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Rogue is an interesting choice but most still thought figther would be best in the end.
Personally, I am really interested in a Vivisectionist Archer. I feel like their high Dex with decent Str and good CHA for RP makes an interesting archer. Add in that they get Sneak Attacks just like a rogue and you can use their medical discoveries as feats apparently to get those all important Archer feats seems like they would be a great archer with a good mix of spells in their bombs. Also Mutagens get pretty dang powerful the higher you get.
I dunno, right now I have a Stormwarden but im not very far into the game and he seems to be fairing well but seems pretty boring. I really think im gonna give that Vivi a try.
Per St0nemender:
As others have noted, you can get some really good archery builds by dipping into various classes instead of going just purely into one class through level 20. It's worth discussing at the least. However, assume for my post below that I am discussing single-classed characters UNLESS I specifically say otherwise.
Here's my take:
Fighter: A simple and straightforward staple of this category, and in my opinion probably the best for sheer damage output. Sure, you don't get fancy sneak attacks. However, you do get a bucket of bonus feats, high BAB, and increasing Weapon Training. Bonus feats can be spent on things like Deadly Aim and Rapid Shot, and your high BAB + Weapon Training let you utilize such attack bonus decreasing, damage increasing feats as much as you darned well please. With good Strength and Dexterity scores you'll be hard to beat in this role. Spellcasters might have strong buffs to make themselves better archers, but if your party's spellcaster buffs you, well... You'll be an even better archer.
Long story short: Fighters are just useful archers in every situation. They're highly accurate, and they can trade that accuracy for more firepower. Not a bad choice.
Rogue: As others have noted, Sneak Attack is REALLY easy to get in this game. Rogues make terrific archers because of this. So long as you target an enemy engaged in melee by an ally you can shred that bad boy with your bow. Use your rogue talents for combat feats for maximum effectiveness. Playing an elf may not be a bad call because of the free longbow proficiency.
EDIT: Rogues can apparently pick Combat Trick (the bonus feat option) as many times as they want, putting them on the level of Fighters so far as bonus feat acquisition is concerned. You don't get high BAB or weapon training, but with appropriate buffs your sneak attacks will hit their mark, and you've got plenty of feats to enhance your archery.
Ranger: While the Ranger doesn't have the same raw firepower as the Fighter at a glance, the Ranger will be the Fighter's equal when going up against the Ranger's favored enemies for sure. (I've heard 'Fey' is a good choice in the long term, and personally think 'Human' is a good early game pick. You may want Monstrous Humanoids for those trolls people are so afraid of, maybe?) Moreover, the Ranger gets spellcasting, and spellcasting means things like Gravity Bow, which is a great self-buff for archers. You can also get an animal companion starting at level 4, and frankly the animal companions in this game are amazing. Between all that and your free weapon style feats, this is far from a bad choice.
Vivisectionist (Alchemist): Strong archer for the same reasons the rogue is, though you may need to be an elf so you can enjoy free longbow proficiency without dipping into other classes. You trade rogue talents for 6th level spellcasting, basically, and quite frankly that's a great trade.
EDIT: Since rogues can apparently take as many Combat Trick choices as they want (see: bonus combat feats), it's a lot harder to say if 6th level spellcasting is equal in this regard. Both remain good choices.
Eldritch Archer (Magus): Okay, here's the deal: the Magus is a damage dealer, period. It hits hard, but its accuracy leaves something wanting until later levels. The Eldritch Archer is no exception. You get to combine spellcasting power with archery abilities. I haven't gotten to test this chassis out yet in this game (though I've seen it at work in tabletop), but if you're able to Rapid Shot while using Spell Combat you can get a lot of damage out in a single round. Just make sure to strike the right balance of metamagic feats and archery feats. You'll need both to make this work, because you'll want to be bolstering ranged touch attacks like Snowball and Scorching Ray with Intensify Spell, Empower Spell, and Maximize Spell later on.
Paladin: A personal favorite of mine, Paladins make great archers because they get Smite Evil why bypasses evil creatures' DR, solid spellcasting, and at level 11 they can apply their Smite Evil to all allies, meaning all party members and animal companions and summons. This makes their ability to boost the damage of the party vs. one particular bad guy HUGE. I think they're a great pick. High BAB keeps them competitive and accurate, too.
It's worth mentioning that Smite Evil overcomes DR when used on evil creatures. It's worth mentioning that benefit also applies to the whole party at level 11 when you use the Aura of Justice ability. Yeah, it's awesome.
(Note: the Divine Hunter looks tempting, but trades that level 11 "everyone murder stuff" ability for a level 11 "everyone can be an archer now" ability, which I think is an AWFUL trade. Stick with Core Paladin. It'll be harder to level to 11, but once it's there you'll never regret it.)
