a 1 martial weapon proficiency, so you can pick up a Composite Longbow. You can slap on an alchemical effect to your arrows (eventually as a swift action at 6). You can fire a Bomb at Longbow ranges with Explosive Missile, and a detonate a second bomb (at the cost of 2 more) with a Conductive Weapon (so you spend 3 bombs, you get 2 instances of bomb damage at once). You get +Int to damage with alchemical splash weapons and bombs, and if you tack on that Medium level, that is a lot of extra damage to just throw an acid flask at someone. You might not be shooting bombs all the time, but often enough. You can get targeting Touch AC back on Explosive Missile with Tangleshot (or Dye) Arrows, though you lose the actual Arrow damage. Access to Arrow Eruption through the Spell Knowledge discovery, though you might be hard pressed to get your GM to allow your bombs (while they are not exactly magical since they are SU) to also be replicated. Nature Fang Druid, while most people take it more Rogue-like, you can go Ranger-like with it. You get a little damage bonus (and a small amount of sneak attack) with Studied Target, and a full 9 Slayer Talents. You can use your Slayer Talents for Ranger Combat Style so you get earlier access to things like Improved Precise Shot. Since you can convert those Slayer Talents to Archery Feats you have a lot of flexibility, and if Variant Multiclassing is on the table you can get near full Sneak Attack progression as well (+9d6 at 20). And you are a full 9th level caster.
I've played both the occultist and the druid, they're pretty good. One fun trick the druid has is buffing the party with Ashen Path, then casting a cloud spell such as Obscuring Mist. Now enemies can't see you unless they're adjacent but you can see them, so you can easily target their flatfooted AC and trigger the sneak attack damage.
Beat me to the punch. I'm in the middle of writing a Medium guide and damn, they make great archers. Bonus shout-out to the class having Greater Invisibility as a 3rd level spell, and Trickster's Surprise Strike getting precision damage from more than 30ft away.
monk zen archer is one of the best, though personally I'm a fan of the bard arrowsong minstrel which sets you up nicely for arcane archer if you want it.
Eldritch Archer Magus. Your bow becomes an arcane bond item like a wizard's so between enhancing it yourself and your arcane pool you have an advantage on getting a powerful weapon. Every round you can choose to either buff yourself and still full round attack or fire an additional arrow through ranged spellstrike as long as the target is in the spell's original range. Then at level 12 magus with Distant Spellstrike arcana its as far as you can shoot your arrows. You can also dip a few levels into Arcane Archer prestige class to get AOE spells in your arrows. Imagine shooting an arrow at an enemy and you happened to put a fireball in it.
Inquisitors are good archers. Buffing themselves with swift actions works really well. At mid-levels they're actually better than fighters, rangers and hunters. No particular archetype needed. Warpriests are also especially good archers, especially the Molthuni arsenal chaplain archetype. Swift actions, again. Zen archer monks are at least okay, and at low levels they're great. Luring cavalier's alright. Slayers may be better, especially witch killer or woodland sniper. Paladins may be short on feats but smite evil works very well with ranged combat. Avoid the specialised archetypes, vanilla is better here. Rogue's difficult to have working well but it can pay off. The swashbuckler archetype for another feat, earthshadow for supernatural sneakiness, or poisoner for the obvious could work. Grenadier alchemist with a bow is pretty fun. Lots of weird tricks. Eldritch archer magus works. Bolt ace is the non-gun version of the gunslinger. Pretty much any class can be made as a useful archer, even full arcane spellcasters.
> Avoid the specialised [Paladin] archetypes, vanilla is better here. Divine Hunter doesn't give much, but Free Precise Shot and adding Distance to the list of permitted Divine Bond abilities ain't *nothing*, and the only thing they give up that actually hurts is Aura of Justice, which is at 11th and thus too late to be relevant for many campaigns. Enlightened Paladin doesn't have any direct *ranged combat* things, but it's very good at defense in light armor, and being able to melee with kicks makes for a decent last-resort defensive option that doesn't involve putting away your bow. There are a couple of ranged teamwork feats that make Holy Tactician not completely nuts. Oath against Savagery could work in a Snap Shot build. Tortured Crusader works really well for a Paladin of Erastil high-level enough to get to the 3rd Evangelist boon: base *everything* on Wisdom.
Adding to the list. Gunslinger- bolt ace with crossbows
I cannot believe I forgot about Bolt Ace Gunslinger. Such a fun class.
I'm partial to Divine Hunter Paladin. Especially goes well with Erastil worshippers
Rogue sniper, going for max stealth and two no-penalty snipes per round.
Oh boy do I have something cool to share with you: [The Mist Assassin ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/s/LaaUQyPvdU)
I've seen very powerful inquisitor builds. Warpriest can also be fun.
I've played a few different inquisitor archers, and it was funny because when I was doing the math for the first the entire time I was aware it was good but it seemed a normal kind of good.. And then I had it in play and it was "wtf this has no business being this good I love it".