Inquisitor: This class is secretly a pretty darned good archer. Medium BAB with 6th level divine spellcasting may not inspire much confidence at a first glance, but the combination of powerful Judgement abilities and domain powers makes this a great archer. Your spells can be used to good effect as well. This isn't a bad 5th man sort of party member, and you strike a balance between utility and raw damage. Just take a look at the damage-oriented judgments and imagine this character NOT having to be in the thick of the melee to do work.
Bard: If properly built, a bard can make an impressive backline archer that also supports the team. Inspire Courage, good buff spells for the party (like Heroism and Haste), medium BAB - this is a solid chassis whose presence will make everyone fight better. Take the Arcane Strike feat for a little more punch.
Cleric: Do you like 9th level spellcasting? Do you like powerful self-buffs and party buffs? Do you like free weapon proficiency with longbows because you worship Erastil, or alternatively because you get bonus feats from your archetype (Crusader)? Then pick the Cleric! The Cleric, especially a Crusader Cleric, can easily be made into a powerful archer while still having all the benefits of being a full caster that can support the team.
You're in a great position to Channel Energy safely (such as for healing purposes), and you've got a variety of good domain choices that can make you great at murdering things from afar (such as Destruction). You can take the Animal Domain for an animal companion at level 4, and animal companions are never, ever a bad choice. This may not be as intuitive as playing a Fighter, but trust me: a proper cleric adds so much more than raw damage to the team.
As others have noted, the game may have a level cap of 20 but you won't reach that for a LONG time. So, it's worth considering dipping into other classes. Some of the best dips are:
Fighter 2 OR Fighter 4: Bonus feats are juicy. Weapon Specialization is juicy. What's not to like? This is also an easy way to get more armor and weapon proficiencies.
Rogue 3 OR Rogue 4: 2d6 sneak attack damage and a free combat feat from rogue talents. Make that 2 free combat feats from rogue talents if you go to level 4. It's not a bad deal, though you do lose 1 BAB with the first level of Rogue because it's a Medium BAB class.
Ranger 2: Free favored enemy, free archery feat. Not amazing, but it can supplement the right build nicely.
(Note: if you're looking at Stormwalker or Flametreader, I THINK their level 4 abilities apply to ranged weapons. If so, they're interesting choices to take to level 4. Likewise, Freebooter COULD be an interesting choice if you want to be able to apply a +2 AB buff to your allies before you kick a door in, but it's not exactly an ability I'd use during combat.)
Vivisectionist 1 OR 3: 1d6 or 2d6 sneak attack, Mutagen for +Strength for damage or +Dexterity for attack, and potentially a useful discovery at level 2. You can lose BAB doing this, however.
Each ray in Scorching Ray gets sneak attack?
Oof. Well, that's nothing like tabletop in that regard. Normally only the first ray would get the benefit. Still, that's a pretty terrific find.
EDIT: One concern comes to mind: the higher the difficulty, the less effective that build will be as it hinges on that alpha strike hitting. Unfortunately, Maguses aren't the most accurate of classes thanks to their mechanics, and that logic holds true for Eldritch Archers as well.
Nevertheless, that's still a hilarious and cheesy setup. I like it.
Though if you went with rogue/Wiz, Elf would be a good choice.
The advantage of going elf is being able to get the capstone for Rogue if you desire. Since the game definitely lets you get to level 20, why not take advantage of the capstones?
If you dip into Fighter, I'd go 4 levels because why not get Weapon Spec while you're at it?
You made some excellent points. I just wanted to touch on the support archers. Getting access to longbows really ups the punch of archery. You can burn a feat for broad Martial Weapon Proficiency, play as an Elf, or as a cleric pick a deity that grants it. Also if you go Cleric Archer consider grabbing the archetype that forgoes wearing armor. if you want to really do archery your DEX is going to be high so you won't need the heavy armor.
If you already have access to shortbows, like Bards do, it may not be worth the extra effort for Longbows but it really is a good upgrade.
If composite shortbows exist in-game then Bard is perfectly fine without needing the proficiency. Otherwise, I think longbow would be practically necessary.
Not a bad call, but the capstone for Fighter isn't a bad one. Again, this AP goes to level 20, and that means the capstones are worth considering.
Your setup would definitely be really fun to play throughout the campaign, however.
btw: The best bow i found so far is a composite longbow with 2D6 piercing + 2D6 acid dmg.
I'll note that in my big post, thanks!
On lower difficulties, for pure ranged damage, I would probably be looking at a ranged sneak attack build. Sneak attacks are so easy to get in this game, you can use them at will.