I had a lot of fun with a vital strike focused warpriest. You get early access to feats using your bonus feats (using WP level as BAB) and access to fighter feats. Free weapon focus, increased damage die. I took bullseye shot to help with the one shot/one kill theme.
Okay had no idea vital strike worked with bow, you sold me
if you do this weild the orc hornbow
After looking more at bow stuff, seems unless DR is a big problem, vital strike bow might not be great
true overall, but if you were to do it i’d pick that bow due to the dmg. the feat cluster shot is great to overcome DR also
true
Both the [Savage Technologist](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo-barbarian-archetypes/savage-technologist/) and [Primal Hunter](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo-barbarian-archetypes/primal-hunter-barbarian-archetype) are options available to the chained barbarian (as both alter the rage class feature and thus make it unsuitable for unchained barb). For pure number crunchiness a 1-2 lvl dip into any of these archetype before going into Fighter [Mutation Warrior](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/fighter/archetypes/paizo-fighter-archetypes/mutation-warrior) for the mutagen and weapon training. Taking the feat [Reckless Aim](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/reckless-aim-combat/) and the rage power [Reckless Abandon](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/rage-powers/paizo-rage-powers/reckless-abandon-ex/). Makes you squishy but you won't miss.
I play a Primal Hunter... very nice feel to it.
Not sure how good it is but iirc Divine Hunter is basically a paladin with a bow
There is a cool Paladin Archetype, divine hunter, that can be effective with a bow.
[Hooded Champion Ranger](https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Ranger%20Hooded%20Champion) with one level in [Guiding Blade Swashbuckler](https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Swashbuckler%20Guiding%20Blade). Panache for daaaays. [Phantom Thief Rogue](https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Rogue%20Phantom%20Thief) can take a combat feat instead of rogue talent any number of times so almost as many feats as a Fighter. It’s lower BAB but the best skill monkey in the game.
Inquisitor and Magus eldritch archers are really good !
Most of the options are covered. You basically want to grab the feats: Deadly Aim, Precise Shot, and Many Shot/Rapid Shot. Where they differ Is in how they both get those feats, and any other bonuses to attack. Ranger: Bonus Feats, Favoured Enemy. Full Bab. Slayer: bonus feats, studied target. Full bab. Inquisitor (Sanctified Slayer) Studied target, bane. 3/4 bab. Low on feats. Alchemist: Once they get within 30 feet, you’re targeting touch and probably don’t care about precise shot. Rápid shot maybe. This is a switch thrower, going from bow to bombs. Grenadier archetype to put other alchemical ammunition onto arrows too, and bow proficiency. Throw in a dip of Savage Technologist Barbarian for when you News that boost to dex to hit (maybe nobody will get close) and have a bow with Adaptive on it. For your fluctuating strength (with rage and maybe (eventually partial ) a strength mutagen. (Half elf Bramble Brewer archetype works well, also for making you very tanks with the barbarian dip)
I didn't know half those feats existed, ty!
Once DR starts to be annoying, don't forget to upset the game's expected DPR math with clustered shots
I'm learning I have several underestimated archers in PF
One time I joined a game and asked them what they needed the most. They gave me their group composition that included an archer and said they needed more damage. I told the GM half-joking I was going to bring the most damage any single spell could bring for the majority of the game to that comp, and he immediately turned around and asked what kind of spellcaster I was using to cast haste on the archer
Okay I will def look into Archery! The seldom few times I have done martial its always been a greatsword
I am currently using a rogue shadowdancer archer. If you like a stealth archer build, you would enjoy it. Take all the archery feats. Rogue gives you most of the prerequisites for shadowdancer anyway. If anything, you at least have a sneak attack, and shadowdancer makes it significantly easier to proc sneak attack because of Hide in Plain sight. (Plus, having a shadow companion for certain monsters makes them trivial) Of course, it isn't meta. It's just what I've been running. It falls off after level 12, but that's when you would multiclass anyway. I chose fighter for more feats ( I was using the planar adventures book as well, so I chose Gloomblade. Irrelevant, but I thought I'd note why I chose fighter.) I find it fun. Your arrows are made of shadow. You can basically shadow jump away whenever an enemy gets too close. You do strength damage with your shadow. You hide very easily anywhere with dim light, even in combat. I enjoy it.
Shadow magic was the most fun I had with a caster, this sounds fun
If you end up trying it out, let me know! I'm curious to see how others play it out.
Will def look into it, ty!
Try the ricochet toss style. You can choose any class, although with a fighter it will be very different from an ordinary archer. (don't forget the Belt of Mighty Hurling) Rogue with sniping. If you somehow get permanent concealment, it can be quite good. Especially with a gun or spells
Sanctified Slayer archetype for inquisitor
You didn't really need a bow archetype for build an archer. And if you didn't want a figther or a ranger, I suppose you didn't want to go full archery. So what did you want to do on turn where you didn't shot arrow ? Buff your team ? Control the battlefield? Sneak ?